CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: LUCAS’S MOVE

Both [Ice Archer] and [Frost Warrior] were out of reach for Ethan—no relevant talent, so no way to use them.

But the [Best Longsword in Safe Zone 9527 Intel] was a different story. He decided to keep it for himself.

The words [Orange-quality] were impossible to ignore.

Ethan had definitely read the [description] of the [Best Longsword in Safe Zone 9527 Intel], and he knew that even if he used a Purple-quality Intel, it wouldn’t be enough to get an Orange-quality sword.

Still, he didn’t want to sell it. What if the sword could be repaired?

On the other hand, the [Ice Archer Class Change Intel] and the [Blue Ice Potion Recipe Intel] were definitely worth selling. A hidden class and a potion that could permanently boost your stats? That would be a hot commodity.

In fact, the [Blue Ice Potion Recipe Intel] was more valuable than the [Ice Archer Class Change Intel].

The [Ice Archer Class Change Intel] could only be used by one person, boosting just one person’s power. But once you got the [Blue Ice Potion Recipe Intel], the [Blue Ice Potion] you made could be used by many.

You could say the [Blue Ice Potion Recipe Intel] was something no group looking to grow fast could afford to ignore.

With the chance to randomly boost 1–3 points of stats permanently, it was sure to attract a ton of players.

Ethan immediately opened his wrist device and sent the [Blue Ice Potion Recipe Intel] to [Lucas].

Less than a second later, [Lucas] was blowing up his messages.

[Lucas]: [Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!]

[Lucas]: [Bro, I don’t even know what to say. Is Dawnfall Online your thing?]

[Lucas]: [This is insane. Not only will the guilds in Safe Zone 9527 go nuts over this, but the ones from other safe zones will be fighting over it too!]

[Lucas]: [You’re amazing, bro! You’re my real brother!]

Seeing how excited [Lucas] was, Ethan sent him the [Ice Archer Class Change Intel] as well.

[Windchaser]: [Add the Guild Hidden Quest Intel, let’s auction off these three for now. Set the time for tomorrow morning. You’re gonna host the auction for me.]

[Lucas]: [Seriously? Bro, are you really giving me this chance?]

[Windchaser]: [Yeah. I don’t like being in the spotlight. If you do this right, I’ll let you take first dibs on any future Intel sales, as long as the price is similar.]

[Lucas]: [Oh my god! Bro, you’re the best! You can count on me for tomorrow. I’ll make you proud!]

[Lucas]: [No time to chat, bro—I’m logging off right now to get things ready. Those two guilds that upped their bids by 20%? They’re gonna be kicking themselves right now.]

[Windchaser]: [Oh, and by the way—guilds that still have bidding rights, if they win, let them have a 10% discount on the final fee.]

[Lucas]: [Got it.]

Ethan looked at the messages on his wrist device and gave a small nod. He didn’t have time for everything, and there was no point in doing everything himself.

[Lucas] was perfect for handling the small stuff.

Sometimes, letting people do a favor for you made them feel grateful.

Raising the bid price for some guilds, lowering the fee for others—those were just small moves to build his reputation.

He wanted everyone to know that the guilds still in the running would get unexpected benefits, while those who had given up their bidding rights and lost faith in him would end up paying more.

Treat people and factions differently. That was the message: being on his side brought you advantages, while being against him meant you’d lose more.

But all of this came with a condition—Ethan had to have something others wanted. He had to be strong, and have real influence.

The [Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward] had given him a future that looked bright. If he still couldn’t make it work, he might as well just kill himself.

...

In the heart of Dolren City, near the most bustling part of the downtown area, inside a vintage villa.

Lucas sprang out of bed with excitement, threw on a jacket in a rush, and ran toward the underground garage, ignoring the confused looks from the servants.

He had just reached the elevator door when a cold voice cut through the air:

"Rushing around like that—what, are you going out to party again?"

Lucas, who had been grinning just a second ago, let out a heavy sigh and mumbled, "No, I’ve got something important to do."

Emma slowly walked down the hallway, her face as perfect as a goddess’s, and tilted her head with a hint of curiosity:

"Important? Are your little friends dragging you to a horse race? Or are you planning another street race?"

Lucas took a deep breath, then looked straight at his sister Emma and said, "None of that. It’s something from Dawnfall Online."

Emma frowned slightly, as if thinking. "What could be so important in the game? There’s a party later—come with me. It’ll be good for your image in the long run."

Lucas turned toward the elevator, which had just arrived, and without looking back, stepped inside. All he left behind was a single sentence:

"It’s more important than hanging out at some stupid party with you."

Emma watched the elevator doors close, letting out a small sigh. She turned to a middle-aged housemaid standing nearby and asked, "Mrs. Snow, has Lucas been running off to party a lot lately?"

Mrs. Snow, who had worked for the Lu family for years, shook her head. "Miss, the young master hasn’t been going out much. It seems like he’s been stuck in Dawnfall Online all the time."

Emma turned back toward the elevator, surprised. She had been so focused on the research institute’s progress lately that she hadn’t been home in a while.

She had kept an eye on Dawnfall Online, but she had never actually logged in.

To her, the game felt too strange, too unpredictable. Until there was more solid intel on it, she wasn’t going to take any chances.

But she wasn’t ignoring its importance either. She had already set up a separate company in other regions to monitor it.

If Lucas was so interested in the game, she’d keep an eye on him for a while. Maybe she could find a way to get him to accept the company she had set up specifically for Dawnfall Online.

Lucas, driving a luxury Lamborghini out of the underground garage, looked thoroughly annoyed as he lit a cigarette and headed toward the most exclusive and secretive private club in Dolren City.

He tossed his keys carelessly to a waiter and hurried inside.

A number of people were already waiting for him.

A round, fat man asked with curiosity, "Hey, Lucas, what’s so urgent? I was just in the middle of a date with a girl with a million followers."

"Wouldn’t have been a date if you hadn’t texted me."

Lucas said flatly. "There’s something you need to do for me. One night. I want every major family, company, group, and gang in the cities near Dolren City to know that there’s going to be an unprecedented auction in Safe Zone 9527 tomorrow."

The fat man scratched his head, confused. "An auction? Is that in Dawnfall Online?"

Lucas nodded. "Exactly. I’ll send you the details in a bit. Don’t worry about the cost or the number of people. Just make sure as many people as possible hear about it."

"Forum, TV, media—anything goes."

Lucas had already thought this through. Posting the information on the game’s forums wasn’t exactly fast, and it wasn’t always reliable. So he decided to take a more direct approach—using his real-world influence to spread the word as widely and quickly as possible.

Some players had studied the connection between Dawnfall Online’s safe zones and the real world. Safe Zone 9527 was connected to the cities near Dolren City.

Lucas knew that so far, players couldn’t travel too far in the game. Holding the auction in the real world would bring other complications. So he only needed to spread the word to the cities around Dolren City.

This was a task given to him by [Windchaser]. He had to do it right. He had to make [Windchaser] happy. Because if he didn’t, the next time [Windchaser] needed something, they wouldn’t come to him—they’d go to someone else. And that would be the end of everything.

Thinking back to what his sister, Emma, had said at the elevator just a short while ago, Lucas took a deep breath.

He would prove himself. No matter what it took.

Helping [Windchaser] pull off the biggest auction in the history of Dawnfall Online was just the first step.

Meeting [Windchaser] was the opportunity he’d been waiting for all along.

Other players could kill thousands of monsters and still never get a single piece of Intel. But [Windchaser] already had several.

Whether it was luck or some hidden glitch in the game didn’t matter. What mattered was holding on to [Windchaser]—that was the real key.

In the real world, money wasn’t everything?

When most players left the safe zones and started heading toward the gathering point, the rich would pile up. Lucas wouldn’t be the richest.

But if he did what *Windchaser* asked, and if [Windchaser] kept acting the way he was now, then high-quality Intel that even the richest players couldn’t get would be within his reach.

Thinking about it, Lucas said again, "This is really important. We have to move fast."