Online Game: My 10,000x Intelligence Buff Awakens

In Dawnfall Online, at the Ice City hub.

Ethan stood by the station at the Ice City hub, looking at the streets already full of players. He let out a slow breath.

This time when he logged in, he had already given 5 million Dawn Coins to Elise and asked her to buy all kinds of items and potions.

Now, he wanted to check the area near the City Lord's Mansion in the Ice City hub.

Before coming, Ethan had asked Elise about the city lord Shawn's daughter, Aurora. Elise said she had only heard a little: besides staying in the City Lord's Mansion, Aurora would only sometimes go to the gear shop near the mansion.

He had asked Lucas and Sylvan to collect [Stoneflower]. It shouldn't take long—both of them should be back soon.

Making a potion that could cure Aurora wasn't hard.

What really troubled Ethan was how to meet Aurora and convince her that he could cure her illness.

That was the key.

If anything went wrong, Ethan felt Shawn, the city lord of the Ice City hub, might blacklist him.

Ethan took a deep breath and decided to look around near the City Lord's Mansion first.

After about half an hour, he reached a very old-fashioned building. Before he could take two more steps, a guard at the mansion gate frowned and barked:

"The City Lord's Mansion is a restricted area. No unauthorized people near!"

"Leave now, or I'll use force!"

Ethan sighed. He had expected this. With no other choice, he left the City Lord's Mansion for now and headed to a nearby gear shop.

Soon he reached a very upscale shop, two stories tall.

At the door stood two curvy greeters in sexy outfits. The moment they saw Ethan, their eyes lit up and they came over.

"Sir, what do you need?"

"Welcome to our Premium Gear Shop, sir. I'm a greeter here. I can show you around and help you find what you want."

"I'm just looking," Ethan said calmly.

Hearing he was only browsing and not planning to buy, one greeter lost interest right away and went back to her spot.

She had only asked more because of his looks.

Players these days were poor—many had less money than she did.

Rather than spend time and energy introducing things and end up with no commission, she would rather stand there and rest.

The other greeter's face didn't change. She stayed gentle and said softly,

"No problem, sir. I'm Amy. Please follow me. I'll show you our gear, weapons, and items."

Ethan nodded. As he followed Amy inside, he heard the greeter outside murmur:

"How dumb—waste of effort."

Amy paused for a moment, then turned back to Ethan with an apologetic smile. "This way, sir."

Ethan followed her into the shop.

It was much more luxurious than the gear shop in Safe Zone 9527. Display cases were everywhere. Some Blue-quality weapons and armor were set out in the main hall, very eye-catching.

Ethan took a few glances and lost interest completely.

He had zero desire to buy any Blue-quality gear or weapons. He didn't even want to look at them.

Amy, who had been watching him, let out a quiet sigh.

She'd seen too many players like this—one glance at the price tags on Blue-quality weapons and they'd lose the courage to keep browsing.

And those were the nicer ones. Some players even told her the prices were basically robbery.

She forced her face back to neutral so the customer wouldn't notice anything. She smiled and was just about to say it was fine if he didn't want to buy anything.

Ethan suddenly turned and said evenly: "Do you only have Blue-quality gear? Do you have any Purple-quality?"

Amy's eyes widened. Her heart jumped, then quickly calmed down.

Plenty of players asked to see Purple-quality gear. But by store rules, to avoid wasting too much time, all Purple items are kept on the second floor.

If a player wants to go up, they have to pass a check—either be Stage 2 in strength, or have more than 1,000,000 Dawn Coins.

Even the cheapest Purple-quality weapons, armor, and items start at 1,000,000.

After hearing that, many players either go silent or snap at her, thinking the shop is looking down on them.

Amy felt this customer probably wouldn't say anything over the line.

So she kept her tone gentle and explained slowly:

"Here's the rule: only players who are Stage 2, or who have 1,000,000 Dawn Coins, can go upstairs."

"Sir, we can also keep looking around the first floor. There are quite a few Blue-quality weapons here that are very good."

Ethan gave a small nod and didn't say more. After all, there were tons of players, and besides doing quests, they loved to wander.

Who knows—some might have even tried stealing to get high-quality gear.

After all, players are known as the Fourth Calamity.

Ethan asked: "How do you check if someone is Stage 2?"

Amy answered: "You just need to step onto the stairs. If you can stay there for a while without being pushed back by the barrier, it means you're Stage 2."

Ethan nodded. "Alright, take me there."

Amy moistened her lips, took a deep breath, and led Ethan to the stairs to the second floor.

There were other players and some NPCs in the first-floor hall, each with a staff member beside them.

Someone noticed Ethan and Amy and scoffed,

"Another guy who doesn't know his limits. The second floor is full of rare Purple-quality items. Most people don't even qualify to go up."

"Yeah, I don't think any player has made it to the second floor yet, right?"

"There was one. He had like two million Dawn Coins and went straight up, but he only looked around and didn't buy anything."

Amid the chatter, Amy stopped at the stairs, turned, and said,

"Sir, you just need to step onto the stairs. But I should warn you, if you rush it, you might get hurt."

"You can wait a bit—give it some time, until your strength..."

Before she finished, Ethan stepped forward and put his foot on the stairs.

Right away, a ripple appeared around him and spread out.

The next moment, the Purple-quality gear on him—[Shadow Belt], [Assassin's Sleeve Crossbow], and others—burst into bright purple light.

The sight made many jaws drop on the first floor. They stared at the stairway, mouths open and eyes wide.

One, two… several beams of bright purple light kept flashing from Ethan.

Someone muttered: "Am I seeing things? Is he really a player?"

"A player already has Purple-quality weapons and gear—and more than one?"

"Who is this guy? I've never heard of him!"

"Yeah, if a regular player got a Purple-quality weapon or piece of gear, they'd share it on the forums right away!"

Hearing the chatter around him, Ethan frowned a little. He didn't like drawing attention. He'd only come to this shop to see if he might run into Aurora.

And to check if there were any Purple-quality weapons, gear, or items on the second floor that caught his eye. He'd soon have to face the [Ice Calamity] in Dawnfall Online.

If he could boost his strength now, his chances later would be better, and the risk would be lower.

He just didn't expect the stairs to not only test his strength, but also make the Purple-quality gear on him light up.

Seeing Ethan's expression, Amy panicked. She kept bowing and apologizing to him:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir. That was my mistake."

"I forgot to tell you—the device here also makes any high-quality gear you're wearing react."

"I'm really sorry. I honestly didn't expect you to have several Purple-quality items."

Right then, a white-haired old man with glasses hurried over. He glanced at the glow coming from Ethan and scolded Amy without hesitation:

"What's wrong with you? You can't even handle the basics!"

"Every guest deserves the highest respect—that's our service principle. And you forgot!"

The old man was about to say more, but Ethan waved his hand and said: "Enough. Can I go to the second floor now?"

The old man's face broke into a big smile. "Of course, sir. Allow me to personally introduce the items upstairs."

Ethan looked at the guilty Amy and said: "Forget it. Let her do it. Don't waste time."

Amy instantly looked at Ethan, her eyes full of gratitude.

Just then, an annoyed voice came from upstairs: "What's with all the noise!"