[Talent Quest]
[Players Killed: 4]
One more to go. If there had been five of them, I could've cleared this quest already.
Red Notice? What's that supposed to mean?
Shaking the thought aside, Ethan ran toward the rocky cliffs. Another party was fighting Red Rock Spiders there.
From above the cliff, Ethan saw three of them battling monsters while one priest stood behind, casting buffs.
"Stay sharp, don't drop your guard," the priest warned her team.
Ethan's eyes locked on her. His vision glowed faint red—the effect of his Talent.
I have no choice.
He leapt down, landing right behind the priest. She turned in shock, staring at the cloaked man raising his sword.
"W-Who are you?!" she gasped.
"…I'm sorry."
His sword pierced forward, activating his second skill. The priest couldn't fight back—her HP dropped in an instant.
Her three teammates screamed, turning their attacks on Ethan. But Ethan slammed his sword into the ground, forming a shield to block them.
"ETHAN!" one of the players shouted.
"I'm sorry!" Ethan roared.
To block their chase, he slashed the cliffside, triggering a landslide.
Rocks collapsed, sealing the path and trapping them with the Red Rock Spiders swarming in.
[NatashaAug (Lv. 8) || HP: 0/400]
[You killed another player!]
[Talent Quest]
[Players Killed: 5]
The number matched the quest requirement.
Ethan quickly left the cliff and slipped into the forest. His system panel flashed red.
[Quest Complete]
[Talent Quest:]
[3. Kill 5 players Lv. 8 or higher] [CLEAR]
[Reward: Skill 3 Lv. 1 → Skill 3 Lv. 10]
The blue panel followed, showing the boosted stats.
[Congratulations! Skill Level Up]
[Skill 3: Skybreaker Leap || Lv.10]
[Cost: 300 MP → 250 MP]
[Effect: 95% Physical Damage + Knockback 7 sec + Slow 10 sec → 475% Physical Damage + Knockback 7 sec + Slow 10 sec]
Heat surged through his body as the power filled him. His hands trembled at the sheer boost in strength.
Good thing I'm hidden here in the forest. No one saw me. Still, I need to stay careful. I've killed five players now.
Slowly, the pain faded. Ethan dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
"Three skills… leveled up."
Another quest panel appeared.
[Talent Quest:]
[4. Kill 100 monsters above level 10]
[Duration: 168:00:00]
[Reward: Passive Skill: Intimidate]
A new mission. 100 monsters in seven days. The reward was a passive skill: Intimidate.
Passive skills? Isn't it too early for me to unlock that feature?
"I have one week. Better head back to the city before anyone gets suspicious."
Ethan mounted his camel again and rode east, back to Ascardan.
The city looked the same as always. Adventurers were resting, preparing for the next day.
Ethan felt relieved that no one knew what he had done. He walked toward his inn, but then stopped.
On the mission board, a red hologram flickered. Curiosity pushed him closer.
[RED NOTICE!]
[Main Objective: Kill EthanArk]
[Reward: 1000 EXP + 1000 Gold]
[Duration: Unlimited]
Ethan froze. His face and profile glowed on the red hologram. The system had marked him for death.
This is insane. Red Notice—it's a bounty quest. And it said it's across all southern cities.
That means every player will hunt me down. This is bad. Elle might get dragged into this.
I need to get out of here.
Ethan hurried away from the place and went back to the inn. He didn't really want to leave Elle, especially knowing she had no one with her. He didn't trust anyone else either.
There was still a promise he had to keep with Elle—to find her friends.
Maybe it was time for Ethan to start looking for them. As long as he knew their usernames, it would be easy for him to track their locations.
"Elle!" Ethan called firmly, knocking hard on the door.
Elle woke up in surprise. She got up and walked toward the room's door. There she saw Ethan, already awake.
"What is it, Ethan?" Elle asked.
"I heard some players are planning to kill me tomorrow morning."
"Really?" Elle's eyes widened.
"Yeah."
"We can't stay here any longer. We need to go north."
Elle felt like everything was happening too suddenly, but she could understand. Ethan had a PK status, and most players in the city hated that.
Ethan came to Elle because he was worried about her safety. Taking her out of the city was the smarter choice.
After preparing, Elle and Ethan left the inn at midnight. They headed north, leaving Ascardan City behind to find protection in a central-region city.
From what Ethan remembered, the central city was full of players above level 30. He needed to be careful not to draw too much attention.
"Elle… do you remember your friends' usernames?" Ethan asked.
"Hmm, let me think."
Elle stayed quiet for a moment while guiding her mount so it wouldn't veer off track. Out of her five friends, she only remembered one—a girl.
She used her real name followed by her birth date. Her name was Helena, and her username was Helena1310.
Ethan stopped his camel for a moment, opened the friend search menu, and typed in the username Elle mentioned.
[1 Player found]
[Helena1310 (Lv. 28)] [Send Friend Request?]
"I found her."
"Really?" Elle's face brightened.
Before they reached the city, they turned into a forest where there were no players around.
Ethan sent a friend request to Helena1310, but she hadn't responded yet.
"How is it?" Elle asked.
"She hasn't accepted my request."
"What are you really planning, Ethan?" Elle asked him carefully.
"Things are getting out of control. I don't want you dragged into my mess."
"The best choice is to let you return to your friends," Ethan explained.
Elle fell silent. She did want to see her friends again, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave Ethan.
Even though they had only known each other for a few days, Ethan had helped and protected her so much. Elle felt like she owed him.
While they waited, Ethan suddenly got a system notification—Helena1310 had accepted his friend request.
Without wasting time, Ethan sent her a message.
[EthanArk: Helena]
[Helena1310: Do I know you?]
[EthanArk: No, but Michelle knows you]
[Helena1310: Michelle?! She's alive? Thank goodness. Where is she now?]
[EthanArk: I'll send you the coordinates. Bring your friends. Michelle is safe with me.]
[EthanArk has sent coordinates to Helena1310]
[Helena1310: Alright. I'll come right away]
Ethan and Helena stopped messaging. He and Elle stayed in the forest, waiting near the meeting spot. He still didn't know where Helena was exactly.
"She said she's coming now," Ethan told Elle.
"I didn't think I'd ever see my friend again. But… I'm sad I have to part with you," Elle admitted.
"This is for your own good. If you stay with me, you'll be in danger."
"I understand."
Elle leaned against a tree while Ethan kept watch on the outer edge of the forest. Two hours later, three players arrived on their mounts.
[Helena1310: I'm here]
Ethan received the message and went to wake Elle. He told her that Helena and her group had arrived. Elle's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Helen!" Elle shouted.
"Michelle?!" Helena answered back.
The two of them ran toward each other and hugged tightly, letting out the feelings they had kept bottled up. Ethan stood near the trees, watching from a distance.
"How are you? Are you okay?" Helena asked quickly, worried.
"I'm fine. Ethan has been protecting me all this time," Elle replied, pointing toward Ethan.
Ethan nodded in their direction. One of the men with Helena deactivated his mount and noticed the PK flag above Ethan's head.
"PK? What happened?" the man asked sharply.
Elle explained Ethan's situation and why he had been forced to kill. But the man still insisted that killing was wrong, no matter the reason.
"Since you helped Elle, I'll ignore your PK status this time," the man said coldly.
"But if we meet again, don't expect mercy from me!" he threatened.
Ethan nodded, fully understanding the warning.
Elle and Ethan said their goodbyes. Elle left with her friends to the north, while Ethan remained in the forest.
In the end, I'll fight alone.
That's better than having to worry about someone else's safety. That would only become a burden to me.