Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 284: The Border Crossing

Ethan knew the surrounding area fairly well—every ridge and hollow carved into his memory from countless hours spent grinding.

In his past life, to complete the notorious quest for 1000 Titanite shards, he'd spent a considerable amount of time deep in Carnage Faction territory, dodging both monsters and rival players alike.

The abandoned mines nearby were where he had once dug for those very shards. ƒreewebɳovel.com

Not far from the mines lay a small town—likely the same one LongerThanLuffy had mentioned, the settlement to the north.

Pressing for time, Ethan shifted into Stag Form and bolted forward, hooves pounding against the earth. With no scenery worth admiring and the Stag's limited vision compared to Panther Form, he mostly kept his eyes shut, relying on instinct to avoid obstacles.

Every so often, he'd switch to Panther Form just long enough to reorient himself, ensuring he didn't slam into anything.

---

The landscape blurred past him in seamless motion. Soon, sensing he was close, he shifted back into Panther Form and spotted the faint outline of a town to his left.

His path had veered slightly, but not enough to matter. Adjusting his direction once more, he crept toward the settlement in stealth, stopping just outside the guards' detection range.

He didn't dare go further. Though this was no high-level village, the guards were still Level 55 elites. If he stepped into their alert radius, even going into stealth wouldn't save him.

Individually, a Level 55 elite posed no real threat—but numbers changed everything. The moment one guard spotted him, the system would trigger a full-scale defense response.

Attacking a Carnage Faction town as a Survivor player would activate the highest-tier security protocols. Reinforcements would pour in from neighboring settlements, and swarms of players would rush to join the fight. Given the Carnage Faction's bloodthirsty nature, they'd throw themselves at him without hesitation.

Ethan wasn't sure how to contact LongerThanLuffy. Cross-faction restrictions blocked friend requests, and private messages were impossible.

Just as he was weighing his options, a familiar figure appeared near the town's entrance, lingering within the safety of the no-combat zone.

Ethan's eyes sharpened.

It was LongerThanLuffy—but trailing behind him were several others, their guild emblems bearing a hound's insignia.

The same group that had ambushed him earlier.

Ethan grimaced. There was no way LongerThanLuffy would leave town now, at least not openly. Not with those vultures shadowing his every move. The moment he stepped beyond the safe zone, they'd pounce.

That left only one option: Ethan had to go in.

Scanning the area, he spotted a large boulder nearby. Moving stealthily, he swapped out his Blazing Necklace for the Demonhunter's Bone Fang Necklace and activated its secondary ability:

Attribute #2: Temporarily transforms the wearer into a Carnage Faction player. Duration: 30 minutes. Can be dispelled at will. Cooldown: 1 hour.

A quick check of his status confirmed the change:

Faction: Carnage

Even his class had shifted.

Class: Shadowstalker

A rare hidden class for the Carnage side, he guessed. They didn't have Druids here—Shadowstalker was the only shape-shifting option available.

The Demonhunter's Bone Fang Necklace had come from a monster of the same race—Demonhunters. Players couldn't choose that race; it was NPC-exclusive.

That meant Ethan, while using the necklace, was effectively a special class within Carnage Faction.

Probably the system's way of masking his true nature.

Because if he shifted openly, everyone would know he was a Druid.

But as a Shadowstalker, his transformed state took the form of a violet-black Shadow Sabertooth—the only shape available to them.

Ethan tested it. No matter what he tried to shift into, as long as it wasn't Human Form, he ended up as the same sabertooth.

Satisfied, he strode out from behind the boulder.

At the town entrance, just outside the guards' alert radius, he hesitated. Then, carefully, he stepped one foot past the invisible boundary.

Right at that moment, guard glanced at him—then ignored him completely.

Relieved, Ethan moved toward the gates.

Inside, LongerThanLuffy had planted himself in a chair by the roadside, lazily chewing on an apple while smirking at the spies watching him from a distance. The sheer arrogance in his expression, the way he took slow, deliberate bites—it was practically begging for a punch.

Ethan entered the town.

Torches lined the streets, casting everything in a dim, flickering amber glow that danced across cracked stone and shuttered windows. It was a far cry from the purity of sunlight, but still leagues better than the oppressive, suffocating darkness that blanketed the land outside the walls.

Beyond the town, without a torch or gear stacked with Dark Vision, you couldn't even see your own hand in front of your face.

Here, at least, you could make out shapes.

Ethan approached LongerThanLuffy, who was still too busy taunting his watchers to notice him.

Then—a shadow fell over the man's face, blocking the torchlight.

LongerThanLuffy blinked, turning to squint at Ethan.

"M182631…"

Ethan's low murmur made LongerThanLuffy freeze. The man stood abruptly, chair vanishing into his inventory. And with a subtle jerk of his chin, he signaled Ethan to follow and started walking deeper into town.

Their tails—the same group from before—immediately trailed after them, already relaying the encounter to their superiors.

---

"Who the hell is that?"

In a dim-lit room, a woman scowled at the report. Beside her, a hulking Berserker Shaman—a Carnage-exclusive class, just as Survivors had Paladins—leaned back with an amused smirk.

If Ethan had been there, he'd have recognized her instantly: the Necromantic Mage from before.

"Told you," the Shaman said, tapping his temple. "With him, you gotta use this. Not brute force."

The woman's glare could've melted steel. "Oh, like your brilliant plan worked? I even tried seducing him, you bastard!"

The Shaman choked on his drink—some foul-looking crimson liquid. "Seduce? You threatened to skin him alive if he didn't cooperate! That's not seduction, that's—"

Her murderous stare shut him up.

He took another sip, wisely deciding silence was safer.

Seeing his reaction, the woman exhaled sharply, turning her attention back to the streets below.