"Is something wrong, master!!?"

    Kitsune asked with concern when he saw the Sovereign Sword floating around his master.

    "Look, Kitsune, the shape of the Sovereign Sword and the engravings on the door, they're similar, aren't they?"

    Chang Long pointed out. Kitsune looked where Chang Long was pointing and exclaimed in surprise,

    "Could it be... the Sovereign Sword is the key!!"

    "Only one way to find out!"

    Chang Long grabbed the Sovereign Sword, which was floating around her, and walked towards the large door engraving in front of her. In the center, there was a sword-shaped engraving, and the shape seemed identical to the Sovereign Sword.

    Chang Long placed the Sovereign Sword into the engraving. It fitted perfectly, and the sword emitted a bright red light. The stone wall with the engraved door slowly crumbled away, revealing the actual door hidden underneath, adorned in silver and black. Chang Long watched this phenomenon in awe.

    As the stone continued to fall, taking nearly five minutes, the real door, hidden behind the stone wall, was finally revealed in all its grandeur.

    "Ah, my sword!"

    Chang Long exclaimed as she saw the Sovereign Sword being absorbed by the door.

    Creeekkk!!

    The heavy door slowly opened, shaking the entire cave. Inside, it was very dark and there was a foul odor, creating a highly untrustworthy atmosphere.

    "Player Chang Long has discovered the Secret Tomb of the Pirate King and automatically receives the hidden quest 'Path to the King'. Do you wish to accept this quest?"

    The system's voice echoed in Chang Long's head as soon as the heavy door opened.

    "Erm... if I accept, will I find way out of here?"

    Chang Long asked, unsure if the system would respond.

    "If the quest is completed successfully, you will find a way out in the treasure room. But if the player doesn’t accept the quest, you must return the way you came, and the quest will not be available again for 1 year,"

    the system replied, startling Chang Long.

    "I accept the quest,"

    She did not have any other choice. The path they came through was now closed. She did not want to die in order to leave this place, and she did not have a teleportation scroll. Chang Long decided to take a chance on the quest as it was the only option left.

    Chang Long entered the room, all the torches inside lit up simultaneously as she stepped in. Chang Long found the Sovereign Sword on the ground so she secured it at her waist. The room was a vast hall with nothing but torches and five small passages leading to unknown destinations.

    "With this many passages. There must be a labyrinth inside,"

    Chang Long analyzed.

    "I think so too, master,"

    Kitsune agreed, examining each door.

    "There are inscriptions on that wall too, master!"

    Kitsune pointed out and immediately walked towards the wall with inscriptions. Chang Long followed, curious if the inscriptions could indeed provide guidance for their journey.

    "In the secret tomb of the Pirate King, only one path will show,

    A way out exists, if only the hidden key you know.

    Five paths before you, only one can you choose,

    Choose wrongly, and your life you'll lose."

    "Is this a clue?" Chang Long whispered to herself.

    "It must be,"

    Kitsune agreed.

    "If that's the case, there's only one entrance to the secret tomb, and along the way, we need to find the key. The key must be what opens the door to the tomb itself. Sign! But which path is the correct one?"

    Chang Long looked indecisively at the five entrances before her.

    Each entrance was uniquely engraved: the first, on the far right, had moving floral patterns with sharp thorns. The next showed ferocious sea creatures, including sharks, giant squids, and monstrous fish with sharp teeth. The third was engraved with treasures, gold coins, and numerous gems, sparkling enough to momentarily dazzle Chang Long. The fourth depicted an army of menacing demons, skeletons wielding weapons, as if ready for battle. The last entrance combined all these elements, surrounding a lake with the aforementioned. The sharp moving vines surrounded the sea creatures in the lake. At the center of the lake was a small chest on a protruding stone platform near the lake stood the skeletal army, with a bare wall behind them, but with closer look, a keyhole could be seen on the wall..

    “Sighh!!”

    Chang Long sighed deeply after examining all five doors.

    "What’s wrong master? Do you still not know which door is the correct one?"

    Kitsune asked, sensing her dismay.

    "It's not that. I know which door we should go through,"

    Chang Long reassured, patting Kitsune, whose evolution allowed him to transform into a handsome young man with his retained child-like innocence.

    "Why did you sigh then?"

    "Take a look at the last door's engravings, and you'll understand why I sighed so heavily,"

    Chang Long directed Kitsune's attention to the fifth door, which included every element from the previous doors, except for the small chest situated on the stone platform in the lake, making it the unique feature of the final door.

    "It must be very dangerous,"

    Kitsune surmised after observing the engraving on the fifth door.

    "Very. I remember such quests require more than ten high-level players to stand a chance of success. With our level combined we would only add up to level 63. I doubt we’ll make it."

    "Is it that difficult? But you won't know unless you try!!"

    Kitsune smiled confidently at Chang Long, a smile filled with both innocence and assurance.

    ...

    The Pendragon Guild's party had successfully descended into the Southern Sea Abyss and was now dividing into groups for level advancement training. Seigfried, the guild leader, ignored the complaints and protests of his beloved sister, pretending not to hear her as he oversaw the group division being managed by his two deputies.

    "Seig!! When are we going to start searching for Master?"

    Peach Blossom impatiently shouted. It was already noon, which meant she had left Chang Long for a full day.

    "Just wait! I need to sort out the guild's affairs first,"

    Seigfried replied nonchalantly.

    "And when will that be? Who knows what's become of Master by now!"

    "Alright, you may dispatch. Remember, do not split up under any circumstances. If something serious happens, contact me or Draco immediately,"

    Rafael ordered. The guild members nodded in unison and dispersed to hunt beasts in their designated groups.

    "Yay! We can go search for Master now, right?"

    Peach Blossom jumped with joy at the thought of finally being able to search for her Master.

    "Not yet. What level are you at, Peach Blossom?"

    Seigfried asked his sister sternly.

    "48."

    "If you want to go searching for this 'Master,' you need to be at least level 60 before I'll allow it."

    "What! You're breaking your promise. You said we'd search for Master together, and now you're making me level up first?"

    Peach Blossom said loudly with anger.

    "I'm not breaking my promise. We are indeed at the Southern Sea Abyss, see? And I will help you search for this player called Master. But I never said when we'd start searching. So, if you're not at level 60 yet, we're not starting the search, understand!?"

    Peach Blossom was left speechless, unable to argue back against her cunning brother. She huffed and puffed in frustration before reluctantly agreeing to follow his instructions.

    "Take care of the guild members. I'm going to take Peach Blossom to hunt the beasts around here to level up,"

    Seigfried told his two deputies, Rafael and Draco, who happily agreed, glad to be spared from Peach Blossom's nagging about her search for Master.

    ...

    After readying themselves, Chang Long pushed open the gate to the fifth path. She took a deep breath and stepped in, with Kitsune closely behind. Once they crossed the threshold, the door shut immediately behind them. No matter how much Chang Long and Kitsune pushed or pulled, the door refused to reopen.

    "Five paths to choose, only one is right! Be careful, Kitsune,"

    Chang Long said when they could not open the door. Alongside her pet, Kitsune, who appeared as a young man not older than fifteen but about was as tall as Chang Long, they had no choice but to move forward.

    "Master, it sounds like something is moving all around us,"

    Kitsune whispered.

    "That might be the sentient flora,"

    Chang Long speculated, recalling the engravings on the door.

    Walking cautiously, they avoided areas where the sounds of movement suggested the dense presence of sentient flora, heading towards quieter regions. It was dim and humid, without torchlight unlike earlier phases, making their journey restrained.

    "It's strange. Why haven't they attacked us yet? We've been walking for a while without any encounter, just distant noises,"

    Chang Long expressed her doubt after a while.

    "I think we're being herded,"

    "Herded? For what purpose?"

    Chang Long stopped and looked around.

    The moving sound drew closer, quickly surrounding Chang Long and Kitsune. They prepared to defend themselves. Suddenly, a vine lashed out at Chang Long, who narrowly dodged it. Then, attacks came from all directions. Due to the low light, they barely saw the attacks coming. Soon, they were bound by the vines.

    "Ouch! They have thorns," cried Chang Long as thorny vines wrapped around her limbs. Kitsune, who was slightly better off than Chang Long, struggled desperately to break free.

    "It hurts! Kitsune, breathe fire now!"

    Chang Long commanded, irritated. To their shock, the fire Kitsune produced was minuscule and quickly extinguished.

    "What? Why can't I breathe fire!?"

    Kitsune exclaimed in frustration, trying to use his sword to cut the vines binding one of his limbs.

    "The humidity... It's very humid here. Look, it's dim inside because of the steam, and it's especially thick around here!"

    Chang Long realized they had been herded to this area to prevent them from using fire magic, feared by the sentient floras.

    "What do we do, Master? If this continues, we won't survive."

    "We have to use fire anyway; that's the only way out,"

    Chang Long stated firmly.

    "But it's too humid to light the fire,"

    Kitsune objected, angry at his incapability that put his master in danger.

    "Let's try anyway. Flaming Burst!"

    Chang Long invoked the skill associated with the Eye of Fire that came with the Sovereign Sword.

    A brilliant golden flame erupted from the Eye of Fire, expanding rapidly, and driving back the sentient floras in fear, revealing their grotesque forms for the first time.

    "You lot are really ugly, aren't you?"

    Chang Long said, now freed from the sentient flora's grasp but also significantly wounded.

    The sentient flora had a large, pale flowers that resembled heads, complete with sharp, shark-like teeth at the centers. Their grey trunks were covered in large, sharp thorns, and their large leaves were as sharp as blades. Their tangled roots writhed like snakes. Some floras that had tasted Chang Long’s and Kitsune’s blood, began to regain some colors on their flowers.

    "Level 20 Bloodthirsty Flora Beasts appear,"

    Announced the system, as Chang Long roughly counted over a hundred of them.

    "Master! Some of them have already been burnt by your fire,"

    Kitsune reported happily, feeling immensely proud of his master.

    "Kitsune, breathe fire on them,"

    Chang Long ordered, seeing that the golden flames were about to die out, but there were still patches of fire and the screams of the bloodthirsty floras being burnt.

    "Yes, master,"

    Kitsune complied, and immediately tried to breathe fire, managing to produce a large fireball now that the moisture in the air had almost completely evaporated after coming into contact with the intense heat of the Flaming Burst skill.

    Chang Long had Kitsune continuously breathing fire across the area while she, gasping slightly, consumed two mana crystals in quick succession. Her Flaming Burst skill had almost depleted her mana. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the buppha garland around her neck, and her fatigue seemed to vanish instantly.

    "Sea of Flames!!"

    Chang Long activated her skill again, and the intense flames from the Eye of Fire spread in all directions, instantly creating a sea of flames around Chang Long and Kitsune.

    The bloodthirsty flora screamed in agony as their trunks were burnt by the fire, turning them into ash one by one. Several minutes later, the bloodthirsty flora died off along with the flames that eventually extinguished. Chang Long and Kitsune were safe, as Chang Long had used Fire Fortress skill to prevent the fire from spreading to their location. Then, she used the Cone of Abundance to conjure cool water to douse themselves throughout the ordeal.

    "Player Chang Long and pet have slain 580 Level 20 Bloodthirsty Flora Beasts, receiving 1,160,000 experience points, 1,972,000 coins, 30 Blood Roses, 2 Thorny Vines, and 2 Level 2 Jade Leaf Blades."

    "Player Chang Long has fulfilled the basic requirements for leveling up, advancing to level 40."

    "Player Chang Long has fulfilled the basic conditions for the beginner's profession, Evasion Skill advanced to Level 16...17."

    "The sacred beast, the Flame Fox Kitsune, has leveled up to 40."

    "Let's rest here for a moment. I'm starting to get hungry,"

    Chang Long said, looking around, as the dense mist dissipated, the area brightened up instantly.

    "Yes, master. Working hard does make one famish,"

    Kitsune agreed with a wide smile, as his stomach began to rumble audibly.