After the egg from Wet Trash Can's quest spun rapidly enough to make anyone nauseous, it began to crack violently as if something was attacking it from the inside. Everyone watched the spectacle without blinking until the eggshell fractured into a large hole, revealing something swirling in place of the shell that had fallen into the fire.

"Player Wet Trash Can has received a level 10 Furious Talon from the quest egg. Attack power: 9700."

The system's announcement Wet Trash Can stunned, so much so that he forgot to catch the Furious Talon. It ended up hitting him squarely in the nose with great force.

"Can!"

Oliang hurried to check on his dear friend, who was now lying flat on the ground with a nosebleed from the forceful impact of his new weapon.

"Haha, Can is so funny! Using his face to catch a weapon!"

Chang Long laughed heartily. Wet Trash Can propped himself up, chuckling awkwardly and replied despite the blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

"You idiot!"

Oliang rolled his eyes at his friend in exasperation, then handed him a water bottle to wash his face.

"By the way apart from you, has anyone else's egg hatched yet?"

Chang Long asked as she suddenly remembered.

"Mine has. Here, the Moonlight Sword hatched this morning." Oliang handed over the Moonlight Sword to Chang Long, who marveled at its beauty.

"What about the others?"

Chang Long asked as he handed the sword back to Oliang.

"Not sure, but I don't think anyone else's has hatched yet besides ours."

Wet Trash Can replied while equipping the Furious Talon on his left hand.

"Never say never. Maybe we should call and check?"

Chang Long suggested.

Draco and Rafael were engrossed in slaughtering the beasts that had descended in panic from the Royal Cliff, while Aden, who had followed them, was resting under a tree a few dozen meters away from the fight. He watched his friends battle tirelessly, having entrusted him with their precious eggs. Aden's black egg, since it had found the shade of a big tree, had begun to change, emitting a dark aura and showing faint vine patterns across its surface. Meanwhile, the eggs of the two young men showed no signs of change, despite their owners putting on quite a show.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore. Let's take a break!"

Rafael said, panting. He walked away from the battlefield as soon as he had finished off the Amorous Monkey Beast and its four consorts.

"Good idea!"

Draco agreed and followed his friend.

"Already done? Your eggs haven't shown any reaction yet."

Aden remarked when he saw the two men approaching.

"Really? What's going on? Can said this would make the eggs respond!"

Draco grumbled as he took his bright red, leather-patterned egg back from Aden.

Beep beep beep.

"Speaking of Can, he's calling right now. What's up, Can!"

Draco glanced at his wristwatch, which was signaling an incoming call, and answered immediately.

"Hey Draco, how's your eggs doing?"

Wet Trash Can asked.

"How's it going? It's still as lifeless as ever."

Draco responded, slightly irritated,

"Really? Did you take it out to fight the beasts?"

Wet Trash Can asked, hardly able to believe it.

"Yes, we did. We've killed almost a hundred beasts, and still, there's no change. How about your eggs?"

Draco replied while lifting the bottle to drink.

"Both mine and Oliang's eggs have hatched,"

Wet Trash Can answered, his tone carrying a hint of pride.

"Huh!?"

Draco, Rafael, and Aden exclaimed in unison, almost deafening Wet Trash Can.

"Can you guys keep it down!"

Wet Trash Can yelled.

"You're saying that both your and Oliang's eggs have hatched? How? When? Tell us everything!"

Draco bombarded him with questions, causing Wet Trash Can to pause for a moment before recounting the events of their eggs hatching. The three young men listened attentively.

"So, it seems like each person's egg hatches differently,"

Aden observed.

"What do you mean?"

Draco turned to ask Aden, glancing at the egg in his hand for the first time, only to be stunned by the changes it had undergone, despite Aden not fighting any beasts.

"As you can see, my egg started to react when I sat under this big tree without me doing anything,"

Aden explained, noticing Draco and Rafael's eyes fixated on the egg in his hand.

"Hey, has Aden's egg started to change?"

Wet Trash Can asked, noticing Draco's silence.

"Yeah... without having to fight any beasts at all,"

Draco replied solemnly.

"Really? And what about Peach Blossom and Siegfried?"

Wet Trash Can inquired about the Pendragon Guild siblings.

"Peach Blossom went to the Fairy Forest, and Sieg was at the guild the whole time. I saw him buy a bunch of accessories, and when I asked, he said they were for feeding his egg. Who knows how that's going,"

Draco answered, pondering.

"It's possible that the differences in the eggs mean they have different needs. You guys should try various methods because the elder who gave us the quest eggs said that the eggs could hatch into anything,"

Wet Trash Can tried to advise as best he could.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I wonder how Chang Long's egg is doing. We haven't heard from her since she left the city, and Siegfried, who went to find her, came back sullen because he couldn't find her,"

Rafael shrugged.

"Oh, don't worry. Chang Long is with us now. Her egg has also started to change. She said it absorbed the life force of the beast eggs,"

Wet Trash Can said excitedly.

"Really? Absorbed the life force off beast eggs!"

The three young men asked in disbelief.

"Yes, you guys should try this method too. We'll be at the Royal Cliff until we log off. Contact us if you need anything,"

Wet Trash Can encouraged.

"Hmm... sounds interesting. But where can I find beast eggs?"

Draco grumbled.

"Complaining won't get you anywhere. If you want the egg to hatch, you need to put in some effort, right? Alright, we're heading back to hunt more beasts,"

"Thanks a lot, Can,"

Draco said gratefully for all the useful information Can had given.

"No problem. Bye."

"Bye."

"Okay, everyone, let's head back to the city and regroup,"

Rafael said, standing up. Once they were ready, they set off back to the city.

As they walked out from under the tree's shade, Aden's egg reverted to its solid black color. However, when he stepped back under the tree, the vine patterns reappeared. Aden decided to stay there and let Draco and Rafael head back to the starting town on their own.

"Attention, everyone! Many players have been wondering whether our Sleeping Beauty is a man or a woman. Therefore, we are hosting a game called Woman or Man. We invite all players to find Sleeping Beauty and bring them to tell us their gender. The first to do so will receive a reward of 100,000 coins from the Journalists and Writers Association!"

A player announced loudly with a megaphone in front of the souvenir shop, which the association had collectively funded. This announcement attracted the attention of many nearby players.

"Hey, merchant! If we want to join the activity, what do we need to do!?"

A group of male players asked, intrigued.

"Oh, here you go, activity registration forms. The entry fee is 100 coins per person,"

the man with the megaphone replied, handing out the forms to the group. They paid the fee without hesitation, as just finding Sleeping Beauty would be highly profitable. Spending 100 coins was a small price to pay.

Seeing this group of male players sign up, other players, both men and women, quickly rushed to buy registration forms before others. The souvenir shop had to organize the queue to maintain order.

"Heh heh heh, we're making a killing!"

The head of the Journalists and Writers Association said with satisfaction. The profits from selling pictures of Sleeping Beauty had already reached a million coins, and now they were making even more from selling game registrations. This success was credited to Kimhant, who took the photo, and the souvenir shop owner, who had the brilliant idea for the activity after players had asked about Sleeping Beauty's gender, nearly causing the shop to collapse two hours ago.

Kimhant, who was exempted from paying guild fees for five years as a reward for his contribution, sat with a dejected look, feeling guilty for causing Chang Long trouble.

"Kimhant, tell us where you took Sleeping Beauty's photo. If you tell us, we can win the prize money and return it to the guild!"

A group of guild members approached the despondent Kimhant, pressing him for information of the whereabouts of the Sleeping Beauty.

"I found Sleeping Beauty on the 6th floor of the Royal Cliff, but I don't know if they're still there,"

Kimhant replied sadly, unable to refuse his seniors.

"The 6th floor, huh? That means they must be a high-level player... So, is Sleeping Beauty a woman or a man? You talked to them, right?"

A senior guild member asked further.

"I don't know. Sleeping Beauty looks beautiful, but acts tough. I'm not sure. Their voice is also quite neutral, making it hard to tell. And they spoke very little too,"

Kimhant recalled, trying to remember the brief conversation with Chang Long, which amounted to less than five sentences.

"You're useless. Whatever, someone that pretty will be easy to find. Thanks for the info."

After finishing their business, the group of guild members left immediately.

"Those idiots. Cheating like that, I hope they all get killed by a royal-tier beast!"

Kimhant muttered under his breath, then walked out of the guild.

Peach Blossom, looking weary and frustrated, entered the town. She had been chased by a Rutting Rhino Beast, stumbling and struggling to escape. She had gone out to hunt beasts in hopes of getting her egg to change, but returned disappointed as her egg not only failed to change, but also seemed to be turning to stone.

"Hmp. Just wait till I get my hands on you, Oliang and Can. I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"

Peach Blossom muttered angrily, swearing vengeance on the two who had suggested fighting beasts to stimulate her egg. She then noticed a crowd gathered around the souvenir shop of the Journalists and Writers Association.

"Hey, you! What are they crowding around for?"

Peach Blossom grabbed the sleeve of a passing male player and asked curiously.

"Oh, Miss Peach Blossom! Oh. Um... they're lining up to buy registration forms for a game the souvenir shop is hosting. They're also buying this picture,"

the male player, who had been staring at Peach Blossom in admiration for a while, quickly responded under her intense gaze and handed her a picture of Sleeping Beauty.

Peach Blossom was stunned when she saw the picture, just like most players. However, her shock was because the face of Sleeping Beauty looked very familiar.

"Can I have this?"

Peach Blossom asked after recovering from her shock.

"Of course! I have two more copies anyway,"

the male player replied generously, despite the high price of the picture (1000 coins for a postcard-sized print).

"Thanks!"

Peach Blossom took the picture and hurried back to the Pendragon Guild headquarter so quickly that the young man did not even have a chance to ask to add her to his friend list.

"Brother, Sieg! Where are you? Come here quickly, I have something to show you."

Peach Blossom called out as she entered Siegfried's room without knocking.

Siegfried groggily sat up, having only fallen asleep five minutes before Peach Blossom barged in. He sighed and looked at his sister irritably. Seeing him sitting on the bed, Peach Blossom rushed over.

"Brother, why are you so sleepy? It's almost evening. Why are you still not up!?"

Peach Blossom scolded as she saw her brother's sleepy state, unaware that her brother had just fallen asleep.

"Yeah... What do you want? If it's nothing important, get out,"

Siegfried said, pushing his sister away.

"Ouch. Stop pushing me. Of course, it's important. Look at this!"

Peach Blossom said, thrusting the picture of Sleeping Beauty in front of her groggy brother.

"Nonsense. Why are you showing me some pictures!?"

Siegfried pushed her hand away without looking at the picture and lay back down.

"Brother! Are you going to sleep again? I brought you a picture of someone who looks like Master Chang. If you don't want to see it, fine!"

Peach Blossom exclaimed in frustration, shaking her brother, who pulled the blanket over his head in annoyance.

Grab!!

As Peach Blossom turned to leave in a huff, she felt a tight grip that was on par to an octopus' grip on her wrist. She looked back to see that Siegfried had suddenly become fully alert at the mention of Chang Long.

"What picture, Peach Blossom!?"

Siegfried asked.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to see it!?"

Peach Blossom teased.

"I want to see it now. Hand it over,"

Siegfried demanded, his eyes narrowing as he tried to grab the picture from Peach Blossom's other hand.

"Dream on, take this!"

Peach Blossom said, sinking her teeth into her brother's wrist. Siegfried yelped and let go, and Peach Blossom took the opportunity to dash out of the room, her face full of triumph.

Siegfried quickly got up to chase after her but suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed back onto the bed. He had been sleep-deprived from dealing with various problems: the beast invasion in the city, conflicts among guilds searching for the secret tomb of the Pirate King, and guild affairs. All of this left him no time to rest, especially since both deputy guild leaders were on vacation.

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