When the white ceramic mask was removed, the true appearance of the young man was revealed to Chang Long. Before her stood an Orc with white skin, dotted with green spots. Despite the patches of green, his overall appearance was more intimidating than the Orc King she had encountered before. However, the eyes, which should have shone with pride, were instead slightly dull.

"This! Is really you!"

Chang Long asked as she moved closer, unable to believe her eyes. She touched the thick, rough skin, examining the oversized hands and feet that were twice the size of a normal person's. His mouth was a straight line, with barely visible lips, and large white tusks protruded from beneath the lower lip.

Siegfried simply nodded in response to her question, as he found it difficult to speak clearly in this form. What comforted him was that Chang Long did not laugh or look at him as though he were a disgusting freak. She only smiled slightly and asked:

"How can we break this curse? Is it very difficult?"

"If I told you... that you're the only one who can help me, would you agree to help?"

Siegfried asked quietly.

"If I can help, of course, I will. But why only me?"

Chang Long replied with a smile. Her question made the young man falter, his face turning bright red.

"Well, it. it requires... a k-k-ku from the w-woman I l-love,"

Siegfried stammered, his embarrassment reaching its peak. He could not help but feel ashamed for himself—he, who had never feared anything in the world, not even his strict father, the old-fashioned and rule-abiding head housekeeper Mary, or his demanding little sister. But for some reason, when he was in front of the person he liked, did he always turn into an idiot.

"What? A k-k-ku from the woman you love?"

Chang Long asked, confused. Siegfried gathered his courage; he should not continue like this, appearing unreliable and foolish in her eyes. He needed to be strong and brave!

"If... if the quest requires a osculation from the woman I love, would you help me!?"

Siegfried finally managed to say the keyword for the quest, his voice steady but trembling slightly with nerves. His gaze locked onto hers, conveying feelings deeper than words ever could.

"Player Siegfried has requested you to complete the quest: A Kiss from the Beloved. Do you accept?"

The system's voice informed Chang Long. As soon as she heard the keyword, she was just as stunned, her cheeks turning slightly red as she realized that he said that this was the quest that only she could help him. This meant she was the woman he loved.

"H-huh?"

Chang Long managed to say just that, but nothing more. She stood frozen, staring at the young man in front of her, her face flushed with embarrassment. She had never felt like this before and did not know how to react.

"Player Siegfried has requested you to complete the quest: A Kiss from the Beloved. Do you accept?"

The system repeated the quest request as the two stood staring at each other in silence. The repetition jolted Chang Long, who finally spoke up.

"A k-k-kiss!"

"If... if you're uncomfortable, Chang Long, you can decline the quest. I... I'll be fine,"

Siegfried said firmly, though his heart felt hollow. It was as if Chang Long's hesitation to accept the quest was a rejection of his love.

"But you said only I could help, right? Or is this quest not exclusive to me?"

Chang Long asked, frowning slightly. If only she could help, why was he easily telling her she could decline?

"To be honest, anyone can accept the quest, but if you decline, I won't ask anyone else,"

Siegfried replied.

"Why not?"

"Because... because Chang Long is the w-woman I l-love,"

Siegfried stammered out, his face flushing even more. Though he had spoken quietly, those words echoed in Chang Long's mind, making her stand frozen in place for the first time since she started playing the game. She had seen others freeze up like this before, mostly the man standing before her, but now it was her turn.

"The w-woman you love!"

Chang Long asked softly, as she finally regained her composure.

"Y-yes?"

Siegfried repeated as he could not hear her clearly, hanging on her every word.

"I accept."

"Player Chang Long has accepted the quest from Player Siegfried. You both have ten minutes to complete the quest,"

the system's voice echoed in their heads. Though Siegfried was overjoyed that Chang Long had accepted, what about the next step? Did he really have the courage to go through with the kiss?

The two stood staring at each other again, neither daring to make the first move. Lycanth, who had been watching silently from a distance, grew increasingly frustrated. Time was ticking down without any progress, (although the creature did not understand the concept of time,) it knew something needed to be done. So, it made a decision that no one expected.

Wham!

"Oof!"

Lycanth kicked Siegfried in the back with all its strength, sending him flying into Chang Long. They both fell to the ground, their lips meeting just as the countdown reached its final second. Lycanth shook its head in exasperation before moving to stand guard, ensuring no zombies would disturb the intimate scene. He left his master to continue their kiss.

As their lips met, a powerful force seemed to keep them locked together. Siegfried's body began to glow, like stardust shimmering in the night. The transformation started at his lips, where the kiss was taking place. The grotesque features of the white-skinned orc slowly morphed back into his true form. His unruly light brown hair became glossy and soft like animal hair, his muscular frame returned to normal. Within seconds, he had almost completely reverted to his original appearance. The only difference was that his skin was so bright that he seemed to be glowing with a soft, radiant light, his warm brown eyes had turned a bright sky blue, and his ears had become elegantly pointed like an elf's. His transformation was now complete.

The strange force dissipated as the transformation finished. Siegfried gently pulled away from his beloved, his cheeks as red as ripe tomatoes. Chang Long was as shy as he was, her head bowed to avoid meeting his gaze, just as he was too shy to say anything. Both of them remained seated.

"Oh!"

Siegfried suddenly exclaimed, prompting Chang Long to look up at him as he sounded very shocked.

"What's wrong?"

She asked, frowning.

"Your... your lip is bleeding. I think it happened when we k-k- you know, earlier!"

Siegfried stammered, reaching out to wipe the blood from her lip. He avoided saying the word kiss, fearing it might upset her. Besides, it had not felt like a proper kiss anyway.

"T-thanks, but I'm fine. It's just a little cut."

Chang Long spoke with a hint of nervousness as she quickly pulled away and stood up, avoiding Siegfried's gaze by focusing on the treasure chest instead. Siegfried did not say anything further, content with the knowledge that Chang Long had some positive feelings toward him. If not, she would have surely drawn her sword on him by now.

"So, where should we go next?"

Siegfried asked as he joined Chang Long.

"We need to regroup with everyone. It's dangerous to stay separated like this,"

Chang Long replied, turning her attention back to the chest. Inside, she found a tiny cabin-like structure, which the system identified as a shelter for four players, similar in capacity to the tents sold in the game's system shop.

"Good idea. I'm starting to worry about others too,"

Siegfried agreed, nodding. They set off to find the rest of their group, who had scattered earlier when they encountered a wasp nest hidden in a treasure chest.

Lycanth took the lead, relying on its heightened senses to track the scent of their teammates and avoid any nearby zombie beasts. Before long, they found Destiny's group engaged in battle with zombies along the way, and they quickly joined in to help.

Once the zombies were dealt with, Destiny's group turned to Siegfried and Lycanth with puzzled expressions. They clearly remembered that no one who looked like this had entered the Cave of Million with them.

"Uh... who's this, Chang Long?"

Destiny asked.

"It's Siegfried. And the werewolf is his pet,"

Chang Long replied.

"But wasn't he in the middle of a quest where he couldn't remove his cloak? Did he complete it?"

Destiny continued, still curious.

"Yes, the quest is done, thanks to Chang Long's help. Oof!"

Siegfried began to explain, but was cut off as Chang Long's elbow jabbed him hard in the stomach, leaving him winded.

"If you don't want to die, don't mention the kiss!"

Chang Long whispered sharply in his ear before turning to instruct everyone to continue the journey. Though confused, Destiny and the others decided it was best not to challenge Chang Long on this.

"A-a threat from my beloved!"

Siegfried muttered to himself, clutching his stomach while tears welled up in his eyes (from the pain.) Despite the discomfort, he could not help but feel oddly happy as he hurried to follow his beloved.

.....

As they made their way deeper into the Cave of Million, searching for their scattered comrades, they discovered several more treasure chests. Most contained money, followed by jewelry, weapons, and even a wedding dress found by Oliang's group. Eventually, they all converged in what seemed to be the heart of the Cave of Million—a vast hall filled with treasure chests of all shapes and sizes. Some were on the floor, some on stone pedestals, some embedded in the walls, and others hanging from the ceiling. The sight filled everyone with excitement.

"It was totally worth it to fight our way here!"

Wet Trash Can said. The journey to the heart of the Cave of Million had been anything but easy. They had to fight through hordes of zombies that seemed to be waiting to greet them at almost every turn, with the zombies' levels growing increasingly higher. Fortunately, Kimhant and Cat-Faced Angel managed to find Kitsune's group, or none of them might have made it to the center of the cave.

"Come to think of it, this quest doesn't seem as hard as everyone says. So why hasn't anyone who came before us made it to the heart of the Cave of Million?"

Kimhant asked, puzzled. Aside from avoiding the treasure chests near the cave's entrance, the monsters they fought were not particularly formidable.

"That's true. Whether it's a quest or not, there should be a boss in every cave,"

Destiny agreed. And as if responding to the handful of players' call, the cave's boss appeared at each entrance leading to the heart of the cave.

"Oh my god!"

The duo of Oliang and Wet Trash Can exclaimed in unison when they saw the zombie bosses. Each stood at two and a half meters tall, with skin in various shades of dark purple, green, blue, gray, and black—five of them, one for each entrance. Normally, these bosses would start appearing near the entrance, as if they had a sixth sense that detected when players accepted the Cave of Million quest.

However, in Chang Long's group's case, they had spent almost a full day waiting for Oliang and Wet Trash Can to join them, then another two days traveling and resting before entering the cave. The bosses, tired of waiting for players to arrive, had gone back to their lairs. They only re-emerged when they sensed that their minions were getting excited, realizing that visitors had finally arrived.

"Not just one, but five!"

Kimhant exclaimed loudly, just as the system announced that all five kings of the Cave of Million were at level 70.

"Oh no, if we fight here, all these treasure chests will get destroyed!"

Wet Trash Can said, worried about the potential damage to the countless treasure chests scattered throughout the large chamber.

"Split up. Don't let them enter this area."

Siegfried commanded. Everyone quickly moved to block the five zombie kings from entering the chamber. Fluffy Head-chan, now back in its original form to assist in the battle, was thrilled to have regained its size, eager to intimidate Hulu. Meanwhile, Cat-Faced Angel's five otter pets were ordered to open as many treasure chests as possible and quickly store the contents in the shared inventory bag, focusing on the outer perimeter to prevent any damage.

The battle was fierce, as all five kings were level 70, with extremely high attack power. Fortunately, their movements were slow, which allowed the players to manage, but a direct hit could cause severe injuries. Each of the zombie kings' attacks inflicted poison, reducing health by 100 units per second—a terrifying prospect since player health only increased by 25 units per level. This meant that each class had relatively low health. The thing that kept them from dying after receiving severe hits were defensive equipment which offered varying protection for varying profession. Then, as players leveled up, they became less prone to direct hit.

Despite their formidable levels, the five zombie kings were no match for Chang Long's group, which quickly turned them into easy prey. Everyone was impressed with the group's combat skills, particularly Destiny's team, who fought in perfect sync. Oliang and Wet Trash Can worked seamlessly: one delivering powerful attacks, the other evading skillfully. Siegfried and Lycanth needed no assistance, as their attacks were already incredibly potent. As for Chang Long and her companions, their prowess was on full display—Chang Long's swordsmanship had significantly improved, and the agility of her two pets and one demon puppet kept them from being hit even once.

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