The two stared at each other for a long time until Kimhant could not stand it any longer and attacked first. Kitsune, who was yawning, easily dodged the attack. This enraged Kimhant, who swung his short sword at Kitsune again. This time, Kitsune could not avoid it, and his beloved outfit got nicked.

"Kimhant!"

Kitsune snapped coldly, glaring at the boy in front of him, causing him to shiver.

Kitsune did not wait for Kimhant to attack first anymore. He lunged at the boy with great speed, his long claws glinting as they slashed Kimhant's body, which could not keep up with Kitsune's movements. Blood splattered, and Kimhant's agonized screams echoed through the field.

"Huh?"

Chang Long looked around in confusion. She thought she heard something scream while waiting for Siegfried to surface from the river. But when she strained to listen again, the sound was gone, making her think she must have imagined it.

Splash!

The sound of water splashing brought Chang Long's attention back to the river. Siegfried emerged, holding a small chest filled with variously colored elemental gems of medium and small sizes. He placed it on the ground before pulling himself out of the water.

"How was it?"

Chang Long asked curiously, helping Siegfried out of the river.

"There are two chests. I could only bring up the small one because the big one is too heavy. Mostly, there are gold and elemental gems, and then there's this!"

Siegfried answered with a bright smile, handing a clear orb with swirling blue waves inside to Chang Long.

Chang Long's eyes widened with excitement as the system informed her that it was the Eye of Water. Siegfried could not help but chuckle at her reaction, covering his mouth so she would not hear and get angry.

"Do you... want it?"

Chang Long asked, her eyes shining. Siegfried found himself staring, almost forgetting himself.

"N... no, I brought everything up for you, Chang Long,"

Siegfried replied with a smile, finding her pleading endearing.

"Thank you,"

Chang Long said softly, her gentle smile causing Siegfried's heart to race. He poured the gems out of the chest and quickly went back into the river to fetch the remaining elemental gems and gold.

Not long after, Chang Long and Siegfried returned to camp, both soaked. Chang Long had helped Siegfried collect the gems from the riverbed. When they arrived, they were surprised to see Kimhant massaging Kitsune's shoulders.

"What are you guys doing?"

Chang Long could not help but ask. Kitsune sat up straight, fanning himself like an ancient aristocrat, while Kimhant looked like a young servant boy.

"Masteeeer!"

Kimhant cried out as soon as he heard Chang Long's voice. He rushed over and hugged her leg. Siegfried clenched his fists and quickly pulled Kimhant away, glaring at him reproachfully.

"You're back, master. What happened? You're soaked,"

Kitsune said cheerfully, closing his fan.

"We found some treasure in the river and had to dive in to get it,"

Chang Long replied, looking puzzled at the weeping Kimhant.

"What's wrong with him?"

Chang Long asked, raising an eyebrow at the crying young journalist who sat obediently on the ground, sobbing with sad music in the background.

"Nothing much, master. He just lost a bet with me and now has to serve me as a subordinate,"

Kitsune said with a chuckle.

"A bet? What kind of bet?"

Chang Long asked as she sat down by the fire. Siegfried excused himself to change his clothes in his tent.

"Well..."

Kitsune began to recount the events. Chang Long laughed heartily, not believing that Kimhant dared to challenge Kitsune, who had a higher level and superior combat skills.

"Oh, Master! I was so angry that I lost my mind!"

Kimhant said softly when he saw Chang Long laughing.

"Well, you've served Kitsune before, so this shouldn't be too bad. Kitsune is quite easygoing,"

Chang Long said, still laughing. Kimhant sat there, feeling more defeated that he had become a pet's subordinate, regretting bringing this upon himself.

"Let's get some sleep. It's already late, and you'll have a busy day tomorrow, Kimhant. You need to level up and take care of Kitsune,"

Chang Long said, trying to stifle her laughter. She patted Kimhant on the shoulder before heading into her tent, with Kitsune following closely.

"Alright, I've always been someone's underling both in and out of the game..."

Kimhant muttered to himself, resigned, as he crawled into his tent.

The next morning, Draco and the others joined Chang Long's group. After having a leisurely breakfast together, they set off again. Everyone could not help but glance at Kitsune and Kimhant with amusement. The dynamic between them looked like a mean master and his unfortunate servant. Kitsune's strict demeanor towards Kimhant in Chang Long's place made everyone chuckle even more.

"Look out. Another beast is coming this way. Go stop it quickly!"

Kitsune commanded. Kimhant sighed and reluctantly ran to intercept the approaching beast, following his second master's orders sorrowfully.

Although it seemed like bullying, since Kimhant had to fight the beasts alone, he knew everyone was secretly helping him. He never took more than thirty minutes to defeat a beast, even the difficult ones, but he could not see how the others were assisting him due to their swift movements.

The journey progressed swiftly because Chang Long wanted to help her friend complete the mission before logging off.

"Do you think the city of Kirisakura is filled with cherry blossoms?"

Peach Blossom asked that evening as everyone set up camp not far from Suvarn City's border.

"Yes, I believe so. I haven't been there myself, but I think it must be beautiful. If Aden were here, we could ask him since ninjas have to find profession quest NPC in that city!"

Draco said while trying to put out a fire on his tent, courtesy of Firetail, who now had a new hobby of chasing its own tail.

"I've never been there, but I have some information!"

Kimhant declared, making everyone turn to look at him.

"Really? Tell us about Kirisakura, then. It must be a romantic city,"

Peach Blossom asked eagerly.

"Romantic..."

Siegfried murmured softly, sitting beside Draco. He discreetly paid closer attention to the conversation while making plans in his head.

"Absolutely. Kirisakura is a city with quite cool weather, with mist in the morning and evening throughout the year. Cherry blossoms are planted all over the city. It's considered a dream date spot in this game!"

Kimhant explained knowledgeably, despite never having set foot there.

"Dream date spot!"

Draco, Oliang, and Wet Trash Can exclaimed simultaneously. They could only imagine how wonderful it would be if they had a girlfriend in the game.

"Tch! That means Kirisakura is filled with couples everywhere,"

Wet Trash Can grumbled irritably, feeling envious as he had yet to find a girlfriend and could not bear to see lovey-dovey couples everywhere without dying from being drowned in his own envy.

"Not really. Most of them just sit and watch the cherry blossoms and mist at various spots. It's much more atmospheric and romantic. Also, the AI in that city is all fair-skinned and beautiful!"

Kimhant continued, his eyes dreamy as he imagined the beautiful AI in Kirisakura.

"AI..." Oliang muttered.

"Fair-skinned..." Wet Trash Can added.

"Beautiful..." Draco completed.

"Wow, you guys are not perverted at all. If you want to see beautiful fair-skinned girls, look no further than here!"

Peach Blossom protested, seeing the dreamy looks in her brothers' eyes.

"Oh, we've seen enough of you, Peach Blossom. We want to see different kinds of beauty,"

Oliang blurted out thoughtlessly, making Peach Blossom so angry that she chased him furiously.

Thud!

A stone the size of an egg, thrown expertly by Peach Blossom to hit Oliang squarely on the head, instead struck Chang Long on the forehead as she emerged from her tent, knocking her flat on her back.

"Master/Chang Long/Master Chang!"

Everyone shouted in unison, panicking when they saw Chang Long fall backward without a sound. They rushed over to check on her, worried.

"Ouch... Who – threw – that – rock!"

Chang Long sat up, holding her forehead, and asked sharply, causing Peach Blossom to run and hide behind Siegfried in fear.

Chang Long scanned the group, but everyone shook their heads vigorously, denying involvement. When her gaze landed on Siegfried, he hesitated slightly and did not shake his head like the others. Chang Long assumed he was the culprit.

"It was you!"

Chang Long exclaimed loudly, clenching her fist and swinging at the young man, intent on avenging the bump on her head.

Grab!

"Wait a minute, Chang Long, it wasn't me!"

Siegfried grabbed Chang Long's wrist, holding it tightly. He quickly tried to explain that he was innocent and being framed by his sister, but it seemed Chang Long was not listening at all. Suddenly, she froze in place.

"Chang Long, are you okay!"

Siegfried called out, but she did not respond at all.

"Brother, what did you do to Master Chang? Why is she frozen like that!"

Peach Blossom cried out, stepping out from behind her brother to check on Chang Long worriedly.

"Maybe her gaming console is malfunctioning!"

Oliang suggested.

"No, if the console malfunctioned, she would have been disconnected from the system. But her avatar is still here,"

Draco said, stroking his chin as he observed Chang Long.

"Then what's wrong with master? Could it be a side effect from getting hit hard on the head with a rock!"

Kimhant looked at Chang Long with concern.

"Are you crazy? It was just a tiny pebble!"

Peach Blossom snapped at Kimhant angrily, the way he phrased it made it sound as if he was blaming her for Chang Long's unusualness.

"She's got a bump. Look at this bruise..."

Siegfried gently touched the swollen spot on Chang Long's forehead with his free hand, causing her to flinch.

"I... I'm going to go rest and bandage this up in the tent. Then I'm going to sleep!"

Chang Long said quickly, walking back to her tent under the confused gazes of everyone. Even Kitsune could not understand what had happened to his master.

"Does this mean... we won't get to eat delicious food tonight? Argh! Peach Blossom, why did you do that? Look, now Chang Long is acting strange, and we miss out on delish!"

Wet Trash Can complained loudly, realizing they had missed out on a good meal since Chang Long had retreated to her tent. They would have to eat canned food instead of something from the Cone of Abundance.

"Don't blame me, Wet Trash Can. It's Sieg's fault that Chang Long is acting weird."

Peach Blossom shifted the blame to her brother, who was still staring at his palm in confusion. Siegfried did not know how he had caused Chang Long's unusual behavior, but his heart was pounding heavily.

He looked at Chang Long's tent, puzzled. Had he done something to make her angry or upset? All he did was hold her hand and touch her forehead. Why did she get so angry that she had to run away like that? The more he thought about it, the more worried and confused he became, not understanding the woman he loved at all.

The next morning, Chang Long's group set out quickly, aiming to reach their destination, the city of Kirisakura. Since entering the game, it had been six days since they boarded the ship to Aseana Island. Chang Long led the way, even though she was not sure if she was heading in the right direction. All she knew was that she did not dare stay close to Siegfried. Whenever she was near him, she felt strange, almost like she had a fever.

In the end, thanks to their whirlwind pace, Chang Long's group reached their destination just at dusk. The major obstacle to entering Kirisakura in the early morning or at dusk was the thick fog that made visibility nearly impossible. Worse still, beasts often lurked within the mist, causing unwary players to suffer surprise attacks, leading to numerous cases of injury. Fortunately, Chang Long's group had Kitsune and Firetail, both of whom had keen senses, enabling them to detect ambushes in advance every time.

"Hi Mi, I'm here. I've arrived at the south gate of Kirisakura,"

Chang Long called her dear friend as soon as she arrived.

"You're here? Wait there, I'll come right over!"

Valentine replied happily and hung up.

After a short wait, a petite girl in a sleeveless black ninja outfit with a short pleated skirt, which flared cutely when she ran, appeared in the city. Under her skirt, she wore mid-thigh length shorts. She also wore black gloves that reached her elbows and military-style combat boots. She approached Chang Long's group with a cheerful smile.

The petite girl walked up to Chang Long and hugged her. Then she turned and smiled warmly at everyone. The men in the group were eager to get to know her, except for Peach Blossom, who watched with a hint of jealousy.

"Everyone, this is Valentine, my dear friend,"

Chang Long introduced Valentine to the group. Oliang, Draco, Wet Trash Can, and Kimhant eagerly greeted her.

Valentine, or Amy, was a fair-skinned half-European girl, standing at just 165 centimeters. She had large, light blue eyes and delicate features, making her quite popular with suitors both in and out of the game. However, Amy had a personality similar to Chang Long—tough but she still retained more feminine sweetness than Chang Long. Anyone not serious about courting her often ended up embarrassed and deterred by her bluntness.

"You got here at dark, Chang,"

Valentine said with a smile while leading everyone to their accommodation.

"Want to go to my place? I bought it a while ago but haven't had a chance to check it out yet,"

Chang Long suggested, and everyone agreed.

-----

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