Ethan stood just outside of the Adventurer Guild. He stretched his arms as the warm air slowly brushed against his face, giving him a quiet relief after the hectic session inside that E-rank dungeon.
The kiss with Reyna was still lingering on his lips, a strange mix of triumph and disbelief. A smirk started to form on his face slowly.
"My first kiss in twenty-six years, huh… and with a warrior babe on top of that?" he whispered under his breath, running his hand through his brown hair. "If this is just the beginning, then hell yeah. I'm going all the way to the end and enjoy these gorgeous women."
With newfound confidence, he stepped into the guild hall.
The scent of leather, parchment, and the faint woody smell of incense filled the air. Adventurers were laughing and chit-chatting around him, swapping stories and having drinks.
But Ethan's eyes were locked on the front of the guild hall, where Elira sat. She looked elegant, radiant, and like a fantasy seductress.
She was leaning over some documents, her long hair resting on top of her shoulders, and her eyes flickering across the parchment.
The outfit she wore was the typical guild assistant uniform, but somehow, her fine curves were visible through it.
A hint of cleavage peeked through her tight vest, and her skirt showed off a well-toned thigh as she shifted her legs a bit to the side.
Ethan strolled over and casually put the blood-stained quest token on the counter, signaling that he had cleared the E-rank quest.
"E-Rank, Shadow Fang Den," he said with a small smirk on his face. "Dungeon cleared and the quest is completed."
Elira looked up at Ethan, one of her eyebrows raised.
"That was fast. Didn't expect you to complete it, but you did. Congrats."
Her voice had smoothness built into it, hitting like velvet.
He smirked a bit and leaned in closer to her face. "Ran straight into the dungeon. Cleared the den smoothly. All alone, solo-handedly."
He winked at her.
Her eyes narrowed a bit in amused suspicion, but the corners of her lips started to form a soft smile. "Arrogance from a newbie, huh? That surely is a dangerous game."
"Only if I lose, then it's a dangerous game," Ethan replied, leaning in closer, almost close to her lips. "But I don't plan to lose, sweetheart."
She cleared her throat a bit, trying to maintain her professionalism, but her cheeks flushed just faintly, and a small blush started to form on her face.
Her fingers started to brush through Ethan's fingers as she handed over a leather pouch of two silver coins and a few bonus materials. Intentionally or not, the contact between their hands happened.
"Here's your reward for clearing the dungeon," she said. "And nicely… done."
Ethan leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper only she could hear. "How about you stop by my room tonight? I'll show you just how good I am in THAT type of stuff too… you know, I'm pretty good at giving the rewards back."
He winked at her.
Her lips parted slightly in surprise. She didn't expect this from him, and it was so sudden for her.
"You're bold, you know!" she said in a half-laughing, half-scolding tone. "That confidence of yours might get you in trouble someday."
"I'll take that kind of risk," he whispered to her.
She didn't say yes. But she didn't say no either. Her eyes looked into Ethan's for a moment, then she turned them away to handle the next form. "We'll see, Ethan Graves."
With a smirk on his face, he turned and started to walk out of the guild hall. His confidence was radiating from his body language.
Once he reached outside the guild, he opened his system menu, swiping to [Inventory] and [Shop]. He sold the mana cores that he had collected during the dungeon. It looked like he got 8 gold coins, and experience flooded in, along with a bunch of stat points too.
The [Multiversal Trade Shop] glowed with options like armor, potions, rare gear, and more.
Then he closed his system window and made his way to the Adventurer Shop, where multiple goods were available: potions, mana cores, maps, weapons, armor, and so on.
The shop was made out of wood and had cobblestone engravings. A great big chimney sat on top of the roof.
Ethan entered the shop. Inside, various rooms displayed different types of goods. The walls were shining with the glittery light of light blue torches. Pictures of ancient and mythical beasts were carved into the stone.
Ethan greeted the shop owner and then asked, "Sir, do you have swords? I need something good for my next dungeon — my old one got destroyed."
The shopkeeper gave a small nod and pointed to the other side with his finger, where the weapon section was located.
Ethan made his way to the weapon section and started searching for the right weapon to use in his upcoming journey.
"System, give me something sharp and useful for my journey," he whispered under his breath as he kept browsing the weapons on display.
Just as his finger hovered over a gleaming obsidian blade… he felt something strange.
It was a presence.
Something or someone was watching him.
A shiver ran down his spine.