Chương 102: (B2) Chapter 29 - A stormy bet

The sky was churning in defiance, flashes of brilliant light tore through the dark clouds, illuminating Nexus before a deafening roar followed close behind. It was so powerful the small apartment Ethan found himself in shook slightly with each clap of thunder. He stared at his helmet opposite him. Glad it wasn't actually made out of metal but instead the hide from the colossus. His Farscribe book was once again tucked away, stored in his dimensional storage along with his journal and a bunch of other small things.

However he had opted to leave his greatsword out, and instead strapped it on his back. With a sigh and a look of longing at the warm bed he was giving up, Ethan grabbed his helm and slipped it over his head. The world turned dark for a short moment, just as lightning once again tore through the sky as his helm slipped in place. Ethan made his way to the door and exited the building.

Outside was worse than it had seemed, it was bucketing down, water flowing off the roof and splashing onto the ground as the guttering couldn't handle the downpour. The sound of rain hitting his armor echoed in his ears, he sighed once more and began walking to the meeting point. Seb had seemed adamant on them meeting again face to face. Ethan didn't want to keep the man waiting. He had high hopes of recruiting the man, if not for his healing then for his guidance. Ethan had known Seb for years.

Unfortunately he met the man well after he had lost his granddaughter, but now he had been given the chance to fix things. He could remove the pain that had once plagued his old friend's life. So, even if Seb didn't join his guild, Ethan would still do this for him. It was the least the man deserved for all his prior actions during the multiple times they had run into each other throughout the levels.

Luckily Ethan didn't have too far to travel, Seb had told him he would be waiting at a bar close to the southern housing district, which coincidentally was exactly where Ethan was staying. So after a walk through the rain, he finally spotted the place. It looked quiet, everyone likely hiding in their homes and out of the weather. his senses expanded and encompassed the entire building, listening for anything out of the ordinary.

After confirming he couldn't sense anything Ethan opened the door and got out of the rain. It pitter-pattered down his armor and onto the wooden floor. Fortunately underneath the armor he was still relatively dry. Ethan looked up taking in the room, as he let the door shut behind him. Aside from the bartender, who was currently in the back room and not manning the bar, there were a dozen other people, most of them paid no mind to Ethan but some turned to regard him and likely also assess the situation.

Among the people watching him, he noticed Seb who was sitting in the corner of the building, he had a plate of hot food in front of him, the steam rising up into the air. Ethan looked at his counterpart. Another man sitting beside him, his hood was draw, obscuring his face in shadow, but Ethan could make out his features just fine. He looked to be in his twenties, a bit of stubble covering his chin, with dark curly hair falling down the sides of his face. Ethan didn't recognize him but that hardly mattered.

He hadn't been expecting Seb to show up with anyone. Ethan made his way over, not worrying about the others watching him. When he reached the table, he pulled the wooden seat out opposite them and sat down, the timber creaking from his weight and armor.

"I see you've brought a friend." Ethan said, as way of greeting. Seb regarded him for a moment before speaking.

"I have. He's to be my guide during the search."

"I see. So you're taking my words as truth then?"

"I can't be sure, and I don't think I ever will be unless I go look myself. So that's exactly what I'll do. Ethan nodded, turning his head to look at the robed stranger.

"And you will guide the man to his daughter?" The man inclined his head slightly. But didn't seem interested in joining the conversation.

"I also want you to come as well." Seb said, pulling Ethan's attention away from the hooded figure.

"Was my information not enough?" Ethan asked, though internally he couldn't help but think how well this was turning out.

"Well I appreciate the information you've handed me for free, I was hoping to employ your services. You seem like a capable enough man, with your armor and all. It would also ease my mind to have the person who had discovered the information with me on the journey in case you have any other insights. I will pay you of course." Ethan considered it for a moment, before ultimately nodding.

"I can do that. Though I have a condition."

"What is it?" Seb asked.

"I will also be bringing someone for the journey. In order for me to do that, I need to know who I'm working with." He said, looking once again at the other man on the table.

"That seems fair.." Seb muttered. A grin appeared from the shadows of the hood as the man looked up.

"You can call me Striker." He said, his voice betraying the menacing character he was trying to play. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Ethan held in a sigh and examined the man again. [Keen Sense] wasn't telling him to be wary. In fact Ethan could tell the man didn't have his core awakened or his aura. He hadn't even stepped onto the cultivation path.

"Okay Striker. Do you know where we are going?"

"Not only do I know where, but I've also been there before." He stated. Ethan closed his eyes for a moment and let out a breath. Ideas swirling in his head.

"Okay then." He simply replied.

"Great," Seb said.

"I'll look for a ship to take us."

"Do you have anyone else you're bringing along?" Ethan asked. Seb grimaced.

"They were all too expensive."

"Good." Ethan replied.

"The less people the better. And if that's the case, I'll get us on a ship tomorrow." Seb's eyes widened, "Tomorrow?" He questioned.

"You knew I'd ask?"

"I didn't. I can pull a few strings. However I expect to be repaid. Including the pay for helping you."

"Done." Seb said.

"Will you be ready for tomorrow?" He asked Striker.

"I'm ready now." The man replied. Ethan looked down at food still sitting in front of Seb, then over at Striker. He stood up.

"Okay. I'll leave you to it. Just meet me at the docks tomorrow. I'll send you the details." He left the bar, everything was working out just as he had planned. Luckily he had already purchased the tickets. It was a gamble but he knew Seb. He knew the man would go searching, it was just a matter of Ethan joining him. Which had also fallen on his lap. There was the small issue of this striker fellow though.

But, well as far as Ethan was concerned the man didn't pose much of a threat and likely wouldn't get in the way. He just hoped he didn't have any nefarious ideas about getting one over on the old man. Ethan didn't want to have to step in. Now back outside in the rain, Ethan made his way back to the apartment. At least he had his armor that acted as a waterproofing element. he called up his status, wanting to look over everything and see how he was tracking.

Name: Ethan Carter Level: 30 Class: [Knight] Potential: 59 Cultivation: • Core — [Molten] • Body — [Poisonous] Titles: • Dual Awakening Initiate • Dungeon Conqueror Attributes: • Strength: 66 • Endurance: 57 • Agility: 40 • Perception: 42 • Willpower: 52 Skills: (8/10) • Steadfast Lv. 16 (Common) • Advanced Sword Mastery Lv. 15 (Uncommon) • Keen Sense Lv. 16 (Common) • Oath Lv. 5 (Rare) • Mana Infusion Lv. 9 (Uncommon) • Aura Overload Lv. 4 (Uncommon) • Aura Field Lv. 9 (Rare) • Worldfire Lv.

1 (Epic) As he expected, everything was looking as it should, his new title was in there as well as his new skill. The thought of that still brought a smile to his face. Though he wasn't too keen on using mana any time soon. He could still feel his pathways were raw. He had tried to run some mana through them to test, but the pain just wasn't worth it. Not when he had the time to let them heal without forcing the issue. But thinking about that led him to another thought.

Could he experiment with worldfire in the endless coliseum? It had healed him completely when he exited it. Perhaps it was the best place to train. If only it wasn't currently on a cooldown he would be able to test it. He shouldn't have been so hasty in using the charge to summon Alex.

Yes it was good to see that he really needed to help his friend out, but he really should have checked to see if he could summon someone different, like the sage or the demon king or any of the other countless powerful people Ethan had seen or fought. There was still so much to test. He was sure Alex was stronger than that. Maybe he had really just changed that much, or perhaps it was an issue with the reward. After all he had no idea how it calculated how strong someone was.

did it pull it from his memories or from somewhere else? He had no idea. But one thing was for sure, the endless coliseum was an amazing reward. It would have been good for normal people, but for someone like him, who had countless people he could face, it was a godsend and would hopefully live up to the expectations he was currently building in his head. Ethan opened the door to his apartment, momentarily shocked when he realised it wasn't just Leah inside.

Instead the rest of the group she had been running dungeons with were inside, sitting on the couch eating food. He paused at the door, a slight frown on his face when he realized Marcus had has feet rested on the table, noodles half out of his mouth as he turned to regard Ethan.

"You're home!" Leah said from the kitchen.

"God you're soaked. Go get yourself dry before you get the floor wet." Ethan looked down at the drops of water currently falling off his armor. He heard a snort from the living room but chose to ignore it. Instead he shut the door and nodded to the mage of the group who offered him a short wave.

"We are leaving tomorrow." Ethan stated.

"Make sure you're ready."

"I'll be ready—" Leah answered before getting cut off.

"Where are you going? We were set to leave and complete the challenge dungeon." Marcus cut in. Ethan paused for a moment.

"I told you, I can't do that. I'm going to train with Ethan for a bit." Leah said matter of factly. Marcus put his noodles on the table while simultaneously dropping his feet to the ground.

"I thought you were a part of this team now?" Ethan scoffed.

"She will do as she pleases. And her training with me takes priority over everything." A long slurp could be heard as Tilly wiped her mouth, looking between him and Marcus.

"Cut it out Marcus. Leah already let us know she would be away for a while." Rian, the mage said.

"Fine, whatever. It's not like the dungeon will be hard anyway." Marcus said with a smirk, not taking his eyes off Ethan. Ethan raised an eyebrow at that. Was that a dig? A small smile formed as Leah facepalmed.

"How about a little bet then?" Ethan said.