"No way, if it was a player who already belonged to a guild, how could they miss such an opportunity to declare their guild's glory? By now, they would've come forward, especially with reporters here to take photos. This would've made their guild explosively famous, but no one has revealed themselves. Oh..."

Draco was explaining to Peach Blossom when he turned to see a player, seemingly of high level, giving his interview proudly to the reporters.

"Is that guy the one who dealt with the avian humanoid beast king?!"

Peach Blossom exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing what their guild member reported.

"He claimed so in the interview, and he's also a member of the Doom Star guild,"

a guild member reported.

"Doom Star Guild!"

Peach Blossom and Draco exclaimed simultaneously.

"It's unbelievable. Since I started playing this game, I've only known two people who can produce golden flames. The first is Master Chang, and the second is that young man, Kitsune, who follows Master Chang everywhere,"

Peach Blossom quietly stated, just loud enough for their group to hear.

"No, there's another. Well, not a person, but Chang Long's pet can also emit golden flames, remember?"

Draco reminded Peach Blossom.

"Right, when we were on the Guardian Spirit quest, I saw that its flames were golden. They weren't as bright, but they were quite similar to the flames here in the Thousand Serpents Fields."

Peach Blossom agreed.

"Are you saying that guy lied?!"

another guild member asked, shocked.

"I don't know. How about we ask him to prove it by showing us his fire magic?"

Peach Blossom suggested with a sly smile.

"We can't, it might cause inter-guild issues later on. Besides us, there must be other players who want to verify this. Let's just watch from afar,"

Draco quickly dissuaded, noting the tense atmosphere among guilds due to the recently discovered Pirate King's Tomb.

Peach Blossom reluctantly followed Draco back into the town to join the rest of their guild, waiting to see how the system would address the beast's invasion.

After sending the avian humanoid beast king to its demise, Chang Long headed straight for the Doi Buppha. Kitsune, sensing Chang Long's intentions, followed as well.

"Ah... so tired, hot, and sticky,"

Chang Long complained, trudging up until she reached a wide meadow with the Sacred Water Pond at its center.

'This is madness, walking on a burning beast. Look at you, all dirty and stinky, totally ruining the Reaper's grace!'

Davy-chan grumbled, frustrated at the sight of his successor's condition.

"Don't worry, we'll get to bathe soon,"

Chang Long reassured.

'This isn't a five-star hotel, where do you expect to find a bathroom here!'

Davy-chan looked left and right, searching for a hotel.

"I didn't say I was going to bathe in the bathroom,"

Chang Long replied, dashing toward a nearby pond.

'Hey! Are you going to...'

Davy-chan could only utter these words before halting abruptly, witnessing Chang Long plunge into a pond marked as Sacred Water Pond.

Inside the sacred waters, Chang Long swam joyfully, displaying various strokes such as freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly, oblivious to Davy-chan, who stood bewildered on the shore.

"Missy..."

Davy-chan whispered faintly.

'What?'

Chang Long responded, undisturbed.

'That's a Sacred Water Pond, isn't it?'

Davy-chan asked, nearly breathless.

"Yes, indeed,"

Chang Long replied, floating blissfully.

"And... is it alright for you to swim there? Won't the owner be upset?"

Davy-chan inquired, anxiously scanning the surroundings.

"Doubt it, the Goddess Veritas is very forgiving,"

Chang Long dismissed.

'A goddess!? Well, if she appears, you're on your own,'

Davy-chan declared, quickly floating away.

"Davy-chan, is such a scaredy-cat. Right, better bathe the egg from the quest"

Chang Long thought, reaching for her backpack to soak the egg in the Sacred Water Pond.

"Egg... my egg! Where did it go?!"

Chang Long cried out, searching her bag thoroughly. Instead, she found a pair of one-foot gray-feathered wings, golden talon gauntlets, a large golden key, half a foot with feather designs (from the avian humanoid beast king), and other essentials, except for the egg.

"Player Chang Long, do you wish to integrate with the raptor wings?"

The system inquired as Chang Long, frustrated, examined the wings, contemplating where she might have misplaced the important egg.

"Integrate?"

Chang Long was pondering on how to use the Raptor Wings. The item's details stated that they were flying equipment, but they came separately so she was unsure how to use it. That was when the system inquired. She repeated, but the system mistook it as a confirmation..

"Starting the integration process, 24 hours to complete the process."

The wings began to ascend gently then vanished completely, leaving Chang Long with her curiosity. Chang Long decided to leave the water and search for the egg at the Royal Cliff, suspecting she left it there during her last fight with the stone lizard beast king.

"After purifying in the Sacred Water Pond, player Chang Long has cleansed the Reaper. The seal the God of Death outfit set is completely lifted. The Reaper's title upgrades to Pure Dark Reaper, gaining Reaper's Baptism skill,"

the system updated following Chang Long's emergence from the pond.

Chang Long bent down to inspect his God of Death outfit, discovering an added black cloak with frayed edges. The inner garment also appeared to be newer and more valuable than before. Chang Long felt delighted with the additional frayed black cloak, realizing upon closer inspection that it was a shoulder cape, attached from the beginning, once extremely unnoticeably short.

"What's with today? Just one surprise after another, I can barely keep up!"

Chang Long muttered and walked away after tossing a coin into the Sacred Water Pond, thanking the Goddess Veritas.

Chang Long headed back to the town's western gate, aiming to retrieve the lost egg at the Royal Cliff. Along the way, she passed many members of the Pendragon Guild, who had encountered her before but now strangely failed to recognize her. They were even giving her peculiar looks. Perplexed, Chang Long checked her reflection in a mirror at a nearby shop.

"Hey! Why does my face look like this? Davy-chan, come here."

Chang Long was startled to see her reflection in the shop's mirror.

'What's up? I was just admiring some girls. Huh? Missy, what have you done to your skin and face? You look absolutely gorgeous!'

Davy-chan exclaimed, giving a thumbs up. Since returning from Doi Buppha, he had not noticed Chang Long's changes much, as the Thousand Serpents Fields had plenty of girls to distract him.

"I don't know why my skin isn't pale anymore, and my face looks as if I've put on some light makeup.."

Chang Long complained, puzzled. Besides her naturally paler skin due to her Reaper title, her face looked significantly better, with dark eyeliner as usual but now complemented by rosy cheeks and lips, attracting many young men's glances.

'Hehe, look, those young men are all eyeing you,'

Davy-chan teased. Chang Long looked around and saw the male players staring at her, just as Davy-chan said, and even female players seemed interested, though none dared to approach for a chat.

"Goodness, I'd better run away!"

Chang Long exclaimed softly and quickly left, with numerous young men following her. Overwhelmed, she sped away, too fast for anyone to catch up. Finding a secluded spot, she covered her face with a cloak and continued her journey, despite being hungry.

The town's restoration was underway, with the system securing damaged areas to prevent player access. Fortunately, the southern gate was intact, allowing Chang Long to exit there. She walked at a normal pace, trying to stay inconspicuous to avoid being blocked again, and soon reached the path leading up to Royal Cliff.

'Master, where are you?'

Kitsune sent a telepathic message to Chang Long, worried. Initially, he sensed her heading to Doi Buppha, but as Kitsune neared, Chang Long's presence shifted, causing him confusion. And when he reached Doi Buppha, Chang Long was already gone.

'I'm at Royal Cliff. Where are you?'

Chang Long replied, wondering where Kitsune had been and why he had not come to find her sooner.

'Why are you there? Are you going on another beast hunting to level up?'

Kitsune asked, puzzled but hurried to Royal Cliff immediately.

'I'm looking for the egg. I left it there and don't know its condition now. Hurry up and help me find it,'

Chang Long urged with urgency.

'Yes, Master,'

Kitsune complied.

"What's wrong, kid? Too scared to even move your legs?"

One player teased Chang Long as he saw her hesitating at the foot of the path leading up to Royal Cliff. He approached with a mocking smile, which only irritated Chang Long. Again, being accosted in the same place!

Chang Long looked at the player with annoyance, wondering if today was her unlucky day, bombarded with issues from morning without a break. The player was from the Doom Star Guild, waiting for his group leader to join.

"Uh, I was just waiting for a friend, not sure if they've arrived. I was thinking about calling them, maybe that's why you thought I was panicking,"

Chang Long responded with a slightly mocking tone.

"Oh! We thought you were so scared you couldn't move! Hahaha!"

The player laughed mockingly, and his friends nearby joined in.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding,"

Chang Long said indifferently, more concerned about finding the lost egg. Wanting to search right away, she left immediately after speaking.

"Wait a minute, you taunt and just walk away? Isn't that too easy?!"

The male player grabbed Chang Long's shoulder firmly, looking for trouble. The surrounding players, knowing the Doom Star Guild's reputation as one of the most dangerous guilds to avoid due to their vengeful nature, hesitated to intervene.

"I'm not free to play along,"

Chang Long stated coldly, containing her anger to avoid involuntarily triggering her Reaper's aura.

"You're quite arrogant, aren't you?"

The male player tried to punch her swiftly, but to his shock, Chang Long dodged and counterattacked, hitting him squarely in the face and sending him stumbling back several steps.

"Player Chang Long fulfilled the basic requirements for a beginner profession receiving Hand-to-hand Combat Skill Level 1,"

"I told you I'm not interested in playing along. You better not mess with me. The Doom Star Guild is no match to the Dark Horse Guild,"

Chang Long borrowed the name of the Dark Horse Guild to intimidate the Doom Star Guild players and deter them from further harassment.

"You! You belong to the Dark Horse Guild? Then don't just stand there; we'll gang up on you!"

"What!"

Chang Long muttered in confusion. The player she punched, bloodied and furious, ordered his friends to attack. They came at her with their weapons. Chang Long, losing patience with their persistence, unleashed her Reaper's aura willingly.

The chilling, intimidating aura emanating from Chang Long made the players halt abruptly, too fearful to attack her recklessly anymore.

"Tch! Just my luck to borrow the name of a rival guild, trying to scare them off for a bit,"

Chang Long muttered in frustration. The shadowy Reaper aura behind her was just a faint, fluctuating presence, not fully materialized due to her not being angry enough compared to previous occasions. Her base level was also not high enough for a full manifestation of the Reaper; last time it appeared fully was when Davy-chan was possessing her.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The player confronting Chang Long shouted his question.

"Are you guys going to back off just like that, or will you come at me...?"

Chang Long did not answer but retorted instead. The Doom Star Guild members exchanged glances for a moment, eventually deciding that the fight was not worth the risk and began to retreat peacefully. However, as soon as Chang Long turned her back, they attacked her immediately.

"Foolish, Reaper Possession!"

Chang Long commanded softly, pointing her hand at the group leader. A faint shadow of the Reaper behind Chang Long surged into the player's body immediately, with him feeling nothing but a brief chilling breeze.

Aaargh!

The male player screamed out loud, dropping his sword to the ground as he clutched his head in agony. Soon, he was writhing on the ground, blood oozing from his forehead. His friends rushed to check on him while casting fearful glances at Chang Long.

"You! What did you do to him?!"

 A friend of the afflicted player shouted at Chang Long angrily.

"Next time you decide to pick a fight, choose your targets more wisely,"

Chang Long said coldly and then walked away. Simultaneously, the body of the player possessed by the Reaper split into two from the inside and turned into a beam of light shooting up into the sky. The companions of the unfortunate player watched Chang Long's retreating back, none daring to stop her any longer.

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