Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 375: The Priest’s Downfall

Ethan naturally wouldn’t let that thing bite him. He yanked his hand back. But in that instant, a familiar energy, swift as thought, burrowed straight into his mind.

’Soul Power?’

This Priest—was he a Soul-Wielder?

The thought hadn’t even fully formed when, behind his Mindscape, the quietly floating Twilight War Spear suddenly trembled.

Whoosh...

It transformed into a white streak, shooting out from his Mindscape. It shattered the invading Soul Power in a single sweep, scattering it like dry leaves.

"Ah..." The Priest clutched his head and fell backward, his body going stiff. The Twilight War Spear flew directly out from between his brows.

Crack...

The Priest’s head burst open like a watermelon.

The spear hovered outside, pausing as if to search for the intruder’s source. It circled in the air, swaying slightly, almost bewildered.

Ethan stood frozen. This guy... just died like that? He’d had so many questions, and the Priest had managed to kill himself. Seriously, what kind of attack did he think he was launching? He just had to use a Soul attack.

Ethan hadn’t even needed to react before the Twilight War Spear obliterated the weak Soul Power. And before the spear could counterattack further, the backlash blew the Priest’s head apart, leaving behind only a headless corpse.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..." The outwardly cute mole with its abyssal maw suddenly let out a shrill cry. It wiggled its rear, dug in with its front paws, and vanished into the sand.

It all happened in an instant. By the time Ethan glanced over, it had already disappeared underground, leaving only a fresh hole. His Soul Sense traced after it, only to find it had burrowed over a hundred meters down.

Ethan was speechless. Had it even been two seconds? This digging skill was hundreds of times more effective than any mole on Earth. But it was just a pet—he couldn’t be bothered to chase it. Even if he’d wanted to, he had no way to pursue something that kept tunneling deeper.

He scanned the area again with his Soul Sense. No other human presence. He knelt beside the corpse to search it. The Priest carried nothing but a leather pouch.

Ethan picked it up and peered inside. His eyes lit up. This fist-sized pouch was actually a spatial item—and it contained quite a few things. Unfortunately, none of them interested him. Just unknown herbs, some food and water, and a pile of broken, rusty weapons.

He did find a wooden box tucked neatly into one corner. With a thought, he pulled it out and tossed the leather pouch into his Mindscape. He opened the box, revealing two leather-bound books. The writing on their covers was crooked and twisted, vaguely resembling an ancient script.

He tried to decipher a few characters but realized he didn’t recognize a single one.

Not that it mattered.

The system spoke before he could think further.

[Ding... System Notification: Obtained item [Skill Book: Basic Beast Taming Art].]

[Ding... System Notification: Obtained item [Compendium: Bestiary].]

[Ding... System Notification: Do you wish to load [Compendium: Bestiary] into the system?]

"Yes..." Ethan’s eyes brightened. Since arriving here, he’d been completely clueless about the monsters he encountered. With this Bestiary, he could finally identify them.

[Ding... System Notification: Loading complete!]

[Ding... System Notification: Skill: Advanced Analysis data updated!]

"Haha..." Ethan laughed heartily. Advanced Analysis—finally usable! This hadn’t been a loss. Chasing the Priest down had been worth it.

He held the two books, studying their covers, but couldn’t tell which was the Beast Taming Art and which was the Bestiary. From the names, he already knew they were skills meant for summoner-type professions—and only basic ones at that. Useless to him.

He stuffed them back into the box and casually tossed it into his Mindscape. Reorienting himself, he activated his transformation and ran toward the small hill. He felt sure there had to be something valuable inside that cave. Otherwise, why would Beastfall City have sent a Priest here just to capture that oversized toad?

The Priest had said he was one of Beastfall City’s three Beast Taming Priests. Clearly, his status was extraordinary. A shame Ethan hadn’t managed to extract anything useful before the fool got himself killed.

Sigh...

He glanced at the Twilight War Spear as it quietly returned to his Mindscape. That thing actually defended its owner automatically. Ethan hadn’t expected it, but he was glad for it now.

On the way back, he passed the Priest’s old camp and collected the siege equipment. He quickly realized these items took up far too much space. The lake island within his Mindscape was now completely filled.

Reaching the base of the hill, Ethan froze. All the corpses—even the Cliffstriders—had vanished. Only a few bloodstains remained on the ground. He tensed, scanning for threats.

Then he looked up and understood. The big toad had come out to clean up the battlefield once they’d left. All the soldiers Ethan had taken down—and the Cliffstriders—had become its meal.

Now, sensing Ethan’s return, it poked its enormous head out again. It squinted, angling its gaze in the direction where the Priest’s party had stood, as if listening for sounds. Finding none, it fixed its gaze on Ethan.

"Squeak, squeak..." Little Empty, perched on his shoulder, chirped suddenly. It pointed at the big toad, then at itself.

"Hmm... it really is looking at you." Ethan narrowed his eyes. He’d been wondering the same thing—why was the big toad so fixated on Little Empty? The Priest had seemed to know. Originally, Ethan had planned to ask him—and he’d been equally interested in Little Empty’s true nature.

"Croak..."

The massive toad leaped down the hillside again.

"Advanced Analysis..." Ethan waved his hand.

[Fire-Eyed Toad]:

A very rare Fire-elemental Beast. Its body resembles a toad. Legend says it survives by absorbing fire energy. Upon reaching adulthood, it is a Tier 4 Beast. Its defense is extremely high. Its attack methods are relatively weak.

Unlike before, the analysis only offered a description—no detailed numerical stats for health, defense, or attack. But even so, it was much better than nothing.

’Extremely high defense...’ Ethan read that line and felt a thrill. A tank-type creature. Fire-elemental... So, the animals here were called Beasts.

"Little Empty, go to the back," he said, gesturing. This would be his first time fighting such a giant Beast. He had no idea how strong a Tier 4 monster really was. With Little Empty nearby, he couldn’t fight at full strength.

This time, Little Empty was unusually obedient.

"Squeak, squeak..." It chirped twice, patted Ethan on the head, and pointed at itself, then at the toad. Only then did it slowly climb down his back.

Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle. It felt like Little Empty was saying, I’m rooting for you! I’ll hold down the fort while you go take down that toad!

The big toad didn’t try to stop the monkey from retreating. With its intelligence, it knew it couldn’t catch Little Empty without first dealing with this human.

Once Little Empty had scurried several hundred meters away, the Fire-Eyed Toad abruptly lunged. It made a massive leap and charged straight at Ethan.

"Croak..."

Its enormous mouth opened wide as it tried to bite him. Despite its squat body, its mouth was filled with rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth. A rank, nauseating stench rushed out.

"Ugh... how long has it been since you brushed your teeth?" Ethan grimaced and tapped the ground with his toes. Just as the jaws were about to close on him, he sprang upward.

The toad couldn’t halt its momentum and ended up with a mouthful of sand. It raised its head angrily.

Whoosh...

A long, scarlet tongue shot out toward him.

"Panther Form... activate! Force Resonance!"

Ethan, who had been falling through the air with no way to change direction, suddenly twisted mid-leap. He dodged the tongue by a hair’s breadth. His right hand formed into a claw. Just as he was about to strike, a sudden whistling sound came from his flank.

Without thinking, he swung his claw sideways.

Boom!

He felt like he’d been hit with a battering ram. His body flew across the clearing. He slammed into the rocky hillside, shattering a massive boulder on impact, and only stopped when he struck a second one.