"What's up there on the top floor, Guild Leader!"
A beautiful female guild mber asked while pointing to the corner of the third floor—the highest level of the abandoned theater—where radiant seven-colored light shimred. Just as she finished speaking, she was hit by a clown's Tickle Technique, causing her to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Ah... what a sha. So pretty, but why laugh so horrendously..."
One of the male guild mbers muttered to himself in disbelief.
"It happens... You guys carry her up. The rest, clear the beasts and head for the source of that seven-colored light!"
Aswa commanded, activating a skill that summoned dozens of small golden dragons. They streaked through the air, tearing apart the beasts blocking their path, opening the way to the stone staircase along the theater wall.
The stone staircase was just wide enough for two people to pass each other. Climbing it while under constant assault from beasts was grueling. So skills used by Aswa's group were so powerful they severely damaged portions of the stairs. Fortunately, most of Aswa's team were wandering martial artist, capable of using their qinggong skill to leap across the gaps.
Finally, Aswa and his team reached their destination, albeit in a slightly disheveled state. They had been hit multiple tis by the Tickle Technique, laughing so much that their defense points had significantly dropped. The seven-colored light turned out to emanate from the face of a clown—a joker, the very symbol they were searching for—emblazoned on a thick, heavy stone door. Aswa pondered how to open the door while the beasts inside the theater continued their relentless assaults. The clown face scowled at him and spoke in a disgruntled tone:
"Staring, are we? What do you want!"
Aswa and his companions flinched. They looked around for the source of slow speaking sound that seed to be very irritated with them. No matter how hard they tried, they did not find the owner of the voice, there was no one else besides the frowning joker symbol and the beasts attacking them. Aswa knew that only certain rare types of beasts could communicate. He stepped closer to the joker symbol, scrutinizing it closely.
"Was it you who spoke?"
He muttered to himself while his teammates fended off the attacking beasts.
"Of course, you dimwit!"
The glowing joker snapped, causing Aswa to jump back in surprise.
"You bumbling fool. If you have no business here, stop bothering !"
With that, the joker's glowing head vanished behind the stone door.
"Hey, wait. I have business with you. Co back and talk to !"
Aswa shouted.
"Don't know, don't care. If you don't know who I am, then leave,"
the joker's distant voice echoed mockingly, followed by a hideous cackle.
"What makes you think I don't know you? Co out here and talk properly, Roche Roger!"
Aswa said sternly. The joker's grotesque laugh abruptly stopped. Monts later, its glowing face reappeared, staring directly at Aswa.
"What did you just call ?"
The Joker asked, staring unblinkingly at Aswa.
"Roche Roger,"
Aswa replied firmly.
"Ahahaha. , Roche Roger? You're such an idiot. How could soone like dare compare to him? Fool! Utter fool. Hahaha."
The Joker laughed mockingly at Aswa, showing no trace of courtesy. He laughed for a good while before falling silent, his expression suddenly turning serious as he stared at Aswa again.
"If you know who he is, then you must have it. Show it to ,"
the Joker said with a sly grin. Aswa pulled out the Pirate King's treasure map and held it up for the Joker to see. Attached to the silk cord binding the map was the na of its original owner. Aswa had scrutinized it many tis while his subordinates were out searching for the Joker symbol. After all, he did not want to miss any detail. This map had cost him a staggering 31 million coins, leaving both him and his guild nearly bankrupt.
"Excellent. Finally, the ti has co. A hundred years is no short wait."
The Joker let out a loud, maniacal laugh, his excitent growing to the point of near madness. He leaned further out from behind the stone door, his glowing, multicolored form slowly revealing itself to Aswa.
"Enter! Oh heir to the greatest, most cunning Pirate King among the seven," the Joker said theatrically, gently pushing the heavy stone door open with ease. Then, he gestured grandly for only Aswa to enter. As soon as Aswa stepped into the pitch-black chamber, the stone door closed behind him instantly.
Snap!
A sharp snapping sound echoed through the dark room. Suddenly, a blinding light filled the chamber, forcing Aswa to shut his eyes. When he finally reopened them, his jaw dropped at the sight before him. Dozens of stone pedestals of various shapes and colors were lined up, each holding a single item: a deck of cards, a long, weathered leather whip, a neatly folded red cloth that looked like nothing else but an ordinary piece of fabric, a top hat and wand, a red ball that resembled the Joker's own nose, multicolored balls, a unicycle, tal hoops, juggling pins, an unadorned silver sword, a set of (twelve) throwing knives, a white dove, and more. Every item was clearly an artifact from a circus act. Aswa scanned the room with growing confusion, then turned to look at the Joker standing beside him with a grin.
"These, of course, are the weapons—the key to the tomb of him, I must say, he had quite the sense of humor. Look at this. So many choices, yet only one is correct,"
the Joker explained with amusent.
"Only one works. What happens if I pick the wrong one!"
Aswa asked, his voice filled with alarm.
"Wait and see. The results range from mild to catastrophic,"
the Joker replied with a devious smile. Aswa swallowed hard. His eyes darted nervously among the seemingly ridiculous items, his mind racing to choose one, praying silently that it would be the right choice.
Aaaagh!!
A chilling wail echoed, startling the guild mbers waiting outside. They imagined their guild leader, Aswa, facing so overwhelmingly powerful foe and likely struggling to survive. As their minds ran wild, their admiration for their guild leader grew. In truth, the fearso threat that had Aswa, the respected leader of the Dark Horse Guild, screaming his lungs out was...
"Cockroach!!"
"Hahaha. Picked the wrong one again!"
Aswa leapt in a single bound, soaring three ters to perch atop a beam, his face pale, hands trembling, and body gripping the beam tightly. His disheveled state only made the Joker burst into louder laughter.
"Get down here. You're wasting my ti!"
The Joker snapped when Aswa refused to descend even after a long ti.
"No way. Not until those things stop swarming all over the floor. I'm not stepping down there!"
Aswa shouted back, his voice firm.
"What, cockroaches? Pathetic. A man like you, a supposed paragon of masculinity, terrified of cockroaches like a frightened little girl?"
The Joker jeered, his tone mocking. Aswa's eyebrow twitched in frustration, but fear overrode his pride.
Knowing he could not leave without finding the weapon Roche Roger had left behind. Aswa flitted from item to item, unwilling to stay in one spot too long amidst the cockroach-infested room, feeling that the room was becoming uninhabitable. Earlier, he had accidentally picked the top hat and wand, only for it to summon the cockroach swarm in the first place. With most of the seemingly viable options already chosen, Aswa reluctantly reached for sothing he had dismissed until now, as other remaining options seed even more impractical to him.
Aswa hesitantly reached out for a worn, brown leather whip, wanting to leave the room so desperately. The mont his hand touched the whip, it briefly glowed, revealing its true form for a fleeting second before returning to its weathered state.
"Player Aswa has obtained the Divine Weapon: Infinite Whip. The player must forge a bond with the Divine Weapon before it can be used. Once bonded, the player will be unable to wield any other weapon."
The system's announcent made Aswa exhale in relief. Finally, he had chosen correctly and could escape this roach-overrun room.
"Hahaha. At last, you've got so sense. You know, you'll need to form a bond with that weapon before you can unlock its power. Let tell you, though—this weapon, created by him, is unmatched. But you'll only understand its true abilities once you've made a contract with it. My duty is done, my hundred-year wait is over,"
the Joker said, his voice tinged with weariness. The Joker's glowing, multicolored figure shone brightly one last ti before fading away.
"Huh, how do I get out of here now? Phew... at least the cockroaches are gone."
Aswa stared in shock at Joker's glowing figure that had vanished. Turning to look for an exit, he realized that all the items in the room, including the cockroaches, had disappeared. He walked to the door and gave it a push, discovering it opened easily.
Clutching the old brown whip, Aswa exited the hidden room, his mind spinning with confusion. His subordinates, who had been anxiously waiting outside, rushed to him with concern. They alternated their gaze between the whip in his hand and his pale, slightly shaken expression with curiosity.
"Guild Leader, was there so kind of ferocious beast inside? Your screams were so loud!"
One of his followers asked excitedly, his eyes scanning Aswa for any signs of injuries from battle.
"You... you heard that?"
Aswa asked, startled that his cries had been so loud that it was audible outside the room.
"Yes, Guild Leader. Your voice was so loud, we were worried sick. But it seems you're not seriously injured, are you?"
Aswa quickly began thinking of a way to save face. The thought of admitting he had scread because of cockroaches was mortifying—especially for a man like him who was the heartthrob of almost all girls in the ga.
"Well... the thing in there was incredibly vicious. Honestly, I barely made it out alive. I've had so ti to recover, but I'm still suffering from so internal injuries. Don't worry, though. As you can see, I made it out safe and sound."
His words imdiately earned him looks of admiration from his subordinates. Even Aswa himself felt a bit creeped out by their sheer reverence. He shuddered at the thought of what their reactions might have been if he had told the truth. Their reaction might have been the opposite, or even worse. Just the thought of it gave him chills.
Aswa and his team left the abandoned theater and began searching for the next clue. Everyone was excited at the prospect of finally opening the Pirate King's treasure map. However... no matter how much they pulled, pried, or tugged at it, the map refused to open.
"What's going on? We found the Joker symbol, didn't we? Why can't we open the map yet?"
A frustrated female subordinate asked as Aswa furrowed his brow in deep thought.
"Maybe you forgot to collect so loot dropped by the beast, Guild Leader. What kind of beast was it, and did it drop anything important other than this whip?"
Another subordinate asked, breaking Aswa's train of thought.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Aswa asked, not having caught the question.
"I an, I was asking what kind of beast it was, and if the beast dropped anything else besides the whip,"
the subordinate repeated his question.
"That's true. By the way, what exactly was the beast you fought, Guild Leader? If we know, we can help analyze what other items it might have dropped."
Faced with this question, the young Guild Leader gulped nervously. There was no way he could tell the truth. His mind raced, working overti to craft a believable answer that would save him from embarrassnt and preserve the respect of his subordinates.
.....
News of the appearance of a new type of beast quickly captured the attention of players across the ga. Even more intriguing was the claim that this was a beast king—ferocious, and possessing a bizarre appearance. Aswa's vivid and trustworthy descriptions only fueled the players' curiosity, making many eager to witness this creature themselves. However, several factors hindered their attempts: the ongoing wars for special territories among major guilds had caused disruptions to the in-ga transportation network, and the exaggerated descriptions of the beast's abilities made lower-level players too intimidated to venture out in search of it.
"What the heck kind of beast has a cockroach's head, a caterpillar's body, and legs like a grasshopper's?"
Draco raised his head from his wristwatch, which was paused on the public communication channel, looking thoroughly confused.
"Right? It sounds incredibly dangerous—and I bet it looks disgusting, too,"
added Peach Blossom, shuddering as she tried to imagine the appearance of this new breed of beast described in Aswa's report to the communication channel.
"Forget about it for now. We're stuck here on this ship heading to Europa Island. No way we'll get to see that freakish creature anyti soon,"
Rafael said, sounding bored.
-----
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