A More Tankier Build

Ethan winced as he glanced at the NPC shop's price list for keys. He'd painstakingly memorized the locations of high-tier treasure chests during his past life as a rougue. But now, it seemed those dreams would have to wait…

Bronze Key: 1 silver coin.

Silver Key: 1 gold coin.

Gold Key: 100 gold coins.

Dark Gold Key: 10,000 gold coins.

"Absolute robbery," he muttered. Who in their right mind would buy these keys this early in the game? Nobody, that's who. By the time the in-game economy stabilized and rogues leveled up their lockpicking skills, these overpriced keys would become useless.

He sighed, though he had to admit: treasure hunting was one of the few perks for rogues, whose solo leveling pace was painfully slow. Finding and unlocking treasure chests in the wild was a lucrative perk, with experience points awarded for successful unlocks.

He vividly remembered opening a Dark Gold Chest at level 109 in his previous life. The reward? An entire level's worth of experience points, plus some extra. But that was a naturally spawning chest. These lootable chests didn't grant XP, just items.

Ethan sighed and shelled out 1 gold coin for a Silver Key, $1,800 in real-world currency. "Better not be junk," he muttered, eyeing the progress bar on the chest.

1%... 20%... 50%…

"Come on, don't screw me over," he whispered, literally clasping his hands together. "C'mon, old man, give me something good!"

Ding!

[Lockpicking successful!]

Excited, Ethan threw the chest open and reached inside, his heart pounding. After rummaging for what felt like an eternity, his hand finally grasped an item, a bracelet.

Ethan's eyes lit up. Jewelry! Even the worst piece of jewelry was worth at least a gold coin.

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[Blazing Bracelet]

Quality: Gold-tier (Upgradeable)

Level Requirement: Level 5

Base Defense: 18–32

Effect: Increases physical and magical defense by 10%.

Set Bonus (1/3): Equipping the Blazing Bracelet, Blazing Ring, and Blazing Necklace activates the skill [Blazing Defense].

Skill Description (Blazing Defense): Grants immunity to death once, reduces damage by 20% for 8 seconds, and fully restores health. (Cooldown: 3 days)

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Ethan grinned as he examined the item. A set piece! Though the bracelet's base stats were underwhelming for now, its scaling potential was immense. As his other gear improved, its defensive boost would grow exponentially. And if he managed to complete the set? A life-saving skill like Blazing Defense could be invaluable.

"This thing's practically endgame gear," he murmured, slipping the bracelet onto his wrist.

He pulled out his prized possession, the Wishbound Relic, along with a small pile of reinforcement stones, 19 he'd bought earlier and 14 more he'd looted during the Crowling Nest raid with Heaven's Dawn. It had been their first boss clear, so the drop rate was exceptionally high.

Ethan had claimed only the reinforcement stones from the loot, leaving the rest, including a rare skill book for Tree Form, to Heaven's Dawn. He wasn't interested in splitting hairs over loot disputes, his focus was on fortifying his gear.

First, he strengthened his weapon up to +10, activating a rare attribute: Omni +2.

---

Omni: For every point gained:

+1% to all damage and healing.

-0.5% damage taken.

---

Satisfied, Ethan used the remaining 30 stones to reinforce the Scorching Bracelet to +30. Normally, players focused on attack early-game to speed up leveling, but Ethan had chosen a tankier path. Given the level suppression mechanics that happened frequently, any extra attack power would barely make a dent anyway.

The results spoke for themselves.

After reaching +30, the bracelet's defense jumped to a staggering 54–96, boosting Ethan's overall defense to 152—more than enough to tank hits even in higher-level zones.

By now, Ethan was practically untouchable in the Starter Zone. Save for dungeon monsters and boss-level creatures, nothing could even scratch his defenses.

With everything else prepared, he made his way to a blacksmith shop and spent another gold coin to purchase ten repair hammers, practically an investment . Each hammer could be used 30 times, more than enough for his immediate needs.

Leaving the shop, Ethan activated Stealth, his figure fading into near-invisibility. While the skill slightly reduced his movement speed, it ensured no one could track where he was headed.

The monsters surrounding the town ranged from levels 1 to 10, with difficulty increasing the farther one ventured. Players would eventually hit level 10 and face their first dungeon, which was a milestone in Ethereal.

Dungeons offered better experience rates than open-world grinding, alongside a rating system. The higher the team's performance rating, the more bonus XP awarded, which was evenly distributed among party members upon clearing the dungeon.

Ethan skirted through several grinding zones, each teeming with players fighting over every respawning monster.

The overcrowding was typical during the game's early days and one of the main reasons leveling up felt so slow. With more players than monsters, progress ground to a frustrating halt.

As he reached the level 4 grinding zone, he noticed the crowds thinning slightly. Few players had reached level 4 at this stage, so this area was less chaotic. Most of the players here operated in small teams of four or five, standard party sizes, as the game capped party limits at six players.

For larger-scale gameplay, players could form raid groups: five parties made a squad, and ten squads created a full raid team of up to 300 players. However, the larger the group, the thinner the XP split per kill. While raids had the advantage of clearing large areas and monopolizing mobs, they weren't practical at this early stage.

Right now, most groups were just grateful to have a few teammates. Coordinated grinding with strangers often led to problems, players freeloading for XP, arguments over loot distribution, or even betrayal, with party members killing each other to steal valuable items.

Ethan carefully moved through the grinding zones, observing the various player dynamics. Melee classes like Paladins, Warriors, and Rogues darted between the mobs, drawing aggro, while ranged classes like Mages and archers unleashed constant barrages. Priests, meanwhile, mostly hung back, tossing out the occasional weak damage spell.

Despite their low damage output and lack of healing abilities early on, Priests were highly sought after. Everyone knew how indispensable they'd become later on. Having a Priest in your corner now could mean the difference between life and death later, when their healing and buffs became critical to surviving dungeons.

Ethan stayed low and quiet, moving through the grinding zones with practiced precision. He could have taken the safer main roads, where no monsters spawned, but that route would've added unnecessary distance. A straight line was faster, even if it meant slipping through active combat areas.

When he reached the level 5 Corrupted Bear zone, he was surprised to see other players there.

Opening the level leaderboard, he confirmed his position at the top, at Level 5 and 98% XP.

The second-place player, Birdsoar, was still level 4 with only 7% XP progress. The name didn't ring any bells from Ethan's previous life, which struck him as odd. A name that distinctive wasn't the kind you'd forget.

The two groups grinding in the Corrupted Bear zone appeared to be around level 4. For them to be tackling level 5 monsters meant their gear had to be above average. But something else caught Ethan's attention: the two groups weren't fighting monsters.

They were arguing.

Ethan shook his head, stifling a laugh.

"Seriously? The entire level 5 zone is massive, and they're fighting over territory? What a bunch of clowns."

Curiosity got the better of him. He crept closer, stopping about 10 meters away, a distance he considered safe. While his level advantage meant he could approach undetected, experience had taught him to always keep a buffer zone in case things went sideways.

Once he got closer, the reason for their tension became clear.

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Author:

Eighteen chapters in. Please drop a review of what you think of the story so far. Don't forget to leave some power stones.