Newbie's Quest: Awaiting Challenge
Chapter 43: I Don't Just Dine with Anyone

"Why does Ethan Walker get a reward?"

"Ethan has contributed, so he deserves it. But why is it as substantial as what Henrik and Maxwell received?"

"The Emerald Tempest Guild fans really need to save face. Without Ethan, your first team would've been carried out with funeral music playing. Understand?" "Forget it, some people are willfully blind. It's pointless to argue."

"More than anything else, I'm curious about what Ethan's reward is."

"Ethan, hurry and open it!"

Unlike usual, the fans were highly anticipative, but Ethan Walker chose not to unveil his reward publicly.

"What are you looking at?" he said defiantly, "This place is filled with strangers; it's not appropriate for me to open it here."

Cradling the gift box, he prepared to leave. Henrik, ever considerate, asked if he needed a car to pick him up.

"Hmph," Ethan snorted arrogantly, "I have my own personal driver now. I don't need your charity."

Just as Ethan finished speaking, someone pushed the door open from outside.

Emily Johnson, wearing sunglasses, called out at the door.

"Ethan, where are you? Taking forever to come out. Were you kidnapped by the Emerald Tempest Guild or something?"

Maxwell Ford couldn't help but laugh upon seeing who it was.

"Emily Johnson, forsaking the life of a high-value player to become someone's chauffeur. What's brought on this change in just a few days?" Emily's face darkened.

"Stop your nonsense, it's my choice. Ethan is now Avalon Guild's prized asset. He still owes us several raids. Hurry up, Ethan, we don't have all day." Ethan, engrossed in his phone, tossed the gift box to Emily and, without a word to anyone, got into the car.

That's just how he is, unapologetically himself, doing whatever pleases him.

The planned live stream with the team's journalist was left unfinished, leaving millions hanging, yet no one could hold it against him.

Back in the car, Ethan sat in the passenger seat while Emily chattered away as she drove.

"You've stirred up quite a commotion in the Emerald Tempest Guild, especially that incident with Isabella. It's all over the hot search list now." The raid had brought several trending topics.

#EthanWalkerTeamJournalist

#IsabellaEthan

#IsabellaJamesMitchell

#EthanWalkerRaid Reward

With so many explosive topics, netizens were busy discussing and following the saga, too engrossed to care about anything else.

The most heated discussions revolved around the issues between Ethan and Isabella.

A video segment of Ethan almost being killed by a trap quickly climbed into the top ten of a video platform's daily chart.

Ethan and Isabella's conversation was interpreted in numerous ways by various experts.

Even a well-known gossip app dredged up last year's incident involving Isabella and James Mitchell. The initial reporting had been vague, and the upshot was James being kicked out of the first team.

The platforms were quickly polarized into a battlefield between fans and haters, with Ethan's fans, especially the female ones, charging into the fray, condemning the Emerald Tempest Guild fans and Isabella as delusional. The Emerald Tempest Guild fans, fiercely protective, refused to let anyone criticize their vice-captain, blindly defending him regardless of whether he was at fault or not.

Caught in the middle were a few pitiful old fans of James Mitchell, posting about their heartbreak and sorrow for James, portraying him as a deeply wronged and voiceless victim.

Emily regaled Ethan with an exaggerated account of what he had seen online.

Ethan was unresponsive for a long time, somewhat displeased.

"What's the matter? Not even a single response from you?"

Taking advantage of a red light, Emily glanced at Ethan's phone screen.

"A forum? What are you looking for?"

"I'm searching for something," Ethan replied as he forwarded a video from the post to Henrik, "Afraid that Henrik might overlook the near-fatal plight I suffered during his replay, I've decided to send it to him personally." Emily Johnson burst into laughter.

"You're wicked enough, Isabella Martínez must utterly despise you."

"I don't care. They've bullied me to the limit; no one is getting off easy now."

When Ethan Walker sent the video, Henrik Jensen was on his way back to the Emerald Tempest Guild.

The team members, exhausted, had draped their team jackets over themselves and dozed off in their seats.

Henrik, however, didn't rest. He was accustomed to mentally replaying the raid experience first, which helped him to better analyze it later.

So, as soon as Ethan's message came through, he saw it.

He opened the video and, not having muted it, the sudden sound of the mechanism dropping startled a few of the sleeping members. "Sorry," Henrik whispered softly, before muting it and continuing to watch.

Isabella, sitting in the front row, recognized the sound of the video.

She hadn't been sleeping either, instead browsing online comments. There were plenty attacking her and questioning Ethan.

What mattered most was how the Emerald Tempest Guild, or more specifically, Henrik, viewed the situation.

She didn't dare turn back towards Henrik, maintaining her position. Except for the initial sound, the back of the vehicle remained eerily quiet. Henrik's silence only added to her unease.

When Isabella finally mustered the courage to look back, she found Henrik had already closed his eyes to rest.

Following tradition, they didn't hold a meeting the first night after returning from a raid, allowing team members to catch up on sleep in their own rooms.

Isabella wanted to speak privately with Henrik but, upon returning to the Emerald Tempest Guild, found the captain seemingly too exhausted to speak, merely gesturing with his hand without uttering a word. Reluctantly, Isabella retreated to her room.

But she felt restless, her thoughts turning to James Mitchell, the instigator of the drama, anger boiling within her.

She called him out and berated him for over an hour.

James, who had been happily messaging his sister, was bewildered by the sudden scolding.

Remembering Ethan's earlier warning, however, his mood improved.

Just as James thought of Ethan, a message from him arrived.

"James, James, James!"

"Come to the Sand Zone mine, quick!"

"Hurry up, James!"

After getting to know Ethan better, James realized he wasn't like those arrogant elite players; instead, he had a straightforward, almost childlike nature.

He'd laugh heartily when happy and seek instant revenge when not.

Gathering his things, James prepared to head to the material raid. On his way out, he bumped into his returning roommate.

"Wow, heading out again? You're a celebrity now; I'd better be careful not to offend you," his roommate said sarcastically. James, initially ignoring him, seemed influenced by Ethan's disdain for such cowardly behavior.

"Then you'd better be careful," he retorted sharply, slamming the door behind him.

His roommate, taken aback by James's uncharacteristic comeback, was still processing it when James had already disappeared down the corridor.

Upon reaching the Sand Zone mine, a place notorious for its skin-cutting winds all year round, James found Ethan and another person already there. He was stunned to see the other figure in tattered clothes.

"Cap... Captain?" he stammered.

Henrik hadn't rested. He sent a message back to Ethan, offering to take him out for a meal.

Though Ethan was brash, he had genuinely helped the Emerald Tempest Guild and deserved acknowledgment and gratitude.

"You pick the place," Henrik offered sincerely.

Ethan's response was dismissive.

"I have plenty of offers for meals; I don't need yours."

Henrik thought he wasn't interested, probably not keen on dining with someone he wasn't familiar with.

But soon enough, another message came.

"But I do need a miner. Will you come?"

"[Raid coordinates]"

And so, the esteemed captain of the Emerald Tempest Guild's first team came to mine.