CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER 97: THE CHANCE TO FIX THE DEMON BLADE

Ethan stood on a field of black ground. A warm rush flowed from the watch on his wrist.

He knew why: he had killed the black monster and leveled up.

He glanced at the watch. He had jumped two levels at once—now level 22.

Before he equipped the [Shadow Belt], [Assassin’s Sleeve Crossbow], [Flash Mask], and [Ruin Spear], his attacks couldn’t even break the black monster’s defense.

But now, he took it down in less than a second.

This huge change came from the Purple-quality gear he was wearing.

At this stage of the game, even skilled players usually only have a few Blue-quality items.

Most regular players are still using mostly Green-quality gear.

Even before this fight, he had already hit level 20. Even without gear, he could crush normal players.

Ethan loved this feeling—levels going up, gear getting better, power growing fast.

He let out a slow breath to calm his excitement, then opened his [Inventory] to check the Intel reward.

[Intel: How to Heal Aurora, the Forging Prodigy]

[Quality]: Orange-quality

[Requirement]: None

[Note]: Aurora is the daughter of Shawn, leader of the Ice City settlement. She has a Gold-quality talent for forging. Her teacher is Ridge, a master smith from Basalt Crown Main City. He made many famous items, including the Demon Blade and the Soul-Eater sword. Aurora is expected to surpass Ridge one day, but she has a hard-to-cure illness and only one year left to live. Use this Intel to get information on how to heal her.

Ethan’s heart jumped. He saw the words "Demon Blade"!

The [Damaged Blood-Drinking Long Knife] was actually forged by Ridge, the master smith of the main city?

Players in the real world had talked about this. Some got Intel and shared it.

In Dawnfall Online, the areas players know so far are: Safe Zones, Settlements, and Main Cities.

A Main City is far above a Settlement.

Ridge is the master smith of the Basalt Crown main city. That alone says everything.

Keep in mind, the [Damaged Blood-Drinking Long Knife] was originally a scaling Orange-quality weapon.

If Ridge can forge something like that, his status must be on another level.

Maybe Aurora knows how to fix the [Damaged Blood-Drinking Long Knife].

Ethan had already received Purple-quality gear like the [Ruin Spear] and [Shadow Belt] from Deputy City Lord Ford of the Ice City settlement.

Shawn, the lord of Ice City, must have even better stuff.

And Aurora is Shawn’s daughter. If Ethan uses this Intel to cure her, he’ll surely gain a lot in return.

Just then, a weak voice broke his thoughts.

Serena’s faint voice came: "You actually killed that monster... and it even dropped an Orange-quality reward!"

"Did I already die on that ice pillar? Was all of that just a hallucination?"

Ethan glanced at Serena. Her face was flushed. Her clothes were mostly gone, with key parts barely covered.

He frowned, took out some healing items, tossed them over, and said:

"Don’t die. Our deal says I have to get you out of here alive."

Serena reached out to catch the item Ethan tossed, but she was too slow. It hit the ground while her hand was still shaking in the air.

Ethan walked over and put the healing item into her hand.

With just a light touch, he noticed something was off. Her hand was burning hot, like a furnace.

"What’s wrong with you?" Ethan asked quickly.

He really didn’t want Serena to die now. If she did, he’d lose the one million reward, and he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to Lucas.

Most of the time, Ethan kept his word.

Gasping for breath, Serena answered in a weak voice, "It’s the poison from the [Ice Spider Queen]. I need to kill it, then use its blood to finish my class change."

Only then did Ethan understand why Serena was here: she came to kill the [Ice Spider Queen] to complete a special class change.

He hadn’t fought the [Ice Spider Queen] for long. It probably didn’t have time to poison him before that black monster tore its belly open.

After Ethan killed the black monster, he got all its info.

This monster is called the [Parasitic Spiderfolk]. It’s the natural enemy of all kinds of spider-type monsters. Their parents lay eggs inside the bellies of suitable spider monsters.

Then the [Parasitic Spiderfolk] can absorb nutrients inside the spider monster’s belly and grow fast.

Ethan’s fight with the [Ice Spider Queen] made it sense the danger, so it crawled out of the queen’s belly before it was fully grown.

With that thought, Ethan turned to look at the Ice Spider Queen. To his surprise, even with her belly split open, she was still alive.

Serena noticed it too. She didn’t try to kill the [Ice Spider Queen] right away, instead, she looked at Ethan.

Serena said weakly: "Ethan, can you let me take down this boss? I just want to kill it and get its blood. If anything drops, I’ll give it all to you."

"Besides that, I’ll also give you an extra 500,000 credits, okay?"

Before Ethan could answer, Serena kept begging:

"Please, I’ve already spent a lot of time on this."

"I have several companies in Dolren City. If you ever have any problems in real life, just ask me for help. I’ll definitely help you!"

Ethan thought for a moment, then asked, "Are you close friends with Lucas’s sister, Emma?"

Serena froze for a second. Her eyes suddenly lost their light.

At her worst moment, Ethan’s sudden appearance gave her a small hope.

Now, she just felt a bit sad. She was right in front of the [Windchaser], but this guy was asking about Emma at this exact moment.

In real life, Serena is a goddess with countless admirers. Is she really no match for Emma?

Serena didn’t know what was wrong with her, she just felt awful.

But she still had to answer Ethan’s question.

So she nodded and said, "Yes. Do you want to pursue her? Emma has never dated. She puts all her energy into her career..."

"Hold on, hold on," Ethan said quickly. "I’m not interested in her."

Hearing that, Serena’s eyes lit up again. She felt much less pain and asked:

"Then why did you ask about her?"

Ethan didn’t answer. The new drug that could cure his illness was being developed by Emma’s Veritas Snow Group, so he might have to deal with her in the future.

Ethan thought it over and decided to agree to Serena’s request. After all, the [Ice Spider Queen] didn’t matter to him now.

He was already level 22 and had also received a new orange-quality Intel reward.

Even if he killed the [Ice Spider Queen], it wouldn’t trigger the [Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward].

It was better to sell it to Serena for five hundred thousand—he’d get some money, and he could also ask Serena for help later.

So Ethan nodded and agreed.

Serena struggled to go kill the [Ice Spider Queen], but she was in terrible shape. After a few steps, she fell to the ground.

Anxious, she said to Ethan, "I can’t get over there. Could you carry me on your back?"

As she spoke, she shifted a little, and her faintly visible chest kept trembling.

Ethan glanced at her, nodded, and said: "Okay, I’ll help you over."

A small smile appeared at the corner of Serena’s mouth.

Her figure was close to perfect—full where it should be, slim where it should be, with long legs and smooth skin.

Serena thought Ethan would soon carry her on his back. She closed her eyes and waited, but then she suddenly felt someone grab her arm.

Ethan pulled her like he was dragging a suitcase, using the snow on the ground to slide her along.

Serena’s eyes widened. She looked at Ethan in disbelief, wondering if she’d lost her charm.

Ethan wasn’t stupid, he could tell what she was thinking. He’d seen this kind of thing many times in real life.

Serena was covered in blood and dust, and Ethan felt a bit put off.

Soon, when he pulled her over in front of the Ice Spider Queen, she was still in a daze.

Ethan said bluntly: "If you don’t act now, the Ice Spider Queen will die for good. Our deal still stands."

Serena gave Ethan a resentful look, then pulled out her weapon and killed the [Ice Spider Queen].

Ethan looked over and saw that the Ice Spider Queen had dropped an item. It was giving off a faint purple glow.

He picked up the item while Serena took out a blue staff and kept smearing the [Ice Spider Queen’s] blood on herself.