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

Rainie helped Ethan up the worn staircase to the third floor, her arm steady under his weight.

She pulled a key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. The faint, sharp tang of disinfectant hit him as soon as he stepped inside. He didn't like the smell — it was cold, clinical — but it stirred something in his mind. After high school, he'd heard Rainie had gotten into a top medical university. This had to be the illusion piecing things together from scraps of his memories.

"I'll grab the first-aid kit." She guided him to the sofa, set him down gently, and hurried into another room. Ethan's eyes roamed the space. The apartment had been renovated with a sleek, modern style. Without it, the age of the building would've been obvious.

Rainie returned and knelt beside him, pulling iodine from the kit. "You're hurt pretty badly. I'll give you a quick patch-up, but we still need to get you to a hospital."

She dabbed the cold antiseptic onto the scrapes along his arms and shoulders. Watching her work, Ethan took in the face that had long since faded in his mind. "Looks like you're doing well," he said quietly.

"I guess so," she murmured, eyes on his injuries.

"Why are you still here? I figured you'd have moved out by now."

Rainie's lips curved into a small, self-deprecating smile. "Where else would I go? With my salary, if I rented my own place, I'd be eating instant noodles every night."

Ethan didn't reply. Neither of them spoke until she reached his forehead, leaning close to clean a cut. Their faces were barely ten centimeters apart.

He realized then — it was only an illusion. What was there to be afraid of? The nervous avoidance in his gaze melted away. He locked eyes with her.

Rainie froze, startled by the sudden intensity in his stare. A faint blush colored her cheeks, and her hands hesitated on his skin. "What… what are you looking at?" she stammered, quickly finishing the last bandage before crouching to repack the kit.

Ethan smirked. "Miss Chen, you're quite bold, bringing me home like this. Aren't you worried I might be a bad guy?"

Rainie blinked at him, then shot back with a small laugh. "Please. You followed me around for three years in high school — you think I didn't notice? You were all talk and no action. Besides…" Her eyes flicked down at his battered body. "In your condition, what exactly could you do to me?"

Heat prickled at the back of Ethan's neck. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew. That love letter Jade made public… it wasn't for her, was it?" Her gaze glinted with knowing mischief.

Ethan cursed inwardly. So the damned illusion knows how to dig into my past, huh? Fine. If you want to play, I'll play along.

Since falling into this trap, the illusion hadn't attacked him directly. It was just chipping away at his mind. That fall from the sky earlier? Probably a Saint-tier flying beast wandering through the same illusion, smacking into him by accident. If all of this was fake, there was no reason to hold back.

Rainie stood, loosening her ponytail, her hair spilling over her shoulders. She turned to the mirror. Ethan rose as well, ignoring the protests of his battered body, and moved behind her.

Rainie gasped when his reflection appeared behind hers. She spun, but his arm was already braced against the wall beside her head, the other hand resting firmly on her shoulder, pinning her lightly against the mirror. His gaze locked onto hers in a classic, cornering stance.

"You… what are you doing?" Her voice trembled, caught between shyness and a strange excitement. She pushed against him, but without much force — maybe afraid of worsening his injuries, maybe not wanting to break free.

Ethan's lips curled. He lifted her chin with one finger, his voice low and teasing. "Miss Chen… still think I'm all talk? Back then, if Jade hadn't gotten in the way, would you have been my girlfriend?"

Rainie's blush deepened, spilling from her cheeks down her neck. She avoided his gaze, her body tensing under his touch.

He leaned closer, pressing his advantage. "And since you knew I watched you after school every day from the corner, yet you never told your parents or a teacher… was it because you liked me too?"

"I—" Her breath hitched, but no words came.

"If you don't say anything," he murmured, "I'll take that as a yes." His lips drifted closer, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath.

"You… you're awful!"

Rainie finally pushed him away, face crimson, and darted into the bedroom. The door slammed — but just before it closed, he caught her peeking back through a narrow gap, her eyes bright with shy sweetness.

Ethan chuckled, leaning back against the wall. There was a strange relief in his chest, like shedding an old weight. Back then, he'd only admired her from afar. The one love letter he'd ever dared to write had been snatched and mocked by Jade. But this illusion had given him a second chance to close that chapter — no fear, no hesitation, no regrets.

Still, he didn't let the moment distract him from reality. His heart belonged elsewhere now — to Lyla. The farcical wedding scene earlier was nothing but smoke and mirrors.

He lowered himself onto the sofa and checked his injuries. To his surprise, the muscles around his shattered shoulder blade were twitching, nudging the dislocated bones back into place. His broken ribs had already reknit, and even his displaced organs were shifting back under the quiet guidance of the Tree of Life's tendrils.

A slow grin spread across his face. His recovery speed now was practically superhuman. Activating Tree Form again, he poured two more bursts of healing into himself. Now, all that was left was time.

He waited. Minutes passed. Rainie didn't reappear.

He walked to the bedroom door and knocked. No answer. With a gentle push, the latch gave way.

And Ethan froze.

The room before him was soaked in blood-red.