The crowd stood frozen as if struck by lightning. No one expected the scene before them. Treasure chests lay in piles at Ethan's feet—so many that it looked like he had robbed an entire dungeon for himself.
"I swear… look at that! If I had so many treasure chests, I'd give myself a big belly just from the excitement alone!"
"This whole secret-realm trip feels like it was designed only for Ethan to eat every reward! It's honestly unfair, but… damn, is it satisfying to watch."
"Level 38? Bro, that's twice my level! And don't even ask about the experience difference—it's probably thousands of times more than ours."
"Will I even reach Level 38 before I graduate college…?"
"You guys are forgetting something! Level is one thing, but Ethan has mountains of treasure chests. The stuff inside could easily sell for tens of billions!"
"Don't say that! I was already jealous, now I'm going to turn purple."
Among all the shocked faces, the one who reacted the most dramatically was Horse Boss. His jaw dropped so hard it nearly hit the floor.
LV38? Seriously?
At that moment, Horse Boss felt his soul leave his body.
This guy… has the nerve to complain that his level is "too low"? After getting all these chests, does he still blame us for "stealing his monster kills"?
Horse Boss almost cried. Ethan, buddy… You've been playing for barely a month! Meanwhile, I've been grinding for two years to reach this point… Are you still human??
Fairwind, who stood nearby, was equally stunned.
Level 38.
He was only Level 25.
The difference between them felt like a canyon—big enough to fit ten mountains inside.
They had already gone numb looking at Ethan's treasure chest haul. But seeing his level… even Fairwind began to feel a stab of envy. He stared at Ethan like someone betrayed by his best friend.
Bro, please slow down. You're making it hard for me to even call myself your friend.
What no one knew was that Ethan hadn't even opened his most precious reward—a diamond-grade treasure chest dropped by the final boss. After opening so many chests back-to-back, everyone's brains were numb. They were just picking things up like robots without counting anything.
So Ethan planned to check everything later.
At that moment, Ethan noticed something odd.
Everyone had surrounded him.
Some girls even had sparkles in their eyes as they approached.
"Ethan big brother… no one's home at my place tonight. Want to have a drink?"
"Come over, Ethan big brother. I'm still scared after leaving the secret realm… stay with me tonight, please?"
"Ethan big brother, you're so strong! Can you teach me personally?"
"I want a body like yours, Ethan big brother… Can you help me~?"
Before Ethan could respond, a girl from the Chamber of Commerce stepped forward with a glossy card.
"What are you all doing? Don't ruin the atmosphere. Ethan, here—this is a diamond VIP card from our Chamber of Commerce! When you have time, come visit us. You get a 30% discount on everything!"
Immediately another girl pushed forward, annoyed.
"Your cheap business association dares to show its face? Ethan, I'm from the Wu family in Ravenshade City. Here's my card. Visit us anytime."
Fairwind peeked over Ethan's shoulder and grinned wickedly. "Ethan big brother~ when are you taking me to soar to the sky?"
"Get lost."
Ethan smacked Fairwind away like a fly.
Annoyed, he summoned his queen bee summon, letting it hook onto his sleeve so he could take off.
But the girls weren't done.
As Ethan lifted into the air, half a dozen girls immediately latched onto him—arms, clothes, sleeves—determined to go up with him.
Even though he was airborne, they clung on like he was a tree they refused to fall from.
Seeing this nightmare scenario, Ethan had no choice.
He activated Dimension Shift.
Whoosh—
Ethan vanished instantly.
The girls fell straight onto the ground like a collapsed mountain.
"Where did Ethan big brother go!?"
"Find him!"
"Who scared him away!? It must be you!"
"It's definitely you! Your makeup melted and scared him!"
"Are you kidding? You're flatter than a cutting board! You scared him!"
They were about to tear each other apart.
The deputy in charge of the Transfer Temple, who had done nothing earlier, rushed in frantically.
"Everyone calm down! Prepare to return home! Stay alert on the way!"
No one listened.
The girls had already pulled out their weapons.
"I don't care! Ethan big brother is mine!"
"Move! He's mine! Look in the mirror, you monster!"
Fairwind gulped. "Whoa… these girls are savage."
Meanwhile, Lily Winters stood to the side quietly, watching the chaos. When she remembered how Ethan looked earlier—embarrassed and trapped by the girls—she couldn't help laughing.
It was the first time she had seen Ethan in such a helpless state.
The boys around Lily nearly fainted when she smiled. But the moment they stared too long, Lily shot them a cold glare.
They immediately pretended to admire the clouds.
"A-ah… weather's great today."
"Yes, very sunny… but why does it feel cold suddenly?"
After a moment, Lily glanced toward where Ethan disappeared.
"Come to my house tonight. I finally finished my entrance exam."
At that time, Ethan—who had used Space Transfer—accidentally teleported to the very first coordinates he had ever marked.
He landed in the courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion.
Except…
It didn't look like a mansion anymore.
The entire building was destroyed—reduced to ruins, fires still burning everywhere.
Ethan froze.
"What… happened…?"
For a moment, he thought he had time-traveled into a battlefield.
Before he could make sense of anything, a small rune-covered box glowing faintly flew straight toward him.
The enormous Greatsword Boy—Ethan's loyal companion—instinctively slashed at the box.
A distant voice screamed, "STOP!!"
But it was too late.
CRACK—
The box shattered.
A single drop of blood floated into the air, radiating an overwhelming, evil aura.
The Greatsword Boy, normally fierce but controlled… suddenly stiffened.
His triangular head lifted slowly.
The darkness in his eyes twisted—
and turned bright blood-red.
-
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