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

"Come on, kid, put some muscle into it!"

"Yes, yes, that's it—a crack!"

"Push harder, and I'll reward you with a thousand pieces of gold... and beauties..."

The clanging echoes rang through the General's Hall, accompanied by the slightly giddy voice of Aldric the First and the sound of ragged, heavy breathing—huff, huff—like some overworked hound about to collapse.

Who else could it be but Ethan?

For all the awe-inspiring aura he had carried at first—the aloof, tyrant-king air of a man who once ruled the world—Aldric the First was proving himself very different when confronted with the chance of freedom. His calm façade had cracked, and in its place, an almost childlike zeal had emerged.

Ethan couldn't help smirking. "Your Majesty, stop making promises you can't keep. You're broke and chained up like a wolf in a cage. A thousand pieces of gold? Beauties? What beauties could your time have even offered? If you really manage to break out of here and take down that Crow, then I'll show you what real beauties look like."

Beneath the battered helmet, Aldric's eyes flickered faintly, though Ethan didn't notice. What neither of them realized was that Ethan was already whispering through his mind to Yaya, weaving their plan behind the First Emperor's back.

"This chain's nearly done," Aldric declared suddenly, his voice firm. "Make the same cracks in the other three, and I'll break free."

"Yeah, yeah..." Ethan muttered. He wiped the sweat from his brow, then flopped down onto the ground with a grunt. "I'm too tired. Need a breather."

He lay back flat, digging a piece of dried meat from his spatial storage and biting down.

"Hm? Kid, what are you eating? Let me have a taste!" Aldric's eyes twitched, his nose flaring as if he could smell through the centuries.

"This?" Ethan shot him a look and shook his head. "Not happening. I don't have much left myself, and I need the energy to keep working. You haven't eaten in over two thousand years. It'd just be wasted on you!"

Aldric narrowed his eyes, but then nodded slowly, a faint glint flashing across his gaze. "Fair enough. Then hurry up and recover your strength."

Ethan ignored him, still chewing. After a while, he pulled out a small white bottle, uncorked it, and took a swig. A rich, fragrant aroma immediately filled the Hall.

This time, Aldric couldn't keep calm. His head jerked up, his nostrils twitching. "...Good wine..."

"Of course it's good wine," Ethan replied through a mouthful of meat, tipping the bottle again. "This is sixty years old. A 'White Bottle' vintage. Top shelf stuff!"

"White Bottle?" Aldric asked, and for a moment, if not for the dust and stone crusted across him like some ancient statue, it almost looked as if he might blush. "Do you have another?"

"I've got one more..." Ethan admitted, pulling a second bottle into view. His expression tightened, as though the thought of sharing cut him deeply. "But fine—since fate threw us together, I'll share."

He rose reluctantly and held the unopened bottle out toward Aldric. The First Emperor stared at it, then suddenly barked, "Since you don't have much, give me the half-empty one instead!" His shackled hand shot out.

"What? This is my leftover!" Ethan exclaimed. "You're Aldric the First, and I'm just a descendant. How could I insult you with my scraps?"

"Bah, I'm no longer the First Emperor!" Aldric snapped. And with a speed that should have been impossible for someone bound, he snatched the half-finished bottle right out of Ethan's hand. Ethan's timing had been just wrong enough that the bottle fell neatly into Aldric's reach.

The First Emperor lifted the wine, sniffed, and then turned his gaze up at Ethan, who was grinning wide and innocent.

"To share fine wine with Aldric the First—I have no regrets in this life!" Ethan declared theatrically, twisting open his other bottle and taking a swig.

Aldric watched him drink, a flicker of suspicion flashing in his eyes. He sipped his own bottle cautiously, savoring it as though searching for poison.

Ethan caught the look out of the corner of his eye and thought grimly, 'He really doesn't trust me. Probably thinks I slipped something in the wine.'

But he said nothing. Instead, he downed more liquor, stuffed the rest of the dried meat in his mouth, and hauled up the Twilight Warspear once again, resuming his work on the chains binding Aldric's other limbs.

Time crawled by. It took two full days before Ethan finally pried open the last gap in the chain binding Aldric's right arm. And since time in this world flowed at the same pace as back on Earth, that meant nine days had already passed.

By now, the Fortress Wars expansion for Ethereal should have launched six days earlier, but the game had remained under maintenance the entire time. No announcements. No updates. Just silence.

On Earth, frustration had boiled over. Players stormed Ethereal's retail stores and corporate branches. Trouble at the stores ended with police dragging people away. At the offices, they found nothing but advanced AI robots, and troublemakers there were quietly escorted out as well. Complaints flooded into consumer protection agencies but went nowhere. Across the globe, people began to realize that Aeon Corporation wasn't just another company. It was untouchable, a titan beyond accountability.

But here, in the General's Hall, the critical moment had arrived.

Ethan stood back, heart pounding, as Aldric slowly rose to his full height. The four chains stretched taut, groaning, grinding against ancient stone.

"Ahhh!" Aldric roared, his voice shaking the Hall like an earthquake. Only the black Throne of the Underworld remained unmoved.

Power flooded from him, an aura so heavy it pressed on Ethan's chest, threatening to crush him outright. Then—snap!—the chain on Aldric's right arm shattered. The moment it broke, his aura spiked, a shockwave exploding outward.

Ethan gritted his teeth and braced behind the Twilight Warspear, but the concussive blast slammed into him and hurled him backward until his spine hit the far wall.

"Goddamn it... he's too strong," Ethan coughed, steadying himself. "Yaya, you're sure our plan will work?"

"It should be fine!" Yaya's gentle voice answered in his mind.

Ethan swallowed hard. "I feel like... maybe I shouldn't have let him out."

"Don't worry, brother," she reassured him. "This is an opportunity!"

Ethan gave a stiff nod, falling silent, though doubt gnawed in his gut.