CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 73: [CAVE TREASURE INTEL]

Soon, it was Ethan’s turn to enter the rectangular device.

He thought something unusual would happen, but he just walked about seven or eight meters and came out the other side.

Right when he was feeling a bit puzzled, his watch suddenly buzzed. A new feature had appeared: [Scan].

Ethan took a quick look, then tapped [Scan] out of curiosity. At once, he felt an invisible wave spread out from him.

Right then, there was an NPC nearby, staring at Ethan with a blank face.

His watch instantly showed some info:

[Name]: Wang Er

[Level]: 38

[Role]: Ice City settlement station staff

The NPC named Erik gave Ethan a blank little wave and said, "Alright, yeah, I’m Erik."

"Just a heads-up: the info you get this way is limited. If the power gap is too big, you’ll alert the other side, and you won’t get any info at all."

Ethan was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected his watch to upgrade after finishing his class change and coming to the Ice City settlement.

It only shows simple things like [Name], [Level], and [Role], but that’s already much better than back in Safe Zone 9527, where he knew nothing when he ran into new monsters.

Ethan felt that as his level and strength go up, the watch will keep unlocking new features.

Maybe later there’ll be other fun things too—like class rankings, weapon rankings, mounts, pets, and so on.

But right now, the most important thing is to head out near the Ice City settlement, look for monsters he hasn’t killed yet, level up, and get new Intel rewards.

So Ethan didn’t hesitate. He walked straight toward the outside of the Ice City settlement.

Ice City really is the place where class change players from a dozen nearby safe zones all have to come. It’s much bigger than Safe Zone 9527.

It took Ethan about twenty minutes just to walk from the station to the exit of the settlement.

Of course, he wasn’t just walking the whole time—he was also checking out the place.

The buildings here aren’t the old, worn-out kind from Safe Zone 9527. They look very modern. Ethan saw more than one tower around 40–50 meters tall. He even saw a luxury hotel he’d never seen in Safe Zone 9527, plus entertainment spots packed with players.

These places included casinos, fight clubs, arenas, bars, nightclubs, and massage parlors...

When he first left the station, he didn’t see many other players. But as he passed these entertainment spots, he found lots of players going in and out.

A player was kneeling at the casino door, crying out:

"My Dawn Coins! My gear!"

"I lost! I lost it all!"

"Damn it, I’m such an idiot!"

"No, I can’t accept this. Give me one more chance and I’ll win everything back!"

"Right, the casino has loan sharks. There’s still hope!"

That player jumped up and ran back into the casino.

Ethan stopped for a moment. He felt like everything in the Ice City settlement was getting closer to real life.

The players who can reach Ice City now are all stronger than average class change players.

They probably came here to relax a bit, but couldn’t resist the temptation.

Ethan only paused for a second, then kept walking toward the exit of the Ice City settlement without looking back.

...

Outside the Ice City settlement, in a frost-covered valley.

Ethan slowly raised [Frostblade] and stared at the monster in front of him.

After his watch scanned it, Ethan could see some basic info.

[Name]: Frost Black Wolf

[Level]: 15

[Skills]: ???

[Weakness]: ???

[Notes]: Just a wolf that looks a bit strange. If you look closely, it’s actually kind of cute.

Ethan was already used to the [Notes] in Dawnfall Online.

The [Frost Black Wolf] in front of him was about the size of a normal wolf, but everything else about it looked gross.

Its body was covered in long, black, fleshy tendrils. They kept twitching in the cold wind, and it was really unsettling.

The [Frost Black Wolf] lowered its head and snarled at Ethan. Thick drool slowly dripped from its mouth.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He tightened his grip on [Frostblade] and charged straight at the [Frost Black Wolf].

In his eyes, this was a walking chunk of high‑grade intel. He just had to kill it to get new Intel rewards.

So from the start, he planned to go all out and end it fast.

But as he moved toward the [Frost Black Wolf], he noticed the black tendrils on its body suddenly stop twitching.

The next moment, the tendrils tore free from its body and shot toward Ethan at high speed.

Ethan dodged on instinct. He moved fast, and all those black fleshy strands flying at him hit the ground behind him.

Right away, a rotten smell spread around him.

He glanced back and saw the snowy ground bubbling with black foam, like it was being corroded. It stank.

This had to be the [Frost Black Wolf]’s skill.

As for what it really was, he’d know for sure after he killed it. His ability [Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward] gives him all the monster’s details after a kill—skills, weaknesses, everything.

Just as Ethan was about to press the attack, the [Frost Black Wolf], seeing its skill miss, actually tried to back away.

Ethan wasn’t about to let it run. He swapped [Frostblade] for the [Damaged Blood-Drinking Long Knife] and activated [Bloodthirst].

At once, his strength and speed went up by 3 points, while his defense dropped by 3.

With the speed boost, Ethan appeared behind the [Frost Black Wolf] in just two breaths.

The [Damaged Blood-Drinking Long Knife] drew a clean arc through the air and slammed into the wolf’s waist.

A piercing howl rang out. The [Frost Black Wolf] tried to twist its head and bite Ethan with its sharp teeth. But at its waist, only a thin strip of skin still connected it to its lower half.

As it twisted its body, that strip of skin suddenly tore.

In the end, the [Frost Black Wolf] collapsed, its howls fading.

A thick purple light rose from its body and flowed into Ethan’s watch.

He checked [Inventory] and saw a new [Frost Settlement Cave Chest Intel].

[Cave Treasure Intel]

[Quality]: Purple-quality

[Requirements]: None

[Description]: A cruel bandit gang hid a treasure in a cave near the Ice City settlement. Use this to reveal the exact location.

"Treasure?"

Ethan looked at the [Cave Treasure Intel] in his [Inventory] and nodded, pleased.

It didn’t drop any Intel about the [Hellblade] class, or how to repair the [Damaged Blood-Drinking Long Knife].

Even so, he was pretty happy with the Intel reward from the [Frost Black Wolf].

Usually, a treasure isn’t just one or two items. There should be lots of money, gear, or items.

While Ethan was checking the [Cave Treasure Intel], a figure that blended perfectly with the surroundings lay flat on the ground and crept toward him without a sound.

The howling wind covered the sound of the figure’s movement.

Ethan stood there with no guard up, like he was lost in thought.

When the figure got within five meters, Ethan slowly turned, about to walk in a certain direction. That put his back right toward where the figure was.

The figure that had been lying flat slowly stood up. It was a human, wearing a cloak the same color as the surroundings.

Once he stood, he gripped a sharp dagger and, under the cover of the wind, slipped toward Ethan without a sound.

Ethan was still staring into the depths of Frost Valley, completely unworried.

At the same time, around the valley, about 30–40 meters from Ethan, three figures hid behind different bits of cover, staring at him.

Someone whispered, "Tsk, tsk. That player’s gear looks pretty good. The long knife in his hand is probably Blue-quality."

"And that cloak he’s wearing isn’t ordinary, either."

"He’s an easy mark."

Someone replied: "Yeah. We haven’t made a move in a long time. Those damn bastards in Ice City keep tracking us."

"Remember to put this player’s body on the road near the Ice City exit later."

"Relax, nothing will go wrong. Even if the Ice City settlement sends people after us, we just need to go into the cave, and they won’t be able to do anything."

While they whispered, the one who had gotten behind Ethan didn’t hesitate. He thrust his dagger straight at Ethan’s back.