First PK Encounter

As soon as Ethan Carter stepped out of the War God Hall, a private message popped up.

Snowy: "You've been offline for so long. Aren't you afraid someone will catch up to you?"

Sealed: "Not at all. If I really wanted to level up, I could do it in minutes. No one can keep up with me."

That wasn't arrogance; it was simply the truth. In fact, Ethan was actively slowing himself down to avoid leveling up too fast.

Seeing Ethan's reply, Sophia Mueller pursed her lips. She felt like he was boasting, yet reality seemed to prove him right. Even though he had been offline for so long, she was only level 12 herself. Shaking off the thought, she asked, "Do you have any mage equipment?"

Sealed: "No."

Sophia was momentarily disappointed but quickly followed up, "Then do you have any way to help me clear the War God Trial?"

Sealed: "Bronze tier?"

…

Sophia gritted her teeth. "Iron tier."

Sealed: "Oh, then this should do."

He attached a screenshot of a [Wild Boar King Summoning Scroll] to the message. It was something he had been holding onto but no longer had any use for.

Sophia's eyes lit up. This guy really had a treasure trove of good stuff. With this scroll, she was confident she could clear the trial. She just needed to let the summoned Wild Boar King tank while she bombarded the boss with spells.

"How much?" she asked.

"Pay whatever you think is fair." Ethan replied. He honestly didn't care about this item anymore.

"$50,000." Sophia thought for a moment before offering her price.

Temporary consumable items rarely exceeded one or two thousand dollars, but this scroll was exactly what she needed. She didn't want to owe Ethan a favor, so she deliberately offered a higher price.

Sealed: "Are you insane? Or do you just have money to burn? This thing isn't worth $50,000."

Ethan loved money, but he had his principles. This scroll would never sell for more than $20,000 in the auction house, and he had expected her to just toss a couple thousand his way. Instead, she nearly gave him a heart attack with that offer.

Sophia's chest heaved with frustration. Even with all her patience, she was about to explode. It took her a moment to calm herself before gritting her teeth and asking, "Then how much?"

Sealed: "$10,000 is fine. If you give more, I'll start thinking you have ulterior motives for me."

Sophia clenched her fists. "Deal!"

After completing the trade, she immediately returned to the War God Hall. She knew that raising her rank in the game was crucial, and the earlier she did it, the greater her advantage would be.

Meanwhile, Ethan listed several items in the auction house:

[Black Bear King Armor] (Bronze tier),

[Wolf Fang Club] (Iron tier),

[Bear King Necklace] (Iron tier),

[Wolf King Leg Guards] (Iron tier).

He set them up as bidding auctions with a duration of 30 minutes. Since the auction house rarely had any items beyond white-grade gear, his listings caused an immediate uproar.

"Damn, a bronze-tier item! I haven't even seen an iron-tier one yet!"

"Three iron, one bronze? Which monster of a player put these up?!"

"This armor is a must-have for Shield Warriors. If I had the money, I'd snatch it up immediately."

At that moment, Sovereign, the leader of Dominion's Elite, was staring at the auction house interface with narrowed eyes. "Do we know who listed these?"

"No. They used anonymous mode." answered one of his guild members, Absolute Justice.

"There aren't many players who can farm bronze-tier gear at this stage. And this armor isn't from the Silver Wolf King, which means it's from another boss… Do you think it's Sealed? Maybe he's in Golden Ridge City too?" speculated another member, Lone Peak.

"It's highly possible. Buy the armor first, and keep an eye out. If Sealed is really in Golden Ridge City, I want to find him. I need to see what makes him so extraordinary." Sovereign ordered.

After listing his items, Ethan glanced at his backpack full of white-tier gear and sighed. Too much clutter.

He walked into a general store and dumped all the white equipment there, selling them all at once. Each piece only fetched a few copper coins, which made him shake his head in disappointment. "Barely worth the inventory space."

As he glanced around the shop, he noticed something interesting—masks were for sale. After a moment's thought, he bought one.

Masks didn't provide any attributes; their only function was to conceal a player's face. Ethan had gained quite a bit of fame in Oracle, and while it wasn't a big deal in-game, he didn't want his real identity to be compromised.

If someone held a grudge against him, they might try to find him in real life. That's a risk he wasn't willing to take.

After equipping the mask, he left through Golden Ridge City's South Gate. Along the way, he saw numerous players grinding monsters. It was already 4 or 5 AM, yet the game world was still bustling.

As Ethan walked, a group of four approached him—three men and one woman. The leader, Logan, stepped forward and asked, "Hey, man, want to join us? We could use some extra DPS."

Ethan politely declined, "No thanks."

One of the younger men behind Logan immediately scoffed, "Hey, what kind of attitude is that? Logan personally invited you! That's an honor!"

Ethan stopped, turned around, and looked at the guy. "I was being polite. Since when does an invitation mean I have to accept?"

"Of course it does! Do you even know who Logan is? He's part of Dominion's Elite! He's giving you a chance, and you're just walking away? Apologize!" the young man sneered.

"Oh." Ethan replied indifferently before turning back around.

Infuriated, the group quickly surrounded him.

"Kid, if you don't apologize, I'll send you straight back to Novice Village!" another guy threatened.

Logan stood to the side, arms crossed, smirking as he watched. He had initially wanted Ethan in the team because he seemed well-geared. But since the guy was being difficult, it was time to teach him a lesson.

"I don't think so." Ethan said calmly.

"Cocky little—" The young man lunged at Ethan with his sword.

-62!

A tiny damage number popped up.

The attacker's eyes widened. He was a full-strength warrior with 300+ attack, yet he only did 62 damage?!

"Is that all?" Ethan looked at the damage and chuckled. He then leisurely pulled out his starter wooden sword from his inventory. "My turn."

Seeing the wooden sword, the female player, Lily, burst out laughing. "Oh my god, a wooden sword? Are you serious?"

Ethan didn't respond. He simply activated Rapid Speed, blurred forward, and slashed each of them once before walking away.

"Hah! He ran off after one hit. Guess he realized he couldn't—wait, why is my HP dropping?" Logan suddenly panicked.

A second later, the poison damage ticked. -260!

"Heal me, Lily!" Logan shouted. Lily quickly cast Heal—

+0.

"W-what?!" Logan fumbled for a potion, but before he could drink it—

He was dead.