"Stop acting like some hero!" Eve snapped.
"I don't need your help, you damn murderer!"
"Whoa, is that how you say thanks?" Ethan asked.
The monster threat had vanished. Ethan turned around and sheathed his sword. With his arms crossed, he watched Eve closely.
"I don't owe you any thanks. I didn't even ask for your help," Eve replied coldly.
"Those monsters were supposed to be mine. Can you hand over all their drop items?" she demanded.
This woman… she's unbelievable.
Juno tried to stop his sister. After all, Ethan was the one who killed those monsters and saved them, not Eve.
Asking for the drops when Ethan clearly did all the work wasn't exactly wise. Juno didn't want Ethan to think of his sister as some ungrateful, irresponsible woman.
"Forget it, Juno. Maybe your sister's just trying to get back at her ex-boyfriend or something," Ethan said with a sigh.
He opened his inventory panel and sent all the loot from the two monster types they'd just fought.
Ethan handed everything to Eve, even though he couldn't transfer EXP or Gold.
Eve took the items and stored them, then told Juno to follow her to another hunting spot.
As she walked away, she deliberately brushed past Ethan again, though he didn't bother getting mad about it.
"With that attitude of yours, no one's ever gonna help you again," Ethan said.
"I can handle myself. Stay out of my business."
Being rejected again made Ethan give up. At first, he felt sorry for them, but seeing how selfish and immature Eve was made him lose any desire to help further.
Eve and Juno went their own way, continuing their quest to hunt monsters under level ten.
Ethan, on the other hand, walked alone toward Nile City. Since the day had reset, the purchase limit for Soul Servant Keys had been refreshed.
He decided to keep himself busy by visiting the Enhance Crystal Shop to buy two types of keys.
He planned to do another gacha pull, hoping luck would be on his side today. If he could get a Rare-ranked Soul Servant, that would be a huge advantage.
Afternoon turned to evening, and then night. The medieval-fantasy architecture of the city looked even more beautiful under the glow of the lights that filled the streets and houses.
Many players were returning from their quests outside the city—some successful, others deciding to postpone their missions for tomorrow.
After buying the Silver and Golden Keys from the Enhance Crystal Shop, Ethan noticed several players nearby trying their luck at summoning their own Soul Servants.
"E-Ethan?" one of the players stammered.
Not only did he see Ethan, but he also noticed the two chibi-like spirits floating behind him—Maelis and Neryss.
Other players noticed them too, but they couldn't tell what rank those servants were.
Ethan used up ten Silver Keys in the gacha. His luck didn't show up this time.
He did get a Soul Servant, but it was only rank C with low power. He also received fragments and soul essence from the pull.
[DING! Congratulations, you've obtained an item.]
[Elias Firestomp Lv.1 (C)]
Even though it had a fire element, a C-rank servant couldn't compare to Maelis or Neryss.
Ethan still had one Golden Key left, which he planned to use later at midnight. Maybe luck would turn around then.
"Anyone know where Ethan is?!"
"Sir, do you know where Ethan went?"
Ethan didn't hear the voices calling for him over the noise in the city park, where players were chatting about gacha results and Soul Servants. He barely noticed.
After finishing the gacha, he was about to head back to his inn to relax. But then, someone ran up to him.
It wasn't just anyone—it was Juno, Eve's younger brother, accompanied by another player. Ethan narrowed his eyes, curious.
"That's him," the player said, making Juno's face light up.
Juno ran ahead, breathing heavily as he stopped in front of Ethan. The boy was shaking, his face full of worry.
"What's wrong?" Ethan asked.
"My sister, Eve—she's being surrounded by those bad players from before," Juno said quickly.
Ethan sighed, rubbing his forehead. Eve and Juno's levels were way too low compared to most players in Nile City.
He remembered that those three troublemakers from before were around level 14 or 15.
"Didn't your sister refuse my help? Why should I go save her now?" Ethan asked flatly.
"Please… save her. She told me to come find you," Juno begged.
Ethan went quiet. Eve's words earlier that day still stung. He could still remember her yelling at him for trying to help.
She'll probably say the same thing again if I help her now.
To him, a woman like Eve didn't deserve his help.
"Go ask someone else. I'm not interested in helping you two," Ethan said as he walked past Juno.
But to his surprise, Juno suddenly dropped to his knees and started crying, begging for help. The players nearby turned to watch in shock.
"My sister may be arrogant, selfish, and reckless… but she's all I have left! I don't have anyone else but her!" Juno cried, his voice trembling.
Ethan clenched his fists, exhaling deeply before turning around to look at Juno.
The kid was bowing down on the ground, pleading for help.
He thought about what Juno must be feeling.
If I were in his shoes, I'd probably swallow my pride too—just to save someone important to me.
Seeing how far Juno was willing to go just to protect Eve made Ethan feel guilty for wanting to walk away.
"Let me help you, kid!"
"Don't rely on him. He's just selfish," someone muttered.
"Where's your sister? I'm going there right now," Ethan said.
The crowd around them grew tense, but some players started to cheer Juno on, even willing to risk their own safety to help.
"Be quiet," Ethan ordered.
Everyone fell silent. The players' attention turned to him, waiting for his response.
"You're not PK players. Don't even think about killing others, or you'll get a Red Notice," Ethan warned, stopping anyone from interfering.
"Juno!"
The boy looked up, his eyes red and puffy from crying. When Ethan called his name in that heavy tone, Juno trembled slightly.
"Take me to your sister."
A wide smile broke across Juno's face. Wiping away his tears, he ran alongside Ethan as they left Nile City, heading toward the forest north of Estelle.
According to Juno, five men were after Eve—three from before and two new ones. They planned to rape her.
So they've been targeting her since that night… but only now that I'm not around, they finally move.
Ethan nodded grimly, summoning his Flamefang sword as he ran.
Together, he and Juno sprinted across the open savanna until Juno pointed ahead. The forest in front of them was where Eve was being chased.
In the distance, Ethan saw bursts of magic flaring from inside the forest. He figured Eve must be fighting back with all she had.
But mages were weak in close combat, and those men were probably warriors or assassins.
Once they reached the forest, the first thing they heard was screaming—Eve's voice, crying and pleading for help.
"That's my sister!" Juno shouted.
They saw her running through the trees on a hill, half-dressed, her top torn.
Ethan narrowed his eyes, grabbed Juno by the collar, and told him to hold tight. In an instant, he leapt down from one ledge to another.
Eve looked up ahead, tears streaming down her face when she saw Ethan coming with Juno—just like she'd hoped.
"ETHAN! HELP ME!" she screamed.
Ethan let go of Juno and dismissed his sword. Instead of rushing to grab Eve, he shot forward to take out the attackers with his bare hands.
Martial arts techniques. His punches and kicks alone were more than enough to take them down.
Ethan's base attack power was so high that using his sword would've easily killed them.
He didn't want to cross that line. Fighting barehanded would at least let him control the damage.
Juno reached Eve and gave her an HP potion to recover. She quickly covered herself with her cloak while they both watched Ethan fight.
"That's Ethan—the Death God!" one of the men screamed.
"RUN!"
Before they could escape, they collapsed, their HP nearly depleted and their bodies covered in bruises. Ethan stood firm, barely scratched.
All five of them were down. Three unconscious, two still awake but in pain.
"P-Please… don't kill us," one of them begged.
"I have a better way to make sure you stop bothering Eve," Ethan said firmly.
"What is it? We'll do anything, just don't kill us."
"Give me all your EXP and Gold through the battle feature," Ethan ordered.