No one needed Ethan's warning. They all pulled out their Return Stones without hesitation.

Just at that moment, as the massive drills fully emerged, their hatches opened, releasing wave after wave of Clockwork Dwarves in perfect formation.

Before the swarm could react, Ethan's party vanished in streaks of white light.

---

Harmony City – Teleportation Hub

"That was too close. I thought I wasn't gonna make it," SeraphWarrior muttered, his heart still racing.

He hadn't been slow, just greedy. Staying behind a few extra seconds to grab a Gold-Tiered piece had almost cost him his life.

Ethan glanced at the group. "How'd everyone do?"

"Seven Gold-Tiered pieces, twenty-six Silver-Tiered," Slashblade reported.

"Seven? I got eleven," Skyblade said smugly.

Meatball smirked. "Heh, I got a Dark Gold item. Can you believe it?"

"You actually found Dark Gold gear?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

He had run across the entire battlefield, making sure that nothing valuable was left behind. Yet somehow, Meatball had managed to snag one.

"Let's find a place to split the loot," Ethan said.

With that, he led them straight to the Guild Hall. The meeting room inside was off-limits to outsiders unless he gave permission.

Once they were inside, everyone emptied their inventories, piling the equipment in the center.

"Keep anything you can use. Anything else goes into the Guild Vault," Ethan instructed, already scanning through the loot.

"Boss, this one's for you."

Meatball pulled out the Dark Gold item and handed it over.

Ethan checked the stats.

[Strider's Boots]

Rarity: Dark Gold

Level Requirement: 30

Defense: 79–105

Agility: +30

Strength: +30

Intelligence: +30

Stamina: +30

Endurance: +30

Abilities:

1. Swift Stride – Increases movement speed by 70% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

2. Leap – Increases jump height by 300% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

3. Double Jump – Allows a second jump mid-air. Cooldown: 1 minute.

Class Restriction: Druid

Faction Restriction: Survivor

A Druid-exclusive piece? It was practically made for him.

Ethan shared the stats with the group.

"This is garbage," SeraphWarrior scoffed.

"Yeah, balanced stats and three escape skills? Trash," Skyblade agreed.

Meatball rolled his eyes. "You two are hopeless."

"What'd you say, Meatball?" Skyblade shot back.

Ethan ignored them, eyes locked on the boots.

Most Druids avoided class-locked gear, preferring unrestricted equipment that fit their specialized playstyles. Since Druids usually focused on one form specialization, they had no use for balanced stats.

But Ethan was different.

His balanced build was intentional, and thanks to his Unique Ability, every stat point had amplified effects.

To him, these boots weren't garbage. They were perfect.

Most players had a 12-star growth rate. Ethan had 20-star growth.

But that wasn't even the best part. The Swift Stride, Leap, and Double Jump skills turned these boots into an absolute god-tier item. If upgraded properly, this could be a lifelong piece of gear.

Without hesitation, he equipped them, tossing aside his Pilot's Boots. It felt like upgrading from a rusted pistol to a state-of-the-art rifle.

After sorting through their loot, everyone was now decked out in Silver-Tiered gear, with a few Gold-Tiered pieces.

Ethan replaced his old Starter Gear, boosting his defense past 500 points, and that was without any enhancements.

The only downside? Not a single weapon had dropped. His attack power hadn't increased at all.

Originally, Ethan had planned to enhance everyone's gear, but a quick glance at the in-game clock told him it was almost time to log off. So, he made plans to do it tomorrow.

He was building an elite squad, and once their gear was upgraded, they'd finally be ready for bigger objectives.

At that moment, the Northern Frontier Region leaderboards updated.

The top six spots were all held by Renegade Alliance's elite, with NotADruid still sitting at #1—Level 31. The next five had all reached Level 28, though their experience varied slightly. Meanwhile, #7 was only Level 21, completely left in the dust.

The entire server was buzzing. How had these six players skyrocketed in levels so quickly?

No one could have guessed that Lyla's single Forbidden Spell had wiped out a hoarde of Clockwork Dwarves, creatures that had been stockpiled for ages. And they weren't just regular mobs, they were all Level 40+, with many elites among them.

Ethan wished he could experience that kind of power leveling again, but for now, he had other priorities.

He was already Level 31, but as soon as the guild had enough members, they were heading into Howling Caverns.

What he hadn't told the others? He planned to challenge Expert Mode.

With a fully enhanced squad and an entire raid team, Ethan was confident they could clear it.

Expert-level dungeons required strategy, not just raw stats. Unlike Easy or Normal modes, where brute force could carry a team through, Expert mode demanded precise execution.

---

Back to Reality

Logging out, Ethan knocked on Lyla's door.

"Hey, let's grab breakfast," he called out. He also wanted to ask her about Ninth Division. The fact that Morzan knew about it had piqued his curiosity.

More than that, he wanted to know: who exactly was Morzan? Maybe Ninth Division held the answers.

Lyla cracked the door open. "I just need to use the bathroom real quick."

Before he could respond, she darted inside, clearly in a hurry. Ethan shrugged and stepped into her room to wait.

Taking a few steps forward, he suddenly froze. On her bed, two very personal pieces of clothing were lying there.

Underwear.

'…She wasn't wearing anything under her night dress?!'

A wave of heat rushed through him. Instinctively, his gaze flicked toward the bathroom door.

Right at that moment, Lyla stepped out. Her eyes landed on Ethan, then on the bed behind him.

For a second, silence. Then, her face turned red.

She rushed forward, snatching the items and shoving them under her pillow.

Before she could react further, Ethan stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. As he leaned in, his breath brushed against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

Her knees nearly buckled.