When Keke Luo saw that Ethan had accepted the quest, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He handed over the Eternal Flame and the map to Ethan, reminding him, "Make sure to keep the flame safe, don't lose it. And… be careful of Roy."
"Roy? Who's that?" Ethan asked, puzzled.
"That damned magician. He's sly, like a devil!" Keke Luo explained with gritted teeth. "If I hadn't believed him back then, I wouldn't be stuck in this barren Frostleaf Village."
"Don't worry. I've dealt with devils before. They only know how to exploit loopholes—nothing special about them."
Ethan didn't seem concerned at all. In fact, he was looking forward to encountering a demon. The demonic race, after all, was known for being evil but highly lawful, strictly following rules and contracts. As long as you outplayed them in this area, you could even take a chunk out of a demon lord.
"You sure can boast," Keke Luo scoffed, rolling his eyes. He didn't believe a word of it. A level 3 magician? This guy probably hadn't even seen a real demon.
"Oh, right," Keke Luo added, "to save time, you can rent sled dogs from Frostleaf Village."
"Really?" Ethan's eyes lit up.
Sled dogs were a special mode of transport in The Northlands, as fast on snow as warhorses on land. However, they were normally unavailable to players—only NPCs had access to them. Ethan had been wondering how he'd handle transportation, and now Keke Luo had provided the answer.
"Keke Luo, you're not so stingy after all," Ethan said, patting the dwarf on the shoulder with a smile.
"The sled rental is 5 gold coins a day, and you'll have to pay for it yourself," Keke Luo added with a sly grin.
"…"
Ethan rolled his eyes. He knew there'd be a catch.
Based on the distance, it would take about two days to make a round trip with the sled, which meant 10 gold coins. And that didn't include the time spent finding the circus. He guessed the whole mission would take at least three to five days. Still, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept if he wanted to complete the task quickly.
After gathering a few more necessary supplies, Ethan rented a sled. Pulled by three sled dogs, he soon sped away from Frostleaf Village.
"Whoosh, whoosh…"
As soon as he left the village's protective boundaries, the frigid northern winds wrapped around him. Quickly, Ethan pulled out the Eternal Flame and hung it around his neck. The cold instantly vanished, and he felt as though he were soaking in a warm bath.
"This thing is amazing… I should find a way to keep it for myself," Ethan muttered as he snapped the reins, making the sled dogs pick up speed. Like wild stallions, they surged forward, covering dozens of yards in an instant.
This scene didn't go unnoticed by other players, who looked on in curiosity.
"Hey, stop! We're from Third Heaven, and we're requisitioning your sled dogs!" shouted three players standing in front of the sled. They saw how cool Ethan's ride was and tried to block his path, demanding he hand it over.
"Third Heaven? So what?" Ethan sneered and ignored the three idiots, maintaining his course.
"You're asking for it!" The three players were enraged, drawing their weapons to attack.
"No, you're the ones asking for it!" Ethan's eyes turned cold. If they thought he was just an ordinary player, they were sorely mistaken.
He flicked three tarot cards from his hand. In an instant, the cards flew through the air, reaching the three players in the blink of an eye.
"Thwip…"
The seemingly simple cards pierced into their faces like bullets, with snowflakes of blood blossoming around them, staining the snow. At the same time, the sled dogs plowed forward at top speed, crashing into the three, sending them flying. One of them, an unlucky archer, was trampled under the sled's wheels, his body crushed.
With the card attack, the double damage effect, and the trampling of the sled, the archer was killed on the spot, his body collapsing into the snow.
"Damn, Golden's dead! Send word to the boss!" one of the remaining two players shouted, panicking.
The death penalty in *Godfall* was harsh—almost ridiculously so. First, all of the equipment on a player's body would drop upon death, leaving nothing behind. Only soul-bound divine items wouldn't be lost. Then, players couldn't respawn for 24 hours unless they were revived by a divine resurrection spell.
But that wasn't even the worst part. The most devastating punishment was the loss of all attributes. After dying, a player's attributes would be reset to zero, although their level would remain unchanged. This essentially wiped out all of a player's progress, as gaining a single attribute point required leveling up. Losing all of them was more painful than starting over from scratch.
Because of this, upon seeing their companion die, the two surviving players immediately called for reinforcements.
Before long, a large group of players arrived at the scene. Leading them was a heavily armored warrior wielding a longsword—none other than the guild master of Third Heaven, Battle Angel.
Looking at the body lying in the snow, Battle Angel's expression darkened.
Their guild might not have been the strongest, but they had a long history of dominating several virtual games. They were also backed by a powerful financial group. Who would dare challenge them?
When *Godfall* first launched, Battle Angel and his financial backers had sensed its potential to become a massive hit. They'd quickly transitioned their entire guild into the game, determined to carve out a kingdom of their own. Yet now, just a few days in, one of their core members had been killed—a member with an A-rank talent, no less.
Given *Godfall*'s severe death penalties, this was like losing a valuable general.
Third Heaven had never been humiliated like this before.
"Have you figured out who killed Golden?" Battle Angel asked, his face grim.
"It was a newcomer named Dustwalker," one of the players who had originally confronted Ethan responded.
"Dustwalker?" Battle Angel frowned. He hadn't heard of anyone by that name.
"What exactly happened? Why did he kill Golden?"
"Boss, that guy had a sled, and we tried to stop him, but he killed us instead."
"A sled?" Battle Angel's eyes lit up, immediately picking up on the key detail. Sleds weren't available to players—they were exclusive to NPCs. How had this guy gotten one? Did he have some special connection or access to rare channels? Or were there certain requirements to unlock it?
"Useless fools. Three of you couldn't take down one guy and still got yourselves killed!" Battle Angel shot them a furious glare.
It took an enormous amount of money and time to cultivate a core member, but if he could find out where Dustwalker got the sled, the loss might be worth it. Their guild could then monopolize sleds, turning them into a powerful guild perk to attract top players.
With that advantage, who in The Northlands could possibly stand against them?
Battle Angel quickly made up his mind. He opened his chat interface, typed in 'Dustwalker,' and sent a friend request.
---
**[Ding! You have added 'Dustwalker' as a friend. Remember to chat civilly—no scamming!]**
---
Hearing the system notification, Battle Angel smiled slightly and messaged Ethan.
"Dustwalker?"
"That's me. Who the hell are you?" Ethan replied.
"I'm Battle Angel, the guild master of Third Heaven. You've probably heard of—"
"I'm God. Call me daddy."
"…"
Battle Angel was stunned. Did young people these days have no fear? Did this guy have no idea who he was talking to? Didn't he know the significance of being Third Heaven's guild master?
Battle Angel had initially thought of recruiting this promising talent through peaceful means. But now… it seemed there was no need for that.
With his face twisted in anger, Battle Angel coldly responded, "Dustwalker, you killed one of my men. I'm willing to let it slide, but you'll have to tell me how you got the sled. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise what? You won't call me daddy?"
"You…"
Battle Angel's face turned beet red with rage. This Dustwalker clearly had no respect for him or his guild.
"Alright, Dustwalker. I won't forget this. You'll regret not taking the easy way out. Expect Third Heaven's revenge soon!" Battle Angel snapped before abruptly cutting off the chat. Turning to his subordinates, he asked, "Which way did he go?"
"Toward Dragonspine Mountain."
Battle Angel looked toward the distant peak. Dragonspine Mountain soared thousands of yards into the sky, its summit blanketed in snow and battered by fierce winds. It was home to high-level monsters. What was a newcomer doing heading to such a dangerous place?
Battle Angel couldn't figure it out, but he didn't care. As long as they knew which way Ethan was going, that was enough.
"Gather our guild members and spread out near Dragonspine Mountain. As soon as anyone finds Dustwalker, report back immediately."
"Understood!"