Before the main events unfolded, Wayne had no intention of causing any trouble. He simply snuck into the palace, wandered around the opulent halls, and helped himself to a few pieces of jewelry from the royal treasury.
After seeing the beautiful Princess Isabel and observing the villain, he discreetly placed a magical mark on the princess. It wasn't out of any desire for the princess's beauty, but rather because he felt that if he was going to spend time in this world, he should at least accomplish something significant to justify the days he had spent there.
Five days passed, and just as Wayne was considering whether to return to the witcher world, perhaps to visit acquaintances in Beauclair, and then take care of his tasks in this realm, the commotion he had been anticipating finally occurred.
On that day, Wayne was leisurely watching a circus performance in the royal city. The show, put on by a group of medieval clowns, was surprisingly entertaining.
This gave Wayne an idea: he thought about bringing back some novels, scripts, and literary works from this world. Whether as gifts for others or to use as a literary copywriter, he might even pose as a great writer or literary giant, basking in the spotlight and reaping many unexpected benefits.
However, just as he was enjoying the show, a large number of soldiers and guards suddenly stormed the streets, weapons in hand. They began searching for suspicious characters in various shops, and the entire royal city was placed under lockdown. The gates were sealed, making the residents of the royal city extremely anxious.
Obviously, the plot from the story had begun. If he remembered correctly, a monk had stolen the magic beans that could connect to the giants' territory in the sky. The monk intended to take them to the monastery to destroy them or something similar, but soldiers pursued him, and by sheer coincidence, the beans ended up in the hands of the movie's protagonist.
The crown was stolen by Roderick, who was potentially going to marry the princess. Roderick was a villain who planned to use the power of the giants to overthrow the current king and seize control of the entire kingdom.
Wayne decided to bide his time and, when the moment was right, eliminate Roderick, claim the crown, and complete another mission.
As night fell, when the magic vine would grow and form a path to the sky, it would be his turn to act. So, Wayne ignored the commotion outside and calmly returned to his rented hotel, where he read a book and waited for events to unfold.
Soon, evening came, and a heavy rain began to fall. Seeing this, Wayne knew the time was near. The magic beans that the protagonist had obtained would be triggered by the rain, causing the massive magic vine to grow.
He donned rainproof leather armor, threw on a rain-proof cloak, and took control of his magical flying carpet. He left the hotel and flew out of the royal city of the Kingdom of Albion, heading toward the outskirts.
Things proceeded smoothly, and he didn't have to wait long. In Wayne's enhanced vision, he saw a gigantic magic vine begin to sprout rapidly, about two or three kilometers away from the royal city, growing at an astonishing rate of one or two meters per second. In just a few minutes, it reached a height of one to two hundred meters, connecting the earth to the sky and standing out conspicuously.
Seeing the magic vine, Wayne didn't delay any further. He flew directly toward its location on his magic carpet.
Although flying in heavy rain was quite troublesome, the two or three kilometers passed in the blink of an eye. It took about ten minutes for Wayne to reach the magic vine, which had grown nearly a thousand meters high and pierced deep into the clouds. Below the vine, the roots were in a chaotic tangle.
As expected, Wayne found the protagonist unconscious on the muddy ground. The poor guy had been deceived by the fleeing monk, trading his own horse for the magic beans, which he thought were worthless. When he returned home, the beans fell into the soil beneath his house, and the subsequent heavy rain caused the vine to grow rapidly, lifting his house—and Princess Isabel, who had fled from her arranged marriage and sought shelter from the rain—into the sky and into the giants' territory.
When Wayne saw the protagonist, he didn't hesitate. While the young man was still unconscious, Wayne found and took the remaining five magic beans from his possession. These beans were highly valuable, almost one of the most precious treasures in the story.
Moreover, these were magical items that the current monks could no longer create—practically unique and irreplaceable. Leaving them to the people of this world would be a waste. Wayne considered taking them back to have warlocks study them, to see if they could replicate the magic beans. If so, even if they were used as tools of war, they would be incredibly powerful.
Having secured the magic beans, Wayne looked up at the towering vine that stretched into the sky but decided against climbing it just yet. He hadn't received his mission, so finishing it now would result in a significant loss.
So, he guided his magic carpet to a nearby shelter to escape the rain and entered a meditative state.
Soon, the next day arrived. The storm had passed, and the morning sunlight, mixed with the fresh scent of rain-soaked earth, greeted Wayne as he awoke.
He opened his eyes and stepped out of the rain shelter. The fresh scent of the surrounding plants filled the air, washing away the heaviness of last night's storm.
Looking up, he saw that a group of knights clad in sophisticated armor had arrived where the vine had grown the night before. Leading them was King Brahmwell of Albion, distinguished by his golden helmet.
Seeing that the rightful authorities had arrived, Wayne donned his elaborate green dragon armor, strapped the massive Sword to his back, and boarded his magic flying carpet, heading in their direction.
This time, Wayne didn't attempt to remain hidden; he flew just a dozen meters above the ground. When he was about two hundred meters away from the king, the soldiers surrounding the monarch noticed him.
The Kingdom of Albion was well-equipped, with knights in full plate armor and nearly all of the royal city guards clad in iron armor—standard issue, though not of the highest quality. Nevertheless, their technological level was advanced, far superior to some countries in the witcher world. As he had noted before, the royal city's walls were armed with four large repeating crossbows, powerful enough to kill giants. Wayne even considered taking one back to study before he left. If not for the limited space in his dimensional storage, he might have taken them all.
As Wayne flew closer on his magic carpet, not only the king but also the guards, soldiers, and generals were visibly astonished. Some soldiers even gaped in disbelief, as if witnessing a miracle.
In this world, magic was considered merely a legend, existing only in tales. Seeing someone flying through the sky with their own eyes was undoubtedly a revelation that challenged their understanding of reality.
However, Wayne's armor was resplendent and imposing, and he appeared tall, handsome, and very much human, which tempered any immediate hostility.
King Brahmwell and the bespectacled General beside him were the first to react, quickly assessing the situation as Wayne approached.
The general, ever cautious, turned and shouted to the soldiers, "Keep alert! Protect the King!"
He then joined the Royal Guard Captain, Elmont, who had also reacted quickly. Both drew their weapons and positioned themselves in front of the king, eyeing Wayne warily as he flew closer.
Captain Elmont retrieved a crossbow from his back, pointed it at Wayne, and shouted, "You are not allowed to come any closer, stranger. The man before you is King Brahmwell of the Kingdom of Albion. Who are you? What is your purpose here?"
In response to their vigilance, Wayne gradually slowed his magic flying carpet and stopped about thirty or forty meters away from them. He then lowered the carpet's altitude, jumped off, and landed on the ground.
After both sides took a moment to assess each other, Wayne turned his attention to the king, who was clad in golden armor, and spoke, "Your Majesty King Brahmwell, I mean no harm. You may call me Wayne."
"I am here because I discovered this magic vine," he continued, glancing at the soldiers surrounding the king with a calm demeanor. "You can think of me as a wizard from the stories, a user of magic. I am here to deal with the giants in the sky."
Upon hearing Wayne accurately mention the magic vine and the giants, the king and the generals immediately frowned, exchanging looks of disbelief.
"Giants?" King Brahmwell echoed, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Do the giants mentioned in the stories truly exist?"
King Brahmwell had just learned from the hero Jack that his daughter, Princess Isabel, had been taken to the sky by the magic vines. Upon hearing about the giants, his concern for his daughter's safety grew even more intense.
Wayne's expression remained calm. He simply pointed to the massive vine that reached into the sky and said, "Didn't you mention this kind of magic vine in the stories passed down from hundreds of years ago? This is not just a story; it's a real event that happened in the past."
"If such magic vines exist, then isn't it reasonable to believe that the giants also exist?"
After saying this, Wayne turned his gaze back to the king and said directly, "Your Majesty, I intend to follow this magic vine and enter the Giant Kingdom. The giants are incredibly powerful, so I must thoroughly investigate the situation beforehand."
"I advise that the Kingdom of Albion prepares for the possibility of the giants coming down to the surface."
With that, Wayne began to move past the king and his soldiers, heading toward the location of the magic vines.
Of course, this was just a tactic of playing hard to get. If he had truly wanted to climb up, he would have started taking action last night. Now, he was simply waiting for the king to ask him for help.
As it turned out, his assumption was correct. Princess Isabel, the king's only daughter, was dearly beloved.
When King Brahmwell saw Wayne boarding the magic flying carpet again, it appeared as though he was preparing to fly directly to the magic vines.
Although he still had many doubts and wasn't entirely convinced by Wayne's words, King Brahmwell nonetheless called out loudly:
"Wayne, if you intend to ascend this magical vine and reach the land of the giants as you claim, can you please rescue my daughter, Princess Isabel? I am willing to reward you with a thousand gold coins."
Upon hearing the king's offer, the surrounding soldiers murmured in surprise.
Wayne, though appearing calm, was inwardly taken aback by the king's generous offer. During his time in the royal city, he had learned that gold coins in this world held substantial purchasing power and were of high purity, quite unlike the inferior coins from other regions. An ordinary pack horse could be purchased for just two gold coins at a premium price.
A reward of a thousand gold coins was an astronomical sum, unimaginable to the common folk. However, to Wayne, it seemed laughably small in comparison to the treasures he knew awaited him in the giants' realm. He vividly recalled that the giants' castle was filled with rooms overflowing with gold and silver treasures—loot they had amassed during their rampage hundreds of years ago. This wealth would undoubtedly become his prize, making the thousand gold coins seem like a minor profit.
Just as the king finished speaking, Wayne's thoughts were interrupted by a system notification in his mind:
Ding! Mission triggered: [Rescue the Princess who Escaped from Marriage] at the master level. Accept?
Wayne didn't hesitate—this was exactly what he had been waiting for. He immediately accepted the mission from the system.
With a composed expression, Wayne looked at King Brahmwell. With a wave of his hand, he conjured tens of thousands of gold coins, which piled up into a hill on the ground. The coins gleamed brightly, the mound rising to the chest height of an average person.
The sight left everyone present stunned. Even King Brahmwell himself might have only seen such a fortune in his royal treasury. Ordinary people had certainly never witnessed such a spectacle.
Of course, Wayne didn't actually have so many gold coins on hand. This was merely an illusion, a loaned display he had borrowed from his ally, Vivian, to make an impression.
After letting the awe sink in, Wayne waved his hand again, and the pile of gold coins vanished, returning to his money bag.
He then spoke in a calm, yet commanding tone, "Your Majesty King Brahmwell, do you think a powerful wizard like me would lack gold or power? However, I will rescue your daughter, Princess Isabel, and I will also deal with the giants in their territory. You need only remember that you owe me a favor, and I will call upon it when the time comes."