Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 701

Chapter 701: The Island’s Secret

The sky outside deepened into twilight.

The group settled in for the night. There were plenty of rooms in the manor, but Ethan had suggested they bunk up together. Everyone understood this was a security measure after the previous day’s events, so no one questioned it. They simply divided themselves up.

Ethan had also proposed that each room have at least one person who wasn’t logging into Ethereal—someone from the group they’d rescued from the clutches of death.

He’d noticed that when Victor and the others had gone back to the Whitmore family’s Hidden Territory to grab their things, they’d brought everything, including their VR capsules. It wasn’t feasible to pack up and move again just because this place had an unknown danger lurking about. So, they decided to stay.

After the others left the main hall, Victor lingered. So did Uncle Jed. Seeing the older man stay behind, Regis decided to stick around as well.

“Ethan, what’s going on? You’ve noticed something, haven’t you? What’s the plan?” Regis asked. As he spoke, a shimmering, silent barrier enveloped the room, sealing it off from prying ears.

A mysterious smile played on Ethan’s lips. A light flickered between his brows, and a teenage girl materialized in front of him.

“Yaya, are you sure you can handle this?” Ethan asked her, ignoring the others’ questioning looks for a moment.

“Mmhmm. It’s hiding, but I can still feel its presence,” Yaya said with a firm nod. “If it shows itself, I can catch it!”

“Then we’re counting on you tonight.” Ethan reached out and ruffled her hair affectionately.

Yaya ducked away, scrunching up her face. “Brother, you’re going to knock my fruit loose!”

Ethan just laughed.

“Will someone tell me what’s actually happening?” Uncle Jed cut in, his voice a low rumble.

Regis was equally curious. He was powerful, and his Soul Sense was nothing to scoff at. He’d probed the gardens earlier with it and had also felt the staggering pressure of Ethan’s own energy. The contact had been brief, but it was enough to leave Regis feeling utterly dwarfed. He hadn’t detected anything amiss in the gardens, but he’d noticed the shift in Ethan’s demeanor afterward.

“Truth is, I didn’t find anything,” Ethan admitted. “It was Yaya. She says there’s a powerful plant entity on this island. The corpses we found were covered in its scent. She thinks it’s some kind of vine. My guess is… this ‘plant’ might be the ‘Island Master’ those Mutants keep mentioning. But whatever it is, we’ll know once we catch it.” He glanced back at Yaya.

“Do you need us to…?” Regis began.

“Better not,” Yaya interjected, shaking her head. “No matter what happens or what you hear, you all need to stay out of it. If you scare it off, tricking it out again won’t be so easy.”

“Little girl, you’re not very big, but you’ve got a big mouth!” Uncle Jed boomed with laughter. He had no idea who or what Yaya was, and Ethan had no intention of enlightening him. Revealing that she was the consciousness of a World Tree—a primordial entity capable of nurturing a universe, currently residing inside him—was a surefire way to be labeled a monster. That kind of cosmic secret carried a burden of causality too heavy to share.

Uncle Jed’s laughter died down when he saw Ethan’s serious expression, ending in an awkward cough. “You’re not seriously relying on this little girl, are you?”

Ethan’s confirming nod was all the answer he got. Knowing Ethan wasn’t one for reckless moves, Uncle Jed took a long, hard look at Yaya. “Alright then. Just… yell if you can’t handle it, kid,” he finally grumbled.

Once Regis and Uncle Jed had left, Victor turned to follow. Ethan stopped him.

“Victor, come with me. We’re heading out.”

“Sure,” Victor replied without hesitation.

“Go get Blackie and Micah. I’ll grab Amber,” Ethan decided.

“On it.” Victor stood and headed for the other two’s room.

Ethan walked to the room next to his. He’d barely reached the door when it swung open, revealing Lyla.

“Knew it was you,” she said, stepping aside to let him in. He hadn’t exactly been stealthy in his approach.

“I, uh…” Ethan scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed.

“You’re here for Amber, right?” Lyla teased.

“Yeah…” His awkwardness intensified. Now, whenever he saw Lyla, his mind flashed back to what had happened between him and Amber.

“They’re both ready,” Lyla said with a smile.

Ethan stepped inside, noticing the absence of both Amber and Rainie Chen. “Both of them?”

Before Lyla could elaborate, an inner door opened and the two women emerged. They had changed clothes. Amber was now in a sharp, professional outfit that gave her a commanding, capable air. Rainie wore casual, comfortable attire. Both of their hair was slightly damp, clearly fresh from the shower.

“You two?” Ethan asked, confused.

“Rainie’s coming with me,” Amber explained. “Cutting a diamond that size requires specialized equipment. The kind you only find with registered institutions. So, we’re going to hit the black market to get what we need.”

“The black market? That sounds… risky,” Ethan said, his concern immediately landing on Rainie. He was planning to send Victor, Blackie, and Micah as escorts, but Rainie was a civilian. In a place like that, one wrong move, a single stray shot, and she could be killed.

“Relax,” Lyla said lightly. “Rainie, show him.”

“Okay!” Rainie’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at Ethan.

Click-whirr-clack.

A series of precise mechanical sounds filled the air. Ethan’s eyes dropped to Rainie’s wrist, where she wore a high-tech bracer he hadn’t noticed before. It was silver, styled like a miniature longbow with swept-back wings. It looked sleek and deadly.

That’s Lyla’s mech!

Understanding dawned. Lyla had loaned Rainie her personal combat mech. It was a custom model Ethan had commissioned, its attack protocols heavily inspired by Lyla’s abilities in Ethereal.

FZZZT—WHOOSH!

While he was still processing this, Ethan felt the air distort. A streak of white energy shot toward him.

“Bear Form, Iron Hide!” he shouted.

BOOM!

The energy arrow detonated against the shimmering barrier that sprung up around him.

“What the hell! Are you trying to kill your… your classmate?” he yelped, barely correcting himself.

“Eat this!” Amber chimed in.

K-CHUNK-K-CHUNK!

Amber’s own armor deployed in a flurry of movement. Ethan recognized it instantly—it was Evelyn’s mech, with its distinct pale-yellow plating, modeled after her unique in-game class: the Discipline Priest.

POW! POW! POW!

Three orbs of spiraling light, replicas of the Discipline Priest’s ‘Penance’ ability, lanced toward him. Ethan triggered his Iron Hide again, weathering the barrage with a wry grin.

“Let me guess,” he said, shaking his head. “In Ethereal, you’re an Archer, and you’re a Discipline Priest?”

He knew the mechs’ combat systems were designed around Ethereal’s mechanics. It wasn’t a simple case of inputting commands; the systems interpreted motion and intent, requiring the user to perform actions and incantations much like casting a spell in the game itself.