Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 231

Chapter 231: The Ironvale Expedition
Ethan sorted through the remaining skill books, pulling out those for rogues and marksmen. After picking out the useful ones and tossing the duplicates back, he handed the stack to Slashblade.

“Give these to Celia and have her store them in the guild vault. Anyone who needs them can exchange them for contribution points,” Ethan instructed.

Skyblade, ever the eager one, chimed in, “Ethan, when are we heading to the Ironvale Mountains?”

Ethan thought for a moment before answering, “Probably in the next couple of days.”

“Alright, we’ll get ready!” Slashblade said, nodding.

But Ethan shook his head. “This time, I’m going alone.”

“Not happening,” Slashblade immediately protested.

“Yeah, no way,” SeraphWarrior added.

“Are you saying we’re not good enough?” Skyblade blurted out, his tone a mix of hurt and defiance.

Ethan paused, touched by their concern. He smiled and patted Skyblade on the shoulder. “It’s not that I don’t trust you guys. I’m not even sure I’ll find what I’m looking for. Let me scout it out first. If I find something, I’ll call you in.”

The three of them exchanged skeptical looks. They knew Ethan well enough to know that even if he did find something, he probably wouldn’t call them. But they also knew better than to argue with him when he had that determined look in his eyes.

To lighten the mood, Skyblade suddenly suggested, “Hey, once the game goes into its rest period, let’s go out for a nice meal, yeah?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow, a teasing grin on his face. “By ‘nice meal,’ you mean all-you-can-eat buffet, and buritto, right?”

Skyblade scratched his head, looking sheepish. “Uh… aren’t those nice?”

The group collectively sighed. Skyblade’s idea of “fine dining” was about as refined as his tanking skills.

After saying his goodbyes, Ethan left the guild hall. Once outside, he sent Slashblade and Skyblade each a message containing coordinates, NPC names, and activation methods. These were the trigger points for two special class quests: the Iron Guardian for shield tanks and the Divine Oracle for holy priests.

Ethan knew that quests like these in Ethereal weren’t just about knowing where to go. They often required specific conditions or even being “chosen” by the system to activate. He told them to go and try their luck, but he didn’t hold out much hope.

With that taken care of, Ethan felt a sense of relief. There was still one thing left on his to-do list. Now that he’d hit level 45, it was time to take a risk and head to that place. But first, he needed to test whether he could transfer the Wishbound Relic to his rogue alt. If it worked, he could proceed without worry.

However, the rogue’s cooldown period wasn’t over yet, so Ethan decided to kill some time wandering around the city. He was considering heading to the market district to browse for deals when a system notification popped up.

Ding…

[System Alert: Incoming external call. Unknown number. Accept?]

“Accept,” Ethan replied.

“Hello?” A sweet, melodic voice came through the line.

Ethan was momentarily taken aback. The voice was unfamiliar, yet there was something oddly familiar about it.

“Uh… who is this?” he asked cautiously.

The voice on the other end sounded slightly annoyed. “Wow, Mr. Busy, you really do have a short memory, huh? I’ve called you over a dozen times, and this is the first time you’ve picked up!”

“Evelyn?” Ethan finally placed the voice. He’d been so focused on grinding in the Soulforge Abyss that he’d completely forgotten about her. He’d only saved Leeroy’s number, so her call had come up as unknown.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Evelyn replied. “We’re leaving Ember City soon, and I wanted to see you before we go. I also need to give you an IOU.”

“What do you mean?” Ethan asked, confused.

“Well, the five hundred thousand you transferred to us—we’re not going to take it for free. If we manage to survive and earn enough money, we’ll pay you back.”

Ethan couldn’t help but laugh at her words. “That sounds way too grim. Where are you planning to go? And what about Jade? Did everything get sorted out? How’s she doing?”

He fired off a string of questions, but Evelyn hesitated before answering.

“Is it… not something you can talk about?” Ethan asked, sensing her reluctance.

“It’s not that,” Evelyn replied. “It’s just… do you play Ethereal? What’s your ID? Let’s talk in the game.”

Her suggestion piqued Ethan’s curiosity. “Sure, send me your ID. I’m actually in the game right now. I’ll add you.”

Ethan wasn’t keen on revealing his own ID. Even if he did, he doubted Evelyn would believe him.

“Alright, my ID is WhisperingFlora,” Evelyn said.

“Got it. I’ll add you. Log in and accept the request.”

Ethan quickly pulled up the friend list and entered her character name.

Ding…

[System Alert: Your friend request to [WhisperingFlora] has been accepted!]

The moment he hung up the call, the request was approved.

WhisperingFlora: “???”

NotADruid: “It’s me, Ethan.”

Ding…

[System Alert: [WhisperingFlora] has sent you a video call request!]

Ethan accepted the call, and Evelyn’s face appeared on the holographic screen. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. Behind her, two more heads popped into view—Leeroy and Ryan.

In Ethereal, character appearances could be slightly adjusted, but unless you specifically changed the settings, your friends would see your real-life face. Of course, some players—especially those who were less confident about their looks—would tweak their appearance to look more attractive.

Ryan was the first to react. “Holy crap… it really is you!”

Leeroy stammered, “D-D-Druid God!”

Ethan smiled. “Where are you guys? I’ll come find you.”

Evelyn quickly gave him their location, and after ending the call, Ethan headed to the nearest teleportation array. He was about to revisit a place he hadn’t been to in a while.

The coordinates Evelyn provided led him to Larson Basin, the very place where he had once unleashed a toxic flood that wiped out over 7,000 members of Blade Syndicate. The water had long since receded, and the area had returned to its former state as a popular grinding spot.

Ethan was surprised to find that Evelyn, Leeroy, and Ryan were only level 19. He had no idea when they had started playing Ethereal, but their progress was painfully slow.

As he approached the coordinates, he spotted the trio struggling to take down a level 20 monster. Their class choices were… interesting, to say the least.

Leeroy, the eldest, had chosen to play as a Greatsword Warrior, wielding a massive two-handed sword. His attacks were slow but powerful, each swing landing with a heavy thud.

Ryan, the middle brother, had gone for a Fire Mage. While fire magic was undeniably strong, it was also the slowest casting school among mages. Most players avoided it in the early game due to its sluggish pace.

And then there was Evelyn, who had chosen to play as a Discipline Priest. Discipline priests were known for their strength in the late game, particularly in PvP, where they were considered one of the best healing classes. However, they were notoriously difficult to play in the early stages, and very few people bothered with them.

Watching the three of them fight the monster was almost painful. Leeroy’s slow swings, Ryan’s delayed spellcasting, and Evelyn’s frantic attempts to keep everyone alive made for a chaotic scene.

Ethan couldn’t help but shake his head. “You guys really picked the hardest road, huh?”