The post on the official website had been up for a while now. All eyes were on Ethan. Everyone was waiting for his response.
Suddenly, the system exploded with back-to-back global notifications:
[Ding... Global Announcent: Dragonspire player ’NotADruid’ has beco the first player in the world to reach Level 60! Generous rewards have been granted by the system.]
[Ding... Global Announcent: In seven days, Ethereal will launch its newest expansion—Fortress Wars! Powerful guilds will now be able to attack and seize control of their own fortresses!]
The world went into a frenzy.
In the Northern Frontier Region, players scrambled to check the updated rankings—only to be greeted with another shock:
---
Level Leaderboard
1st: NotADruid – Level 61 – EXP: 1.3% – Guild: Renegade Alliance
2nd: NotARogue – Level 61 – EXP: 0.64% – Guild: Renegade Alliance
3rd: Overlord – Level 46 – EXP: 98% – Guild: None
---
Eyes widened across the server.
"Level sixty-one? How the hell did he pull that off?"
"Wait—who’s that rogue in second?"
"Yeah, where’d he co from? That’s a huge jump."
"Are you guys blind? Look at the nas—he’s the Druid God’s brother."
"Damn... is a new Rogue God about to rise?"
The forums lit up with speculation and awe. And in the middle of it all, Ethan—fresh from clearing a group of Corpse Guards—stood frozen, eyes widened.
’Fortress Wars? Already?’
Sothing felt off. In his previous life, this expansion hadn’t dropped until March of the following year.
’Could it be... my level triggered it early?’
[Ding... System Notification: Congratulations! As the first player in the world to reach Level 60, and as a Level 6 guild leader, you are awarded a complete set of Fortress Defense System blueprints.]
Another reward. Ethan blinked.
Fortress Defense System?
If those were actual blueprints, then he had just hit the jackpot.
Even the lowest-tier Fortress Defense System was priceless right now. In a world where most players were still grinding in the mid-forties, having a fortress—fully defensible—would be ga-breaking.
He noticed a blinking icon in his inbox. The system had already sent the rewards, but there was no ti to check them yet.
First, he had to get back to town.
---
Across the forums, the chatter hadn’t stopped.
While many were stunned by Ethan’s progress, others were crying foul—claiming he had exploited the system, accusing him of using illegal mods or black-market tech.
They brought up the "FleetingYouth" incident again, demanding answers. So swore they’d trace the address FleetingYouth had leaked and drag Ethan to court themselves.
Others just promised to beat him to a pulp on sight.
But their noise fell into a void. Ethan didn’t reply. The "Final Words" post had been live for two hours now.
His only answer?
Level 61.
---
An hour later, the leaderboard refreshed.
Ethan was still at 61—but his EXP had risen to 4.96%. It wasn’t for lack of effort. He’d just wiped out over a hundred more Corpse Guards.
But now, the grind had changed.
Once past 60, experience gain wasn’t linear—it multiplied. What used to be fast now felt like slogging through wet cent.
Back then, as the system announcents rang out, Ethan had asked Morzan, "Why did the system launch Fortress Wars early? Was it because we hit sixty?"
Morzan, currently inhabiting his in-ga avatar, looked at him strangely. "You don’t know?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
Morzan paused, then chuckled. "Right... when Fortress Wars launched last ti, you were lying in a hospital bed like a dead dog. Didn’t they amputate your leg?"
Ethan scowled. "You’re the dead dog."
But he got it now.
Back then, Skyblade had helped him escape to Harbor City, where he holed up in a tin shack on a rooftop. By the ti he’d logged back into Ethereal, the Fortress System was already live.
Soone else must’ve hit level 60 first and triggered it.
---
"Can’t level up anymore today," Ethan muttered. "Heading back."
"Oh right," Morzan said. "You should probably log off and stretch. Hydrate. Touch grass or whatever."
With that, Morzan used a Hearthstone and warped back to the Survivor Faction. Then he disconnected, letting his avatar resu its usual mining routines.
Ethan frowned, not entirely sure what he ant—until he checked his vitals on the system monitor.
Red status bar. Severe dehydration warning.
This wasn’t just fatigue—this was dangerous. Standing on a stone pillar, he imdiately chose to log out.
---
When he opened his eyes in the real world, everything was blurry.
Then it hit him—the sll.
A foul, putrid stench surged into his nostrils. Ethan gagged, almost throwing up on the spot.
Reeling, he slamd the hatch release.
The VR capsule cracked open, and he shoved his head out, gasping for fresh air.
But it was too late.
The entire Starry Sky Do had already been contaminated with the sa nauseating odor.
He tried to crawl out.
But the mont he moved, sharp pain radiated through every muscle. His body felt swollen—overinflated, like soone had pumped gas into his veins. He couldn’t even lift himself properly.
’What the hell...’
Looking down, his skin was slick and black, covered in a slimy layer of gri. The sll was coming from him.
Gritting his teeth, Ethan rolled out of the VR pod. He hit the floor hard but kept moving, inching toward the door.
Ten minutes of crawling later, he finally reached it—headbutting the door open like a dying animal.
Half his body now lay outside.
He tried calling out to Leo, whose room was nearby, but his throat was so parched he could barely whisper.
’No good... I’ll have to fix this myself.’
Tapping into his Soul Sense, he summoned a bottle of water from his Mindscape.
’Thank god... my Soul Power’s still here.’
But his fingers barely worked. The bottle wouldn’t open.
He fumbled, biting the cap, mud getting in his mouth. It took ages, but finally he got it open and tipped the bottle into his mouth.
The water hit him like a jolt.
It even shot out of his nose several tis, but he didn’t care.
He drained the entire thing, then collapsed, coughing violently.
But slowly... he started to feel better. His fingers twitched. He could sit up.
He imdiately summoned a dozen more massive water bottles—each one holding ten pounds. And he chugged them down, one after another.
But his thirst didn’t go away. He didn’t feel full. If anything, he felt more hollow.
Only when he finished all twelve did sothing change.
---
Hiss... hiss... hiss...
His body started to hiss and crackle. Then steam rose from his skin. Sticky black sweat oozed out of every pore.
’So this... this is where that gunk ca from.’
He ripped off his clothes, down to his underwear, and tossed the stinking rags away.
But the weakness returned almost instantly.
Panicked, he summoned more water—dozens of super-sized bottles. He drank while pouring more over his body, rinsing off the sludge.
It went on for over an hour.
Only when his body stopped overheating and the black sweat ceased did he feel... alive.
Ethan looked down at himself. His nearsightedness—gone. Even in the dark, he could see everything crystal-clear.
Then a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
"Well, kid? How’s that Body Cleansing feel?"
"Body Cleansing?" he muttered. He’d suspected as much.
"You’re Level 60 now. Consider it your reward. And when you log back in, you’ll be able to activate your Bloodline reward too."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "So... how strong am I now?"
"Hard to say," Morzan said mysteriously. And then... silence.
No matter how much Ethan called, the voice didn’t return.
---
He summoned a few more buckets of water, cleaned up thoroughly, then slipped into fresh clothes.
He felt lighter, stronger, and sharper. Every fiber of his body buzzed with potential. But when he glanced back at the VR capsule...
He froze.
The inside was coated with layers of black sludge.
The stench still lingered in the air.
Even public restrooms didn’t reek this badly. Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose.
’Did all that really co out of ?’
And more importantly... What the hell was he supposed to do with this ss?
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