Before the junkyard NPC showed up, Ethan wasn't entirely confident that he could take down the giant grub—which he suspected might be a hidden boss—all on his own.
But once the NPC appeared and Ethan saw how things played out, he was pretty sure that the supposedly hidden boss-level grub wasn't actually all that tough.
Otherwise, there's no way the NPC would be so desperate.
Ethan kept walking forward, the junkyard NPC upped the ante and tried to tempt him even more, calling out:
"Two! Two blue-quality weapons! They're all yours!"
Ethan didn't stop. He knew he could squeeze out even more.
Seeing that Ethan had no intention of stopping, the NPC gave a helpless sigh and said, "Three blue-quality pieces of equipment. Any more and it'll break the balance."
"If you won't take the deal, there's nothing else I can do."
The moment he finished speaking, Ethan finally paused.
Throughout all this, [Tank] and Kayla were completely dumbfounded. Their jaws hung open the whole time, unable to process what was happening.
In their minds, a thousand questions raced—wait, you could do that?
Not only did Ethan not blindly trust the NPC, but he was actually bargaining and negotiating for better rewards. This was way beyond anything they'd ever seen.
When the junkyard NPC saw Ethan stop, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Just as he thought the matter was settled, he caught the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of Ethan's lips.
Ethan started moving again!
The NPC immediately cursed. "Damn it! Why am I so unlucky?"
He took a deep breath, then called out to Ethan, "A full set of blue-quality gear! Weapons not included—this is really the limit. Any more and I'll…"
Halfway through his sentence, the junkyard NPC abruptly shut his mouth.
Hearing this, Ethan finally came to a stop. He slowly sheathed his blade and replied, "Alright. But first, I need you to answer two questions."
The junkyard NPC paused, looking a bit puzzled. "What questions?"
Ethan gestured at the kitchen knife in the NPC's hand. "If I hadn't stopped just now, you could've killed me, couldn't you?"
The NPC blinked, then glanced down at the knife he'd been pointing at Ethan the whole time. A small smile tugged at his lips.
He nodded, chuckling. "Interesting. It's been a long time since I've met someone like you. What's your other question?"
Ethan then asked if, apart from the mutant rats monster and the Lizard Monster, there were any other monsters lurking in the sewers—ideally, something even stronger.
The junkyard NPC answered right away, "Yeah. There are some unruly little cockroaches in another section."
Only then did Ethan cast one last, slightly reluctant glance at the giant bug. He knew all too well that if he pushed things any further, the junkyard NPC definitely wouldn't hesitate to make a move against him.
After all, from the very beginning, the edge of that kitchen knife had never wavered from his throat.
The only reason the NPC hadn't attacked was probably because there were consequences for killing players.
Sewers, filthy water, monsters, newbie players...
Ethan couldn't help but wonder: were the newbies sent here to clear out mutant rats, or were they just meant to be monster food?
Still, a full set of blue-quality gear—minus the weapon—was more than enough reward for him right now.
Without any hesitation, Ethan headed straight for the entrance to the underground area, stopping right beside the NPC.
The big white grub watched as Ethan left, still puzzling over its own identity. After a moment, it turned and began to squirm its way toward the massive white plant in the center of the underground space.
The junkyard NPC watched the white grub go, finally letting out a sigh of relief. Then, with a look of genuine admiration, he turned to Ethan and said:
"Aren't you afraid I might have been lying to you?"
Ethan replied calmly: "If you were trying to trick me, you wouldn't have offered blue-quality weapon. You'd have dangled something purple or orange instead."
The junkyard NPC nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Smart, but not quite smart enough. I never said when I'd actually give you your gear."
"Come on, just be patient and wait."
Ethan shook his head, as if he'd seen this coming all along. "I'm not going to tell anyone else about what happened here," he replied. "As for equipment, you can give me whatever you think is fair."
He paused for a moment, then added, "But—I do need you to do me a favor."
The NPC narrowed his eyes, his smile growing wider. But the kitchen knife in his hand swung back around, its blade once again aimed right at Ethan. "What kind of favor?"
Ethan's voice was cool and steady: "I want you to help me kill someone. In the safe zone."
The air instantly turned heavy, the pressure almost physical—crushing down on Ethan from every direction. [Tank] and Kayla were immediately overwhelmed, collapsing under the weight.
Ethan, standing at the center of it all, felt his bones creak and strain as if they might shatter at any moment. But he held his ground, staring evenly at the junkyard NPC.
He was threatening the NPC now. If he leaked what he'd learned here, players—especially those notorious "Calamity" players—would go wild over the news: a mysterious and powerful NPC, strange plants, a hidden boss…
Even though death in Dawnfall Online was disturbingly realistic, the sheer number of players and their ability to respawn made them even crazier.
The junkyard NPC had tried to intimidate Ethan, but Ethan hadn't backed down—instead, he'd bargained for a better deal. Now the tables had turned. It was Ethan's turn to put on the pressure.
A long silence hung in the air before the junkyard NPC finally rotated the knife in his hand, then raked his greasy hair in frustration.
Ethan seized the moment: "Killing me or killing someone else—either way, it's blood on your hands. But killing me won't solve anything. If you agree to my terms, though, things could be different."
The NPC took a deep breath and spoke at last. "I underestimated you. The name's Grimmount. And you?"
"Windchaser," Ethan replied.
Grimmount nodded, this time genuinely committing Ethan's name to memory. So far, Ethan was the only player who'd ever made him curious enough to want to know their name.
He said: "Killing someone inside a safe zone… Even for me, the consequences aren't something to take lightly."
Ethan didn't reply, simply holding Grimmount's gaze in steady silence.
At last, Grimmount gave a resigned nod—his way of agreeing to Ethan's request. But he added a condition: if the opportunity ever arose, Ethan would owe him a favor in return, whenever Grimmount needed it.
Ethan agreed without hesitation. He could worry about the future when it came; right now, he was just trying to survive the next year.
If Dr. Axel didn't make any breakthroughs, there might not be much of a future left for him anyway.
With everything finally settled, [Tank] and Kayla were left with jaws aching from hanging open the entire time. They simply couldn't process what they'd just witnessed.
[Windchaser's] moves were just… unbelievable. Absolutely beyond anything they could have expected.
If they tried to tell anyone what happened here, no one would believe them.
Both of them, as witnesses to everything that had just happened, were still half-convinced they must have been dreaming.
[Windchaser] had actually managed to get an NPC in Dawnfall Online to agree to help him kill someone inside the safe zone?
It was almost surreal.
As for who Ethan wanted dead, [Tank] had his suspicions—it had to be the Coffin Guild's leader, [Overlord].
Honestly, Tank was starting to think [Windchaser] was a real force to be reckoned with. If Coffin Guild and [Overlord] had known just how much trouble it could bring to mess with [Windchaser], they probably would have given him a wide berth from the very beginning.
For a player like [Windchaser], [Tank] knew he had to do everything he could to stay on his good side. He was still hoping to get more inside scoop on the game's storyline through him.
Now, [Tank] couldn't help but look forward to the moment when [Overlord] was taken out by Grimmount right in the middle of the safe zone. What kind of reaction would that get?
He was dying to see how the Coffin Guild players would respond, not to mention the other guilds in Safe Zone 9527—and of course, the regular players. The drama was going to be off the charts.
While [Tank] was busy imagining all the chaos that was about to unfold, Ethan was already thinking about tracking down those little "cockroaches" Grimmount had mentioned, hoping to score some new intel rewards.
But just then, Ethan glanced at his watch and noticed that [Lucas]—whose notifications he'd muted—was now spamming his inbox with messages.