While Aswa aimlessly observed his surroundings, he spotted a group of players that seed vaguely familiar, especially the well-dressed man in white who exuded the aura of a nobleman. That man was Orion of the Doom Star Guild, surrounded by guildmates from the sa faction. The sight further solidified Aswa's belief that it was soone from the Doom Star Guild who had stolen the treasure map that rightfully should have been his and put it up for auction. Seeing Orion and his group looking so cheerful only intensified Aswa's anger toward the Doom Star Guild and Demos. Clenching his fists tightly, Aswa tried to suppress the urge to wipe out that group to exact his revenge. He knew he had to hold back for now. His top priority was retrieving the Pirate King's treasure map he had won at the auction.
With great difficulty, Aswa tore his gaze away from Orion's group, who had just erged from the Erald Forest. He resud his journey, knowing that staying any longer would risk his temper boiling over. Aswa sped past several groups of players until he reached the eastern gate of Suvarn City. Suvarn City had a distinctly Thai-inspired atmosphere. The streets, architecture, and even the NPCs and AIs were all styled after traditional Thai aesthetics. So players had also chosen to dress in traditional Thai attire.
Thud!
"Sorry about that!"
Aswa, distracted by the scenery, accidentally bumped into another player. The player quickly apologized politely.
"It's fine. I should apologize too. I wasn't paying attention,"
Aswa replied, turning to look at the player he had bumped into. The player was a cheerful young man with a peculiar black creature perched on his shoulder, unmoving like a figurine. If Aswa was not mistaken, it was a second-form Diabolos, a rare pet found only in the Agaz mountain range. The creature blinked as Aswa stared at it. The young man was accompanied by a group of five friends, so of whom seed astonished to see Aswa.
"Aren't you hurt anywhere?"
The young man asked with genuine concern. Aswa smiled and responded politely again,
"No, I'm fine. Excuse , I have business at the bank."
Without waiting for Kimhant to reply, Aswa sped off like the wind. Kimhant and his friends were left slack-jawed, having never seen a player move that quickly. Not even Chang Long could match that speed.
"Amazing. That person must be a top-tier player,"
exclaid Maine-kun, his voice brimming with admiration and awe.
"And that person is the one who won the bid for your map, Kim,"
Starfish added in her typically deadpan tone. Everyone was stunned, including Cat-Faced Angel, whose usual sleepy deanor was montarily replaced with wide-eyed disbelief.
"Really!" Kimhant exclaid, utterly taken aback.
He had never seen Aswa before, nor even Demos, for that matter. Being a relatively new player who had only recently left the Starting Island after joining Chang Long's crew, Kimhant had no firsthand experience with the ga's elite players, who were notoriously reclusive and rarely showed themselves.
"In that case, we need to get out of here fast. If he finds out I was the one who drove up the map's price to thirty-one million…"
Kimhant abruptly stopped mid-sentence, hastily leading his friends out of the city. Each one wore a look of terror and followed suit, eager to avoid any encounter with a top-tier player in a fit of rage. Such a eting would surely be a one-way ticket to the post-death confinent zone.
.....
BOOM!
The ground exploded with a deafening sound as the enraged level 80 Burrowing Armored Worm slamd its massive tail into Thankhun's group. Everyone leapt in different directions. Thankhun narrowly avoided the strike, glancing back at the deep trench carved into the ground just a few inches from his feet with a relief. He quickly got to his feet, scanning the area for Big and his companions, who were scattered across the ground. Now they stood in a semicircle, facing the monstrous Burrowing Armored Worm.
Despite its enormous size, the creature moved with surprising agility, slithering like a deadly serpent preparing to strike. It raised its head high and lunged at Big, the White Cloud Lion standing defiantly in its path. Its gaping mouth was ready to swallow the challenger whole.
"Big!"
Thankhun shouted, worried for his pet. Though Big was at level 105, his smaller size made him a pri target for the Burrowing Armored Worm, which could almost gulp him down in one bite. Yet Big leapt nimbly out of the way, retaliating with sharp claws that slashed across the worm's armored face, leaving vivid red gashes.
The others seized the opportunity to attack. Crown swung his twin Wolf of Azlam Blades at the worm's upper body, while Duncan, Jane, Hero, and TaoHuayNomSod unleashed volleys of attacks aid at its eyes, hoping to blind it. Without its vision, the beast would lose its ability to track them effectively. anwhile, TaoHuYee cast a variety of supportive buffs to aid the group, including Thankhun, who stood montarily stunned by his companions' impressive teamwork.
"Watch out, Thankhun!"
Duncan yelled a warning, breaking Thankhun's daze. Turning quickly, Thankhun saw the Burrowing Armored Worm thrashing wildly in pain from losing its sight, its powerful tail whipping toward him.
"L... Lunar Shadow Form!"
Thankhun activated the skill in alarm, knowing he could not dodge its tail in ti. The moon emblem on his chest armor flared with brilliant white light before dimming rapidly. The worm's tail swept violently through where Thankhun stood. However...
"Wow! How did you do that, Thankhun!"
TaoHuYee hurried over, concerned. As a priest, he had so healing skills. Yet, instead of finding Thankhun flattened on the ground, his body covered in blood, and his health had dropped to a critical level in a coma state, TaoHuYee was stunned to see him perfectly fine. Even stranger, Thankhun's body now appeared translucent and ragged, like cloth fluttering in a fierce wind. Thankhun looked at TaoHuYee in bewildernt, then down at his own body.
"What is this?"
Thankhun exclaid in shock. He waved his hand through his own body and was stunned to find that it passed through effortlessly, as if his body had turned into intangible air, seemingly gone from the physical realm despite still being visible. Experinting further, he touched TaoHuYee, who stood frozen in astonishnt. Thankhun could grasp TaoHuYee, but when TaoHuYee tried to touch Thankhun's body, his hand passed straight through, unable to make contact.
Thankhun raised his wrist and checked the description of the Lunar Shadow Form skill. It was a skill that rendered his body unstable for a limited duration. A countdown tir displayed on the skill's interface revealed he had ten minutes of active ti, followed by a cooldown period of about two minutes. Thankhun smiled with satisfaction. Now, he no longer had to fear attacks. No matter how violently the Burrowing Armored Worm raged, it could not harm him. anwhile, his companions were struggling, dodging the worm's chaotic attacks with varying success. Most did not escape unscathed—especially the Four Tao group.
While the others retreated from the rampaging beast—including Big, Thankhun's pet—Thankhun did the opposite. He charged toward the Burrowing Armored Worm, the heart of the danger. He was determined to make the most of his limited ti before the Lunar Shadow Form effect wore off in ten minutes.
"That guy's lost his mind!"
Crown exclaid, mouth agape at Thankhun's move. Everyone was similarly astonished. But what was even more shocking was that, amid the worm's powerful tail whips and frenzied head swipes, Thankhun moved unscathed. It was as if he did not exist there—as if his presence was rely a shadow.
Thankhun unsheathed his curved sword once more. He targeted the area near the middle of the worm's body, close to its tail. Climbing up a tall tree, he leapt down with the sword raised high, slashing down at the beast with all his might.
The Burrowing Armored Worm shrieked in pain, its tail was nearly severed, gushing bright red blood like a burst pipe. Though the damage was not as severe as Thankhun had hoped, it was enough to drastically slow the worm's chaotic movents. Now, it was up to the others to finish the job and they could return to continuing their path forward.
Together, the group worked to subdue the Burrowing Armored Worm, eventually bringing the massive beast down. As the ten-minute tir ran out, Thankhun's ethereal, flowing body returned to its solid state. His companions were in awe of the skill, and Thankhun seed more composed and dignified than ever in their eyes. What none of them realized, however, was that the slow, deliberate movents he made were not for show but a result of the skill's side effects, that forced him to walk in slow-motion.
Thankhun felt disoriented as his body, which had been as light as air monts ago, regained its weight. He stumbled and felt fatigued, so he quickly consud a blood crystal and a rejuvenating crystal while his friends busied themselves collecting the loot from the Burrowing Armored Worm. Among the items were leather armor the sa color as the worm's hide—which elicited a loud, ew! from Jane when she picked it up—worm castings (fertilizer) that nobody wanted to touch except Duncan, and three dium-sized earth elent gems. The money was automatically divided and credited to each mber's account.
Thankhun sat close to Big, his White Cloud Lion, to recuperate. When he felt better, the group gathered around him.
"You don't look so good,"
Duncan said, concern evident in his voice.
"I'm fine. Let's move on before sothing else shows up,"
Thankhun replied, his tone serious. He climbed onto Big's back and urged the lion forward along the path they had taken to get there. From atop Big, Thankhun had a clear view of the surroundings and was able to guide his friends to avoid the carnivorous trees. Eventually, they reached what looked like a cave. It was a large rock with an entrance leading inside, but it ended in a dead end with no visible exits. Beyond the rock lay a crystal-clear blue sea, shimring like a mirror and gleaming with jewel-like brilliance.
"No entrance!"
Hero shook his head in frustration after they had thoroughly searched the area and found no secret passages or hidden doors—just a large lunar symbol being swallowed by Rahu in the center of the cave floor.
"Maybe we need to search the forest again?"
Jane suggested hesitantly. Everyone looked horrified at the idea of returning to the jungle. Even Thankhun did not think going back was a good idea. He decided to explore the cave himself after letting the others investigate first.
The mont Thankhun stepped onto the symbol, it began to glow, and the entire cave started to shake. Everyone, including Big, was startled. The spherical walls of the cave seed to expand, growing several tis larger. The light blurred their vision. When the light faded, they found themselves in a completely different cave.
This new cave was enormous and sealed off, with torches on the wall providing light. The ground was littered with scattered rocks, and small shrubs and ferns dotted the area. Everyone glanced around nervously and exchanged uncertain looks. They had no idea where they were, where they were heading or whether this was truly the secret tomb of the Pirate King. In the midst of the tense silence, Big sniffed the air and let out a displeased growl. The lion's gaze fixed intently on the small openings around the room, which seed to be hiding sothing that was moving.
Sothing moved within the openings, letting out a raspy cry that made everyone tightened their grip on their weapons with unease. TaoHuYee began casting support skills for the group, bracing for what was to co. Finally, the creatures they were waiting for erged, one after another—then ten, twenty, thirty, forty... In total, more than fifty of them sward out.
"Level 40 Baby T-Rex Beasts, are preparing to attack..."
The system's announcent made Thankhun and his friends feeling dizzy. Each Baby T-Rex stood about fifty centiters tall, their orange-brown bodies topped with sharp, toothy grins. The creatures charged from all directions, aiming to overwhelm Thankhun's group.
Everyone spread out to prepare for the assault. The Baby T-Rexes hesitated to approach Thankhun's pet, Big, as the lion's sheer size and level intimidated them. With everyone in the group being fairly high-level, they handled the battle with ease. Thankhun also had Big as his formidable bodyguard. The Baby T-Rexes fell one by one, and the group grew more relaxed and playful as the fight went on. None of them noticed what was happening to the fallen Baby T-Rexes—other T-Rexes were consuming their remains. As they ate, their bodies grew larger. Eventually, only one creature remained in the cave. It was a sight that froze everyone in terror, mouth agape.
"Level 96 Tyrannosaurus Rex Beast is preparing to attack!"
The carnivorous dinosaur, standing six ters tall and over sixteen ters long, lood over the group. It opened its jaws and let out a deafening roar. Everyone instinctively covered their ears and took several steps back. The Tyrannosaurus Rex swished its massive tail as it scanned for food. Crown mouthed silently to the others,
"Don't move. T-Rexes have poor eyesight. If we don't move too fast, it won't see us."
Everyone complied, and to their relief, standing still seed to work. However, the cave was too cramped for such a large creature. Unable to spot any prey, the T-Rex began to explore, its tail swinging dangerously close. Those nearby had to duck. The closer the Tyrannosaurus Rex got to Big, the louder the lion's deep growl rumbled from his throat.
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