Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

The Chase siblings were fast, but Ethan just smiled. He activated his Travel Form and extended his Soul Sense, locking onto their positions and direction. With a burst of speed, he took off after them.

The sudden acceleration almost sent him crashing into a tree. Using Travel Form in the real world was noticeably faster than the last time he'd tried it, and he hadn't quite adjusted to the speed. After a quick correction, he began chasing Ryan, who was carrying Evelyn on his back.

Thirty seconds later, Ethan caught up to Ryan, who stared at him wide-eyed. Ethan waved as he passed, then pulled up alongside Leeroy, matching his pace.

"You…" Leeroy started to say, but his words were swallowed by the wind. Ethan couldn't make out what he was saying, but he knew they were all shocked by his speed. Even he was impressed—Travel Form was ridiculously fast now. If he'd had this kind of speed back then, he could've easily dealt with the Rubber Man without Celeste having to save him.

They ran through the forest for three hours straight, and by the time they stopped, it was around 1 a.m. They were deep in the untamed wilderness of the Ironvale Mountains. Although the terrain seemed flat, Ethan could tell they'd been gradually gaining elevation.

Leeroy signaled to Ethan and gradually came to a stop. Once he did, he shifted back to his human form, gasping for air. It was clear his stamina was nearly spent.

Ryan, still carrying Evelyn, caught up moments later, looking completely unfazed. "What's wrong? Already out of steam?" he teased.

"Huff… huff… you little shit, try running without those things!" Leeroy shot back between breaths.

Ryan set Evelyn down and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no. I don't have four legs like you, so why wouldn't I use my charms?" He then turned to Ethan, his curiosity piqued. "Well, well… four legs can't even keep up with two. Looks like big brother's really lost his edge."

Thwack! A pack of compressed biscuits smacked Ryan in the head. "You're so quiet in public, but the moment we're alone, you can't stop running your mouth!" Evelyn scolded.

"Ow! After all I've done carrying you this whole way, this is how you repay me?" Ryan complained, rubbing his head.

"Oh, please! You were carrying me, but I was carrying three bags! I felt like a squished sandwich!" Evelyn shot back. "And your bony shoulders were digging into me the whole time. Ugh!"

Ethan's eyes flicked toward Evelyn's chest. She was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit with a chest binder, and if it weren't for her face, most people would mistake her for a man.

'Well, that's on you. You've got built-in cushions, but nope—gotta flatten everything out instead. No wonder you're in pain,' he thought.

Ethan deactivated Travel Form and pulled some food out of his backpack. He hadn't eaten properly in days. After leaving the VR capsule, he'd raided the fridge for whatever cold leftovers he could find. By the time he met up with the Chase siblings in the morning, they'd already eaten. Then, on the train, he'd logged back into the game without eating again.

Right now, Ethan felt like he could devour an entire cow.

Ethan's mind wandered back to the game, where Leo had mentioned wanting to eat something hearty. He couldn't help but salivate at the thought. A buffet with endless grilled meat or a burrito sounded perfect right now. He could definitely get his money's worth in one sitting.

"How much farther?" Ethan asked between bites of bread.

Leeroy, who had caught his breath by now, replied, "At the speed we were going, we should reach our destination by tomorrow evening."

Ethan nodded. "Oh, that's not too bad. Not far at all."

"Ethan, did you not hear what this mutt just said? He said at the speed we were going," Ryan mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, I heard him. We'll just keep moving after we finish eating, right?" Ethan was a bit confused by Ryan's tone.

"Ethan… can you really keep running?" Leeroy asked, still looking exhausted despite having recovered somewhat.

Ethan frowned, wondering if he'd missed something. He checked his internal energy reserves—his stamina was still full, and his Energy Pool was barely depleted. Cautiously, he asked, "Uh… is there a problem?"

The three siblings stared at him like he was some kind of monster.

"Never mind. I can't keep running. My energy's almost gone, and it'll take at least a few hours to recover. From here on out, we'll have to move at a normal pace," Leeroy said, looking defeated. It was frustrating enough that Ethan was faster, but now it turned out he had a much larger energy reserve too.

It was only then that Ethan noticed the small sprout inside him, stretching from his Core up to the crown of his head. The two tiny leaves at the top had disappeared. Sitting down, Ethan focused his mind and entered his Mindscape.

In the center of the island in the middle of the lake, he saw a small, translucent tree with a lush, green canopy. Ethan realized this must be the effect of reaching level 45. The tree was no longer just a sprout with a couple of leaves. Now, he could clearly see all the leaves slowly absorbing the soul energy within the Mindscape. This energy flowed down the trunk and into the island beneath the lake.

Outside the Mindscape, the energy released by the tree's branches was what fueled Ethan's abilities. His body also naturally absorbed energy from the environment, which the tree then absorbed and sent upward. Inside the Mindscape, the energy was transformed into droplets that fell from the leaves and dissipated into the surroundings. The sapling had created a perfect cycle within Ethan's body.

The only downside was that the tree still looked fragile. Aside from the small canopy inside the Mindscape, there were no other branches or leaves. The trunk outside the Mindscape almost looked like roots.

"Let's get moving!"

Ethan's internal inspection was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Evelyn standing beside him. The three siblings had already packed up and shouldered their backpacks. Leeroy's backpack, which had been passed to Evelyn earlier, was now with Ryan.

Seeing Ethan awake, Leeroy took the lead again, heading south.

"If you weren't carrying these backpacks, could you move faster?" Ethan asked, stopping Ryan.

"Huh? Yeah, I could probably double my speed," Ryan replied, confused.

"Good." Ethan took Ryan's backpack, then grabbed Evelyn's as he passed her. When he caught up to Leeroy, he handed over all three backpacks.

Ryan and Evelyn watched in confusion from behind. Ryan muttered under his breath, "Damn, Ethan's trying to kill the dog."

Leeroy, with his sharp hearing, shot Ryan a glare.