CHAPTER 81: HELP EACH OTHERS

The unofficial match ended with Ethan as the winner after defeating seven guild team leaders who had challenged him.

The terror of Ethan’s power made many players feel wary and afraid of him. Not many dared to insult or mock Ethan anymore. They didn’t want to die in such a miserable way.

Ethan left the arena and let Elle go with her guild team. He didn’t really care. Ethan only saw Elle as a friend, nothing more.

Arnold, on the other hand, felt crushed and deeply guilty for his failure. What happened in Arco Village was an extraordinary event that could draw the attention of the big three guilds.

They would surely act once they saw that the seven guilds allied under them had been defeated and destroyed.

Of course, this would become a burden for the Northern Guild Alliance.

Ethan didn’t care about what would happen. His goal was to enter Uruk City and hunt for Star Essence there.

That would create chaos and panic, which could make the situation unstable.

His steps stopped when he arrived in front of a food stall, a place he had to visit to buy breakfast for Luna.

He bought several soft foods suitable for the morning, like porridge, bread, cereal, and fruit salad.

Ethan bought all of them, but his attention was drawn when two women from another guild approached him.

They had seen Ethan’s power in the arena. They had also seen his face closely. To both of them, Ethan was their ideal type of man.

"Mr. Ethan?" one of the women asked.

"What is it?" Ethan asked without turning around.

"I just wanted to ask what kind of food or drink you like."

"Food? I prefer human brains. Sometimes I drink human blood because it has a unique taste," Ethan replied with a smirk.

"H-Human brains? Blood?"

"Yes. Do you want to offer yours to me?" Ethan asked, finally looking at them.

"You’re crazy! You’re insane!" one of the women screamed.

They ran away in a panic, leaving Ethan behind. He watched them, clearly amused by how shocked they looked after hearing what he said.

Ethan didn’t actually mean it. He just didn’t want to deal with women like that.

With his ability, Ethan could easily get the best woman he wanted.

After finishing his purchase, Ethan returned to his inn.

He opened the door to his room and saw Luna still sleeping soundly, even though he had been gone for about two to three hours since early morning.

A lot had happened in the village, but Luna had slept through it all, enjoying her rest.

Hissy saw her master, and since its job was done, it returned into Ethan’s sleeve.

Ethan placed the food he had bought for Luna, then focused on eating his own breakfast. Two hours later, Luna woke up on her own.

She opened her eyes and saw Ethan in front of her, sitting on the sofa and relaxing while checking his attribute status panel.

When Luna woke up, Ethan immediately invited her to have breakfast.

Without arguing, Luna nodded and agreed. She ate the food happily until there was nothing left.

"How is it? Did you like it?" Ethan asked. Luna nodded.

Ethan smiled, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the leftover food from the corner of Luna’s mouth.

Luna’s face turned bright red, and her heart started beating fast and unsteady. Still, she didn’t understand what that feeling meant.

After that, Ethan focused again on his status attributes. Luna occasionally asked him about them, and he explained, though not enough for her to really understand.

"You don’t have a status system like this?" Ethan asked. Luna shook her head.

So she really is a smart NPC, not a player. When the event ends, will she still stay with me or remain in this world?

Ten more days until the event ends. Today should be the announcement of the top 100 rankings.

Right! The ranking announcements were always shown at night on every player’s system. They weren’t daily, but every ten days.

Today marked the 20th day, so many guild teams would be racing to collect Star Essence just to make it into the top 100.

I wonder how Lara and the others will react when they find out Sword Liberation is ranked 17th.

KNOCK!

Just as Ethan and Luna were talking, his attention turned to the side when he heard a knock on the door.

Ethan got up and opened it, finding Elle standing outside his room.

"Elle?" Ethan asked.

"Sorry for disturbing you. Can we talk for a bit?" Elle asked, her eyes pleading.

Ethan narrowed his sharp gaze. Now that he no longer wore his white mask, Elle could clearly see his expression.

He said nothing but opened the door and let her in. Inside, Elle smiled kindly at the ten-year-old girl with a crescent moon mark on her forehead and ocean-blue eyes, just like Ethan’s.

At a glance, the two looked like siblings, sharing similar features—black hair and blue pupils.

"Do you have business with me?" Ethan asked, sitting on the sofa.

"Yes. It’s about the Star Essence."

Ethan’s eyes immediately sharpened. He suspected Elle’s visit had something to do with asking for some of his Star Essence in exchange for something.

"What about it?" Ethan asked.

Elle hesitated for a moment, reluctant to look directly at Ethan, whose gaze was cold and intimidating.

"Ever since he lost to you, Arnold... he’s been acting strange."

"Strange?"

"Yelling, attacking his friends, crying, getting angry, then zoning out and feeling hopeless. It’s like he’s really broken from what happened," Elle said.

"That’s his own fault. He couldn’t see the difference in strength between me and him from the start."

"You were the one who told him not to fight, Elle. Look what happened—he went crazy because of his own pride!" Ethan snapped.

"Tonight, the guild team rankings will be shown, which means not only event players will see it, but our guild master as well," Elle said.

"In the first ten days, we managed to collect around 6,000 Star Essence and ranked around 5,000th. That was a good result for us."

"Today, if our Star Essence is zero, our guild team will be at the very bottom of the event rankings, even though our guild is an A-rank," Elle explained.

Ethan stayed silent, still listening to her. Luna did the same, even though she didn’t really understand what Star Essence, guilds, or rankings meant.

Still, Luna could tell from Elle’s face that she was scared. It showed clearly in the lines of her expression.

"Please, give us 3,000 Star Essence, and we’ll do anything you ask, Ethan," Elle pleaded.

To Ethan’s surprise, the woman suddenly fell from her knees and bowed deeply before him. Ethan clicked his tongue, not wanting to deal with this, but Elle was his friend, after all.

"I’ll help you—if you help me."

"What?" Elle asked.

"I’m planning to destroy Uruk City and steal all the Star Essence there. Can you tell me the best way to get into the city besides through the main gate?" Ethan asked.

"U-Uruk City? Why? That city is guarded by the three big guilds, Ethan!" Elle said, shocked.

Ethan nodded. He clearly knew the risks, but he still intended to go through with it no matter what.

His goal was to hunt for the Silver Star. If he couldn’t find it in the forest, then there was only one place they could be hiding—in Uruk City.

"I have my own way of handling my problems. I just need a safe way to get into the city."

"How?" Ethan asked.

"I don’t know yet, Ethan. I can’t be sure," Elle replied.

"You have until 8 p.m. Find out how to get that information. I’ll stay here in my room."