Newbie's Quest: Awaiting Challenge
Chapter 15: This Attempt Won't Work

"In the still of the night, unable to sleep, I found myself watching Sen Miao mining in the game's instance."

"Woke up at four. What's so fascinating about mining?"

"It's a way to unwind."

"Even the Water Guild's mining looks haphazard, true to their reputation."

"Damn! Nightingale is starting a new instance!"

"What! I'm wide awake now, completely alert!"

"Room 068, live broadcast! Hurry to the second level of the Hamilton Middle School instance!"

Ethan Walker stood outside the towering white tower, energetic and poised, greeted by four yawning members of the Nightingale team. Among them were Alex Johnson and Emily Johnson, whom he knew well, along with two recruits, a young man and a woman. The male teammate, David, looked quite young, around twenty. The female teammate, Alexander Bennett, was a substitute on Nightingale's second team. The pair's lack of experience was evident in their anxious, wandering eyes.

Half of the first team's main players were missing, and Ethan, far from foolish, could see that Alex Johnson was placing his trust entirely in him, sparing their ace player. To the Nightingale team, Ethan was now an outsider, and any failure on his part would be just that - an outsider's setback. However, Alex's decision to accompany him in this venture was a testament to his courage and insight.

The viewers quickly picked up on this strategy. "Is Ethan now part of Nightingale?" "Doesn't seem official yet, no announcement. Just rumors." "Without a contract, is Ethan up for such a challenging level?" "I don't understand; Ethan's just a reckless monkey outside the white tower in my eyes." "The draw is happening now!"

Ethan was leading this instance, a role typically requiring the captain to brief the team on important details and tactics before officially drawing the difficulty level of the instance, as well as boosting morale. However, Ethan showed no such awareness, instead turning to push the door.

"Ha! Has Ethan forgotten he's the captain?" "It's his first time, he lacks experience." "What's a captain, anyway? (in Ethan's tone)" "I quite like Ethan's style; nowadays, guild runs feel too scripted." "Exactly, why all the fuss? Just get on with it." Alex Johnson pulled him back, and Ethan slapped his forehead. "Oh, right, right. I should say something." Amid the diverse expressions of his team, Ethan spoke earnestly, "Don't move from here, I'll be back in a flash." And with that, he made for the door again.

"Wait!" This time, it was Emily Johnson who stopped him. "Are you sleepwalking? What are you saying?" Ethan looked puzzled. "Is there a minimum number requirement for the instance?" "No, but-" "Then it's fine." "No, no, that's not right!" Emily Johnson almost got caught in his logic. "How can you do it alone?" "What's the issue? You four would just get in the way."

"What's happening?" "Is there a conflict?" "Ha! Classic Ethan, he's planning to solo this instance!" "Solo? Impossible. Not even the 35 side quest, let alone an A-level instance, can be soloed!" "Is the hero of the bad district reliable at all? Seems dubious." "Unreliable? What do you mean? Fans of Nightingale, stay alert." "Ethan seems a bit rushed this time, different from his last performance."

Ethan's unusual behavior didn't escape the keen eyes of the viewers, and the sharp Alex Johnson also noticed it.

"Ethan," Alex asked, "do you have any other concerns? You seem rather anxious."

Ethan was indeed in a rush. The simulated instance's time differed from the real world. After a day and night of continuous simulation, Ethan had run through the instance 500 times, yet only 20 of those attempts opened the 35 side quest. Truthfully, the White Tower probably didn't intend to make it too difficult for players, as the frequency of this hidden side quest was not particularly high, nor was there a fixed way to activate it. Under normal circumstances, it was quite challenging to trigger this side quest. However, Ethan's luck seemed exceptionally poor.

For Ethan, completing the instance wasn't the challenge; he had already mastered the main part. However, he still hadn't figured out the pattern to trigger the hidden side quest, which seemed random. Randomness meant a lack of control. If lucky, he could trigger it on his first official attempt. Otherwise, he might need several tries. To save time, Ethan decided to solo.

Emily Johnson was frustrated upon hearing Ethan's plan to go alone. "Why did you wake us up early in the morning if you're not taking us with you?"

"I don't know the way," Ethan admitted frankly.

"You!" Emily was exasperated.

"Emily," Alex interrupted her, trying to persuade Ethan, "We're familiar with this instance. Maybe we have a higher chance of triggering the hidden side quest." Ethan pondered and saw the logic. His luck was poor, but perhaps one of the other four might have the 'bad luck' needed to trigger the side quest immediately. "Alright," he conceded, deciding to trust in this bit of superstition.

As usual, entering the instance required a draw. "Welcome, welcome-"

Ethan skillfully silenced the chattering draw machine, and the ball marked with the letter 'A' was drawn. As expected. In the Hamilton instance, players could use any weapon from the cloud space. Ethan had only an inflatable hammer, while the other four teammates had a variety of normal weapons.

The comments came flooding in:

"Here it comes, the familiar pink color."

"This color scheme is more sanity-draining than the monsters in the instance."

"My eyes are blinded, help."

"Why can't Ethan get a weapon that matches him? Nightingale is too stingy to provide one."

"The hammer matches Ethan's mental state perfectly."

Once inside the instance, unlike many players who sought attention during live streams, Ethan barely glanced at the chat and didn't care what the audience was discussing. He wasn't interested in hyping himself up, yet he was a magnet for attention.

Ethan led the team quietly through the instance without any antics. He refused to interact with NPCs, letting others handle it, but was very active in boss fights. The first boss was defeated before it could even roar, and the second didn't fare any better. Ethan smashed through the door, flattening the boss in an instant. The audience went wild with comments.

"Damn, Ethan is no ordinary player! What kind of reaction speed is that?"

"Is this his first time in the Hamilton instance?"

"Maybe he watched the replay of Nightingale's second team."

"If watching replays was that effective, I'd be top of the solo rankings by now." "Nightingale hit the jackpot with such a strong newcomer, a hexagon warrior."

"He's even stronger than the last instance, and that was just two days ago?"

"Rightly called the hero of the bad district, he single-handedly moved the 1089th district to rank 900."

"They moved up that many ranks?"

"Yeah, it's a 35 instance after all."

"Stop chatting, Ethan's about to solo the final boss."

The final confrontation was on the rooftop. Ethan and the four others, seemingly sleepwalking, stood unharmed. As Ethan steadied himself, he clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Damn, this won't work."

"What?"

Emily was about to ask what he meant when a vague white shadow rose near the rooftop railing.

The final boss!

Before Emily could react, he found himself pitching forward, the rooftop scenery rushing up to meet his eyes.

He was stunned, then cursed.

Damn it, Ethan had pushed all four of them off the rooftop!