The young man hesitated, looking down the well for a long time before finally gripping the rope and slowly lowering himself. Everyone watched him with bated breath, except for the pets, who were clearly agitated and on high alert. Noticing this, Chang Long turned to Kitsune, who was standing nearby.

"What's wrong, Kitsune?"

"There are many enemies approaching,"

Kitsune replied, making everyone tense and draw their weapons. Siegfried, however, could not hold a weapon as he had no free hand.

"Where are they coming from? Are they from below, Kitsune?"

Valentine asked urgently, while Siegfried anxiously peered down at the sea water-covered ground about thirty meters below.

"From above, in countless numbers!"

Kitsune answered, readying himself for battle.

"Do you know what they are, Kitsune!"

Draco asked, hoping to plan their defense better if they knew what they were up against.

"I'm not sure, but their scent is familiar,"

Kitsune responded, thinking hard.

"Dwarf demons..."

Davy-chan materialized, answering the question, causing everyone to feel a surge of fear. These creatures were small, fast, and their attacks were poisonous. The fact that Kitsune mentioned there were countless of them made it even worse.

"Sieg! Hurry up, they're coming from above!"

Peach Blossom yelled to her brother, her eyes scanning the high, dark ceiling anxiously.

"They're here!"

Oliang shouted as the first dwarf demon leapt from the darkness above, targeting their group.

Whoosh!

Firetail breathed a jet of flame, revealing a horrifying sight above. Hundreds of dwarf demons were scaling the cave walls, their grotesque faces filled with murderous intent to eliminate all the intruders.

"Hey, Siegfried has reached the bottom. Who's next!"

Jane asked as she saw that Siegfried safely landed below.

"Peach Blossom, you go next!"

Chang Long ordered. Peach Blossom climbed onto the well's edge and clumsily began descending the thick rope, never having done this before.

The others struggled to fend off the attacking dwarf demons. The sheer number of them was overwhelming. Fortunately, Firetail and Kitsune's flames managed to disrupt their swift assaults, setting many demons ablaze and causing them to run around chaotically screaming, disrupting both their own and Chang Long's group's attacks.

After Peach Blossom, it was Kimhant's turn, followed by Valentine, Aden, Oliang, Lidded Wet Trash Can, and Draco, who had to seal Firetail to his ring since its spikes and wide wings were too cumbersome for the descent. Hero made Jane go before him as he had to retrieve the rope afterward.

"Kitsune, take Lycanth down now!"

Chang Long instructed her companion, who was in human form, to escort Siegfried's pet, which was furiously battling the dwarf demons, down to the bottom.

"What about you, master?"

Kitsune asked, worried. If he took Lycanth down, it would leave Chang Long and Hero to face hundreds of dwarf demons alone.

"I have wings, remember? Now go, before they regroup!"

Chang Long ordered, pushing Kitsune toward the well. Reluctantly, Kitsune obeyed, calling Lycanth to follow. Surprisingly, despite having a higher level, Lycanth obeyed Kitsune's every command without hesitation.

"Dear Lord, they are faster than monkeys!"

Hero exclaimed in astonishment, watching the pets quickly descend the rope.

"Your turn, Hero!"

Chang Long urged with a frown. If they delayed any longer, the dwarf demons would reach them.

"But who's going to retrieve the rope?"

Hero asked, knowing that if he went down first, there would be no one to pull up the rope. Leaving it would only make it easier for the dwarf demons to follow them down.

"How do you usually do it?"

Chang Long asked, frowning as she fired water bullets from her Eye of Water at the enemies, knocking them back against the wall with cries of pain.

"I loosen the knot, then climb down. Once I'm at the bottom, I give a hard tug, and the rope falls,"

Hero explained quickly.

"Good! Do it now!"

Chang Long ordered. Hero swiftly followed her instructions and began climbing down as fast as he could. When he reached the bottom, Jane helped him give two hard tugs, causing the rope to fall into the well.

"What about Chang Long!"

Oliang asked, his face pale when he saw the rope fall and realized Chang Long still had not climbed down.

A young man with dark brown hair, almost black, wearing a cowboy hat, strolled aimlessly through the wide streets of Persia City. His face showed signs of frustration from his fruitless search. He had spent a long time trying to find the origin of the symbol on the map, visiting libraries with ancient records and legends, and exploring old ruins in the desert, all to no avail.

"Ugh! If finding just the wolf head symbol is this hard, it'll take years in the game to get the treasure,"

the young man named Crown muttered, sitting down at a roadside restaurant run by a chef player. He pulled his hat down to fan himself.

Crown ordered grilled meat and a cold hibiscus drink. As he looked around at the bustling players, his eyes caught sight of a ceramic wolf figurine with an Arabic numeral zero on its forehead. The stall owner, an old man who seemed sleepy, appeared to be an AI rather than a player.

"Hello, sir. What are you selling?"

Crown quickly finished his food and drink, leaving money on the table before approaching the old man.

"Oh!"

The old man looked up at his first customer in who knows how long, surprised but smiling as he replied cheerfully,

"I sell ceramic figurines, as you can see."

"They're beautiful. Did you make them yourself!"

Crown asked, lifting the wolf figurine to examine it closely.

"Of course, young man. But why are you interested in that wolf?"

The old man responded, eyeing Crown curiously.

"Because I've been looking for it,"

Crown replied with a bright smile. The old man paused for a moment before smiling back with satisfaction.

"The Wolf of Azlam…"

the old man said softly, but Crown heard it clearly. He stopped examining the other ceramic figurines and looked up at the old man with renewed interest.

"The Wolf of Azlam... What is that?"

Crown whispered softly, afraid that the players passing by might overhear.

"You must buy my figurine first, and then I'll tell you..."

The old man smiled slyly at Crown, who, being a seasoned player, recognized this as a potential quest. He picked up the ceramic wolf figurine he had been eyeing and asked,

"How much?"

"A thousand coins,"

the old man replied with a wide grin. Crown was taken aback, not expecting such a small figurine to be so expensive. Nonetheless, he reluctantly paid for it, hoping the information he would get from the NPC would be worth the hefty price. But after handing over the money, the old man just kept smiling without saying a word.

"Sir, what about my information?"

Crown asked, worried that the old man might have forgotten due to his age.

"Oh! You must buy all of these for me to tell you,"

the old man replied. Crown's eyes widened in shock. There were fifty figurines for sale. If each cost the same as the first one, he would be broke! This information was costing him dearly.

"You're joking, right?"

Crown muttered, his mouth twitching. If he bought them all, he would be out fifty thousand coins, with significantly lighter wallet, leaving him with less than five hundred thousand coins. In the game's economy, that amount would make him no better off than a commoner.

"No joke. I'm serious with my every word!"

The old man said firmly.

Crown sighed in resignation and finally forked over fifty thousand coins to buy all the ceramic figurines. The old man laughed heartily, clearly pleased with the transaction, while Crown felt his heart bleeding. If this information turned out to be false, he swore he would come back and destroy the old man's stall.

"...To the south, at the edge of the land, lies an ancient castle half-buried in the desert. In the heart of the castle, hidden Azlam's weapon, one of the formidable pirate kings. The name of the weapon is."

"The Wolf of Azlam!"

….

Golden flames roared through the room, spreading into the well below, causing the friends below to watch in alarm. Chang Long swiftly jumped into the well, followed by a swarm of dwarf demons. They panicked, clawing frantically at the air when they realized the ground was thirty meters below.

"Spread wings,"

After floating in the air for a while Chang Long commanded. Her large gray-black wings extended, although they were not as graceful due to a broken section on the left wing. She flew away from the six dwarf demons clawing at the air trying to reach her, watching them plummet to their deaths with a cold gaze. She then landed a short distance from her friends.

"No beasts at all?"

Chang Long asked as her friends gathered around her worriedly. Kitsune quickly and thoroughly examined her for injuries, while Kimhant poured water on a towel for her to wipe her face, earning jealous glances from the others.

"Nope, just sand dunes and scattered seawater,"

Wet Trash Can replied, based on his rough visual assessment. The cave below was quite vast and dark.

"What's that waterfall sound, then?"

Chang Long inquired, listening to the distant sound of falling water.

"No idea. We've been hearing it since we got down here!"

Valentine replied. Despite hearing the sound, they had not explored much, waiting for Chang Long to join them.

"What about the way forward?"

Chang Long continued to question.

"...I think we should explore a bit,"

Siegfried suggested with a sheepish smile. Not wanting to be interrogated further by Chang Long, everyone pulled out their torches and spread out to explore the cave. Chang Long chuckled softly, shrugged, and began her own exploration with Kitsune and Kimhant following closely, while Lycanth followed Siegfried.

Wet Trash Can and Oliang found the source of the waterfall sound, and their faces went pale. They urgently shouted to their friends, who quickly gathered around and were equally stunned. The sound of the waterfall came from seawater falling from over thirty meters above them. This revealed that they were now far below sea level.

The light from outside illuminated a terrifying sight—a massive white fin swimming around the gap where seawater was flooding in, as if waiting to devour the prey below.

"D-door. We need to find the next door quickly."

Peach Blossom's voice trembled. The size of the white fin was enormous even from a distance of over thirty meters. It was unimaginable how massive it would be up close.

"Hurry, everyone!"

Draco shouted, feeling the water level rising steadily. They nodded and spread out to search for the door.

"If we're dealing with sharks, this might be the final challenge,"

Chang Long said. However, her words did not bring any relief. The thought of sharks made their situation seem even more perilous. In the vast ocean, the only creature that sharks feared was a pod of killer whales, leaving them as nothing more than snacks for the sharks.

"Found it!"

Hero shouted excitedly as he discovered a large golden door adorned with intricate vine patterns and small bell-shaped flowers around the edges. In the center of the door was a massive Caduceus symbol.

"Help push it open, quickly!"

Wet Trash Can urged. Everyone rushed to push the door open as the seawater rose to their knees, creating a palpable sense of urgency among them. Only Chang Long stood aside, looking at them, unimpressed.

"Chang, what are you doing? Come help us!"

Valentine called out, sounding desperate.

"No, it won't open no matter how much you push,"

Chang Long shrugged.

"Why not?"

Jane asked, puzzled. Everyone stopped pushing and turned to Chang Long, confused.

"Why can't we open it, Chang Long?"

Siegfried asked. Chang Long did not respond verbally but pointed to the large keyhole in the center of the door.

"A key... a key! Do we need to find a key too!"

Draco shouted in frustration. The seawater was now above their knees, and the sharks outside were eagerly trying to find a way in.

"Don't just stand there. There are toothy fish in the water too,"

Chang Long sighed, looking bored. Those unfamiliar with the sea piranha looked puzzled, underestimating the threat due to Chang Long's nonchalant tone.

"Sea Albino Piranha Beasts level 15 are preparing to attack. Sea Albino Piranha..."

There were over a hundred of them. Everyone's eyes widened in horror. They had to watch out for the piranhas, find the key before the water rose any higher. Fast, before the sharks started getting in.

-----

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