Newbie's Quest: Awaiting Challenge
Chapter 21: Unparalleled Speed

"What did Ethan Walker mean by that?"

"I'm not sure, some kind of code?"

"Speaking of which, this David seems unfamiliar, I haven't seen him before."

"Why would Alex Johnson bring him along? Is Avalon Guild really short on people?"

"Who knows, maybe they just grabbed him to fill the numbers."

"I'm wondering if Ethan Walker can pull it off this time. If not, I'm going to lose it." "Does Ethan Walker even have a clue? He doesn't seem very capable." "Maybe he's new?"

"You can say Ethan Walker is brainless, but you can't say he lacks strength."

"Ethan Walker - thanks for speaking up for me." "Hahaha."

Ethan Walker pushed open the door to the rooftop. The outside was desolate, with no moon in sight, and the cold wind blew in gusts, raising goosebumps on their skin. As usual, as soon as they set foot on the rooftop, Jane appeared. After Jane delivered her lines, it was time for the boss to make an entrance.

Seeing the vague white figure, Ethan Walker released Little Red Riding Hood. "Red, go, keep an eye on her." Olivia Parker, as the boss, barely had time to react before being frightened by the little girl beside her. The girl's face split into four parts, a terrifying sight, and she held a blood-stained kitchen knife in her hand. Olivia Parker stepped back twice, looking pleadingly towards Ethan Walker, not far away. There was a trace of pitiful appeal on the boss's face.

But Ethan Walker was unmoved, his face stern. "Don't move. We'll do this in order, I'll deal with you last." The boss attempted to resist, but the kitchen knife in Little Red Riding Hood's hand glinted, severing one of its arms. In the White Tower, bosses and NPCs are also categorized by level. Characters like Red, who originated from S-level or higher instances, naturally suppress those below S-level.

Olivia Parker, holding her severed arm, was extremely aggrieved and didn't dare to move. After dealing with this, Ethan Walker turned to the silent Jane. "I want to enter the hidden storyline." Jane remained motionless.

"I know who the hidden boss inside is," Ethan Walker continued, "it's you, isn't it?" Jane, who had been silent all along, suddenly lifted her head in a reflexive response, then lowered it deeply again.

"You and the boss lurking in the corridor are two sides of the same coin. The first time someone entered this realm, you couldn't control it properly, resulting in a team falling into the hidden storyline, with two members dead and one missing. Later, to prevent more tragedies, you tried your best to stop others from accidentally triggering the hidden path."

Ethan Walker spoke irrespective of Jane's response, "I was wrong," he admitted, "I thought everything in the instance was pre-set, NPCs were just NPCs, bosses were bosses, following fixed commands. I never imagined that an NPC could possess the consciousness to protect players."

Online speculations were rife:

- "NPCs protecting players?"

- "Impossible! Aren't the NPCs in the White Tower just pre-programmed?"

- "Has Ethan Walker gone insane from playing too much?"

- "If NPCs have consciousness, it would overturn the whole worldview of the White Tower."

- "Maybe it's just a condition to trigger the hidden storyline, like 'convincing NPC Jane'."

Jane's hands, hanging by her sides, clenched into fists, her body trembling slightly. "Please, player, defeat the boss 'Olivia Parker'."

Ethan Walker glanced at David, then quietly looked away. "There's a girl still trapped in that corridor, her brother is looking for her." David looked up in surprise, having thought Ethan Walker would reveal his identity directly. They had silently agreed upon this before entering the rooftop.

David was ready to take on the responsibility he should have long ago. But Ethan Walker didn't expose him. "I can handle it," Ethan Walker said calmly, as if discussing the weather, "Just let me in, and I can resolve it."

Jane lifted her pale face, her dark eyes shimmering with moisture. She didn't reply to Ethan Walker, but her right foot moved back half a step. Suddenly, the world spun around them.

...

The area was filled with vivid colors, sharp taunting laughter echoing around them. Ethan Walker showed no fear, instead, he exhaled deeply. Finally, he had arrived. David stood behind him, sweat beading on his nose.

Ethan Walker glanced back, surprised to see David still conscious. The cacophony and the patterns on the walls were an intense assault on the senses. Most would have fainted, but David remained alert, a testament to his strength. "Take care of yourself," Ethan Walker said, raising his voice over the noise, "I'm going in."

"Okay."

After receiving David's response, Ethan Walker conjured his inflatable hammer, gripping it tightly. The hidden boss was ten steps away, peeking out, half-buried in the swirling patterns, its eyes narrow and laughing maniacally. The boss submerged into the ground. The battle began.

When it reappeared, it was at Ethan Walker's left, flung away by a swift strike, then attacking from above. Ethan Walker slid back, deftly dodging. He locked eyes with the boss. The fight accelerated suddenly, as if someone hit the fast-forward button. The corridor resounded with booming cracks and the sound of pictures falling from the walls, their glass shattering.

The audience was astounded:

- "That's way too fast!"

- "Is this even humanly possible?"

- "Did Ethan Walker, after playing the level seventy to eighty times, still have such explosive power?"

Ethan Walker had mastered the tactics of the hidden level in twenty simulated attempts. Speed was the key. The boss, adept at hiding, only emerged from the larger eye patterns, akin to a whack-a-mole game. Ethan Walker's reflexes, honed through countless simulations, were almost monstrous. Just three more minutes, and he could end the battle.

Bang!

The boss suddenly changed its target, attacking David nearby. Ethan Walker noticed but was too far away. His brows furrowed deeply as he pulled his hammer from the ground, rushing to the rescue. Clang!

A streak of white light flashed. The boss, repelled by a force, screeched and merged into the wall. A three-foot-long sword stood upright on the ground, revealing David's calm face behind it.

- "It's the Giant Que!"

- "Isn't that the weapon of the late great Mr. Anderson of Avalon Guild?"

- "I thought it was passed to the next guild leader?"

- "Then this young man is?"

David, also known as William Anderson, stood up, leaning on the Giant Que. Without much communication, their eyes met, and they understood their roles. Ethan Walker would handle the front half of the corridor, William Anderson the latter. With this assistance, their efficiency soared, rapidly deple

ting the boss's health.

"The boss is about to go berserk, hold on," Ethan Walker warned, back to back with William.

The eye patterns on the walls sped up, the noise growing louder and more piercing. The boss, surrounded by a purple glow, grew immensely. It opened its mouth to scream.

Ethan Walker leaped from the ground, stuffing his hammer into the boss's mouth and switching the mode.

Boom!

With a massive explosion, it was all over.