Three hours passed with Ethan focused on collecting Gold, EXP, and Star Essence.

Among the three, he earned more Gold, followed by EXP, and finally Star Essence.

Every now and then, he glanced at his digital map and could clearly see four other green dots still inside the inn, sleeping peacefully without being disturbed by anything.

Just like he said, he would only go hunting before sunrise, around 6 a.m.

If Ethan came back after the sun rose, many players would realize who he was.

On the other hand, he managed to gather around 70,000 gold, bringing his total to 100,000.

That also pushed his level up by four—from level 55 to level 59.

He was only a little away from reaching level 60. Maybe soon, he would hit that mark.

For now, his focus was on getting back to the city and resting at the inn while allocating the attribute points he had earned.

Ethan ran out of the forest and entered the city. He also pulled up his black cloak, covering his body so people wouldn't see his face.

Even so, they could still see Ethan's username and status—his guild abbreviation "SWL" was clearly visible to anyone.

However, not all players in the Thousand Star Event came from Porco City.

Some knew Ethan, some didn't. So the chances were fifty-fifty that anyone would recognize him.

He arrived at the inn and saw Lara already awake early in the morning. She lifted her head and clearly saw Ethan just coming into the city.

She had thought he'd already arrived and gone to sleep around midnight.

"Y-You just got here?" Lara asked.

"Yeah, that's right. I had something to take care of in the forest," Ethan replied.

"Something?"

Lara didn't know what he meant, but she could guess what a player would usually do alone in the forest.

Her thoughts immediately went to Star Essence.

[Thousand Star Event]

[Team Name: Sword Liberation]

[Rank: 14,067]

[Star Essence Total: 4,336]

"Looks like our Star Essence went up," Lara said.

"Only 125, not much."

"Why would you hunt Star Essence in the middle of the night?" she asked, confused.

Of course, Ethan couldn't say he needed a lot of gold to buy weapons.

His obsession with weapons would only make Lara and the others suspicious.

He needed another, more reasonable excuse than "I was bored and wanted to fight monsters."

"After what happened yesterday, the forest's been on alert. Nighttime is when monsters roam the most. So I used that chance to gather more Star Essence," Ethan explained.

Luckily, Lara seemed to agree. She said that monsters get a power buff at night thanks to the moonlight, making them stronger.

That's why they were much more aggressive at night—but Ethan also noticed their defense weakened.

The system had a balance. During the day, their attack power was normal but their defense was strong.

At night, their defense weakened but attack power went up.

"That makes sense. Quite a few players hunt at night too," Lara said.

Ethan smiled, then asked about Luca, Nuwa, and Celica. Lara said they were still in their rooms—Nuwa was still asleep, while Luca and Celica were preparing breakfast.

"Alright. I'll just take a short nap and come for breakfast later."

"Of course. We'll get it ready for you."

***

Three hours later.

Arkan City.

Ethan finished his breakfast after waking up from his nap. He had gotten enough rest for one day, meaning he wouldn't need long sleep again for the next day or two.

The breakfast Luca and Celica made tasted amazing—a mix of the best ingredients and Latin-style oriental spices. Celica really knew how to add her Latin touch to their meals.

Now, the four of them had left the inn. Luca went with Celica, while Lara went with Nuwa.

Before leaving, they said goodbye to Ethan and told him they were going to buy some new equipment to improve their stats.

Ethan agreed. He also planned to help them assign their attribute points and recommend what kind of crystals to use, depending on their base class and element.

Those things cost a lot of money, but the result was worth it—especially if they bought high-quality gear.

Ethan could guarantee they'd see a big difference in their performance.

After finishing his meal, Ethan walked to the glass window in his room. From there, he could clearly see many players walking along the main street—some alone, some with teammates.

As far as his eyes could see, he didn't find any players with PK status.

All he saw were normal players wearing different guild uniforms.

Ethan thought about using the gold he earned from last night's hunt to buy more weapons. But he felt a little hesitation.

It doesn't feel right buying weapons like this. It's not worth it.

It'd be much better if I just took them from other players, like before.

But then again, the worst-case scenario was that his name would spread everywhere as a criminal to be hunted down.

Oh, great. Why does every Talent Quest always give me such tricky choices?

Ethan's attention shifted to the equipment shop across the street from the inn.

There weren't many players shopping there; most preferred stores they thought were more popular or promising.

He couldn't go to crowded places—too risky for his identity. So he decided to visit that quiet shop instead and see if there was anything interesting.

He left his room and stepped outside the inn. Still wearing his black cloak, he kept his head down under the hood.

When he entered the store, Ethan pulled back his hood and saw a middle-aged man waving at him.

"Welcome, sir."

"You're our first customer today. Don't worry, sir—we'll make sure you get the best service," said the man proudly.

"I'd like to see your full item list," Ethan replied.

"Of course, sir. Please take a look."

The man brought up a system panel over the counter, showing every item the store had for sale—equipment, weapons for all five classes, and accessories.

The Bow and Arrow prices were the same as the store from last night. It seemed all shops used system-fixed prices.

There were many rare and epic-level items, including weapons.

But what caught Ethan's attention was the list of accessories displayed on the system panel.

There were accessories that boosted magic power, defense, attack, and even resistance against debuffs.

Ethan stopped scrolling when his eyes locked onto one item—a mask.

A white mask with three holes: two for the eyes, one for the nose. No patterns, no markings—just plain white.

But it wasn't the design Ethan cared about, it was the effect.

[Item: Mist Crater Mask]

[Effect: Silent Steps || Fear Buff 50%]

[Cost: 15,000 Gold]

"Do you have any accessories that can hide a username?" Ethan asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, we don't have anything like that."

"But there is an item like that, right?" Ethan asked again.

"I've heard of it, yes—but guilds banned its distribution. It could be abused by players with PK status," the man explained.

That made sense. Items like that could be dangerous if misused.

Ethan picked up the white mask and studied it carefully. His black cloak already did a good job hiding his face, but he wanted extra protection.

Let them know the name EthanArk, but no one should ever know my face.

"So? Do you want to buy the mask?" the man asked.

"Since there's nothing to hide my username, I guess I'll take this instead."

"I need something to keep people from remembering my face. They remember faces easier than names," Ethan said.

The transaction went through successfully. Ethan got the mask and put it on right away.

Now he looked mysterious—black cloak, white mask—perfect for keeping his identity hidden.

With this, no one will remember what my face looks like.

I should change my username to something hard to remember... maybe a random mix of letters and numbers.

I'll find out later if that's even possible.

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