Now that Coffin Guild was in serious trouble, [Overlord] finally wanted to swallow his pride and admit fault. Where was that attitude earlier?
Ethan would much rather watch Coffin Guild crash and burn than hear their apology.
Only that way could the other guilds realize that anyone who messes with him is doomed to a miserable end.
He needed Coffin Guild to serve as a warning to everyone else.
An apology?
Ethan wasn't that forgiving. If all it took to fix hurting someone was a simple sorry, what would be the point of revenge?
If he were just an ordinary newbie, lucky enough to score a purple-quality Intel reward, what would have happened to him?
Either the million-dollar Intel reward would've been snatched by Coffin Guild, or he'd be blocked in the safe zone for life, never able to play the game again.
No matter which outcome, the damage to an average player would be unimaginable.
As Ethan glanced at his watch, the players [Tank] and [Kayla] turned their attention to him.
[Tank] asked curiously, "What's up, bro? Is it that [Coffin Guild] is causing you trouble?"
[Kayla] looked worried and said, "Don't tell me they've already found us?"
Ethan nodded, but before he could say a word, [Tank] jumped in:
"Bro, Coffin Guild is seriously powerful. I can't help you with them. Maybe we should just run."
After he finished, [Tank] let out a heavy sigh. If[Windchaser] got spotted by [Coffin Guild]'s players, he'd definitely get killed.
Then he'd be all alone, unable to keep exploring the sewer's hidden quests or the secret boss.
Maybe it was better to just bail now—maybe they could dodge Coffin Guild. That way, [Windchaser] wouldn't die and wouldn't get hit with a death penalty.
[Kayla] chimed in, "[Coffin Guild] is just the worst. They throw their weight around and no one can do anything about it. If only someone could finally teach them a lesson."
"Sigh, let's just get out of here. Once we're back in the safe zone, they can't do anything to us."
Facing the worried [Tank] and [Kayla], Ethan waved his hand, stopping their escape plans.
His expression was calm, and he said in a steady voice, "Don't worry. [Coffin Guild] is almost dealt with."
"I was checking my watch just now because [Overlord] sent me a friend request."
As soon as he finished speaking, [Tank] and [Kayla] stopped in their tracks and whipped around, staring hard at Ethan.
Did they hear that right? Did [Windchaser] just say he's about to solve the Coffin Guild problem?
And Coffin Guild's Guild Leader, [Overlord], actually took the initiative to add [Windchaser] as a friend?
[Tank] instantly realized maybe he didn't have to run, and maybe he wouldn't have to miss out on this chance to keep exploring.
He hurriedly asked, "What did [Overlord] say to you? Does this mean he's not going to keep bothering you?"
Ethan shook his head and replied, "I think so."
[Tank]'s eyes went wide and he immediately said, "You think? What exactly did he say in his message?"
Ethan answered calmly, "I declined his friend request."
In that moment, [Tank] was totally confused and stammered, "Huh? You turned him down?"
Even [Kayla] started doubting her ears, wondering if she heard wrong or if [Windchaser] misspoke.
It hadn't been easy for Coffin Guild's Guild Leader, [Overlord], to reach out to [Windchaser]. If [Windchaser] just talked things out, maybe Coffin Guild would stop targeting him.
But [Windchaser] actually straight-up refused [Overlord]'s friend request.
That was just insane, and now [Windchaser] didn't look the least bit nervous or anxious. He was totally calm, as if he wasn't being targeted by Coffin Guild—instead, it looked like he was the one targeting them.
Ethan didn't want to explain any further. He'd already said enough.
...
In the junkyard, [Overlord] stared at the rejected friend request, his face dark and stormy. He clenched his fists tightly, his whole body trembling.
He'd already lowered his pride and admitted that Coffin Guild was in the wrong from the start, that they'd made a mistake.
But he never expected that [Windchaser] would actually refuse his friend request—and refuse to make peace.
He was being completely ignored, treated like he was nothing but air.
He was the Guild Leader of Coffin Guild—he was [Overlord]!
If there's no way to reconcile, then it's time to go even crazier!
[Overlord] immediately spoke up in Coffin Guild's guild channel:
[Anyone still alive, don't worry about anything else, just find Windchaser! Whoever kills him gets a reward of 100,000!]
[Anyone who takes part in the kill gets a 50,000 reward!]
[If you died today, don't worry—the guild won't let your sacrifice be for nothing. Give me a little time, and I'll make it right for everyone!]
[Coffin Guild isn't going down like this. We'll only get stronger, and anyone who tries to mess with us will pay for it!]
[Brothers, trust me!]
As the Guild Leader of Coffin Guild, and a player with tons of game experience, [Overlord] showed his smarts and skills by using money right away to steady everyone's nerves.
Since there was no way to make peace, he had to act tough—otherwise, the guild members would think the guild was weak.
[Daydreamer], of course, saw [Overlord]'s message. He quietly said to [Overlord]:
"Guild Leader, we don't have much money left."
"With this latest thing, the loss [Windchaser] has caused us is already over a million."
[Overlord] took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said, "Leave the money to me. You send a private message to every brother still alive—no matter what, we have to kill [Windchaser] at least once!"
"He definitely isn't a high level right now. As long as the brothers find [Windchaser] and kill him, it won't be a problem at all!"
Soon, the Coffin Guild players who got the message were fired up by [Overlord]'s words, and for the sake of the reward, they started searching everywhere for any trace of [Windchaser].
At that moment, close to the depths of the sewers, Ethan looked at the corpse of a Lizard Monster on the ground, then slowly shifted his gaze to his watch.
His level had gone up again. He had to admit, with [Tank]'s help and [Kayla] drawing the monsters' attention, his monster-killing speed had gotten a lot faster.
He opened up his character stats and put the attribute points from level 7 and level 8 into [Strength].
Now, his stats looked like this:
[Name]: Windchaser
[Talent]: Pain Resistance (Blue) / Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward (Unknown)
[Level]: lv8
[Class]: None
[Status]: Normal
[Equipment]: Pure Cotton Underwear (Gray quality), Frostblade (Blue quality), Filthy Hard Hat (Green quality), Worn Protective Gloves (Green quality)...
[HP]: 100%
[Strength]: 14 (Equipment bonus +3)
[Speed]: 10 (Equipment bonus +1)
[Defense]: 8 (Equipment bonus +1)
[Energy]: 9
[Charisma]: 10
[Luck]: 1
[Attribute Points]: 0
[Inventory]: Hellblade Class Intel (Orange quality), Special Potion Intel in the No. 9527 Safe Zone Sewers (Purple quality), Guild Hidden Quest Intel (Purple quality), Frostheart (Blue quality), Bloodthirsty Longblade (Blue quality), Impure Potential Stimulating Potion (Green quality)...
Now, all he needed to do was use the purple-quality [Special Potion Intel in the No. 9527 Safe Zone Sewers] and get that special potion, and he'd be able to reach level 10.
At that point, not only would he get the two attribute points for leveling from eight to ten, but he'd also get five extra attribute points for using the potion.
So, just on this sewer map alone, his combat power was absolutely unmatched. Even if there were a few stragglers from Coffin Guild left, he could take care of them without breaking a sweat.
Plus, if there really was a hidden boss deep in the sewers, he actually had a shot at taking it down and scoring some higher-quality Intel rewards.
Ethan looked at the [Special Potion Intel in the No. 9527 Safe Zone Sewers] in his [Inventory] and went ahead and used it.