Lycan hesitated for a moment before reluctantly handing the parchment scroll to Siegfried. He thanked it for its trust. As he was about to turn back to return to his friends, Lycan growled again, making him jump. He glanced at Kitsune for a translation.

"If you don't keep your word, you'll regret it!"

Kitsune translated, shrugging as if to say he would not teach Lycan proper pet etiquette.

"I won't lie to you!"

Siegfried replied, shaking his head before hurrying back to his friends. He seemed to be facing similar issues to Chang Long. Fortunately, Lycan just had a higher level, not a prideful divine beast like Hulu. Otherwise, he would not know how to handle it.

"Alright, let's see if it's really a map,"

Oliang said, taking the parchment from Siegfried. He slowly rolled and examined it, and his eyes widened as he noticed the faint writing on the silk ribbon that read, 'Only the true heir can read this.' The faint, almost unseeable symbol in front of the text excited him even more so that he could not keep his act together.

"What's up, Oliang? What's so exciting, tell us!"

Lidded Wet Trash Can asked, curious about his friend's enthusiastic reaction. The others noticed Oliang's excitement as well.

"You're really lucky, Siegfried. Here, take a look!"

Oliang said, smiling widely as he handed the scroll back to Siegfried.

Siegfried examined the scroll closely, following Oliang's instructions. Initially, he could not see the symbol, but when Oliang told him to look more carefully, he held the scroll up to the light from the fire and saw it clearly. What he saw made him as excited as Oliang was.

"Caduceus,"

Siegfried exclaimed, making everyone else excited too. He tried to untie the silk ribbon, but it would not budge no matter how hard he tried. Frustrated, he handed the scroll to the others to try their chances, but none of them could untie the ribbon either.

"Don't forget the note: Only the true heir can read this!"

Oliang reminded everyone.

"That's right. The Caduceus symbol must refer to the weapon of the pirate king, Heaven, which Siegfried possesses. Why don't you take it out?"

Draco suggested.

"Or maybe something else uses this symbol too,"

Wet Trash Can offered.

"Unlikely. This game is strict about symbols. There might be similar ones, but they would never use the same symbol,"

Kimhant explained, causing everyone to worry why Siegfried, who should be the true heir, could not open the scroll.

"Sieg, have you made a contract with the Caduceus yet?"

Chang Long asked, turning to Siegfried, who still seemed puzzled like the rest.

"Hmm?"

Siegfried looked surprised by Chang Long's question, but then his eyes widened as if he had just remembered something important.

"I totally forgot!"

"Oh. You've had it all this time and haven't made a contract with it? No wonder you can't untie the silk ribbon!"

Oliang laughed. The others shook their heads, realizing this was why they could not open the scroll.

"Hehe, sorry about that. Chang Long said that once you make a contract, you can't use other weapons and your attack power might drop to 1. So, I haven't made the contract with it yet,"

Siegfried said and smiled sheepishly, pulling the Caduceus from his bag.

At first glance, the Caduceus looked like an old wooden staff, 120 centimeters in length. The wood was worn and tarnished, giving it a shabby appearance. The handle at the top, also made of wood, was about 15 centimeters long. Extending from the handle were wings spread wide, as if ready to take flight. Below the wings, two snakes entwined around the staff, almost reaching the wings. The width of the staff intrigued everyone, suggesting it might be more than just a staff.

"It looks ancient!"

Jane remarked, doubting its durability.

"Make the contract first, and then we'll see,"

Chang Long suggested. Everyone turned their attention to Siegfried. He sighed, then pulled out a dagger and cut his right palm, letting blood flow slowly until there was enough to perform the contract. He smeared his blood across the Caduceus, then grasped the handle above the wings with his cut hand.

"Player Siegfried has made a contract with the god-tier weapon, Caduceus. Player Siegfried can no longer use other weapons."

"How's it... whoa!"

Peach Blossom began to ask, but stopped as the Caduceus in Siegfried's hand began to glow with a golden light.

When the light faded, the transformation was astonishing. The once old wooden staff was now entirely golden, intricately detailed and shining brilliantly. The scales of the two snakes looked lifelike, making it seem as if they could come to life at any moment. Everyone gaped in awe at its beauty.

"It's gorgeous, but it looks more like a mage's staff,"

Valentine observed.

"Yeah, does this mean you'll have to switch from slicing with a sword to bonking monsters with a staff?" Hero wondered if Siegfried would have to spend money to change his class.

"Hahaha, exactly!"

The Miracle Doctor, Zhang Yijie, laughed heartily at the thought of Siegfried furiously whacking beasts with the Caduceus.

"I think it can do more than just bonking heads!"

Aden chuckled, seeing Siegfried's expression.

"It looks like a sword sheath,"

Chang Long noted, prompting everyone to take a closer look at the Caduceus.

"Try pulling on it, Siegfried,"

Jane suggested, eager to see what would happen.

"Alright..."

Siegfried nodded. He gripped the handle above the wings and pulled, hoping it would reveal a sword so he would not have to change his class.

A soft click sounded as he pulled the handle. Everyone watched in anticipation. The shiny blade of a silver sword emerged, reflecting the firelight. The blade was adorned with golden vine patterns along its length. The sword was sharp and elegant, comparable to the Sovereign Sword, even though its attack power was currently just 1, much to Siegfried's worry.

"Awesome!"

everyone exclaimed together, eyes glued to the magnificent Caduceus.

"Hehehe, now you can read the scroll, whatever it is!"

Oliang laughed, handing the scroll back to Siegfried.

Siegfried smiled, sheathed the sword back into its place and tried untying the silk ribbon again. This time, it easily came undone. He slowly unrolled the parchment, everyone eagerly watching, hoping it would be a treasure map or lead to a pirate king's hoard.

"Come on, Siegfried. Quit keeping us in suspense. I'm about to have a heart attack here!"

Draco exclaimed, seeing his friend staring at the parchment without saying a word.

"It's really a map,"

Siegfried finally responded with a smile, turning the parchment to show the map to everyone.

"Where is that?"

Wet Trash Can asked, confused by the island depicted on the map.

"Damn... We've got a map but no idea where the island is,"

Wet Trash Can grumbled again.

"Hmm... could it be one of the satellite islands of Europa?"

Zhang Yijie mused, deep in thought.

"Really?"

Siegfried asked, intrigued.

"I think so. I haven't traveled there in decades, but I recall an island inhabited by small winged people,"

Zhang Yijie replied, lost in thought.

"Fairies!"

Peach Blossom and Valentine exclaimed in unison, excited. Many girls who played the game dreamed of having a beautiful fairy as a pet.

"An island with fairies? That's intriguing!"

Jane said, her eyes sparkling.

"But which direction from Europa Island is it, Brother Jie?"

Chang Long asked.

"I don't remember. This, you'll have to find it yourselves,"

Zhang Yijie answered. Everyone had expected this; if NPCs revealed all the information no matter how secretive it was, the game company would go bankrupt.

"Well, we're halfway there anyway. It's more fun to find it ourselves, right?"

Oliang consoled his disappointed friends.

"Let's rest up. We're supposed to explore the beach tomorrow,"

Chang Long said, standing up and stretching.

"Yes, let's rest. We'll need a lot of energy for the Pirate King's tomb adventure!"

Valentine said, smiling. They chatted a bit more before saying goodnight and heading to their tents to rest. The pets stayed outside to keep watch, while Hulu followed Chang Long into her tent, taking the top bunk.

The next morning, everyone woke up early, excited. After breakfast, they split into teams to explore the beach. Chang Long stayed behind to practice her dimension shift skill. After seeing everyone off, she sat down on the beach while Hulu wandered nearby.

Chang Long took out the scroll she had found in the cave. Untying the golden ribbon, she slowly unrolled the scroll with excitement. She expected to see complex instructions for her to read and try to understand, but there was only a short message:

'Place one palm on the golden spot in the center of the scroll, and one palm on your head. Then close your eyes.'

"That's it? Can this really work!"

Chang Long wondered, skeptical about how easy it seemed to learn such a rare skill. She decided to call Oliang for advice.

"Hey, Chang Long,"

Oliang answered almost immediately.

"Oliang, are skill scrolls really this simple to study?"

Chang Long asked, reading the scroll's instructions to Oliang.

"Hahaha, I guess you've never used a skill scroll before. They're all like that. The hard part is finding the scrolls in the first place, so not many people know!"

Oliang laughed, explaining.

"Oh... but will it really work if I follow the instructions?"

Chang Long still seemed unsure.

"Absolutely. If you follow what the scroll says and can't learn the skill, you can step on me!"

Oliang confirmed resolutely.

"Promise?"

Chang Long pressed, sounding deadly serious.

"P...promise!"

Oliang replied, suddenly regretting making such a bold promise to Chang Long.

"Okay then, I'm going to try it. Get ready, Oliang, because I won't go easy on you if it doesn't work!"

Chang Long warned before hanging up abruptly.

"...Won't go easy on me, hey! Oh no, does that mean she's going to stomp me into the ground! Oh great spirits of the game, please let Chang Long succeed in learning the skill from the scroll. Please~"

Oliang's eyes widened as he quickly prayed to the game's deities. If Chang Long failed to learn the skill, he was certain he would be tasting sand.

"Hahaha, hey Oliang, what are you doing? Why are you praying to me?!"

Wet Trash Can laughed when he saw his friend pale and praying fervently. Oliang, feeling mischievous, decided to play a trick.

"Well, I saw something behind you. At first, I thought it was Chang Long's Davy-chan, but then I realized it was about to lunge at me. Lucky for me, you walked in its path. It's on your back right now."

"Ahhhhhh!"

Wet Trash Can's scream echoed through the small cave they were exploring and rang out to the beach area, where Draco and Firetail were also surveying. This made even Oliang who had tricked his friend jump, not expecting his friend to be so scared.

"Get it off me. Oh! Please help me, mommy, daddy. A ghost is clinging to my back and won't let go! Mommy!"

Wet Trash Can wailed, panicking as he ran around in circles. Unsure how to deal with the imaginary ghost Oliang mentioned.

"Stop it, Can. I was just joking. There's no ghost on your back!"

Oliang called out, but his words did not seem to reach his terrified friend. Just then, Draco and Firetail came running, alarmed by the commotion.

"What's wrong with Can?"

Draco asked, confused by the frantic scene. He had hurried here because he thought someone was being attacked by beasts.

"I'll explain later. For now, just help me stop him. He's lost his mind,"

Oliang said, shaking his head in regret. Draco nodded and instructed Firetail to act. It blew a small fireball at Wet Trash Can.

Fwoosh!

"Ahhh. Hot, hot, hot. I'm on fire, I'm so dead. Fire, firrrrrre!"

Wet Trash Can screamed as his shirt caught fire. He ran to the beach and jumped into the sea, extinguishing the flames. Draco and Oliang laughed loudly as they followed him to the shore.

"Whew. I thought I was a goner. At least the ghost must be gone now,"

Wet Trash Can sighed with relief, having suffered only minor burns.

"Hey, are you going to stay in the water all day, Can? The others said they're heading back to camp now,"

Oliang teased his friend who was soaking the sea water comfortably.

"Alright, alright. But are you sure there's no ghost on my back anymore?"

Wet Trash Can asked warily as he climbed out of the water.

"Yeah, no more ghost,"

Oliang replied, barely suppressing his laughter.

"Let's go!"

Draco led the way, trying hard not to laugh out loud. The trio and one pet walked back to camp in high spirits, each entertained by different thoughts. Draco and Oliang enjoyed the prank on Wet Trash Can, who was relieved to be ghost-free, while Firetail thought that breathing fire on a friend had made everyone happy.

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