Adventure World Online (AWO)

The day of reckoning for the supremacy of the seven Pirate King heirs was drawing near—just one hundred days away. Players in the game Adventure World Online were abuzz with excitement at the appearance of an island called "KING ISLAND", the site where the final decision would be made to determine who would reign supreme among the seven Pirate King heirs.

The journey to King Island did not require a map—just determination and fully stocked provisions. Every player wanted to be the first to set foot on the island. So, they gathered their friends, stockpiled potions, food, and crystals— to the point that a supply shortage broke out.

Players with the Alchemist profession began putting up their self-crafted crystals for sale at prices higher than market value, since the goods were in short supply and high demand.

On top of that, there were frequent ambushes and robberies during transport, leaving players with no choice but to reluctantly pay the prices.

Furthermore, Merchant players from the Merchant Association bundled all the essential goods into ready-made sets, sold under what they called promotional deals. The larger the bundle, the cheaper the price, plus a bonus pack of candy that helped reduce accumulated fatigue. These sets, marketed under the name "King Island Expedition Kits," came in three types:

Budget Set contained 1 Healing Salve, 1 Common Antidote, 2 jars of blood crystals, mana crystals, and rejuvenating crystals each, 10 Travel Meal Boxes with 12 assorted stuffed rice balls each, and 1 tent. All for 23,000 coins—a discount from the original price of 25,000 coins with the bonus of 1 bag of assorted-flavored candies (12 pieces)

Value Set contained 1 Healing Salve, 1 First-Aid Kit (included alcohol, bandages, medical tapes, scissors, thread, and suture needle,) 2 Common Antidotes, 4 jars of blood crystals, mana crystals, and rejuvenating crystals each, 12 Travel Meal Boxes, a Seasoning Set (included salt, pepper, vinegar, and sugar,) and a Tent with Campfire Kit. All for the price of 50,000 coins—a discount from the original price of 52,000 coins with the bonus of 2 bags of assorted-flavor candies and lollypops each.

Jumbo Deluxe Set contained 2 Healing Salves, 1 First-Aid Kit, 4 Common Antidotes, 8 jars of blood crystals, mana crystals, and rejuvenating crystals each, 24 Travel Meal Boxes, a Seasoning Set, and a Tent with Campfire Kit. With an added specially made 5 bottles of Physical Status Stabilizer Potion (which were created by an alchemist player. The potion prevented any reduction to physical stats for 15 seconds, regardless of damage taken.) All for the price of 79,000 coins—a discount from the original price of 82,500 coins with the bonus of 4 bags of assorted-flavor candies, lollypops, and potato chips each

Considering the discounted price plus the freebies, many players did not even hesitate to buy them—as they offered all the essentials in one place, saving them the trouble of scouring multiple shops. And the prices were better, too. For this reason, the Merchant Association promotions sold like hotcakes—supplies for the kits could not be restocked fast enough.

However, for Chang Long's group—they had discovered something new,

something that meant they did not have to scramble and compete for crystals or supplies with other players: Talismans from the Talisman Shop in Hell Dungeon. They were lighter, more portable, and the variety included a Lunchbox Talisman, which the sibling duo Killer and Murder were especially fond of.

"The time I've been waiting for... has finally come!"

Devi-chan exclaimed loudly, filled with fighting spirit.

"What should we do? Head out now?"

Chang Long turned to ask the others, though she still felt attached to the Grand Canyon and wanted to hunt beasts there a bit longer.

"Let's go already—there's nothing to wait for. A hundred days will fly by in a blink,"

Devi-chan quickly answered before anyone else.

"Besides, on the way to King Island, you're going to see things even stranger than this!"

"Eh! Really? What do you mean by strange exactly?"

Chang Long turned to the spirit of the former Pirate King, her eyes sparkling with interest.

Devi-chan smiled, amused by her reaction, before replying:

"Telling you wouldn't be as fun as letting you see it for yourself, right?"

"Hmph, then let's get going!"

It was a quick, snappy decision—almost without thinking. Chang Long immediately took the lead, her followers trailing close behind.

They had all agreed to begin the journey back from Dark City. Chang Long appeared to be in an especially cheerful mood. It was the first time Devi-chan had been the one to urge her to set out on a journey. Even if this journey would eventually lead to the Battle of Supremacy Among the Seven Kings, the cheerful Reaper girl led the way with a bright smile. However, would she ever realize by herself—she was heading in the wrong direction again...

At Dark City

Lord Chang, as the townspeople called her, returned safely, guided by her young fox.

The Reaper girl said her goodbyes and entrusted the care of the city to Hedrius and Emilia, the two Dark Elf leaders, while she set out for King Island. Before leaving, she did not forget to stop by Hell Dungeon to purchase more talismans to fill up her quota. Although Dark City was not experiencing a crystal shortage like other cities on the four major islands, there were still issues with weight and carry limits.

"We'll have to go south, right?"

Chang Long and his companions decided to walk along the beach by Dark City to make it easier to better plot their route, and because it would likely be faster than cutting across the island.

None of them were yet familiar with the terrain of Ameris Island. One could say this island still held many mysteries.

"Yes, going along the beach like this will keep us safe from beast ambushes too."

Killer replied with a cheerful smile.

"You look a little too excited. This is my battle, you know!"

Chang Long teased the young assassin, amused that he was more hyped for the Supreme King even though she was the one actually participating.

"Hahaha. Well, who wouldn't be excited? The beasts on the way, the arena itself, and seeing all seven Pirate King heirs in person—this is like, so overwhelmingly amazing that I could literally die from the hype!"

Killer's reply had Chang Long's whole group rolling with laughter. But what he said was not without merit—most players heading to King Island were doing so just for the chance to catch a glimpse of seven heirs with their own eyes. Setting aside the famous ones like Demos, Aswa, Siegfried, and Narada—the rest were still complete dark horses.

"I agree. The appearance of the seven Pirate King heirs will definitely be one of the highlights of this event."

Murder wholeheartedly agreed with his little brother.

"That means this event is going to be a gold mine!"

Devi-chan suddenly thought aloud, the excitement of the long-awaited royal showdown finally settling into clarity.

"Heh heh heh. No doubt about it. With all these players flooding in, businesses are going to boom and make a fortune—restaurants, hotels, there might even be shops selling rare goods you can't find on the four major islands."

Killer spoke confidently. There was even speculation about a possible betting feature on who would win the battle. And judging by everyone's faces, it was all but certain that the feature had to be part of the event.

"Hey, look over there. The shallows and coral reefs!"

Killer exclaimed in excitement. After a long walk, they had finally spotted a route that led directly to King Island. It lay far beyond the beach ahead—but with their movement speed skills and growing excitement, the distance did not pose any issue at all.

Splash!

The first step into the shallow waters—where massive coral reefs blocked the path like a maze—revealed to Chang Long's party a wondrous world, as if they were diving beneath the ocean's surface. Gentle ripples, tiny bubbles, beautiful mermaids, manta rays, jellyfish—they all swam through the air. A giant octopus even shot bubbles from its mouth, propelling itself right past Chang Long's group, leaving everyone slack-jawed in amazement. But with that, everyone's movements began to slow, as though they were actually swimming through seawater.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it, Brownie?"

Anya clasped her hands at her chest, her eyes dreamy as she gazed around at the colorful corals, sea sponges, sea anemones, and schools of clownfish.

"But what's up with this weird movement?"

Flatear walked up to Chang Long, moving in exaggeratedly slow-motion steps, which made everyone start to realize that the path ahead was going to be rough. If they had to travel and fight while moving this sluggishly, it could easily lead to deadly mistakes.

"What are you doing, Flatear? I don't see why we'd have to walk weird like that."

Chang Long frowned at him, thinking he was just messing around—moving slowly to show off some kind of dramatic flair.

"No, master. Someone as naturally agile as you likely wouldn't notice the effect in this area.

But this place really does slow down our movement."

Hisa-chan, being a spirit, was not affected by the debuff, but he was still concerned for Chang Long's group. Even though everyone had significantly improved their mobility—thanks to trying to keep up with their lightning-fast master—they still could not escape the impact of the coral maze and shallow waters.

"Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit off when moving around,"

Chang Long began to find it hard to move. The farther she went, the more she felt a slight pressure in the air that kept her from moving her body quite as she wished.

"Hmph. But it doesn't look like the beasts here are slowed down with us at all."

Killer laughed as he spotted three beasts wearing pearl necklaces, with red lipstick,

each wielding a silver spiral rapier resembling a seashell. They darted toward the group at high speed.

"3 level 39 Pink Octopussy Beasts had appeared. Prepare for battle."

The beasts moved swiftly, not the least bit affected by slow-motion like Chang Long's party.

Because of this, even though the beasts were several levels lower than the players, they still had a real chance of winning and killing players suffering from movement debuffs.

Screeeam!!A woman's scream rang out from further ahead, behind a massive coral wall. It sounded like the source of the voice had not been able to dodge the beast's attack in time. In contrast, though Chang Long's group felt the sluggishness, they were still agile enough to fight and dodge with ease—many times more capable than average players.

As they quickly dispatched all three Octopussy beasts, the female player who had screamed earlier had already turned into a white beam of light, floating into the sky along with her friend.

"Whoa, was it really that brutal over there!"

Murder exclaimed, watching the light trails left behind by the dead players. Peering through the twisting coral branches, they spotted the source of the scream—a skeletal beast in full pirate captain attire, with a hook for a right hand, a wooden peg leg for the left, and a menacing face scanning for its next victim. When it did not see any players nearby, it immediately teleported away.

"There's nasty stuff out here, huh!"

Murder muttered under his breath.

"How nasty could it be, I'd like to find out."

Flatear sneered arrogantly. Just then, a skeletal beast—looking just like the hook-handed one from earlier—appeared out of thin air behind him and swung a rusted rapier straight at him. The kirin youth twisted his body and narrowly dodged. The environmental debuff had slowed him just enough that a lock of his flowing hair got sliced off.

"Why you!"

Seeing his hair cut by a rusty sword, Flatear was furious. He spun and slashed at the skeleton with his claws as it raised its weapon back for another strike. Despite the sluggishness, Flatear was still quite nimble.

Ssshrrrik!

His claws only managed to tear off a bit of the skeleton's old, tattered clothes. But the fight was not over. Flatear relentlessly pursued the beast—a Black Dregger, Level 68. Because Flatear was at a much higher level, he had a strong advantage, and without needing help from the others,

he eventually took it down on his own—though looking far more exhausted than he should have been.

"Player Chang Long and her pet have slain one Black Dregger, Level 68. Receiving 577,400 experience points and 1 "BLACKCOIN". Players can collect different colored "COIN" to exchange for rewards at King Island."

"What's that, Flatear?"

Chang Long asked with interest upon seeing the black coin embossed with a skull-and-crossbones in the kirin youth's hand. From the system's earlier announcement, it could be exchanged for rewards at King Island—and it looked like there were multiple colors. That likely meant the rewards differed depending on the coin's color as well.

"It looks nice, master, but it doesn't really look like something you'd use to buy stuff with."

Flatear handed the coin he had picked up to Chang Long. She flipped it over a few times before slipping it into an empty coin pouch.

"It's not meant for buying things, Flatear. You use it to exchange for rewards instead."

Chang Long replied, prompting the rest of the group to become very interested in the warping skeleton beast they had just encountered. Even though they did not know exactly what kind of rewards could be exchanged for the coins, based on the predictions of the experienced players Killer and Murder, there was little doubt that the items would be well worth the effort of hunting those Dreggers.

Splash!

"Level 42 Springtail Lobster Beasts. Prepare for battle."

It seemed the shallow coral reef zone did not allow much time for conversation, as beasts would attack at regular intervals—every 4-6 minutes. And this Springtail Lobster was massive—about the size of a cow. Its front stinger was nearly fifty centimeters long, and its claws were big enough to clamp down on a person whole. Its brightly colored body ended in a lightly curled tail.

Even though it looked cute and harmless, no one could afford to underestimate the arsenal it carried. Worse still, the environmental debuff of the coral reef and shallow waters reduced everyone's speed by a quarter— making even ordinary beasts like the Springtail Lobster far more dangerous.

Although Chang Long's group was able to take down the beasts that kept blocking their path without much difficulty, their progress remained slow due to a spike in accumulated fatigue.

The longer they fought continuously, the faster their fatigue rose—up to three times faster than outside the coral zone. Because of this, it became necessary to either fight in intervals and rest in between, or avoid unnecessary battles altogether—in order to conserve strength for stronger beasts or unavoidable fights against the Dreggers.