After deciding to return home because she could not stand the stares from players and AI in the city, Chang Long was now enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Anya, having finished her nectar drink, flew off to check on the flower garden behind the house, concerned about its well-being. She paid no attention to the conversation between Chang Long, her two pets, and her ghosts.

"When will you go to collect the mission reward, master?"

Kitsune asked, stuffing a large steak into his mouth.

"Probably today. That baldy seemed pretty eager. I wonder if he's already sent someone to look for us!"

Chang Long replied, sounding somewhat troubled.

"Baldy?"

The three ghosts and two pets echoed, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, the bald uncle who said he was the high priest,"

Chang Long frowned, surprised that the AI could be this clueless.

"Huh, is his name Baldy, master?"

Kitsune asked, trying to recall the moment when the high priest introduced himself.

"I don't think so. I heard him introduce himself as... something with an E... E- something long,"

Hulu interjected, his memory better than Kitsune's, but still not great.

"Weird name, and it's long too,"

Alice-chan commented. She had not been at the cathedral, so she had no idea what had transpired.

"No wonder. I thought it was weird that someone would have a name like 'E- something',"

Hisa-chan agreed, having paid no attention to the high priest's introduction at all.

"Well, at least the names ourmissy gave us aren't as bad as that guy's,"

Devi-chan said, stuffing the rest of his cheeseburger into his mouth.

"Is that so..."

Chang Long bit her lip, trying to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of her companions' conversation. They were so clueless that she was at a loss for words. After everyone finished eating, Chang Long contacted Kimhant and called Anya back to her.

"She's pretty good, but I want to stay with the flower garden a bit longer,"

Anya whined.

"Come on, you can't stay away from me for long. Let Kiki take care of the garden. Kiki's really good at it,"

Chang Long complimented. Kiki, Chang Long's AI maid, smiled happily at the praise.

"Where are you going?"

Anya pouted, asking.

"I'm going to collect the reward at the Sky Palace. Don't you want to see what the Sky Palace looks like?"

Chang Long tried to persuade the fairy, who seemed more concerned about her flower garden than anything else. In the end, curiosity won out, and Anya agreed to leave the garden in Kiki the AI maid's care once more and accompany Chang Long to the city.

As soon as Kimhant saw Chang Long appear, he quickly approached to greet her. However, before he could say anything, they were surrounded by soldiers dressed in ancient Egyptian uniforms. The soldiers escorted Chang Long back to the once-abandoned temple at the edge of the city, which was now bustling with townspeople and players. The crowd parted, allowing Chang Long to enter the temple easily, with some looking at her with admiration and others with jealousy, depending on their personalities.

"Isn't that the clueless guy from last night!"

A young woman exclaimed when she saw Kimhant walking with Chang Long's group. She was surprised because she had not expected someone as seemingly incompetent as Kimhant to complete a secret quest. If it were that aloof figure in black, she could understand it.

The woman gazed at Chang Long with infatuation. She had heard rumors spreading throughout Alexandria about the group that completed the temple's secret mission. One member, who appeared to be the leader, wielded a strange sword with a skull-and-wing hilt and possessed rare fused wings.

"This is exactly the kind of guy I want as my boyfriend. I'll find a way to get to know him, just watch!"

The woman resolved to make Chang Long her boyfriend. She pushed her way through the crowd of players and AI to get a closer look at Chang Long's face again.

Inside the temple, they found High Priest Enakta waiting at the altar. He greeted them with a smile and told Chang Long that he would personally escort her to the Sky Palace to meet the Pharaoh. After a brief wait while Enakta prepared himself in full ceremonial attire, they set off with much fanfare.

Chang Long, her pets, and Kimhant were invited to ride on camels adorned with luxurious decorations, making it clear that the people were to see their heroes. Other players would likely have puffed out their chests and posed proudly for the crowd, and indeed, Kimhant and Hulu were doing just that. But Chang Long, on the other hand, could only sit on the camel with a bored expression until they reached the Sky Palace.

.....

Siegfried ran at his top speed. The Albéric set he had acquired removed the limitations on his speed, as he no longer had to wear heavy armor that slowed him down. The young man dodged and weaved through the living roots that relentlessly pursued him. They were fast, with no intention of halting; instead, they were determined to kill him.

Several times, Siegfried could not dodge in time and had to raise his sword to slash at the roots, only to make them even angrier. He scanned the area, searching desperately for the Grove Well, but all he could see were towering trees and enraged roots.

The forest paths all looked identical, causing Siegfried to fear that he might have already gotten lost. No matter where he looked, the surroundings were indistinguishable. After nearly two hours of running, his body was covered in wounds, and the accumulated fatigue was causing his stats to drop. Just as he was on the verge of giving up, he saw a light...

A soft white glow emanated from behind a large tree not far ahead. The living roots, or Serpent Roots, continued to chase and attack him relentlessly. Although each root was only at level 15, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of them. No matter how high Siegfried's level was, he could not hold out against such overwhelming numbers for long.

Quickly, Siegfried shoved various restorative crystals into his mouth and swung his upgraded weapon, Caduceus, now at level 3, to hack through the enemies. Finally, he caught sight of the Sacred Well—an ancient white stone well, glowing brilliantly amidst the countless Serpent Roots. To reach it, he would have to clear a path through the remaining roots. Otherwise, all his efforts would be in vain.

"Hundred Shadow Swords!"

Siegfried activated his skill, causing his sword to split into a hundred shadow blades that slashed at the roots blocking his path. Explosions echoed as the shadow blades struck the living roots. Though he cleared many, it was not enough to guarantee a safe path to the Grove Well.

"Red Crusader Sword!"

Siegfried invoked another skill, this time targeting the roots directly in his way. His body glowed red as he charged through the mass of Serpent Roots, slashing them rapidly in a cross pattern. The roots were severed and scattered across the ground, giving Siegfried the chance to sprint toward the Grove Well as fast as he could.

"Ah!"

The relentless roots made a final attempt to stop him, despite being nearly severed. They coiled around his ankle, making him fall, just inches away from the well. Siegfried struggled to pry the roots off his ankle, but they were too tight, causing him intense pain. His sword, Caduceus, was flung out of reach, and he did not have the time to free himself or retrieve his weapon.

"Damn it! Just a little more..."

Siegfried tried to reach the well's edge to anchor himself and prevent the roots from pulling him away. Though the light of the Grove Well was just within reach, his strength was fading due to exhaustion. The Serpent Roots closed in on him again, and he clenched his teeth in frustration, furious at being so close yet unable to reach the well. He glanced at his sword, lying out of reach, and called out to it in despair.

"Ca...Caduceus!"

To his astonishment, his sword responded to his call, flying back to him swiftly. Though shocked, Siegfried kept his wits about him. He quickly grabbed the sword and slashed horizontally at the attacking Serpent Roots. He then severed the ones coiled around his ankle and immediately reached down into the Grove Well.

Thunk!

Everything seemed to freeze, except for Siegfried, who was cupping what looked like luminous white mist from the Grove Pond. The white light seemed almost alive as it flowed into his mouth and nose, causing his entire body to emit a soft white glow before gradually fading away.

"Player Siegfried has successfully completed the race transformation. You have become an Elf. All stats have increased by 15%,"

the system announced as the Serpent Roots slithered away, disappearing completely. Albeis suddenly appeared in front of him, smiling, and gestured for Siegfried to follow him to the exit.

Meanwhile, Oliang and Wet Trash Can sat waiting anxiously for Siegfried, feeling increasingly worried as their guild leader had been gone for quite some time. They tried to distract themselves with conversation, but the topic inevitably turned to whether or not Siegfried would succeed.

"Do you think Siegfried can handle it, O?"

Wet Trash Can asked his friend beside him.

"I don't know, but I think he can. After all, Siegfried is the heir of the Pirate King,"

Oliang replied.

"Yeah, but I still can't help worrying. Just imagine if he fails and ends up becoming an orc or a goblin. That's terrifying,"

Wet Trash Can shook his head, picturing Siegfried as a hulking green orc or a scrawny, hideous blue goblin.

"If that happens, Chang Long will definitely run for it. Even when he was human, there wasn't much progress. If he turns into a monster, he might just delete his character and start over,"

Oliang added, dreading the thought of Siegfried having to face Chang Long in such a state after failing the transformation.

"Deleting his character? That would be a huge waste. He's collected so many good items. If he deletes his character, all those would be lost, including the Heaven's Pirate King set and weapons. Those can't be transferred to anyone else,"

Wet Trash Can said, horrified at the thought. If Siegfried chose to delete his character, it would undoubtedly cause a massive stir among players.

"But you never know, there might be another way out. This game is full of surprises. But before we start thinking about that, let's just hope he completes the quest successfully!"

Oliang spoke, glancing at the entrance to Albeis, the leader of the Elves' home, where there was still no sign of Siegfried returning.

"I'm rooting for him too. Who knows, maybe if he turns into an Elf, he'll become even more handsome!"

Wet Trash Can said with a grin, and Oliang chuckled softly.

"Thanks, I did it,"

Siegfried's voice made both men whip around. They saw Siegfried walking in with Albeis, a smile on his face.

"Hey, you really did it. Congrats. But, uh, nothing seems different yet. Your ears don't even look pointed like Lord Albeis',"

Wet Trash Can said excitedly, inspecting Siegfried's body for any changes.

"It might take a little while before the Elf form fully manifests. During this time, you may feel a bit under the weather as your body starts to change. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what will happen, as there's no precedent of a human turning into an Elf. It's hard to say,"

Albeis explained, resuming his breakfast while the three young men chatted nearby, having already eaten their morning meal.

"Wow, Lord Albeis sure has a lot of jewelry!"

Wet Trash Can remarked, eyeing the pieces made from beast parts like fangs and claws, displayed in a showcase.

"True. Are Elves hunters too?"

Oliang asked, surprised, since he thought Elves were a peaceful race who avoided harming other living creatures.

"Those are from beasts that invaded us. Each piece has different properties depending on the creature it came from,"

Albeis replied, paying little attention to which items the young men were examining.

"Whoa, look at this. Not sure if it's a claw or a fang, but it's huge. It even has ancient runes carved on it. Check it out, Siegfried!"

Wet Trash Can handed Siegfried a necklace with a white fang or claw inscribed with ancient runes.

"Don't!"

Albeis suddenly looked up, shouting in alarm as he recognized the significance effect of the item Siegfried was about to touch on him. But it was too late; the necklace dropped into Siegfried's palm, causing the ancient runes to glow green. Siegfried quickly dropped it to the ground.

"Are you okay, Siegfried?!"

Oliang jumped up from his chair, rushing to check on Siegfried, who was now trembling uncontrollably.

"That necklace is cursed. It has no effect on humans, but for Elves, it causes them to transform into an orc for a hundred days. Given your current state, in the process of changing races, it could cause you to become an orc permanently..."

Albeis' voice echoed in Siegfried's ear, but he could not respond. His body ached with the sound of cracking bones. His muscles bulged as if they were about to tear apart, causing him excruciating pain—more intense than anything he had experienced in the game. Finally, the agony overwhelmed him, and he blacked out.

"Ugh..."

Siegfried regained consciousness an hour later. Groggy, he tried to recall what had happened, wondering why he was lying there and why his body felt so sore all over.

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