NOVEL NEXT Chapter 128: Emma's Talent
Early the next morning, when the sun came up, the light fell through the window onto Emma's bed.
She opened her eyes sleepily and stared at the ceiling for a moment.
Emma gently patted her cheeks, trying to wake up faster. For some reason, today the sunlight didn't feel warm at all.
After a quick wash, Emma went downstairs to the living room.
The chef hired from a five-star hotel had already prepared a nice breakfast, and Lucas and Sylvan were already at the table.
Lucas glanced at Emma in surprise and asked without thinking:
"Sis, you haven't left yet? I thought you were already at the office."
Emma checked the time and saw it was already eight.
Normally, she woke up right at seven, washed up, ate, and headed to the company before 7:30.
She thought for a moment and figured maybe yesterday just tired her out too much.
After breakfast, she had the driver take her to Veritas Snow Group.
Before starting work, she wanted to ask the game division set up for Dawnfall Online how things were going.
She remembered what Ethan said. In her view, no matter how mysterious Dawnfall Online was, it was just about getting a potion formula Intel.
Veritas Snow Group's game team had gathered all kinds of top players, including some retired pros.
They had to have a way to get that potion formula Intel.
With that in mind, Emma went to her office first and asked her secretary to set up a remote meeting.
Ten minutes later, Emma leaned back in her custom leather chair and closed her eyes.
Beside her, the secretary in business attire swallowed nervously, looking uneasy.
Emma opened her eyes slowly and asked calmly, "I heard you also play Dawnfall Online. So you should know if what those people from the game division said is true."
The secretary nodded. "Ms. Emma, Dawnfall Online isn't a normal game. So far, apart from one potion formula Intel that showed up at an auction in Safe Zone 9527 [Tower of Fates], I haven't heard of any other potion formula intel."
"But the top players in our game division are already level 15. Give them a bit more time and they'll definitely find the potion formula you want!"
Right now, Emma was short on time. She wanted to gain power as fast as possible to protect herself and her brother, Lucas.
Looks like she needed to ask Lucas.
Emma had heard Lucas mention his "big bro" in Dawnfall Online, [Windchaser], more than once. At first, she didn't care at all.
Back then, she never would've thought she'd need to find [Windchaser] now and ask if he had any Intel on potion formulas.
Emma took a deep breath, slowly picked up her phone, and looked at her face on the screen.
She didn't know why, but she felt off—an uncomfortable feeling she couldn't name.
She thought for a moment and asked her secretary to prepare some notes and tips about Dawnfall Online. It was time for her to log in and see for herself.
Soon, once everything was ready, Emma slowly closed her eyes.
Inside Safe Zone 9527, a group of female players rushed toward the spawn point.
They carried all kinds of weapons and gear, looking tense but full of expectation.
Some players passing by saw this and asked their friends, puzzled:
"What's going on? Did some real-life superstar enter Dawnfall Online?"
"No way. There haven't been any concerts or movie premieres in Dolren City lately. So weird."
A few minutes later, Emma opened her eyes, a bit dazed.
Beside her, her prepared secretary quickly handed her some Green-quality clothes and gear.
Around Emma, many female players had gathered, surrounding her.
After Emma changed into the gear, she followed the guide and glanced at the watch on her wrist.
[Name]: Emma
[Talent]: Ice Queen (Blue)
[Level]: Lv. 0
[Class]: None
[Status]: Normal
[Gear]: Cotton Underwear (Gray quality), High-end Down Jacket (Green quality), Silk Dress (Green quality)...
[HP]: 100%
[Strength]: 9 (gear +2)
[Speed]: 10 (gear +4)
[Defense]: 9 (gear +2)
[Energy]: 15
[Charisma]: 9
[Luck]: 1
...
Emma saw her talent. It was [Ice Queen], gold quality.
[Ice Queen (Gold Quality)]: Adorned with frost, with winter as your throne. In low temperatures, snow, or storms, you gain big level-based stat boosts. For now, it adds +1 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Defense, and +2 Energy. Also, when you take damage, you can draw in nearby ice power to quickly heal a large amount of HP. As your level rises, this talent will also evolve.
Emma paused. From the notes her secretary prepared, she knew how talents are ranked in Dawnfall Online. She hadn't expected hers to be this high—an extremely rare gold quality.
"[Ice Queen], huh? Not really my thing," she murmured.
This talent made her think of what happened yesterday at the abandoned factory.
Emma took a deep breath. With the others around her, she started walking toward the [Tower of Fates].
Inside the [Tower of Fates].
Ethan sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, thinking.
After using the [Ice Calamity Intel], he also used the [Intel on Aurora, the healer-smith genius].
He had assumed that any way to cure Aurora would be very hard to pull off.
But to his surprise, after using the intel he got a potion recipe called the [Saint Healer's Secret Formula].
The recipe was strange. It asked for mostly common Blue-quality materials, and even some Green-quality ones.
The [Saint Healer's Secret Formula] also had no user requirements. Any player could follow the steps and make the potion.
The catch was, the potion only worked on a disease called [Heart-Eater], a deadly illness.
Aurora, the daughter of Shawn, leader of the Ice City settlement, had this disease.
Ethan checked it several times and saw the info was correct.
It still felt too easy, which made him wary. He believed things wouldn't be that simple.
Either one of the materials in the formula would be hard to find, or even if he made the potion, it wouldn't be easy to get Aurora to drink it.
He thought the second was more likely.
After all, Aurora was the settlement leader's daughter. A normal player couldn't even find her, let alone make her take a potion.
Thinking of this, Ethan took a deep breath. He had to find a way to reach Shawn through Aurora.
The monsters controlled by [Ice Calamity] weren't something players at this stage could handle. He needed to use the Ice City settlement to kill those monsters and weaken [Ice Calamity].
Ethan was thinking about stopping by Elise's item shop later to ask how the [Blue Ice Potion] was coming along, and to see if she had any of the materials listed in the [Saint Healer's Secret Formula].
Just then, Lucas's voice sounded from outside, careful and a bit nervous:
"Ethan, are you there? My sister wants to ask you something."
Lucas's sister, Emma?
Ethan thought for a moment and quickly understood. Emma probably wanted some intel from him about potion recipes.
She still didn't know that Ethan in the real world and [Windchaser] in Dawnfall Online were the same person.
In the real world, Emma didn't trust his abilities and didn't team up with him right away. Now, by a twist of fate, she wanted his help.
Ethan's lips curled into a small smile. He was looking forward to Emma's reaction when she realized who he was.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the right time for others to learn about the link between [Windchaser] and Ethan.
Ethan wasn't that strong in the real world yet. He didn't have the ability to protect himself.
When he became as strong in the real world as he was in Dawnfall Online, he wouldn't have to worry about the dangers of his identity being exposed.
Still sitting on the sofa, Ethan answered Lucas outside, "Sure. Let your sister come in."
After a short wait, Emma came in with Lucas and sat across from Ethan.
Ethan casually pointed to the sofa next to her and said, "Please, sit."
Emma frowned slightly. In the real world, even the mayor of Dolren City would stand up to greet her when she arrived.
But this [Windchaser] showed no nerves or excitement, as if he was treating her like any ordinary stranger.
Emma knew Lucas must have told [Windchaser] who she was.
His attitude now actually made her more interested.