"AFKandChill! Hunter?" Ethan blurted out in surprise.
"What? You know who I am?" AFKandChill was taken aback, wondering how this guy could know his name. Maybe *OverallSuspender* told him?
"Never heard of you," Ethan replied nonchalantly.
He thought AFKandChill might have been someone important, but it turned out to be just this guy. In his previous life, AFKandChill, also known as Hunter, was the second son of the Vance family—the same guy who ended up marrying Naomi. But despite marrying her, Hunter never changed his womanizing ways.
"If you don't know me, how do you know my name?" AFKandChill pressed, still puzzled.
"Just a lucky guess. What, I can't do that?" Ethan retorted, not bothering to explain further.
"Alright, alright, tough guy. How about we have a little duel?" AFKandChill challenged, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice.
"With you?" Ethan rolled his eyes. He wasn't here for a fight, and he certainly wasn't interested in dueling some spoiled rich kid. His goal was to complete the deal, not get sidetracked by nonsense.
Turning to Naomi, he asked, "Are we starting the dungeon, or are we playing children's games here? I don't have time for this."
Naomi frowned. To be honest, she wasn't fully confident in letting a stranger lead the group either. If Ethan was a capable player, great. But if he turned out to be all talk and caused the group to wipe in the dungeon, it would be disastrous.
She glanced at AFKandChill, then spoke. "It's not that I don't trust you, but this is a difficult dungeon, so..."
"I get it, no need to explain further," Ethan cut her off. He understood what she was implying. "If we're going to duel, let's at least make it interesting. I'm not doing this for free."
"What do you have in mind?" AFKandChill asked with a smirk. "Money's not an issue for me, so just name your bet."
"I don't gamble with money," Ethan shook his head. After a moment's thought, he said, "If I win, everyone keeps whatever loot they pick up from the dungeon. No splitting the drops—whoever picks something up, keeps it. How about that?"
"That's it?" AFKandChill was surprised by how simple the request was. In most random parties, loot distribution followed a "finders, keepers" rule anyway.
"Yeah, that's it," Ethan confirmed with a nod.
The *Treasure Cave* on hard mode had good loot—mostly iron and bronze gear, with some silver and, occasionally, a gold item dropping from the boss. However, what Ethan was really after wasn't just regular gear. There was a hidden chest in the dungeon that contained a rare, high-tier item, and that was his real objective.
AFKandChill, still skeptical, looked over at Naomi for her approval. After a brief moment of thought, she nodded.
"Alright, we'll go with that."
With Naomi's approval, AFKandChill's confidence returned. He shot Ethan a smug, challenging glance.
"Shall we begin?"
"Whenever you're ready," Ethan replied with a casual shrug, clearly unbothered.
"Hmph, acting all cool, huh?" AFKandChill felt a surge of irritation, convinced Ethan was underestimating him. With a sharp motion, he drew his bow and prepared to aim at Ethan.
But when he looked up, Ethan had vanished.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" AFKandChill muttered, utterly confused.
At that moment, he felt something cold against his neck. A curved blade was pressed against his throat.
"You lost," came Ethan's cold voice from right behind him.
"You...!" AFKandChill froze in place, unable to comprehend how Ethan had moved so fast. When had he gotten behind him? This was unreal.
"That doesn't count! Let's go again!" AFKandChill stammered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Oh? Trying to weasel out of it?" Ethan shot him a frosty glance.
"It's not weaseling out! I wasn't ready!" AFKandChill protested.
"Hunter, enough. You lost," Naomi intervened, her voice sharp.
"But Naomi, he tricked me! I haven't lost!" AFKandChill whined, still refusing to accept the outcome.
"I said you lost, which means you lost. If this had been a real fight, you'd already be dead," Naomi replied, her tone leaving no room for argument. She shot him a look that all but said, *You're useless.*
"Fine," AFKandChill muttered, finally backing down.
With that matter settled, Naomi turned her attention back to Ethan. She sized him up before saying, "You're strong. You've proven yourself worthy of leading the team."
"Of course," Ethan responded coolly, as if it were a given.
It wasn't boasting. He could take down Naomi's entire party without even summoning his shadow clones. The power boost from the *Eternal Fire Seed* was no joke.
"But your character... leaves something to be desired," Naomi added suddenly, her words cutting.
She didn't give Ethan a chance to reply before she turned to start preparing for the dungeon run.
"...What?" Ethan stood there, momentarily stunned. What was her problem? How had his character even come into question? He hadn't done anything to her.
"Whatever," Ethan muttered, shaking his head. He wasn't about to waste time arguing. This was just a business deal. After the dungeon run, he'd be heading to Winterhold, and it wasn't like he'd have to deal with Naomi after that.
With a shrug, Ethan followed the group as they entered the *Treasure Cave*.
---
**[Ding! You've entered the Treasure Cave. Mode: Hard.]**
**Dungeon Overview: Ten years ago, a group of thieves stole a valuable artifact from Winterhold and fled to The Northlands. Winterhold's guards pursued them, forcing the thieves to hide the treasure deep within the cave. Brave adventurers, recover the artifact, and Lord Corya of Winterhold will reward you handsomely.**
---
As the group ventured into the cave, a system notification provided a brief backstory of the dungeon. This also hinted at a hidden quest—one no one had completed before.
In Ethan's previous life, even players who had cleared the expert difficulty of the dungeon couldn't find the hidden treasure. Many believed that the whole story was just a ruse created by the thieves to throw Winterhold's guards off their trail.
Inside the cave, everyone drew their weapons, ready for any potential threats. The monsters in this dungeon were at least ten levels higher than the players, making every encounter dangerous.
Ethan, however, was calm. He'd farmed this dungeon countless times in his past life as a rogue. He knew every corner of the cave like the back of his hand.
"So, where do we go from here?" Naomi asked, looking at Ethan for guidance.
"Do we need to break through the frozen river again?"
"No," Ethan shook his head. "On hard mode, the cave has an anti-magic field. The ice can't be melted."
"What? An anti-magic field?" Naomi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You didn't know?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, surprised by her ignorance.
Naomi hesitated, unsure how to respond. Her guild had never run the hard mode of the *Treasure Cave* before. The dungeon mostly dropped thief-oriented gear, so they hadn't prioritized it.
"So why didn't you mention the anti-magic field earlier?" AFKandChill butted in, his tone accusatory. "If we'd known, we wouldn't have brought a mage with us!"
"You didn't ask," Ethan shot back. *How could they be this unprepared?*