"The Nemean is more formidable than me!"

Hulu's temper flared when the meerkat king seemed to be praising the Nemean right in front of him.

"N-n-not at all, my lord! I was merely stating what most of the creatures in the savanna think, Divine One!"

The meerkat king quickly backpedaled, fearing that Hulu would get angry and kill a small, cute creature like him for praising something other than the god before him.

"Alright, let's head towards the thicket the meerkat king mentioned. We can keep an eye out for the white rhino along the way,"

Chang Long interjected, standing up. The meerkats continued to maintain a five-meter distance around her, unwilling to get any closer due to the intimidating aura she exuded.

As Chang Long walked, the meerkats hastily moved aside, creating a clear path for her to exit. None dared block her way, partly out of fear and partly because she was a companion of their revered deity. The players hunting in the savanna looked on in astonishment, unable to believe how these usually troublesome meerkats had suddenly become so docile.

Meerkats were not typically targeted by players unless they had a related quest, as they gave little experience and rarely dropped valuable items. Moreover, attacking one would result in the entire group retaliating, making them difficult to deal with and not worth the effort. As a result, players generally ignored the meerkats altogether.

With Hulu leaving the last, the meerkats bowed deeply in unison before dispersing to continue their duties within the colony. Curious players approached the meerkats, hoping they might receive the same treatment as Chang Long's group, but instead, they were quickly driven off by the aggressive creatures, forcing them to flee for their lives.

Along the way, Chang Long spotted a white rhino being attacked by a large group of players. The rhino was massive, as big as a tank, with thick, armor-like skin that was a pale grayish-white. It had two enormous horns on its face, which it was using to toss a knight, who wielded a large silver shield, far into the distance.

"That thing's pretty fierce!"

Kimhant blurted out excitedly as he watched the intense battle between the large group of players, who seemed to be level fifty and above, all equipped with high-level weapons and armor.

"Those people are really skilled!"

Chang Long remarked, impressed by how well-coordinated the group was in their combat.

"They've got a guild emblem too, but I don't recognize which guild it is,"

Kimhant said, squinting as he spotted the guild insignia on the right chest of one of the players in the group.

"It's a new guild. Our guild is called 'Immortal.' We've only got fifteen members so far, uh, sixteen if you count me, the guild leader."

A young man claded in a suit of armor made of high-quality steel mixed with gold, looking both stately and imposing, spoke from behind, causing Chang Long's group to turn around.

"Oh, a new guild!"

Chang Long nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed that the guild leader had overheard their conversation.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Destiny, but you can just call me Des,"

the young man introduced himself with a warm smile. His dignified and kind demeanor reminded Chang Long of Siegfried for a brief moment.

"Uh... I'm Chang Long. This is Hulu, Kitsune, and Kimhant,"

Chang Long introduced herself and her companions in turn, each of whom greeted Des with a friendly smile—except for Hulu, who remained aloof as usual!

"Des, help us out. Hit it again on its side wound!"

A friend of the young man called out. When Chang Long looked over, she saw that everyone's weapons and shields were damaged, and the level 68 Albino Rhino Beast, now enraged, was charging straight toward where Chang Long was standing.

Destiny, the guild leader, drew his weapon from his back—a pair of axes. Despite their long handles, they did not look cumbersome. He prepared himself as the Albino Rhino Beast charged within striking distance, then swiftly swung his axes into the beast's open wound on its side, where blood was already trickling out.

Thud!!

The level 68 Albino Rhino Beast collapsed with a loud crash, but it was not dead yet. Not wanting to interfere and risk being reprimanded, Chang Long stepped back to observe from a distance, following the etiquette expected of online game players. As the members of the Immortal Guild quickly switched out their weapons, they rushed in to finish off the beast, which then disintegrated into a white light that was absorbed by Kitsune.

"What the—!"

The Immortal guild members all exclaimed in shock as they watched the Albino Rhino's spirit get devoured by Kitsune right before their eyes.

…..

"Found it!"

Demos' voice startled Phobos, who was sitting next to him. Phobos had been on the verge of dozing off after staring at maps of various continents and comparing them to the map of the Pirate King's secret tomb for over five hours, causing his eyes to strain. He quickly turned to look at Demos, who, despite also appearing quite tired, was grinning widely.

"You've found the tomb's location, Demos?"

Phobos asked, unable to suppress a yawn.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe, but it's on the summit of Mount Agaz, just about 400 meters above the cave where we encountered the manticore."

Demos smiled as he marked a red X on the map of Europa Island, right on top of Mount Agaz, a peak inhabited by a variety of demonic beasts. These creatures often band together, making the area dangerous and not a popular spot for players to farm experience.

"Wow, that's dangerous. It's strange, though—why would this Pirate King place his tomb so far from the sea?"

Phobos shook his head as he observed the map. He could tell that finding the entrance would likely cost them several skilled guild members.

"We'll only take the best with us, and I'll reward them with a couple of treasures each from the tomb, in addition to the usual guild mission rewards. Besides, I don't think we'll need as many people as you fear, Phobos,"

Demos shrugged, rolling up the maps of each island and storing them in a small wooden box on the table where they had been studying it.

"Really? We don't even know how far the entrance is, Demos. Plus, the beasts on Mount Agaz tend to swarm. Just finding the entrance could cost us more than we expect,"

Phobos reasoned, but Demos merely smiled and replied,

"I have an excellent guide. Trust me, we won't need to search for the entrance. By the way, why are you sitting so far from me, Phobos?"

"Honestly, the atmosphere around you makes it hard for me to stay close for long. It feels like I'm suffocating or something. Sorry, man!"

Phobos replied truthfully.

"Really! Well, I'm glad to hear you say that. It's woken me up. In that case, I'm going to stretch my legs a bit. You take care of gathering the team—make sure they're level 60 or above so they won't slow me down,"

Demos grinned and then promptly left the small meeting room.

"That guy's lost it… Happy that people feel like they're going to suffocate around him!"

Phobos shook his head, muttering to himself as he packed up the map box and left the room as well. As he exited, he noticed Ery, Demos' pet, sitting gloomily by the window. The black harpy eagle was ignored by its master. This was because, ever since Demos had transformed into a half-demon, it was too afraid to get close to him.

"Even you don't want to go near him, huh, Ery? That guy's definitely turning into a demon, finding joy in something that should be anything but joyful."

Phobos patted Ery's head sympathetically.

Squawkk!

The harpy eagle screeched irritably before flying off. Phobos watched until it disappeared from sight, then continued on to his room to store the map box. Afterward, he instructed his trusted subordinates to gather about thirty guild members, all above level 60, to accompany him and Demos on their journey to the Pirate King's secret tomb.

.....

An alert sounded from Chang Long's wristwatch, causing everyone who was about to ask questions to fall silent and watch as she raised her wrist to check it. The notification from the system informed her that she would be automatically logged out in one hour. With a sigh, Chang Long looked up at Destiny, the leader of the Immortal Guild, and asked where she could safely set up a tent to log out.

"Oh, over there. The spot not far away where other players had already set up their tents,"

Destiny replied kindly.

"Thanks,"

Chang Long nodded in appreciation, then led her companions towards the safe zone to pitch their tent. Destiny and his guild members did not get a chance to ask about the soul of the white rhino that had been absorbed by Kitsune.

When they reached the safe zone, Chang Long was frustrated to find that it was completely packed with players' tents, leaving no room for Kimhant's tent to be set up.

"It's completely full..."

Kimhant grumbled, clearly annoyed.

"How are we supposed to log out now!"

Chang Long muttered, considerably frustrated.

"I don't know. There's barely any room to walk, let alone set up another tent."

Kimhant replied, scanning the safe zone filled with tents, almost overlapping each other.

"What are you doing, master?"

Kimhant asked when he saw Chang Long sitting down on the ground.

"Just waiting for the automatic logout,"

she replied.

"We should head to the thicket instead. We still have an hour—no point in wasting it. Plus, the thicket isn't far from here, and we can scout the area for hunting warthogs."

Kimhant suggested. Finding the idea appealing, Chang Long led the group towards the thicket, which was only about 200 meters away.

Despite being called a thicket, it was quite expansive, with fig trees bearing fruit. The thicket was home to both Dwarf Deer Beasts and wild Warthog Beasts, two creatures vastly different in size. The warthog were as big as a motorcycle, while the dwarf deer were only the size of a child's tricycle. Strangely enough, they coexisted peacefully.

The area where the warthog congregated the most was around the mud pits they loved to wallow in. The mud kept them cool and protected them from ticks and fleas, although it did little to deter flies. Each boar had four long tusks protruding from its mouth; the front two looked fairly normal, but the back two on some boars were long and curved like hooks, pointing down towards the center of their foreheads, making them look quite intimidating.

"They're so scary!"

Kimhant exclaimed in terror at the sight of the fierce-looking warthogs with their long, curved tusks.

"Scary? More like pitiful. It must hurt having your own tusks digging into your forehead like that,"

Chang Long remarked, feeling a bit sorry for the creatures and started to walk towards them, possibly to comfort them.

"Yikes. Master, don't do that!"

Kimhant shouted in alarm, which caught the attention of Hulu and Kitsune, who were strolling nearby.

What they saw was Chang Long approaching a group of warthog. As the boars noticed her, they lowered their heads and started pawing the ground with their left front hooves, preparing to charge. The two handsome pets quickly realized the danger and sprinted towards their master, who seemed completely unaware of the threat.

"Master, watch out!"

Kitsune cried out in panic, reaching out to grab Chang Long. But it seemed that the weapons under the control of the two Reaper Guardians were quicker. The Carnelian Bow, which was a golden bracelet on Chang Long's wrist, disassembled into a golden bow that floated in the air and swiftly fired beautiful blue arrows at the warthogs.

The Blood Ruby Sword slashed through the flesh of the warthogs, drawing blood. The pitiful screams of the boars left Kimhant and Chang Long's two companions in awe of the Reaper Guardians' formidable combat skills. However, this only seemed to enrage the herd of more than twenty boars, which charged at Chang Long's group in a frenzy, forcing them to scatter in different directions in a panic.

"Climb a tree!"

Chang Long shouted as she scrambled up the nearest tree without waiting for anyone. Her two pets effortlessly climbed trees as well, while Kimhant struggled, barely managing to climb up just in time before almost being flattened against the tree by a charging boar.

Boommm!

The warthogs, each with a level of no less than forty, began ramming their heads into the trees in a frenzy. On one of the trees, Kimhant clung desperately to the trunk, trembling as he held on for dear life. The Blood Ruby Sword and Carnelian Bow did not seem interested in attacking the boars going after him, focusing only on defending the tree that Chang Long had climbed. Meanwhile, Chang Long's two pets effortlessly leapt from their trees to join hers, where they sat on the branches, enjoying the sight of the weapons fighting without a visible wielder (since they could not see them).

"Masterrr, please help meee!"

Kimhant cried out in desperation, but it seemed that his plea only made the warthogs switch targets, leaving the tree guarded by the weapons and turning their attention to the tree Kimhant was clinging to instead.

"How smart!"

Hulu muttered, looking at Kimhant with pity. Given his current state, even calling him a gecko seemed generous.

"Cedric, go help him out, will you?"

Chang Long instructed Cedric, who was in control of the Blood Ruby Sword. The guardian simply nodded—a gesture only Chang Long could see. The Blood Ruby Sword then began to fiercely attack the warthogs that were relentlessly ramming into the tree Kimhant was clinging to.

"Oh!"

Chang Long exclaimed as her body began to flicker with white light, a sign that she was about to be automatically logged out.

"So, it's time for the automatic logout already? That hour sure flew by. See you in an hour real-world time, Kimhant."

As soon as she spoke, her two pets turned into beams of light and were absorbed into their respective pet-sealing accessories. Likewise, her three spirits were automatically summoned back into their soul tablets. The Blood Ruby Sword and Carnelian Bow returned to their usual places as well. Finally, Chang Long's body dissolved into a soft white light and disappeared, followed shortly by Kimhant's.

-----

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