Adventure World Online (AWO)

"Here,"

Chang Long handed him a slightly coarse white cloth. Siegfried took it and turned away to wipe his nose, embarrassed. Fortunately, it was just him, Chang Long, and her spirits here; otherwise, he would not know where to hide his face.

"Thank you..."

Siegfried said shyly after wiping his nose.

"You're really something, eating even the chili peppers,"

Chang Long chuckled, not expecting Siegfried to eat even the chilies.

"You told me to eat it all. I was afraid you wouldn't talk to me otherwise, so I forced myself to eat everything..."

Siegfried replied earnestly.

"Alright, since you met my condition, I'll tell you. I'm not mad at you. It... was an accident, and accidents happen. I was just startled and didn't know how to react. I've had time to think alone, and there's nothing left bothering me now,"

Chang Long replied with a smile. Hearing this, Siegfried smiled as well. He was invited to join the small gathering with Chang Long, Hisa-chan, and Davy-chan, feeling happy.

"So, this is where you all are. I've been looking for ages,"

Draco shouted from the forest edge, quickly joining them.

"Really. Having a party without inviting us is not cool!"

Wet Trash Can and Oliang followed Draco, with Kimhant, Kitsune, Peach Blossom, Hero, Jane, Valentine, and Aden trailing behind.

This small forest party seemed much more fun than the Elven celebration, filled with lively conversation and laughter throughout the night. Volund and Princess Rhea, watching from a distance, could not help but smile. This was friendship and camaraderie—the kind often spoken about. It seemed small, yet it was immense at the same time.

The next morning, Princess Rhea and Volund came to wake Chang Long's group, who were lounging at the forest edge by the fairy meadow. Princess Rhea handed an envelope and a small gift box to be delivered to the king of Tataras. Volund paid his respect to Siegfried, who hurriedly stopped him, feeling unworthy of such reverence from an Elven leader.

"We still need to bring Captain Columbus and his crew here,"

Chang Long mentioned, having promised them.

"Yeah... should we call them when we're near the exit?"

Siegfried nodded, as they were following the map given by the king of Tataras.

"What about those troublemakers? What should we do with them?"

Oliang asked worriedly, recalling the Assassin Guild and the Dark Horse Guild members waiting for them.

"I can understand why the Dark Horse Guild would follow us, but the Assassin Guild, though. When did we have problems with them?"

Hero asked, puzzled.

"Maybe the Dark Horse Guild hired them!"

Wet Trash Can suggested.

"Why hire outsiders when they have thousands of members?"

Jane still did not understand.

"Who knows? Ah!"

Chang Long answered but then quickly ducked as a projectile weapon was thrown from the dense bushes, startled.

"What was that!"

Peach Blossom exclaimed. Everyone drew their weapons, ready for anything.

'Kobolds!'

Davy-chan floated out of the bushes, alerting Chang Long.

"What are those? Kobolds?"

Chang Long was confused; the name sounded more like a mineral than a monster.

Rustle!

Before anyone could explain, dozens of small creatures with light brown and blue fur, and white bellies emerged from the bushes. They stood on two hind legs, wielding various weapons—secret weapons made of sharp bone, wooden bows with stone-tipped arrows, and throwing axes made of wood and sharpened stones.

They stood about two and a half feet tall, with stubby tails and big round black eyes that looked both adorable as they menacingly stared at Chang Long's group.

"Level 45 Kobold Bonsters are preparing to attack..."

There were a total of fourteen of them, and the notification that one of them was a Kobold Bomber confused everyone since none of them appeared to be carrying any bombs.

"It seems like the outer forest area is full of monsters,"

Jane remarked, while aiming and shooting at a thrown axe, shattering it into pieces. Jane's and Hero's bullets were made of iron, giving them far greater destructive power than the kobolds' stone axes.

"They look so cute, yet they're all so vicious!"

Peach Blossom complained. If it were not for their ferocity, she would have liked to pet them.

"By the way, when we encountered the fairies, the system didn't give us any notifications like this. So, are fairies even monsters? And can we capture them as pets!"

Valentine pondered aloud, making everyone think.

"There must be some quest to complete to get a fairy,"

Kimhant speculated as he skillfully swung his sword, effortlessly cutting down the enemies while still finding time to scout for good photo angles. Kitsune secretly smiled in approval as he was both his caretaker and leader.

"Watch out!"

Draco shouted, seeing a kobold pull out a long stick of dynamite from its waist, light it, and quickly throw it towards the group. Everyone scattered in different directions to avoid the explosion. Aden swiftly approached the bomber and used his short samurai sword, a tantou, to slice its neck, causing it to turn into a flash of light.

Along the path, Chang Long's group received a warm welcome from numerous kobolds, until they finally saw the tunnel exit high up on the massive stone wall that isolated the island from the outside world. Chang Long called Captain Columbus to check if it was safe to emerge.

It was good news to hear that the ships of both the Assassin Guild and the Dark Horse Guild had departed. Chang Long then went to fetch Captain Columbus and his crew to explore the volcanic island as promised, negotiating a rent reduction for the ship in return. Although Captain Columbus felt a bit uneasy but agreed, the prospect of exploring an island that hardly any players had set foot on was a compelling enough reason for him to report to the Maritime Association as a reason for the reduction.

Captain Columbus left two crew members to guard the ship and report any outside events, then followed Chang Long into the volcanic island. Thanks to Kitsune's transformation skill, Siegfried's outfit was disguised back into his original black dragon leather suit to prevent the Maritime Association from learning about the Pirate King's secret tomb.

"So, fifty percent off."

Chang Long grinned.

"Yes!"

Captain Columbus replied with a serious face, worried that the discount might not be approved by the association, which would mean the loss would come out of their pockets. Fortunately, the total amount was not too high, making it manageable when split among them.

"Stop looking so worried. Once you get out of this forest, you'll see it's worth every penny,"

Chang Long clapped the captain hard on the shoulder, making him smile. The kobolds seemed thrilled to have more strangers to fight, launching an exuberant attack, only to be repelled and scattered in the end.

This time, some kobolds over level fifty, wearing leather armor and wielding copper weapons, joined the fray. However, they still were not enough of a challenge for the large group of players. Finally, everyone successfully emerged from the forest into a wide field of flowers.

The kobolds chasing them retreated chaotically when faced with the fairies' multicolored dust and thorny vine whips. Some fairies even threw stingers, leaving the visitors blinking in surprise, quickly abandoning the notion that fairies were just delicate, beautiful beings.

"Feel free to explore,"

Chang Long told them. Captain Columbus nodded and ordered his men to spread out and investigate the flower field and the surrounding forest. Chang Long's group also split up to explore, confident that the captain's crew would not encounter the elves since the elven city was a special location accessible only through related quests or direct invitation from the elves.

Chang Long walked along the edge of the forest, careful not to disturb the fairies by cutting through the flower field. Peach Blossom and Valentine were deep in conversation, trying to figure out how to capture the beautiful fairies for themselves.

"Hey..."

A small voice called out, causing Chang Long to stop. She looked around in confusion, sure that no one had followed her.

"Up here,"

the voice said again. Chang Long looked up to see a peculiar fairy sitting on a high branch, staring intently at her without blinking.

"Are you calling me?"

Chang Long tilted her head in uncertainty. Since entering the island, she had not heard any fairies speak, and this one had blue-black clothes and wings with a silvery glow when they moved, contrasting against her clean white skin and striking features. The fairy was looking at Chang Long with interest.

"Yes! I need your help,"

the fairy said.

"Sure, what do you need help with?"

Chang Long agreed without hesitation.

"You promised!"

The fairy smiled widely, flying down to hover at Chang Long's eye level, leaving a trail of sparkling silver dust.

"I want you to take me with you!"

The fairy requested earnestly.

"Huh?"

Chang Long looked at the fairy in confusion. This place seemed like a paradise for fairies, so why would this one want her to take them?

"I don't want to stay here. I am the last of the Night Fairies. The flower field does not welcome me..."

the fairy explained with a sorrowful expression.

"But if you come with me, you might never be able to return,"

Chang Long warned.

"No matter. I like you, so I will follow you. But you must prove yourself to me. You must pierce your heart with a sword to form a contract!"

.....

Meanwhile, Duncan and Crown had braved the treacherous desert to reach the oldest castle at the edge of the land, guided by the instructions of the old man who sold ceramic dolls. Despite facing obstacles like sand golems, sandmen, sidewinders, and double-tailed scorpions that warmly welcomed them, they mostly had to run rather than fight, as the desert monsters attacked automatically when enemies came near and often swarmed them.

"Where's the castle? All I see are big rocks scattered around!"

Duncan gritted his teeth as they stopped at their destination, the land's edge. Beyond the rocks was a vast, endless sea.

"Let's search. I think it must be one of these rocks,"

Crown replied, equally exhausted.

"I can't go on. I need a break. I didn't expect this desert to be full of such vicious beasts that swarm you. No wonder we haven't seen any other players around,"

Duncan complained as he walked toward the shade of the large rocks to sit and rest.

"Come on, buddy, this exhaustion will be worth it, I promise!"

Crown reassured, though he was mainly comforting himself. After stocking up on crystals and healing salves, he had only twenty thousand coins left.

"How is this worth it? Just finding the weapon to form a bond has nearly killed us several times. I can't imagine how much worse it'll be when we go inside that castle to retrieve it!"

Duncan complained, thinking how being a chef was definitely easier. But Crown was a long-time friend from elementary school. When Duncan said he wanted to play as a chef, Crown did not object. He even helped Duncan level up and provided the funds to buy necessary equipment for a roadside restaurant, despite their limited resources, without ever complaining.

"Because the map I have leads to the Pirate King's secret tomb,"

Crown whispered to his friend, even though there were no other players around.

"Huh!"

Duncan exclaimed loudly, turning to look at his friend in disbelief.

"Keep it down! You're going to burst my eardrums. As you know, I separated from you because I accidentally accepted a quest at the port. At first, I talked to that drunken old man just for fun. But when he gave me the quest, I thought it sounded interesting, so I accepted it. I planned to invite you to join me, but as soon as I accepted it, the system automatically teleported me..."

Crown explained.

"No wonder!"

Duncan snorted. He had been upset with Crown for disappearing without notice.

"I had to find the map; otherwise, the system wouldn't let me return. Unless I canceled the quest, which would mean not being able to accept it again for a year. I thought it was too valuable to give up, so I kept searching until I found it. Then, I was sent back to the port, but it was swarming with Dark Horse Guild members. So, I had to escape from there!"

Crown continued his explanation, recounting their latest adventures that led them to the southern desert of Persia.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Let's find that castle,"

Duncan said, tired of Crown's off-topic rambling.

"I think we've found it,"

Crown said, smiling as he looked up at the rock providing shade in the scorching desert. It looked different from the other rocks. After all! What rock has windows?

"Oh!"

Duncan exclaimed in surprise as he looked up to see a stone carving of a large wolf poised to leap from the window directly above him.

"The Wolf of Azlam! I think this rock is the one that's half-buried in the sand!"

Crown grinned widely, seeing the symbol confirming they were in the right place.

"So, how are we going to get in? The entrance is buried in sand, and the castle is tilted at a dangerous angle. If it collapses while we're climbing, we'll end up meeting the Grim Reaper,"

Duncan said, clearly not thrilled with the situation.

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