Adventure World Online (AWO)

In the peaceful city of Cuzca, Chang Long and Siegfried had barely sat down to rest when trouble came crashing in—Aswa and the Bird Sage returned, along with one of King of Reptile's minions latched onto the hem of the young man's shirt. Once they reached the ground and their bodies could move again, it shook its massive head with such force that the young man's shirt tore apart. Then it reared back and roared in rage, to the utter shock of the townsfolk.

"Why you—. I thought I was faster than you. You still managed to bite my shirt and follow? I've got to get my revenge—and show Chang Long just how cool I am."

Aswa turned to face the Reptile. Meanwhile, dozens of Incan warriors surrounded both the Reptile and Aswa. But the ones behind Aswa looked utterly stunned. Some began whispering, some even laughed—despite how dire the current situation seemed.

Chang Long and Siegfried pushed their way through the crowd to see what was going on, wondering why the Incan warriors looked more amused than alarmed by the beast's intrusion into the heart of the city.

"What are they laughing at? Oh…"

Chang Long looked around at one Incan warrior after another in confusion—but when her eyes finally landed on the source of it all, she was left stunned. Beside her, Siegfried looked no less shocked. As for Lycanth, he uttered only one word, softly:

"Vulgar."

"U-uh… Aswa, maybe you should change your clothes first? This doesn't look very appropriate."

Siegfried offered a polite hint, hoping the fired-up young man would realize it on his own.

But…

"A torn shirt like this doesn't affect my fighting ability one bit. Besides, this Pirate King Set repairs itself—you know that. No matter what happens, nothing's going to keep me from this battle!"

Aswa replied with conviction. But his serious expression and determined tone did not match his current state in the slightest, prompting Siegfried to roll his eyes in exasperation. As for Chang Long—she had already burst into uncontrollable laughter.

The young man refused to listen to any further advice. There was only one thing to do now—defeat the Reptile and restore his dignity. Aswa leapt high into the air, swinging the Infinity Whip, his signature weapon, forward.

The sound of the whip slicing through the air was menacing. What was more alarming was how much his qinggong skill must have improved—there was no other reason he would feel such a cold breeze below like this.

Aswa nodded in satisfaction, unaware of the pained expressions of the onlookers below who struggled to hold back their laughter. The Infinity Whip transformed into a massive sword, which he brought down onto the Reptile's back with a solid blow. It let out a resounding howl of pain and staggered sideways. Below, the Incan warriors struck relentlessly with their weapons, hoping to bring the beast down before it rampaged through the city.

The Reptile's cries of pain echoed so loud they sent shivers through the townspeople. The Incan warriors rallied reinforcements, determined to eliminate the intruder as quickly as possible. Aswa, meanwhile, did not let up his display of heroism. The young man charged straight ahead, spinning the greatsword at incredible speed. In the final moment before the blade struck the Reptile's throat, he activated a skill.

A small Chinese dragon swooped in, coiling itself around the Reptile's neck before sinking its fangs in and tearing viciously, blood spraying everywhere. The Reptile staggered and fell. Though weakened, it was not done yet. The Incan warriors took over where Aswa left off, while he landed gently on the ground in a pose as dashing as could be.

But what the young man did not understand was—why, after he had just looked so cool—were Chang Long and her ghosts laughing until tears streamed down their faces? When he turned to look at Rogy, his own the spirit of the former Pirate King, he found Rogy holding his head in his hands, as if unable to bear the sight. And when he looked over at the Bird Sage, standing not far from Rogy, he saw the bird grinning smugly at him. But when it noticed Aswa looking, he gestured to him to clue him in as to why everyone else was acting so strangely—despite him being so incredibly cool just now.

"WHOA!!"

The young man cried out in shock when he walked over to check his reflection in the water. He had just realized that what the Reptile had bitten off was not only the hem of his shirt—apparently, his pants had also been torn at the backside, revealing a pair of panda-print boxers smiling sweetly back at him. The young man clutched his forehead when he finally understood why Chang Long had laughed so uncontrollably earlier. Instead of showing off how cool he was, he had ended up flashing his underwear to her.

"Don't overthink it, my heir."

Rogy floated over to comfort him, having seen how gloomy Aswa looked—even though the townspeople were cheering joyfully for having successfully taken down the Reptile.

"R... Rogy, thank y..."

"Your image in her eyes was already long gone anyway."

Aswa froze mid-smile, having thought Rogy had come to offer comfort—only to be roasted instead. The young man turned away in sulky frustration, thinking no one could possibly understand how he felt. Just then, Chang Long walked up to him.

"Here."

Chang Long handed him a brightly colored cloth.

"What's this?"

Aswa asked awkwardly, reminded of the moment Chang Long saw his underwear during the fight, laughing uncontrollaby and rolling around multiple times.

"The townspeople asked me to give it to you as thanks—for making it easier to deal with that thing. They said it's to cover the torn part."

Chang Long tried to speak without laughing, which was clearly a challenge.

"Th... thank you very much."

Aswa blushed fiercely but accepted the cloth, tying it around his waist to cover the torn area—at least until his outfit repaired itself.

"Stil, I never thought you'd have the guts to do something like that. I laughed so hard, hee hee hee."

Chang Long could not resist teasing before walking away, leaving Aswa's smile froze once again.

That night, the townspeople held a celebration and hailed Aswa as a hero. Even though he was not the one who dealt the final blow to the Reptile, he had helped injure it so severely that it could be easily finished off.

After the night of celebration, Chang Long decided to log off before returning to plant the Dark Forest seeds. She logged back in an hour later. Aswa had already been called away due to major issues with city-building. Since no one could contact Siegfried, he stayed with her—and was very pleased that the obstacle named Aswa was finally gone.

"I want to follow that man."

Little Jade, who had returned to her dragon form from the bracelet worn by Chang Long, spoke up. The look in the little dragon's eyes toward Aswa was one of admiration. Though he seemed like a bit of a goof, he was clearly capable. Most importantly, all his skills seemed to be related to dragons. Chang Long was quite surprised that Little Jade was interested in Aswa—especially since the little dragon once insisted on serving only Wu Ming, the golden dragon beast god.

"What?"

Chang Long repeated, looking confused.

"That man—I want to follow him."

Little Jade answered in a serious tone. Chang Long knew she had no right to refuse, so she simply asked again for confirmation.

"Then the bond between us—your heartfelt apology, Little Jade. Do it, and I'll grant you forgiveness. That way, we'll have no lingering debts between us."

Chang Long replied. Little Jade nodded solemnly. From what she had experienced traveling with Chang Long, she knew that Chang Long was not a bad person at all. Though a bit headstrong, she was kind-hearted, compassionate, and possessed enough prestige to earn a dragon's cultivation as a reward.

"Lady Chang Long, I, Little Jade, servant of Wu Ming, have wronged your life. I have nothing with which to repay you except this heartfelt apology. Lady Chang Long, please accept my apology and forgive the grave error I have made."

Little Jade gave a formal apology to Chang Long with utmost respect, without the slightest sign of resistance. Chang Long smiled as she looked at Little Jade, who now seemed far more mature in thought than before, and then responded:

"I, Chang Long, accept the apology from Little Jade, servant of Wu Ming, and gladly forgive your grave wrongdoing—because I see your sincerity in your request for forgiveness."

"Player Chang Long has completed the Dragon's Cultivation quest. Recieving secret skill: Dragon Cultivation Level 1. Mana increased by 1,000 points."

As the system announcement ended, Little Jade soared off at high speed, following after Aswa, who had departed since early morning. Though Chang Long felt a bit of a pang seeing Little Jade leave, she was also glad she no longer had to deal with the drama of this hot-tempered little dragon.

After breakfast, Chang Long set out toward the northeast of the city, stopping to greet the midday vendor at the Spirit Shop, and then passed through the cliff pass down into the forest below—a vast area that covered almost the entire eastern region. Siegfried and Lycanth followed her.

Chang Long divided the Seeds of Darkness into fabric pouches and handed them out for everyone to scatter throughout the forest. She and her pets, along with Siegfried and Lycanth who had volunteered to help, all split up to scatter the seeds, agreeing to regroup at the forest edge, near the route back to Cuzca.

Planting the Seeds of Darkness was incredibly simple. Just toss them onto the ground and the entire process would begin automatically. One time, Chang Long threw some too high, but the seeds still managed to grow—even if they landed on branches or treetops. The process of scattering the seeds took longer than expected; they spent the entire day until the seeds were fully sown.

"The Dark Forest is being born. The process will take a total of 48 hours. Players within the radius should evacuate the area, as the birthing of the Dark Forest is potentially dangerous."

The system announcement echoed for all players to hear. The excitement of hearing the name Dark Forest made the public communication channel pack with people. Most players had never heard of the Dark Forest, except for those who had carefully studied the game's lore.

Chang Long, Siegfried, and the pets regrouped at the meeting point and set up a very late lunch picnic. Everyone took turns sharing which parts of the forest they had sown the Seeds of Darkness in, and what exciting things they had encountered. Just as they were having fun, a loud rumble echoed from within the forest. Dozens of massive black trees sprang up from the ground. They slowly sprouted branches and leaves. Giant creeping vines began devouring the old forest bit by bit, as if a horde of snakes were migrating.

"That's amazing!"

Chang Long exclaimed in awe.

"I wonder what it'll look like tomorrow. This is really exciting."

Siegfried agreed.

"I think it's going to look pretty bizarre, if every tree turns completely black."

Fluffy Head-chan spoke up. Most of his life before following Chang Long had been spent in endless golden grasslands. The only trees he often saw were acacias. Though he had entered forests many times, he still could not imagine what a forest made up entirely of black trees would look like. Even Kitsune and Flatear nodded in agreement.

"I think the same. I've never in my life seen a forest made up only of black trees."

Brownie said while happily chewing sunflower seeds.

"But I think it's exciting. I really hope tomorrow comes quickly."

Chang Long beamed, curious what the Dark Forest would look like and what kinds of creatures would live there—besides the Tribe of Darkness.

Two days passed quickly. The Dark Forest began counting down the time to its complete emergence. After spending time hunting beasts in the forest on the other side of Cuzca City, Chang Long was now returning to check on her own work. The Dark Forest looked like an ancient woodland filled with magic. The trees and every leaf were not uniformly black, but shaded in tones that blended smoothly, with some other hues mixed in that kept the forest from appearing too gloomy.

Chang Long stood staring at the fully formed Dark Forest in astonishment—not even her two spirits or Siegfried were exceptions. Fluffy Head-chan ran ahead of the rest of Chang Long's pets into the forest, as if racing joyfully. But they all came to a sudden stop when they saw some kind of movement slowly approaching from the forest.

"Well done. I'm truly impressed by your capabilities, Chang Long."

The Empress of the Tribe of Darkness stood before Chang Long, with the Emperor at her side, and not far behind were the two solemn-faced royal guards.

"Not long from now, the hidden members of the Tribe of Darkness scattered across various lands will return to rebuild our new kingdom. Creatures found only in the Dark Forest will slowly begin to be reborn. The prosperity of the past is about to return once more."

The Emperor spoke cheerfully. Both extended their hands to invite Chang Long into the forest—but then, something happened.

The moment Chang Long stepped inside the forest's boundary, Anya—the fairy girl who had been in a dormant state within her body—suddenly dropped to the ground. Anya's body emitted a faint black glow and appeared to be in great pain, still unconscious. Brownie ran over in concern and kept asking Chang Long what was happening to the girl he adored.

"Unbelievable—isn't this a Night Fairy?"

The Empress exclaimed in excitement.

"Looks like she's reached breeding a... I mean, the next stage of evolution..."

The Emperor quickly changed his words after receiving strange looks from Chang Long's group.

"Anya's going to evolve? But why does she look like she's in such pain?"

Chang Long asked, clearly both excited and worried at the same time.

"Have you heard of the Fairy Flower Fields? It's a place where fairies perform their rituals, surrounded by others of the same tribe who create a magic circle and chant in a unique language."

The Emperor explained.

"Then we'd have to bring Anya back to the Fairy Island, wouldn't we? But there are no other fairies from her tribe anymore—so how can Anya evolve?"

Chang Long asked, troubled. When she first met Anya on the volcanic island—what most players called Fairy Island—Anya had told her she was the last of her kind.

"Not necessarily. Each type of fairy has its own flower field. That volcanic island housed a variety of fairy species. If you look at the vast flower fields, you'll see that different kinds of fairies live in zones where the flowers differ. In the case of the Night Fairy, planting the Dark Forest means you've done the right thing."

The Empress replied with a warm smile, impressed by Chang Long's deep care and concern for the creatures under her protection.

"Eh!"

"Come, I'll take you to see the flower field of the Night Fairies."