Click!!

    Groannnn

    "Wait a minute, let me see what level I am at now. I didn't catch it when the system reported,"

     Chang Long said to Kitsune as the stone walls slowly parted, opening a path forward. She feared there would be more beasts waiting inside for them.

    "I'm at level 43,"

    Chang Long said dejectedly, turning to observe the stones as they moved apart, revealing an entrance into another dark chamber. She stepped forward eagerly, wanting to complete this quest once and for all. Having spent days in the cave, battling countless formidable beasts and narrowly escaping death, Chang Long felt resigned by her fate, if another perilous entity were to emerge.

    As they entered the dark room, torches blazed to life, illuminating the space with bright golden light, dazzling them with multicolored reflections that made it hard for them to open their eyes.

    "Welcome, my successor!"

    A deep, powerful voice echoed from ahead. Looking forward, Chang Long saw a tall, pale man dressed in glossy black, adorned with silver skull-and-wing buttons, and thin chains of the same color crisscrossing from his collar down to the hem of his long shirt that reached his thighs. He wore pants made from the same material, a black leather belt with a winged skull buckle, and knee-high black leather boots with a winged skull emblem pierced by a dagger.

    His long, sleek black hair was half-tied back. He sat regally on a black wooden throne set upon a stone dais about a meter high, his piercing eyes outlined heavily with black eyeliner, giving him an Arabian look.

    "Who are you?"

    Chang Long asked, wary and unwilling to walk any closer.

    "I am called Davy Jones, one of the Seven Greatest Pirate Kings," the man replied with a booming voice, his demeanor proud and haughty.

    "Pirate King! ...Wait, isn't this the Tomb of the Pirate King? You should be dead and lying in a coffin,"

    Chang Long said, confused, scanning the room filled with vast treasures for any sign of a coffin.

    "...This is my tomb... my coffin!"

    Davy Jones said, his voice softening, his expression somber.

    "Uh... excuse me, Your Majesty. But what did you mean by saying I'm your successor?"

    Chang Long quickly changed the subject, noticing Davy Jones's melancholy.

    "Yes, missy. You are my successor. Since my death, unable to reach the pinnacle of being the supreme Pirate King, I could not ascend to paradise. My spirit has lingered here, waiting for a successor to continue my legacy and fulfill my dreams!!"

    Davy Jones proclaimed with pride in his voice, as if his glorious days were still ongoing.

    "Uh-huh... Wait, what did you call me just now!?"

    Chang Long, somewhat pleased, asked again.

    "I called you missy, Is there a problem? Or do you dislike being addressed that way?"

    "No... But how did you know I'm a woman? Hardly anyone ever recognizes me as female."

    "Huh? It's obvious you're a woman. You have a pretty face and a delicate figure... The only downside is your flat chest."

    Chang Long, flattered by the compliment, suddenly turned and glared at Davy Jones angrily upon hearing the last remark. Davy Jones burst into an unabashed laugh.

    "How am I supposed to complete this quest!?"

    Chang Long asked sharply, annoyed by Davy Jones's laughter. He kept laughing and ignored her question entirely.

    "Kitsune, pack all these treasures into the bag!"

    Fed up with his mockery, Chang Long turned to order Kitsune, tossing her own snake leather backpack to him.

    "Yes, master!"

    Kitsune complied, immediately scooping up the treasures into both backpacks.

    Chang Long turned back to see Davy Jones still laughing uncontrollably, wondering if all Pirate Kings were this quick to laugh. He was laughing incessantly as if he had never laughed before.

    "So, you're just going to laugh? Then I'm taking all these treasures and leaving."

    "Hey, wait! If you leave like that, I can't go anywhere."

    Davy Jones stopped laughing abruptly and turned his attention back to Chang Long.

    "Come closer. How else will you complete your quest and allow me to finally leave this dreary place?"

    Chang Long looked at the Pirate King before her warily for a moment before cautiously approaching him on his throne. Davy Jones's solemn gaze made Chang Long uneasy. As she reached the throne, the Pirate King ordered her to kneel on one side and gently touched her head.

    "I hereby declare, as the Reaper of the Underworld..."

    "Wait! Stop right there. What reaper of the underworld!?"

    Chang Long interrupted Davy Jones in shock, not expecting him to touch her head and suddenly call for the reaper. Not ready to die just yet, Chang Long quickly intervened to stop the succession ceremony.

    "Stay put, will you! ...Did you really enter without knowing that this is my tomb?"

    Davy Jones looked at Chang Long with suspicion.

    "No, we just ended up here while fleeing from beasts and couldn't find a way out, so I reluctantly accepted the quest to find a way out of this cave, that's all,"

    Chang Long replied nonchalantly.

    "Really?! Just stumbled in!"

    The proud Pirate King seemed unable to accept this casual entry into his tomb, let alone that his awaited successor had no knowledge of his legendary greatness.

    "What? Turned to stone already? Hey, are you alright, Your Majesty?"

    Noticing Davy Jones frozen on his throne, Chang Long got up and shook him worriedly, fearing if the succession ceremony were not completed, they could not leave the cave.

    "It seems I have no choice..."

    the Pirate King muttered to himself.

    "What was that?"

    Chang Long, could not hear him clearly and asked.

    "Alright! Listen carefully. My name is Davy Jones..."

    "Yeah, yeah, I know. You already said that," Chang Long interrupted again.

    "Can't you just listen quietly for once! If you interrupt again, I'll really smack you, a lady or not."

    Davy Jones shouted at Chang Long, startling her into immediately covering her mouth with her hand. Kitsune also seemed taken aback, having been busily collecting treasures into a bag when a sudden shout caused him to drop a red jewel-encrusted gold goblet.

    "I, Davy Jones, one of the Seven Greatest Pirate Kings, competing fiercely to be the Supreme King, the king above all kings... The battle became more violent, and Pirate Kings slaughtered each other until the seas were dyed with blood. I too was nearly defeated, lost my beloved beast, and my power to summon beasts. Until I met a Reaper on a deserted island who offered me power in exchange for becoming reaper in his stead. He also transferred me to a profession known as a shaman...

    "After that, I returned as a formidable king, only to find that many Pirate Kings had been killed, leaving only Roche Roger, who was arrogantly proclaiming himself the Supreme King over all pirates. We fought fiercely for three days... and then we both died!"

    "So, no one became the Supreme Pirate King then,"

     Chang Long, who had been listening quietly, asked.

    "No, after the death of all Seven Pirate Kings, hardly any pirates were left because they sacrificed their lives to become guardians of their kings' tombs!"

    "If no one became the Supreme King, then how come there's a Sovereign Sword?"

    Chang Long pulled out the Sovereign Sword from her waist and showed it to Davy Jones.

    "Aha! My precious, beloved sword. It seems the other six eyes are gone. You found my sword and that's how you were able to enter my treasure cave,"

    Davy Jones tenderly handled the sword, cherishing it.

    "The other six eyes?"

    Chang Long repeated.

    "Yes, you must find the other six eyes of the elements to complete all seven. Then, this sword will possess unmatched power unlike any other weapon,"

    Davy Jones explained, handing the sword back to her.

    "So, which is your actual profession,  Reaper or pirate? Not to mention this shaman profession you mentioned?"

    Chang Long asked, recalling the image of a shaman from TV dramas, shaking, and chanting before suddenly shaking violently like a ringing cellphone, then pointing at various things, acting all possessed.

    "The title of Reaper is an unchangeable nickname for life. Pirate is a free profession one can quit at any time, mostly chosen by criminals. My true profession was a Beast User, but my beast was killed during the supreme pirate king war, causing that profession to vanish as well. After meeting the Reaper, I received a transfer of profession from him. So now, I am a shaman..."

    ….

    At the Starting Town branch bank, an employee who was checking a customer's account was stunned to see one player's account balance increasing continuously with no sign of stopping. She hurriedly called the bank manager to see, and he was just as shocked as his subordinate. The account that was skyrocketing belonged to a player named Chang Long.

    "What in the world is happening, manager!?" The female employee turned to ask the bank manager who stood there dumbfounded.

    "I... I don't know either!"

    Was all the bank managers could say before falling silent again.

    "Could it be that he found a treasure trove? In this game, aside from the Pirate King's treasure caves, there are many hidden treasure sites," another employee who came to look suggested.

    "I don't think so. Those treasure troves aren't this overflowing. At most, they would contain just a few chests. This player must have definitely found the Pirate King's treasure cave!" The bank manager argued.

    "That's impossible. Chang Long is a new player. When he came here, he was only level 10. There's no way he could enter the Pirate King's treasure cave!"  The first employee disagreed.

    "He might have gone with friends in a group," the second employee tried to find a reason for the astronomical increase in Chang Long's account balance in such a brief time.

    "At first, I thought so too. So, I checked the account balances of other players in Starter City, but none of them had increased as high as this player," the first employee reasoned.

    "Moreover, I heard that none of the groups looking for the Pirate King's treasure cave have completed the treasure map quest yet. Some are still searching for the quest giver at the port," the bank manager explained to the employees.

    "So, this player..."

    the first employee began.

    "...found the Pirate King's treasure cave and got through the guardian beasts to the treasure all by himself!?" The second employee completed the sentence.

    "At this point, there's no better explanation," the bank manager concluded, and all three turned to look at the computer screen that continued to update Chang Long's rapidly increasing bank balance. They were so astonished they were left speechless.

    ...

    Chang Long felt like crying when she learned she had to inherit the Reaper title and the shaman profession from Davy Jones. She asked for a moment to gather her thoughts before starting the ceremony. Davy Jones did not mind; he returned to his throne to wait for his successor to be ready.

    "Master, why are you sitting here gloomily?" Kitsune approached his master who was sitting on the stone steps leading up to the throne, looking lonely.

    "Kitsune, did you collect all the treasure?" Chang Long looked up at Kitsune, then glanced around the room, astonished at how empty it was now that the vast treasure had disappeared.

    "Yes, Master. Luckily, the money automatically deposits into the account upon touch, or else I'd still be collecting," Kitsune replied with a smile.

    "Hey, missy, are you going to waste your time in here all day? Didn't you say you wanted to leave quickly?"

    Davy Jones, upon noticing his successor was still not ready, asked.

    Chang Long stood up resolutely, her gaze fixed on Davy Jones with determination in her eyes, making the Pirate King smile, pleased.

    "...Can we have lunch first?"

    Her request nearly made Davy Jones fall off his throne in disbelief.

    "What!!"

    Davy Jones shouted in disbelief. He thought that Chang Long's serious demeanor was due to her decision to proceed with the inheritance ceremony.

    "Well, I'm hungry, look it's already noon,"

    Chang Long showed her wristwatch to Davy Jones, who was at a loss for words in her response.

    "Hurry. Up. And. Eat. Or I swear, I'll kill you!!"

    The Pirate King emphasized, glaring at Chang Long as if he could eat her for lunch. The young Pirate King could hardly believe this was his successor.

    "Speed eating it is, then!!"

    Chang Long's skin crawled at Davy Jones's tone. She quickly laid out a cloth and brought out her dining set, eating so fast she could have set a world record.

    "Are you ready yet?"

    Davy Jones asked sternly, refusing to let anything else delay the ceremony any longer.

    "Ready!"

    Chang Long replied, slightly apprehensive.

    Davy Jones instructed Chang Long to kneel beside him once more, then gently touched her head. This time, Chang Long focused intently, while Kitsune watched from a distance, intrigued.

    "I, Davy Jones, the Pirate King and designated Reaper, pass on...

    "...Chang Long."

    "...the title of Reaper to Chang Long, and pass on the shaman profession, along with the God of Death outfit set, to my successor. May you be blessed with a path of glory, the path of a king above all kings."

    As Davy Jones's voice faded, a faint black light emanated from his hand, enveloping Chang Long swiftly. Kitsune jumped up, worried, but upon seeing his master calmness, it simply continued to watch. The dim black light gradually became a solid dark aura, so dense that Kitsune could no longer see his master.