Chapter 20: Taking Over the Rose Castle
The gates of Rose Castle stood wide open, leading to a garden full of blooming roses.
At that moment, Lady Stephanie, the Rose Lady, was sitting under a vine-covered pergola outside the castle, engrossed in a book. Noticing Rosen's approach, she put down the book and turned toward him.
Having never been imprisoned, it was hard for her to fully grasp the value of freedom.
Although Greed Island was technically still a prison, it was a prison with her familiar Rose Castle and her beloved rose garden. Here, she could continue enjoying a life of luxury, regaining some semblance of freedom.
Compared to an actual prison, Greed Island felt like paradise.
However, with that newfound freedom came the responsibility to complete the tasks assigned by the game's GMs. She also had to remain wary of the players. Unlike the clumsy, immortal Nen-beast NPCs in the castle, Stephanie only had one life—if she died, that was the end. And if she crossed a player with a violent streak, the GMs wouldn't avenge her.
Seeing the man approaching her, Stephanie felt nervous but rose to greet him nonetheless.
"Hello, adventurer, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said, curtsying gracefully while holding her skirt.
"How much card money do you have?" Rosen asked bluntly.
"..." Stephanie was taken aback.
According to the GMs, her role was to assign tasks to players and reward them with a designated card upon completion. But this player, the first one she'd encountered, immediately demanded card money. How was she supposed to answer that?
"I don't have any card money," Stephanie replied with a bitter smile.
"How is that possible?" Rosen asked, surprised.
"I don't need card money. All my daily needs in this city are free," she explained truthfully.
Rosen realized she wasn't lying. It seemed his preconceived notions had misled him.
He had assumed that since Stephanie retained her Rose Castle after the Spirit Realm merger, she must still be wealthy.
But he had forgotten that Greed Island didn't operate with a real economy. The game's currency was essentially virtual, giving players a way to farm monsters for money and purchase items. As an NPC, Stephanie had no need to buy cards, and thus, no need for money.
In short, she was just as broke as Rosen, meaning there was no shortcut to obtaining Greed Island's currency. Rosen would have to earn it like any other player, by following the game's rules.
But most of the game's money-making opportunities came from defeating monsters in the various zones.
Since Rosen was currently confined to Masadora, he couldn't exactly grind for cash by working for the Nen-beast NPCs in exchange for small amounts of money.
"What quests do you have?" Rosen asked, resigned to his fate.
If there was no money to be made, at least there was the opportunity to earn a designated card. From what Rosen knew, designated cards could sometimes be exchanged for Greed Island currency with certain NPCs. His hope now was that Stephanie's quest didn't require him to leave Masadora. Otherwise, he'd be stuck.
"I need you to collect one hundred different species of roses," Stephanie said, outlining the task. "They must be freshly picked, and the time difference between the first and last rose must not exceed half an hour. There is no time limit for the quest, but if you complete it, I will give you a designated card."
"Understood," Rosen nodded.
The God-Slayer Crossbow materialized next to Rosen, though it was invisible to Stephanie as it shifted into its ethereal form.
Under Rosen's control, the crossbow floated into the air, about sixty meters above him. Hunter's Magic Eye began scanning the rose garden of Rose Castle, searching for the various colored roses.
After several scans, the Magic Eye could only identify 90 different species of roses in the garden.
It seemed this was the maximum number of species available here. The remaining ten species were likely scattered across Greed Island, meaning players would have to travel the island, locate the missing species, and return them to Stephanie within half an hour to complete the quest.
That was the standard method for completing the task, but Rosen knew the game GMs wouldn't stop players from bending the rules within reason.
For example, if Rose Castle's garden naturally grew a 91st species of rose, that would count toward completing the quest. So, in addition to searching the island, players could theoretically cultivate new species themselves.
However, Rosen wasn't about to spend time learning how to crossbreed roses. Instead, he had a simpler solution.
While most players could only bring a limited amount of supplies with them into Greed Island and couldn't easily leave once they were in, Rosen had the Mysterious Study Room and the ability to bring anything from the real world into Greed Island.
So, all he needed to do was find ten new rose species back in Redstone City and then return to complete Stephanie's designated card task with ease. With that plan in mind, Rosen left Rose Castle, intent on finding a flower shop.
Later that evening, using the Mysterious Study Room to move stealthily and avoid the city's patrols, Rosen broke into a flower shop.
The shop was filled with new species of roses, products of a completely different world from Greed Island.
Rosen carefully selected ten potted roses, making sure to keep their roots and some soil intact. He packaged them up and immediately returned to Masadora through the Mysterious Study Room. With the roses secured, he swiftly gathered the 90 species from Rose Castle's garden and rushed back inside.
Stephanie, who had been bathing, was startled when Rosen suddenly barged into the bathhouse.
However, when she saw the massive bouquet of roses in Rosen's arms, she forgot her modesty and began to ponder.
The GMs had told her how difficult it would be for a player to complete this quest.
Yet, within half a day, this player had effortlessly finished it.
Stephanie wasn't naive. On the contrary, she was a shrewd businesswoman. Even though her memories of Redstone City had been heavily altered, her knack for business and her experience in commerce remained intact.
She understood that not every player would be a rule-following, good-natured type.
If she ever encountered someone unruly or violent, her beauty might not be enough to save her, and she could easily lose her life. Since GMs wouldn't step in to avenge NPCs, it might be wise to find herself a protector—someone who could shield her from other players. If she helped this player clear the game, perhaps she could even escape Greed Island and gain true freedom.
With this thought in mind, Stephanie stood up from the bath, her pale skin glistening with water droplets and rose petals as she approached Rosen.
Rosen swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. Her figure was far more striking than he remembered from young Rosen's memories of Sani.
He wasn't a monk, and there was no way he could walk away from a scene like this.
However, Rosen decided he should be the one to take the initiative. With that thought, he stepped forward and, using the wealth of experience young Rosen had left him in theory, he turned it into practice. Still, did this technically make him young Rosen's brother-in-law?
(End of Chapter)