Ethan carefully read the description for the [Third Generation Human Potential Enhancement Potion], but he didn't care at all about the warning that the injection would be extremely painful.
No matter how painful it was, it probably couldn't compare to the headaches he suffered every day.
For him, it felt like someone was slowly cutting his head open with a dull knife, and then pouring scalding hot iron into his brain, drop by drop.
And through it all, he stayed completely conscious—if anything, the pain only made his senses even sharper.
Ever since he got sick, Ethan had to go through this kind of pain several times a day. His ability to endure suffering was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Without any hesitation, Ethan picked up the [Third Generation Human Potential Enhancement Potion] and injected it straight into himself.
In an instant, a bone-chilling cold spread out from where the needle went in. All the hairs on Ethan's body stood on end, and he started to shake uncontrollably.
He looked down and saw a thin layer of frost slowly forming on his skin, like countless tiny needles stabbing into his flesh, blood vessels, and even his cells.
The pain was so intense that even Ethan couldn't help but clench his teeth. Every muscle in his body tensed and cramped up, and he squeezed so hard that the blood vessels in his eyes started to show, red and swollen.
Some of the smaller, weaker vessels burst right then and there. Blood slowly seeped out, then quickly hardened.
But even so, Ethan didn't make a sound. He even kept part of his mind alert, watching his surroundings carefully.
After about three minutes, the pain finally began to fade, replaced by a warm feeling spreading through his body. Gasping for breath, Ethan opened his watch and checked his stats.
[Name]: Windchaser
[Talent]: Pain Resistance (Blue), Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward (Unknown)
[Level]: lv10
[Class]: None
[Status]: Normal
[Equipment]: Cotton Underwear (Gray), Frostblade (Blue), Filthy Hard Hat (Green), Worn Protective Gloves (Green), ...
[HP]: 100%
[Strength]: 14 (equipment +3)
[Speed]: 10 (equipment +1)
[Defense]: 8 (equipment +1)
[Energy]: 9
[Charisma]: 10
[Luck]: 1
[Attribute Points]: 7
[Inventory]: Hellblade Class Intel (Orange), Guild Hidden Quest Intel (Purple), Frostheart (Blue), Impure Potential Stimulating Potion (Green), ...
Looking at his stats and the seven attribute points he had to spend, a rare smile appeared on Ethan's usually calm face.
In this sewer map, most players had pretty low levels. Level 10 was enough to crush almost anyone else.
On top of that, Ethan had five more attribute points than the average player!
He also had some pretty rare items, plus a blue-quality weapon that almost no one else—maybe less than one percent of players—had right now.
After thinking for a moment, Ethan put two points into [Strength], three into [Speed], and used the last two to shore up his weakest stat—[Defense].
...
[Strength]: 16 (equipment +3)
[Speed]: 12 (equipment +1)
[Defense]: 10 (equipment +1)
...
After finishing all this, Ethan slowly looked back, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. He couldn't wait to run into players from the Coffin Guild.
Those guys didn't come to the sewer map just to do newbie quests.
Anyone who wanted to kill him—and actually made a move—was someone Ethan would never forgive!
He wasn't that softhearted. Showing mercy to your enemies was just asking for trouble.
Ethan took a deep breath, gripped his blue-quality sword tightly, and started walking toward where [Tank] and [Kayla] were resting. They should've recovered by now.
But just as he was about to reach them, Ethan suddenly stopped and listened closely.
"Where did [Windchaser] go? If you don't want to die, you'd better spit it out!"
"Our Guild Leader gave strict orders—no matter what, we have to kill [Windchaser]. Don't waste our time!"
Four Coffin Guild players had surrounded [Tank] and [Kayla], weapons in hand, eyes fierce and full of threats.
[Kayla] looked pale, instinctively hiding behind [Tank] and clutching his shirt tightly, as if that could make her feel a little safer.
[Tank], on the other hand, was quite experienced. He stayed calm, swallowed hard, and answered with a confused look:
"[Windchaser]? I don't know any [Windchaser], guys. Never heard of him."
One of the Coffin Guild players didn't hesitate at all. He stepped right up to [Tank] and stabbed him hard in the shoulder with his knife.
Blood started pouring out. [Tank] screamed in pain and shouted,
"I really don't know any [Windchaser]! But I did see a solo player walk off that way just now."
[Tank], shaking, pointed in the wrong direction.
Some of the other Coffin Guild players looked a bit unsure, half believing what [Tank] said. But the one who had attacked just yanked his knife out, then slowly walked over to [Kayla], his face twisted with a nasty grin.
"Your turn. Are you going to talk or not?"
[Kayla] was trembling, her eyes filled with panic and fear. She stared blankly at the blood-dripping knife, looking frozen with terror.
Her voice was shaky as she slowly said, "We have no grudge against Coffin Guild..."
Before she could finish, the player with the knife lost his patience and kicked her hard, knocking her into the filthy water. He sneered:
"Who cares if we have a grudge or not? If Coffin Guild wants to mess with you, we'll do whatever we want!"
"Spit it out—where did [Windchaser] go? I saw all the fight marks on the way here. There's no way just the two of you cleared all those monsters. You must be [Windchaser]'s allies!"
The other three Coffin Guild players didn't seem bothered at all by what was happening—in fact, they seemed to enjoy it. They started threatening too:
"If you don't talk, I'll make sure not to hit your vital spots next. You'll die in the most painful way possible!"
"I've already killed several players like that. Some of them couldn't handle the pain—they got traumatized and never dared to log in again."
Hearing their threats, [Kayla] looked even more terrified. She really didn't want to die like that—just thinking about it was unbearable.
[Tank] took a deep breath, glanced at [Kayla], and slowly backed up next to her. He pretended he was about to give up [Windchaser]'s location, but secretly slipped her something.
It was a pill, meant for suicide.
Because dying in Dawnfall Online felt so real, a lot of players couldn't handle the pain. Some came up with another way: if you were in a hopeless situation, at least you could die without so much suffering.
That's why the [Suicide Pill] was created. It was pretty expensive—each one cost thousands.
For poor players in Dawnfall Online, even dying painlessly could cost a lot of money.
[Tank] whispered: "If I hadn't asked [Windchaser] to help me explore, maybe he could have escaped the sewer map by now."
"I can't betray a friend. Kayla, when you log off later, I'll take you out for some fun."
[Kayla] took the [Suicide Pill], but she didn't expect the Coffin Guild players to notice what she and [Tank] were doing. All four Coffin Guild players moved in right away and stopped them.
The player with the knife grinned and said, "So you want to do this the hard way? No one gets away with messing with Coffin Guild!"
Right then, a calm voice came from the shadows: "Oh? Is that so?"