In the VIP room of the Nine Moon Restaurant, Chang Long, Davy-chan, Oliang, and Wet Trash Can gathered. Except for Chang Long and Kitsune, no one else could see Davy-chan. The table was laden with a variety of dishes, all ordered by Chang Long upon Davy-chan's request.
"Wow! Chang Long, did you order all this? Can we really finish it?"
Oliang was astonished by the amount of food on the table, doubting that the three of them could finish it all.
"Yeah, if we can't finish, they'll charge us a penalty!!"
Wet Trash Can, known for heavy eating even voiced his concern, fearing a penalty of five tis the price of the food if they could not finish.
"We'll finish it, don't worry. Let's start eating,"
Chang Long confidently replied, picking up Davy-chan's spirit tablet and placing it on an empty chair. She lit a stick of incense for the food on the table as an offering to Davy-chan, much to the horror of the two n.
"What are you doing, Chang Long?"
Oliang asked suspiciously.
"Offering food to a spirit,"
Chang Long replied while beginning to eat.
"WHAT?!!"
Both Oliang and Wet Trash Can scread in shock.
"Why must you shout!? You startled ,"
Chang Long jumped at their loud reaction, causing her to drop the atball she was about to eat.
Knock, knock, knock!!
The knocking on the door made everyone freeze and turn their attention to it. Soon after, the door opened, and a group of people walked in. Siegfried, leading Sabia dressed exactly like Peach Blossom, entered first, followed by Peach Blossom, Rafael, Draco, and Aden.
"Hello, Chang Long,"
Siegfried greeted first, while Peach Blossom, upon spotting Chang Long, quickly sat next to her.
"Hello, Siegfried, take a seat..."
Chang Long replied, inviting him to sit down. Knowing in advance from Siegfried that Peach Blossom was infatuated with her and not seeking revenge, Chang Long felt relieved that she no longer had to flee from them.
"Peach Blossom, you can't sit here. Look, the spirit tablet has fallen to the floor,"
Chang Long scolded Peach Blossom for sitting next to her without noticing Davy-chan's spirit tablet. Rafael, Draco, and Aden scrutinized Chang Long curiously.
"What spirit tablet? Peach Blossom doesn't see anything,"
Peach Blossom defended herself, looking around for the spirit tablet Chang Long ntioned.
"It's over there..."
Chang Long said, walking to pick up the spirit tablet that had skidded away.
"It's chipped..."
she muttered softly while picking up the tablet and returning to her seat. The newcors all turned their attention to the pure white jade spirit tablet in her hand.
"Davy-chan..."
Aden read aloud when Chang Long placed the spirit tablet back on the table, as Peach Blossom had already taken seat where the tablet was originally placed.
"Chang Long keeps a spirit?"
Rafael asked.
"Yes,"
Chang Long replied shortly before continuing to eat. Everyone began to eat, following Chang Long's lead, but were shocked to see so of the dishes quickly diminishing, even though nobody had started eating them yet.
"What's happening, Master Chang?!!"
Peach Blossom, pretending to be scared to the point of shaking, quickly clung to Chang Long's arm and asked, despite Siegfried's stern look, she did not let go of Chang Long's arm.
"Uh... I forgot to ntion, four dishes on this side are for Davy-chan. Don't accidentally take any, or else I won't take responsibility if he got angry,"
Chang Long pointed to four seafood dishes near the spirit tablet. Everyone nodded in understanding, realizing they would not be quick enough to try those dishes anyway, as they were gone shortly after Chang Long finished speaking.
After eating their fill, Chang Long and the others imdiately began discussing the Guardian Spirit secret quest. Chang Long reiterated the details to make sure everyone understood, even though Siegfried had already briefed his friends and sister. Oliang and Wet Trash Can only had a vague idea, followed by self-introductions before setting off.
"We all understand now, right? The Guardian Spirit secret quest objective is to protect Sabia from goblins, escort her to the center of the Fairy Forest where the elves live, and then kill the Goblin King. That's it,"
Chang Long explained. Everyone nodded, understanding the plan. Chang Long then told them to set off, as they would not reach the Fairy Forest before nightfall if they delayed any longer.
"Hold on, Chang Long. What about Kitsune? I haven't seen him at all. Will he join us later?"
Oliang asked, noticing they were about to leave but Kitsune, who usually accompanies Chang Long, was nowhere in sight.
"Uh... He's busy. He can't co with us,"
Chang Long awkwardly replied.
"Oh no, that's too bad! If Kitsune was here, we'd have an easier ti since he can breathe fire,"
Peach Blossom said with a tone of regret, but her face showed sheer delight at Kitsune's absence, not realizing Chang Long paled at her words.
"Really?!!"
All the n exclaid in unison, loudly.
"Really! I saw it with my own eyes... right, Master Chang?"
Peach Blossom replied brightly, then turned to Chang Long sweetly.
"You've mistaken!"
Chang Long said, promptly leading everyone out of the VIP dining room. Peach Blossom, thinking Chang Long was angry, whined and chased after her. The remaining n exchanged glances before following Chang Long and Peach Blossom out. Sabia, clinging to Siegfried, would not let anyone else lead her but him.
"Master Chang, wait for !"
Peach Blossom, chasing after Chang Long, called out, drawing the attention of many players nearby.
"Peach Blossom, tell everyone to wait for at the north gate. I'll just warp ho for a mont. I'll et them there,"
Chang Long did not wait for Peach Blossom to respond, she imdiately activated her silver key necklace, and her figure disappeared from the town streets and reappeared at her ho.
Chang Long went about unsealing Kitsune and dumping all the contents from her snake leather backpack in one swift action, almost burying herself and Kitsune under a mountain of treasures from Davy-chan's tomb.
"Ugh... Kitsune, help find dium blood crystals, dium mana crystals, a portable water bottle, a dining set, Cone of Abundance, high-quality healing salve, a tent, teleportation scrolls and also that big red envelope...,"
Chang Long instructed, struggling to extricate herself from the pile of items she had emptied from her backpack.
"Right away, Master!"
Kitsune, in his large, fluffy, three-tailed fox form, easily leapt out of the way of being buried and started efficiently rummaging through the treasure pile for the items Chang Long had listed.
"Oh, and find your backpack too,"
After freeing herself from the treasure pile, Chang Long joined in searching for the needed items but without success, unlike Kitsune who quickly found everything in no ti.
"Excellent!"
Chang Long praised when Kitsune had gathered all the items she requested. She then proceeded to empty out Kitsune's backpack as well and asked him to find rejuvenating crystals, bandages (likely mummy wrappings), two sets of nobleman's autumn attire, and the portable water bottle she bought for Kitsune.
"Alright, Kitsune, I'm going to seal you back into the ring now,"
Chang Long stuffed Kitsune's backpack into her snake leather backpack and turned to Kitsune, who was standing nearby waiting.
"Yes, master,"
Kitsune complied, and with that, Chang Long sealed him back into the ring. She then used her silver key to teleport back to the sa street before she was before she went ho. The forr pirate king's spirit had been mocking Chang Long from the start to the end without helping out, kept laughing at her the whole ti as he followed her.
As Chang Long hurried to join everyone who was waiting, Siegfried organized their positions. With that, the group of eight participants of the Guardian Spirit secret quest, along with little Sabia who provided the quest, and another ghost unseen by anyone but Chang Long, set off towards the Fairy Forest imdiately.
From the mont Chang Long's group exited the northern city gate, vigilantly guarded by high-level players and guild-affiliated players against the goblin beast army attacks, they were welcod by arrows shooting from all directions from behind the dense bushes. Peach Blossom, positioned in the middle of the line, ducked low and cast a large fireball spell at the bushes, igniting them into flas, followed by agonizing screams.
Rafael and Draco stood flanking the sides, spinning their spears rapidly above their heads, repelling the incoming arrows with the high speed of their spins. Siegfried led the way, with Oliang and Wet Trash Can closing the rear, skillfully deflecting arrows with their weapons. After the last arrow was deflected, Chang Long noticed that no one was injured, especially herself since she was in the middle with Sabia, Aden, and Peach Blossom, hardly needed to act at all.
"Let's continue our journey!"
Siegfried suggested after a quick safety check, finding the bushes on the path cleared by Peach Blossom's fire spell. Despite several similar attacks during their journey, Chang Long's group managed to handle them easily each ti.
'What's wrong, missy?'
Davy-chan inquired, noticing Chang Long's sullen mood.
'I'm just feeling disappointed in my own abilities!'
Chang Long communicated telepathically, to avoid others thinking she was talking to herself.
'Your skills are fine; it's just that your level isn't as high as everyone else here. They seem more formidable because their levels are higher,'
Davy-chan comforted her, deciding that it was unacceptable for his heir to feel disheartened here.
'We're not that far apart, but I can clearly feel how inadequate I am. If it ca to a one-on-one fight with anyone here, I'd be thoroughly defeated without a doubt,'
Chang Long continued to feel down, even after Davy-chan's attempt to cheer her up, lanting that her level had stuck at 43 for days.
'Well... if you feel that way, you should focus on improving your skills. How do you expect to get better if you're always out adventuring? Look, the mage girl, she's at level 53; the young man leading us (Siegfried) is at level 70; the silver-haired young man on the right (Rafael) is at level 62; the red-armored young man on the left (Draco) is at level 61; the bulky, scruffy guy (Wet Trash Can) is at level 56; the slender, carefree young man (Oliang) is at level 55. Even the young man in the black ninja outfit (Aden) is at level 50,"
Davy-chan detailed everyone's levels to Chang Long.
Chang Long was astounded to learn the levels of everyone in the group. Not even one person's level was below 50, except for her. When she invited them. She had not checked to see that they all had higher levels than her. Despite being the owner of the actual quest, she felt embarrassed that her level was lower than her companions.
They had to stop for a rest halfway through their journey because they were frequently ambushed along the way. Eventually, everyone reached the edge of the Fairy Forest and stopped.
"If we enter the forest, we'll hardly get any rest, so let's rest here until afternoon,"
Siegfried suggested. Everyone agreed since they knew they would have plenty of action this evening and saw no need to rush into the forest at that mont. Resting to gather strength seed the better option.
Before the sun even set, the goblins began beating their war drums. They called out to each other in succession to announce Sabia's arrival, the Guardian Spirit of the Fairy Forest. Chang Long's group readied themselves, gripping their weapons tightly, prepared for the imminent attack.
Sabia stood in the middle, trembling with fear, tightly grasping Chang Long's hand, too scared to even glance into the Fairy Forest. Chang Long, unsure how to comfort her, simply patted her head, reassuring,
"It's okay. You'll be fine."
"They're close,"
Siegfried said, as both sides eyed each other, waiting for the first signal to engage in battle.
"Look! Those who attacked the town are joining forces here,"
Wet Trash Can announced, his face turning pale.
"...If we survive this mission, I hope we get a reward that matches our efforts,"
Rafael said with a laugh, realizing there was no escape route left for them.
Goblins of various types, including hunter, archer, warrior, cheiftain, and even the general goblins, numbered in the hundreds. This did not even include those that kept joining. Everyone in Chang Long's group was tense but also filled with excitent.
"This is the first ti I've been surrounded by so many beasts since I started playing this ga!"
Draco exclaid, eager to fight. Everyone nodded, agreeing with him.
"It seems like they've brought their whole troops,"
Peach Blossom comnted, looking at the goblins with disgust due to their ugly appearances.
"That's good, though. It ans we can take them all out in one go,"
Aden said, holding Japanese short swords called a tantou in both hands.
"N...No, if we can't kill their king, more will keep coming..."
Sabia explained, while avoiding eye contact.
"Before we can kill their king, we need to reach the heart of the Fairy Forest, where the elves reside. Once Sabia is safe, then we can fully engage,"
Siegfried stated gravely, holding a golden superior sword in his hand, adorned with a dragon motif winding along its length. Following Siegfried's declaration, one of the goblins, appearing to hold the highest rank within their group, issued an attack command with an ear-piercing scream, akin to a buffalo's cry being slaughtered. The goblin horde, having awaited the signal, charged Chang Long's group with weapons at the ready. Everyone ford a protective circle around Peach Blossom and Sabia to safeguard them.
Peach Blossom, aware of the goblins' fear of bright light and heat, unleashed various fire and light spells without restraint, causing disarray among the goblin ranks. Many of the lower-ranked goblins were seriously injured, further fueling their rage and resentnt towards the group.
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