Adventure World Online (AWO)

"Hey, my liege, where are you going!"

Devi-chan shouted in surprise.

"Going to play tag with the kitsune, of course. If you're coming, then hurry up."

Chang Long turned and flashed a toothy grin before flying off with a carefree air.

"Damn it, has she ever been upset about anything at all?"

Devi-chan muttered to Hisa-chan, resigned.

"I think maybe the time when she found out that her precious breadfruit in heavy syrup had all been snatched and eaten by someone else."

Hisa-chan joked.

"You're nuts, Hisa-chan. Though, that might actually be true..."

The two of them looked at each other and burst into loud laughter, so loud that Chang Long and the pets turned to look at them in confusion, wondering why these two normally stern-faced men were laughing so uproariously.

That night at midnight, Chang Long sat waiting on the throne, her eyes fixed on a wristwatch counting down to the momentous hour approaching. When the large, antique clock inside the Castle of Death struck twelve times, the image of Chang Long in full Reaper King regalia, sitting gracefully on the throne, appeared on the Mirror of Truth. The image was magnified, making it look as if the Reaper King was a towering and fearsome giant.

"Swear your loyalty to the Reaper King, sovereign ruler of the land of the dead. From this moment forward, only those who pledge themselves shall have the right to pass through the gate toward rebirth."

Kearick announced in a thunderous voice. His voice echoed through the area, chilling to the bone.

"So that's the Reaper King? She looks regal, sure, but she's just sitting there like a statue. How are we supposed to trust someone like that?"

A warrior spirit spoke up, his voice filled with doubt.

"Insolent wandering soul! How dare you question our liege, our sovereign king!"

Kearick roared, raising his personal weapon to execute the spirit on the spot. But then, the motionless figure of the Reaper King, still as a portrait, began to move.

"Stop..."

Everyone raised their eyes to the Mirror of Truth, which displayed the image of the Reaper King.

"All souls, listen. As the ruler of the land of the dead, I shall grant rebirth to those who pledge absolute loyalty without doubt. Any soul that harbors doubt or questions my power—step away and observe. But know this: the chance to be reborn does not come easily. If your heart is not free of doubt, even a pledge will be meaningless. You shall never be reborn, no matter if you swear your loyalty a hundred or a thousand times."

Chang Long's voice echoed through the mirror, layered as if many people spoke in unison. The voice was overwhelming and awe-inspiring. Just hearing it was enough to strike fear into the hearts of the already lifeless spirits.

"Pledge now, all you who have perished. Offer your undivided loyalty to me!"

The pledge was simple and short, but it affected each spirit differently. Those who were truly loyal had a winged skull symbol appear above their heads. Spirits with lingering doubt had nothing above their heads. The Judgment used a skill to pull the doubting souls out from among the loyal ones and sent them far away to the edge of a chasm. If they tried to return, they would be met with illusions created by The Judgment, scattering them in all directions.

"Soul Resurrection." Chang Long invoked the skill. Her image disappeared from the Mirror of Truth and was replaced by a dark portal, filled with shimmering silver particles like stardust. The loyal spirits were invited to step inside.

At first contact with the glittering silver mist, lost sensations began to return. Their once-transparent bodies slowly regained opacity, starting from the feet up to the head. Eventually, they collapsed in shock. Why had their once-light and floating forms now dropped to the ground? The chilling sensation of stone beneath them. The suffocating tightness in their chests. Something was pounding rapidly inside those chests.

"Breathe. Don't tell me you've been dead so long you've forgotten how to do it."

Cedric's voice sounded out, reminding all those who had just been resurrected. So this tightness in their chests was because they had been holding their breath all along. And that rapid pounding inside their chests was their hearts, now pumping warm blood throughout their bodies.

The light shining from the path ahead caused them to scramble to their feet and try to walk, with trembling legs, toward it—a desolate land currently being redeveloped. The sound of waves, the salty scent of seawater, the refreshing breeze, and the soft, ticklish sensation beneath their soles—here, in the land of the dead, the first wave of new citizens had arrived.

The warriors who had been resurrected were permitted to stay in the Castle of Death until their residences were completed. The Four Reaper Guardians continued their duties of searching for the spirits of warriors to replenish the army of the land of the dead. However, soul resurrection could only be performed once a week. This gave Chang Long enough free time to go train herself in order to raise her level.

"Hey Kearick, while I'm waiting for you guys to bring the next batch of souls back, I can go outside the land of the dead, right?"

Chang Long asked.

"Oh, of course, my liege. You always have the freedom to go wherever you wish. But I beg you—please don't leave like last time again."

Kearick replied with a serious expression. Cedric, Henrik, and Murik also paled at once, remembering that the departure of the previous Reaper King had brought on many troubles—for them and for the land of the dead.

"I won't go far, don't worry."

Chang Long answered with a smile, which in turn made the four guardians smile as well. They walked with her to the front of the Mirror of Truth, before parting ways to continue their search for the spirits of warriors to bring back to the land of the dead.

"My liege, and what about us?" The four resurrected warriors stepped up to Chang Long, half-bold and half-nervous. Even though being brought back to life made them need to start over, which was difficult—learning to walk, to grasp things, even wielding their own weapons as they once had, all of it now felt immensely difficult.

"Oh, right. But that's strange. Why are these four still so uncoordinated, unlike Devi-chan and Hisa-chan? Those two got the hang of walking and handling things in no time."

Chang Long could not help but wonder about the difference between the four warriors and Devi-chan and Hisa-chan.

"Maybe it's because of the difference in levels. Devi-chan and I are already over level one hundred. The four of you average somewhere in the sixties. That might be why it's harder for you to adjust to your physical bodies."

Hisa-chan explained.

"That's true. Well then, for now you guys stay here. Get used to your physical forms first, and when you're ready, we'll go out and gain experience together."

Chang Long smiled gently at the four warriors. The stiffness from speaking directly to the Reaper King melted away, replaced by bashful, crimson cheeks.

"Yes, my liege. We will get accustomed to our physical bodies as quickly as we can, so that we may have the chance to go fight alongside you and raise our levels to strengthen our army!"

The four warriors accepted the command energetically and walked off. Though they still staggered somewhat, their determination reassured Chang Long that her army of the dead would surely become very powerful.

"What are you smiling so proudly for, hmm? Those four are all higher level than you, you know. If you want to be a leader they'll pledge undying loyalty to, you'll have to become far stronger than all of them, many times over."

Chang Long glared at Devi-chan, who had the audacity to kill her mood so abruptly without any sense of timing. She had been just in the middle of feeling proud and emotional about the army of elite warriors about to be born—when Devi-chan had to go and blurt out a soul-crushing truth.

"Wh... what? Why are you looking at me like that? I'm just telling the truth."

Seeing things were taking a bad turn, Devi-chan stepped aside to hide behind Hisa-chan, though he still could not resist running his mouth.

"Hmph, I know that already!"

Chang Long said gruffly, then walked through the mirror.

…..

The island of Ameris had many places suitable for hunting and gaining experience, since not many players had arrived yet. Most were still clustered at the explorers' camp—AIs who had come to develop the island. But Chang Long knew she could not stray too far from the Mirror of Truth, so she searched for a beast hunting spot nearby. There was a newly formed forest called Dark Forest.

Inside the forest, it seemed that all the mysterious eggs had already hatched. What Chang Long saw now were only broken eggshells scattered across the ground. The forest itself also seemed to have changed significantly. Chang Long continued exploring, with all her pets accompanying her. This time, she wanted them to grow stronger as well.

Even though she had not intended to come this far, now she was the Reaper King—and heir to one of the Seven Pirate Kings, too. This position meant she would eventually have to participate in a competition sooner or later. If her abilities remained this weak, not only would she fail to defeat the heirs of the other Pirate Kings, she would also be mercilessly looked down on by other players—and would no doubt be scolded by Devi-chan until her ears fell off.

"This place is kind of interesting, master. But there hasn't been a single beast popping up, you know."

Fluffy Head-chan spoke after they had walked for a while, still not encountering any living creature. He kicked a rock in front of him in frustration.

Thump.

BZZZZZZZZZZZ

"Huh? What's that buzzing sound?"

"You idiot. How could you do that, Fluffy Head-chan!"

Chang Long cried out in panic, bolting away without a second thought.

"Come on, master, how was I supposed to know there was a wasp nest there?"

Fluffy Head-chan defended himself. Chang Long, Flatear, Kitsune, Brownie, and Fluffy Head-chan all scattered and ran in every direction. Fluffy Head-chan had kicked the rock right into a wasp nest, causing the swarm to burst out, angrily chasing down the intruders who dared attack their nest.

The system announced their name and level to Chang Long, but she was not paying attention in the slightest. The moment she saw the wasps fly out in a massive, dark swarm, she was already the first to make a run for it. When Kitsune and the others saw their master fleeing, they followed—but soon overtook her. Chang Long's mouth fell open as her own pets passed her without a second thought. Up ahead was a small river connected to a waterfall. The pets leapt into the water, not exactly happily, and shouted for Chang Long—who looked about to be overtaken by the swarm—as if cheering her on in a suspenseful race.

BOOMMM

Chang Long dove into the water just in time. Her body sank deep into the water that was as clear as glass. In the water, she saw many living creatures—fish of various colors, tiny transparent water nymph, and in the clumps of algae were beautifully colored shrimp and large-clawed crabs. She watched until she began to feel uncomfortable, and finally had to emerge to breathe above the water. But above the surface, the swarm of wasps was still waiting. Chang Long had not even gotten a full breath before she had to dive back underwater again, afraid she would be stung into a pincushion by the swarm.

'Wait a second, those wasps are actually pretty high-level. Each one is level fifteen. And there's a whole swarm of them, they must be worth a ton of experience.'

Chang Long thought to herself underwater with interest, while all the pets swam about miserably in the water.

'We'll use the pop-and-burn tactic. With this, the fish will be eating well for sure.' Without consulting anyone, Chang Long surfaced from the water, pulled out the Sovereign Sword, pointed it at the wasp swarm, and shouted loudly:

"Burn them, Kitsune." The loyal little fox obeyed without hesitation. He opened his mouth to unleash a giant fireball and incinerate the swarm in one go. But perhaps because he had been soaking in water too long, when he opened his mouth to breathe fire, nothing happened—except for a hiss and a wisp of smoke coming from his mouth. Master and pet looked at each other with pale faces. They had no choice but to turn and run as fast as they could.

"Why did that happen, Kitsune!"

Chang Long cried out in confusion as she sprinted with all her might to escape the relentless swarm of wasps chasing after them.

'Cough, I'm not sure, master. Maybe it's because I soaked in the water too long. Look, I'm even choking.'

Kitsune replied mentally.

"This is bad. If I have to slash them one by one with my sword, I'm never gonna make it. And they're already getting closer!"

Chang Long muttered in distress. Seeing the wasps closing in as she turned her head, she immediately ran harder than ever.

Eventually, the two reached a dead end at the edge of a cliff. Below was the sea, its waves crashing violently. If they fell, there was no way they would survive. Chang Long turned to look at Kitsune, who was desperately trying to breathe fire. He choked several times. Finally, the first puff of flame was spat out from his mouth—but the flame was small and quickly flickered out. It failed to intimidate the swarm enough to drive them away.

The two looked at each other with despair in their eyes, thinking that this time, they would not be able to escape death—and that it would likely be a painfully gruesome one. The wasps flew in with deadly intent, stingers protruding from their rears, ready to strike the intruders who had dared attack their nest.

"Master, we're here!"

Brownie's voice rang out from a distance. He was riding on Fluffy Head-chan's back, who was sprinting at full speed toward Chang Long and Kitsune. In one paw, Brownie held a tiny sword, ready to fight to the death. Following behind was Flatear, who knew full well he would probably be left full of holes by the end of this.

The unexpected arrival of Brownie's group diverted the swarm's attention. They hesitated and looked confused, as though unsure which group to attack. Then they split into two swarms, attacking both Chang Long's group and Brownie's group simultaneously.

"Waaah. They're coming, Fluffy Head-chan. What do we do!"

Brownie screamed at the top of his lungs, all his earlier bravado now gone without a trace.

"How should I know? You're the one who told me to rush over and help our master. And now you're chickening out on me, huh!"

Fluffy Head-chan shouted angrily, slamming on the brakes so hard he bent backward. Flatear, who was running behind, could not stop in time and crashed into Fluffy Head-chan, sending them both tumbling helplessly.

"Kitsune, hurry!"