"True, with just us, those ugly creatures will be dead in no time,"

Fluffy Head-chan agreed with Hulu for the first time. Realizing this, Fluffy Head-chan quickly clarified that only he and Kitsune could handle it—Hulu had nothing to do with it.

"You two shouldn't be so overconfident. We need to regroup with others quickly. If we stay separated like this, we'll all end up dead,"

Kitsune warned, then unleashed a large golden fireball, scattering the zombies that were already afraid of fire, making them easier to deal with.

Meanwhile, Chang Long and Siegfried, who had deliberately gotten lost together thanks to Siegfried grabbing her hand and leading the way, found themselves in a part of the cave where they could see outside. The view was breathtaking—blue ocean waves shimmering in the sunlight, creating a beautiful, sparkling scene.

"You're really strong. Your level must have gone up again, right?"

Chang Long praised with a laugh, having noticed that during the fight with the zombies, Siegfried had been able to send two zombies flying with just his bare fists. His strength rivaled that of his pet, Lycanth which he had summoned to help in the battle. Little did she know that his increasing strength was due to his ongoing transformation into a full orc.

"Y-yes, I'm level 78 now,"

Siegfried replied, feeling shy and unsure of how to explain everything to her.

"But you still haven't told me why you're wearing that cloak and mask. Is there some reason for it? Or are you on some secret quest?"

Chang Long asked curiously, while she explored the area, looking for any hidden treasure chests.

"Well, I..." Siegfried took a deep breath, unsure whether he should reveal the truth now. The opportunity was perfect—no one else was around, and even the spirits had been sealed away by Chang Long because seeing each other again made them start bickering again (Devi-chan and Heaven). He wanted to know how she felt but was terrified that her answer might not be what he hoped for.

"Hmm, oh. There's a chest here!"

Chang Long exclaimed, noticing a medium-sized treasure chest hidden under a stone platform after she glanced his way. Siegfried smiled and moved closer to her, ready to help figure out how to open the chest.

"I was cursed by accident while trying to change my race. It turned me into a hideous monster. I'm too ashamed to let anyone see me..."

Siegfried confessed quietly as he sat beside Chang Long.

"Even me?"

Chang Long asked, looking at him seriously.

"Yes... I'm not sure you'd be ok with it. There's a quest to lift the curse, but I'm afraid to ask..."

"Oh, for crying out loud! Why didn't you say something sooner? I have a high-level curse-removal potion that I got from the royal physician at the Sky Palace. It should help."

Chang Long said with a smile, searching for the potion in her bag. Siegfried felt a mix of disappointment and relief because there was now a way to break the curse.

"You should have told me sooner, you know? If there's anything I can help with, don't keep it to yourself. I'm always willing to help,"

Chang Long said, giving Siegfried a light pat on the shoulder. Her gesture made him smile with joy. Chang Long was still the same—seemingly aloof, but with a heart full of kindness, willing to help anyone in need. Even though he still did not know how she felt about him, it did not matter as much. Just being close to her and seeing her warm smile was enough to make him happy.

Chang Long finally retrieved the curse-removal potion from her bag. Siegfried looked at the beautiful potion with amazement; it was so exquisite that it seemed too precious to drink. Following the instructions given by the royal physician, Chang Long held the potion near Siegfried to see if it would react. If the potion worked, it would emit a faint glow. However, no matter how close she held it to him, there was no reaction at all.

"Uh... I guess it won't work. But you mentioned there was a quest to lift the curse, right? Maybe that's why the potion isn't effective. What kind of quest is it? Can I help?"

Chang Long asked, her face showing a hint of disappointment. Siegfried blushed deeply at her offer to help, he wondered how to explain the sensitivity of this quest to her. What would her reaction be—would it be a kiss or a sword?

Meanwhile, after receiving the Holy Weapon buff, the two men were unstoppable. The zombies were no match for their blessed weapons, which cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Before long, the first wave of zombies that dared to challenge the duo were sent to their eternal rest, all while Ploychompoo, the young priestess, watched without needing to lift a finger.

"Wow, you two are amazing!"

Ploychompoo praised with a sweet smile.

"Aw, that was nothing, Ploy. But feel free to praise us some more—I don't mind!"

Wet Trash Can puffed out his chest, basking in the compliment, while Oliang merely shrugged. He was not one to get carried away by flattery and preferred to have women dance to his tune rather than the other way around.

"Let's figure out how to open that treasure chest. Luckily, we can't move it more than a foot from its original position; otherwise, it'd be a real hassle since it's so big,"

Oliang said, pretending not to notice Ploychompoo's gaze on him.

"How about throwing a rock at the lock? Maybe it'll pop open,"

Wet Trash Can suggested.

"Sounds interesting. I'll help gather some rocks. You two find the best angle to throw from,"

Ploychompoo offered, ready to assist since she did not have much to do during the fight with the zombies.

"No way. We're the guys here—we can't let a girl do the dirty work. You just keep an eye out for more zombies, okay?"

Wet Trash Can quickly objected. A gentleman like him would never let a sweet girl like Ploychompoo do any heavy lifting.

"Are you sure?"

Ploychompoo asked, still uncertain.

"Yeah, it's fine. Keeping watch is helping too. Leave the treasure chest to us,"

Oliang reassured her. With that, Ploychompoo nodded and sat on a nearby rock about two meters away, keeping a lookout in case any more zombies appeared.

.....

"How are you holding up, Kimhant?"

Cat-Faced Angel asked as she walked over to check on Kimhant, who had been attacked by zombies and was now bleeding. She herself had a few minor wounds, but thanks to the help of her five otter family pets, none of the injuries were life-threatening.

"I'm fine, Cat. I've been through worse when I was with master. I managed to survive back then,"

Kimhant replied, popping a blood crystal and a rejuvenating crystal into his mouth. Meanwhile, Cat-Faced Angel applied some healing salve to his wounds.

"Let's go see what's inside that chest,"

she suggested as she walked towards the treasure chest embedded in the inner wall of the cave. Together, they slowly opened it, feeling a mix of anticipation and caution. Even though they were deep inside the Cave of Million, they could not shake off the worry that the chest might contain unpleasant items left behind by previous players as a prank.

"Do you think we're the first ones to find treasure in the chest? I wonder if the others are as lucky?"

Kimhant murmured as he carefully pried open the lid. The chest was not locked, just secured with a small metal bar to keep it closed.

Inside the chest was a clear crystal that emitted a shimmering rainbow light. Kimhant recognized it immediately and could not help but smile, knowing exactly what it was and how to use it.

"It's beautiful. But what is it?"

Cat-Faced Angel exclaimed, staring at the crystal in awe.

"It's a magic crystal, a full one at that,"

Kimhant explained as he took the crystal out of the chest and handed it to Cat-Faced Angel for a closer look.

"What does it do? You seem to know,"

she asked, inspecting the magic crystal carefully.

"You consume it—not by eating it, but by absorbing its power. It helps you learn magic-related skills faster and also increases your mana. Mages would love it, but players who aren't mages can use it too,"

Kimhant explained with a smile. Although he had never absorbed one himself because he failed the quest given by the Magical Map Reader Leevalas, he knew the value of even a shard of magic crystal.

"Wow, so it's really valuable? I bet it could sell for millions of coins,"

Cat-Faced Angel said excitedly, before handing the full magic crystal back to Kimhant. He placed it in the shared inventory bag, which everyone carried for items to be divided later. Then, they cautiously left the room.

Whoosh!

The last zombie was incinerated by Kitsune's fire, under the astonished and amazed gaze of the archer who had accompanied the mischievous pet group. Not only could Kitsune unleash powerful flames, but the spirits of the defeated zombies also vanished into Kitsune's body. The other two pets did not catch his eyes as they were too busy arguing to notice the zombie horde attacking them, leaving Kitsune and the archer to handle the fight on their own.

Whoosh!

Golden flames erupted from Kitsune's mouth once again, but this time, the target of the scorching fire was not any of the zombies. Instead, it was aimed at a certain pet in human form and a spirit within a wooden doll who were so deep in their argument.

"Yikes!"

"Hot, hot, hot. What was that, big bro!"

Hulu yelped, frantically patting the burning patches on his body. Meanwhile, Fluffy Head-chan rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames on himself as well.

"Snap out of it already. If you two don't stop bickering, I'll breathe an even bigger fireball next time!"

Kitsune said calmly, showing no concern that both the spirit and the kirin had almost been roasted alive by his flames.

"Geez, you could've just talked it out. If you keep this up, I'll end up as a wandering spirit!"

Fluffy Head-chan grumbled.

"You wouldn't even have the chance to become a wandering spirit,"

Hulu retorted with a smirk, still trying to put out the flames licking at the ends of his soft white hair.

"Why not? Oh! Master would rush to collect my spirit and take care of me again, right?"

Fluffy Head-chan replied, nodding to himself in satisfaction, thinking Hulu might actually have a good side after all (at least in his eyes).

"No way. If your spirit ever escapes from that wooden doll, Kitsune here will devour it right away. You saw how all those zombie spirits just flew right into his body. Man! I can hardly wait for that day!"

Hulu said with a sly grin, leaving Fluffy Head-chan staring at Kitsune with his mouth agape. The most terrifying person as someone capable of consuming spirits.

(Kitsune could only devour the spirits of beasts slained by players or their pets; pre-existing spirits like Devi-chan or Hisa-chan in the game could not be consumed.)

"Let's move on, Mr. archer,"

Kitsune said, turning to the lone player in the group, who smiled and nodded, then followed Kitsune. Hulu and Fluffy Head-chan trailed behind.

.....

Siegfried was stunned by Chang Long's question. He could not deny that he had been waiting for this word, but she clearly did not yet understand the full details of the quest. How was he going to explain it without getting his head chopped off? After all, even in a game, a kiss was a serious matter for a girl. Siegfried could not help but blame the game for including such a ridiculous quest. Making the person who designed it sneezing their head off somewhere.

"Hey, Siegfried, did you hear what I just said?"

Chang Long asked, noticing that Siegfried had gone silent. She reached out and gently shook him, snapping him out of his premonition. He jolted and turned to Chang Long immediately.

"Y-yes, Chang Long?"

Siegfried responded, still a bit dazed, his mind reeling from the imagined scenario where Chang Long was enraged, drawing the Sovereign Sword and unleashing her fury—so much so that the Grim Reaper within her manifested, all because he had told her he needed her kiss to break the curse.

"I asked what your quest is and if I can help. Why did you go quiet for so long?"

Chang Long asked again, looking at the young man in front of her with curiosity.

"Before I tell you about the quest, I want you to see how my body has changed first. That way, you'll know I'm not lying,"

Siegfried replied seriously. He stood up and began by removing his cloak, revealing a body that was large and muscular enough to rival that of a professional bodybuilder. However, his skin was dotted with green patches all over.

"What on earth happened to you?"

Chang Long asked in astonishment.

"I was cursed by a necklace from Lord Albeis while my body was undergoing a transformation. Now, I'm a White Orc, and soon I will permanently turn into an Orc unless I can complete the quest to break the curse,"

Siegfried explained in a steady voice. As he reached up to remove his mask to show his ugly face. He could not help but wonder how Chang Long would react to seeing his face. Would she laugh and point, finding it funny, or would she offer kind words of comfort?

"Lord Albeis... Lord Albeis of Eldar, you mean? So, when Anya said you were half-Elf, that was true, then?"

Chang Long said, sounding a bit excited. But wait—did Siegfried not just say he was turning into an Orc?

"No matter how you respond, Chang Long, I won't be upset or angry. But I want to show you my sincerity..."

Siegfried continued, reaching for his mask to remove it. Chang Long watched closely, even though she did not fully understand what he was saying.

-----

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