Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat! Chapter 23: Renegade Alliance

The three n stared at Ethan's ssage, speechless for a solid minute.

It was Williams who finally broke the silence, slapping Slashblade lightly on the shoulder and exclaiming, "Did I just see wrong?!"

Slashblade nodded solemnly. "You saw it right."

"Holy crap, he's not just a pro, Is he a goddamn deity or sothing?" Williams shouted, his shock bubbling over.

"Must've been dumb luck," Skyblade muttered, finally snapping out of his stupor.

"Why don't you try getting lucky like that?" Slashblade shot back.

Ding...

[You have received new ssage.]

Just as the group was scrambling for what to do next, Skyblade noticed a system notification pop up.

The ssage read: "Let's call it the Renegade Alliance."

Attached to it were five gold coins.

Sender: NotADruid.

"...."

---

Ethan smirked as he sent off the ssage, then refocused on his grinding. The massive swamp leviathan bellowed in frustration, slamming its head into the rocky walls of the ridge.

It was down to half health now, but it was already 3:45 a.m. Ethan's bloodshot eyes betrayed how long he had been at this, mindlessly repeating the sa attack pattern like a machine.

Finally, at 7:30 a.m., the leviathan let out a deafening death cry. Its body collapsed, belly-up, lifeless.

Ding...

[You have slain the Swamp Leviathan. Overlevel kill bonus: 3000% experience boost. You have earned 124,000 XP (Base XP: 2,000; Overlevel Bonus: 60,000; Ability Growth Bonus: 62,000).]

A cascade of golden light enveloped Ethan, signaling five consecutive level-ups. He was now level 10, with 78% of the experience bar already filled.

Ding...

[Global announcent: Congratulations on achieving the world's first kill of a level 20 field boss: Swamp Leviathan. Would you like to hide your character na?]

"Hide it," Ethan confird without hesitation.

More notifications followed in rapid succession, each carrying a reward he had long anticipated.

As the leviathan's massive corpse dissolved into faint light, it left behind a shimring staff, two skill books, and several reinforcent stones. Ethan hovered down gracefully using Wingbeat, avoiding the swamp's waters.

"No lesser crocodiles in sight, good." He didn't want to risk stepping on one.

Landing near the loot, Ethan quickly swept it up: a silver-tier staff, two skill books (Precision Block and Rapidfire Barrage), fourteen reinforcent stones, and 1 gold, 52 silver coins.

Not bad.

Even though the skill books weren't useful for him, Precision Block would be perfect for Skyblade's shield class, and Rapidfire Barrage? That was going straight to Lyla. It was an advanced skill book with an abysmally low drop rate. In his last life, even players above level 100 who specialized in the Archer class rarely got their hands on it.

If this book were sold after the ga opened up its currency exchange system in the future, it could easily fetch $150,000. Right now, it was worth even more.

But for Lyla, the woman he had sworn to protect? This amount ant nothing.

Ethan shook his head at the thought of his past self. Back then, he had barely managed to scrape by. Even during his ti at the top, all he'd cared about was the ga itself, completely oblivious to the potential for profit. By the ti he tried to make real money, it was too late, he'd already fallen from grace.

Snapping back to the present, Ethan opened his inventory and attached Precision Block to a ssage for Skyblade. As for Rapidfire Barrage, he'd deliver it to Lyla in person after leaving the Starter Zone.

The in-ga ssage system only worked within the Starter Zone, a convenience that didn't exist in the main ga. No cross-zone mail. No exceptions.

"Ah, thanks, Legend!" Skyblade sent him a quick ssage, brimming with gratitude.

Ethan chuckled to himself but didn't bother replying.

He guessed the ssages he had sent earlier had completely shocked them, making them think he was so sort of psychic who could for tell the future.

With a grin, he opened his inbox to claim the First Kill rewards.

As expected, the notifications didn't disappoint.

[System Notification: First Kill Rewards Claid]

Starter Zone First Kill: 3 Silver Coins

Regional First Kill: 3 Gold Coins

National First Kill: 30 Gold Coins

Global First Kill: 300 Gold Coins

The total was three tis the reward of the Level 5 Boss. But beyond the gold, there were no extra items this ti. It seed bonus loot from First Kills was randomized.

Ethan's eyes practically sparkled as he stared at the hefty 333 gold coins. He could almost feel the weight of it in his hands.

"I wonder if Trusty007 can handle this much," he mused. That guy was likely still struggling to offload the 100 gold Ethan sold him earlier. Hardly anyone in the Starter Zone had enough to spend at this stage of the ga.

But Ethan decided to hang on to the coins for now. "Who knows when I might need it?" he reasoned. Even if it devalued, it was better to be prepared, especially with the expenses of maintaining a guild.

Next, he pulled out the Wishbound Relic and upgraded the new silver-tier weapon straight to 14.

[Primal Warstaff 14]

Grade: Silver

Required Level: None

Attack: 182–247 (Base: 76–103, Enhancent: 106–144)

Special Attribute: Adds True Damage equal to Player Level × 2 per hit.

Enhancent (Level 10 Bonus): Mastery 2

Faction Restriction: Survivor

Class Restriction: Mage, Warlock, Priest, Druid

Holding the weapon in his hand, Ethan's confidence surged. Its damage potential, paired with its true damage attribute, would skyrocket his efficiency. Even if it couldn't bypass the defense of tougher monsters, the added true damage alone would let him farm at twenty tis his current speed.

At Level 10, the bonus was already 20 true damage per attack. In three more days, Ethan was determined to break out of the Starter Zone.

In his past life, the fastest player had managed the feat in eleven days. This ti, Ethan was set on smashing that record.

With a glance at the clock, he saw only ten minutes left until the server shut down. Ethan returned to the cliff where he'd discovered the hidden platform.

Jumping with precision, he landed exactly where he intended. Thanks to his earlier attempt, he nailed it on the first try.

"This spot will do." He logged out.

Ethan erged from the VR capsule and wandered to Lyla's room. The soft hum of the machine confird she was still logged in. Without disturbing her, he headed downstairs, washed up, and stepped outside the villa.

For reasons he couldn't explain, he felt a sudden urge to jog.

Ethan began with a slow pace around the villa complex, gradually speeding up. To his astonishnt, he didn't feel the slightest fatigue, even after several laps.

"What the... Since when do I have this kind of stamina?" he wondered.

After college, he had beco a recluse, a "professional shut-in." Running even a single lap in the past would have left him gasping for air.

He pushed himself to go faster, running like the wind until the twelfth lap, when his energy finally waned. Slowing to a stop, Ethan took deep breaths of the crisp evening air.

His body's transformation stunned him. He could barely rember the last ti he'd felt this alive.

"How is this possible?" he murmured, baffled. But as the realization set in, a small smile tugged at his lips.

No matter the reason, being able to run, truly run, felt incredible.

For a mont, mories of his past life flooded his mind. The endless nights confined to a wheelchair after losing his legs above the knees. The days spent disconnected from hope, dreading the monts outside the ga.

Never again, Ethan vowed. That life was gone forever.