Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 245: Shadows in the Silverwood Estate

Leeroy stared at the wooden tokens, his expression blank. It wasn't until Evelyn mentioned the protective wards from their house that he snapped out of his daze.

"No wonder they looked familiar!" Leeroy turned to Ryan, his eyes narrowing. "What the hell are you thinking, taking these? You've lost your mind! These are the grandfather's wards!"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Are you an idiot? Do you really think we're going back after this? If we left these behind, someone else would've taken them. You think grandfather would've been happy about that?"

Leeroy fell silent at that, slumping into a chair.

Evelyn, meanwhile, was still staring at Ryan. "What's going on, Ryan? Why did you set up the wards? What's so important that you needed to shield the room?"

Ryan hesitated, then spoke in a low voice. "When we entered the hidden territory earlier, I sensed… it."

"Sensed what?" Ethan interjected, leaning forward.

"The thing from the tomb beneath the mountain," Ryan said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan's eyes widened. "You're saying that thing—the King tier or whatever it is, is inside the Silverwood estate?"

Ryan nodded solemnly.

"Are you sure?" Ethan pressed.

Another nod. "Positive. So… do we tell the Silverwoods? Maybe they can—"

Ethan cut him off, lowering his head in thought. After a moment, he chuckled, a sound that caught the Chase siblings off guard.

"Ethan, what's so funny?" Ryan asked, confused.

Ethan looked up, a sly grin on his face. "I'll be honest with you guys. I didn't come here just for the tournament. I came for someone."

The siblings exchanged puzzled glances, but Evelyn's eyes lit up with realization. "Wait… are you here to crash the wedding?"

"What?!" Leeroy and Ryan exclaimed in unison, their voices rising in alarm.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, amused by their reaction. "Why not? What's it to you two?"

Leeroy and Ryan looked like they'd been slapped. "Are you serious? You can't just—"

Evelyn cut them off, her hands on her hips. "Why are you two freaking out? What does it matter to you if Ethan crashes the wedding? It's not like we're getting into one of the families anyway. We already gave away all our gifts to those thugs at the gate. If we can't get what we came for, why not help Ethan?

I heard the Silverwood family's daughter is very pretty. At least this way, the trip won't be a total waste. Right, Ethan?"

She turned to him with a mischievous smile, and Ethan couldn't help but laugh. Was she genuinely trying to help him, or was she just looking to recoup their losses?

"Uh… yeah, of course," Ethan said, playing along.

Leeroy and Ryan stared at each other, utterly baffled. Since when was Evelyn so enthusiastic about this?

"Ethan, do you know the Silverwood heiress?" Evelyn asked, her curiosity piqued.

Ethan nodded and began to explain his history with Lyla. As he spoke, a servant from the Silverwood family arrived with food. The meal was surprisingly lavish, but the siblings barely touched it, too engrossed in Ethan's story.

By the time he finished, Leeroy and Ryan had come to a silent conclusion: Evelyn didn't stand a chance. But Evelyn herself was completely captivated, her eyes shining with admiration.

Four days later…

Finally, November 25th arrived. At dawn the next day, the Decennial Ranking Tournament of the eight families would begin.

On their second day in the Silverwood estate, Ethan and the Chase siblings had planned to do some reconnaissance. Unfortunately, they quickly realized that the Silverwood family members were scarce, and whenever they ventured out, they couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

Other outsiders, including some who had attended the previous tournament, whispered among themselves that something was off about this year's event.

With no useful information to gather and Ethan's soul sense rendered useless after they entered the hidden territory, he decided to stay indoors. As Evelyn had mentioned, there was no cell signal here, but electricity was available—though it was cut off after 7 PM, and a curfew was enforced from 8 PM onward, prohibiting anyone from leaving their quarters.

Without his soul sense, Ethan felt like he'd lost his greatest advantage. Fortunately, his Ethereal VR headset could be charged, so he spent his days powering it up and his nights leveling up in Ethereal. His rogue avatar had reached level 36, while his main character was now at level 46. The Chase siblings had also caught up, with their characters at level 31, putting them on par with the majority of players.

But tonight, Ethan didn't log into Ethereal. The previous night, after reaching level 46, he had returned to his in-game storage and noticed the Ethereal Blooms he'd brought back from the Underworld. There were still 48 stacks, totaling 940 flowers. Ethan wondered if consuming them could strengthen his soul and, by extension, his spiritual sense.

When the idea crossed his mind, Morzan appeared and confirmed his theory. Morzan explained that during their time in the Underworld, Ethan had wasted most of the blooms' power because he lacked a proper foundation.

Back then, he hadn't even formed his Mindscape or the lake of soul energy within it. When Morzan learned Ethan still had over 900 blooms, he shamelessly asked for some to make wine. Ethan, meanwhile quickly shoved the entire stack into his mouth.

In the game, he felt nothing, but when he logged off the next morning, he noticed a significant change. The water in his Mindscape had turned from a light green to a deep emerald, and the level had risen dramatically. Excited, Ethan tested his soul sense. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Whoosh…

The familiar sensation returned. Though its range was limited to about 100 meters, it was enough to be useful. Ethan wasn't sure exactly how much the 900-plus blooms had boosted his soul power, but he knew one thing: with his soul sense restored, he could finally go looking for Lyla.

So, instead of logging into Ethereal that night, Ethan decided to sneak out and search for her. He borrowed a set of night clothes from Ryan, who also gave him a Concealment Charm and taught him how to use it.

As Ethan left their quarters, he activated his Panther Form and tried to use the Stealth skill.

Hum…

The skill worked, but instead of turning him completely invisible as it did in the game, it made his body semi-transparent, like a wisp of mist. Ethan grinned. While this wouldn't be much help in a direct fight, it was perfect for moving unnoticed at night.