A sound like the earth splitting echoed loudly, shaking the ground as though an earthquake had struck. The AI commander, Haufen, halted in his tracks, confused. Suddenly, thick walls of earth erupted from the ground, encircling Haufen before slamming together with a deafening crash. For a brief mont, there was silence. Everyone stopped fighting and turned toward the commotion. As the earth collapsed into dust, a chilling monunt erged—a statue of earth, molded into Haufen's likeness, standing frozen in a panicked pose. The sight sent shivers down the spines of those watching. All eyes turned to Chang Long, then, the AI soldiers surrounding the battlefield dissolved into white light and disappeared. Monts later, Chang Long collapsed, her consciousness fading.
The system announcent rang out across the ga world, declaring that another special territory had been captured—this ti by Pan, leader of the once-unknown guild Pantera. The na surprised many players, as Pantera was practically unheard of in Adventure World Online. As discussions erupted about this mysterious guild, Pantera mbers gathered around Chang Long's unconscious body, their reactions varying from excitent to curiosity. No one was more intrigued than Crown, who approached Chang Long's motionless form with a dry stick in hand, poking her lightly.
"Are you crazy, Crown? You're such a brat. I thought you'd help her up,"
A female guild mber near Duncan scolded him sharply. She pushed the mischievous Crown aside, brushed back Chang Long's hair, and gazed at her for a long mont.
"You're no better. Step aside, I'll carry her. You and Crown go help Pan manage the guild mbers."
Duncan shook his head in exasperation, then bent down to lift Chang Long in his arms. As he carried her, he felt an eerie chill all the ti, thanks to her three spirits hovering protectively nearby. Even Ackeran, with his thoughtful expression, floated silently at a distance. Duncan placed Chang Long under a makeshift shelter that had suffered only minor damage.
By then, the sun had risen, illuminating the damage within the fortress. The earthen tomb that had encased Haufen stood tall in the sa spot, with a deep gash visible on its chest where sothing had been pried out. Pantera mbers sprawled around, resting. Duncan looked at Chang Long with gratitude as he prepared to leave. Just then, Chang Long's wristwatch beeped. Curious, he lifted her wrist to see that the caller was Captain Columbus.
"Answer it. They're people Chang Long contacted. They've probably arrived and are trying to reach her," Devi-chan suggested as she appeared nearby. Duncan nodded and pressed the call button, following his instructions.
"Hello?"
"Huh, why is Chang Long's voice so deep?"
Captain Columbus asked, puzzled.
"Uh, I'm not Chang Long. She helped us fight and ended up unconscious, so I took the liberty of answering. Her spirit said you're an important contact."
The captain on the other end shivered.
"Spirit, did you just say spirit?"
"Yes, I did."
An awkward silence followed Duncan's reply, only to be broken by a voice on Captain Columbus' end.
"Well, Captain? Did you get in touch with Chang Long yet? Let her know the ship will dock in Longshan in two hours!"
"I know, I know!"
Captain Columbus snapped irritably before turning his attention back to Duncan.
"Could you let Chang Long know that our ship will reach Longshan City in two hours? Once we're there, I'll call again."
"Understood. I'll tell her," Duncan replied.
Captain Columbus thanked him and ended the call.
Monts later, Chang Long stirred, letting out a faint groan of pain. Her already battered condition had worsened, and her health bar, sitting at half, began to drop further. Every muscle in her body scread with agony, as if torn apart. Duncan stood frozen, stunned by the sheer pain etched across Chang Long's face. Her spirits, Hisa-chan, Alice-chan, and even Ackeran, materialized with visible concern, jolting Duncan.
"Chang Long, unseal Kitsune,"
Hisa-chan urged, his voice laced with worry. Tears glistened in Chang Long's eyes as she nodded weakly and rasped out a call to unseal Kitsune.
The creature erged from her ring and imdiately nuzzled against her affectionately. Devi-chan quickly instructed Kitsune to search Chang Long's bag for the black rose tea bottle. Then, everyone turned their gaze toward Duncan.
"Uh… what?"
Duncan asked, startled.
"You need to feed her the tea,"
Devi-chan ordered.
"Huh?"
Duncan exclaid, shocked.
"Don't act so surprised. We're spirits; we can't touch physical objects. And that little mutt of hers doesn't have the dexterity to open a bottle and feed his master. You're the only one here who can do it,"
Devi-chan snapped, glaring at him.
Duncan nodded, and took the bottle from Kitsune's mouth. Seeing Chang Long's current state, he realized pouring the tea directly would only spill it everywhere. After rummaging through his bag for a mont, he opened the bottle.
"What's that?"
Alice-chan asked curiously.
"A drinking straw. I found a type of grass that's sturdy enough and hollow in the middle. I thought I'd experint with it," Duncan explained proudly. He used the straw to pipet the tea and gently feed Chang Long small sips of tea. Gradually, her condition improved, and she slipped back into a restful sleep.
"Are you an inventor?"
Ackeran asked as Duncan tucked the straw back into his bag.
"No, I'm a chef. Anyway, I'd better get back and help my friends. When Chang Long wakes up, let her know we'd like to see her. Pan wants to thank her personally,"
Duncan replied, quickly excusing himself.
"Hmph, what's the rush?"
Devi-chan muttered.
"Maybe he's afraid of falling for my charms,"
Alice-chan teased with a giggle.
"Oh, puh-lease, give it a rest,"
Devi-chan retorted, dragging out the words, making Alice-chan laugh even harder. anwhile, Hisa-chan shook his head with a smile as Kitsune snuggled up next to his master. Around them, the fortress bustled with activity as Pantera mbers worked.
Chang Long woke up around noon, feeling a bit groggy. There were clamors around her. She glanced around and saw Pantera guild mbers busily cleaning up the area. The human-shaped monunt still lood imposingly in its place, untouched, as if no one dared to approach it. With Kitsune and her spirits trailing close behind, Chang Long started exploring the fortress. The players who noticed her looked at her with peculiar expressions, making her feel self-conscious. She decided to find Duncan to say goodbye and leave as soon as possible. As she approached the main gate of the fortress, she spotted Crown and Duncan speaking with Pan, the guild leader of Pantera.
"Duncan,"
Chang Long called out as she approached.
"Oh, Chang Long, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
Duncan asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I need to leave, though—I have a eting with Captain Columbus in Longshan City,"
she replied, glancing anxiously at her watch.
"No need to worry about that. Captain Columbus and Deputy Captain Sea Breeze have co here to pick you up. They're touring the city right now,"
Duncan replied with a smile.
"Huh? How did they know to co here?"
Chang Long asked, bewildered. She was certain she had not told Captain Columbus where she was headed.
"They called while you were unconscious, and I answered for you. I hope you're not mad,"
Duncan said apologetically. Chang Long gave him a small smile and shook her head dismissively before setting off to find Captain Columbus and Sea Breeze. As she walked away, Duncan turned to face his friends, only to find both of them smirking mischievously at him.
"What's with you two?"
Duncan demanded, his tone sharp.
"Oh, nothing. Just wondering if you might have a thing for Chang Long,"
Crown teased with a sly grin.
"No way. We're just friends. Besides, if you've forgotten, let remind you: Chang Long is the reason I got the Magical Map Reading skill and the reason you could read the Pirate King's map,"
Duncan quicly retorted.
"Hey, that has nothing to do with it. Only a true heir to a Pirate King can read that map anyway. I didn't need that skill to do it,"
Crown shot back defensively.
"Hold on. You're saying Chang Long is also an heir to a Pirate King?"
Pan interjected, cutting through their argunt before it escalated further.
"That's right. She's definitely one of them. Azlam confird it to ,"
Crown replied.
"And that ability, do all Pirate King heirs have sothing like it?"
Pan asked, nodding toward the Monunt of Haufen, which still stood untouched except for Pan, who had removed the city emblem from it earlier.
"No, I don't think any of the heirs have sothing like that. That ability is truly terrifying. Even now, I get chills thinking about the image of the AI Commander being crushed alive between those earthen walls,"
Crown admitted, shivering at the mory.
"If that's the case, how do you plan to fight Chang Long when that Judgnt Day thing cos? She has all kinds of bizarre abilities—spirits that can manifest physical forms to attack, and powers that grant her imnse strength in an instant,"
Pan said, worrying for his friend.
Pan began to worry on Crown's behalf.
"That's true. Duncan, do you know anything? I an, since you're her friend."
Crown turned to ask Duncan, who was in the middle of talking to another guild mber.
"Not much. All I know is that Chang Long is full of mysteries and always manages to exceed expectations. Like today—you saw it yourself. A level 15 player could fight off an AI in the 80s and actually win. If you keep slacking off, you might beco the first Pirate King heir to get eliminated in the first round!"
Duncan teased, but his tone carried genuine concern.
"I know, I know!" Crown grumbled and stord off. Pan and Duncan exchanged a look and chuckled softly. They both knew Crown was well aware of this himself. It was not lost on them that Crown often watched Chang Long from a distance and harbored a fair amount of fear—for her capabilities.
"This might be a good thing. At least it'll push him to stop being lazy,"
Duncan said with a laugh.
"Co to think of it, I haven't thanked Chang Long yet. Let's go find her and do that,"
Pan said, as though suddenly rembering. The two n set off to search for Chang Long, intending to express their gratitude for her role in helping them secure the city.
Chang Long, anwhile, was wandering through the fortress and eventually found Captain Columbus and Sea Breeze admiring the view of Longshan Mountain from atop the city wall. Sea Breeze seed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, teasing the captain, who was notoriously terrified of heights. When Chang Long approached, the two quickly tried to compose themselves, though Sea Breeze was struggling to suppress laughter, tears rolling at the corner of his eyes. Alice-chan materialized in front of the two n, hoping to startle them, but was disappointed when they managed to maintain their composure better than expected. Captain Columbus, however, visibly flinched when Alice-chan appeared out of nowhere, though this was more because of her striking beauty. Instead of being scared, both n found themselves unable to take their eyes off her.
Then Devi-chan and Hisa-chan took a more mischievous approach, appearing as decayed corpses. This completely shattered the n's façade, and they scread at the top of their lungs, drawing the attention of nearby players. When they saw Devi-chan and Hisa-chan waving and grinning eerily in their decayed forms, the onlookers also scread and scattered in all directions.
"Alright, enough already,"
Chang Long chided, laughing as she watched Sea Breeze and Captain Columbus clinging to each other, trembling like leaves.
"P... please don't do that again,"
Captain Columbus begged, his voice shaking as Devi-chan and Hisa-chan turned invisible again.
"Sorry about that. These two can't resist teasing when they know soone's scared,"
Chang Long said. Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, and Alice-chan burst into giggles, clearly pleased with themselves, while Akkaran remained silent and stoic as always.
"By the way, Chang Long, when do you plan to set off? I'll gather the crew. They're all wandering around sightseeing right now,"
Sea Breeze asked, still chucklingby himself. Unlike the captain, he was not particularly afraid of Chang Long's spirits; he was more startled by the captain's screaming.
"Let's go now. I need to see that place for myself before deciding what to do next,"
Chang Long replied, picking up Kitsune, who was nuzzling against her ankles.
"What's so interesting about the heart of the northern archipelago that you have to go there?"
Captain Columbus asked, now more composed.
"You'll see. I'll explain on the way. For now, let's head to the ship."
Chang Long responded with a sly smile. The two n looked puzzled but refrained from questioning her further. The three of them descended from the city wall walkway to begin their journey back to Longshan City.
"Chang Long!"
Pan called out as soon as he spotted her.
"Oh, do you need help with sothing else?"
Chang Long turned to ask, curious.
"Just wanted to say thanks."
Pan said with a smile, extending his hand.
"No problem. I had fun wreaking havoc, after all,"
Chang Long replied with a grin, shaking Pan's hand.
"In the future, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask. I and the mbers of the Pantera Guild will gladly lend you our full support."
"Thanks."
Chang Long said her goodbyes to Duncan and the Pantera Guild mbers before heading back to Longshan City. This experience had solidified for Chang Long that her enhanced abilities stemd from her skills reaching the level of Advanced Core Techniques. She was certain this improvent must have occurred during her ti at Wu Ming's secret training ground. However, her current level was far too low to risk overextending herself again.
Chang Long knew she needed to accumulate more experience points to raise her level. The sa applied to her pets. Additionally, there was the quest to find the Mirror of Truth, as well as the impending showdown between the heirs of the Seven Pirate Kings. So many thrilling challenges awaited her, and she needed to prepare herself to face them head-on.
"Hey, Devi-chan, where do you think the showdown between the heirs of the Pirate Kings will take place?"
Chang Long asked as they made their way down Longshan Mountain.
"What made you think to ask that now? I'm not entirely sure, but there's one place we used in the past for such battles. It's an island that only appears when summoned. It's called the King's Island,"
Devi-chan replied thoughtfully.
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