Stage three was like a pond with a long walkway leading to the door of the next stage. The dim atmosphere made everyone sure that something terrifying was about to happen again. And as expected, after they walked for a while, something emerged from the pitch-black water.

"Kappas!"

everyone exclaimed simultaneously.

"Oh my! There are different sizes too,"

Oliang said with a frightened tone, his eyes fixed on their duck-like beaks, which all had sharp teeth protruding.

"Wet Trash Can, you have to fight those muscular ones!"

Oliang quickly told his best friend. He saw dozens of muscular Kappas emerging from the water, while the others were small, only knee or waist-high, and seemed easier to deal with.

"No way! You guys have to help me fight. Even if I'm strong as an ox, I can't handle them all by myself!"

Wet Trash Can shouted back at his friend.

"Chang Long!"

Siegfried called out in alarm when he saw her standing fearlessly in front of the Kappa army.

"Everyone! Face the Kappas surrounding us. When I say bow, everyone bow your heads in respect to them,"

Chang Long ordered calmly.

"Why should we do that, Master Chang?"

Peach Blossom asked, confused, but complied as did everyone else.

"If you want an easier fight, just do it!"

Once everyone was ready, Chang Long said, bow, and they all bowed their heads, feeling somewhat awkward.

Splash!

"Oh! Look at what they're doing,"

Kimhant exclaimed in surprise.

The Kappas responded by bowing back to Chang Long's group, causing the water in the dishes on their heads to spill almost completely. Some even collapsed because their bodies suddenly lost strength. Everyone was relieved that they had followed Chang Long's instructions, making this stage seem the easiest so far.

"You're amazing, Chang Long. How did you know that spilling the water from their head dishes would weaken them?"

Oliang asked, impressed.

"I read it on a website and decided to try it. I didn't think it would actually work,"

Chang Long replied, scanning the weakened Kappa.

"Haha. That was brave of you, Chang. What would you have done if it hadn't worked?!"

Valentine laughed, amused by Chang Long's method of weakening their enemies.

"Master Chang never makes mistakes!"

Peach Blossom quickly defended Chang Long.

"Master, they're going back into the water. No, wait, they're refilling the water in their head dishes!"

Kimhant shouted, seeing the Kappa's actions.

"Oh no. Hurry and kill them before the muscular ones regain their strength!"

Wet Trash Can yelled, prompting everyone to start attacking the Kappa that had not yet reached the water.

Soon, Chang Long's group managed to kill most of the Kappa, leaving only those who had returned to refill their water fighting them evenly. The higher-level members took on the muscular Kappa, while Kimhant, Peach Blossom, and Valentine scattered to search for the second key in a hurry, fearing the Kappa's resurrection timer might be up.

"Tch, they hit hard!"

Chang Long muttered softly after being knocked back a full two meters. The kappa she was fighting turned to her and beckoned challengingly. With no other choice, she approached it and used the same trick again, hoping it would work.

Splash!

The opponent bowed back respectfully just as before. Chang Long smirked in satisfaction and swiftly attacked, defeating it and sending it into Kitsune as a white light.

"Oh! I'll try that too,"

Draco at disadvantage against a muscular kappa said, noticing Chang Long's strategy. He stepped back to gather himself and then bowed to his opponent, which also bowed back, allowing Draco to defeat the kappa easily.

Oliang, Wet Trash Can, and Siegfried quickly adopted the Bow and Conquer the Kappa strategy, a name Wet Trash Can coined for it. Finally, they cleared the third stage but could not find the key. They quickly consumed rejuvenating crystals, mana crystals, and blood crystals before moving on to the next stage.

From the fourth to the tenth stage, everyone fought relatively easily as the beasts they encountered were below level 40. However, by the eleventh stage, the beasts began using magic to aid in their fights. Though their levels were not higher than the previous stages, the addition of magic made them twice as difficult to deal with. They had to incorporate more advanced combat techniques than they did, since they had been relying heavily on just physical attack.

Kimhant stayed with Kitsune and Hulu, as Chang Long had firmly ordered him to take care of Hulu. Kitsune helped fight and protect Kimhant and Hulu. Despite Hulu being only level one, it was much faster than Kimhant, who was at level 40. Ever since Chang Long released it, Hulu had never been targeted by any beasts, unlike Kimhant, who always had to hide and fight simultaneously.

After clearing the eleventh stage, the system displayed a message stating they could rest in this room for ten minutes, and this rest time would not count towards the mission's total time. The group sighed in relief and sprawled exhaustedly on the ground.

"Phew! I thought we wouldn't get a break until the mission was over,"

Valentine sighed in relief, pulling out a bag of snacks from her pocket and distributing them to everyone.

"Who knows when the next break will be,"

Peach Blossom grumbled, wiping the sweat from her face with a clean white handkerchief.

"Probably every eleven stages,"

Oliang speculated.

"That might be the case, considering this is our first break,"

Draco agreed, handing a flavored bone to Firetail to chew on.

"We've made pretty good time so far. If this continues, we might reach the ninja master's room before time runs out,"

Wet Trash Can smiled, accepting a snack from Valentine.

"Don't be so sure! The beasts we've been fighting in each stage are getting stronger. The next stage might be even tougher,"

Siegfried analyzed.

"We haven't even used our trump cards yet. What's there to be afraid of?"

Chang Long smiled, unwrapping a strawberry-flavored lollipop and popping it into her mouth.

"Mi, you sure like sweets. You have quite the stash,"

Oliang remarked, seeing Valentine constantly handing out snacks to everyone.

"Not really, but the sweets in the game can help alleviate accumulated fatigue. I noticed that everyone has been fighting non-stop, and while rejuvenating crystals help restore stamina, they don't fully eliminate the built-up fatigue. Though it doesn't help much, it does prevent us from collapsing prematurely,"

Valentine explained with a smile.

"Break's over. That was quick,"

Chang Long announced, seeing the countdown timer on the door to the next stage showing just one minute left.

Everyone got up, including Kimhant, who had fallen asleep as soon as he lay down. Valentine handed out snacks for everyone to eat during the stages, mostly candies because they were easy to consume and provided continuous recovery. As the countdown ended, the door to the next stage opened. After taking a moment to brace themselves, everyone stepped into the grueling twelfth stage.

The battles grew more intense with each stage. The beasts were higher-level, though not exceeding 45, and could use magic attacks. Everyone had to use their most powerful skills to clear the stages quickly. Fortunately, they had plenty of Valentine's candies, which kept their fatigue low and their attack power consistent.

"Can you believe it? After the 45th stage, there's a beast king in every stage! If someone clueless about this mission stumbled in alone, they'd be dead for sure!"

Peach Blossom complained loudly, her beloved hair now missing a chunk thanks to the beast king in the previous stage.

"Ugh! yYoujust lost some hair. I'm practically a walking corpse!"

Kimhant muttered softly, as he was the favorite target for beasts in almost every stage. They ran after him in horde.

"There's only one stage left. We're still missing one key..."

Chang Long said, unable to hide her concern. If they had to go back and search previous stages, they would definitely fail the mission.

"Is it even worth it? Fighting through 49 stages and then facing the Ninja Master for a shuriken we're not even sure is that great!"

Wet Trash Can grumbled.

"Come on! We can't waste any more time. We have less than an hour left!"

Draco called out to Wet Trash Can, who was still standing idly.

"Geez, Can, if we complete the mission, I'll treat you to the finest sake in Kirisakura."

Valentine knew the way to motivate Wet Trash Can was with food and drink, so she mentioned the finest sake. Her promise worked like a charm; he dashed ahead of the group at lightning speed, looking so energetic as if he was not himself.

"Ahhhh!"

Wet Trash Can screamed. Rushing forward quickly he came to a screeching halt as a massive claw of something in the final stage swung at him relentlessly.

"Can!"

Oliang shouted as he saw his friend get knocked high into the air.

Roarrrr!

The ground-shaking roar made everyone stop in their tracks. As they looked through the door into the final room, they saw a pair of enormous glowing red eyes in the darkness.

"Can!"

Chang Long rushed to check on him after Oliang, Draco, and Siegfried dragged him out. She quickly fed him a blood crystal while Oliang and Draco applied healing salve to the long claw marks on his chest and abdomen.

"Wh... what is that thing?"

Peach Blossom asked, her voice trembling as she clung to her brother's arm.

"It has hands like us but much bigger, and claws too!"

Valentine analyzed based on what she saw earlier.

"A giant. I think it's a giant!"

Chang Long said as she joined Valentine. Everyone looked back into the darkness behind the widely opened door, where the enormous red eyes were still staring at them, waiting.

The thudding sounds from below the ground puzzled the players in Kirisakura. No one had ever experienced an earthquake in the game unless it was caused by a beast or player skill. None of them realized it was the sound of a fierce battle from players who were doing their quest underground.

A level 80 One-Horned Oni Beast King stood in the final stage, its massive body and glowing red eyes dominating the room. It swung its huge club, which was almost as thick as the pillars supporting the hidden chamber at Chang Long's group, forcing them to scatter in all directions. Once Wet Trash Can recovered, they all attacked the giant from every angle, hoping to bring it down quickly. Instead, they found themselves running for their lives, separated.

'Kitsune, are you with Hulu and Kimhant?'

Chang Long sent a telepathic message, worried. Everyone had scattered around the vast, dimly lit room of the final stage, and she could not see anyone.

'Yes, Master. I grabbed them with me,'

Kitsune replied telepathically, relieved that Chang Long was safe.

'Good. Keep those two safe and stay out of its attack range. I'm going to summon Davy-Chan and deal with that raging giant myself,'

Chang Long ordered.

'Be careful, Master!'

Kitsune warned with concern before the telepathic conversation ended.

"Spirit Summoning Davy-Chan. Davy-Chan, Spirit Possession!"

Chang Long called out, activating her shaman skills. A chilling atmosphere spread from her body in all directions as Davy-Chan possessed her. The level 80 One-Horned Oni Beast King, which had been attacking aimlessly, turned its attention to her. It approached excitedly, as if it had finally found a worthy opponent.

Boom!

The ground shook with the impact as the Oni Beast King swung its club at Chang Long, sending dirt and rocks flying all over. It lifted its club, expecting to see its enemy crushed and bleeding on the ground. But to its disappointment, there was no blood or body.

"Stupid giant!"

Chang Long's icy voice rang out. The Oni Beast King looked around, alarmed, realizing that Chang Long's level was significantly higher after being possessed by the level 100 Davy-Chan, making her level 100 as well.

Slash!

The Sovereign Sword cut through the Oni Beast King's tough hide like a knife through butter, leaving a deep wound that gushed blood. The Oni Beast King roared in pain, pressing one hand against the gash on its shoulder while swinging its club wildly in rage.

"How are you not down with a deep wound like that!"

Chang Long exclaimed as she quickly retreated. The Oni Beast King's wild swings made it impossible for anyone to get close. She heard an outcry and Peach Blossom's screams and rushed toward the sound.

She found Peach Blossom and Oliang running frantically as the Oni Beast King's massive club swung their way, narrowly missing them. On the other side, what she saw made her heart sink as she stopped moving—Siegfried and Valentine were hugging near a pillar, the Oni Beast King's club having barely missed them by inches.

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