Chapter 15: Ten Years
1495words
As a plant unable to leave the soil, there are extremely limited things I can do. Apart from spacing out, sleeping, and mentally cursing that damn game designer in various languages, the only thing I can do is, as described in the strategy guide, absorb the thin magical essence of this world day after day, year after year, along with the weak yet tenacious light of the sun, moon and stars that penetrates the thick cloud layer.
This is an extremely monotonous, lengthy, and lonely process.
I feel my roots extending with difficulty through the frozen soil, feel my branches becoming increasingly tough under the pounding of wind and snow, feel those profound silver patterns on my petals that emit a faint and contented hum after absorbing sufficient light.
I watch the strategy book in my mind gradually and slowly being filled with new content as time passes.
【The first year after Winifred's death: Prince Frederick disappeared in the Frost Wind Mountains, with no trace of him alive or dead. The king was furious and dispatched all royal knight orders to search, but to no avail. In the same year, Arthur Christe was exceptionally promoted to Deputy Commander of the Hero Knights for his "extraordinary courage" and "spirit of sacrifice" (specifically referring to his enduring toxic rain to protect Anais). Anais, meanwhile, turned misfortune into blessing - though the curse within her body was removed, she unexpectedly gained the ability to communicate with magical beasts, leading to her special recruitment by the academy as an exchange student.】
[Three years after Winifred's death: The Kingdom of Arcadia erupted in border conflicts with neighboring countries. Arthur's knight order repeatedly distinguished themselves in battle, and their glorious deeds were spread across the continent by bards, making him the dream lover of countless maidens. His love story with Anais also became a beautiful tale circulated among the people.]
[Five years after Winifred's death: The Academy Principal, harboring deep remorse for Winifred's death and exhausted after years of fruitless searching for Prince Frederick, resigned in contrition and chose to retreat into the depths of the Sanctuary, no longer concerning himself with worldly affairs.]
……
Time thus flowed on mercilessly. The text in the strategy guide grew more and more, yet I felt increasingly distant from the world I once knew so well.
Until one day, in the tenth year since I had become a flower.
A staggering figure, almost swallowed by the blizzard, appeared in this eternally unchanging snowfield.
His face was haggard, his lips dry and purple, and he was wearing a knight's armor that was badly damaged and had lost its luster, still bearing the dried and blackened blood stains, which could be from his enemies or himself. One of his arms hung unnaturally, clearly severely injured.
It was Arthur. The male protagonist of this world.
Ten years had passed, and he had shed his naivety, becoming more mature and resolute, but at this moment, his face was filled with exhaustion and despair. He seemed to be searching for some lifeline, and finally, his gaze pierced through the blizzard, locking onto me—the only blooming moonlight flower in this icy wilderness, emanating a soft glow.
He struggled, walking toward me with uneven steps, and when he saw me, a flash of wild joy and hope burst forth in those blue eyes that were once as bright as the sun. Then, without hesitation, he reached out and, with his intact hand bearing a knight's calluses, uprooted me completely from the frozen snow.
【Warning: You are under attack! Vital signs are dropping!】
The moment I was uprooted, an indescribable, soul-tearing pain surged through me, causing my entire flower body to tremble violently.
He wanted to pluck one of my petals. The strategy guide clearly stated that the petals of a ten-year-old moonlight flower are a magical holy medicine that can heal all internal and external injuries, and even temporarily resurrect the dead. He was clearly trying to save himself.
It hurts, you know?! And losing one petal means half of my ten years of hard cultivation would be wasted!
Just as he was about to strike me, weakened by his serious injuries and with his guard down, I seized this opportunity and activated the plant's innate survival skill—[Burrow]!
My entire flower form instantly transformed into a beam of white light, breaking free from his grasp with an irresistible force, and disappeared into the thick snow, leaving behind only the smallest petal that he had roughly torn off moments ago, still glimmering with a soft white light.
"Sacrificing one petal to save my life and cultivation—this is a worthwhile trade." I consoled myself as I sank deep into the earth.
Several more years passed, perhaps five years, perhaps longer, I can't remember clearly anymore. I finally accumulated enough magical power to support my complete metamorphosis.
On a night with the clearest moonlight, I mobilized all the energy within my body and broke free from the shackles of plant form. An intense white light illuminated the entire mountain peak as bright as day. After the light dissipated, a naked, brand-new body appeared on the snow-covered ground.
The newly formed appearance bore a fifty percent resemblance to my former self "Winifred," yet with an entirely different temperament. Gone was the elegance and aloofness of nobility, replaced by the ethereal coolness and purity characteristic of spiritual beings who transcend mortal concerns.
【System Notification: You have successfully transformed, level reset to LV.15. Current form: Moonlight Flower Spirit.】
"LV.15... my magical power is still too weak." I felt the not-so-powerful flow of magic within me and slightly furrowed my brows.
I browsed through the plot book in my mind, which had grown considerably thicker, and began planning my next move.
"I need to find Frederick first. The information about his disappearance in the strategy guide is all [???]. He's definitely no longer that six-year-old child from back then. According to the timeline, he should be around sixteen or seventeen now, about the age when the original game plot was supposed to begin. If he's still alive, he should have already become that terrifying villain."
I walked into the town at the foot of the mountain and easily inquired about Frederick's whereabouts. He is now so famous that practically everyone knows about him, especially in knight and mercenary circles.
In a noisy tavern by the road, several drunk knights were complaining loudly, spitting as they spoke.
"What exactly does that Fred-erick mean? What does he want to do? We are the elite from several major knight orders after all. Who does he think he is to make fools of us?"
"Save your strength, my friend. Who doesn't know that the prince who disappeared for ten years suddenly returned a year ago, has already fallen into darkness and become the new Demon King. His power is unfathomable, and he loves to toy with those of us so-called righteous individuals. You can't defeat him in battle, can't reach him with insults—what else can you do but endure it?"
"Endure? Do you do justice to the knight's badge of honor on your chest?" A young knight angrily pounded the table.
"Then what do you suggest?" Another older knight sneered, "Rush in like the deputy commander of the Third Knights did last time, and then be forced by him to make that damn choice? Choose between your revered king who recognized your talents, or your beautiful newly-wed spouse whom you adore? Go ahead and choose!"
The young knight was instantly silenced, his face turning deathly pale.
I leaned in the shadow of the tavern, quietly listening to this information, matching and compiling it with the walkthrough guide in my mind.
"After I died that year, Frederick left the academy and disappeared for nearly ten years. He only returned a year ago, and had already become the leader of the dark forces. His personality had also become more capricious and violent than when he was young, always seeking revenge for the slightest offense."
"The headmaster of the academy, feeling deeply guilty about my death, resigned in remorse, passing the position to the rising star Arthur, while choosing to seclude himself."
I made up my mind.
"I must go find Frederick. A large part of the reason he has become what he is now is because of me. And most of the missing storylines in the game about how he became the Demon King are related to him. Only by staying by his side and filling in all the plot holes can I return home."
My journey to find my "husband," no, my journey to find the "plot holes," officially began.
