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Chapter 4: I'm Just a Newbie

After Ethan's intervention, the atmosphere within the team shifted noticeably. The Smith brothers were the first to extend an olive branch.

"Bro, that move just now was impressive!"

"Are you from one of the big guilds, sent down to rescue us from this rotten district?"

Ethan, as always, was polite yet distant.

"No, I'm just a newbie, don't know much about anything."

The older brother among the Smiths gave him a thumbs-up.

"Typical of a pro, always so modest!"

"Yeah, yeah, no need to be modest, bro."

Ethan wasn't being modest, though. He genuinely didn't know much.

After his death and rebirth, he found himself in the Red Riding Hood instance, where he and his beloved 'Red' had clashed and loved a thousand times, leaving his sanity somewhat skewed.

Engaging in a normal conversation felt almost surreal to him.

The Smith brothers tried to engage him further.

"Bro, do you think we, the ten of us, stand a chance of surviving this life-and-death instance?"

Ethan's face bore an inscrutable expression.

"It's tough."

He was confident in himself; the instance had only five or six deadly creatures, but there were plenty of terrifying elements. Being scared to death was a real possibility.

Now the only expert in this novice team, Ethan's single word 'tough' noticeably heightened the tension.

He didn't express any intent to protect anyone, leaving each to their fate. The Smith brothers returned to the middle of the group, disheartened.

Max Turner scoffed coldly, though it was unclear what he found amusing.

"The comments supported Ethan's approach. In a group of strangers, there's no obligation to protect others."

"Being a protector is tough. It's either being a hero or a nanny."

"What's with that Max Turner acting all high and mighty? Clinging to stronger legs isn't shameful."

"Tricky, who knows if Ethan can step up again? Maybe last time was just a fluke."

The neighborhood's roads were uneven, flanked by towering apartment buildings that loomed like silent sentinels, their oppressive presence bearing down on everyone.

Red Riding Hood hummed a creepy nursery rhyme in her sweet voice.

"Daddy went to the forest to hunt wolves

Mommy served Daddy at the table

The lamb and I together

I am the lamb, the lamb is me

At Grandma's house, there's Grandma and the wolf

Grandma slept, Grandma ate Grandma

I brought the hunter home

Which is fake, which is real

The hunter eats me, I eat the hunter"

Her sweet voice repeated the eerie rhymes, chilling the group to the bone, except for Ethan.

The nursery rhyme revealed the main thread of the instance; attentive players could discern the hints for the final scene.

Based on Ethan's thousand times experience, solving the mysteries of this instance wasn't too challenging. The puzzles were loosely connected to the final goal, focusing more on Red Riding Hood's background.

Though the NPC was named "Red Riding Hood," it was merely a nod to the fairy tale, with the storyline set in modern times.

Ethan thought the instance's SSS rating likely stemmed from the true-false Grandma conundrum, the identity reversal of NPC Red Riding Hood, and the unsolvable mystery of the woman hanging upside down in the stairwell.

Yes, that hanging woman could only be avoided, not confronted; any contact meant certain death, an utterly unreasonable design.

Don't ask how Ethan knew this; he'd experimented with all sorts of bizarre tactics over two hundred times.

After Ethan's decisive action, Emily still wanted to stay close to him, finding a sense of security in his presence. This time, Emma didn't object, likely because of Ethan's recent display of prowess.

Noticing Emily approaching, Ethan didn't move away, continuing to walk closely with his familiar 'Red.'

"Brother Ethan," Emily's voice trembled, "was that a spider you killed just now?"

"Yes, it was."

Emily shivered uncontrollably.

"That spider was as big as a human head."

"Are you afraid of spiders?"

"I... a bit... but it's okay, I can handle it."

Emily didn't want to be a burden; she knew her limitations and hoped merely to survive without being too demanding. However, her fear was palpable - even a tiny spider could send her into a screaming fit, a nightmarish adversary imprinted in her blood.

Ethan glanced at the road ahead. They were nearing the seventh intersection.

"That's not good," he remarked.

"Huh?"

Emily looked puzzled.

"Bend down."

"Brother Ethan?"

"Hurry, bend down."

"Oh."

"Now look at your feet, to the right."

"Alright... alright."

"See that purple flower there?"

"Where... oh, there is one!"

As Emily bent down to touch the delicate flower, the comments became puzzled.

"What are they doing? Flirting?"

"Wow, this is kind of sweet."

"Seriously, in a life-or-death situation, they're doing this?"

"Is Ethan sure of himself, or was his last move just luck?"

Whether Ethan's previous action was luck became clear very soon. As Emily bent down, another human-faced spider emerged from a corner, only to be nailed to the ground by Ethan's swift hammer strike!

Emily, who had been about to touch the flower, felt a breeze over her head. She stood up, confused, to find Ethan standing casually a few steps away.

"Aren't you going to pick it?"

Ethan, who had previously even uprooted all the trees in the district, didn't seem interested this time.

Emily shook her head, a slight frown on her face, but she smiled.

"Let's just leave it there."

"Oh."

Ethan shrugged indifferently and continued forward.

The comments exploded again.

"That hammer strike just now!"

"That move proves Ethan's skill, so swift and graceful."

"Where's the person who said Ethan could only swing once? Why aren't they speaking now?"

"This newbie is something else - calm, brave, and strong in combat."

"A few monsters aren't a big deal, right?"

"We shouldn't lower our standards just because it's a low-ranked district."

"Are the big guilds from the White Tower rankings watching in the live stream? Still observing?"

Indeed, members of top-ranking guilds in the White Tower were observing the livestream, eyeing a rare find: a newbie with mature combat abilities. In the rules of the White Tower game, innate talent was far more crucial than later training.

Entering a White Tower instance not only demands players have analytical and puzzle-solving skills but also requires adaptability and, of course, combat prowess. Ethan Walker (formerly Zheng Xun) possesses all these qualities. What's more, his stable emotional state and non-confrontational demeanor are evident, as seen in his interaction with Max Turner during weapon selection. A genius who doesn't provoke the authority of guilds is even more sought after than a mere talented individual.

Nearly an hour into the instance, Ethan has only acted twice, but both times were moments of brilliance. Normally, big guilds have an observation period for recruiting new members, typically assessing them over 4-5 instances to analyze their various abilities comprehensively. But Ethan is an exception; his standout performance makes him a prime candidate. If not approached early, there's a risk other guilds might snap him up first.

And indeed, one guild is already making a move.

【Avalon Guild】: We sincerely invite player 【Ethan Walker】 to join our guild, offering a 【Silver Contract】.

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