Ethan walked towards the battlefield with a jog, releasing several arrows at monsters who dared to attack him first. He dispatched them easily, adding to his Soul Essence count.
The screaming woman continued to point towards the front line of the battle, specifically towards Ryan Bright, whose light now seemed dimmer. Perhaps his energy was depleting, Ethan speculated.
"Come on! Help him!" the woman urged.
"Alright," Ethan nodded, then aimed his Aether arrow. The giant lizard was also weakening due to the relentless attacks from Ryan and the other Invited, who were not too cowardly to advance and engage in combat.
In this scenario, Ethan thought he could potentially land the final blow. He wasn't entirely sure whether he would receive the most reward for delivering the killing blow to the monster or not. Perhaps the distribution of rewards depended on their contributions to the battle.
Nevertheless, for now, Ethan intended to find out for himself what would happen.
With a calm demeanor, Ethan created an Aether arrow in his bowstring. As the giant lizard lunged toward Ryan, he released the arrow with pinpoint accuracy, the crimson streaking through the air with deadly velocity.
The arrow found its mark, sinking deep into the beast's hide with a satisfying thud. The lizard roaring in pain. its momentum disrupted by the well-aimed shot.
After that Ethan swiftly unleashed a barrage of Aether arrows, each one finding its target with unerring accuracy.
Ryan turned, his expression puzzled. His breaths were ragged as he gazed at Ethan, bewildered to find someone so strong suddenly among them. He couldn't recall ever seeing his face before this moment.
Moreover, Ethan calmly shot his arrows with his strange bow wrapped in black cloth. It was clearly a high-ranked Gear, capable of creating its own arrows, and Ryan could see its damage on the monsters in front of him.
Suddenly, as Ryan focused on observing Ethan, who had left him both confused and amazed, a shadow flashed before his eyes. It was Irene, moving with extraordinary speed past him towards the monster.
Irene had regained her awareness of her surroundings, no longer confined by images of her family and bloodlust. She saw Ethan coming and shooting the giant lizard, then decided she needed to join in, especially since she noticed the lizard was on the brink of death.
With a blazing spirit evident in her eyes, Irene charged toward the giant lizard, her daggers gleaming in the dappled shadows as she closed in on the fallen creature.
As she reached the creature's prone form, Irene wasted no time, her blades flashing in a blur of motion as she delivered a series of rapid strikes. Each blow was aimed with deadly accuracy, finding vulnerable points in the creature's scaled hide with expert precision.
The giant lizard, already weakened from Ethan's relentless assault, could offer little resistance against Irene's onslaught. With each strike, its struggles grew weaker, its roars of pain diminishing to whimpers.
Ethan continued to shoot his arrows. He abandoned his intention to stop Irene from attacking further because he wanted to see the outcome of his earlier thought. If Irene indeed received more rewards than him, then he would let her have it. That way, she would owe him a favor.
At the end of the day, whatever the outcome, Ethan would still benefit from it.
After several more attacks, Irene finally managed to kill the lizard. She stared at something in front of her, and Ethan realized she might be looking at her own Rune, which displayed her spoils.
With the two larger monsters dead, some of the monsters retreated while others attacked weakly and were easily killed. Cheers of triumph erupted from the Invited who realized they had won against the monster tide.
Ethan simply looked at them with a flat expression. He knew they wouldn't last long. If the obstacles on the First Floor were already like this, what about the Second Floor, Third, and the next?
Ethan saw Ryan approaching Irene.
"Nice work," Ryan said, his tone filled with genuine praise. "You took down that giant lizard like a seasoned warrior."
Irene glanced up at him after looking at her Rune, her eyes cold and distant. "It was nothing," she replied curtly.
Ryan raised an eyebrow, surprised by Irene's dismissive attitude.
"Come on, give yourself some credit," he said. "Not everyone can face down a monster like that and come out on top. I myself almost died fighting it."
Irene remained silent. She was used to being underestimated, used to having her accomplishments overlooked by those around her. But deep down, she couldn't deny the faint spark of satisfaction at Ryan's words.
Ignoring Ryan's attempts at praise, Irene turned away and began to clean the blood from her daggers. Then walked toward Ethan.
"What did you get?" Ethan asked as Irene stood before him.
"A very nice reward. I got some kind of box with a high rank," Irene replied, her face adorned with a smile. "And how about you? You took down that lizard alone, right?"
Ethan simply nodded. "I didn't get anything from the lizard," he said, gesturing towards the one Irene had killed.
"Even though you inflicted a lot of wounds on it?"
"Yes. It seems the biggest reward only applies to the one who landed the last hit."
Murmurs could be heard from the other side of the battlefield, which was now starting to calm behind them. The other Invited looked at Ethan and Irene, their eyes filled with questions and admiration for their strength.
They were sure Ethan and Irene hadn't been part of their group from the beginning. They had just appeared from somewhere and suddenly solved the problem. It made them all wonder.
Ryan approached them. Despite his wounds and fatigue, he still managed a smile. "Thank you," he said, looking at Ethan.
Ethan simply nodded.
"Let's work together, yeah?" Ryan wasted no time and immediately offered Ethan a partnership, having witnessed his abilities firsthand. Ryan was confident that with such abilities, Ethan could choose to only move with Irene without wanting to collaborate.
"I'll give you a hundred million Credits if you work with our group," Ryan added.
With that, Ryan was confident that someone like Ethan would accept it.
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