Adventure World Online (AWO)

"Seriously... where did he go? It's been ages since he said he was going out on a quest. Ugh!"

Peach Blossom sat in the living room of the Pendragon Guild's headquarters. She had logged in at the same time as her brother and had shared the most exciting story with her guildmates. Even though they had already expected it, they could not help but feel thrilled upon hearing the truth from Peach Blossom—especially the duo O-Can. They were especially excited to learn that Chang Long was in fact Chang, or Miss Chayarin Rattanaruangrit, who had recently become major news for being kidnapped by someone she knew, as part of a ransom plot.

Even more astonishing—she was the only daughter of the young billionaire Phichaya Rattanaruangrit, owner of the Infinity Group conglomerate. On top of that, Peach Blossom and Siegfried were children of the British ambassador to Thailand.

"Guess he's probably with Chang Long. But still, hard to believe the culprit was someone she actually knew."

Oliang said, looking quite worried about Chang Long.

"Yeah, it must've been a real betrayal."

Lidded Wet Trash Can agreed and felt just as angry on Chang Long's behalf. He even felt like tracking down whoever orchestrated the kidnapping and beating them senseless on the spot to avenge her.

"Peach Blossom, you still haven't succeeded in training your kitty, huh? Heh heh heh—look at you, all scratched up on your hands and face from trying to hold it."

Draco nearly burst out laughing after having worn a serious expression like everyone else. But the moment he saw Peach Blossom grappling with her pet in a fierce tug-of-war, he could not help but crack up.

"Yeah. This thing is unbelievably stubborn. No matter how much I train it, it still refuses to be tamed. But if I let it loose... look. It follows me just fine. I just don't know why it won't let me touch it."

Peach Blossom grumbled in frustration as she let Hachi down onto the floor and stood up. It followed her step by step, though always keeping a meter of distance.

"Heh. Your pet is seriously funny. But hey—was the person who kidnapped Chang Long really one of the heirs of the Seven Pirate Kings, Peach Blossom?"

Rafael asked with great interest, just like everyone else. Even though they had already heard it from the girl once, it was still hard to believe.

"It's true. Sieg told me himself. Don't you believe me? I bet the system will make an announcement about this real soon."

Peach Blossom replied, trying to call her pet over again. But it did not work. Not only did it refuse to approach her, but it even lowered its head and growled at her.

"Huh? Why would the system make an announcement about master's kidnapping? That's personal information, isn't it?"

Kimhant asked in confusion. Peach Blossom rolled her eyes and kindly enlightened him.

"Listen here, Kim. That guy's gonna be taking a long vacation in prison. You think he's gonna be out in time for the Pirate King Heir selection or whatever? Since he can't participate in the game's mandatory event, he'll have to be disqualified so someone else who can participate gets to take his spot—makes sense, doesn't it!"

"Oh yeah, that's true. Guess the players in the game are gonna get all riled up again. Wonder which dark horse will end up claiming the final Pirate King heir slot."

Destiny agreed. He honestly did not want to duel Chang Long's group in the heir showdown, but the Pirate King's treasure was way too tempting to ignore.

"Attention all players: Due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the heirs of the Pirate King has relinquished their claim to the title. As a result, one heir slot is now vacant. The Pirate King's Secret Tomb, its map, and the key required to access the tomb have reverted to their original state prior to discovery, and may be adjusted accordingly. Players may begin seeking clues to the map for the Pirate King's Secret Tomb at the docks of every city in the game."

The system announcement rang out loud and clear for all players in the game to hear. As Destiny, the Immortal Guild leader, had predicted, within less than ten minutes of the announcement, the game's public communication channel had completely crashed. Players eager for both the treasure and the title of Pirate King's heir flooded the system docks of every city, crowding the areas as they scrambled to hunt for clues—many of them already knew the old drunk who liked to sneak around the docks was the key.

"See? Didn't even finish my sentence before it happened. So, are you guys going to go treasure hunting or what? The city's already more than 60% complete. I don't think there should be any problem now."

Peach Blossom turned to ask the older guys in the guild, who seemed quite interested in the Pirate King's secret tomb.

"Nah. With Siegfried not around, it wouldn't be a good idea for us to go. Our city is still pretty fragile. Good thing the walls and city gate are finished, but even so, we still have to stay behind to take care of things. After all, Heaven City is no small matter."

Rafael replied. Though he was interested in exploring the Pirate King's secret tomb, he prioritized building the city—a city they had poured their hearts and efforts into, a city they governed and made the rules for themselves.

"That's true. Besides, none of us probably wants to end up as enemies with Siegfried and Chang Long on the day of the Pirate King Heir showdown, right?"

Draco grinned, and it seemed like his words hit a nerve with quite a few people. They all responded with awkward smiles and nodded in agreement. Who would want to become enemies with the fierce and terrifying Chang Long!

…..

Chang Long walked straight to the Spirit Shop without waiting for Devi-chan to say anything. She was just as curious. Ever since she had taken on a spirit-related occupation, she had never come across a shop like this. All she had were secondhand stories from Elder In and Elder An. Strangely enough, in all the cities across the three main islands—or even the starting island—there had not been the slightest sign of a spirit shop until now. This was the first time, and Chang Long had countless questions she wanted answered.

"Hello."

Chang Long greeted as soon as she stood in front of the shop. The shopkeeper was a young woman dressed in a pullover cotton robe, with pale skin and a lifeless, dull demeanor.

"Greetings."

The shopkeeper returned the greeting. The Spirit Shop was a tiny wooden shack, so cramped that the shopkeeper sitting inside alone was enough to fill the space. That only made Chang Long even more curious as to whether this spirit shop had anything beyond its ragged shopkeeper.

"Um... what do you sell here?"

Chang Long asked out of curiosity, while trying to peek behind the shop to see if anything was on display.

"Depends on what you want."

The shopkeeper replied without much interest.

"But... from what I can see, there's nothing here at all."

Chang Long frowned as she asked. The shopkeeper rolled her eyes in frustration, as if talking to a child who did not understand a thing.

"Alright. Read the sign properly, kid. This is a Spirit Shop. Only spirits can buy anything here."

The shopkeeper answered, pointing up at the store's name sign. Before she finished speaking, a spirit materialized and placed money on the shop's rickety wooden counter—it was a pristine gold coin—and said:

"I need three large boxed meals for a little party with my friends."

The spirit placed the order. The shopkeeper nodded. She stood from her cramped seat, and suddenly the wooden wall behind the shop opened up, revealing a spacious room filled with all kinds of goods one could possibly imagine.

Chang Long and the friends who had just arrived stared wide-eyed, stunned by what they saw. They never expected such a tiny wooden shack to hold such an enormous storeroom. The shopkeeper walked into that storeroom and busily searched for the items the spirit had ordered. Not long after, she came out with the three large boxed meals, just as requested.

"Whoa, that gold coin—I've never seen one before. Huh..."

Chang Long reached out curiously to touch the gold coin resting on the wooden counter. Since she had started playing the game, she had never seen a gold coin like that before. But when she reached out to touch it, her hand passed right through it—as though it had never really been there at all. The same thing happened with the large boxed meals placed beside the coin. Startled, Chang Long accidentally brushed her arm against them, but her arm simply phased through them too.

"What's with that? Those things clearly look tangible. Why did her hand pass right through them like that?"

Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, as well as Rogy and Heaven appeared, and asked in stunned disbelief.

"Oh, you lot—if you want to buy anything in my shop, you must use gold coins like this one. I don't accept any other kind of coin, absolutely not."

The shopkeeper took the gold coin, while the spirit picked up the boxed meals and floated away.

"So where are we supposed to get that gold coin then?"

Devi-chan asked curiously, even though he did not yet see the need to buy boxed meals from a spirit shop. But considering how massive the storeroom inside was, maybe there was something in there that might be useful to him after all.

"That's an offering. If they have living relatives or descendants, they'll get offerings. But if it's a wandering spirit, they'll have to scramble for it whenever someone burns offerings near a shrine—or something like that, you know."

The shopkeeper explained.

"So, the Spirit Shop only sells to spirits? Then what Elder In and Elder An told me about gear for people with spirit-related occupations—that wasn't true?"

Chang Long asked in confusion, starting to wonder if the two elders had lost their minds enough to tell her something completely false.

"Oh no, that part's true. But you have to come during the daytime. Nighttime is spirit time. Daytime is human time. Hee hee hee."

The shopkeeper explained, letting out a shrill laugh that gave Chang Long the chills.

"I... is that so? Then one more question: why are Spirit Shops so hard to find? As far as I know, I haven't seen a single one on any of the other islands."

Chang Long asked further, clearly curious. This time, the guys who had come with her all perked up and listened closely—since they were curious too. Maybe it would even give them an edge when it came to building their own cities.

"Ownership rights. No one on those islands has been granted the right to establish a Spirit Shop. But if you all want one on those islands, you'll have to do a quest. Though it's not a quest you get from me."

The shopkeeper answered Chang Long's question and quickly clarified that the quest was not something issued by herself when she saw the gleam in the eyes of Chang Long and the guys behind her.

"Huh? Then..."

"It's almost morning. I'm closing the shop. If you're that curious, ask the daytime shopkeeper."

With that, the shopkeeper pulled down the curtain to close the storefront, leaving behind the new customers—still clueless and bewildered—without a care.

"So then... is that shopkeeper a person or a ghost? She could handle stuff that we can't even touch."

Aswa was still baffled. Everyone just shrugged and started walking back into the city, feeling the fatigue from having fought through the whole night.

The Inca people had prepared fine accommodations for Chang Long's group, whom they regarded as important guests. There was even a special room reserved for Fluffy Head-chan, who was attended to at all times by two pure Incan maidens—something that stirred Devi-chan's jealousy immensely. Everyone went their separate ways to rest, even though they did not fully trust the Incas just yet. Not long ago, after all, they had nearly been sacrificed. But exhaustion had hit them hard, and they could not resist the lure of the soft beds prepared for them, deciding to risk it and lie down for some rest.

Chang Long was still troubled by the gold coin that a spirit had used to buy items at the Spirit Shop. But she was too tired to think of an answer or explore the city any further. However, she had spirits in her possession who never grew weary and never slept—perfect for putting to use. Even though they could not stray more than fifty meters from Chang Long.

"If that lion would actually help out, that is."

Devi-chan muttered irritably.

"Why not go ask him? After all, Fluffy Head-chan is the only spirit not restricted by the 50-meter distance rule—since his spirit resides inside a spirit vessel, which is that demon puppet, after all."

Hisa-chan said as the thought occurred to him. The two ghosts then floated off to find Fluffy Head-chan, leaving Chang Long to rest by herself.

The next morning, still curious, Chang Long made her way back to the Spirit Shop, hoping that this time she would get some real answers from the daytime shopkeeper. The daytime seller was not much different in appearance from the nighttime one, but her expression was noticeably more welcoming. Chang Long did not hesitate to ask about all the things she had been wondering, not even stopping to question why her companion spirits were not hovering nearby like they usually did.

"Hello."

Chang Long greeted. The daytime shopkeeper looked up in surprise but then broke into a wide, welcoming smile.

"Greetings! You look so unfamiliar. You don't seem like someone from around here."

The daytime shopkeeper replied in a friendly tone.

"Ah! I'm not from around here. But I have a question—about gold coins and items that spirit users can buy."

Chang Long went straight to the point. She did not know if the daytime shopkeeper would act as unpredictable as the night shift one had. If she did not hurry and ask her questions, she might get the door shut in her face again.

"Hahaha! You've come to the right place. You know, the Spirit Shop has just about anything you could think of related to spirits. It's kind of like a pet supply shop, really. But most of the time, it's spirits who use the gold coins you mentioned, and they come here to buy what they need themselves. But… if I'm not mistaken, you must be a spirit user, aren't you? Oh! Your rank is quite high. Believe me, once you've connected both realms, there won't be a single spirit in this world who won't respect you."

The daytime shopkeeper answered brightly, even though she was already starting to drift off-topic from the key things Chang Long actually wanted to know.

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