Adventure World Online (AWO)

Rafael smiled in satisfaction. Although he knew that the longer one stayed in the Shallow Reef Zone, the faster their movement and attack speed would slowly return to normal in the end, it was not something just anyone could pull off even if they knew about it. The truly dangerous moment was right when you first entered—when the body had not yet adapted to the environment. The slow debuff could send many players back to their respawn point from the very first second of combat.

"Not many players are likely to know about that anymore. This morning, during the chaos with the beasts, I heard an announcement from the system."

Siegfried said. As he spoke, several members of the party, who had missed the announcement because they were too caught up fighting the beasts, turned to look at him with interest.

"What announcement was it, brother?"

Peach Blossom asked sweetly.

"The announcement said that if any player doesn't want to endure the hardship and risk their life just to have their level drop in this Shallow Reef Zone, they can take the gondola boat service that the system will provide to pick up players from the shores of all four major islands, including the starting island, in sixty days from the date of the announcement. Players can register for a ticket at the Player Services Building. And it'll be a chartered ticket too."

At the end of the elf's sentence, the listeners' jaws dropped. This was clearly a money-making tactic. At first, it was all about the pride and honor of players being able to reach King Island on their own strength—to be worthy of setting foot on the island. But just one day later, they announced a ferry service to take players directly there without shedding a drop of blood.

"Guess a lot of players must've given up on going to King Island. That's probably why the system made that announcement,"

Valentine said, somewhat understandingly. Surviving in a place like this was no easy task. Some players, even fighting under normal conditions with decent stats, still found it difficult to take down beasts close to their level.

"Why would the lack of players traveling to King Island make the system announce something like that?"

Kimhant muttered to himself curiously.

"I think it's about money,"

Siegfried replied to the young man's question, while the others nodded in agreement with the idea. Kimhant himself looked like he suddenly realized something too.

"They're probably expecting the Supreme King Battle to bring in a huge amount of revenue. But most players are giving up on traveling through the Shallow Reef Zone to get to King Island. That island must be filled with what you'd call sponsor shops. If the game doesn't do something, they'd lose a massive amount of money from those sponsors."

The elf gave such a clear explanation that there was hardly any room for doubt about King Island anymore. All that remained were curiosity and excitement—to see the island with their own eyes.

"Hearing all that just makes me want to see that island even more now. If there really are sponsor shops like you said, then it must be absolutely spectacular!"

Peach Blossom said, full of excitement. Aside from wanting to see the beauty of the island itself, the girl was also eager to know what kinds of shops would be available on King Island. If there were lots of stores with pretty jewelry, that would be wonderful.

"Right. Then we have to hurry and be among the first ones to reach it—so it won't be in vain that we risked travelling here on our own. If we let those guys waiting for the ferry beat us there first, we'll look like a bunch of fools!"

LIdded Wet Trash Can agreed enthusiastically with Peach Blossom, his fighting spirit fired up, making everyone burst out laughing.

.....

"The Nine-Tailed Fox will now ascend in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Ascension process complete."

The system's countdown voice did not excite Chang Long nearly as much as the scene unfolding before her. The giant egg, formed from multiple overlapping layers of the young fox's hair, was slowly unraveling, all while still glowing brilliantly. The strands of hair unraveled into nine separate sections, becoming increasingly soft and fluffy like animal fur. The center, revealed first, was the face of a large fox, his eyes closed in stillness. The strands that had split into nine became the nine tails, curling around to cover his ears and the rest of his body.

The blinding light and heat faded. The beasts stopped swarming in to attack. The fox, who had been sitting with eyes closed in stillness, slowly opened them and flicked his nine tails outward behind him. He locked eyes with Chang Long, his master, then rose to his feet and walked toward her.

"Master."

Kitsune's voice echoed out—even though he had not moved his mouth to speak. Chang Long smiled and gently patted his head with affection before turning to look at the others, who were still fighting off the remaining beasts. Everyone turned to gaze at Kitsune and gave him a small nod of respect. Kitsune bowed in return, then used his transformation technique to revert himself and Flatear back into human form once again.

Kitsune's transformed appearance looked a little more mature now. Though his face still carried that characteristic gentleness, his aura of authority had grown immensely.

"Apologies for making everyone wait."

Kitsune said with a look of sincere remorse.

"Why are you apologizing? That was fun, brother. Wasn't it, Anya? Brownie?"

Flatear stepped up to pat the young fox's shoulder, smiling proudly as if he himself had just ascended into a nine-tailed fox.

"Yeah, it really was fun."

Brownie replied between breaths. He had been sitting on the ground from exhaustion but was now lying fully sprawled out, panting through his mouth.

"Hahaha. Saying it's fun with that such an expression. Looks more like you're about to drop dead from exhaustion."

Fluffy Head-chan laughed mockingly. As the only spirit unaffected by the Spirit Realm skill, he could fight tirelessly without fatigue.

"Seriously, this place is brutal—especially for spirits like us, who only get physical bodies temporarily."

Devi-chan said, also panting. Even Hisa-chan, who in all the time Chang Long had known him had never once shown signs of fatigue during battle, now looked visibly drained.

"But I think the sluggish feeling, the delay between attacking or moving and what your brain wants—it's starting to get better. Like the longer we stay here, the more that weird effect fades, and things go back to normal."

Anya spoke while stretching her limbs again.

"True. If that's the case, we'll probably be able to move a lot faster soon."

Chang Long had barely finished speaking when a Dregger appeared right above her head. From mid-air, it aimed its flintlock rifle down at her. The Reaper girl stood motionless and sliced her blade forward, cleaving the bullet cleanly in two. The beast let out a frustrated sound. Now defenseless, it was falling right into the middle of the party's encirclement, with no way to escape.

But before its feet could even touch the ground, it was pierced through by countless weapons, its body shredded and instantly reduced to light—absorbed swiftly into Kitsune. Everyone burst into laughter. They had not expected to act in such perfect sync, managing to wipe out a formidable beast of the Shallow Reef Zone in a single coordinated strike. (Though done by many people.)

This Dregger wore a blue uniform and dropped a Blue Coin—a skull-emblazoned blue token that could be collected and exchanged for rewards on King Island. Chang Long picked it up and turned to laugh with everyone, looking a little puzzled that a Blue Dregger would just pop into the middle of the group so recklessly.

"That guy was nuts."

Chang Long laughed. Aside from the Blue Skull Coin, the Dregger had also dropped a golden dagger with a slightly curved blade—no longer than a handspan. Its scabbard was gold and adorned with gems, looking rather elegant. The Reaper girl picked it up from the sandy ground and handed it to Kitsune.

"Here. Take it. A gift for growing your ninth tail."

"Th... thank you, master!"

The young fox gazed at Chang Long with deep emotion and reached out to receive what the system had identified as the Desert Prince's Dagger. He then hung it proudly at his waist.

"Let's keep moving. Who knows how far the others who entered before us have gotten by now."

Chang Long said, then took the lead once more. This time, Murder cleared his throat quietly, as though he had something he wanted to say to her—but had not yet found the right moment until now.

"What is it? Don't tell me I'm going the wrong way again."

The Reaper girl frowned as she asked.

"No, no. Not at all! Well, when we got separated from you, we ran into two players who said they knew you."

Murder replied. Just then, Jane and Hero with their rifles slung over their shoulders—walked up to Chang Long's group with beaming smiles. But their expressions quickly changed to shock at how drastically she had changed.

"Oh, you two. Acquaintances of mine, huh."

Chang Long greeted them with a smile. Both gunners were left slack-jawed—they could not believe the pale-skinned, sharp-eared elf in front of them was really Chang Long.

"W... Wait, is that really you, Chang Long? You've changed so much!"

Jane stared at her from head to toe in stunned disbelief.

"Totally. If I hadn't heard your voice, I wouldn't have recognized you."

Hero agreed. They never imagined that after going off to play the game in their own way, they would return to find that someone had transformed so much they barely resembled the person they once knew.

"Brother, who are these two? Enemies?"

Luther, who had fled far away from the earlier burst of light, suddenly reappeared in the conversation circle—so quietly that no one had even noticed. Only when he spoke did Jane and Hero look over at him in surprise. Their eyes widened as they instinctively jumped back, raising their weapons and taking combat stances.

"Don't!"

Chang Long shouted in alarm—not because she feared Luther getting attacked, but because she was afraid the two gunners would get slapped into the afterlife before they knew what hit them.

"Why not, Chang Long? That thing's clearly a beast—and a high-ranking one at that!"

Jane shouted back in confusion. But now that they thought about it, since the creature had appeared out of nowhere, he had not attacked anyone at all. The system had not even announced his name or level.

"Lord Lutheeeeeeer!"

A weak shout pulled everyone's attention away from Luther momentarily. Roughly two hundred meters away, Lamia and Fangy, Luther's demon puppets, were running back, tongues lolling out in exhaustion.

"That's weird. Those two are spirits, just like Fluffy Head-chan. Why are they so worn out? All they've been doing is chasing Luther around, but Fluffy Head-chan's been fighting nonstop and isn't even tired. Shouldn't it be the other way around? They look like they're about to drop dead!"

Anya frowned in confusion as she asked.

"Spirits are a type of energy, Anya. Of course, they can get tired and worn out if they overexert themselves. Sure, Fluffy Head-chan's been fighting the whole time, but not without breaks. Plus, he's a high-level spirit with extremely strong attributes, so fatigue doesn't show as easily—especially in spirit form.

But Lamia and Fangy weren't very high-level when they died, having to keep up with their master, who has maxed-out stats, level, and also an ancient beast. It makes sense that they're burning through energy just trying to keep up with Luther's every step. It's no surprise they're completely drained."

Hisa-chan explained to the fairy girl. His explanation made perfect sense to the fairy girl—but it only made Jane and Hero even more confused. They looked completely lost, like chickens with their heads cut off, unable to follow the conversation at all. Chang Long glanced at their faces and nearly burst out laughing. She then took the opportunity to introduce the newest members of her party to her old friends.

"Luther, this is Jane and Hero—old friends from when I first started playing. Jane, Hero, this is Luther—my newest pet. He's an ancient beast, originally from Hell Dungeon, better known among players as Lucifer."

"Lucifer!!"

The two gunners shouted in unison. Back when they had first met Chang Long, she had been accompanied by the spirits of a former pirate king and a samurai, along with Kitsune, the kirin Flatear, and a young journalist. There was also the elusive fairy of the night, who rarely appeared. But now, it looked like her group had grown significantly—there was a tiny lion, an adorable girl, and a rat perched on her shoulder. Not to mention she had somehow made Lucifer her pet. And had two assassins as her underlings on top of that.

"I'm honestly not surprised, that you could tame a beast as insanely powerful as Lucifer.

But who's this pretty girl?"

Hero said, looking at Anya without blinking, his gaze fixed on her so intently that Brownie could not help but puff up with jealousy—blatantly so.

"Anya's my girlfriend. Don't you dare lay a finger on her or try to flirt, got it!"

"Anya, as in Anya the fairy? Why is she so big now—and she doesn't even have wings!"

Jane exclaimed in shock, staring at Anya in utter confusion. Hero, meanwhile, was left speechless by a tiny mouse threatening him and laying claim to the fairy girl.

"Oh, Anya evolved. Now she can stay in a human form too,"

Chang Long replied with a chuckle, watching Hero's reaction—he was clearly glaring daggers at Brownie.

"That's amazing, Chang Long! You're honestly the most incredible player I've ever met. You have to tell me everything—what exciting stuff did you get up to while we were apart? I really want to hear it all!"

Jane's eyes sparkled as she leapt up to cling to Chang Long's arm. Just seeing how much Chang Long had changed filled her with excitement. She felt so overjoyed and nostalgic that she wanted nothing more than to sit down and catch up, properly, after all the time they had been apart. But of course, this Shallow Reef Zone was not exactly the ideal place for reminiscing. So they decided to chat bit by bit as they continued their journey toward King Island, where, without a doubt, they would reunite with even more long-lost friends like Siegfried and the others. So they decided to chat bit by bit as they continued their journey toward King Island, where, without a doubt, they would reunite with even more long-lost friends like Siegfried and the others.