Chapter 982: The Guild Leader Returns
Ethan’s high-profile return left the crowd talking long after he was gone.
"The Druid God is back, and did you see that gear?"
"Check the level leaderboard. The player at the top just revealed their name."
"No way... the level 124 player was the Druid God all along? He never quit. We just didn’t know it was him."
"Level 124... where has he even been leveling? At this rate, I’ll never catch up."
People stood staring at the place where he had disappeared, each lost in their own thoughts. The revelation had hit everyone hard.
Members of Renegade Alliance were mixed in with the crowd as well. For a long time, they’d wondered when their guild had managed to recruit such a terrifying powerhouse. Now they finally had their answer. It wasn’t some new member. It was their guild leader. Their boss was back, and judging from the way things were unfolding, he hadn’t returned quietly.
Almost everyone came to the same conclusion: Renegade Alliance had spent months building its influence throughout the Northern Frontier Region, and now that its leader had returned in such a dramatic fashion, there was no chance he intended to sit on the sidelines. Something big was coming.
News spread through the region at an incredible pace, eventually reaching Blade Syndicate as well. When Marcus Skeiner learned that Ethan possessed a full set of Divine-tier equipment and was the mysterious level 124 player sitting at the top of the rankings, he immediately made a decision. Zachary Steele agreed without objection.
Blade Syndicate’s situation was very different from what it had been before. Marcus had led the guild long enough to establish his authority, and the Steele Consortium no longer held the overwhelming control it once did.
At the same time, rumors had been circulating for a while. The Druid God, leader of Renegade Alliance, apparently held a deep grudge against the Steele Consortium’s heir. After the Consortium entered Ethereal with a massive investment, Renegade Alliance had systematically crushed every Consortium-backed guild in the Northern Frontier Region until it effectively controlled the entire area. The blame for all of that had ultimately fallen on Zachary.
As punishment, the Consortium had cut off his financial support. He was surviving entirely on the resources he had already invested. His relationship with Blade Syndicate had changed as well. It was no longer a simple matter of ownership and obedience. The guild’s future and his own were now tied together. If one rose, the other benefited. If one fell, both paid the price. That gave Marcus considerably more influence than before.
He approached Zachary and proposed traveling to Harmony City to negotiate with Renegade Alliance. His suggestion was simple: offer Ethan a formal apology and try to put an end to the hostility. Marcus had prepared a lengthy argument before coming over, but to his surprise, the moment he explained the situation, Zachary agreed. Just like that.
Marcus paused for a moment, then nodded to himself. ’Considering our current position, it isn’t difficult to understand. Zachary isn’t stupid. He can see where things are headed.’ The easier Ethan became to oppose in the past, the more dangerous he looked now. Marcus’s prepared speech suddenly seemed unnecessary. The two immediately began making arrangements for the trip.
Meanwhile, Ethan was busy dealing with materials. He transferred another large sum of gold to the Mad Engineer and instructed him to continue buying resources. Every auction house in every fortress needed to be monitored. If high-level materials appeared, they were to be purchased immediately regardless of type. Ethan knew exactly what would happen in the future. As more players reached the point where they needed to upgrade equipment, demand would skyrocket and prices would follow. Buying now meant saving a fortune later.
Once everything was arranged, he stored the newly acquired materials inside his Avatar’s inventory before opening his messages and contacting Victor.
NotADruid: Victor, gather everyone. Leo, Markham, the rest of them. I need to talk.
Slashblade: Right now? We’re in the middle of a dungeon run. It’ll take a while.
NotADruid: Then finish quickly.
Slashblade: Why don’t you just join us? We’ve got an open slot. We’ll carry you for a bit and help you catch up.
Even through text, Ethan could practically hear the teasing in Victor’s voice. He stared at the message.
NotADruid: Finish the dungeon. We have actual business to discuss.
Slashblade: Fine.
Three minutes passed. Ethan looked at his empty notifications. No invitation. His eye twitched.
NotADruid: Invite me. What are you waiting for?
Slashblade: Didn’t you tell us to finish quickly?
NotADruid: Yes.
Slashblade: Then why would inviting you make things faster?
For a moment, Ethan was completely speechless. Victor genuinely thought he was underleveled.
NotADruid: What dungeon are you running? I’ll clear it myself.
Now he was getting annoyed. He was level 124. He was wearing a full set of Divine-tier equipment. Victor and the others were probably running dungeons somewhere between level 80 and 100, and at that level range, Ethan could practically bulldoze his way through the entire instance. As long as there were enough warm bodies present to handle any unavoidable mechanics, he could kill every boss himself. And Victor was talking about carrying him? This was an insult to his hard-earned gear.
NotADruid: INVITE ME!!!
Slashblade: Fine, fine.
The party invitation finally arrived, Victor’s exasperation practically leaking through the screen.
The moment Ethan joined, the party chat exploded.
"Welcome back, boss!"
"The guild leader returns!"
"Look who finally decided to log in!"
Everyone was laughing and joking. Most of them assumed Ethan had been absent for ages and had fallen hopelessly behind. In their minds, his gear and level were probably terrible by now. For once, they thought they would be the ones carrying him.
Then they saw his character information.
The voice channel went silent. A second later, a shout nearly blew out everyone’s ears.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Markham! Stop screaming!"
Leo nearly dropped the metal staff he was holding, and the keg strapped to his back rattled from the sudden movement.
"Boss... wait... YOU’RE the level 124 player?"
The party chat froze. Then everything exploded. Questions flew from every direction at once. No one waited for answers. Nobody could even hear what anyone else was saying.
Meanwhile, Ethan wasn’t even inside the dungeon yet. He sat comfortably outside, reading the chaos with a grin on his face. ’That’s right. Keep talking. You all thought I was some washed-up veteran who needed carrying.’
A moment later, Victor’s voice cut through the noise. "Warlock, what are you doing? Drop the summoning stone and bring him over already."
His tone sounded resigned, but there was obvious excitement underneath it. This dungeon had stalled their progress for days. Even if Ethan’s equipment had been average, his massive level advantage alone would have made a difference. Now that they knew who he really was, everyone’s confidence had gone through the roof.
"Oh. Right. Right!" The warlock finally snapped out of his shock.
Ethan leaned back in his chair and waited. ’Go ahead. Summon me over. You’re about to see what a level 124 player with full Divine-tier gear can actually do.’