According to the quest instructions, the most straightforward method would be to take Hazel out of the city and flee, only needing to delay until the new empress candidate appears. However, this would likely spell trouble for his human mount, Drunken Dream, who would face severe consequences.
If the empress is not from the Xian family, the Xian family, which had been entrenched in the Empire for over a thousand years, would be uprooted. It's possible that Drunken Dream's battle beast, Denoka, could even have its contract forcibly annulled, which would be a significant blow to the forces of future trialists.
However, Orson couldn't bring himself to simply hand Hazel—his cute and charming wife—over to the incompetent emperor. Letting this fat pig get his hands on such a precious gem like Hazel was absolutely unacceptable. Clearly, merely following the quest instructions wouldn't be in Orson's best interest.
"Got it!" Orson's lips curled into a mischievous smile. What if the woman who eventually becomes the empress is his, Orson's, woman? Not only could he control the entire Light Dragon Empire, but having someone in the palace would certainly make his future endeavors much easier.
Orson didn't linger near the Mage Guild for long to avoid being spotted by the Mage Guild members after Valessi disappeared. Checking the hidden quest time limit, he had 48 hours left to determine the final empress candidate. Coincidentally, this lined up perfectly with his meeting at the War Supreme conference, where he would represent the Light Elf King.
It seemed that the emperor intended to announce the empress candidate in front of the various races at the War Supreme meeting to showcase his authority as the ruler of the empire.
Orson took out a red crystal fragment, a special item he had acquired during his monster hunting.
[Fragment of the Blood Demon Essence]
Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: Cassandra, the empress candidate of the Purple-Gold family, is collecting this item for a limited time. Go to the royal city and find her guards to exchange it for a reward.
A coordinate point immediately appeared: 33.78.
"Head to the Holy Dragon Plaza in the royal city and wait for Cassandra's guards," the quest prompt appeared.
Orson glanced at the mini-map and made his way to the location.
He passed through a bustling NPC marketplace, where his view opened up to a large plaza, the ground shining white with dragon-themed patterns etched around its perimeter.
"Freshly made 50-level thief boots! Wear them, and you can run as fast as you want without being caught!" "Five-star hotel chef's latest enchanted delicacies—perfect for entertaining guests or for a personal feast!" "World's number one Godslayer Guild gear, Earth Dragon Leather Hero set, auctioned for 20,000 gold, but I'll sell it for 3,000!"
Several players were blocking the entrances to the plaza, setting up stalls and waiting for inquiries or direct purchases.
Orson casually stopped by one stall that claimed to sell "Godslayer items" and was immediately taken aback. The so-called hero set was listed as a level 50 three-piece set, and its attributes couldn't be checked, which made it seem quite impressive. But a closer inspection revealed a small line of text beneath the item name that read, "Made of clay craftsmanship."
"Goddamn! So sneaky!" Orson muttered under his breath.
As expected, where there were people, there was a market, and where there was a market, there was always deceit. Infinite Dimensions' high degree of freedom meant that every day, numerous players were deceived. But even if they reported these scams to the authorities in real life, the police had no jurisdiction over the virtual world. If that were the case, they wouldn't need to advertise [Infinite Dimensions Anti-Scam App] in every neighborhood.
To Orson, though, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, players who couldn't be sharp in the current world were just paying a small intelligence tax, but in the future, their ignorance could cost them their lives.
"Brilliant! This game even has striptease performances! The royal city is so much fun; I don't even need to log off to find resources!" a player yelled in excitement.
"Exactly! Who knew that the emperor's women were so spicy!" another player added.
"Ha, ha, the second one is said to be a beauty from the spirit tribe. Those little wings, that face—truly amazing! Let's go!" another player cheered.
Orson felt a stir, watching a group of players rush toward the plaza. He followed suit, blending in with the crowd.
A magnificent stage, at least 50-60 meters long, appeared above the plaza. Players were packed tightly around the stage, all eagerly waiting for the show to start.
"Enchanted equipment?" Orson's eyes lit up. This stage, surrounded by wind and earth magic runes, was clearly enchanted with high-level spells. Such extravagant uses of magic crystals were not uncommon in the royal city, but to build a stage with dual-element runes—this was certainly a luxury only the extravagant royal city could afford.
"Citizens of the royal city, please give a warm welcome to the first beauty of the Spirit Tribe, Nadora!" a plump bald man with an enchanted megaphone called out, his voice carrying easily over the crowd.
As the announcement rang out, a group of stunning women dressed in bright silver outfits emerged. Each of them had wings on their backs, their green feathers slightly evolved but still capable of gliding. Their faces were all incredibly beautiful, like goddesses descending from the heavens.
"Spirit Tribe Princess! Holy shit! I've only seen her pictures online, but in person, she's a hundred times more beautiful!" a player shouted.
"Kiss her! Kiss her!" another player cried.
"I'm cheering for the Spirit Tribe princess! Forget the four major noble family beauties, they're nothing!"
The crowd erupted in a thunderous cheer, making it feel like a concert. Orson wasn't surprised by this; the idol culture from reality had long spread to Infinite Dimensions. There was no character too trivial for fans to obsess over. Some guilds even fought wars over which NPC factions their members liked, just to defend their idol's honor.
"Thank you all for your love, mwah~~~" Nadora said with a smile, blowing a kiss to the audience.
The crowd went wild as her charm spread like wildfire. Every gesture she made sent the hearts of the boys and girls into a frenzy. The progress bar above her head started to fill up: Empress Candidate Progress: 9%, 11%, 12%...
Orson realized that these women performing on stage needed to win the hearts of the empire's citizens and players to become empress candidates. This was just like a reality TV talent show. Only when the progress bar reached 100% could they officially become candidates. Then they would go through another selection process in the emperor's palace before being crowned empress, with the title passing on to one of them!
As the enchanting music played and Nadora gracefully danced with her sword, Orson couldn't help but think: "What a great setup. This is definitely something I need to learn for Forever City's entertainment options."
Amid the lavish dance, her progress toward becoming the empress candidate soared.
"Unbelievable! Damn, 200 gold to find a spirit tribe NPC wife!" one player shouted.
"Please, Nadora, kill me! Only death can make my dream come true!" another cried.
The players were absolutely captivated, and Orson couldn't help but smile wryly at the sight. "These guys are crazy. They want to marry an assassin who doesn't blink when killing..."
Orson was getting curious about how Hazel would appear and perform when it was her turn. Just as the players were distracted by the show, Orson's eyes narrowed. He saw several groups pushing through the crowd, heading toward a large building in the southwest corner of the plaza.
"It's them," Orson said with a chuckle. Snow Dream, Strategic Trickster, and others were among them, heading toward the same building.
"Ding dong—" "Cassandra's guard has appeared."
A prompt sounded, and Orson saw a green icon light up on the mini-map, right near the building where Snow Dream and the others were headed.
"I'll see what you're really up to," Orson muttered as he changed into his "Golden Mask Warrior" persona and made his move.