CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: TEN PERCENT MARKUP

Hide out?

No need.

Ethan waved it off, calm as ever. "It’s fine. He can’t threaten me."

[Lucas] blinked, then, still worried, warned him again:

"Ethan, you might not really get what kind of person [Overlord] is. After the humiliation and the losses he took today, he’s definitely going to try every trick he can to get back at you."

When [Lucas] finished, the Winter Guild’s Guild Leader, [EarlyToBed], standing beside him, gave Ethan a long, measuring look before speaking.

"I’m Serena, leader of Winter Guild. In Dolren City I can pull some strings. If [Overlord] comes after you, you can come to me."

Ethan shook his head. "No need."

[EarlyToBed] frowned slightly at that.

Watching Ethan single-handedly wipe out Coffin Guild had made it clear to her just how strong [Windchaser] really was in Dawnfall Online.

But that was only in the game.

In the real Dolren City, the power structure was a tangle—corporate conglomerates on one side and swaggering gangs on the other.

Without the right connections, there was no way to handle [Overlord]’s real-world retaliation.

[Windchaser]’s confidence—this belief that nothing would happen to him—most likely came from being too ordinary in real life to have ever brushed up against the darker side.

He’ll only realize how arrogant and clueless that sounded once trouble actually finds him.

With that in mind, [EarlyToBed] changed tack and said slowly:

"We’re all from Dolren City, and Winter Guild might need your help sometime. Why don’t we add each other as friends so we can stay in touch?"

Ethan thought it over and decided Serena’s suggestion made sense.

He’d be killing more and more new monsters going forward, and the Intel drops would keep increasing in quality.

Relying on [Lucas] alone might not be enough to move all the Intel he picked up.

With that thought, Ethan sent a friend request to Serena, leader of Winter Guild.

Once that was done, Ethan turned to [Lucas]. "How many guilds haven’t pulled out of the bidding?"

[Lucas] thought for a moment. "Four left. Want me to talk to the guild leaders who dropped out? They should..."

"No," Ethan cut in. "But you can tell them that if they want to bid on Intel in the future, it’ll be at a ten percent premium."

[Lucas] widened his eyes, wondering if he’d misheard.

"A ten percent markup? Shouldn’t we drop the price by ten percent to attract those guilds back to the auction?"

So he carefully probed, "Ethan, did you misspeak? You mean a ten percent discount, right?"

Ethan shook his head. The Coffin Guild situation was about wrapped up.

After what happened to Coffin Guild, no one in Safe Zone 9527 was likely to have the guts to mess with him.

He also needed to pick up the pace on killing new monsters. Players were leveling fast, and prices for weapons, gear, and items were falling.

It wouldn’t be long before Purple-quality Intel rewards stopped fetching what they used to.

So next time he logged in, he planned to sweep the area around Safe Zone 9527 and clear out every monster he hadn’t taken down yet.

When the time came, anything he couldn’t use himself would go up for auction.

Money wasn’t the issue—these guilds were loaded. What was scarce was Intel.

He wasn’t worried about finding buyers, which is why he laid it out: if those guilds that dropped out wanted back in, they’d have to pay a ten percent premium.

It was also a way to set the tone and underline the value. Begging people to buy and making them beg you to sell are two very different games.

He wasn’t desperate to offload Intel, he was offering an opportunity to the players and guilds hungry for it.

And if some folks didn’t value that opportunity at first, they needed a little penalty to drive the point home.

So, right in front of Winter Guild’s leader [EarlyToBed], Ethan told [Lucas]:

"We can hold off on the auction for the Purple-quality Guild Hidden Quest Intel. I’ll let you know the exact timing."

"And when it happens, it won’t be the only lot. There’ll be a few other Purple-quality Intel pieces going on the block alongside it."

[Lucas], barely recovered from the shock of the ten percent premium, was rocked again by Ethan’s words.

[Lucas] stammered, "W-what? Besides the guild quest Intel, you’ve got other Purple-quality Intel too?"

"And a few of them?"

"A few!"

In real life, [Lucas] was well-off and almost never lost his cool like this.

But Intel in Dawnfall Online was insanely scarce. Even he had only managed to buy a single Blue-quality Intel, plus the hidden class Intel he’d purchased from Ethan.

He’d figured Ethan only had that one Purple-quality hidden class Intel. Then out of nowhere came a Purple-quality Guild Hidden Quest Intel.

And now Ethan was saying there were several more Purple-quality Intel pieces headed for auction.

Even [Lucas], who’d known Ethan for a while, instinctively wondered if he was joking.

Winter Guild’s leader, Serena, who’d been standing by, pasted on a polite smile, offered a casual excuse, and took her leave.

She was already regretting adding [Windchaser] as a friend. There was no way anyone could get their hands on that many Purple-quality Intel drops.

[Windchaser] lucks into a Purple-quality Guild Hidden Quest Intel and suddenly thinks he can keep pulling more?

That kind of naive thinking is a bit laughable.

As impressive as [Windchaser] had been today—enough to genuinely shock her—what he’d just said took the shine off. People who can’t see themselves clearly don’t go very far.

...

In a deluxe private hospital room in Dolren City, Ethan slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he did after logging out of Dawnfall Online was grab his phone and check the post he’d put up.

Just as he’d expected, it hadn’t been deleted—but almost no one had viewed it.

Ethan looked at his phone, let out a quiet sigh, and murmured:

"What a shame."

If he had a personal enemy in the real world, he could have used that person’s identity info and IP address to bait [Overlord] into making a move.

That way he’d not only take care of [Overlord], he’d also make trouble for his enemy and have Leo owe him a favor.

Three birds with one stone.

He called Leo again to confirm everything was lined up. Now it was just a matter of waiting for [Overlord] to walk into the trap.

Ethan swung his legs off the bed and stretched.

His recovery had been going well lately—he was back to moving around normally.

He’d run another round of tests tomorrow, and if everything looked good, he could be discharged.

Ethan also wanted to know if Dr. Axel had made any new progress. Maybe he’d give him a call during the day to check in.

With that in mind, Ethan stepped into the bathroom, drew a tub of warm water, stripped, and lowered himself in until it rose over his chest. He slowly closed his eyes.

...

"Run! Run! Ethan, live! Grit your teeth and live!"

"Remember—anyone who threatens you has to die! They must die!"

"Live. You have to live!"

Lying in the tub, Ethan’s brow knotted. His body trembled like he was trapped in a nightmare.

In a haze, he felt someone beside him—watching, moving closer.

In the next instant, his eyes flew open. His right hand shot out and clamped onto the intruder’s fragile throat. One squeeze and he could crush it.

"Ugh—ow, that hurts. Mr. Ethan, what’s wrong?" the person choked out, struggling.

Ethan frowned and realized it was the young blonde nurse assigned to care for him.

His guard eased a fraction, but he still let his hand travel lightly over her, discreetly checking for any hidden weapons.

Her soft body tensed at first, then went even softer, practically melting. Ethan’s bare, sculpted torso and striking features had her rubbing her thighs together without thinking, her cheeks flushing red.

Once he was sure there was no danger, he slowly let her go. He expected her to step back, but instead she leaned into him, reluctant to pull away.

A touch helpless, he said, "Sorry. I was having a nightmare."

The blonde nurse licked her lips, stared straight at him, and said, "It’s okay, Mr. Ethan. You can do anything to me."

A blatant invitation.

Ethan didn’t bite. Sensing his coolness, the nurse’s foot slipped and she tumbled into the tub with him, arms wrapping around his shoulders.

Biting her lip, she pressed the soft swell of her chest against his and murmured pitifully, "I’m all wet."