Ethan placed the staff at the very top of the guild vault, adjusting the contribution price to 999,999,999 points.
Then, he attached a note:
"High tier staff, viewing only. Available upon request for those who have made significant contributions to the guild."
Just to make sure everyone saw it, he copied the ssage into the guild chat, along with the staff's stats.
The once lively guild chat fell into a brief, stunned silence. Then, all hell broke loose.
"Holy crap! Boss, where did you even find this? This thing's insane!"
"A dark gold-tier weapon?! Damn, guild leader, you're built different!"
"guild leader never disappoints."
"Boss is boss, as always!"
The chat was flooded with admiration, praise, and the occasional shaless flattery. Ethan chuckled, enjoying the mont, but he didn't linger on it. No need to rub it in.
He opened his inventory and focused on a fiery red orb.
[Infernal Core]
Tier: Artifact
Effect 1: Generates a 50x50 ft fire barrier, making all within it completely immune to fire-based attacks. Lasts 5 minutes, cooldown 24 hours.
Effect 2: Can pacify all unstable fire elents.
Effect 3: Can be socketed into any gear with a gem slot.
Effect 4: Can be used as crafting material to forge any fire-based weapon or armor, instantly upgrading it to Artifact-tier.
Restriction 1: Cannot be used by anyone with less than 20% fire resistance.
Restriction 2: Anyone with less than 40% fire resistance will suffer continuous HP drain.
Description: The heart of the Infernal Tyrant, brimming with unimaginable power, but also laced with an endless, corrosive fire.
...
'What kind of joke is this?!'
A level 200 player in full fire resistance gear wouldn't even reach 20%, let alone 40%.
'Might as well just tell I'll never be able to use it.'
Ethan closed his inventory with a sigh. No point fantasizing. A treasure too rare to use, yet too valuable to throw away.
'Looks like it's just gonna sit there, gathering dust.'
By the ti he finished checking his inventory, he had already made his way back to the central teleportation platform. Just then, a private ssage popped up.
Lyla had finally hit level 15.
She should've left the Starter Zone long ago, but her pet had been leeching part of her XP, slowing her down. Still, thanks to her ticulous care, that little dragon had already reached level 9.
At their agreed eting spot, Ethan spotted Lyla from a distance. Even just standing there, she was impossible to miss, a stunning figure in the middle of the plaza.
Male players couldn't help but steal glances, so even taking the long way around just to get another look.
A grin tugged at Ethan's lips as he walked over, hidden beneath his black cloak.
"Waiting for soone, pretty girl?"
Lyla instantly recognized his voice, her face lighting up with a playful smile.
"Yep! Who are you? Why are you hiding under that cloak? You must be up to no good!"
She had been attracting attention for a while now. Plenty of guys had wanted to approach her but were too hesitant. Now, seeing Ethan casually walk up and make her smile like that, they all froze in place.
A few of them, who had already circled the plaza several tis just to build up the courage, stopped dead in their tracks.
Then, they heard Lyla's crystal-clear voice.
"You must be a bad guy!"
A collective, murderous aura surged in the air.
"Did… did that guy just steal our chance?"
Ethan could almost feel the waves of resentnt rolling toward him. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden shout rang out from the crowd.
"Hey! You there! Let go of that girl, you creep!"
Ethan raised an eyebrow. 'Let go? I haven't even touched her. But now that you ntion it…'
A mischievous thought crossed his mind.
Very, very slowly, he reached out, dragging the mont for full effect, before wrapping an arm around Lyla's waist.
'Let's see how many of these guys I can piss off.'
"What? I'm not letting go." Ethan smirked, his voice dripping with mock arrogance.
Lyla couldn't see his expression under the cloak, but his tone alone made her almost burst into laughter.
"Get that creep!" soone in the crowd shouted. In an instant, dozens of players charged at Ethan.
Not that he was worried. Combat abilities were disabled in the city, aning any fight had to be purely physical.
Still, he wasn't about to waste his energy on them. If anything, their jealousy was a complint, after all, if this many people were fawning over Lyla, it only proved how amazing she was.
Why should he be the one getting mad?
"Guards!" Ethan suddenly shouted.
The group instinctively flinched.
Within three seconds, a squad of city guards stord over. The would-be attackers awkwardly froze, silently thinking, 'We haven't even done anything yet! Let's see what the guards do to you first.'
A commanding officer, clearly soone important, stepped forward and frowned. "Who called for the guards?"
Ethan's grin widened. An old acquaintance. Roland Carter, Captain of Harmony City's First Guard Squadron.
Looked like he had been patrolling nearby and heard Ethan's shout.
Before Ethan could say anything, one of the players quickly pointed at him. "It was him! He was harassing this lady, so we stepped in to help. But he called the guards first!"
Roland turned to Lyla. "Miss, as a warrior from another world, I must ask, was this man bothering you?" He glanced down at Ethan's hand still wrapped around Lyla's waist.
Lyla's mischievous expression didn't waver. "Not at all! He's my brother!"
The crowd fell silent.
"...Brother?!"
They were all dumbfounded.
'Brother, my ass! Who would believe that? You two are clearly flirting!'
The tension fizzled out instantly. The would-be heroes grumbled among themselves, disappointed, with many preparing to leave. But just as they turned away, Ethan spoke up.
"Captain Roland, these people are loitering within ten ters of my shop while carrying weapons. I have reason to suspect they were planning to rob my store. Please, arrest them all for questioning!"
Roland's face darkened. "According to city laws, carrying weapons within ten ters of a shop is prohibited. If the shop owner wishes to press charges, offenders will be detained for three to twelve hours. Guards, take them away for investigation."
"Yes, sir!" The guards instantly surrounded the group.
The crowd lost their minds.
"He's the owner of All-You-Need?!"
They had been waiting to see Ethan get arrested, but sohow they were the ones in trouble instead.
Why the hell did they pull out their weapons?!
"Wait! No, this is a misunderstanding! We were just trying to help!"
"Yeah! Sir, please! I have a guild event soon, if I miss it, I'll be kicked out!"
The guards didn't care. With sharp spears pressed against their backs, the players were escorted away, their wails fading into the distance.
Ethan casually flipped his hood back and looked at Lyla. "Satisfied?"
She scrunched her nose playfully. "Hmph! That's what they get for staring too much!"
"And you weren't afraid they'd all gang up on and beat up?"
Lyla giggled. "No way! Ethie is the best!"
Ethan sighed, shaking his head. 'Trouble magnet.'
But, well, a ridiculously clever one.
"Alright, here." Ethan sent a trade request, offering Frostbound Reverie to her.
The weapon was strange, inside his inventory, none of its stats were visible. Even after upgrading it thirty tis, the details remained a mystery.
Worse, each upgrade required fifty reinforcent stones, five tis the normal amount.
[Frostbound Reverie 30]
Level: ???
Tier: ???
Attack: ???
Attributes: ???
Class Restriction: Archer, Hunter, Windstrider
Faction Restriction: Survivor
Description: Frostbound Reverie was born alongside the Firstborn, the Winter Queen. It is a manifestation of her essence, only those it deems worthy may wield it.
After reading the description, Ethan wasn't optimistic.
The weapon itself had to "approve" of the user? But how did one earn its approval?
There were no clues.
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