Adventure World Online (AWO)

"In my days as king, whenever traveling into this part of the desert, there would always be a company of guards following—about a hundred strong—helping to keep the Sandmen away from the Sand King's radius. Along with four or five elite warriors in the company, their coordinated offensive and defensive attacks made it not so difficult to defeat the Sand King."

Siegfried was stunned by Lycanth's story. He could hardly believe that crossing this part of the desert would require an escort force a hundred strong just to get past the Sandman army.

"A... and what about you? What did you do?"

The young man asked curiously.

"Me? Well, I was the king. Why would I bother fighting and tiring myself out? Just one company of my soldiers could take down every beast in the desert."

Siegfried nearly toppled over at that answer, but he also knew that with Lycanth's level of skill, there was no way he would have just sat around as a pampered king. His combat abilities, finesse, skill, and raw strength were all top-notch—he was nothing like a king who merely indulged in luxury.

Seeing the look on Siegfried's face, Lycanth smirked slightly. His master did not look at things only on the surface but always analyzed everything in detail before making any conclusions. The only exception was when it came to matters of love—that was what could turn this usually composed man into someone completely different.

"Master, how's your arm? Can you keep fighting?"

Lycanth asked, noticing Siegfried's right arm was still dangling uselessly, unable to move.

"With a broken arm like this, it'd take two or three days to heal properly. But I've got a bone-mending pill that can fix it in just an hour. The problem is, in this state, there's no way I can dig it out and use it."

Siegfried replied, sounding helpless. So close to the source of information needed to track down the fifty wolves—Lycanth's offspring—and yet here he was, on the brink of death with the goal within arm's reach.

"In that case, you just sit back and rest. I and that ring of yours will take care of it."

With that, Lycanth posed as if he were summoning his power. But more than that, his human form began twisting and tearing—like a cocoon about to reveal a butterfly. The figure emerging from Lycanth's splitting body was that of a werewolf over two meters tall. In this form, Lycanth's strength and agility were magnified several times. He dashed at the Sand King, who was still focused on directing the Sandmen, claws outstretched—sharp and deadly.

The Sand King's body slid backward, deep claw marks now engraved across its torso. Though not deep enough for the second Sand Heart shard to fall out, Lycanth showed no disappointment. He kept up the attack, not giving the Sand King any chance to regain control.

Lycanth slashed at the Sand King's arm joints repeatedly. Though the creature managed to avoid the claws, it could not escape Lycanth's powerful kick. The Sand King's arm snapped and fell to the ground once again—along with a Sand Heart shard. It opened its mouth in a soundless scream of pain, ordering the Sandmen to block Lycanth's advance. Siegfried, in turn, commanded the Hoop Dragon Ring to attack those Sandmen.

The Sand King now looked furious. The Hoop Dragon Ring could destroy its minions in just one or two hits and showed no signs of tiring. And worse yet, the person who had suddenly turned into a beast was now assaulting it with such relentless ferocity that it had not been able to react properly for several rounds. After the second Sand Heart shard appeared on its left chest, the Sand King began using skills—summoning a sandstorm to attack Siegfried's group.

As the sandstorm formed, visibility dropped drastically. Siegfried had to pull up a cloth to cover his head and face to keep sand out of his eyes and nose. The Hoop Dragon's attacks weakened due to the storm, and Lycanth had vanished into the darkness at some point. As the Sand King felt triumphant, thinking the sandstorm alone was enough to stop Siegfried's party, it had no idea that danger was drawing close.

Stab. Stab.

The Sand King's body jolted violently. Pain radiated from its back, as if something had just pierced straight through. The strike had come so fast, it had not even had time to turn and respond before the second blow landed.

Stab. Stab.

Splurt!

Lycanth's hand and claws pierced straight through the Sand King's body. When he pulled them back out, a massive hole opened in the middle of the Sand King's torso, with sand continuously pouring out from within—along with the third Sand Heart shard. The Sand King fled in a panic, pulling away from Lycanth and calling back all of its Sandmen to shield it.

The sandstorm died down, making the starry sky visible once again. The Sandmen appeared uneasy and confused, while the Sand King looked anxious—even though its level was many times higher than Siegfried's group. That was because its vulnerable weak point had now been exposed. The three pieces of the Sand Heart had formed into the shape of a heart, glowing brightly in the dark, clearly visible even from afar. Siegfried knew the situation had tilted back in their favor, now that the Sand King had pulled its minions in to form a defensive wall around itself.

"Hoop Dragon Ring, pierce through the Sandman wall and open a path for Lycanth to attack it."

At Siegfried's command, Lycanth grinned, ready to strike. The tension was high, and everyone's attention was fixed on the fight against the Sand King—no one noticed the figure slowly approaching from the darkness behind the young man, who could no longer fully defend himself.

.....

As soon as she learned there was an underground waterway beneath the city, along with a ferry for the dead, Chang Long immediately asked Furik for directions to the entrance and set out to explore it in excitement, with Anya, Brownie, and Fluffy Head-chan tagging along, equally excited. Furik, the engineer of the Land of the Dead, told Chang Long that the entrance to the underground waterway lay outside the city limits. It was an old stone cave with ancient script carved into it. It did not take long for Chang Long's group to find the said cave.

The entrance was pitch black, so dark they could not see what was inside. But after walking in a bit, the torches on the walls lit up on their own along the corridor. The atmosphere was old and musty. The ground was full of scattered pebbles, making it hard to walk. The passage looked abandoned for so long that spiderwebs covered the walls and ceiling, along with strange bugs crawling everywhere—so much that Anya kept shrieking in disgust the whole way.

"This place is so creepy."

Anya said in a trembling voice.

"Then maybe you should wait outside. Looks like this might be too much for you."

Chang Long, seeing the fairy girl's expression, could not help feeling sorry for her. But Anya insisted on continuing with them. So, the group kept walking forward. Fortunately, the tunnel was wide enough, not cramped, so Anya could still avoid the bugs here and there.

"Listen. That's the sound of water!"

Fluffy Head-chan exclaimed after they had been walking for quite a while. Everyone perked up their ears and could hear the sound of flowing water not far off. Chang Long quickened her pace, following the sound until she reached a corner. As she turned past it, she was met with a wide cavern chamber—a vast pool of black water connected to a single river that stretched off into the darkness. Near where she stood was a wooden dock, old and worn, lined with long paddleboats moored along its length—about ten in total, including some that were broken and half-sunken.

"Welcome. Looking to take the paddleboat ferry for the dead, are you?"

The raspy voice of a newcomer startled Chang Long and her companions. When they turned to look, they found that the source of the unsettling voice was hidden beneath a hooded cloak, covering their entire body—including a completely shadowed face.

"Wh... who are you?"

Chang Long asked uncertainly. She was not particularly afraid of ghosts, and even though she was the ruler of the Land of the Dead, holding absolute authority, she still was not sure how to deal with this newcomer.

"I am the ferryman."

"A revenant!"

Brownie cried out at the top of his lungs, utterly panicked, which startled everyone else in turn. The little mouse with frayed ears jumped onto Anya's leg and tried to drag her away from the ferryman—leaving the cloaked figure utterly speechless.

Thwack

"Oww! Why'd you bonk my head, Fluffy Head-chan? We've gotta run, fast—before the ghost comes to rip out our livers."

Brownie wailed, still trying to drag Anya away with him.

"Are you nuts! He just said ferryman, not revenant. Can you at least listen properly before you start freaking out!"

Fluffy Head-chan scolded loudly, causing Brownie, who was in total panic mode, to freeze. He stopped running and shouted in a daze:

"Huh!"

At that, Anya and Chang Long burst into loud laughter. Fluffy Head-chan let out a long, weary sigh. Though still confused, Brownie had managed to change the chilling atmosphere into something lively and lighthearted. The ferryman did not respond in any visible way, but Chang Long could tell he was not pleased about being called a revenant.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Ferryman. My little one here has bad ears and misheard ferryman as revenant. I hope you'll be kind enough not to take offense."

Chang Long turned to the ferryman once she managed to stop laughing, allowing him to see her outfit clearly for the first time.

"Not at all. How could I ever hold a grudge against you people, my liege?"

The voice, colder than before, did not convince Chang Long in the slightest that this ferryman feel the way he spoke.

"Just now you said you were the ferryman, right?"

Chang Long changed the subject, afraid the ferryman might suddenly reveal some kind of supernatural power.

"Yes. I am the one and only ferryman of this river, the one who brings the dead—or those who wish to be dead—to the Land of the Dead."

"One and only? But there are so many boats here. Are they for swapping out?"

Chang Long asked with curiosity.

"That's part of it. But I can do more than that."

As he finished speaking, the ferryman raised both his hands. Chang Long and her companions froze—for the ferryman's hands and arms were made of black bones, and a red light briefly flashed in his eyes before fading. Then, two more figures identical to the first ferryman emerged.

"W... whoa, you can split your form too, huh."

Chang Long said in amazement, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I suppose you came here to reopen the underground waterway. If that's the case, you can rest assured. Give me forty-eight hours, and both docks and all the boats will be ready for use."

The ferryman saw through Chang Long's intentions completely. But what she could not understand was—wa it not only her reapers who were supposed to bring souls into the Land of the Dead? Why could this ferryman do the same, and without even needing to pass through the Mirror of Truth?

"My liege, my job is to bring in those who want to come, and to send off those who want to leave. You could say they all have physical bodies, not just souls. The fare is one gold coin per person. The Land of the Dead also runs on currency. So please consider creating something that would attract people from the outside to come in—such as reopening the Hell Dungeon."

The ferryman answered before Chang Long could even ask.

"That's true. The dead also need gold coins to spend inside the Land of the Dead. I remember the midday vendor at the spirit shop saying so. Hell Dungeon, huh... that could draw in a lot of players."

…..

Siegfried narrowly avoided the ambush just in time. At level ninety-two, there was no way the young man would not sense an enemy with hostile intent behind him. He just had not expected that the enemy would be a werewolf—just like Lycanth. Though smaller and lower in level.

The system only indicated it was a werewolf, and its level was merely seventy. In his currently injured state, even facing a much lower-leveled beast was still a difficult battle. It seemed the werewolf knew very well that its target was too weak to escape becoming its midnight snack. The werewolf prepared for a second attack, but Siegfried had already anticipated this and was ready.

The young man had no intention of fighting the werewolf head-on in such a disadvantaged state. He dodged and began running toward the entrance of the palace, which was still several kilometers away—pausing occasionally to block the werewolf's attacks. His running clearly enraged the creature; the werewolf grew fiercer and attacked more aggressively, whereas before it had seemed to be toying with him.

Before long, Lycanth and the Hoop Dragon Ring caught up and rejoined him, forcing the werewolf to retreat into the darkness. Once the danger had passed, the system announced the deaths of dozens of Sandmen—and the Sand King, a beast king. The young man pulled out a bone-mending pill, chewed one down, and then resumed his journey toward the abandoned palace.

Traces of the city's former prosperity, even after a thousand years, could still be seen—statues, pathways, pillars, and buildings that now stood only in fragments. They arrived at the entrance to the palace at dawn. Everyone was exhausted and unable to go further until they could rest.

Siegfried pulled out some canned food and sat down to eat. Lycanth collapsed to rest as well. Siegfried had never imagined that traveling alone with a pet would be this grueling. Until now, he had always played the game with friends—hunting beasts together, doing quests together, exploring dungeons together. Nearly every moment of gameplay, he was either with friends or with guild members. Rarely had he gone solo like he had today.

"How does Chang Long even do it? Traveling alone, when the beasts are this brutal."

The young man muttered to himself. He knew that increasing levels raised both attack power and base stats, and that it directly affected whether one triumphed or fell to the enemy. However, combat technique, weapon mastery, the power of the weapon itself, and the defensive strength of each piece of armor all played major roles as well. The reason Chang Long was able to travel through the game world alone, without fellow players, was probably because she had top-tier pets, high-grade outfit sets, powerful weapons, and her profession too.

Siegfried looked down at his personal weapon. Right now, its level was at five. The sword's attack power alone was a little over a thousand, nearly two thousand. When combined with the young man's own attack power, it totaled almost three thousand per strike. As for Chang Long, who had always fought solo, the level of the Sovereign Sword she wielded was definitely higher than his Caduceus.