The greenhouse was huge. If you looked at it from above, it resembled a blooming rose, made up of countless petal-shaped rooms, all constructed entirely from glass. The magical glass had the same transparency as regular glass, but when sunlight hit it, it reflected magical, colorful light.
The game was currently in autumn, but with magic enhancing it, the greenhouse was still full of blooming flowers.
Adrian felt like he had stepped into a kingdom of flowers. He had only planned to pass through, but the sheer number of flowers and the flower stands created a labyrinth within the greenhouse, leaving him disoriented.
But escaping was only a matter of time. He knew that once he made it through, he'd reach the southern side of the castle. Adrian wasn't in a rush, though. He kept an eye on the images Raven sent back while also browsing the discussion forum.
From the forum, it seemed like Cosmos had finished his scouting task and moved on to the next phase. Finally, the casualties Adrian had been waiting for began to appear.
Happy Underachiever: "Damn, the bedroom was full of teleportation circles, and as soon as I entered, it was like playing Minesweeper. One second, I was teleported to Scarlet Highlands, then straight into the lair of a giant snake... and boom, I was dead!"
Happy Underachiever: "The damn devs killed me!"
And if that wasn't bad enough—
Sugar Jar on the Run: "Anyone else stuck? I got teleported to Bopolo Island. Send a message in a bottle if you're here."
Death wasn't the worst part. The real terror was being teleported to a deserted island in the middle of the sea. Unless it was a special quest, magic couldn't be used on the island.
If you didn't have a city return scroll or a flying mount, congrats—you're stuck there for now.
Solo mode. Engaged.
Thanks to the brave players, the discussion forum became a sea of laughter. Complaints about the devs were daily, but there were also plenty of people actively discussing the task details.
When Cosmos appeared at the West Tower, it wasn't just one player who saw him. Many speculated that the next phase of the quest was in the West Tower. Some even considered the level 80 main quest, wondering if the storylines of The King's Bride and Cosmos were connected.
The West Tower was special. It used to hold Cosmos's big boss—the infamous necromancer and evil witch, Alice. But Adrian was thinking beyond what the others had considered. Alice had a magical skill called "Myriad Things."
However, Alice had never used this skill. Adrian had only heard about it from another NPC while completing a quest. According to the NPC, "Myriad Things" could cross the boundaries of time and space, linking everything together and sealing them in a separate space. Didn't that sound a lot like the bedroom scene described in the forum? The teleportation circles, like the ones in Minesweeper?
Adrian had been skeptical at the time. Why didn't Alice use such a powerful move in the boss battle? Now, it seemed like it was all a setup.
In Cosmos's storyline, the evil Alice was killed, but did she really die?
Adrian was deep in thought when he failed to notice the flower stand in front of him and walked straight into it. *Thud!* He didn't feel any pain, but it was a loud, solid crash. The flowers on the stand shook from the impact.
He pressed his hand to his forehead, watching a few petals swirl and fall in front of his eyes. Two of them landed on top of his head, and he didn't react at first.
Suddenly, he heard a soft chuckle behind him.
Adrian spun around, but saw no one. It wasn't until he looked up that he realized the person was perched on a flower stand, enjoying the sight of Adrian bumping his head. When Adrian spotted him, the person didn't even try to hide. He casually jumped down from the stand.
He was a good half-head taller than Adrian, dressed in typical bounty hunter gear—deerskin boots, a knife sheath strapped to his thigh with a short dagger, and a long sword at his waist. His short hair had a jagged scar at the edge of one eyebrow, giving him a fierce yet handsome look.
He looked like the kind of guy who'd pull out a knife if you even looked at him wrong.
Wait a second… wasn't this the same guy from the West Tower? How did he end up here?
"Hey," Adrian said first, blinking his innocent eyes. "Did I disturb you?"
The bounty hunter leaned back against the nearby flower stand, folding his arms. "Just passing through."
Yeah, sure you are.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence, me too."
The bounty hunter raised an eyebrow in return. "You're not here for the King's Game?"
Adrian grinned. "I'm here to sell some wine in the castle, took on a different task. What about you?"
The bounty hunter replied, "Sightseeing."
Adrian blinked, unsure how to respond to that.
"Well... I guess I'll be going then? My task has a time limit," Adrian said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
The bounty hunter didn't say anything, just waved him off with a casual gesture, probably telling him to go ahead. Adrian didn't feel comfortable using his Identification spell to check the guy's name right then, especially with him standing there. It was a missed opportunity, but he wasn't about to stick around for it.
However, the bounty hunter left pretty quickly. It seemed like he had just happened to hide in the greenhouse for a bit and wasn't actually looking for any clues.
Once the coast was clear, Adrian summoned Raven back, then stealthily hid behind the corner as the bird went back into the greenhouse to scout.
But it didn't take long before the bounty hunter showed up again. He wasn't hiding anything—he was just passing through. Adrian couldn't believe it. He thought the guy had already completed the first part of the quest, after all, he had jumped off the West Tower, right?
With no small amount of confusion, Adrian decided to pretend to stay calm and walked out. Flashing a smile, he greeted the bounty hunter, "Hey, fancy seeing you again."
Bounty Hunter: "Finished with the wine-selling task?"
Adrian: "You sightseeing your way here too?"
The two spoke in unison.
Bounty Hunter: "Little liar."
Adrian: "Big talker."
At that moment, a few players had gathered in front of the bedroom door. The servants and guards had all temporarily left due to the chaos at the West Tower. As for the Duke's household, they were too high-ranking to appear in person.
Adrian, worried that NPCs might return at any moment, suggested, "Since we're already here, want to take a look inside?"
"Since we're already here," such a nice phrase, right?
The bounty hunter seemed to like the idea and, in a surprisingly good mood, gestured for Adrian to go ahead. Adrian nodded politely and stepped inside the bedroom with firm steps.
A system prompt popped up, alerting the player that a new task had been triggered and asking if they wanted to accept it.
Adrian, of course, chose to accept.
\[The King's Bride]
Main Quest:
(1) Find Harrington
Investigate the scene, gather clues (0/3)
Looking around, Adrian found that he was the only one in the bedroom. The noise from outside had faded into silence. It was a solo mode, independent instance, and when he checked the friends list and discussion forum, everything was grayed out—no outside help allowed.
Interesting.