Adventure World Online (AWO)

While Chang Long and Siegfried were focused on Lycanth in his human form, Aswa was struggling to pry off the claws of the Bird Sage, who was completely unconscious, from his shoulder with great difficulty.

"Arghh. Wake up, you old bird. What kind of talent is that—being able to cling to someone's shoulder even while unconscious, huh? Wake up right now. Hey, can you hear meee!"

Aswa held his breath and finally managed to remove the Bird Sage's claws from his own shoulder. The young man slapped left and right with much gusto, hoping to jolt the Bird Sage back to consciousness so he could take responsibility for his actions.

SMACK!

"Ow!"

The Bird Sage jolted awake from Aswa's yelling—only to be knocked unconscious again by the force of the slap, leaving his new master, Aswa, dumbfounded. His hand was still frozen in the air, poised to deliver another smack.

"Hey. Wake up, you crazy old bird!"

Aswa switched from slapping to shaking, hoping this method would not knock the Bird Sage out again. Chang Long and Siegfried watched his antics for a moment before deciding it was best to ignore him. The two of them sat down on the cloud floor and began scattering seeds for the chickens once more.

Siegfried had not expected that Aswa's ridiculous behavior would actually give him more alone time with Chang Long—just the two of them, sitting face to face, feeding chickens together. Even though it was not romantic like a couple in love, it was still a nice moment they could share. They got to talk and learn more about each other. Strangely, it felt like they could understand each other without even saying much. She smiled, looked relaxed, and chatted with him casually. It made the young man realize—she felt at ease being with him.

"What will you do next, after this?"

Siegfried asked. Chang Long thought for a moment before answering.

"I'm going back to Cuzca City. I'm going to build a city of my own."

"But Chang Long, you don't have a guild or even an army. Will you really be okay? Maybe we could help."

Siegfried was surprised by Chang Long's answer. Even though he knew the girl was incredibly lucky when it came to playing the game, some situations could not be handled by luck alone—especially fighting over special territory with AIs skilled in battle and with high base stats. Besides luck, a strong army would also be essential to help push through.

"No need. Aren't you guys busy building your own city too? And it would take time just to travel here. Besides, I think I can find an army of my own."

Chang Long replied with a confident smile. Although he wondered where she could possibly get such an army, Siegfried did not ask. He knew that if Chang Long said she could do it, then she really could.

"Then why did you choose that place? Sure, it's near the coast, but the access route is pretty difficult."

Siegfried knew Chang Long intended to take over the special territory near Cuzca City, which they had discovered together, but he did not know why she chose that spot. Maybe it was just because she had already found it and did not want the hassle of looking elsewhere.

"That place has a lot of advantages. It's close to my army, and it has vast forested areas. It's perfect for building a city that connects to the Land of the Dead—and for planting the Dark Forest."

Chang Long's answer left the young man stunned again. He knew she had the Reaper King occupation, ruling the Land of the Dead, but he did not realize she could build a city to connect to that realm. And now she also intended to plant a Dark Forest—whatever that was and for whatever purpose, he had no idea.

"D... Dark Forest?"

The young man echoed, puzzled.

"Oh, right. You know I'm now considered part of the Tribe of Darkness. In the Heavenly Avian Temple, when we got separated, I ran into members of the Tribe of Darkness who were hiding there. They asked me to plant the Dark Forest as the first step to reviving their tribe. Oh, and guess what? The Tribe of Darkness and the Elves used to be the same race."

Chang Long began to tell Siegfried the story without the slightest doubt. She knew she could trust the young man. Whether she told him secrets or not, he would never sell out her story to anyone.

"We used to be the same race? That's unbelievable. As far as I know, there's no trace or record about the Tribe of Darkness in the Elf cities at all."

Siegfried remarked with excitement. Perhaps the elves had hidden those records away somewhere, like a secret they wanted to bury.

"That's true. When I was in both Elf cities, I didn't see anything—no paintings, no carvings, not even a mention. Maybe back then we just didn't pay attention to it."

Chang Long agreed.

The two continued chatting for a long while, because Aswa was still busy trying to wake the Bird Sage back to consciousness—surrounded by the help of the armored bantams and the archer turkeys. Although the young man would have much preferred to be the one sitting and chatting sweetly with Chang Long, that seemed almost impossible with a massive third wheel like Lycanth constantly obstructing, keeping Aswa out of his master's way.

Eventually, Aswa did manage to wake the Bird Sage, but it sulked and refused to speak to him, causing him considerable frustration. The whole group began their descent from the Heavenly Avian Temple, with Chang Long needing to seal her pets that had been playing freely, fearing they might get into danger during the descent, especially upon reaching the ground below. And just as she had feared, even before they reached the ground, the King of Reptile was already waiting to leap up and chomp them midair.

"Waaahh. What is thaaaat thing? It's enormous. Eeeek. Look at those gigantic fangs—it could swallow me and you both whole!"

The Bird Sage shrieked in another panic attack upon seeing the King of Reptile—the beast guarding the way up to the Heavenly Avian Temple. The Bird Sage's screaming did a fine job of attracting the King of Reptile's attention, as it went after Aswa alone, letting everyone else reach the ground safely.

The three who landed safely looked up more than ten meters into the air, watching Aswa and the Bird Sage floating around on a slab of rock, dodging the King of Reptile's attacks. The King of Reptile seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this game of midair chase, especially with the Bird Sage's non-stop wailing as the soundtrack, making the whole thing even more entertaining for the onlookers.

"Now that I think about it… why is the Bird Sage even coming down with Aswa?"

Chang Long asked, confused. As far as she knew, the two of them hated each other with a passion. It made no sense for the Bird Sage to willingly tag along with the young man.

"It's one of the craziest things I've ever seen. That guy tried to prank the Bird Sage and accidentally ended up making him his pet. Neither of them agreed to it, and now they're stuck together for life with no way to separate."

Siegfried explained to Chang Long, amidst the anguished cries of Aswa and the Bird Sage as they narrowly escaped the giant fangs of the King of Reptile—yet again, for who knows how many times now. Lycanth snorted a laugh in irritation and suggested to Chang Long and Siegfried that they move on, without bothering to wait for that occasionally unlucky young man named Aswa.

"Aren't we going to help him at all? If he's still stuck on that slab of rock, he can't even move his feet. At the very least, we should help him get down from there."

Siegfried asked. Chang Long nodded in agreement. Lycanth rolled his eyes and spoke in a firmer tone:

"Soft-hearted with your rival like this, no wonder your love life is going nowhere."

With that, he walked off to draw King of Reptile's attention away from Aswa, leaving his master and Chang Long stunned.

"W... Wow, such sharp tongue."

Siegfried muttered as he watched Lycanth walk away, while Chang Long could not help but let out a soft laugh. Lycanth spoke bluntly, never holding back for anyone—not even his own master. Perhaps it was a lingering trait from when he was once a king, before the curse.

In human form, Lycanth let out a loud roar, grabbing the attention of King of Reptile away from Aswa. It worked perfectly. King of Reptile turned to face Lycanth with menace, growling deep in its throat, eyes locked fiercely on the werewolf king. Then it charged to attack. Lycanth easily dodged with a backward somersault, avoiding the razor-sharp fangs of King of Reptile.

Aswa and the Bird Sage landed safely on the ground and rushed to rejoin Chang Long. The four of them watched Lycanth's fight—despite being thirty levels lower, he was still agile enough to dodge constantly, greatly frustrating King of Reptile. Eventually, when the beast could no longer stand biting at air, it let out a thunderous roar, and its large yellow eyes turned blood-red, glowing with murderous rage.

"We're screwed."

Chang Long exclaimed.

"This is bad. Let's get out of here."

Aswa's face paled just as much. The three of them immediately began to run when they saw Lycanth now charging at King of Reptile in its berserk state—something no one wanted to deal with, not even top-tier fighters like Siegfried or Aswa. Normally, hunting a beast king of this level required a team. While some players might be capable of solo-killing a beast king, the risks often outweighed the rewards—and most ended up dead long before tasting victory.

Chang Long searched her bag for a Teleportation Scroll. She planned to use it to return to the save point in Cuzca City. But the scroll was not glowing yet, which meant she had not escaped the Beast King's territory. Siegfried and Aswa also pulled out their scrolls, ready to activate them the moment they left the danger zone.

WHACK

"Ah."

Chang Long, too focused on her scroll, was struck by King of Reptile's tail, sending her body flying through the air. She crashed into a large tree, coughing up blood. The scroll slipped from her hand and landed far away. The young woman tried to get up with great difficulty. The two young men rushed to help, but King of Reptile, now in a berserk rage, blocked their path.

It used a summoning skill to call five minions—each one identical to King of Reptile, except noticeably smaller in size. The summoned minions swarmed Siegfried, Lycanth, and Aswa, keeping them completely occupied, unable to break away and help the unlucky girl, Chang Long.

King of Reptile marched slowly toward Chang Long. It bared its fangs in a sneering grin as it approached the girl it thought helpless. Chang Long looked at the nearing beast, then at the Teleportation Scroll a few meters away. It glowed faintly, signaling that the scroll could now be used in that area. She hesitated. If she ran to grab it, King of Reptile would reach her just in time. But if she stayed still, she had no hope of surviving either.

"Hisa-chan, Spirit Possession."

Chang Long called upon the spirit of the young samurai to possess her body. King of Reptile flinched, stunned by the sudden wave of chilling energy emanating from her. That gave Chang Long her chance. She used Mystic Gust skill to lunge toward the scroll over two meters away. King of Reptile snapped out of its shock and lunged after her, jaws wide open, closing in fast. Chang Long knew there was no way she could outrun those fangs—so she drew the Sovereign Sword with one hand while the other reached the scroll just in time.

STAB.

The Sovereign Sword pierced straight into the uvula of King of Reptile—dead on target. The owner of the blade and the two young men who turned to witness the moment were equally stunned. Chang Long quickly pulled the blade from King of Reptile's mouth just as the beast began to thrash and howl in pain.

"Teleport."

The moment Chang Long spoke, her body began to fade into white light and disappear. The two young men, seeing this, immediately dashed to where she had last stood, gripping their own Teleportation Scrolls tightly in hand.

"Lycanth."

Siegfried shouted to call his pet, who was still engaged in battle, to follow him. Meanwhile, Aswa glanced at his first pet on his shoulder, realizing that he had no intention of going anywhere—his claws dug into his shoulder so tightly, he looked as if he had become a strange-shaped tumor that could scream and shout.

"You really are useless, you old bird."

Aswa grumbled, running frantically behind Siegfried.

"What did you say? My usefulness lies not in all-out brawling, you fool"

The Bird Sage snapped back, voice sharp and fast.

"I don't care. Now that you're the underling of Lord Aswa here, you're going to have to learn how to fight. Once we're back at the guild, I'll train you hard—just watch."

Aswa spoke coldly, making the Bird Sage so stunned he went speechless. Once revered for his vast knowledge of all things under heaven, respected by many in his youth—he never imagined he would end up in such a sorry state in his old age.

On the other side, Siegfried had managed to evade King of Reptile with Lycanth's help. The young man unfolded a Teleportation Scroll and activated it. Both his and Lycanth's bodies vanished from sight. Now only Aswa and the Bird Sage remained—surrounded by King of Reptile and its minions. The two of them turned pale in shock, having been too busy arguing and thus failed to keep up with Siegfried in time.

"Tch. Didn't even wait, that jerk."

Aswa exclaimed in frustration. The young man used his speed to leap out of the encirclement, losing a corner of his cloak to King of Reptile's jaws in the process. He came to a stop just outside the Beast King's territory and immediately pulled out his Teleportation Scroll.

"Telepor—WHOA!"