Outside Frostspire Tower, Flying Fish was looking grim. He glanced back and quietly asked the player behind him,
"Boss, what should we do?"
Lucas—dressed in a crisp white suit—held a Blue-quality longbow in his hand, the weapon he'd purchased for 100,000 yuan using a Blue-quality Intel reward.
Lucas didn't hesitate in his reply:
"Let's go after them. If the Coffin Guild secures that Purple-quality Intel, their power will skyrocket—and Safe Zone 9527 will descend into chaos."
"This is a game, sure, but we players aren't NPCs."
Lucas, Flying Fish, and three other high-level players swiftly gave chase.
Meanwhile, on basement Level 1 of Frostspire Tower, Ethan's eyes lit up as he spotted a massive hound—about the size of a motorcycle—lurking not far away.
A new monster meant a new Intel reward!
And this hound appeared far stronger than the Frost Tumor Beasts—at the very least, it should drop a Purple-quality Intel.
Ethan felt a surge of excitement but forced himself to take several deep breaths and steady his nerves.
No matter what, maintaining a clear understanding of one's surroundings and intel was crucial.
So Ethan began to scrutinize the area. Once he was certain the hound was alone, he prepared to strike.
He avoided making any noise, creeping forward behind cover until he was as close as possible to the beast.
Securing a sneak attack to wound the enemy—and seize the initiative—was preferable to a head-on clash, a lesson Ethan had learned from countless other games.
He even scanned for potential terrain advantages—places where he could hit the monster without fear of retaliation. Unfortunately, none existed here.
Time ticked by as Ethan inched forward. Only after five minutes did he close to within ten meters of the hound.
Up close, he saw the creature's skin was grotesque—streaked with blue, flesh-like ridges that made it look horrifyingly nauseating.
He wondered whether all Frostspire Tower denizens were this disgusting, or if monsters throughout Dawnfall Online shared the same warped anatomy.
Seizing the moment when the hound's guard was down, Ethan sprang into action, grasping a Rusty Cleaver in each hand as he charged.
The hound snapped into combat stance, crouching low and coiling its limbs for power. It gnashed its razor-sharp teeth and lunged at Ethan.
Ethan didn't flinch; instead he felt a thrill of anticipation, cheering himself on inside:
"Yes! Exactly like that!"
At the very moment the Frost Hound lunged, Ethan dropped into a crouch and drove his Rusty Cleaver straight into the creature's abdomen.
For most mammals, an unprotected belly is a fatal weak point.
Clearly, this Frost Hound was no exception—as the blade bit in, its abdominal skin split open, spraying a fountain of blue blood.
When the hound hit the ground, it let out an uncontrolled, pained howl.
Ethan seized the opportunity: he sprang to his feet and leapt onto the beast's back, clamping his legs around its wounded midsection.
This not only stabilized his position but also hastened the flow of blood from the creature's belly.
With his Rusty Cleaver in hand, Ethan began hacking relentlessly at the hound's skull.
It seemed that in Dawnfall Online, monsters felt agony just as viscerally as players did.
Listening to the wails in his ears, Ethan felt no pity—the thought of mercy vanished with each powerful strike.
Soon the howling ceased and the Frost Hound collapsed. A purple glow rose from its corpse and streamed into Ethan's wristwatch.
[Frostspire Tower Blueprint Intel]
[Quality]: Purple
[Requirement]: None
[Description]: Somewhere on Basement 2 of Frostspire Tower in Safe Zone 9527 lies the structural blueprints. These plans conceal a hard-to-detect route leading to a marked location where a Blue-quality weapon is stored—and the whereabouts of a terrifying monster…
At the same moment, Ethan felt a faint warmth emanate from his wristwatch. Instinctively, he opened it and discovered he'd leveled up!
[Name]: Windchaser
[Talents]: Pain Resistance (Blue), Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward (Unknown)
[Level]: lv2
[Class]: None
[Status]: Normal
[Equipment]: Cotton Underwear (Gray), Rusty Cleaver (Gray), Tattered Down Jacket (Gray), Torn Sneakers (White)
[HP]: 89%
[Strength]: 9
[Speed]: 10 (+1 from equipment)
[Defense]: 4
[Energy]: 9
[Charisma]: 10
[Luck]: 1
[Attribute Points]: 1
[Storage]: Frost Warrior Class-Change Intel (Purple),Frostspire Tower Blueprint Intel (Purple)
He once again placed his new attribute point into Strength—without that boost, he never could have shrugged off the hound's attack so easily.
Beyond the Intel rewards and level-up, Ethan also received all the data on the Frost Hound—its name, weaknesses, traits…
Now he understood exactly why slaying a single Frost Hound could instantly push him up a level.
It turned out that this Frost Hound had only just been born and was still in its weakened stage—hence why Ethan was able to slay it so effortlessly.
Ethan had even planned to search for any Frost Hound pups—perhaps Dawnfall Online featured a pet system he could test out.
But at that moment, he faintly heard a sharp voice echoing from the stairwell above, on Basement 1 of Frostspire Tower:
"Coffin Guild players are here! They're coming to steal our stuff!"
Without hesitation, Ethan glanced at the Frostspire Tower Blueprint Intel in his Storage, then headed down toward Basement Level 2.
A bold idea took root in his mind: according to the blueprint Intel, a terrifying monster lurked somewhere below. If he could manipulate the Coffin Guild into running into that beast, he stood to gain unexpected benefits.
He knew the old adage—when two tigers fight, the third one wins.
At the Basement 1 stairwell, Daydreamer stood clutching his Green-quality dagger, glaring at Flying Fish—the source of the shout—and hissed,
"Do you really want to pick a fight with Coffin Guild?"
Flying Fish scoffed,
"I'm just stating the facts—aren't you here to steal?"
Daydreamer turned his steely gaze on Lucas, exhaling hard before snarling,
"Lucas, if it weren't for your sister, I'd slit your throat right now and send that expensive gear of yours flying to the ground."
Lucas threw back his head and laughed brazenly, gesturing to his gear—especially his Blue-quality longbow—and retorted,
"If my sister didn't forbid me from spending recklessly, I'd beat you to death with this Blue-quality bow!"
"I've no time for your nonsense—if you've got the guts, come at me."
Lucas swaggered past Daydreamer, who clenched his dagger in fury but didn't strike—because Lucas's sister, Emma, was the Coffin Guild's president's direct superior. One word from her and Daydreamer's guild would be in deep trouble.
So Daydreamer forced himself to hold back, determined to reach that player with the Purple-quality Intel first and see if he could wrest that reward away.
At that very moment, Ethan arrived on Basement 2. He opened his Storage and activated the Frostspire Tower Blueprint Intel, intent on locating the tower's hidden structural plans.