CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: I REFUSE

Elise watched Ethan carefully as he stood at the counter, a satisfied look in her eyes. Her read was probably right: this player did have some talent that let him stay clear-headed.

He was exactly the kind of person she needed. If nothing went wrong, she could get him to help her finish her transformation.

It wasn’t only players who had talents. People like her, who were different from players, also had all kinds of talents.

Hers was very special—an Orange-quality talent called [Lust]. Through physical and mental pleasure, she could keep growing stronger, and she could use the scent she gave off to control any creature that felt desire for her.

With a talent like this, she didn’t need to fight monsters to get stronger. It was clearly very powerful.

But there were some drawbacks. When she used the talent, she herself would sink into pleasure, lose her reason, and become very weak. Also, the [Lust] talent needed to go through transformations.

As long as it kept transforming, the quality of [Lust] would keep rising, and its effects would grow stronger.

The underwear Elise wore was made especially for the [Lust] talent. It could bring her strong pleasure.

Earlier, because of something, she walked to the back wall of the gear shop and happened to hear strange noises inside. The talk between the shop owner’s wife and Grimmount made her curious.

Then she saw what was happening between Grimmount and the shop owner’s wife. She accidentally exposed herself, and in her rush, lost her necklace.

Thinking of this, Elise just said, "You don’t need to know the details. You only need to stay calm and clear like you were just now, and do some simple controlling."

Ethan didn’t agree right away. He said slowly, "Is it really that simple? A lot of people should be able to do it, right?"

Elise didn’t think much and shook her head. "You’re wrong. People with a talent like yours are rare. In Safe Zone 9527, as far as I know, there isn’t another."

"As long as you agree, I’ll not only give you three Blue-quality items, but from now on you’ll also get 20% off anything you buy from me."

Hearing her answer, Ethan’s lips curved slightly. He smiled and said, "Good. Then I refuse."

Elise nodded, not reacting at first. "Good, you agree... wait, what did you say?"

"You refuse?"

Elise stared at Ethan, eyes wide. Very quickly, she realized what was going on.

She had been too eager and didn’t consider that Ethan might push for more. She had let him lead her by the nose.

Damn it!

This guy was really cunning!

Now she finally understood why this player had managed to blackmail Grimmount.

Elise took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and slowly asked, "Tell me, what do you want? I have to admit, I was too hasty, and I underestimated you."

Ethan casually walked to another chair in the shop and sat down.

At first, he was going to ask Elise for help so the admin of Safe Zone 9527 would tell him about the [Berserk Blood Warrior] and how to class change into it. But with a little thinking, he flipped the situation.

Now Elise had to ask him for help, and Ethan could push for more benefits.

Staying calm and clear-headed was always the most important thing.

Sitting in the chair, Ethan tapped his long index finger on his thigh in a steady rhythm. He didn’t answer Elise, and he didn’t ask anything either.

Elise couldn’t hold back anymore. She tried, "Four Blue-quality items, plus a permanent 25% discount. That’s my bottom line."

Ethan still said nothing, just watched Elise calmly.

He needed to find out her real bottom line before moving forward.

Elise’s face suddenly turned cold. She said stiffly, "If you keep refusing, you can leave right now."

Ethan stood up at once and headed for the door without a second thought.

Before he reached it, Elise spoke again. "Five Blue-quality items, 30% off! If that still isn’t enough, I’d rather try it myself!"

Ethan smiled, looked back, and said slowly, "Let’s go with what you said at the start: three Blue-quality items and 20% off. But you have to promise me one thing."

Elise gave him a surprised look. She thought he would take the best offer, but he only wanted her first terms.

She asked what he wanted her to promise. Ethan then told her about the Safe Zone 9527 admin and the [Berserk Blood Warrior].

He was now sure Elise would agree to his request.

It wasn’t just because Elise badly needed his help now. It was also because, in the end, he stepped back and chose the terms she offered at the start.

If Ethan had asked from the beginning for Elise to help him complete the [Berserk Blood Warrior] class change, she would have used his need to cut the reward or squeeze more benefits from him.

The game between people is always there.

Sure enough, Elise didn’t hesitate long. She agreed to Ethan’s request and said, "What I need has to be done tonight. It’s afternoon now, and Tina should have some free time."

"I’ll take you to her now. If you finish the class change soon, you’ll be able to help me better."

Ethan had no objections. He also wanted to finish the class change quickly, keep hunting new monsters, level up, and grow stronger.

Men always have a hard-to-describe hunger for power and control. If a man doesn’t crave them, it’s only because he hasn’t tasted them yet.

In Dawnfall Online, by leveling up, growing stronger, and earning more high-quality Intel rewards, Ethan had completely fallen in love with this feeling.

Soon, Elise closed the gear shop and led Ethan toward the very center of Safe Zone 9527.

About ten minutes later, a spire about thirty meters tall appeared in front of him.

This was the most mysterious place in Safe Zone 9527. If any player got close, guards would show up and drive them away.

Ethan was quite curious about it.

When he followed Elise to the base of the spire, an icy wind suddenly poured down from above.

He looked up on instinct and saw a vague figure standing near the top.

The next moment, Elise frowned and said coldly, "Evan, I’m taking him to see Tina."

An even stronger cold wind rose up in front of them. Countless snowflakes spun together and piled up, forming a human shape.

It was Evan, the sheriff of Safe Zone 9527.

The same NPC who had fought Grimmount before—and been knocked back dozens of meters by a single cleaver strike.

Evan wasn’t tall, about 1.75 meters. His hair was a mix of white and blue. His face was cold, and he looked very proud.

As soon as he appeared, he glanced at Elise, then fixed his eyes on Ethan, frowned a little, and said:

"You’re the one who made Grimmount take action inside the safe zone and kill a player?"

Ethan hadn’t expected Evan to know him. Before he could answer, Elise snapped her head toward him, stared, and said in surprise:

"You’re[ Windchaser]?"

Ethan nodded. From Elise’s reaction, the NPCs in Safe Zone 9527 must already know what he did.

Elise froze for a moment, sighed, and said a bit unsure, "Sigh, so you’re [Windchaser]. Tina never liked you players, let alone someone like you who purposely messes with the safe zone’s order.

Try not to talk later and keep a low profile. I’ll do my best."

Ethan hadn’t thought that making Grimmount openly kill [Overlord] in the safe zone would lead to this.

But he didn’t regret it at all. When it comes to enemies, you should use every way to wipe them out.

As for the consequences, that could come later. Back then he only wanted [Overlord] and the Coffin Guild completely ruined.

Just as Elise was about to take Ethan into the spire, Evan suddenly stepped toward Ethan. Sharp ice spikes formed on the ground, pointing at Ethan.

Evan said coldly, "You can’t go in."

Elise flared up at once. [Windchaser] was tied to her talent transformation. If she couldn’t help him finish the class change, she would have to face the transformation alone tonight.

So she moved in front of Ethan, glared at Evan, and shouted, "I need his help. You’d better get out of the way!"

Evan didn’t budge. He answered coldly, "Lady Tina is resting. No one may disturb her."

Their standoff was in plain view, right outside the spire.

Many regular players in Safe Zone 9527 were curious about the spire. They watched from a distance and were surprised to see two NPCs facing off.

One player said to his friend, "Damn, an NPC showdown?"

"Wait, the guy next to those two NPCs looks kind of familiar, doesn’t he?"