CHAPTER 41: A REALISTIC ATTITUDE DURING EVENTS

Nuwa nodded to what Ethan said. She climbed up to the tall trees to get the best view. From up high, at least she could see who was around them.

Ethan stayed below, relying on Maelis to help him detect ground vibrations like sonar.

Again, Ethan’s detection panel showed several red dots that weren’t moving around them, but there were quite a lot of them.

Are they enemies? Or monsters?

He stopped walking and looked back. He could clearly see Nuwa still standing at the top of the tallest tree nearby, watching the situation.

"How is it?" Ethan asked.

"I see some monsters, but there aren’t any players near us," Nuwa answered.

So, they were monsters. That made sense.

Ethan told Nuwa to come down, then started walking with her into the forest. Nuwa nodded and jumped down quickly, landing right behind him.

Once Nuwa was ready, both of them entered the forest carefully, staying alert.

He didn’t know what kind of monsters were there or what their levels were.

But with Ethan’s current base ATK, he was sure he wouldn’t have much trouble fighting them.

"Do you know much about this event?" Nuwa asked. Ethan nodded.

"Even though the place and arena are different, the system in the Thousand Stars event is the same as before," Ethan replied.

"If last time we had to collect monster cores, now we have to find Star Essence," Ethan continued.

"Since both event systems are almost the same, I guess the way to get them is similar too."

Nuwa went silent, then nodded a few times in understanding. Ethan explained everything in detail, using simple words she could understand.

Even though Nuwa and the others were still beginner players, after all their experiences, they slowly started to understand game terms.

What Ethan said was easy for her to follow because of everything they’d been through so far.

As they walked deeper into the forest, Ethan faintly heard the sound of explosions and crashes coming from ahead.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, moving slowly while hiding behind the bushes. Nuwa followed.

"What’s wrong?" Nuwa whispered.

"A fight," he answered quietly.

"Another participant is fighting forest monsters," Ethan said in a whisper.

"W-We should help him," Nuwa said.

Ethan stopped her from acting recklessly, which surprised her — the man ahead of them was clearly struggling against a horde of forest monsters.

"It’s a trap," Ethan whispered.

"A trap? What kind?" Nuwa asked.

I didn’t expect someone to use this kind of trick. I knew it — their team isn’t made of beginners.

He had to check the surroundings. Ethan didn’t answer Nuwa yet; he would explain once the area was safe.

Maelis went back to her job, detecting enemies through ground and wave readings.

A sonar panel appeared in front of Ethan, showing several unmoving red dots around the fight’s location.

He couldn’t tell yet if they were hiding behind trees or up in the branches.

"Hissy."

Hissy crawled out from Ethan’s sleeve, appearing on his right shoulder.

"Go and bite the players hiding up ahead."

HISS!

Ethan lowered his hand to the ground, letting Hissy slither away under camouflage to avoid battle.

Nuwa stayed quiet; she didn’t know what the snake was going to do.

"What is it doing?" Nuwa asked.

"Hissy’s my pet. It’s scouting ahead," Ethan answered.

"If it finds enemy players, it’ll attack them right away."

"That way, we’ll know where they’re hiding," Ethan added.

Nuwa nodded, leaving the job of finding the hidden players to Hissy.

After all, Ethan knew this place and the event better than anyone.

Not long after, they heard screams of pain from up ahead. Three people came out from their hiding spot.

Hissy had attacked them, shooting Venomous Thorns that hit all three.

The poison’s effect made them scream, weak, and lowered their resistance buffs.

"S-So it really was a trap," Nuwa said.

"Of course it was. Every other player would know that," Ethan replied.

Hissy quickly returned to Ethan unharmed. Ethan raised his arm and let Hissy crawl back inside his sleeve.

"What should we do now?" Nuwa asked.

"The monsters started attacking them since they got exposed," Ethan said.

"We’ll use the situation — attack them from behind."

"Alright."

Nuwa pulled out her small dagger and jumped onto the tree branches.

She leaped silently from branch to branch, undetected.

The group of monsters attacked the four players, forcing them to fight together just to survive. Nuwa appeared behind them without warning.

"W-Who are you?!" one of them shouted.

Nuwa swung her blade forward, attacking the three already injured players hit by Hissy’s poison.

Her attacks had a strong effect on their HP.

Even so, her strength alone wasn’t enough to defeat all three. Ethan frowned — something was wrong with Nuwa’s attacks; she wasn’t dealing enough damage.

Ethan moved forward quickly, gripping his sword and slashing it sideways, sending a crimson arc toward the players.

His attack hit one of them directly, killing him instantly. The explosion pushed the monsters away from the fight.

Even so, Ethan didn’t chase them. He focused on the remaining three players, making sure Nuwa wouldn’t get hurt or die.

Without using any skills, Ethan swung his sword diagonally and sideways, hitting those trying to escape.

"W-Who are you?" one of the players asked.

Looks like he doesn’t know who I am.

Ethan didn’t stop. He kept attacking them precisely, injuring but not killing them outright.

After all, players who died in this event wouldn’t really die in the game.

They’d just fall and return to the altar, counted as failed participants.

"Did you already get the Star Essence?" Ethan asked.

"Y-Yeah, we did."

"Hand it over, and we’ll let you go," Ethan said.

The three players looked at each other, then nodded and sighed.

One of them pulled out the Star Essences they’d collected — only four.

[Number of Star Essence: 4]

Ethan nodded, took them, and stored them in his inventory. Nuwa looked relieved — after all, Ethan said he would let them go.

SLASH!

Suddenly, Ethan swung his sword sideways, beheading all three players.

Their heads flew off, and their bodies shattered into magic particles that vanished into the air.

Nuwa stood frozen, shocked by Ethan’s action.

"W-What... did you just do?" Nuwa asked.

"Relax. They’re not really dead, just failed the event," Ethan replied.

"B-But you killed them after making an agreement," Nuwa said.

"That’s not right."

Ethan smiled, sheathing his sword and stepping to the side, looking straight at Nuwa with a serious gaze.

"I’m betting my life on this event. I’m more responsible for myself than for them," Ethan said.

"If I let them go, they’d still die anyway — either by other players or by monsters."

"I just helped them go home faster."

"I don’t know if I can trust your decisions or not," Nuwa replied.

"HAHA!"

"Drop your idealism. Only those who stay realistic can win this event."