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

Ethan gave Skyblade a subtle nod, then flipped his hood up and let it fall back over his head. He turned to FreeYears and said, "Can we head into the dungeon now? We're down one person, but I think I can make up for the missing damage."

FreeYears hesitated. He had been worried that the whole group might suffer because of NoMoreCandy's absence. Now, hearing Ethan's confident tone, he wasn't sure how to respond. One of the players behind him nudged him sharply, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Uh... yeah, sure," FreeYears stammered.

Ethan stepped aside to let FreeYears take the lead, as he was the party leader. FreeYears, still a bit dazed, led the group toward the dungeon entrance.

Just as they took a few steps, a sharp shout echoed from behind them.

"Kill them!"

It was Skyblade's voice.

Boom!

Eighty-seven players unleashed their skills simultaneously, targeting the dozen or so former members of Renegade Alliance who had just been kicked out of the guild. The air crackled with the violent surge of magical energy as attacks rained down on the helpless group. Archers fired explosive arrows, warriors swung flaming blades, and rogues threw blinding sand into the mix.

In an instant, the dozen players were obliterated.

"Destroy the bodies," Skyblade commanded.

The order left everyone confused. Even the other members of Renegade Alliance were baffled.

But then, Meatball stepped forward, swaggering with an air of confidence. His outfit was eerily similar to Ethan's, his entire body cloaked in a dark, oversized robe. If it weren't for the fact that everyone had just seen Ethan enter the dungeon, they might have mistaken Meatball for him.

Earlier, during the dungeon run, everyone had wondered why Meatball was dressed like this. He hadn't explained, and now, as he walked toward the pile of corpses, curiosity turned to unease.

He stopped in the middle of the bodies and flipped back his hood.

"What the hell?!"

"Is that... a skull?!"

Meatball's head was a grotesque sight. His entire skull was exposed, devoid of flesh or skin. Sharp bone spikes protruded from his head like lightning rods, and his teeth were bared in a permanent, menacing grin. His eye sockets glowed with an eerie green flame, and his expression was unreadable—there was no flesh to convey emotion.

Then, something even more horrifying happened. Meatball crouched beside one of the corpses, his bony, skeletal hands reaching out to tear a chunk of flesh from the body. He shoved it into his mouth, chewing loudly with a sickening crunch.

"Ahhh!" Female players screamed, some even gagging at the sight.

It was disgusting. Terrifying. This... thing was eating corpses.

If Ethan had been there, he would have recognized Meatball's appearance as strikingly similar to the Carnage Faction's Necromancer class. The ability to consume corpses was a signature skill of the Necromancer, allowing them to regenerate health and destroy enemy bodies, preventing them from reviving.

But Meatball wasn't a Necromancer. So, what was he?

Ethan would have immediately guessed: Meatball had become a Necromantic Summoner, a rare hidden class obtained through a special quest. While not significantly stronger than a regular Warlock in the early stages, this class would become a terrifying force in the late game.

As a summoner-focused Warlock, the Necromantic Summoner amplified his strengths, allowing him to overwhelm enemies with sheer numbers of summoned creatures.

"Meatball, cut it out!" Skyblade said, rubbing his temples.

The order to destroy the bodies had been Meatball's idea, suggested through a private message. Skyblade had agreed, thinking it was a smart move. With the bodies destroyed, the dead players would be forced to respawn at the graveyard, where the guild's rogues were already waiting to ambush them.

The only one capable of destroying the corpses was Meatball. Several of his skills required corpses to activate. But no one expected him to show off in such a grotesque and unsettling way.

"Uh..." Meatball stood up, though it was impossible to tell what expression he might have been making. With a wave of his hand, a murky, gray mist enveloped the pile of corpses.

Crack, crack, crack...

The sound of bones grinding against each other filled the air. In seconds, the flesh of the corpses began to rot and slough off, leaving behind skeletal remains. The bones creaked and groaned as they rose to their feet, swaying unsteadily before shuffling over to stand behind Meatball.

"What the..."

"What kind of class is that?"

"That's way too overpowered."

Whispers and murmurs spread through the crowd as everyone stared in shock.

Meatball, seemingly pleased with himself, strutted back to the group with his entourage of skeletons in tow. Of course, no one could actually tell if he was pleased—his fleshless skull gave nothing away.

The members of Renegade Alliance immediately scattered, keeping at least three meters of distance between themselves and Meatball.
Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"Hey... what are you all afraid of?" Meatball said, his voice a raspy, bone-chilling whisper that sent shivers down everyone's spines.

His words only made things worse. The crowd took another step back, their discomfort palpable.

Now it was Meatball's turn to feel awkward. "Ugh, I can't believe that trainer tricked me! If I'd known this class would turn me into... this, I wouldn't have taken it, no matter how strong it is!" he grumbled, pulling his hood back over his head.

"Whew..."

With his skull hidden beneath the hood, the group collectively sighed in relief. The sight of his bare, fleshless head was just too much to handle—especially after watching him crouch down and... eat a corpse. The image was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.

Underneath the hood, Meatball chuckled softly. If anyone could have seen him now, they'd have noticed that he had reverted to his normal human appearance. His skeletal form was just one of his transformations, similar to a Druid's shapeshifting abilities.

Skyblade and Slashblade exchanged glances, watching as Meatball's hood trembled slightly. They had already been startled by his skeletal form when they logged in earlier, so they knew he could switch back to his normal appearance whenever he wanted.

No one could see what was happening under that dark cloak, but they could almost picture it—Meatball trying to stifle his laughter, his chubby belly quivering as he struggled to keep it together. He was probably on the verge of laughing so hard that his belly would ripple like waves.

"Alright, let's get back to the dungeon," the three of them said in unison, each leading their respective teams back into the instance.

The surrounding crowd of over a thousand players watched them go, their murmurs and discussions continuing long after the group had disappeared.

"Why would the leader of Renegade Alliance team up with someone else?"

In truth, even Ethan hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He had been... abandoned by his own team. No one wanted to take him along—their parties were already full.

Left with no other choice, Ethan had joined FreeYears' group and entered an Easy mode dungeon.

During the first wave of enemies, Ethan accidentally pulled aggro the moment he attacked. He had no choice but to shift into his Bear Form to tank the damage.

In the second wave, he waited a full minute before attacking, but after just two Shred skills, he pulled aggro again.

Ethan was at a loss.

Finally, FreeYears suggested, "Um... why don't you just tank from now on?"

Even in his Bear Form, Ethan's damage output was equivalent to that of five DPS players combined. With no other options, Ethan reluctantly took on the role of the tank.

Halfway through the dungeon, Slashblade suddenly sent Ethan a message:

"Celeste is online. She wants you to add her as a friend. Her character name is Lil Mew."

"...."

Ethan was stunned. Lil Mew? What kind of cringe logic would warrant such a name?

Brushing it aside, he immediately sent a friend request, but there was no response. After waiting for a while, Ethan couldn't help but ask Slashblade, "Is Celeste still online? Did she say anything?"

Slashblade replied quickly, "She's already logged off. She said she wants to talk to you about Lyla. Make sure you add her."

Ethan's heart skipped a beat.

Lyla...