"This is the entrance to the tomb!"

Draco exclaimed excitedly. The entrance to the Pirate King's secret tomb was far grander than he had imagined. The large cave that Chang Long's group had reached while escaping was free of traps. After walking about ten meters, they encountered a dead end. Upon closer inspection, the dead end was a large stone door that would lead them to the next stage of this secret tomb.

The door was intricately carved with vine and bell-shaped flower patterns, featuring strange characters that were unreadable but familiar from their time in Eldar City on the Starter Island, suggesting it was written in Elvish.

"Go ahead, Sieg. Place the weapon you got from the Queen's cave against the door,"

Chang Long instructed. Siegfried, still amazed by the door's grandeur, followed her pointing finger to a groove on the door that matched the shape and size of the Caduceus.

"Yeah,"

Siegfried nodded. He pulled the Caduceus from his side and fitted it into the groove, acting as the key to the Pirate King's secret tomb.

"Master Chang, if we open this door, will we reach the treasure right away?"

Peach Blossom asked cheerfully, clinging to Chang Long's arm. After narrowly escaping death, she did not think there would be any more traps.

"No, we still have many trials to face before reaching the treasure cave,"

Chang Long replied. She knew that everyone was aware she was the one who discover the first Pirate King's secret tomb, which was still big news. They just had not asked her directly.

"How do you know that, master?"

Kimhant, now fully rested and strong again, asked curiously.

"Right, you're saying it like you've been here before!"

Jane agreed, looking at Chang Long with a scrutinizing gaze. Since entering the cave, Jane noticed that Chang Long had been giving orders expertly, while the actual heir quietly followed her commands without question. It was too puzzling to keep the curiosity to herself given the chance by Kimhant's question.

"...Just ignore these two dummies. Are you ready, Siegfried?"

Chang Long rolled her eyes at Kimhant and Jane. It was not surprising that Jane and Hero did not know, but Kimhant... hm... she think he should have been more observant if he wanted to be a professional journalist. Ignoring the two of them, Chang Long turned to check Siegfried's readiness.

"Hehe! Dummies!"

Peach Blossom giggled, then followed Chang Long to her brother.

"Do we need to prepare for anything else?"

Hero asked, amused that Chang Long called his best friend dummy. Even Hero, who knew Chang Long for a shorter time, could guess she was the first tomb's discoverer based on how well she navigated it.

"I don't know. What do you think, Davy-chan?"

Chang Long shrugged and asked Davy-chan, who was invisible. She truly did not know what awaited beyond the door, thinking that each Pirate King's tomb would differ. While the traps leading to the true entrance might be similar, the differences would likely reflect each Pirate King's tastes.

"Honestly, I don't know either,"

Davy-chan appeared and answered.

"Why not? You can scout 50 meters around Chang,"

Valentine asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"This is the tomb of the Pirate King. Secrets here are not easily revealed. Besides, Heaven was a magician. Even though most of his spells were for healing, he had enough tricks to create his own little secret space,"

Davy-chan responded with a calm expression. Even though they were friends, they were also rivals.

...Competing to be number one.

...Competing to become the Supreme King above all kings.

The two new ships were the Sea Maiden of Captain Dukes, carrying twenty Assassin Guild players, and the other, Adventurous Lamb of Captain Sheep, carrying thirty Dark Horse Guild players. Both ships docked alongside Captain Columbus's Bloodied Angel.

Representatives from the Assassin Guild and the Dark Horse Guild boarded the Bloodied Angel to inquire about the group Captain Columbus had brought to the island. Eagle and Leo were shocked to learn that Dark Horse Guild players had been following them all along, which was quite embarrassing for assassins and trackers.

"Hello. I didn't expect to see you two here. Have you dealt with the people we hired you for with high price yet?"

A Dark Horse Guild player taunted Eagle and Leo immediately upon seeing them.

"Of course, we're in the process. That's why we've come all the way here!"

Eagle replied coldly, folding his arms, though he knew he had failed in Tartarus City.

"And what brings you illustrious Dark Horse Guild members here? Sightseeing on a deserted island and observing our work?"

Leo retorted, a slightly mocking smile on his face.

"Something like that. I heard you got close to your targets several times but didn't finish the job. I wonder why. And... it seems you have something to hide, my dear contractors!"

The green-haired young man in light green martial artist attire, adorned with green and white jade on his sword hilt and sheath, taunted as he glanced sharply at the two unperturbed assassins, returning their favors.

"Hmm? What do you think we're hiding? Our guild has many confidential pieces of information, and unfortunately, we can't share them with outsiders like you!"

Eagle replied icily. He could give as good as he got when it came to sarcasm!

"I don't know, but I think it involves something far more valuable than the payment we're offering. Don't you two think so?"

The Emerald Martial Artist's probing and sarcastic remark made the two assassins flinch.

"What makes the wise Emerald Martial Artist think that? We didn't anticipate the target of traveling with such a large group of friends, making it hard to find an opening. So, we needed to wait for reinforcements and followed the target here,"

Leo answered evenly, though he began to feel anxious.

"Oh, really? You seem to hold your enemies in high regard, bringing so many people. Don't you think it's odd for Assassin Guild's people to be so incompetent...?"

"Shut up! Insult our guild again, and you'll die without a trace!"

Eagle shouted, cutting off the Emerald Martial Artist, who grew angry at being interrupted and yelled at.

"Try me if you can!"

The Emerald Martial Artist shifted his stance slightly. Although his sword was still in the sheath, his killing intent radiated from his body, signaling his readiness for a fight.

"Wait! If you want to fight, please take it off my ship,"

Captain Columbus interjected after listening to their argument for a while.

"Are you the captain of this ship?"

The Emerald Martial Artist turned to Captain Columbus, ignoring the furious assassins.

"Yes, I am,"

Captain Columbus replied evenly.

"I want to know where Siegfried of Pendragon and his friends are?"

The Emerald Martial Artist asked, though he already had an idea.

"I think you all already know, given the large group you brought along,"

Captain Columbus replied with a knowing smile.

"...Alright? Let me rephrase. How did they get into the Volcanic Island?"

Emerald Martial Artist asked, this time more directly.

"They have a map. A map that reveals the entrance, which ordinary players can't see,"

Captain Columbus explained. His answer made the players from both sides widen their eyes, fully convinced that the map in question had to be the Pirate King's treasure map. Before the Emerald Martial Artist could ask more, Eagle interjected.

"Is it a treasure map?"

Eagle asked, omitting specifics to keep the Dark Horse Guild players from catching on. He had overheard Draco loudly mentioning their quest to plunder the Pirate King's treasure cave.

Rumbleeeee!

The stone door slowly cracked open, revealing the real door, a golden door. As it creaked open, the cave shook violently, forcing everyone to grab onto something for stability. When the door opened wide enough for a person to walk through comfortably, it stopped moving, and the tremors ceased.

The group hesitated, wary of the darkness ahead. Siegfried took a deep breath and stepped in first, his weapon being pulled inward by the door. He had no choice but to enter. As soon as he crossed the threshold into the darkness, the system notified him.

"Player Siegfried has discovered the Pirate King's secret tomb and automatically received the secret quest: Path to the King. Does Player Siegfried wish to accept this secret quest?"

Siegfried turned to his friends behind him, smiling confidently as he said,

"It's a secret quest!"

He accepted the quest immediately.

Whoosh!

Once again, torches lit up as soon as a player stepped into the area. The light from a large torch in the center of the room revealed a vast cavern, empty except for the torch. The others began to follow Siegfried inside, exploring the cavern for a way forward.

"The walls are covered with unreadable characters,"

Oliang complained.

"And there's no way forward. It's all blocked!"

Lidded Wet Trash Can added, echoing Oliang's sentiments.

"It must be a puzzle,"

Valentine speculated, squinting at the characters on the walls. She hoped to decipher their meaning since she had three levels in the ancient script reading skill.

"Why is there a game on the wall?"

Chang Long asked in confusion, pointing to a stone slab standing perpendicular to the cave wall. The slab, over two meters tall and about one meter wide, featured carved square tiles arranged in a grid with one empty space to slide the tiles around.

"There's one here too!"

Kimhant shouted.

"Here as well,"

Jane echoed almost simultaneously.

"There's one here too,"

Aden called out.

"And there's another one here,"

Draco added, also finding one of the standing stone puzzle boards.

"Is that all of them?"

Chang Long asked when no one else spoke up.

"That's all!"

Peach Blossom confirmed, and the others shook their heads.

"Looks like there are just 5,"

Siegfried nodded, examining one of the vertical puzzle boards.

"Hey! Why would a pirate cave have games like this? For stress relief?"

Hero scratched his head, confused.

"No, one of these five must have a hidden path behind it. We need to complete all the puzzles to find the way forward,"

Chang Long replied thoughtfully.

"All 5? That's going to take forever!"

Wet Trash Can complained, not being a fan of puzzles.

"We have enough people. It shouldn't take too long,"

Oliang reassured him, patting his shoulder.

"Should we start, then? The sooner we finish, the sooner we can move on,"

Draco suggested. Everyone nodded and went to the puzzle nearest to them, trying to slide the tiles to unlock the path.

"Wait, how do we know if we're arranging them correctly?"

Jane asked after just a minute of working on the puzzle.

"Good point!"

The others agreed, looking around for a solution image or clue.

"There are no examples to follow,"

Peach Blossom huffed, frustrated. Without an example, the task seemed daunting.

"If there were an example, it wouldn't be challenging. Keep guessing and we'll figure it out eventually,"

Oliang laughed, trying to stay positive.

"Hehe, let's just keep at it,"

Siegfried agreed. They all resumed sliding the tiles, trying to form what they thought could be the correct image.

Time passed, and everyone started to sweat and feel discouraged. Despite their best efforts, they could not solve any of the puzzles. With sored arms and necks, they took a break to drink water and discuss what to do next.

"Ah!"

Chang Long exclaimed as she moved the last tile, hearing a click that indicated it had locked into place.

"Did you do it, Chang!"

Valentine asked excitedly, rushing over to see. The puzzle now depicted a menacing skeleton wielding a sword, wearing tattered clothes with a golden Caduceus symbol on its chest.

Rumbleee!

The completed puzzle slid to the side, revealing a dark passageway behind it. A haunting moan emanated from the darkness, prompting everyone to grip their weapons tightly.

"This doesn't look good..."

Hero muttered anxiously.

Growl...

It indeed did not look good. As the puzzle slid fully open, revealing a large, dark room, skeletons resembling the carved image began to march out, filling the cave with weapons in hand. Chang Long laughed, finally understanding the purpose of the puzzles, that was indicating the kind of enemies they would have to face. She turned to her friends, unperturbed.

"This isn't the right one!"

-----

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