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

Ethan stared at Leeroy, utterly speechless.

"You're not a Greatsword Warrior?" he asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

Leeroy raised an eyebrow, then sighed deeply, his expression turning somber. "When I created my character, I chose the Warrior class. At the time, I was planning to play as a Shield Tank. But when I logged into the game, I got stuck with this class called War Stomper. I can only use two-handed giant weapons—nothing else. It's so frustrating…"

He finished with a look of resignation, then pointed at Ryan and added, "And Ryan here? He picked Mage, but ended up as a Flame Soulbinder."

Ethan's eyes widened in shock, his pupils trembling slightly. He couldn't help but glance at Evelyn and ask, "What about you? What's your class?"

"Priest," Evelyn replied casually.

Ethan let out a long breath of relief. At least she wasn't a hidden class. That would've been too much. Still, as a Discipline Priest—a rare variant chosen by maybe one in a million players—she was practically a hidden class in her own right. What were the odds of running into two hidden classes and a Discipline Priest in one day? Was this some kind of twisted luck?

"Would you guys be interested in joining Renegade Alliance's elite team?" Ethan asked, his tone serious.

"Elite team?" Evelyn asked, curiosity flickering in her eyes. The three of them were complete newbies to the game. Before this, their gaming experience was limited to Snake, MATCH-3 puzzles, and other casual mobile games. They'd only joined Ethereal out of curiosity, seeing how everyone else was playing it.

Ethan nodded firmly. "Yeah, the elite of the elite. You'd be teaming up with Victor and Leo, but you'd need to sign a contract."

Truth be told, Ethan's so-called "elite of the elite" team was still just an idea. Right now, it only had six members: Skyblade, Slashblade, SeraphWarrior, Meatball, and himself. If Lyla came back, they'd have a full squad. But forming a full 30-man team was still a long way off.

If Skyblade and Slashblade could also switch to hidden classes, and with the addition of the Chase siblings, the team would at least have a solid foundation. They could fill in the gaps with some skilled players and start tackling dungeons or leading PvP assaults. But a full team of hidden classes? That was practically impossible.

Ethan couldn't tell if it was his luck or theirs that was off the charts. All three of them had joined the game together, and two of them had landed hidden classes right off the bat. The War Stomper class, for instance, had a unique skill that significantly boosted perception. Stealth classes would have a hard time sneaking up on Leeroy. No wonder Ethan's rogue alt had been detected from over 20 meters away.

The Chase siblings didn't respond to Ethan's offer right away. Instead, they exchanged uneasy glances.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked, noticing their hesitation.

Evelyn looked at her brothers before speaking slowly. "We… were actually planning to compete in the Decennial Ranking Tournament. We were hoping to secure a spot as low-ranking members in one of the Noble Eight Lineages. Even if it's just a minor role, it would mean we wouldn't have to worry about retaliation from the Dissenters anymore. So…"

Ethan frowned, puzzled. "But that doesn't stop you from entering Ethereal, does it?"

"The hidden territories of secret organizations and Noble lineages are kept in their original state. I've heard they don't even have electricity, let alone internet access. So, we might not be able to…"

As she spoke, Ethan suddenly understood. So that was the issue.

"Hidden territories? Pfft. There's nowhere Ethereal can't reach!"

Suddenly, Morzan's voice echoed in Ethan's mind, breaking a long silence.

"Uh…" Ethan was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he turned back to Evelyn and her brothers. "Just bring your VR headsets with you. Maybe it'll work."

Even as he said this, Ethan felt a twinge of doubt. The Ethereal VR headsets needed to be charged, after all. If there was no electricity in those hidden territories, even if the game's signal could reach them, they'd still be out of luck.

"Well… we're not even sure if we can find a way into one of the Noble Eight Lineages. If we can't, we'll just stick with you," Leeroy said.

Ethan was about to nod when Ryan chimed in.

"Honestly, with Evelyn's disguise skills and my cloaking charms, we could hide anywhere without a problem. You're just being a coward!"

"Who are you calling a coward?" Leeroy shot back, glaring at him.

"Look at the name above my head!" Ryan retorted, pointing at the floating tag above him.

"Both of you, stop fighting! Ryan's right, but Leeroy's not wrong either. If we can get into one of the lineages, even just as low-ranking members, it would be a good thing," Evelyn interjected, pulling her brothers apart.

Ethan stepped forward, trying to diffuse the tension. "Anyway, wait here for me. If you're bored, go kill some mobs. I'll head down for a bit, and when I come back, I'll take you to a high-level zone to grind."

By now, they had reached the center of Larson Basin, where a massive lake stretched out before them. Being here reminded Ethan of the last time he'd dived into the lake. There had been several locked chests, including two Dark Gold chests and one Pseudo-Divine chest in the final chamber.

He'd been meaning to come back ever since he got the key from the Mad Engineer, but the Prismatic Stone quest had delayed him. Now that he was here, he might as well check it out. The only question was whether someone had beaten him to it. He doubted any rogue player had reached Master-level lockpicking, but you never knew—some players were just built differently.

With that thought, Ethan distracted the siblings, and with Evelyn's mediation, the two brothers exchanged a final glare before calming down.

Ethan bid them farewell and dove into the water.

Not long after, just as Evelyn and her brothers had finished killing a few mobs, Ethan resurfaced. It had only taken him about ten minutes.

As it turned out, the spring was still there, but it no longer led to the secret chamber he'd discovered before. The map must have changed after he took the two Divine-tier items and released Lyla's pet. The special dungeon had disappeared.

He'd wondered why the lake in Larson Basin hadn't dried up after he'd taken the Frostbound Reverie and the Infernal Core, breaking the water cycle. Now he realized the spring had simply diverted elsewhere, and the current water source was just ordinary groundwater.

The Pseudo-Divine chest, the Dark Gold chests, and the pile of Gold chests were all gone.

After surfacing, Ethan called out to the siblings. Just then, a system notification popped up:

Ding…

[System Notification: [Little Horn] has sent you a video call request!]

"Huh? Accept!"

The video call connected, and a blank, white screen appeared. No one was visible.

Little Horn's voice came through, coughing violently. "Cough… dude, you've really screwed me over… cough, cough…"

Ethan immediately understood what was happening. The guy had actually believed him and hidden in that cave. But now, someone was trying to smoke him out like a rat.