CHAPTER 94: CHAPTER 94: [ICE SPIDER QUEEN]

[Windchaser]: [I can save you, but what you’re offering isn’t enough.]

[EarlyToBed]: [That’s not enough? That’s several pieces of Blue-quality gear!]

[EarlyToBed]: [They belong to the players I hired. You can take them, and I’ll send them the money. In-game gear is worth more than cash.]

[Windchaser]: [Blue-quality?]

Ethan wasn’t interested at all. Now he only cared about Purple-quality weapons, gear, and items.

[EarlyToBed]: [That’s right, Blue-quality! Blue gear is still really rare right now. Don’t be so greedy.]

[Windchaser]: [Greedy? Alright, I’m leaving.]

[EarlyToBed]: [Wait, wait, my bad. That’s not what I meant, you misunderstood. I wasn’t unhappy with you at all.]

Serena hurried to send more messages. She even messaged Lucas, trying to get him to talk to [Windchaser].

She had already wasted a lot of time trying to finish the [Ice Spider Queen] class change, and the gap between her and the top players was getting bigger.

If she spent another day or two on this quest, she really wouldn’t be able to catch up.

At first, Serena played Dawnfall Online just to kill time, but now she was fully hooked.

Compared to her boring real life, she liked the eventful world of Dawnfall Online more.

She wanted to make something of herself in the game, so she was anxious.

If she had just taken the [Suicide Pill], that would be one thing. But now that she saw a chance, she couldn’t accept dying in failure.

Serena took a deep breath and kept messaging [Windchaser]. She had to grab this chance and do whatever she could to get him to save her.

[EarlyToBed]: [Besides the gear, I’ll give you another 500,000!]

Ethan was about to mute [EarlyToBed]. She had no attitude of someone asking for help, and most of all, he just didn’t like her.

Right then, Lucas sent him a message.

Lucas said Serena was his sister Emma’s best friend and had been very nice to him. He wanted to ask Ethan to help Serena.

[Lucas]: [Ethan, I mean help only if it won’t put you in danger. If it would, then forget it.]

[Windchaser]: [It’s fine, no danger. I also have a few questions for you. I’ll come find you when I’m back at Safe Zone 9527.]

[Lucas]: [No problem! I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait for you inside the Tower of Fates!]

What Ethan wanted to ask was actually about Lucas’s sister, Emma.

Dr. Axel said the Veritas Snow Group is working on a new drug, and the secret department Leo joined was meant to place him inside Veritas Snow Group.

Ethan had a feeling that this secret department’s work might be tied to a new drug that could cure his illness.

But in real life, he knew very little about Veritas Snow Group.

If he wanted more info, he had to go through Lucas. After all, Lucas is Emma’s younger brother, so it’d be easy for him to look things up.

Ethan quickly wrote a message to [EarlyToBed].

[Windchaser]: [I don’t need Blue-quality gear. For Lucas’s sake, pay me one million and I’ll help you right now.]

[EarlyToBed]: [Deal! Call your teammates over. As long as you can lure these Ice Spiders away and let me leave safely, I’ll transfer the money right away!]

[EarlyToBed]: [By the way, how many of you are there? If you’ve got a lot of people, I can pay more and have you help me kill the Ice Spider Queen!]

[Windchaser]: [No teammates. I came alone.]

Serena stared at her wristwatch, eyes wide, frozen in place. She muttered, "It’s over... This is hopeless."

She thought [Windchaser] must have brought a team of experts, but he came alone. Then how did he get through the outer perimeter?

Suddenly, an idea hit her, and a bit of light returned to her eyes. She whispered, "Does he have a high-level stealth item? Maybe he didn’t fight any monsters and just slipped past them?"

She quickly sent a message: Are you using invisibility or a stealth item to sneak past the monsters?

[Windchaser]: [Hide? No need. I’ll kill the Ice Spiders and the Ice Spider Queen, and then you’ll be safe.]

Serena saw the line of text and her breath caught. She almost smashed her watch.

She wanted to yell at Ethan: "Is this really the time to joke? You’re alone, and you dare say you’ll kill all the monsters here? You’re dreaming!"

She went limp, leaning against an ice pillar, eyes blank, all hope gone.

But just then, she saw Ethan holding a long blade, walking unhurriedly toward the nearest Ice Spider.

The monster instantly bared its fangs and claws, letting out a menacing hiss.

But Ethan acted like he didn’t see it. He kept walking calmly, as if it wasn’t a vicious monster, just some roadside weeds.

By then, Serena had no hope left. Her eyes were blank, and she just looked down like a bystander.

But what happened next made her eyes fly wide open—the [Ice Spider] actually started to slowly back away!

It didn’t pounce. Instead, as Ethan came closer, it kept inching back. The other normal Ice Spiders also seemed to get some kind of order and all moved back under the ice pillar she was on.

But the Ice Spider Queen, which had been motionless in the rear, suddenly shot forward and charged at Ethan!

Serena’s heart skipped a beat, and a wild thought popped into her head: "Are these Ice Spiders actually afraid of [Windchaser]? Did the [Ice Spider Queen] sense a threat and strike first?"

But how could that be?

Serena felt she must be crazy to have such a wild idea.

She quickly sent a message: [Run! The Ice Spider Queen is very fast. If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!]

[EarlyToBed]: [Don’t worry about me—just run!]

After sending it, she looked up, but Ethan had no intention of running. He still held his blade and kept walking toward the [Ice Spider Queen]. The biting wind whipped his cloak. Ethan stood straight in the snow, calm and steady, like a knight from long ago about to charge a dragon.

Serena froze at the sight, almost forgetting to breathe.

In her eyes, the rows of ice pillars and the huge Ice Spider Queen suddenly blurred.

The whole world seemed to hold only Ethan and the blade in his hand.

Her heart raced faster and faster, and Ethan moved faster too.

He activated [Bloodthirst], used his wristband to trigger the [Pain Resistance] buff, then turned on [Bloodthirst Rampage]. He shot forward like a gust of wind.

His cloak snapped behind him like an eagle spreading its wings.

The moment he neared the queen, a blue light burst from him.

A blue dire wolf leaped out and bit into the [Ice Spider Queen]. The set effect [Spirit of the Dire Wolf] kicked in, lowering the queen’s defense.

Without a second thought, Ethan sprang up, his boots boosting him high, and lined himself up right above the queen’s head.

He raised his long knife and struck down from midair.

A ray of sun hit the [Damaged Blood-Drinking Long Knife], making the blade flash bright.

"Bang!"

The blow smashed into the [Ice Spider Queen’s] head. Several of its eyes burst, its shell cracked open. Blue blood sprayed out.

The wounded queen let out a sharp screech. Its huge body jerked hard, yet it could still fight back. A spider leg, thick as a steel spear, shot straight at Ethan, who had no footing in the air.

Ethan could only block crosswise. With a clear clang, he took the hit and used the force to land.

The moment he touched down, Ethan moved again.

The queen’s many legs came down like falling spears, striking at him again and again. He kept dodging, edging on purpose toward the queen’s belly.

The queen still didn’t see what he meant to do and kept attacking like mad.

She snapped her jaws and spat a mass of web, which spread in a blink and cut down Ethan’s room to move.

But by then, Ethan was already under her belly. Without thinking, he gripped the blade with both hands and drove it up.

"Squelch!" Dark blue blood splashed across the ground.

The long knife drove straight into the [Ice Spider Queen’s] belly. But just as Ethan was about to tear the wound wider, his pupils suddenly widened.

Right then, a human face appeared, strangely, on the queen’s belly, staring at him with deep hatred.

Ethan felt a wave of dizziness. His hands went weak.

Seeing this, Serena forgot her own situation and shouted, "Watch out!"

She pressed her hands against the ice pillar to stand up and go down to help Ethan, but as soon as she rose, she slipped and fell back onto the pillar.