"That's more like it. Everyone, move aside and let me handle this old friend."
The rest of the group quickly stepped back, even the unconscious AFKandChill, who had lost an arm, was carried off to the side. He had already passed out, and if it weren't for a paladin using a healing spell on him, he might not have made it.
Meanwhile, Ethan adjusted his hat and calmly walked up to Black Rye.
Without hesitation, Black Rye swung his blade toward him. Ethan, too, drew his short blade and met the attack. The clash of metal rang out with a sharp *ding*.
"Interesting. A level 5 magician who can block my strike," Black Rye mused, feeling the force behind Ethan's parry.
"Heh," Ethan chuckled, neither confirming nor denying the comment.
His *Try Again* talent doubled his attributes, making him as strong as a level 10 player, which would normally be insufficient to handle Black Rye's power. However, after completing his quest, Ethan leveled up to 5 and unlocked two feats: [Blade Mastery] and [Combat Reflexes].
These feats significantly boosted his melee combat ability. Especially *Combat Reflexes*, which increased his agility and strength by 5% and provided a heightened sense similar to "spider-sense," giving him an edge in close combat. With this knowledge of Black Rye's abilities, as long as he didn't make a serious mistake, he could parry Black Rye's attacks with ease.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept from Ethan's left. A dagger appeared out of thin air, aiming for his temple.
Ethan instinctively tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.
"Hmm?" Black Rye raised an eyebrow, surprised. That attack had been swift and silent—how had Ethan dodged it?
That level of awareness was terrifying.
"What's the matter? Already giving up? Keep going!" Ethan taunted, gripping his blade with ease as he watched Black Rye.
Ethan's familiarity with Black Rye allowed him to anticipate the boss's moves. He could predict Black Rye's actions with just a glance, making it easy to evade.
"Hmph. Don't get cocky, adventurer!" Black Rye growled, vanishing into stealth mode.
"Stealth, huh? I can do that too," Ethan smirked, activating *Shadow Hide*, slipping into invisibility.
The cavern fell into an eerie silence.
Suddenly, the sound of clashing metal echoed through the cave.
*Sparks flew.*
Two blades briefly appeared, clashed, and vanished again.
*Sparks flew once more.*
Another clash of blades rang out and disappeared in an instant.
*Clang, clang, clang!*
Soon, the metallic sounds became constant, sparks flying like fireworks as the two combatants exchanged blows at lightning speed.
Naomi and the others were stunned, eyes wide in disbelief. Just five minutes ago, they had nearly been wiped out by Black Rye, and now Ethan was holding his own in a 1v1 duel with the boss—without breaking a sweat. Where had OverallSuspender found such a powerful player? His strength was beyond comprehension.
"Boss, check the forums!" *OverallSuspender* suddenly blurted out.
"Now? Seriously?!" Naomi snapped. Ethan was in the middle of a fierce fight, and she needed to stay focused in case she could help.
"No, really! The forums are blowing up! Dustwalker wiped out Third Heaven!" *OverallSuspender* replied, his voice buzzing with excitement.
"What? He wiped out Third Heaven?" Naomi's heart skipped a beat as she quickly opened the forum. Sure enough, a pinned post was trending at the top.
**[Shocking! Third Heaven Elite Group Wiped Out—Who Is the Mysterious Killer?]**
Attached to the post was a video, shot from a third-person perspective. It showed a shadowy figure wielding a short blade, flashing through a crowd. Each time he struck, he took down a member of Third Heaven.
In just a few minutes, the entire Third Heaven elite team was wiped out.
The final scene showed the back of a lone figure standing on a snowy plain, while a burning *Archangel* lay on the ground before him.
Naomi's mind reeled with shock. If she wasn't mistaken, that lone figure was Ethan. But wasn't he a close-combat class? How had he used fire magic?
Just as she was trying to process this, a new pinned post appeared, with bold red letters:
**[Dustwalker, Third Heaven Will Hunt You to the Ends of the Earth—Archangel]**
**[To everyone: Any player who kills Dustwalker will be rewarded 1,000 gold coins by Third Heaven.]**
**[This bounty is open-ended until Dustwalker is driven out of the game!]**
"This… this is a bounty!" Naomi's scalp tingled. Archangel had placed a 1,000-gold bounty on Dustwalker! Such a bounty was nearly unheard of in the history of online games. What had happened between Ethan and Third Heaven for it to escalate this far?
And how had Ethan managed to wipe out their entire elite group alone? His abilities were unfathomable. No wonder he had been so confident when signing the sacred contract earlier. His feats alone would be enough to write him into the history of online gaming.
The equipment leaderboard had already shown signs of his dominance, filled with golden and epic-tier items far beyond the current stage of the game.
"Heh, I told you Dustwalker was a pro, but you guys didn't believe me," *OverallSuspender* grinned, feeling a sense of pride as if he were part of the achievement.
"Yeah…" Naomi nodded, realizing how much she had underestimated Ethan. Fortunately, they hadn't fallen out with him yet, and with Third Heaven now hunting him, this could be an opportunity for G&G.
If they could recruit Dustwalker and leverage his knowledge, they wouldn't just dominate the game—they could even rival major guilds in *The Northlands*. The prospect of such power made Naomi excited. She resolved to speak with Ethan once they finished the dungeon.
However, Ethan wasn't concerned about Naomi's plans. Even if he knew, it wouldn't have mattered. At that moment, he was fully focused on his duel with Black Rye.
The boss was a master thief, and his assassination techniques were impeccable. Any other player, even those with S-tier talents, would have been instantly killed. Only Ethan, with his vast experience, could keep up.
*Clang!*
Their blades met once more.
Ethan shook out his hand, which was starting to feel numb. If this kept up, it would be hard to gain the upper hand with melee combat alone. It was time to utilize his magician abilities.
Though *The Treasure Cave* had a magic suppression field, not all caster classes were affected. Mages relied on the magic network, priests on divine spells, and arcane users on natural energy—all of which were suppressed. However, sorcerers and magicians were not, since sorcerers drew power from their bloodlines and magicians from items.
Having made up his mind, Ethan put away his blade and stepped out of stealth mode.
Seeing this, Black Rye narrowed his eyes, releasing his own stealth.
"What's wrong? Giving up?" Black Rye asked.
"No," Ethan smirked. "The real battle is just beginning."