That night, after hunting beasts with Oliang and Wet Trash Can, Chang Long sat by the campfire with everyone again. This time, they enjoyed a delicious meal from the Cone of Abundance. The two young men were amazed that such an item existed in the game and could not help but ask to see it.
"Wow! This is a god-tier item, Chang Long!"
Oliang exclaimed, eyes wide as a saucer as he checked the status of the Horn of Abundance, something Chang Long had never bothered to look at.
"Really? Let me see,"
Wet Trash Can eagerly asked, intrigued to hear that the Cone of Abundance was a god-tier item.
"This is amazing! Where did you get such a rare item, Chang Long?"
Wet Trash Can turned to ask, hoping he could find something similar.
"I got it from the Goddess Veritas at the Sacred Water Pond,"
Chang Long replied nonchalantly, thinking it was not a big deal since she had received it within two days of playing the game.
"Really!? The goddess? Since I've been playing this game, I've never heard of any player meeting an NPC that's a deity,"
Oliang said, astonished. He thought Chang Long was quite impressive and realized she had many secrets they did not know about. For instance, the identity of the man dressed exactly like her. But that mystery was about to be solved as Chang Long took out a spirit tablet.
"Oh! Are you preparing an offering for Davy-chan?"
Wet Trash Can asked knowingly, having seen Chang Long do this several times.
"Yeah... Davy-chan hasn't eaten in days. He might get grumpy,"
Chang Long replied, separating five plates of food for Davy-chan and lighting an incense stick in front of her spirit tablet.
The two young men watched the man dressed like Chang Long approach and sit down by Davy-chan's plates with interest. When he started eating the food, Wet Trash Can immediately spoke up.
"Um... Chang Long, isn't that Davy-chan's food?"
Wet Trash Can asked in confusion.
"Yes... it is,"
Chang Long replied.
"Then why is that person eating Davy-chan's food?"
Oliang asked, puzzled.
"He's supposed to eat there,"
Chang Long answered, looking perplexed.
"How can that be right! It's Davy-chan's food and doesn't Devy-chan dislike anyone stealing his food?!"
Wet Trash Can objected, seeing that Chang Long seemed unconcerned about the man.
"Huh? ...I don't see anyone stealing Davy-chan's food. Oliang, Wet Trash Can, and Kitsune are all sitting here,"
Chang Long said, looking around in greater confusion. She did not see anyone stealing Davy-chan's food.
"Geez, it's that guy, Chang Long! That guy! Look, he's eating happily."
Oliang could not stand Chang Long's cluelessness any longer and pointed to the man who was in the same outfit as Chang Long, eating Davy-chan's food. Kitsune and Chang Long followed his finger and frowned, thinking the two men should have realized by now that the man was Devy-chan, her spirit.
"Kitsune, didn't you tell them?"
Chang Long asked her human-form companion sitting next to her.
"No, I haven't. I got caught up in other things and forgot,"
Kitsune admitted, looking guilty.
"Tell us what, Chang Long?"
Wet Trash Can asked, still puzzled.
"Don't tell me that person is..."
Oliang trailed off, beginning to piece it together.
"Yes, that's Davy-chan,"
Kitsune answered for his master, leaving the two young men stunned. They had heard the name, but this was their first-time seeing Davy-chan.
"Unbelievable! So, this is Davy-chan?"
Wet Trash Can asked, scrutinizing Davy-chan closely.
"What are you doing, Chang Long?"
Oliang asked as he saw Chang Long place the Sovereign Sword by the campfire.
"Oh... the energy in the Eye of Fire is depleted. I need to recharge it,"
Chang Long replied. Then she remembered something and quickly turned to Kitsune.
Kitsune took the Eye of Wind out from a hidden pocket in his shirt and handed it to Chang Long, who looked relieved. This eye meant a lot to her since she got it from a Sky Hawk Beast King that taught her how to fly, and she did not have to kill it to obtain the eye.
Chang Long accepted the Eye of Wind from Kitsune, while the two young men watched with curiosity, wondering why she treasured that orb so much.
"Chang Long, did you hunt a beast king to get that orb?"
Oliang asked when he got a clear view of what was in Chang Long's hand.
"You know about these orbs, Oliang?"
Chang Long asked immediately, interested.
"Yes... Players who have encountered beast kings know them well because these orbs only drop from beast kings. It's easy to identify them; if a beast has one of these orbs embedded in its forehead, you can be sure it'll drop the orb when it dies,"
Oliang explained like an expert.
"But no one likes to hunt kings with orbs on their foreheads because they drop very little money and loot. Some don't drop anything besides the orb,"
Wet Trash Can added.
Chang Long nodded in understanding. She realized that people did not value orbs because they did not know how to use them. She, on the other hand, had to collect them to enhance her own power by embedding them in the Sovereign Sword. She also accidentally discovered another use: throwing an orb containing a beast's skill directly at an enemy.
Seeing that the Eye of Fire was fully charged, Chang Long retrieved the Sovereign Sword to embed the Eye of Wind into the blade. As she pressed the Eye of Wind onto the blade, a bright light flashed, and a gust of wind swirled around the sword. The system announced that she could now use the Tornado Wings skill from the Eye of Wind.
"Whoa!"
The two young men exclaimed in amazement, seeing how easily the Eye of Wind embedded into the blade with just a light press.
"Do upgrades work this easily!?"
Wet Trash Can looked at Chang Long's sword in astonishment.
"Not usually. Any weapon that needs upgrading typically has to be taken to an NPC. But since Chang Long's weapon could be upgraded easily, it meant this is a god-tier item tied to a specific quest,"
Oliang analyzed, making Chang Long pause in her track. His analysis was spot-on; the system had not mentioned a quest to collect the eyes, but Davy-chan, the previous owner of the Sovereign Sword, had. After chatting for a while, everyone went to sleep.
The next morning, Siegfried woke up early after sleeping off the whole night and went for a walk in the city. Most players were still asleep, leaving the town rather vacant, quiet and peaceful. He headed straight to a jewelry store run by a player who was a merchant, setting up shop early every day. Siegfried bought unique jewelry not available in the system shops to feed his egg. Ever since it had accidentally eaten a piece of jewelry, it started to change. Since then, he had been buying more jewelry to feed it regularly. Now, it seemed to prefer jewelry that enhanced elemental powers.
"Is that the shop?"
Siegfried muttered to himself when he saw the souvenir shop of the Journalists and Writers Association.
"Good morning, Guild Leader!"
The jewelry merchant greeted as Siegfried walked in.
"Good morning. What do you have today?"
Siegfried replied, browsing the array of jewelry.
"You're buying jewelry every day, Guild Leader. Your girlfriend must be very happy to receive such beautiful gifts every day,"
the young merchant said, causing Siegfried to look up and laugh softly.
"By the way, there's a popular photo circulating among the players in town. Do you happen to have it?"
Siegfried asked, having knocked on his mischievous sister's door to ask for the photo, only to be yelled at for disturbing her sleep.
"Oh, yes, I do! Here it is. I heard the Journalists Association is planning to enter this photo in a beauty contest in the game, but they need to confirm whether the person in the picture is male or female first,"
the young merchant said, handing the picture of Sleeping Beauty to Siegfried.
Siegfried stared at the photo in shock. He was certain that the person in the picture was Chang Long, as he had gotten close to her (in a lip-to-lip manner) before. Even if it was not intentional, he was confident that this was Chang Long.
"Haha, even the Guild Leader is stunned! It's a shame no one knows yet whether Sleeping Beauty is a man or a woman. But with the activity to find Sleeping Beauty underway, I think we should know soon,"
the young merchant teased upon seeing Siegfried's astonished expression.
"Can I buy this photo from you?"
Siegfried asked seriously, handing over two rings he had picked out for the merchant to price.
"Yes? Of course. For you, Guild Leader, I'll give it to you for free since you're a regular customer,"
the young merchant said, swiping Siegfried's card.
After purchasing the items, Siegfried hurried back to the guild to feed the two rings to his egg, which he had left in his room. Then, he nervously dialed Chang Long's number, after spending half an hour worrying about a suitable reason for calling her.
"Hello, Siegfried!"
Chang Long's friendly greeting instantly put him at ease.
"Hi, Chang Long. Am I disturbing your sleep?"
Siegfried asked politely.
"No, I just woke up. I was about to go for a flight while waiting for Oliang and Can to wake up,"
Chang Long's response left Siegfried bewildered.
"Did you just say you're going for a flight?"
Siegfried asked, unsure if he had misheard.
"Yeah... I have wings now, but I don't know where they went. I'm going to try calling them out again,"
Chang Long replied cheerfully.
"Try saying 'spread wings',"
Siegfried suggested, recalling his own experience with flight equipment, which he had stopped using due to the high energy consumption.
"Okay. Spread wings. Whoa!"
After following Siegfried suggestion, Chang Long's wings unfurled with a loud flapping sound, startling Kitsune awake.
"What's wrong, Chang Long?"
Siegfried asked, concerned after hearing her exclamation.
"Nothing, I was just surprised that my wings suddenly spread out. But it's great that it didn't hurt this time like when they first grew,"
Chang Long replied happily.
"Grew? So, your wings aren't the type you wear when you want to use them?"
Siegfried asked in shock. He had never heard of a player growing wings from their own body in the game.
"Nope. By the way, how do I retract them?"
Chang Long asked, unfazed by Siegfried's astonished tone.
"Uh... just say 'retract wings',"
Siegfried answered.
"...Chang Long, can I come see you?"
After waiting for a chance to speak, Siegfried finally found the right moment to express what he really wanted.
"Huh? Sure, we're at the sixth floor of the Royal Cliff,"
Chang Long replied cheerfully, relieved to finally know how to summon and retract her wings. She had been worrying all night about where her wings had gone.
"Alright, I'll be there right away!"
Hearing her confirmation, he quickly packed his things, including his egg, and set out for the Royal Cliff to meet Chang Long.
After giving instructions to his subordinates, Siegfried hurried to the Royal Cliff. Meanwhile, Draco and his group, who had just returned, were greeted by guild members asking them to take over command while Siegfried was away.
On his way, Siegfried encountered many players still searching for the secret tomb of the Pirate King at the Southern Sea Abyss. Although his guild members had asked him to join the search, he had refused. He believed it was a waste of resources since the tomb had already been discovered. Going in now would likely mean encountering only dangerous traps and fierce beasts, with a high risk of death.
He also saw players carrying pictures of Sleeping Beauty, comparing them to the faces of dozens players around them. This made Siegfried quicken his pace, fearing someone might find Chang Long before he did.
Siegfried traveled as fast as he could, and three hours later, he arrived at the sixth floor. He began searching for Chang Long, taking his time since there were no other players around. Soon, he came across Oliang and Wet Trash Can fighting a beast.
"Oliang, Can!"
Siegfried called out as he approached, seeing that they had just finished off the beast.
"Oh, Siegfried! What brings you here?"
Oliang asked in surprise.
"Where's Chang Long?"
Siegfried asked, skipping any formalities. The two friends grinned and pointed in another direction where Chang Long was busy with something. Siegfried quickly walked over to her.
"What are you doing, Chang Long?"
Siegfried asked curiously as he got closer.
"Oh, Siegfried... I'm helping this snake. It foolishly swallowed its own tail. Poor thing!"
Chang Long explained, showing him a black snake with red eyes that had swallowed its tail, curling itself into a ring.
"A level 40 Hoop Snake beast has appeared,"
the system announced as Chang Long presented the snake to him. Siegfried watched with amusement as Chang Long tried to pull the snake's tail out of its mouth, not noticing the snake's tears of pain.
"Uh... it was created that way. It's not foolish to swallow its own tail. But this creature is rare. How did you find it, Chang Long?"
Siegfried said, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Really? I found it there. There's a huge rock blocking the way. You can't get in by just walking,"
Chang Long said, casually tossing the tearful, battered Hoop Snake aside.
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