Adventure World Online (AWO)

Chang Long's group proceeded with extreme caution, trying to avoid making even the slightest sound—careful not to alert the gluttonous white reapers that owned the turf. Yet, it seemed their efforts were not enough. Though their footsteps were nearly silent, the subtle disruption in the water flow as they moved was enough to trigger a reaction. The white death began to stir—hidden deep in the many porous cavities along the stone walls.

"Something feels off."

Brownie muttered, glancing around nervously, his face tense.

"How so, Brownie?"

Anya asked, curious.

"It feels like something's moving around us, Anya. If it's not huge in size, then it must be huge in numbers."

Brownie replied. Sure enough, everyone else—including Anya—could sense that movement as the mouse did.

Ffft!

Chang Long suddenly stopped in her tracks. The entire group halted, turning to look at her in confusion.

"W... What is it, Chang Long? Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"

Jane asked, her voice edged. Everyone's faces grew tense, as if they could break into combat at any moment. The darkness around them felt thicker than before. When they looked ahead—or behind—it was pitch black. They could feel that something was watching them—hat heightened their sense of dread.

"Seems like avoiding obstacles silently isn't enough to get us through here alive."

"What are you talking about? We've made it pretty far already. If we just pick up the pace, we might make it out of here in one piece."

Hero protested. Standing still like this seemed less like the path to safety.

"It's pointless. The more we move—the more we weave through obstacles—the more the water shifts. This place is normally dead still. Whatever lives here in the dark must have incredibly sensitive perception to changes in the current. Otherwise, they wouldn't be moving now."

The group fell silent at her explanation. Only Jane and Hero looked visibly shaken. Unlike the others, they could not leap over multiple obstacles in one go—they had to shift their bodies constantly to dodge things, which in turn disturbed the water even more.

"So even if we move in total silence, the disturbed flow we create is still waking them up?"

Jane asked, voice strained.

"Exactly."

Hero answered. Suddenly, a small glowing white jellyfish emerged from a hole in the wall. It was about the size of a human palm—adorable, even—with two little black spots on its cap that looked like eyes. It bobbed and floated lazily toward Jane. Entranced by how cute it seemed, she could not help herself. She reached out to touch it.

The moment her finger made contact with one of its small, seemingly harmless tendrils, a sharp flash of light burst out—like a camera flash. Jane's body suddenly lit up from within, her skeleton visible for an instant like an x-ray. Everyone who had thought the creature was cute recoiled in shock, immediately drawing their weapons.

"Youchhh!!"

Jane's shriek of shock was even more terrifying than the jellyfish's glow. It made Murder freeze mid-step, stunned, as Jane collapsed against Hero. The scream echoed, waking the white death from their slumber. In a blink, the area was filled with something white.

Hundreds—no, thousands—of small glowing jellyfish emerged from their hideouts. They moved slowly, as if they knew that no prey that had entered their den would ever escape alive. Panic set in as the group was surrounded. In a flash, the jellyfish swarmed so densely that they choked off any route of escape.

Chang Long drew her sword and cleaved through the swarm, slicing a path forward. She refused to die here—devoured by palm-sized jellyfish. Hero hoisted the unconscious Jane onto his back and began to run after Chang Long's group, hacking through any that blocked his path, with Murder at his side protecting them.

"Master, at this rate, we're not going to get anywhere. There are just too many of them."

Kitsune called out to Chang Long. He had exhausted his fire magic options—the jellyfish were simply too numerous. Striking them without getting touched by their venomous tendrils was becoming nearly impossible.

"Slashing them one by one is pointless. If only we had an ability that could knock them all away with a shockwave or something,"

Flatear added. He was never one for weapons, but even he had to request a sword from Chang Long—going barehanded was too risky in the face of poison.

"A shockwave, huh. Anyone among us have that kind of skill?"

Brownie asked.

"W... What if I use my wings to fan them away, master?"

Anya suggested thoughtfully, turning to Chang Long.

"Wings, of course. But we're packed by the swarm, it would be hard to spread wings."

Chang Long's eyes lit up with realization. With her level and strength, she was confident that the motion of her wings would create a shockwave strong enough to blow the palm-sized jellyfish away. The only problem was, there was not enough room to spread her wings

"If you're confident in your wings, then we'll clear some space for you."

Killer volunteered. He and Murder shared a nod. They locked arms and leapt into the air together, each extending their free arm outward with blades drawn. They spun like tornados, creating a high-speed vortex around the group. The combination of centrifugal force and the slashing arcs of their weapons blew the jellyfish back in a wide perimeter—quite a distance from Chang Long's group.

"Now's your chance, Master Chang. Do it!"

Murder shouted as they disengaged mid-spin and crashed to the ground in a daze, swaying like they were drunk.

"Spread wings!"

Chang Long readied her stance and activated the command. Her massive, beautiful dark gray-black wings burst forth from her back. She gave them two light test flaps, then lashed out with a third, powerful sweep. A shockwave blasted, sending the jellyfish flying back several meters.

"Go. Everyone, run!"

The team took off at her signal, no longer concerned with making noise or stepping on bones. Their enemies had already revealed themselves, and now they were giving chase—gliding after the group with persistence.

"Geez, starving much, are you?"

Chang Long grumbled as she beat her wings a fourth time to clear the path again. But now, fatigue was setting in. She feared that if they still could not see the end of this deadly corridor, they might become jellyfish food.

"Master—are you alright? If it's too much, let me take over with my wings."

Anya offered quickly, seeing the strain on Chang Long's face. The fairy girl was practically her twin, sharing her life force and level. She did not split EXP like regular pets, and her power was on par with Chang Long's.

"Are you sure you're up to it, Anya? Your wings are so delicate and beautiful,"

Chang Long hesitated. She did not want to see Anya's fairy wings get injured.

"She's right. If those pretty wings of yours got hurt..."

Brownie interjected, not wanting her to force it. Despite Anya's battle mode being terrifying.

"Come on, don't underestimate me like that. My level isn't low, and I'm not as weak as I was before my evolution, yah!"

As she spoke, a brilliant light flared behind her. Butterfly-shaped wings of radiant light unfolded from her back, followed by the appearance of the real thing, shimmering with silvery dust. The swept of her wings was far greater in power than even Chang Long.

On top of that, the silver dust in the air seemed to have a dizzying effect on the jellyfish.

"Whoa, holy crap!"

Brownie breathed, barely a whisper. The rest of the group stood in awe—dumbstruck by the devastating power of this seemingly fragile girl.

"Next time, Anya, if you've got power like that—step up first. Don't wait for me. I'm embarrassed now."

Chang Long whispered to the fairy, who beamed at the praise.

Thanks to her help of the fairy girl, the group finally saw light ahead. They surged forward, sprinting with everything they had. One final flap from Anya's wings cleared the exit—and they were through.

"Wait, Chang Long. I want a little payback."

Jane called out suddenly. She had only recently regained consciousness from the jellyfish's venom and had barely gotten a chance to breathe before having to run along with the others—her face smudged, her hair a tangled mess.

"What are you doing, Jane? We're still not safe here!"

Hero warned, walking to her side.

"Just give me a second. I have to settle this score. Pressure grenade—detonates on impact."

Jane pulled a small, bolt-sealed sphere from her bag. A wicked smile spread across her face as she yanked the pin and lobbed it into the pursuing swarm.

"So long, you little white nightmares. Pray we never meet again!"

BOOOOM!

"That thing's strong. Move it, before we get caught in the blast!"

Hero shouted. But the rest of the group had already taken off the moment they saw Jane throw it. Hero, who had been dragging Jane behind along with difficulty, could not stop the twitch on the corner of his mouth as he stumbled forward.

"Geez, thanks for waiting, guys!"

.....

Sunlight. Wind. White sand stretched far and wide brought an oddly soothing feeling after what felt like an eternity of darkness. They had popped up at the beach near a massive rocky outcrop, unbelievably close to King Island. The white beach curved like a circle around the island.

This looked like a border of safety—unlike the coral zones that were about five hundred meters away. They dropped to the sand, utterly spent—but smiling. They had survived the deadly pass at last.

"What the? Are there players who beat us here already?"

A man's voice rang out, laced with disappointment as he saw the other group in the safe area of King Island near his group. Chang Long's group quickly sat up, on guard. They did not know if the newcomers were friend or foe.

"Hmph. Met again sooner than expected, huh."

"Demos…"

Chang Long's gaze locked onto another man, standing behind the speaker as his locked onto hers. Their eyes were both unreadable. Everyone around them tensed, speculating a battle. But Demos was the first to speak—and ease the tension.

"Didn't think anyone could beat me here. Figures it'd be you. The one who nearly defeated me."

"You nearly lost too."

Chang Long replied coldly, yet instead of drawing blades as many had expected, she drew laughter from Demos.

"Haha, true. I nearly did. But tell me, isn't that your little nosy pet I killed before? Did you manage to resurrect him?"

His eyes settled on Kitsune, the shapeshifting beast who now stood beside Chang Long in human form. He remembered him well—Kitsune had taken a fatal blow to protect his master from danger.

"That was me!"

Kitsune replied flatly. But his eyes burned with rage—as if holding a grudge from a lifetime ago.

"Oho, not even a shred of fear when you look me in the eye, huh. You lot really haven't changed—still interesting. I hope you'll make things exciting again when the battle of Pirate King heirs starts."

And with that, Demos turned and walked away, followed by Orion—the loudmouth from before—and several other members of the Doom Star Guild. All eyes lingered on Chang Long curiously. Nobody knew her nor expected her to be so interesting that their guild leader, Demos would stop to converse with her for a long time.

"Lord Chang/Chang Long. That was Demos, the leader of the Doom Star Guild, wasn't it?"

Four men asked in unison–filled with curiosity, the moment they were sure Demos and his crew had walked out of earshot.

"Was there other Demos?"

Chang Long replied. At that, their eyes widened, buzzing with excitement.

Never thought they would have the chance to meet the real Demos up close—the leader of the most powerful guild in the game, the ruthless butcher of his enemies, and one of Pirate King heirs with the terrifying moniker the demon lord.

"Unbelievable. That was really Demos."

Jane whispered, both thrilled and starstruck at the same time.

"He's one of the people I've always wanted to fight someday. I never thought I'd get to see him in person so closely."

Killer said, eyes fixed on the direction Demos's group had gone, toward King Island. He looked like he was itching to chase after them and throw down a challenge right then and there—Murder beside him looked just as fired up.

"Let's go. Looks like more players are arriving at this beach."

Chang Long offered as she began to walk forward, Kitsune and Flatear flanking her on both sides. Luther jogged ahead, while Anya, Brownie, and the two ghosts—Devi-chan and Hisa-chan—trailed behind. Fluffy Head-chan brought up the rear. They paid no attention to whether the sniper pair or the twins were keeping up.

"Hey. Those new arrivals over there look familiar."

Jane said, eyes still glued on a group approaching the far end of the beach.

"Huh. What, you recognize them or something?"

Hero asked, squinting at the new arrivals himself.

"Well, look at her—the girl throwing a tantrum. She kinda looks a lot like Peach Blossom. And that burly, bald dude seems like he could be Lidded Wet Trash Can."

Jane began analyzing them one by one. The group across the way also began to notice that they were being watched. The girl mid-tantrum abruptly froze and turned her gaze directly toward Jane, Hero, Murder, and Killer, who were all still staring openly at them.

"JAAAAAANE!!"

A thunderous shriek cut across the beach. Jane flinched so hard she nearly fell backward. Seconds later, her phone buzzed—caller ID: Peach Blossom. Without a second thought, she answered.

"Hello. Don't tell me that's really you over there, Peach Blossom?!"

Jane asked suddenly after hitting the answer button.

"Of course it's me, duh. Stay right where you are—I'm coming over now."

Peach Blossom's voice chirped sweetly.

"Okay, okay—but wait, how did you know it was me?"

Jane asked, puzzled. Even after all that staring, she was not sure if the group in front of her were Peach Blossom's. How was the girl so sure that it was her, standing there, waiting.

"Easy. No one else in this entire game is a guy cross-dressing, lugging a giant rifle slung over one shoulder. I didn't even have to guess!"