Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Ethan's heart skipped a beat as the damage number floated above his head. Without hesitation, he activated the Swift Stride skill on his boots and bolted.

Whoosh! He turned and sprinted away as fast as he could. He had no choice—in his Panther Form, his total health was only 8,470. That single chain attack had nearly wiped him out. Thankfully, the Cleaving Tempest skill didn't have any additional damage modifiers, or he would have been dead. He also got lucky that the attack was just a high-level Crush and didn't crit. If it had, he'd be a goner.

Ethan wasn't sure what would happen if he died in this map, but he wasn't willing to risk losing the Wishbound Relic. He needed to find a way to transfer the relic to someone else, just in case. The problem was, the Wishbound Relic wasn't like other items. It couldn't be lent out through a contract. The only way to transfer it was to have someone kill him and loot it from his corpse. That person would have to be someone he trusted completely—someone who never left the city, like a crafting or gathering player.

Right now, only two people came to mind: the Mad Engineer and Celia. Ethan would have to decide who to entrust with the relic.

As he ran, Ethan put some distance between himself and the Scorchbeast Titan. Once he was safe, he shifted into Tree Form and began casting healing spells on himself: Rejuvenation, Healing Touch, and Lifebloom. With his health stabilized, he felt more confident. Now that he knew the Scorchbeast Titan's attack patterns, he wasn't as afraid. Running wasn't an option anymore—he'd have to tank the Cleaving Tempest skill in Bear Form.

Normally, his Bear Form had a whopping 5,295 defense, making him nearly impervious to physical attacks. But even with that defense, the Cleaving Tempest skill would still chip away about 3,000 health. Fortunately, in Bear Form, his health pool was a massive 29,645, so he wasn't too worried.

Using a combination of Rake, Rend, and various Balance Druid debuffs, along with the occasional physical attack, Ethan managed to whittle down the Scorchbeast Titan's health over the next ten minutes. Finally, the beast let out a deafening roar and collapsed.

Ding…

[You have defeated: Scorchbeast Titan. Over-level kill bonus: 2700%. Experience gained: 308,000 (Base experience: 5,500. Over-level bonus: 148,000. Divine Ability Growth bonus: 154,000).]

Ding…

[System Alert: Prismatic Stone's Nurturing, Third Stage Progress 1: Defeat Scorchbeast Titans - 1/5]

Ethan let out a sigh of relief. Taking down the Scorchbeast Titan had been nerve-wracking, but he'd pulled it off. What's more, the experience gain was incredible—308,000 experience for a single kill. He remembered that a level 55 Elite monster normally gave 2,750 experience, calculated as the monster's level multiplied by 50. But in this map, the experience was doubled.

This realization made Ethan smile. He had been worried that coming here for the quest would slow down his leveling progress, but now it seemed like this place was just as good as the Life Greenhouse—maybe even better, since it was free!

Ethan walked over to the Scorchbeast Titan's corpse and began looting. As he reached into the loot pile, his hand brushed against something that made his heart skip a beat. The texture was unmistakable—it was a skill book.

He quickly pulled it out and examined it.

[Skill Book: Cleaving Tempest]

Properties: Cleaving Tempest all enemies within melee range, dealing 100% physical damage.

Bear Form: Gain 2 rage points for each enemy hit. Maximum of 10 rage points per cast.

Panther Form: Consumes 35 energy per use. If an enemy has a bleeding debuff applied by you, Cleaving Tempest deals an additional 30% damage to that enemy, up to a maximum of 120% increased damage.

Class Restriction: Druid.

Ethan couldn't believe his luck. 'Is today my lucky day?'

The first monster he killed dropped a Druid skill book—and not just any skill, but Cleaving Tempest, the very skill he had been wanting for so long. Without hesitation, he clapped his hands together and learned the skill.

Finally, Ethan had his first area-of-effect (AoE) skill—Cleaving Tempest. The best part? It had no cooldown. In Panther Form, he could spam it as long as he had energy, and it dealt bonus damage to enemies with bleeding debuffs.

The bonus damage even stacked—the more bleeding debuffs an enemy had, the more damage Cleaving Tempest would deal. In Bear Form, the skill cost nothing to use and even generated rage points, making it a perfect tool for both offense and resource management.

With his newfound skill and a solid strategy, Ethan quickly took down a second Scorchbeast Titan. As he looted the corpse, his eyes widened in surprise. Another skill book dropped.

[Skill Book: Inferno Blast (Enhanced)]

It was an advanced version of the Mage's Inferno Blast skill. This book was worth at least a top-tier Gold-tier piece of equipment.

'Seems this is really my lucky day…' Ethan thought. Advanced skill books were incredibly rare, and yet here he was, finding one on his second kill.

Ethan continued his hunt, taking down three more Scorchbeast Titans to complete the quest. But as he looted the last one, he realized something: it wasn't luck. This map was a skill book goldmine. Out of five monsters, he had gotten three skill books. The drop rate was absurdly high. Not only was the experience gain incredible, but this place was also a paradise for farming skill books. It was almost too good to be true.

Ding…

[System Alert: Prismatic Stone's Nurturing, Third Stage Progress 2: Defeat Soulrenders - 0/50]

Just as Ethan finished killing the fifth Scorchbeast Titan, a new system prompt appeared. This time, the quest required him to kill 50 Soulrenders. Ethan scanned the area but didn't see any of these monsters nearby. They must be in another part of the map.

He hesitated. If he completed this stage and got teleported out, he'd miss out on this incredible farming spot. Part of him wanted to stay and grind for the full 72 hours. But then again, if he didn't complete the quest within the time limit, he had no idea what the consequences would be. Reluctantly, he decided to move on and find the Soulrenders.

After climbing over a few hills, Ethan finally spotted a large group of Soulrenders. Observing them, he realized the real challenge would be separating them. These wolf-like creatures were pack animals, and they moved in tight groups. Like the other monsters in this map, they were covered in exoskeletons, making them tough and heavily armored.

Using his Appraisal skill, Ethan inspected one of the Soulrenders.

[Soulrender]

Rank: Elite

Level: 56

Skills: Shred, Bite, Howl.

The Howl skill was particularly annoying—it could summon other Soulrenders within a 30-meter radius to join the fight. Ethan spent some time circling the outskirts of the pack, waiting for an opportunity to isolate one. Finally, he spotted a lone Soulrender wandering slightly away from the group. He took the chance and launched a Moonfire spell from a distance.

To avoid triggering the Howl skill and drawing the entire pack, Ethan planned to lure the Soulrender further away before engaging. But as soon as his Moonfire hit the creature, it turned its head and looked directly at him. Instead of chasing him, it simply tilted its head back and let out a loud, echoing howl.

"Awooo!"

Instantly, every Soulrender within earshot turned to face Ethan.

'Oh, you've got to be kidding me!' Ethan cursed under his breath. The damn thing didn't even move—it just howled and called for backup.

Ethan turned and ran, grateful that he had cast Moonfire from the maximum range. The pack of Soulrenders gave chase, but they were slow and eventually lost interest, returning to their aimless wandering.

Ethan stopped to catch his breath, his mind racing.

'How am I supposed to fight these things?' He was confident he could handle two Soulrenders at a time, but their packs were so tightly grouped that a single Howl could easily draw a dozen of them. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.