Finished with his business in the Black City of the Scavenger Guild, Ethan walked while still wearing his LionArk uniform covered with bloodstains.

He had no intention of wiping the blood away because he wanted everyone to know they should not bother him or the LionArk guild.

Ethan stored his sword and walked along the dirt road in the forest. Not a single player from that city dared to chase him, challenge him, or demand answers from him.

They had seen Ethan destroy the city built by the Big Three guild all by himself. He wasn't badly hurt and he didn't die, which was enough to show his terrifying strength.

If they forced themselves to challenge him, they would die in a miserable way. Ethan continued walking alone through the quiet forest road.

No monster came to threaten him. Every monster on the path had already been killed by him.

They would only respawn for him tomorrow. Ethan stepped past the teleport crystal and walked with a steady pace toward the west.

His cold and cruel eyes showed he had already decided his destination. Ethan planned to go to the Blood-Cursed Tribe Village because the place offered him temporary shelter.

He turned at the crossroads and saw the village gate from afar. Two male tribe guards were standing there.

When Ethan arrived, both guards froze in shock. They could not say anything as they saw his entire body covered with blood.

"What happened?" one of them muttered.

Ethan stopped walking and stared straight ahead.

He looked at the guard with cold eyes. It was the gaze of a merciless killer that frightened most people.

"Let me stay one night in your village," Ethan said.

One guard narrowed his eyes as if recognizing him.

"Aren't you the man who came earlier with Miss Risa?" the guard asked. Ethan stayed silent.

For them, that silence was enough to confirm he was that man. One guard ran into the village to inform their tribe chief.

The other stayed near the gate. Meanwhile, Risa heard from another guard that Ethan had arrived covered in blood.

She quickly stood from the sofa in the tribe chief's home. She ran outside while gripping her magic staff tightly.

Her thoughts ran wild with fear.

Is Ethan hurt? Please let him be safe.

Not only Risa, but the tribe chief, the elders, and the other guards also came to the village gate.

They wanted to know the condition of the outsider who was Risa's friend.

Risa could not speak at first. Her face turned pale as she saw Ethan's body covered with human blood, even his face splashed with it.

"What happened?" Risa asked in a weak and shaky voice. Ethan turned to her.

He smiled for a moment. Then he fell to his knees and vomited, making Risa panic.

"Ethan?!" she shouted.

She stepped forward but Ethan lifted his hand.

He signaled her not to touch him. He didn't want Risa's pure hands as the Blood-Curse Floor 1 Chief to be stained by the dirty blood of the Scavenger guild.

"Don't touch me," Ethan said. Risa hesitated.

"But you—" she tried to speak. Ethan cut her off.

"I need to rest. Can you help me, Risa?" Ethan asked.

Risa stayed quiet for a moment. Then she looked at the middle-aged woman who was the Blood-Curse Floor 46 tribe chief.

The woman took a deep breath. She had heard everything from Risa about Ethan and the Bloodblade Ashura.

Even so, she still found it hard to believe. She felt she needed to see proof with her own eyes.

"I will allow you to enter if I see the truth for myself," the woman said.

She then asked Ethan a question.

"Can you show us Lord Gor's Sword?" she asked.

Ethan stayed silent and looked at Risa.

Risa nodded as if telling him it was fine. Ethan reached out his hand.

Bloodblade Ashura appeared and floated in front of his face. Everyone gasped in shock.

They examined the sword closely. They compared its size, hilt, and the unique crimson marks on its blade to the stories of Lord Gor's sword.

Everything matched perfectly. There was no doubt it was real.

The middle-aged tribe chief confirmed it herself. Although her heart was unwilling to let an outsider stay in the village, she had to put aside her feelings for the sake of her tribe.

"Do we have an empty house?" she asked, one of the elders cleared his throat.

He guided Ethan inside to rest in the village. Ethan stored his sword again and walked in, while many villagers watched him closely.

They didn't only see him as the possible reincarnation of Lord Gor. They also stared at the shocking sight of Ethan covered in blood as if he had fallen into a pool of it.

One elder showed him a small house suitable for rest.

"There is a river near the village, but don't bathe in it because we use the river for daily needs," the elder said.

"Yes, I understand. Please send my thanks to your tribe chief," Ethan said. The elder nodded and left.

Risa arrived soon after. She kept watching Ethan, wanting to know the story behind the blood on his face and clothes.

"I will wash myself first. Tonight I will tell you everything," Ethan said.

"I want to help wash your clothes. Is that okay?" Risa asked. Ethan paused.

He cleared his throat and agreed. He was afraid that if he refused again, Risa might get upset or lose trust in him.

"Of course," he said. "Alright, I will prepare a bucket and a ladle. You go to the river first," Risa said.

"Thank you, Risa," Ethan replied.

***

Night

Blood-Cursed Tribe Village

Night came. In the Blood-Cursed Tribe Village on Floor 46, Ethan and Risa walked back from the river.

Ethan had washed himself in the forest, and Risa brought him water from the river to help him bathe. His body was now clean, and his LionArk uniform was clean as well.

They walked into the village and saw many people gathered in the open field. They sat around a campfire burning in the center.

When they saw Ethan, several men turned toward him. They invited him to sit and talk with them.

"What happened to you earlier? Why did you come covered in blood?" one man asked. Ethan answered calmly.

"I just finished slaughtering people," he said. The men stared at him in confusion.

"Slaughtering people? Was it another tribe?" the man asked. Ethan shook his head.

"No. They were outsiders," he said. Risa explained the details about the Black City of the Scavenger Guild.

Some of the villagers knew about that city. They knew it was heavily guarded by strong outsiders.

Hearing that Ethan destroyed it alone and killed many people made them amazed. Some of them even felt chills from fear.

"You… you won't slaughter us, right?" one man asked nervously. All eyes turned to Ethan.

The fear was understandable since Ethan was still an outsider. If he could kill his own kind, what stopped him from killing the Blood-Cursed tribe?

"I was assigned to save all of you, not kill you," Ethan said firmly. The crowd relaxed a little.

"That's good. That's a relief," one of them said. Another asked him a new question.

"What will you do after this?" the man asked. Ethan thought for a moment.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll go fight the floor boss," he said.

[Notification: New message received]

[You have one unread message]

Right in the middle of talking, Ethan saw a system notification pop up. It had the message icon with a red dot, showing someone had sent him a message.

Curious, he opened it. He expected Ashley, but the sender was Leon.

[Chat:]

[LeonKennedy17: What happened? A Scavenger emergency quest appeared to hunt you and every LionArk member who joined the Tower Raid. Ashley found out, she got sick, and she plans to raid the Tower to save you.]

[LeonKennedy17: Reply fast. We need to know you're okay!]

Ethan fell silent after reading it. He already expected the Scavenger guild to hunt him to the ends of the world, but he didn't expect Ashley to fall sick over it.

Risa noticed his expression. His face tensed and his eyes turned serious, so she guessed the message was from someone outside the Tower.

"What is it?" Risa asked softly.

[Chat:]

[EthanArk: I haven't finished my side-quest. Tell Ashley not to act recklessly. I can handle all of this.]

[EthanArk: To reduce casualties, tell Ashley to kick many members out of the guild. It's for their safety.]

[EthanArk: I'm sure the best moment for us to bring back LionArk's glory will come. Our only chance is the Guild War Event!]

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