Chapter 588: Carnival of Desire [20]

Ember remained motionless, Adrian slung over his shoulder, his amber eyes vigilantly watching everyone around them. Nick stood beside him, his hand gripping the hilt of his short blade tightly.

"All right." A deep yet clear voice came from Natalia. She took another step toward the center of the main hall, both hands still held in the same position, covering the lower half of her face. Her deep blue eyes swept across each group before finally settling on Adrian, who still had his eyes closed. "I think we’re misunderstanding something important."

Alistair, the leader of the Vaelthor Guild in this dungeon, raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Natalia chuckled softly, the sound echoing gently through the hall. "The rules clearly state: ’To open the Main Gate and enter the Central Food Court, each team is required to collect 4 Satisfaction Commemorative Coin.’ But have you noticed something? It doesn’t say that each team has to collect four coins on its own. It only requires the teams to collect them—and as long as the total number of coins collected by all teams adds up to four, that’s enough."

Lily’s head snapped up, the layer of candy covering her face giving a faint crack. "You mean... we don’t each need four coins?"

"Exactly." Natalia nodded. "I have one coin from the Shapeshifting Mirror House."

Alistair remained silent for a moment before speaking cautiously. "The Vaelthor Guild also has one coin from the Frenzied Express."

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Ember and Nick—or more precisely, toward the man sleeping on Ember’s shoulder.

"Then Adrian..." Julian’s voice came out hoarse, his left arm still stiffened into a candy-like form. "...how many coins does he have?"

Ember did not answer. At that exact moment, Adrian suddenly jumped down from his back, the movement so abrupt that even Ember barely had time to react.

Adrian braced himself against Ember, letting out a long yawn, his eyes still slightly unfocused. "Is everyone here already?"

Ember grabbed Adrian and hoisted him upright, making him stand a little straighter so he didn’t look quite so indecent.

"Hello, everyone." Adrian stretched lazily, a bright, flower-like smile blooming across his delicate features.

As he spoke, his slender fingers slipped into his pocket before pulling out two gleaming silver coins. "I have two coins—one from the Night Circus and one from the Mirror Maze. Together with Natalia’s coin and the Vaelthor Guild’s coin, that makes four in total."

Alistair narrowed his eyes, but before he could say anything, the light from the ceiling of the grand hall suddenly changed color. The pure white light was quickly tinged with a warm golden-orange hue, gradually shifting into a brilliant reddish orange, like the glow of a gigantic oven.

TING!

[System]: Four Satisfaction Commemorative Coin have been detected among all players!

[System]: The conditions for opening the Central Food Court Gate have been activated!

The pristine white floor beneath their feet began to tremble. Golden streaks of light intertwined in midair, forming a gigantic vortex in the very center of the hall, radiating a shimmering glow like flowing honey. From within the vortex came an overpoweringly sweet aroma—browned butter, molten chocolate, caramel candy, and something else... rotten, mixed in among them.

Adrian took a deep breath, the corners of his lips curling with delight. "Oh, that smells delicious."

Nick and Ember, however, simultaneously frowned and took half a step back.

"I don’t like this smell."

"That’s the contamination," Natalia said, her deep blue eyes gleaming with vigilance. "The deeper we go toward the center, the faster the Joy Index will drop."

The vortex of light slowly expanded, revealing a spiral staircase leading downward, where space itself seemed warped and distorted. The walls of the staircase were coated with candy—chocolate flowing in streams, gummy candies fused into massive clumps, and biscuits stacked in layers. But all of it was old, sweating, oozing syrup, covered in black dust and cracks that resembled rotting flesh.

"Let’s go." Alistair did not hesitate. He descended the staircase with the other two remaining members of the Vaelthor Guild.

Natalia followed, her footsteps so light that they made no sound. A strange glimmer flashed in her eyes as she passed through the gate, as though she were hearing something that no one else could perceive.

Lily and Julian entered one after another as well, though their faces were filled with reluctance and fear. After the previous trial, almost none of their composure or arrogance remained. This dungeon was far too strange. More importantly, they had prayed to Themissia countless times, yet the goddess had not answered them!

Finally, it was Adrian’s group.

"Adrian..." Ember glanced at the man standing beside him, his voice carrying a hint of hesitation. "Don’t actually treat this like a buffet."

He really did not want to have to remind him, but Adrian’s attitude was always deeply concerning.

Adrian couldn’t help but look offended. "Do you really think I’m that kind of person?"

Ember: "..."

Adrian paid no attention to Ember’s expression. He stepped down the staircase, his voice echoing through the narrow space. "On the contrary, you two should be careful. This is a feast that its host has been waiting a very long time for."

...

The spiral staircase ended at a gigantic gingerbread gate. But the gate was no longer beautiful like something out of a fairy tale—it had become moldy and rotten, with pieces of decorative candy shattered across the ground, forming a sticky layer beneath their feet.

When the gate was pushed open, the scene before them made even Alistair stop in his tracks.

It was a gigantic hall, so vast that the ceiling could not be seen, hidden beneath a haze of sweet-smelling mist. Long rows of dining tables covered in white tablecloths lined both sides of the walls, but there was no longer any fresh, delicious food upon them—only plates of candy melted into puddles, rotting chunks of meat giving off a sour stench, and cups filled with thick, murky gray liquid.

At the center of the hall stood a gigantic round table. On top of it rested a silver platter, inside which a swirling black vortex spun wildly, devouring all the surrounding light.

TING!

[System]: Welcome to the Center of ∎∎∎! Good luck!

The instant the message disappeared, a powerful force suddenly swept everyone away.

Nick screamed, but the force of the pull had already torn apart the space around him. Ember threw out an arm, trying to grab Adrian, but Adrian’s body had already been dragged backward at terrifying speed.

As for Adrian—he simply stood there.

Only after the surroundings had become empty, after Nick, Ember, and everyone else had disappeared into separate corridors, did Adrian finally take a step toward the round table at the center.