Adventure World Online (AWO)

"Eh, is that so? Traveling to Ameris Island has really become that easy?"

Chang Long asked in surprise. If one thought about it carefully, the players probably grouped up in large numbers, rented no fewer than ten ships a day, and worked together to deal with the beasts blocking the way at sea. Then it would not be all that difficult to make the journey to Ameris Island without suffering too much damage.

"What's even cooler is that no one dares to declare war on us anymore."

Murder beamed cheerfully, because that meant that Dark City was so strong that no one dared to challenge it.

"Eh, how would you even know that? No one's supposed to know until the next time the game allow player to declare war again."

Devi-chan asked loudly, clearly quite interested in the topic.

"Oh, I overheard some players talking about the first war declaration day. That news was so big it even made it into the newspapers."

Murder replied, laughing proudly as if he were the city's ruler himself.

"Right, there's one thing I've been wondering—how did the number one beauty in the game end up getting involved with Dark City?"

Killer asked curiously. Back when Narada went on a rampage and attacked the city, they were already on the race-change quest.

"For that story, you better ask me!"

Anya volunteered to tell it, and the two young men quickly turned to her with interest, while Chang Long scowled and got up to walk away.

"So what happened, Anya. Hurry and tell us!"

The two siblings spoke in unison, driven by curiosity as they stepped closer to Anya.

Anya launched into the story with juicy flair, but not so much that it veered from reality into the absurd. The two young men were astonished to hear that the number one beauty would go so far, all for a single man who had rejected her. But what was even more surprising was that Siegfried had the guts to turn down someone as stunning as a movie star, only to choose Chang Long—someone they could never quite figure out whether she was a tomboyish girl or a pretty-faced guy.

Even though they did not know why Siegfried did not choose someone beautiful like Narada, they did understand why he was so steady in his feelings for Chang Long—someone without schemes or tricks, straightforward to the point of bluntness. Even if she seemed cold, she had a generous heart and a surprisingly kind nature.

"So what happened to that woman anyway, after she was killed by master and respawned in the city?"

Anya asked curiously—truthfully, she was dying to know how someone beautiful but rotten inside like that would be received by the townspeople.

"I heard she got a bounty put on her head—by Lady Emilia, no less. Apparently, it turned into a quest. The townsfolk didn't do much aside from shooting her hateful glares, until she couldn't stand staying in the city any longer."

Killer replied with what he had heard. But even though there was a bounty quest for the beautiful woman, there probably was not a single player with the heart to accept it—especially not the male players. They were more likely to volunteer to protect her instead.

"She got what she deserved—strutting around in the wrong place, and even going up against the city lord who's loved and respected by everyone. Honestly, what she got wasn't nearly enough."

Anya nodded in agreement, though she still felt the punishment Narada received was a bit too lenient.

"Hey everyone, come look at the open courtyard inside this stone arch. There's a weird statue all curled up in the middle of it."

Chang Long called out to everyone, asking them to come see what she had found.

The stone arch was over five meters tall. Inside was a courtyard of pale sandstone. In the center of the yard was something that looked like a statue—with joints like a puppet—curled up and sitting motionless. Everyone approached cautiously to take a closer look, as they were not sure whether a beast might be hiding nearby. But the moment they stepped through the stone arch, the strange statue began to move.

"A level 116 White Sand Divine Statue Beast King. Preparing to attack!"

.....

At last, the day the young man had long awaited had finally arrived. He had made it into the treasure chamber of the Pirate King Kamaku Hayasa and now stood face to face with the legendary man himself. It seemed Kamaku Hayasa was not surprised in the least that he had to accept two heirs, as the previous one had lost his right for reasons unknown to anyone.

Apparently, the game's programmers had re-scripted his memory, resetting it to the time when he was still waiting for his heir within the tomb.

The young ninja walked up to the last Pirate King, who was seated calmly on the throne, awaiting him. The waiting of both parties was about to end— For Kamaku Hayasa had finally found an heir to carry on his name, and the young man was about to claim his power and treasures.

heir

"Attention, the tomb of the last Pirate King has been discovered!"

The system-wide announcement echoed throughout the game world. The development team nodded to one another as they stared at the screen, where the young man had now inherited everything from Pirate King Kamaku Hayasa.

"Shall we begin the event now, chief?"

A young man turned to ask a woman who was staring at the computer screen, eyes unblinking.

"Mm. Go ahead and begin. Get ready to announce the event. Launch King Island."

The woman replied in a stern tone. Everyone then returned to their respective workstations and began inputting the data for the major event that was about to take place in the game—just moments away.

"Oh! And don't forget to capture the images of all seven Pirate King heirs. Put them up on the display to show where they are and what they're doing right now."

The team leader turned and instructed a bespectacled woman sitting at the desk behind her.

"Yes, starting the search now."

The woman replied and began directing the computer system to locate the designated characters, in order to display their current positions.

"Crown"

Crown, the heir of Pirate King Azlam, was currently in seclusion, training himself on Mount Longshan. It seemed he was also undertaking a quest of some kind. The image displayed on screen showed him hunting beasts, collecting items dropped from them, accompanied by three to four close friends who were helping with the quest.

"Q"

.

Q was the guild leader of the Bat Guild, founded on the island of Aseana in the city of Kirisakura. He had once been defeated by an unnamed man during the fight to claim the title of Pirate King Kamaku Hayasa's heir. But now, he had finally succeeded—due to the previous player losing their right to the inheritance. The image on the screen showed the young ninja walking away from the secret tomb of the Pirate King— the very place where he had just inherited the title of final Pirate King's heir.

"Narada"

The number one beauty, heir to Pirate King Shadin Creepin, was now infamous due to the incident where she drove beasts to attack Dark City. The cause stemmed from a conflict between her and Siegfried's younger sister. Her actions had been deemed excessive, and she was punished by the city lord of Dark City—who was now widely known as Lord Chang. Because of this event, she had been exiled from Dark City and even had a bounty placed on her head.

Now she was forced to flee from public view, taking refuge in deep forests on Ameris Island, hunting beasts to relieve stress.

"Aswa"

The young man and guild master of the Dark Horse Guild, heir of Pirate King Roche Roger—who had been renamed "Rogy" by Chang Long—was currently trying to familiarize himself with his new pet. The creature was both proud and completely unfriendly toward him. Despite all his efforts to be kind and coax him with gentle words, the best he could manage was to stop the thing from pecking him full of holes. Now, all he could do was sit and sigh, glancing over at the phoenix perched on his stand, happily preening his feathers—while he himself felt utterly exasperated.

"Demos"

A man whose savagery matched his face, heir to Pirate King Belethe de Montes—also known as the Demon Lord. He was currently delighting in being attacked by beasts on Mount Agaz. The twisted expression on his face as he tore apart a Diablo beast with the claws of a manticore had turned the female programmer ghost-pale.

"Siegfried"

The elven man, guild leader of Pendragon and heir to Pirate King Heaven, was currently preoccupied mediating a dispute between the Professional Reporter's Association of Kimhant and the Journalists and Writers' Association. The issue was that the name, Professional Reporter's Association which sounded like an insult to the latter. The whole thing sounded more and more ridiculous— to the point that Siegfried decided to set up a public stage, letting the leaders of both associations receive votes from all players in the game, with GMs overseeing the transparency of the process. The matter was settled when the Professional Reporter's Association received an overwhelming vote of confidence to continue using that name for publishing newspapers. As a result of this event, the elven man was awarded a shield trophy by the game for his ability to mediate player disputes.

"Chang Long"

she inherited the occupation and title from Pirate King Devi Jones, or Devi-chan. She had evolved further than any other player among the seven Pirate King heirs—having attained the highest title among spirit-user-type occupations, risen to become the ruler of the Land of the Dead, unsealed the Dark Elf race, and even undergone a race change just like Siegfried.

Moreover,

she commanded an army of highly skilled and fiercely loyal warriors—

who were not players like other guild leaders' followers—

and was the only player in the game who owned two pureblood Sacred Beasts

and one Primordial Demon—Lucifer. The computer screen now displayed an image of Chang Long and her followers, battling a beast king inside the Grand Canyon on Ameris Island.

"All accounted for, right?"

The female team leader turned and asked her subordinate.

"Yes, all seven accounted for,"

the bespectacled woman replied.

"Then launch the event announcement."

At the end of the team leader's command,

initiating the event announcement,

a highlight moment that would immediately drive player engagement in the game to new heights.

.....

"Attention, all players:

Now that all seven heirs of the Pirate Kings have revealed themselves,

the game will now commence a special event—

The Battle for Supremacy Among the Seven Kings,

held on King Island,

a solitary island in the south, located at the heart of the four main islands. Any players who wish to witness the battle may travel to the island—but must overcome all obstacles along the way, just as the seven heirs of the Pirate Kings would have to."

The system announcement rang out across the world,

immediately seizing the attention of players everywhere. The game even unlocked a special zone for this event— and it was not just the seven heirs of the Pirate Kings who could go to King Island.

Ordinary players, as spectators, could also visit King Island.

But getting there would be no easy feat.

The system clearly stated that players would have to overcome obstacles to reach it—

implying that the path to King Island would be brutally difficult.

The seven heirs were now fired up by the announcement.

It meant the moment of reckoning had come. Love. Vengeance. Expectations from the spirits of the Pirate Kings. The battle they had all been waiting for was now set to begin—in exactly one hundred days. Each of their faces grew tense and serious. This was a battle where they would fight to the death—until only one victor remained. The one who would be named The Supreme Pirate King.

It would not be easy for some of the Pirate King heirs.

Because that meant they might have to kill someone they love

to claim the Supreme King title. But for others—they were eagerly counting down the days, itching to slaughter the other six Pirate King heirs, purely for their own satisfaction.

...

"Heh heh heh. Finally, the day I've been waiting for has come.

This time, I'll fight you and settle it once and for all!"

Demos laughed with delight before using a skill to wipe out the entire swarm of beasts attacking him, killing them all in a single move. Then, he walked away without even bothering to loot the items they dropped.

...

"Siegfried, if I can't have you, then I'll destroy you and that woman named Chang Long too."

Narada spoke her warning, then mounted her beloved pet and rode out of the forest, beginning her journey toward King Island.

…

"Player Chang Long has slain a level 116 White Sand Divine Statue Beast King. Receiving 306,001 experience points."

The system notification for the enemy's death had not even finished sounding when Kitsune called out to her loudly. He had reverted to his original fox form, and his body was flickering with rapid pulses of light. Then, everyone saw something beginning to emerge from his rear.

"T... The ninth tail, it's coming out!"

Chang Long exclaimed in excitement as Kitsune's ninth tail fully extended. The flickering light on his body vanished, followed by a new system message:

"Player Chang Long's pet, Pureblood Sacred Beast, Flame Fox Kitsune, has absorbed one million souls. He has obtained the ninth tail, symbol of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox God. Status: Awaiting full ascension upon reaching the required base level for ultimate evolution."

"Awesome. This is amazing news right before we face the big battle. Great job, Kitsune!"

Chang Long praised joyfully. Her little fox had shown development just as incredible as her own. It would not be long now—she would definitely turn him into a fully realized Nine-Tailed Demon Fox God.

"Big battle? So, Lord Chang, does that mean you're heading out to King Island now?"

Killer asked excitedly.

"Uh-huh. Better head out quickly. I've got a feeling the journey won't be smooth."

Chang Long replied before turning to her Pirate King spirit—who now bore a noticeably serious expression.

"Let's go, Devi-chan. Let's claim the title of Supreme King for ourselves—let's kill that bastard Demos and avenge Kitsune!"

"Mm. Let's go!"

Devi-chan responded in a solemn tone, his heart filled with overwhelming pride for this heir.

The twin siblings and all the pets let out a loud cheer. Everyone was about to set out on another adventure into unfamiliar lands. This time, the prize at stake was the title of Supreme Pirate King. And no matter how powerful the other six heirs might be, everyone was certain that in the end—victory would belong to Chang Long, their unbeatable master.