"Do you sell Silver Keys and Golden Keys?" Ethan asked the vendor at the Enhance Crystal Shop.
The seller nodded and opened the shop panel showing two different items. Each had a clear daily purchase limit displayed.
The Silver Key had a daily limit of ten, while the Golden Key was limited to one.
The price for a single Silver Key was 15,000 gold, and for a Golden Key, it was 50,000 gold.
To buy all the daily keys, Ethan would need around 200,000 gold. Right now, he only had 145,000 left.
Because of that, he had no choice but to sell some of the crystals he got from hunting monsters to the vendor.
Ethan didn't mind—those crystals weren't that valuable to him yet.
The seller noticed several Common and Uncommon crystals, most of them of the earth and wind elements.
A total of 24 Uncommon crystals were sold, bringing him 360,000 gold.
"All right. That's more than enough."
With a total of 505,000 gold in his pocket, Ethan didn't hesitate to buy ten Silver Keys and one Golden Key to try his luck.
[Transaction successful]
[Items:]
[10 Silver Keys || 150,000 gold]
[1 Golden Key || 50,000 gold]
[Total: 200,000 gold]
After the payment, Ethan saw two types of items with different quantities floating in front of him.
Each had a use button. Without thinking too much, Ethan pressed the button on the Silver Key.
In the blink of an eye, he was teleported from the shop to the gacha area in the city park.
When he opened his eyes, he saw two gachapon machines that looked like vending machines—but decorated with fantasy ornaments and vibrant colors.
Ethan walked up to the silver gachapon, looking at the glowing orbs inside.
Because this gachapon was for the Soul Servant feature, the glass orbs contained different-ranked Soul Servants.
There were eight ranks in total, and the higher the rank, the smaller the chance of getting one.
The probabilities appeared on the Soul Servant gacha system in front of Ethan.
[Probability:]
[C: 80% || B: 70% || A: 40% || R: 8% || S-R: 2% || SS-R: 0.9% || SSS-R: 0.1%]
[1x Summon (Free)] [10x Summon (10x Silver Keys)]
For the first try, I should use the free summon.
Ethan tapped the [1x Summon] button. The silver gachapon machine shook and glowed brightly.
In seconds, a glass orb came out from the bottom, and Ethan quickly grabbed it.
When he opened it, a glowing item floated in front of him. It wasn't a Soul Servant, just a fragment.
[DING! Congratulations, you obtained an item]
[Fragment x3 Aria Galeheart (B)]
Aria Galeheart—pretty decent, agile, and strong.
She might be good for beginners, but not for me.
Since the free summon was already used, the next gacha would require Silver Keys. So, Ethan decided to use the [10x Summon (10x Silver Keys)] option to get ten glass orbs at once.
The gachapon glowed and shook again. Within seconds, the orbs rolled out.
Ethan was surprised to see that one of the ten orbs was glowing blue, meaning he got a Soul Servant below Rare rank.
[DING! Congratulations, you obtained a Soul Servant]
[Maelis Terraheart (B)]
The orb revealed Maelis Terraheart, an earth-element Soul Servant wearing a pretty brown dress.
From what Ethan remembered, earth-element Soul Servants were good for defense.
Since he still had two empty Soul Servant slots and had already used up all his Silver Keys, Ethan decided to deploy her immediately.
The other nine items contained Soul Servant fragments and Soul Essence. Soul Essence was used to increase a servant's level.
[DING! Congratulations, you have deployed a Soul Servant]
[ATK: 2704 || DEF: 2550]
Ethan nodded and looked to the side, where a chibi version of Maelis Terraheart floated behind him.
Even with her there, Ethan couldn't really talk to her like he would with an NPC or a player.
After all, Maelis was just a Soul Servant feature—not programmed to talk to anyone, not even the player who summoned her.
The Silver Keys are done. Time to test my luck with the Golden Key.
Just as Ethan was about to press the gacha menu for the golden machine, he suddenly remembered something.
Should I wait until 1 a.m.? If I remember right, there's a bug that sometimes appears when the day resets in this game.
Doing it now or later would give him the same gacha orb, but he felt that if he did it at midnight, he might get something better.
In the end, Ethan decided to wait until night to roll the gacha.
When the time came, he'd return to the park and try his luck again.
He left the park and walked to the city center. The situation was peaceful for Ethan now—new players didn't dare to attack him.
A Red Notice was still a Red Notice, but nobody dared to claim it.
Even the LionArk guild officers weren't interested—Ethan's power was terrifying, and the reward wasn't worth it.
It was better to leave Ethan alone than risk their lives for a small amount of EXP and gold.
Ethan stopped by the city arena, occasionally watching the fights between beginner players who were part of a tournament.
Jill turned and saw Ethan's figure among the crowd. She couldn't leave her seat until the tournament was over, though.
Not long after, Ethan walked away from the arena and headed to an inn. He rented a room to rest.
He didn't need a regular room—he wanted a special one on the third or fourth floor.
After paying 5,000 gold for a day, Ethan entered his room and admired the fancy furniture and wide space.
He was lucky to choose a room facing the city arena, letting him relax while watching the beginner players' battles.
If they don't earn enough contribution points soon, LionArk's ranking will drop hard.
Ashley… what are you planning now?
Contribution Points could be earned in many ways—doing guild missions, finding artifacts in dungeons, or clearing floors in the Tower of Ascension.
All of that required strength and skill.
Without strong members, guild missions wouldn't be done, artifacts wouldn't be found, and the Tower would remain uncleared.
Among them all, Ashley must be the highest-level member.
She probably knew the guild evaluation system well and went out to gather as many points as she could.
If Rick and Gordon were still in the guild… maybe LionArk wouldn't have fallen this low.
"I have to get stronger. I can't let Ashley fight alone."
***
Night.
Nile City.
"All right. That's the end of this tournament."
"Congrats to the top ten participants. You're now official candidates."
"Level up your skills and abilities. Come to Mavelard and join us there," one of the LionArk officers said.
They nodded and thanked the guild. Ethan kept watching until the tournament ended around 10 p.m.
"Their skills are better than I expected," Ethan muttered.
While he was still watching, someone knocked gently on his room door.
Ethan turned his head, curious who would visit him at this hour.
When he opened it, he saw Jill standing there, holding a bottle of wine. Ethan smiled faintly.
"Two years ago, you were still a high school girl who always followed Ashley around. And now, you come here to drink with me?" Ethan asked.
"Everything you've said just makes me more sure you really are EthanAsh666. But… that's impossible."
"EthanAsh666 is dead. Ashley told me herself. She even went to his funeral," Jill explained.
"Yeah. You don't need to think about it. Just focus on your recruitment," Ethan said.
He invited Jill inside and gestured for her to sit on the sofa. He grabbed two glasses and let her pour the wine. The two of them relaxed.
"It's strange seeing you come here without your aides," Ethan said.
"They're annoying. I put them to sleep for a while."
"That's impressive."
Jill sipped her wine and glanced sideways, watching Ethan stand near the window, staring at the city lights below.
Her attention shifted to the PK status floating above his head. It was a shame, she thought.
If Ethan weren't a PK, she'd probably invite him to join LionArk right away.
"When will your PK status disappear? Can it even go away?" Jill asked.
"Yeah," Ethan replied.
"In about three weeks, as long as I don't kill any more players."
Jill nodded. Killing in a beginner city was never acceptable—it involved potential players who might become strong guild members later.
Still, she had seen plenty of killings between guilds in central regions.
It wasn't common, but PK status was normal there because of how fierce the competition was between cities and guilds.
"You've found some potential players for your guild. I'm impressed," Ethan said.
"They're still just candidates, not full members yet. Once they show impressive progress, we'll make it official," Jill replied.
"Can I ask for something?" Jill asked.
Ethan turned and looked at her coldly. "What?"
"Promise me you won't kill anyone else. Come to Mavelard and apply as a LionArk member."
"Can you really ask me that?" Ethan asked quietly.
He went silent, then exhaled slowly while staring forward. Jill didn't need to ask—Ethan already planned to apply to LionArk once he was strong enough.
For now, he needed to raise his Base ATK to at least 5,000 points.
"I can't promise that. I'm already disappointed in your guild," Ethan said flatly.
Jill was stunned. She thought he'd agree with her—but his answer worried her.
If Ethan joined a rival guild, LionArk wouldn't stand a chance.
"I thought… you really wanted to join LionArk," Jill said softly, her tone sad.
"LionArk is falling. In one or two months, their rank will drop hard. I just hope it's not too bad," Ethan replied.
"That's going to cause a lot of trouble for you later. Many guilds will fight to take Mavelard from LionArk."
Ethan poured more wine into his glass and finished it in one gulp. The taste was sweet, sour, and a bit bitter.
"You'd better be ready."