Orange Soda was decked out in blinding magical crystal accessories—rings, necklaces, the whole shebang. Looking at him too long risked permanent eye damage. And yet today, Adrian still dared to look directly at him. He was starting to suspect Orange Soda and Gabriel had something going on behind the scenes—how else could he have mastered Gabriel's trademark passive-aggressive snark so thoroughly?
The only lady present kept her poise, and in her eyes, the garish pink dress Adrian was holding probably looked better than the bickering men around her.
Adrian… quietly slipped away.
If there was ever something in life truly not worth your time, it was watching Orange Soda, Gabriel, and Temptress argue.
In the fitting room.
Adrian wrote "Alice" in the guestbook. The price appeared almost instantly: 5,000 gold coins.
Snap. He accidentally broke the pen in his grip. With the pathetic stub of the pen, he messily drew a bleeding dagger on the page, followed by a single line: Make it cheaper.
The guestbook responded: 5,000 gold coins.
Oh.
Adrian's face turned expressionless.
He had just over 5,000 gold in his pouch. In Celestial Saga, 100 copper made one silver, and 100 silver made one gold. A mug of cheap ale at a roadside tavern cost about 10 copper, while a decent healing potion was around 20 silver.
So yeah, 5,000 gold coins was straight-up daylight robbery. It was the kind of price someone charged before vanishing from the game forever.
But with the bow already drawn and no turning back, Adrian clenched his jaw, thought of the King's Game and its juicy rewards, and paid the fee.
In return, he received a single intel entry regarding Alice:
"West Suburb Cemetery."
Just four words. Cost him 5,000 gold. His heart, soul, and wallet all hurt. So much so that when he walked out of the fitting room, Orange Soda and the others stared at him like he'd grown another head.
Orange Soda said, "You actually… look kinda good in pink."
Gabriel added, "Like Piglet in formalwear."
Orange Soda: "Wait, is Piglet from Peppa Pig?"
Gabriel looked at him in disbelief. "He's Winnie-the-Pooh's best friend, you cultureless swine."
Temptress rolled her eyes. Finally, Pink Lady stepped forward. She walked up to Adrian with a smile and asked, "You got your intel, right? How about a trade?"
Adrian blinked. "What kind of trade?"
Pink Lady said, "I'm guessing you paid a hefty price for that intel. How about selling it to me? I'll pay you half of what you spent—and you're still free to sell it to others."
Adrian looked puzzled. "How do you know I'm not lying to you? We just met."
She smiled slightly. "That's fine. If you lie to me, I'll hunt you down."
A ruthless one, this lady.
Adrian wasn't about to pass up a deal like that. After all, even if he didn't sell it to them now, they'd eventually get their hands on the info themselves. So, with a sheepish yet eager look—somewhere between innocent and cunning—he turned to the others and said, "Anyone else want in? The shopkeeper doesn't do discounts, but I do."
Temptress & Gabriel: "…"
Orange Soda's eyes lit up. "Now that's some business acumen. Ever consider joining Black Diamond?"
Gabriel opened his mouth to object, but Pink Lady glanced out the store and warned, "Someone's coming."
They'd dawdled long enough—other players had likely just completed the first stage of the King's Game.
What followed was smooth and fast.
Orange Soda, Gabriel, Temptress, and Pink Lady all dropped their banter and made the deal with Adrian in record time—no haggling, no suspicion. They had the confidence and decisiveness of seasoned guild leaders. They didn't fear being tricked—they knew how to verify, how to retaliate, and most importantly, how to act quickly.
In the blink of an eye, Adrian pocketed 10,000 gold—a clean 5,000 profit.
Before leaving, Pink Lady gave Adrian a small nod, then walked out of the shop, brushing shoulders with a new player just arriving.
Adrian thought over the look in her eyes. That woman… had just intentionally done him a favor.
Unlike Orange Soda, who tried to openly recruit him, Pink Lady's approach was subtler—gracious, calculated, and hard to refuse.
She really lived up to being a top guild leader—not the type to underestimate a stranger just because he was new. She extended goodwill without fanfare, got her intel at half price, and made Adrian feel like he owed her. Every move—flawless.
Of course, the other three weren't exactly pushovers either.
Thoughts racing, Adrian waved to Donald and slipped out the back door. With Donald's 35% favorability, a discount wasn't on the table, but a shortcut certainly was.
Why take the back door?
Because Orange Soda and the others had just walked out the front without changing into any of the tailor shop's flamboyant outfits. And everyone familiar with Donald's rules would assume the obvious: there was no intel on Alice in the tailor shop, and that's why the guild leaders had left empty-handed.
But if Adrian strolled out the front door in his ridiculous pink gown, that illusion would be shattered.
And the narrative would flip to: Adrian got information even the guild leaders didn't.
Which meant—every eye would be on him. And just like that, he'd become the perfect decoy.
no matter which door Adrian chose to walk out of, it was a win for those four.
Big guilds—black-hearted to the core.
In-game time: 6:00 p.m. Night had fallen.
Adrian logged off for dinner and came back to find the night sky filled with stars.
Heading to the cemetery at this hour—honestly, it took guts. The full-immersion VR game was uncannily realistic.
To bolster his courage, Adrian summoned his magical pet: the Skeleton Knight.
Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack...
The rickety skeleton trotted ahead in small, wobbly steps, while Adrian—completely spineless—trailed behind at a safe five-meter distance.
Weaving through cypress-shrouded paths, Adrian arrived at the graveyard. He looked around—no other players in sight.
Very few players came to cemeteries at night, unless they had a quest. So where were Orange Soda and the others?
The old NPC who stood watch was dozing in the small wooden hut by the gate.
Adrian hid behind a tree and summoned Raven to scout the area.
From the images Raven relayed back, the cemetery was silent and solemn. Rows of tombstones cast long, black shadows under the pale moonlight.
Still no sign of other players.
Adrian frowned. Then a thought struck him—
Orange Soda and the others couldn't possibly be slower than him.
Could this area be a separate instance dungeon where players became invisible to each other once inside?
He opened the discussion forum.
Most players were still stuck on the first stage of the quest.
There was no mention of anything related to the cemetery yet.
The gap between players was beginning to show.
Adrian couldn't always wait around for someone else to scout ahead.
After a moment's thought, he decided to take the risk. Fortune favors the bold.
Hunched over, he slipped into the graveyard.
He hadn't gone far before fog began to rise around him—thick, creeping mist that veiled the night like a shroud of white gauze.
Adrian realized with a sharp clarity that he had entered another instance.
Since he had already accepted the quest "The King's Bride," and the Cemetery was one of its steps, the trigger was automatic—no need to accept or decline.
Suddenly, a faint voice echoed from within the mist—a cry for help.
"Bebe!"
Adrian gave the command, and the Skeleton Knight shuffled forward, brandishing its bone blade.
But the voice was elusive.
It sounded close—right nearby—
And yet, no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find it.
"Help..."
"Save..."
"Help me..."
Adrian summoned his elemental spirit—
a fluttering moth that came with built-in illumination.
The moment it appeared, the area lit up.
He searched again in the glow—
Nothing.
Still nothing.
He gathered his courage, climbed up on a tombstone, and scanned the cemetery from above.
He was the only living soul there.
Then who was calling for help?
A ghost?