After chopping the taro roots that had been thoroughly cleaned, Chang Long received a new task: to grind the enormous, tough Albino Rhino horn into powder using the large mortar. The royal physician and his assistants watched Chang Long with interest, as her slender, graceful figure did not seem to possess the strength needed to pulverize the horn.

However, grinding the Albino Rhino horn turned out to be no problem for Chang Long. She had Hisa-chan, a level 135 samurai spirit, possessed her, and she managed to grind both horns into fine powder in a short time. The entire potion-making room was momentarily stunned before they all started praising her extraordinary (despite her slim frame) abilities.

After grinding the rhino horn, Chang Long was tasked with washing the capybara hearts, then lighting the stove and placing a glass pot filled with clean water over the fire. The first ingredient to be added was a faintly glowing green lump known as mummy bile, a rare substance found only once in a hundred mummies. Chang Long had to gather five of these lumps.

Once the first lump dissolved into the water, she added the second, and so on, until all five were fully dissolved. The liquid in the pot turned a faintly glowing green, looking quite beautiful.

As the green liquid began to simmer, she was instructed to add all twenty capybara hearts simultaneously, without stirring. Once the mixture reached a boil, she began stirring, and the liquid turned into a thick, dark brown sludge, bubbling ominously. Next, the diced taro root were added. As they dissolved into the mixture, it lightened to a cocoa milk-like brown. The entire process took three hours of simmering without any added water, and finally, the powdered rhino horn was added. Chang Long had to stir immediately to prevent clumping.

The mixture now resembled dried, sun-baked dog droppings, though fortunately, it did not smell like it. Otherwise, Chang Long might not have been able to continue standing over the pot. Finally, the moment Chang Long had been waiting for arrived when the royal physician praised her first potion-making effort. He explained that the final steps were to add honey and the golden mane hairs of the Nemean Lion, then cook it until it was dry enough to form into tablets. For completing the task, Chang Long received a mid-sized potion-making kit made entirely of glass—an extremely expensive set on the market—and a small vial with ten drops of golden potion she had seen earlier. The potion was powerful enough to remove nearly all curses in the game.

"This curse-removal potion is so pretty!"

Chang Long remarked, admiring the potion before tucking it into her bag.

"Of course it is. The ingredients are incredibly rare and high-level, but there are a few conditions, for curses that even this potion can't lift, as they require specific conditions to be met. However, that's very rare, so it's safe to say this potion can cure almost anything—unless someone is incredibly unlucky and encounters a curse that even a potion of this level can't fix!"

The royal physician explained with a hearty laugh. Who could be that unlucky, right!

"But how will we know if it will work or not? It would be a real waste if it didn't,"

Chang Long asked curiously. If they had to test the curse-removal potion on someone to see if it worked, it would be a waste if it did not.

"It's not that bad. Just bring the vial near the person cursed. If it glows gold, it means the potion will work for them. If it doesn't react, then the potion won't work on that curse."

The royal physician explained as he sent Chang Long off at the door.

"Uh-huh. That's much better. Alright, I'll take my leave now,"

she said, bidding farewell.

"Thank you for your help,"

the royal physician replied kindly, waving as Chang Long left to join Kitsune, Hulu, and Fluffy Head-chan, who were waiting in the garden.

Chang Long sat down to wait for Kimhant and Cat-Faced Angel, who had gone to find the chief hunter who issued the Cave of Million quest early in the morning. She ate her meal while waiting, as she had not eaten anything since morning. Just as she was finishing her food, the two finally returned, smiling widely.

"Did you get it?"

Chang Long asked.

"Yes, we did. It took us a while to find him, but we finally did at the soldiers' training ground. He said he only gives out the quest once a day, so we were lucky no one else got it before us. I let Cat be the party leader since she's a higher level,"

Kimhant explained, nodding with excitement as he sat down on the grass to eat. He had not eaten anything either, since he had been up early helping Cat-Faced Angel find the chief hunter.

The group had an hour left to finish their meal before they descended from the Sky Palace. The first thing Chang Long looked for was the young man she had told to be the first face she saw when she came down from the Sky Palace. But there was no sign of him. The only person she noticed was a mysterious figure dressed in white robes and a white mask, sitting asleep by the dock.

"Who should we get to join our party, Cat? The party limit is 15 people. While the three of us could go in alone, we'd probably die before finding the first chest,"

Kimhant asked, looking worried. Then, spotting Destiny, the leader of the Immortal Guild, walking with several followers, he suddenly had an idea and immediately headed toward him.

"What do you think Kimhant is up to… Huh?"

Cat-Faced Angel, who was so thin and flat-chested that it was hard to tell she was a girl—just like Chang Long—turned to talk to her, but noticed that only Kitsune, holding Fluffy Head-chan in his arms, and Hulu, who was chatting with Kitsune, were next to her. Chang Long was gazing at the mysterious man in the white cloak and mask with suspicion.

Beep beep… beep beep…

The sound from the mysterious man's wristwatch, who had been sitting so still he seemed like a statue, caught Chang Long's attention, making her reconsider her assumption that he was just a statue. The mysterious man flinched slightly and glanced down at his wristwatch. Seeing who was calling, he answered without noticing Chang Long, who was watching him with curiosity.

"What's up, Oliang?"

The man answered groggily, having arrived at the Sky Palace only two hours before Chang Long descended. Exhausted from his journey and having not slept all night, he had accidentally dozed off.

"Where are you, Siegfried!"

Oliang shouted frantically. When he woke up, he realized Siegfried was not in the room. Thinking Siegfried had gone for a walk around the city, he waited, but when Siegfried did not return, he called to find out where he was.

"Uh… um, Ch-Chang Long!!"

Siegfried stammered, still half-asleep, momentarily forgetting where he was. As he looked around for something to indicate his location, he suddenly noticed Chang Long staring at him curiously.

"Chang Long? What are you talking about? It's already late. If you don't hurry, you won't make it in time to meet her!"

Oliang grumbled, frustrated that their carefully laid plans might be falling apart as Siegfried was missing.

"I'm already at the Sky Palace. Hurry and get here,"

Siegfried cut the conversation short and quickly ended the call. He stood up, facing Chang Long with a hint of embarrassment.

"Are you… Siegfried?"

Chang Long raised an eyebrow, questioning him. His attire gave no indication of his identity.

"...Uh, yes, it's me,"

Siegfried stammered.

"Really? Why are you dressed like this?"

Chang Long asked, examining Siegfried closely. Nothing about his appearance was familiar to her, except for his voice.

"I have my reasons. I'll explain when we're alone..." Siegfried replied nervously, noticing Cat-Faced Angel, Hulu, Kitsune, and Kimhant approaching with a group of players.

"Is it a secret?"

Chang Long asked quietly.

"Not... exactly, but I'm embarrassed for others to know,"

Siegfried whispered back.

"Lord Siegfried!"

Kitsune exclaimed happily. Though Siegfried's appearance was different, Kitsune recognized his scent instantly.

"Hello, Kitsune,"

Siegfried greeted.

"Oh! A friend of yours? That's great! By the way, Destiny, the guild leader of Immortal Guild, and five of his friends agreed to join us for the Cave of Million quest. With all these new friends of Chang Long's, we should have a better chance of finding some good treasure chests,"

Cat-Faced Angel said cheerfully, pleased that her chances of finding a large tent for her circus performances had significantly increased.

"I still have two more friends who haven't arrived yet. Could we wait for them?"

Siegfried asked politely.

"Of course. There's no time limit on this quest unless the group leader who accepted the quest dies or exits the cave,"

Cat-Faced Angel responded with a big smile, delighted to have so many high-level companions for the quest.

While waiting for Oliang and Wet Trash Can, everyone sat down to get acquainted. The new friends were thrilled to learn that the man in the white cloak was Siegfried, the guild leader of Pendragon. Even though Pendragon was a small guild with only about a hundred members, it had a strong reputation and boasted a significant number of highly skilled players.

.....

A system announcement caused quite a stir among players in Adventure World Online. The announcement was that the fourth secret tomb of the Pirate King had been discovered (again). Naturally, this would intensify the search for the maps and the Pirate King's secret tombs. While Chang Long's group was not yet aware of this news since they were outside the city, most players in the game began discussing it so heavily in the public communication channels that the system was nearly overwhelmed.

.....

Doom Star Guild

Demos sat in his room, looking frustrated, even though he had just recently earned the title of Demon Lord and acquired a treasure hoard rumored to be greater than that of the six other Pirate Kings combined.

"Why the long face, Demos? You just got the Pirate King Beleth de Montes's set, title, and treasure hoard,"

Phobos asked, puzzled. Orion, Demos's real-life younger brother, was also in the room, casually sitting.

"I don't understand why so few of our top members made it out of the tomb alive. Sure, each stage was brutal—the Iron-Billed Crow stage, where thousands of hot stones were dropped on us, and the Lava Path stage, with its constant eruptions and the swarm of lava leeches that welcomed us. And even after passing through the gate, there were two more grueling stages before reaching the treasure room. But only five of our members survived to reach the treasure room. I can't believe our guild members are that weak!"

Demos grumbled in frustration, disappointed that his guild members did not live up to his high expectations. He had hoped they would be stronger and not be wiped out by the onslaught of beasts while solving the puzzles leading to the treasure room.

"Come to think of it, are all the beasts in the Pirate King's tombs this tough? Think about it, big bro. The ones we faced were all level 40 and up, and they came at us in hordes. Being in such a confined space put us at a huge disadvantage as we came in numbers. Even my confidant, Groupe, didn't make it,"

Orion added, voicing his own concerns since he barely survived as well. He only get to the treasure room thanks to his brother Demos helping him out.

"That's true, Demos. At least some people made it through. Our guild's influence will only grow, and we'll soon be the number one guild in this game,"

Phobos said with pride.

"Our guild has been the top guild for a while now, Phobos. Don't compare us to that trash horse guild. If they find out we've discovered the Pirate King's hidden tomb, they'll go mad with envy. Orion, go leak this info to the Dark Horse Guild spy. Let them stew in their jealousy—it'll be satisfying,"

Demos laughed, and Orion nodded before leaving the room.

"As for you, Phobos, make sure to distribute a rigorous training program to all our guild members. I don't want us to have high-level players who lack real combat skills!"

Demos ordered, and Phobos acknowledged before exiting as well.

Demos walked over to stand in front of a mirror. He was now wearing a long black fur cloak adorned with small red feathers in places. His inner shirt was made of shiny black leather straps crisscrossing over his torso, paired with black leather pants and knee-high patent leather boots. He carried no visible weapons, but on his chest hung a black pendant engraved with the head of a manticore, its eyes set with blood-red rubies that seemed to glow with life.

The young man gazed at his reflection in the mirror with satisfaction. Although his frame was a bit lanky, the power of the manticore and the set costume made him appear far more imposing. Despite inheriting the title of Demon Lord and the hidden class of Soul Fusioner, this class had many limitations. He could only choose demon-type spirits, and the fusion could be done only once with a single demon. However, the power it granted was immense, unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

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