Adventure World Online (AWO)

"Phew… My spirit has finally fully formed. But just now, if I didn't mishear, Heaven's heir called you 'Devi-chan,' didn't he? Devi Jones. Oh! Hello, young man. Long time no see. Have you gotten any better at sleight of hand?"

Roche Roger spoke in a string of sentences, amid the stunned silence of everyone imprisoned within that holding facility. As for Devi-chan, whose face had been calm and stern, it swiftly turned into a furious scowl.

"You heard right. The great and fearsome Devi Jones has now been renamed Devi-chan—by none other than his own most beloved and cherished heir."

Heaven appeared, speaking with clear satisfaction. At this point, it seemed that mocking the name was the only revenge he could take on Devi-chan, since his own heir had surrendered entirely and wholeheartedly to Devi-chan's heir already.

"Ooh, seriously? Ah-hahaha! What a fun surprise right off the bat. Devi Jones, Devi-chan—come to think of it, it suits you pretty well. Hahaha!"

Roche Roger laughed loudly and without a shred of restraint. Heaven joined in with glee, making Devi-chan grit his teeth in fury. Siegfried, meanwhile, went pale with guilt, thinking that he was the reason Devi-chan was now being mocked by his fellow (pirate) ghosts. Only Aswa and Captain Hicks sat there awkwardly, unsure whether to laugh nervously or try to understand what was even going on in front of them.

"Player Chang Long has obtained the spirit of the former Pirate King, Roche Roger, level 100. Please assign a name to your spirit. If no name is provided, the system will use the original name."

A system notification sounded inside Chang Long's mind, amidst the confusion of those unaware of what was happening. All they saw was Roche Roger's final image before he disappeared into particles of light—a rather comical scene, where Roche Roger was frozen mid-laugh, cackling heartily without concern for his dignity.

"Rogy." The hoarse whisper of Chang Long's voice rang out, drawing the gaze of everyone who had been confused. The young woman was still in a weakened state, holding a white jade spirit tablet in her hand. The tablet now displayed golden-edged black characters reading Rogy. Heaven turned deathly pale, almost as if he had become a decapitated ghost, as he realized what had just happened to Roche Roger.

"Missy!"

Devi-chan looked at Chang Long with surprise, though there was a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes that he could not quite hide.

"Chang Long, you're awake!"

Siegfried rushed to help the young woman sit up, clearly overjoyed.

"Ch... Chang Long, I'm so glad you're awake. But, uh, what's that in your hand? And what happened to Roche Roger? He just disappeared all of a sudden. Don't tell me he laughed himself to the afterlife?"

Aswa smiled faintly, his face still pale. He asked despite his uncertainty, though he had a hunch that Roche Roger's sudden disappearance was definitely connected to Chang Long.

"Oh, no. Even if he laughed that hard, the worst that could happen is he dies from it again. There's no way he'd move on to the afterlife. Release—Brownie."

Chang Long responded briefly to the young man's question, then summoned her pet.

"Master!"

Brownie greeted Chang Long with enthusiasm, leaving Captain Hicks dumbfounded. Apparently, there was still someone here who had not seen a talking mouse before!

"Brownie, go get the black rose tea from my bag, would you?"

Chang Long gave the order, and Siegfried quickly told Brownie that their bags—including Chang Long's—had been confiscated by the jailers and were probably stored somewhere within the prison.

"Right away, Master. By the way, Sir Siegfried—would you like anything while I'm at it?"

Brownie accepted the order, then turned to ask the elf.

"You're Chang Long's pet. How could you grab something from my backpack?"

Siegfried asked in surprise upon hearing Brownie's question.

"Watch it, pal. I'm the number one master thief of the meadows and forests. Sneaking in to nab a few things from your backpack's child's play for me!"

Brownie responded with clear displeasure, annoyed by Siegfried's words, which made him feel like his skills were being insulted.

"Just go already. I'm not planning to drink that tea tomorrow, you know."

Chang Long scolded when she saw Brownie turning to argue with Siegfried.

"Eek! Yes, Master. I'm going right now."

Brownie accepted the order and immediately scurried through the bars to search for his master's backpack.

"Brownie, if it's not too much trouble, could you also bring me the white dagger shaped like a curved pyramid? But if it's too heavy, it's okay."

Siegfried quickly called out before Brownie vanished from sight, and he did not forget to add the request out of concern, thinking that just Chang Long's water bottle alone would probably be too heavy for such a tiny mouse.

"Oi! How far are you gonna keep underestimating me, pointy ears? You think I can't fetch that for you or something, huh!"

Brownie snapped in fury, leaving everyone wide-eyed in shock—including Siegfried himself. He had just been scolded by a mouse!

"Brownie!"

Chang Long spoke sharply to the thieving field mouse again. This time, he bolted away, disappearing from their sight at lightning speed. The young woman sighed and turned to Aswa, who was smiling sheepishly at her.

"Here... I'm giving this to you."

Chang Long handed the white jade spirit tablet to the young man, who reached out and took it reflexively, as if pulled by a string. He looked at the name engraved on the tablet, then lifted his gaze to her with a look of puzzlement, waiting for her to explain. But the young woman only smiled and said nothing, instead choosing to summon the spirit from the tablet.

"Summon Rogy."

The spirit of the former pirate king—who delighted in fun—now found himself unable to laugh, as he had been renamed by Devi Jones' heir. Devi was now laughing so hard tears streamed down his face, while Roche Roger could only gape silently, his face pale—no different from Heaven, the only elven ghost among the former pirate kings. Heaven knew all too well how terrifying Chang Long's naming sense could be, and it seemed he was incredibly lucky not to have been renamed when he was sealed into a spirit tablet. That, of course, was only because his heir had a good relationship with Devi-chan's heir.

"R... Rogy!"

Both the heir and the former pirate king exclaimed together in unison, voices barely above a whisper. Aswa still looked bewildered, but Roche Roger—now Rogy—seemed so disheartened by his new name that he was nearly reduced to a faintly glowing prison ornament.

"What's going on here? Where did the spirit tablet come from? And how did Roche Roger turn into Rogy?"

Aswa asked, completely confused. He looked from the spirit tablet in his hand back to Chang Long again and again, as if still unable to make sense of what was happening—just like Captain Hicks, who also could not piece together the events before him. The only thing he knew for sure was that he was now surrounded by top-tier individuals with unpredictable oddities and spirits in their possession—spirits that seemed to know each other from when they were still alive.

"I have an occupation related to spirits. After an incident that nearly caused me to lose a spirit I possessed (referring to when Fluffy Head-chan's puppet body was damaged), I started splitting my spirit tablet and demon puppet into my cloak's special storage slot."

Chang Long explained in a hoarse voice. Aswa and Captain Hicks both widened their eyes in shock, having just met a player with a spirit-related occupation for the first time.

"Don't act so modest—you're the Reaper King, aren't you!"

Rogy, having somewhat come to terms with his new name, spoke in a ghostly whisper. At the sound of his words, every pair of eyes turned to Chang Long in astonishment. No one had expected a player could reach such a rare occupation. Even more unbelievable—it was a solo female player with no guild affiliation.

As everyone knew, players in guilds had friends to help—gathering information, assisting with quests, and even leveling up. And yet, despite that, no guild-affiliated player had ever been reported to have obtained the game's rarest occupation.

"Th-the Reaper King… the one who reigns over the dead, master of all spirits… is that really you?"

Aswa asked, his face pale and drenched in sweat—no different from Captain Hicks, who sat beside him.

"And knowing all that, you still dared to act cheeky with her? Rogy~ Pfft! That's hilarious. As they say, he who laughs last laughs loudest, Rogy-chan. Hahaha!"

Devi-chan tried to sound stern but ended up bursting out laughing when he uttered Roche Roger's new name.

"Tch! This isn't your territory anyway."

Rogy turned his face away indifferently and drifted out of sight. At the very least, he now knew whom not to mess with when existing as a disembodied spirit like this. He figured Devi-chan must have felt the same way at first—but since Chang Long was his own heir, Devi-chan could accept it without too much trouble.

Aswa looked at Chang Long with a different gaze than before. Previously, he had thought of her as a top-tier player with fearsome attack skills—skills capable of ending him in an instant, despite his high base level among the top ranks in the game. But now he realized there was more to her than that.

He fell for her because Chang Long was unlike any other woman he had ever met. She was mysterious, intriguing, cold yet not fake, and even stored strange things like spirit tablets and demon puppets in her cloak's special inventory slot instead of the usual necessities like crystals.

This new discovery about Chang Long made Aswa feel something beyond love. Even though he did not want to admit it, Aswa could not deny that he was afraid of her. He was not afraid because she was the Reaper King, or because of her deadly skills that could take his life if he was not careful, nor was he shaken by her cold indifference. What Aswa feared was Chang Long's sternness and decisiveness—traits that seemed to make everyone else here too afraid to oppose her.

And it seemed like she loved her spirit companions dearly. Otherwise, Roche Roger would not have ended up as Rogy just for laughing at Devi-chan's name—the spirit she possessed—and angering and embarrassing him. Aswa could tell that Chang Long was stubborn and headstrong. Though she usually appeared low-key and unassuming, once angered, there was likely no stopping her until she let it all out and cooled down on her own.

"What are you staring at? Got a problem or something?"

Chang Long asked, when she noticed Aswa had been staring at her for quite some time, enough to start irritating her.

"N... no, not at all. I was just deep in thought. If I made you shy, I apologize."

Aswa replied, trying to put on a brave face. But with Chang Long, it felt more like he had to steel himself against a female Reaper King, who was now shooting a mild glare his way. Despite being daunted by the idea of pursuing someone as fearsome as Chang Long in so many ways, he had made up his mind—he would win her heart, even if it meant being zapped to death by black lightning again.

Just then, Brownie came staggering back to them, drenched in sweat. He dragged along the water bottle and a small triangular silver-white dagger. Brownie used his tiny feet to nudge the dagger toward Siegfried, discarding any sense of manners his mother had once tried to teach him. Then he dropped the bottle of black rose tea onto his master's lap and collapsed.

It seemed that when he kicked the dagger over to the young man, he had more strength left than expected, causing the dagger to roll and stop in front of Aswa. He picked it up and examined it with interest, just as the real owner approached to retrieve it. Aswa handed the dagger to Siegfried, who took it and leaned in to whisper softly in his ear.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Just so you know—I will never give up!"

His voice was calm and pleasant but carried an undertone of challenge that made Aswa's eyes widen in shock. Siegfried gave him a nobleman's smile, then walked away toward Chang Long's voice calling him.

"Sacrificial ritual?"

Chang Long repeated the words in shock after hearing what Brownie had told her. While searching for Chang Long's backpack, Brownie had come across Fluffy Head-chan and Hisa-chan, who were imprisoned outside not far from Chang Long's cell. The loud ruckus had drawn Brownie's attention.

He found Fluffy Head-chan locked up with goat-like creatures, which had all huddled in fear at the far end of the cage. Hisa-chan stayed close, trying to comfort and chat with him to calm him down. But it did not seem to help much, as Fluffy Head-chan was still furious that his new puppet body—now the vessel for his spirit—had a deep hole about three millimeters from being hit by a poison-tipped dart fired by the native tribespeople.

It seemed that Fluffy Head-chan could understand the Incan language. He told Brownie about what the guards had been discussing. According to him, tonight there would be a sacrificial ritual involving many humans and animals, to ask their gods for blessings so that their crops would grow abundantly, free from drought and free from the disturbance of pest insects.

"So, the tribe captured us to use in a sacrificial ritual, huh?"

Chang Long nodded in understanding at what Brownie had just explained.

"That's right, Master. They said the ritual would take place tonight on the sacred temple."

Brownie replied.

"So we're just supposed to wait here until they come to take us to the slaughter?"

Captain Hicks asked, sounding unsure, because it seemed like no one else was the least bit alarmed about any of this. It made the young man worry that perhaps their expedition to Ameris Island might be coming to an abrupt end here and now.

"Then let's just wait until tonight. By that time, my strength should be fully recovered. You all be ready too."

With that, Chang Long lay down again to rest, ignoring the three young men who were left gaping, clearly desperate to ask her about the plan to escape the sacrificial ritual. Devi-chan, who knew Chang Long better than anyone, shook his head and spoke with a resigned tone:

"Just accept it. Someone like her never has a plan in her head. All you need to do is be ready to follow her."

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