NOVEL NEXT Chapter 135: Ethan's Sincerity
As soon as Ethan spoke, Shawn's gaze cut toward him like a blade.
Ethan looked very calm. He glanced at Aurora, then at Shawn, and said softly:
"If you leave like this, you'll regret it later."
The words sounded familiar to Shawn. He thought of the swindlers he'd killed before. Right before they died, they would also say: "If you kill me, no one will be able to cure your daughter. You'll regret it!"
Thinking of this, a strong killing intent spread from him.
He would not let anyone use his daughter's illness—giving her hope again and again, only to throw her into despair.
Ethan felt the air grow cold. He ignored Shawn's murderous stare and focused all his attention on Aurora.
He said slowly: "[Heart-Eater] isn't hopeless. The [Saint Healer's Secret Formula] can cure [Heart-Eater] completely."
Aurora nodded and answered: "Yes, lots of people know that."
"Many have tried to trick me and my father with fake [Saint Healer's Secret Formula]. They ended up as bones in the wild. Do you want to try too?"
The brightness in her eyes dimmed at once. Bitterness and unwillingness touched her lips. She took a deep breath and said to Ethan again:
"If you're in trouble, just say it. Giving someone hope and then crushing it is really cruel."
Ethan didn't know what this girl—with unusually bright eyes and only a pale face—had gone through to make him feel something so familiar.
He slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the calm in his gaze was gone, replaced by a helpless, empty look.
He said quietly: "I know that feeling. Every day when I open my eyes, the first thought is, ah, another day has passed, and death is a little closer."
"Honestly, sometimes I wish it would all just end sooner. Other times I think, if I hang on a bit longer, grit my teeth and keep going, maybe I'll see hope."
"I'm lucky. Hope did come."
Ethan smiled. It was the most genuine smile he'd ever shown.
He really had found hope. He hadn't gotten rid of the illness right away, but it let him live longer and grow stronger.
He just needed to wait a little more, and he would wipe out that damned tumor for good.
Ethan knew that no matter what he said or what stories he made up, he wouldn't win Aurora's trust.
Luckily, he had truly gone through what she was going through. He knew what she needed most right now, and what he had to say to earn her trust.
Sure enough, after Ethan finished, Aurora stood there, stunned. Her eyes turned red, tears gathering at the edges, almost spilling out.
She clenched her teeth and kept taking breaths, trying to calm herself.
Behind her, Shawn glared. His presence exploded, pressing down on Ethan like a mountain.
In an instant, Ethan felt as if all the bones in his body were about to crack.
Even then, he didn't spare Shawn another glance. He ignored him completely.
Ethan looked only at Aurora and said, in a broken voice: "I know you're tired. Sometimes you even want to end this hopeless, painful suffering yourself. But you've held on till now—you've held on until hope appeared."
Aurora slowly reached out. Trying not to cry, she tugged at Shawn's sleeve and said:
"Father, wait. He's not like those con men."
Shawn sighed and slowly took back the pressure he was putting on Ethan. As a father, he had noticed the same thing Ethan said—there were times when Aurora lost the courage to keep living.
But he didn't know how to say it, how to ask his daughter to keep holding onto a false hope, living day after day under the torture of [Heart-Eater].
He blamed those swindlers, who gave hope again and again, only to turn it into despair.
He blamed that damned [Heart-Eater]—why did it have to choose his daughter?
He also blamed himself for being helpless in the face of her pain.
Shawn clenched his fists and said to Ethan in an icy voice: "You know what happens if you lie to me. Even if you're a player and can revive, I'll hunt you down again and again."
Ethan answered calmly: "You can kill me now. But you also know what that would lead to."
Ethan knew Shawn was wavering—not because of him, but because of Aurora.
Right now, Aurora was looking at Ethan, fragile, as if she would burst into tears the next second.
So Ethan aimed at Shawn's state of mind and said those words. He was sure of one thing: unless Shawn proved he couldn't cure Aurora, Shawn would never kill him.
People are like this. They say they won't believe anything anymore, but once they see even a sliver of hope, they rush toward it like moths to a flame.
Are they stupid?
Ethan didn't think so. He knew they just wanted to live—or to let the people they care about live well.
Ethan glanced at Shawn and walked straight down the stairs.
Shawn was baffled, not understanding what Ethan was going to do. He asked without thinking: "Where are you going?"
Ethan's voice came slowly: "City Lord's Mansion."
...
Ice City base, City Lord's Mansion.
A few guards were impatiently shooing away the players nearby, repeating over and over:
"There are no quests here!"
"City Lord's Mansion is a restricted area. No players are allowed near. If you keep hanging around, I'll really take action!"
Just then, a sharp-eyed guard saw the City Lord in the distance, walking down the street with a group.
They quickly raised their weapons and drove the nearby players away. Then they bowed to City Lord Shawn and called out:
"Welcome home, City Lord."
Shawn gave a small nod. He didn't go in right away. He waited a moment.
Ethan followed behind him, walking with Aurora and Jenny.
Once Ethan came up, Shawn led them into the City Lord's Mansion.
After they left, one guard stared at Ethan's back, puzzled, and muttered:
"He looks so familiar. I feel like I just saw him around here."
His partner heard him and said:
"You're seeing things. Only those brain-dead players show up here. We've said it a million times—there are no quests here. They still won't listen!"
"This morning, a level-1 Thief player even tried to climb the wall to get into the City Lord's Mansion. Others caught him. He's sitting in jail now."
"I don't know how they grew up to be so reckless!"
Inside the City Lord's Mansion.
Ethan sat right down on the sofa in the main hall. He reached for a fruit from the platter on the table and started eating.
The fruit was strange, a bit like some kind of power fruit. It looked ugly, but it tasted very sweet.
It was probably a fruit unique to the Dawn World.
Shawn, the City Lord of the Ice City base, kept taking deep breaths, forcing down his anger.
Even the con men had to be polite and cautious in front of him.
But this player didn't act like that at all. It was like he was ignoring Shawn completely.
Shawn took a deep breath and said: "Aurora and Jenny went back to their rooms. They won't be back for a while."
"I'll give you a chance now. If you admit you can't cure [Heart-Eater], I won't kill you."
Ethan smiled. So he wouldn't kill him, but he'd make him wish he were dead, huh.
Simple mind games like that didn't work on him.
Ethan picked up another piece of fruit and ate it at his leisure, keeping on testing Shawn's limits.
After a while, when Shawn seemed used to his behavior.
Ethan slowly set the fruit down, sat up straight, and said: "You'll thank yourself later. Because you held back, you didn't make things worse."
Shawn cut to the chase and asked:
"Just say it. What do you want?"
Ethan shook his head and didn't answer.
Shawn frowned, puzzled. "There's nothing you want?"
Ethan said: "No. It's that I don't know what you have, so it's hard to say what I want."
Shawn took a deep breath. It was the first time he'd heard someone put it that way.
Ethan asked: "Do you have any Orange-quality weapons or gear?"
Shawn clenched his fists so hard they shook. He was afraid that if he lost control, he'd grab the weapon on his back and smash Ethan to death.
Ethan sighed, a bit disappointed. Looked like even Shawn, the City Lord of the Ice City base, couldn't bring out a single Orange-quality weapon.
After curing Aurora, he could have them repair [Damaged Blood-Drinking Longsword].
And after he defeated the [Ice Calamity] in the world of Dawnfall Online and got [Calamity Aura], he could also ask Aurora if she could use [Calamity Aura] to forge high-quality weapons.