Free Web NovelChapter 956: The Visit to the Rooftop Shack
Ethan could barely believe the words coming out of his own mouth, yet Trusty007 simply nodded on the other end of the call as if everything Ethan had just said was perfectly normal. Ethan’s jaw almost dropped.
"That Mad Engineer kid... holy hell. I’m giving that guy a raise when I get back."
He was grinning so wide his cheeks hurt.
"What did you say?" Trusty007 asked.
Ethan realized he had muttered that last part under his breath. He cleared his throat. "Uh, nothing. Anyway, handle the gold purchase as soon as you can."
Trusty007 gave him a slightly puzzled look but didn’t press further. He just nodded, and the call ended.
The moment the connection cut, Ethan burst out laughing.
Taking in the Mad Engineer back then had been nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment decision. In his previous life, the man had been an enemy, someone standing on the opposite side of a bitter rivalry. When Ethan found him again this time, the so-called Mad Engineer had been at rock bottom, abandoned by everyone who once relied on him. Ethan never imagined that a single decision would completely rewrite the man’s fate, turning him into one of the most loyal people under his command. freewёbnoνel.com
And honestly, being a hands-off boss felt incredible.
In only a year and a half, the Mad Engineer’s achievements had already surpassed everything from Ethan’s past life. The guy had actually broken into Divine-tier Engineering, and not just any Divine tier either. It was a hidden class: Demonic Engineering.
On top of that, he had expanded Ethan’s commercial network across nearly all of Dragonspire. Back when he worked under Zachary, the Mad Engineer had been limited to the Northern Frontier Region and had never even approached Divine tier. Five years into Ethan’s previous life, the man had only reached Expert-tier craftsmanship, which had already been considered rare talent.
Now he had not only opened shops across an entire continent but also pushed his own abilities to heights Ethan himself had never expected.
Sure, Ethan wasn’t worried about money anymore, but who in their right mind would ever complain about having more?
He laughed to himself for a while before a familiar system notification rang in his ears.
[Ding... System Notice: You have received mail at your mailbox!]
Ethan was already standing near the auction house, and there happened to be a public mailbox here. Unfortunately, it was also one of the busiest spots in the entire district. Players constantly retrieved auction purchases from it, crowding the area until it felt like a packed subway at rush hour.
He had forced his way forward earlier and secured a spot beside the mailbox, then simply stood there waiting. He knew the mail had to be from Trusty007, most likely the first transfer of funds, somewhere around two million gold coins.
He had been waiting long enough that the people behind him started grumbling. They couldn’t shove him aside, though. Even in a safe zone, insulting or harassing another player could get the guards involved, and a few hours in detention for disorderly conduct was enough to make most people behave.
Finally, the notification flashed again. The mail arrived.
Ethan opened it immediately. Golden coins filled the interface window.
[2.78 million.]
It was more than he expected. He transferred the gold into his inventory and checked the total.
2,788,123 coins.
He already had 8,123 of his own saved up. Seeing that number sitting there made something deep in his chest feel absurdly satisfying.
With that kind of wealth in hand, Ethan turned and pushed through the crowd, heading straight into the auction house.
’Time to spend.’
He ignored the equipment listings at first and opened the materials section instead. Ores, monster parts, enchanted minerals, rare crafting components, the selection was overwhelming compared to Ethereal’s early days a year and a half ago when shelves had looked half empty.
He browsed carefully, thinking through future upgrades rather than impulsive purchases, then bought several ores he recognized from experience before closing the interface.
The gear he currently wore was technically low level and unimpressive by appearance alone, but the skill bonuses attached to each piece were exactly what he wanted. He had selected every item with extreme care, optimizing not just raw stats but combat flow and control responsiveness. Replacing them outright would actually make him weaker.
Instead, he planned to upgrade them.
In Ethereal, equipment with exceptional stat combinations could be enhanced rather than replaced, though doing so cost far more than simply buying new gear. Ethan believed the utility stats on his equipment were among the best possible outcomes, combinations that had been considered top tier even in his previous life.
The only problem was that he had no idea how many materials the upgrades would consume.
After purchasing a preliminary batch of ores, he started toward the forge. Halfway there, a thought suddenly struck him.
Wasn’t his avatar a Divine-tier Forger?
He had been offline for a long time and honestly had no idea how far that forging level had progressed. The avatar had always been under Morzan’s control, and Ethan wondered whether the old man had continued using it during his absence.
He opened the avatar interface and checked its location. The map displayed a place he didn’t recognize; Temple of Mysteries. The avatar icon was moving.
Ethan blinked, pleasantly surprised. "Morzan... is that you?"
It had been a long time since they last spoke. If the avatar was active, there was no doubt the old man was controlling it.
A reply came almost instantly.
"Oh? Look who finally logs in. Don’t bother me. I’ll find you when I finish this quest."
Ethan laughed despite himself. A warm familiarity settled in his chest. The old man’s tone was just as irritable as ever.
"Alright, I’ll wait. By the way, what’s your forging level now? I need some gear upgraded."
"I know. Wait until I finish this quest. Got a surprise for you."
The response was intentionally mysterious.
"Fine. How long?"
"Stop pestering me and it’ll be faster. Could be half an hour, could be three or four hours."
Then Morzan went silent. Ethan rolled his eyes. ’Three or four hours. Now what?’
Logging back into Ethereal after so long felt strangely disorienting. He had money, more than enough, and suddenly grinding monsters for loot didn’t feel appealing at all. His current equipment wasn’t strong enough for serious challenges yet, Victor and the others were offline, and for the first time since returning, he genuinely didn’t know what to do.
A trace of restlessness crept in.
He was about to message the Mad Engineer, already imagining how shocked the guy would be to see him online, when another system notification appeared.
[Ding... System Notice: Someone is approaching in the real world!]
"Huh?"
Ethan froze and immediately opened the full-spectrum monitor connected to his VR capsule.
The display showed the dark metal interior of his rooftop shack. Thermal imaging activated automatically, revealing several heat signatures climbing the stairwell toward the roof.
He counted six figures.
One lagged behind, bent over, clutching his lower back and legs while gasping for air. The others had already reached the top and were looking back impatiently.
"What do these people want?"
There was nothing else on the rooftop besides Ethan’s shack. If they came up here, they were coming for him.
He logged out instantly.
The VR capsule opened with a soft hiss as Ethan stepped into the real world just as the group emerged from the stairwell.
The last man to arrive was the one struggling earlier, a short man in an expensive suit and polished leather shoes, breathing heavily as if he had just climbed a mountain rather than six flights of stairs.
The other six were also well dressed, though something about them felt off. Their posture carried an unmistakable subservience. They lined themselves along both sides of the stairway, three on each side, as though receiving an important guest.
The short man finally reached the rooftop and waved a hand in front of his flushed face. "What a dump. So high up. I’m exhausted."
Ethan stared at him flatly. "Can I help you?"
"Oh? Someone’s actually here?"
The man looked at Ethan with exaggerated surprise, though his expression didn’t match his words. Anyone could see the performance was fake. He had clearly known someone lived here.
A wave of disgust rose in Ethan’s chest. The man dressed like a gentleman but radiated the cheap arrogance of a street thug pretending to be refined.
"You already knew I was here. Don’t bother acting."
The short man blinked, momentarily thrown off. The six men beside him immediately glared at Ethan.
His expression hardened. "Do you know who you’re talking to?"
Ethan smirked. Did people like this all rehearse the same lines? "What, you going to cry about it?" he replied casually, his old street instincts surfacing without effort.
"I’ll make you cry, you bastard!" the man snapped automatically.
Ethan tilted his head. "Oh. So you’re the bastard."
The insult landed a second too late for the man to stop himself. His face flushed purple with rage as he realized he had walked straight into it.
"You... I only came up here out of curiosity. Heard someone was living on the roof and wanted to see what kind of broke loser it was. But listen carefully, you’re not walking down from here in one piece."
As the man spoke, something stirred in Ethan’s memory.
Those words felt familiar. He thought back.
Yes. Around this exact time in his previous life, this same man had come here. Back then, Ethan had just arrived, lying helpless inside the metal shack with both legs amputated. He had only heard the threats from inside while Leo dealt with the situation afterward. Ethan himself had never even seen the man’s face.
He hadn’t expected history to repeat itself so precisely.
Despite all the changes he had made, despite how many lives and timelines he had altered, some events still unfolded exactly as before.
Ethan let out a soft laugh.
"With them?" he asked, pointing at the six bodyguards.
The short man sneered. "Cripple him. Just some homeless trash living in a tin shack. Killing him won’t matter."
It wasn’t just intimidation. That was a genuine kill order.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
The soul sense he had deliberately suppressed earlier awakened instantly, spreading outward like invisible water flooding the rooftop. The world sharpened, every detail snapping into clarity.
He had wanted to live like an ordinary person for a few quiet days after sleeping here last night.
Apparently, fate had other plans.
His perception expanded, and the six bodyguards revealed themselves differently under his enhanced awareness. Each carried a faint bloody aura mixed with murky gray shadows clinging to their bodies.
The short man, however, was drenched almost entirely in gray.
"Looks like you’ve accumulated quite a few debts," Ethan said quietly. "Guess I’ll be settling them today."
This was something he would never have seen before. After surviving the Divine Sea Temple trials and undergoing its baptism, his soul power had transformed. Upon returning, he discovered he could perceive the spiritual residue surrounding certain people.
Every individual emitted a different aura. The red stains represented blood they had spilled. The gray haze was the lingering resentment and suffering left behind by those they had harmed.
People wrapped in that kind of energy always met the same ending eventually. Once the accumulation grew dense enough, fate itself seemed to drag them toward ruin.
They died forgotten, usually in the streets.
