Adventure World Online (AWO)

"Sigh… This place is brutal."

Everyone turned to look at Chang Long, who was the first to speak up and complain. Of course, they all felt the same way—they just had not said it out loud yet. The Reaper girl sat down on a soft, squishy sponge after being swarmed by a horde of electric jellyfish. They were only palm-sized, with clear, jelly-like bodies that looked adorable—but their squirming tentacles were covered in venomous stingers that made its victim felt like they were being electrocuted when those things wrapped around their body.

"I can't believe you're the one complaining, master."

Kitsune walked over and sat down near his master. The young fox looked clearly exhausted, his face showing signs of fatigue and sweat was dripping from his entire body and face. In the past, Kitsune almost never showed any signs of weariness—even when battling beasts far stronger than himself.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good, Kitsune."

Chang Long turned to ask her pet with concern. The young fox smiled weakly and replied uncertainly,

"I'm not sure, master… I feel this rising heat inside my body—it's getting stronger and harder to endure. I feel weak and limp. I'm terribly ashamed."

"Don't be. Everyone has their off days, Kitsune. If you're not well, don't push yourself. We're strong enough to protect you. Just rest for now. There's no need to rush—you can continue when you're better."

Her comforting tone and gentle hand brushing through his hair made the fox's cheeks blush lightly. He smiled in happiness, grateful for both the love and trust he received from Chang Long—his master who had never abandoned him. Even when he once died and disappeared from this world, she had brought him back—and now they were traveling and adventuring together once again.

"Understood."

The young fox nodded obediently. He knew that this time, he truly could not push himself. Just lifting his legs in this special zone was nearly impossible. It was so exhausted it could barely drag its legs any farther and still did not know why.

After resting for a while, Chang Long's party continued their journey. They still did not know how far the shallow coral reef stretched—or how much farther they had to go to reach King Island. With the constant movement speed reduction and the sight of countless players turning into beams of light floating into the sky, they were starting to realize—a hundred days might not be enough after all.

.....

"D... die. If this keeps up, we're definitely gonna die!"

The hoarse voice, like that of an old witch, made everyone listening instinctively agree. In their party, they were all physical or magic-oriented classes. Even those with speed-based roles were struggling here. The lower one's speed stat, the slower they could move in this shallow coral reef zone.

"Hah hah. This place is ridiculously brutal."

A young man in red armor muttered, his face drenched in sweat, after they barely managed to take down a mermaid-type beast.

"Complaining won't help. It'll only make you slower."

A young man in silver armor with silver hair said. Though he seemed more calm than his friends, he looked just as exhausted as the rest.

"Hey! None of us are fast like Lycanth. There's no way we're making good time."

A burly, buzz cut man turned to glare at a werewolf, whose movement speed had only slightly decreased.

"I can't believe how rough this place is—the beasts aren't even high-level, but the speed debuff just wrecks us."

A man dressed in a ninja outfit grumbled. Despite being confident in his speed, he found himself struggling in the shallow coral zone. He was helping a cute young woman, also dressed in a modified ninja outfit, to stand back up from the sandy floor.

"Yeah. At this rate, I'm not even sure we'll make it to King Island in time."

the female ninja who was helped up said anxiously, even though she was not directly involved in the Supreme King battle herself.

"D... Don't say that, Mi. No matter what, we have to make it in time!"

The hoarse, witch-like voice hurriedly interjected. The speaker looked utterly worn out, her usual grace as the beauty of the Pendragon Guild completely gone. Behind the young girl, the young reporter supporting her weakened body did not look much better himself. Fortunately, his pet, Felon, did not seem too affected—aside from becoming unusually hungry at a faster rate.

"M... Miss Peach Blossom, please stop putting all your weight on me—it's heavy, you know."

The young reporter complained, too tired to hold it in, even though he feared she might lash out at him.

"What did you say, Kim? Are you calling me heavy!"

The girl turned and snapped at him, just as he feared, forcing him to dodge her furious swings in panic.

"Hey, hey. You said you were exhausted—yet now you've got plenty of energy to chase him down?"

Her brother's scolding voice brought her to her senses. The strength that had flared up from her anger suddenly vanished, replaced by overwhelming fatigue that left her gasping for breath. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed limply onto the ground, making her brother roll his eyes in exasperation before helping her back up again.

"B…Brother, I can't walk anymore."

Peach Blossom groaned weakly.

"Alright, let's rest a bit more before moving on."

Siegfried, who was serving as the team's leader this time, spoke up. So everyone began to rest and regain their strength so they could set out on their journey again.

The road to King Island was far harsher than any player had imagined. Many began complaining that the game's design was excessively difficult, and some even resorted to crude language—without ever stopping to consider why the developers had made the route to King Island this way.

It was, in fact, a test—a way to filter out players who were truly worthy of setting foot on that sacred island. The island where the seven Pirate Kings once battled to decide the single Supreme King among them. Players who only whined and cursed, without ever striving to train and prove themselves worthy, would never be worthy to step foot on the island—ever. And those who used cheat programs to exploit the game system would be easily detected and permanently banned from the game for life.

Time passed quickly in the shallow coral reef zone, as players were forced to fight, then rest again and again. Before long, night had fallen. Fortunately, no beasts attacked during the night in this area. Even though they could be seen lurking nearby, they would not attack. This allowed players to relax and set up camp to rest peacefully.

.....

"Look. The stars are so beautiful."

Chang Long had climbed up onto the bright red branches of a coral formation, craning her neck to gaze up at the star-filled sky, twinkling brightly like a field of gems. In the game, seeing a starlit sky was not anything unusual—but seeing it from this unique perspective made it feel completely different.

"They really are, master,"

Kitsune replied as he climbed up beside her.

"So beautiful, indeed. And since we're in an open space with no big trees or mountains blocking the view, it's even more breathtaking, isn't it, Brownie?"

Anya, the fairy girl, commented, turning to give a bright, happy smile to Brownie, the little field mouse perched on her shoulder.

"Y… yeah!"

The tiny mouse blushed so hard he nearly rolled off her shoulder. Thankfully, his balance skills were excellent, allowing him to still steady himself. He looked up at the sky, following Anya's gaze, silently hoping he was looking at the very same star she was.

"Big brother are those what you call stars?"

Luther asked curiously. In the depths of the underworld, there were no wide skies, no stars to be seen—not even a sun or moon. There was only endless darkness and the blazing inferno that burned the souls of the damned.

"What? You mean the Primordial Demon Lord doesn't even know what stars are?"

Flatear gave Luther a sidelong glance, a natural reaction, given the innate rivalry between their races.

"What's wrong with not knowing what stars are? Maybe I used to know them long ago—so long that I've simply forgotten!"

Luther shot back defensively. His tone was sharp, but the childish glint in his eyes did nothing to intimidate the kirin youth—in fact, it only made Flatear look even more amused, as though he were about to mock him further.

"Alright, enough arguing. You're ruining the mood."

Fluffy Head-chan walked past Fangy, who was lying sprawled over Lamia as a makeshift bed, and stepped between the two bickering rivals. And indeed, he was right. Quietly stargazing with trusted friends was one of those simple joys that made one unexpectedly happy. That night, everyone got a full night's rest, their accumulated fatigue from the grueling day finally melting away—allowing them to begin the next morning feeling refreshed.

.....

The Next Morning

Screeeam!!

Aaaahhh!!

The air was filled with screams and chaos at dawn. The beasts that had left players alone throughout the night were now unleashing havoc. Because they had not attacked the night before, players had grown careless, allowing the beasts to wander freely near their campsites. Now they were paying the price—some were killed instantly, cut down the moment they stepped outside to stretch and greet the morning sun, without even realizing what hit them.

"Starting the morning with mess, huh."

Chang Long grumbled irritably. She had not slept enough and was in a foul mood. Beasts surrounded them in even greater numbers than other groups of players, mainly because there were no other parties camping nearby. That meant Chang Long's group received the full, warm welcome of the morning attack.

"Master Chang! Be careful—they're trying to separate us!"

Killer shouted loudly. He and Murder were tangled in a fierce fight with multiple types of beast silver-scaled fish wielding spears with their fins, armored seahorses ridden by warriors with seaweed for hair, and a white squid that wrapped its tentacles around their bodies, restricting their movements even further.

"Those two have drifted off pretty far, master. What should we do?"

Anya turned to ask Chang Long, clearly worried.

"Nothing. Those two can handle themselves."

Chang Long replied casually. She had seen the twin brothers' fighting skills too many times to worry about them. What concerned her more was Kitsune—her beloved pet—whose condition was worsening. The more spirits he absorbed, the worse he became.

"Brother!"

Flatear shouted when he saw Kitsune collapse to the ground, exhausted. The fox could barely lift his limbs to defend himself anymore. Anya and Brownie rushed in to cover him, while Luther—who could destroy dozens of beasts with a single slap of his hand—did not even think of helping. He held himself too highly for that. Besides, as a being of darkness, he naturally repelled the light of creatures like Flatear and Kitsune. If Chang Long did not order him to help, Luther would never go near either of the sacred beasts on his own.

"I'm fine…"

Kitsune replied weakly. He was trying his best not to burden anyone, but it was clear that even standing up this time was already beyond his limit.

"Don't push yourself, Kitsune. Luther—wipe them all out."

Chang Long scolded Kitsune gently, then turned to the little Lucifer, ordering him to finish off the beasts in one blow. Luther grinned, baring his fangs in delight, then struck forward with both palms, unleashing a violent blast of force. The beasts before them fell silent—frozen for an instant before their white souls slowly drifted free of their bodies and shot straight toward the young fox.

As the final spirit merged into Kitsune, his long, silky hair began to blaze with brilliant light, flaring as if it were on fire. It grew rapidly, wrapping around his body in layer after layer—looking like a giant egg, glowing fiercely like the sun itself. The heat was so intense that even Luther had to sprint several kilometers away to hide, with Lamia and Fangy, his demon puppet, scrambling frantically to keep up.

"What's happening!"

Chang Long cried out in alarm. What was happening to Kitsune? Why was the spirit that was supposed to make him stronger—making him weak, and turning him into this blazing, glowing egg? Why had the game system not sent any notification about it yet? Now what was she supposed to do?

"Damn it. We got driven too far away—I can't even see Master Chang anymore."

Killer grumbled as he bent down to gather the loot dropped by the slain beasts, which were scattered all over the ground. Because there had been so many enemies, the twin brothers had been separated from Chang Long's group. At first, it looked like they would not survive the onslaught, but they ended up being rescued by a pair of male and female gunners.

In truth, those two gunners had also been forced to retreat, climbing up onto the coral branches to escape. Luckily, only a few types of beasts could reach them there, so they took care of those first—then leisurely picked off the ones below that could not climb up.

It was then that the gunners spotted two unfamiliar players being chased by a huge swarm of beasts. At first, they thought there was no way those two could survive—not with that many enemies. Not only were the monsters far greater in number, but the players' mobility was severely restricted as well. So the pair turned their attention back to the monsters beneath them, whose numbers had already dwindled significantly, so they could finally continue on their way.

But when they actually saw the fighting skills of those two players— their speed, and fluidity of movement in their attacks—they were stunned into silence. If those two were not being slowed down by the coral-reef debuff, then their natural speed had to already be extremely high—so much so that even under restriction, it barely seemed to affect them.

The gunner duo immediately realized that these two assassins would be valuable allies for the journey ahead. So, they decided to lend them a hand.

"Wait—did you just say Master Chang?"

The male gunner, who had just climbed down from the coral branches, raised an eyebrow as he caught Killer's words. Behind him followed a beautiful female gunner with long, flowing golden hair.

"Ah, yes. Master Chang—she's our boss,"

Killer replied with a cheerful grin. He could not help but wonder, why had this man reacted so strongly to the name Master Chang? As far as he knew, Chang Long was not exactly a well-known player.

"Huh! Your boss. That's odd. If she's that Chang I'm thinking of, she should have a timid little reporter as her underling."

The male gunner muttered to himself, but the twins, with their sharp ears, heard it clearly.

"You've met Lord Chang before?"

"What are you guys talking about over there? This Master Chang you mentioned—you mean Chang Long, right?"

The female gunner asked as she approached from behind. The three men exchanged looks. It seemed clear now that they were all talking about the same person.

"Ha ha, so that's how it is. You are subordinates of Chang Long."