Seeing the situation forcing him like this left Ethan with no choice.
If he failed the Talent Quest given to him, he feared the failure would really kill him, just like the system's warning.
Not long after, Elle returned safely to Ethan's room. Ethan closed the Talent Quest panel and stepped toward the door, opening it to let her in.
"How did it go?"
"I got it," Elle said.
She walked in and sat on the sofa while Ethan remained standing.
From her hand, she pulled out a Skill Gem and showed it to him. The gem was diamond-shaped and glowing blue.
It was a low-grade Skill Gem, normally used to raise the level of a skill from level 1 to 5.
In general, skill levels could reach their peak at level 100. That was the limit for normal players like Elle.
But Ethan was different. With his Talent —Infinite Skill Level— he could push his skills far beyond that limit, even reaching level 200, or even up to level 999 depending on how he leveled them.
"So, what should I do with this gem?" Elle asked.
Drawing on his experience from Tower of Ascension, Ethan guided her on how to use it.
To level up a skill, you needed both gold and Skill Gems. The amount varied depending on the skill.
Skill 1 needed the least, while Skill 3 needed the most.
Elle opened the Skill Rise feature and saw that raising Skill 1 required 100 gold and 1 Blue Skill Gem.
"You just press the upgrade menu… then let your Skill 1 level up," Ethan said, pointing at her system panel.
Elle stared at the glowing blue system panel. The upgrade was in progress, and soon, a notification popped up, showing her skill had leveled up.
The stats had also improved, boosting the skill's percentage effect.
"I… did it?" Elle asked.
"It's that easy. Even a beginner could do it."
"You can put the rest of your Skill Gems into your other two skills," Ethan explained.
Elle nodded, then repeated the process, using her gold and gems to upgrade Skills 2 and 3. When she finished, she did it again until all her gems were gone.
She felt happy—now she could support Ethan better with her stronger skills.
Ethan himself wasn't interested in Skill Rise. It wasn't that the feature wasn't unlocked yet—it was that his Talent had taken over the feature entirely.
Before long, Elle had spent all the gems she had bought.
Her skills were now stronger, with her ultimate skill reaching the highest level, while Skills 1 and 2 stood at the same rank.
"What's the level cap for each skill?" Elle asked.
"Level 100," Ethan said. "But as your own level rises, two more skill slots will unlock."
"So some of my skills are still locked because my level is too low?"
"No. Those are just empty slots. You'll need Skill Tokens from the item shop to unlock them. But I doubt Ascardan's shop sells that kind of thing."
"And you can also swap skills as long as they stay within the same class."
Elle narrowed her eyes and closed her system panel. "What about the levels? Do they reset back to one?"
"Yeah. But default skills and token skills are different. You'll notice the difference later."
Elle nodded. There was still so much about skills and features in this game that she didn't understand.
She was lucky to have met Ethan. Without him, she might've known nothing and eventually died.
"That's enough for today. Go back and rest," Ethan told her.
Elle stood up, thanked him for helping her, and left for her room. Ethan didn't mind—helping Elle would only benefit him in the long run.
Once Elle was gone, Ethan stayed awake. He still had a mission to complete tonight, and for that, he needed a camouflage cloak.
When the city finally grew quiet, Ethan slipped out of his room without telling Elle where he was going. He was afraid she'd try to stop him if she knew.
At the quiet item shop, he went straight to the counter and asked for a cloak. The seller handed him a black cloak, priced at 25 gold.
[Transaction:]
[Item: Black Cloak] [Cost: 25 Gold]
[Proceed with payment?] [Y/N]
Ethan bought it and put it on right away. The cloak covered his face and body, though his name and status still floated clearly above him.
Without wasting time, he left the shop and headed for the mission bulletin. There, holographic quest panels glowed, showing both available quests and those already taken by other players.
For example, a quest to hunt ten Forest Dwarves had been picked up by a random group without a party.
It was just a matchmaking function until official parties or guilds formed.
To Ethan, it was a convenient system, since most players in Ascardan were below level 15—unable to form official parties.
Ethan stood in front of the quest board. Dozens of quests glowed, thirty-seven in total. Sixteen had already been claimed.
To find targets, I need them gathered in one place. That way, no one will suspect me.
Damn it. I'm going to kill people. Can I really do this? What a stupid Talent Quest…
He checked each quest carefully. Each listed the player levels of those who had taken them. Most parties had a cap of four players.
Ethan pulled out a quest panel for hunting ten Green Slime Frogs in the western swamp forest near the cliffs. Three of the four players in that party were level 8.
Not enough. I need two more.
He grabbed another quest panel, this one showing a party of three at level 9. Conveniently, their quest location was also in the west.
Using the map feature, Ethan marked both locations with pinpoints. Finished, he sprinted out of the city through the west gate.
Luckily, not many players noticed him leaving. The few that did chose to ignore him. Everyone knew Ethan was the strongest in Ascardan.
Riding his White-furred Camel mount, which had three days left, Ethan traveled swiftly until he reached the swamp forest.
There, he dismissed the mount and walked on foot. He heard sounds of battle inside the forest and saw flashes of light.
That must be them.
He drew his sword and dashed forward silently. The players were too busy fighting Slime Frogs to notice him.
But what Ethan saw froze him. All of the party members were level 8 or higher, with the strongest at level 10.
Shit. What should I do? Can I kill them? Can I handle this? What happens if I do?
His right hand trembled as he gripped his Flamefang Sword. He had never felt this way before.
The inner conflict tore at him. Pity, hesitation, fear—it all mixed together, pushing him into a cruel choice.
Failing the mission meant death. That truth locked him in place. He stayed hidden behind a tree until his heart could finally accept what he had to do.
All right… I'm ready.
Ethan stepped out of hiding and slashed his sword. Fire and lightning ripped forward, striking the players from behind.
BLAST!
The explosion hit, screams echoing through the swamp. The three players turned in shock to see a man in a black cloak standing behind them.
"Y-You… why?" one of them gasped.
They didn't last long. Ethan's powerful skill cut them down one by one, leaving them bleeding out.
His chest tightened with sorrow as he stepped closer to look at the bodies of the players he had just killed.
[You killed another player!]
[Warning! Extra penalty applied]
[Penalty: PK Title + Red Name for 1 Month || Red Notice across all Southern Cities]
"I'm sorry. If I didn't kill you… I'd be the one dead."
"I'm really sorry…"