"Five minutes remaining before the system shuts down for the patch update."
Chang Long slashed her sword into the side of a level 48 Long-Furred Cave Ape, making it scream in pain. She ducked just in ti to avoid a rock hurled at her by another ape.
"Three minutes remaining before the system shuts down for the patch update."
Chang Long managed to kill one of the cave apes. Its companion screeched in fury and began bombarding her with rocks. Left with no choice, she activated her Dinsional Shift skill to teleport herself away from the chaotic center of the fight.
"One minute remaining before the system shuts down for the patch update."
Chang Long drove her sword into the back of another Long-Furred Cave Ape, pulling it out swiftly and forcefully. Then, she turned and slashed at another ape sneaking up behind her, leaving a gash running from its shoulder to its belly.
"Countdown begins for the final 15 seconds: 15… 14… 13… 12..."
She dispatched the second ape with ease as it ran straight into her blade.
"5… 4… 3… 2…"
Ducking to the side, she narrowly avoided a large rock and countered by thrusting her sword through the ape that leapt at her. The blade pierced through its back, killing it instantly.
"1… The system will now automatically log out all players still in the ga. The ga will be unavailable for 24 hours for the new patch update. See you in the next adventure after the patch in the boundless world of Adventure World Online. Thank you!"
At the system's announcent, Chang Long's body transford into white streaks of light and disappeared mid-swing as she prepared to strike another Long-Furred Cave Ape.
....Adventure World Online entered a 24-hour shutdown to implent the new patch update, leaving fans eagerly awaiting its return. Among the many additions, the most exciting feature was the introduction of City Creation and Capture system. The ga's official webpage detailed the new city creation system, drawing countless clicks from excited players.
The special territories where players could claim ownership and establish their cities as they wish, would initially appear as large fortresses, equaled to the size of the territory. Inside, at the center, there would be a tall tower that housed the City Emblem. To seize a city, players had to fight their way through fortresses defended by AI soldiers with levels ranging from 30 to 80. These AI soldiers boasted exceptional combat skills, with commanding officers and generals proving even more formidable foes.
The developers also revealed that the City Emblem would not always reside in the central tower. In so territories, the emblem might be guarded by an AI commander instead, forcing players to endure heavy casualties to secure it. Once a player captured the emblem, they would imdiately gain control of the special territory, earning the title of Governor—or in other terms, the King of the newly claid city. The victor would also get the privilege of naming the city.
Capturing a special territory did not end there because the area that players seize would be an empty space that required them to construct all the buildings themselves. This demanded a massive amount of funds. To address this, the ga introduces the mining system. Previously, players needed to hunt monsters to gather various types of ores for crafting. The mining system now allowed them to collect large amounts of necessary materials in a short ti.
The restrictions for mining were few. Players entering the mining zones could not use personal weapons and had to instead relied on specific tools required for each mine. These tools can be purchased at system general stores. Additionally, all active skills were disabled except for passive ones, ensuring fairness. However, the exact locations of mines and special territories remained hidden, leaving players to rely on their abilities to discover them.
Another major addition, almost as exciting as the special territories and mining system, was the system for exchanging in-ga currency for real money at a rate of 1,000 coins to 1 baht. Many popular gas were now implenting this feature to attract players. This beca possible after a new law permitting the exchange of in-ga currency for real-world money was passed. The legislation received strong backing from major gaming companies and banks, both of which stood to gain from the system. However, the exchange rate for each ga was determined by three key parties: ga company executives, the partner banks, and the Thai Gars' Rights Protection Association, which was established by prominent gars to protect players from potential exploitation when the law regarding the exchange of in-ga currency for real-world currency was approved.
The minimum exchange amount required players to accumulate at least 100,000 coins, which can be converted into 100 baht. This was not easy, considering the many in-ga expenses, such as lodging, potions, food for themselves and pets (for those who had pets), travel costs between islands, and other incidental costs that made saving money up to 1000,000 coins challenging.
In addition to the major updates, the patch also included smaller updates, such as pet abilities, new abilities that would be added for certain pets, the mystery of acquiring fairies through quests, quest villages that the system had left the information about their locations and mission details vague. Fans of Adventure World Online were already aware that revealing too much detail would strip the ga half of its charm.
The new patch had also attracted gars from other gas as well as new players to purchase Adventure World Online gaming consoles in massive numbers. Before the patch update, sales skyrocketed to over 50 million baht within a single week. During the patch update itself, orders continued to pour in. Many companies were now expressing interest in investing in the ga. The managent team at Asian Paradise, the developer of Adventure World Online, was currently holding discussions on the matter. It was possible that after the patch update was completed, players might encounter familiar real-world products integrated into the ga. However, the ga developers had not confird this, as negotiations were still ongoing. If the talks were successful, there might be an additional mini-patch release.
While waiting for the patch update to be completed, gars were gathering as much information as possible. Most aid to be among the first to claim a special territory. Another topic capturing almost equal attention to the patch update was the story of the Seven Pirate Kings. So far, five had been discovered, and one player was known to possess a pirate king's treasure map. Many speculated accurately that Siegfried of the Pendragon Guild and Demos of the Doom Star Guild were among those who had discovered the hidden tombs of the Pirate Kings. However, the identities of the other three remained largely unknown, being recognized only within smaller circles. Especially for Thankhun—if his na were on the list, most gars would not hesitate to dismiss it. Not only was he an unremarkable, guildless player, but his level was also significantly lower compared to other pirate king heirs.
The 24 hours of waiting proved to be restless for gars, with many unable to sleep deeply. Excitent over the new features and additions kept them eager to be the first to log in as soon as the ga reopened. Everyone wanted to see the changes, particularly the inclusion of real-world banks, which had partnered with the ga and would now appear in every city within the virtual world.
Ti seed to drag on. Eventually, many gars succumbed to the allure of their long-abandoned soft beds after playing the ga non-stop for days on end. Even though they only managed a fitful sleep, often dreaming of scenes from the ga, it was the best they could do—resting and dreaming until the ga reopened for them to continue their adventures in Adventure World Online again.
…..
Chang blinked as she rose from the gaming pod. She recalled that after being automatically logged out, she had fallen into a deep sleep until morning. The gentle morning sunlight irritated her eyes slightly. Rubbing them and yawning lazily, she got up from the gaming pod and headed to the bathroom.
Today was the day Chang had to give her statent at the police station regarding a kidnapping case where she was the victim. Accompanying her were Moddang, the household maid who followed her everywhere, and three young n she had first t at the university, serving as witnesses. Moddang knocked on the door just as Chang stepped out of the bathroom.
"What is it?"
Chang called out without opening the door, as she was still dressed in nothing but a towel, which looked rather revealing.
"Are you awake, miss? Don't forget we have an appointnt at the police station today,"
Moddang reminded her, as Chang was still trying to gather her thoughts. In fact, she had completely forgotten about having to give a statent at the police station.
"Uh-huh, do we? I don't recall that,"
Chang replied lazily as she began dressing.
"Oh, miss! Don't joke around. This is about your safety—it might even involve your father and the stability of the entire Infinity Group,"
Moddang spoke urgently. But before Chang could reply, her phone started ringing.
She glanced at the unfamiliar number flashing on the screen and let it ring until it stopped without answering. She did not recognize the number at all. Moddang, noticing the silence, asked curiously,
"Who was that, miss? Why didn't I hear you answering?"
"I don't know the number. It was probably so creep. Don't worry about it,"
Chang replied indifferently, placing the phone back down and walking over to the mirror to comb her hair. After finishing her grooming, Chang stepped out of her room, where Moddang was already waiting, dressed and ready to leave at any mont.
"Oh, all dressed up. Are you going sowhere, Moddang?"
Chang asked, puzzled by her attire.
"Miss! I already told you, we're going to the police station today to give your statent,"
Moddang replied, exasperated.
"Oh, right. But can I eat breakfast first? I'm starving,"
Chang said with a smile before leading the way downstairs. Two bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses were already waiting for her downstairs. Chang rolled her eyes the mont she saw them.
"Are they coming with us?"
Chang turned to Moddang, her face clearly showing displeasure.
"Yes, miss. Your father instructed them to follow you everywhere whenever you leave the house,"
Moddang replied with a sheepish smile.
They walked past the stern-looking bodyguards and headed to the dining room, where Chang saw what she initially thought was an illusion—a man sitting at the head of the table, reading a newspaper. When the man noticed his beloved daughter entering, he quickly folded the paper and got up to greet her with a smile.
"Ouch! That hurts, Chang. Why'd you pinch ?"
Pichaya exclaid, wincing as his daughter pinched him hard enough it almost tore his flesh.
"Oh, it's really you. I thought it was so hologram or robot replica of you,"
Chang replied with a deadpan expression, though she was secretly happy to be having breakfast with her father for the first ti in months.
"Of course, it's . With a yelp like that, how could it be anything else? Sit down—I made breakfast for you myself today,"
Pichaya said, smiling proudly as he gestured toward the clay pot in Aunt Im's hands. Chang sat down as her father invited her, though she could not help but feel a sense of dread at the thought of tasting her father's cooking again. She silently hoped that Aunt Im had seasoned it properly before serving.
When Aunt Im ladled out the contents of the clay pot, Chang was stunned. She stared, wide-eyed, as her spoon stirred through what appeared to be a creamy white soup with bits that resembled mushrooms and mushy fish floating within. Aunt Im placed the clay pot on the table, sprinkled chopped green onions and coriander on top, followed by a dash of ground pepper, and smiled at Chang affectionately despite her obvious reluctance.
"What exactly is this, Dad? Does it.... even have a na?"
Chang asked, glancing up at her father, whose proud smile imdiately faltered.
"Oh, miss! This is the special fish porridge recipe, filled to the brim with love from your father,"
Aunt Im quickly interjected, noticing Pichaya's crestfallen look as his daughter failed to appreciate his efforts.
"Are you sure this is fish porridge?"
Chang grimaced, scooping up the so-called fish porridge and examining it closely with uncertainty.
"Miss!"
Aunt Im and Moddang exclaid in unison.
"(Muttering) Of course, I'm hopeless. I can't even make a proper al for my own daughter... (Muttering)"
Pichaya mumbled to himself, sounding like a man on the brink of despair. This made Chang feel a pang of guilt. She glanced down at the bowl of porridge in front of her and, with trembling hands, scooped up a spoonful and popped it into her mouth. For a brief mont, she was certain she would end up gagging. But the reality was quite the opposite. The fish porridge turned out to taste far better than she had anticipated—by a long shot.
"It's delicious..."
was all Chang managed to say before proceeding to devour the strange-looking dish until her bowl was empty. This made Pichaya's face lit up with smile and joy once again.
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Read 'Adventure World Online (AWO)' before anyone else with more chapters at sjinovel/en
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