Isaac didn't stop until the land beneath him changed from the colorful forests and meadows into gray plains blanketed with volcanic ash. And hell, even then, he pushed on, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Safe Zone before the next location reveal.

Would the Zerians try to follow him here?

He had no idea. But with what he had just done to dozens, or maybe hundreds, of their kin, he wouldn't be surprised if they did. Their unnatural fear of this territory might be nothing compared to their desire for revenge.

Still, Isaac had to land, soon at that. The dying embers of Symphony of Blood wouldn't carry him much farther. And he refused to use the last few remaining drops of blood in his core for Burnout. That was his last resort in case the Zerians somehow managed to catch up to him.

So yeah, his struggling regeneration and almost empty Viron reserves were all he could count on right now.

This will do, Isaac thought, spotting a small rocky hill ahead. Not a perfect place to hide, but still better than the monster-infested open plains. Besides, he didn't plan to stay here long, just until the next location reveal.

Come on, nice and slow.

Yet, despite this thought echoing in his mind, his landing was less than perfect. With the Zerian corpse still clutched in his talons and his body running on fumes, he miscalculated his descent and slammed into the ash-covered ground. He skidded to a halt a few feet away, the Symphony finally dying out.

Shit.

Without moving, Isaac forced his body to transform. Pain crashed into him like a tidal wave, and all he could do was grit his teeth and wait for it to pass.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

Even as the shift finished and he was left lying face-first in the ash, the pain remained. Worse, now he could feel every single inch of his scorched flesh and the plethora of half-healed cuts and bruises scattered across his body. It was a small mercy that at least his clothes remained almost undamaged. The last thing he needed was ash grinding into his open wounds.

Isaac snorted.

Okay, so maybe I overdid it a bit.

That said, there was no rest for the wicked. He was by no means safe, and lying here like this was just asking for trouble. Which was why, with great effort, he dragged himself to his knees. Next, he summoned a Normal-grade healing potion to his hand…

…and promptly downed it in one go.

A shaky breath of relief left his lips. The potion wasn't the miracle he needed, but at the very least, it soothed some of his pain. His regeneration and other skills could handle the rest. Or so he hoped.

Twelve minutes, Isaac thought, eyeing the location reveal timer. Will have to be enough.

With his entire body screaming in protest, he dragged himself toward the nearby cluster of rocks and hid among them. There, he reached for one of his Mutagens and summoned the three phantom spiders. They weren't fighters, but they could still help him out here.

Scatter. Look out for any approaching threats. Return if you see any.

The three spiders turned as one, skittering away from him. In seconds, they were gone, leaving him alone once again.

Let's see, then.

Isaac reached for the Interface, and it answered with an almost endless list of notifications. The vast majority spoke of all the Zerians he had killed—he had lost count at over a hundred—so he skimmed past them and read the one coming next. His tired eyes widened after just the first line.

Huh…

Warning! You have defeated many members of the hostile faction in a short time. Your threat level has risen. Infamy advanced to rank B. Current bounty: 20000 points. Survive until Infamy rank S to redeem your own bounty upon extraction.

That's… good? Isaac mused once the initial shock faded. The more points he could earn, the better, and he wasn't planning to go home yet anyway. His current condition notwithstanding.

So Infamy can be raised like this, too. Good to know. What's the multiplier now? I skipped over one rank.

The next notification had the answer for him.

Invader Points: 13742 Current Infamy rank: B (Multiplier: 2.7x) Timers have been refreshed.

Ignoring the very nice increase to the multiplier and points, Isaac pulled up the mentioned timers. To his surprise, they had indeed been reset. He no longer had twelve minutes until the next location reveal.

Extraction in: <24h:00m:00s> | Location reveal in: <30m:00s>

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Guess I can rest a bit longer. He chuckled, relaxing ever so slightly. He preferred not to think about how low the timer would drop at rank A if it were already at thirty minutes now. Or worse, at rank S.

Will find out soon anyway. Move on.

Just like that, the timers vanished from his sight and were replaced by far more welcome notifications. At the same time, a surge of power washed over his body, momentarily drowning out the constant pain.

You have leveled up thrice! You are now level 30. Distribution of Ascension Power has advanced the tier or grade of the following attributes: Power (III->IV), Agility (I->II), Toughness (III->IV), Regeneration (II->III), Insight (Developed V->Refined I). No further changes detected.

Three levels. Three whole damn levels.

All this for slaughtering hundreds of almost helpless aliens. Isaac shook his head with a sigh. Not sure how to feel about that.

Which was why he simply refused to let this thought linger in his mind. As he had already told himself, he did what he had to, end of the story. He couldn't take back what he did anyway. Not that he wanted to.

What else do you have for me?

As always, his skill progression came next, but among them was something new. A grin broke out on Isaac's face when he spotted that.

The following skills have advanced tiers: Cursed Draw (VII->VIII) Crimson Death (VIII->IX) Blood Manipulation (IV->Max) Pain Resistance (XI->XII)

Your Origin has awakened a new ability: Red Puppeteer.

About time, Isaac thought, without any bite. He was just glad it finally happened. And so, after confirming that Blood Manipulation indeed required Origin Fusion to advance, he pulled up the description of his new skill.

It didn't disappoint.

[Red Puppeteer | Grade: Eternal | Tier I] One of Blood Bearer's signature abilities. Passively, it affects every dead creature around the Host, delaying their processing by the Overseer. During this short window, you may infect corpses with your Origin and Virus to temporarily resurrect them as puppets. Direct contact is required to activate this skill. Risen minions might not have access to their full power.

Even with its drawbacks, this ability held more potential than anything else in his arsenal. Sure, there were some things he needed to test first—like the limit of puppets or how long this skill took to activate—but other than that, he already had a few ideas of what he could possibly do with it.

The sea of monsters back in the Burning Wasteland flashed in front of his eyes.

Yes. He definitely would be abusing this skill a lot once he figured out how it worked. Maybe he could even put it to use here soon. The Zerians would have no idea what was happening between Red Puppeteer and Harry's dreams.

Speaking of…

Isaac opened the communication menu now available to him at all times.

[Message to Harry Hayward: Back in the land of ash. Let me know when you want to meet up again. We have a lot to talk about.]

He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

[Message from Harry Hayward: I'm happy to hear you are alive, my good friend. I would like to thank you for letting me witness your beautiful spectacle. My Lady's description was nothing compared to seeing it with my own eyes. I shall treasure this memory forever. I will see you again once I recover my strength.]

Isaac rolled his eyes.

At least someone is happy.

While Harry's words were more than a little bit disturbing, Isaac preferred not to dwell on them. It was just better this way if he wanted to save what little remained of his sanity. Now, he could only hope his new ally and his old team never crossed paths. Something told him it would be a disaster.

Definitely can't let him get anywhere near Elaine. That's for sure.

With a quiet laugh, he closed the communication menu and looked up at the bright sky. Thankfully, it was still empty. Small mercies.

Twenty more minutes, he hummed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, he realized something. Right… I took you with me for a reason.

Despite not wanting to, Isaac crawled back to where he had crash-landed. There awaited his target. He reached out and smiled when another notification popped up.

You have defeated a foreign Host. All requirements necessary for Virus absorption have been met. Proceed?

As if the Interface even had to ask.

Just like the few times before, light enveloped the corpse. A moment later, it dissolved into countless particles that entered Isaac's chest. Once more, the sudden influx of power dwarfed any Virality Gem or Host he had consumed before.

Absorption successful. Congratulations! Your Virus has entered the fourth Phase of development (Assembly Stage).

No maturity yet. A shame, Isaac thought, crawling back to his hiding spot. Once there, he leaned against a rock and pulled up his status. Been a while since he checked it fully.

Name: Isaac Walker Origin: Cursed Blood | LVL. 30 Legacy: Alpha Bloodraven (Adult)

Virus Stage: III - Assembly (Phase 4) Virus Integrity: 92%

Power: Refined - Tier IV Agility: Refined - Tier II Toughness: Developed - Tier IV Regeneration: Unbound - Tier III Insight: Refined - Tier I

Inheritances: Darksight, Rootveins, Duality of Blood

Origin Skills: Symphony of Blood (Mys | Max), Burnout (Arc | Max), Cursed Draw (Mys | VIII), Crimson Death (Mys | IX), Blood Core (Arc | Max), Harden (Mys | Max), Obliteration (Arc | IV), Blood Manipulation (Mys | Max), Red Puppeteer (Ete | I)

Virus Skills: Analyze, Pain Resistance (Nor | XII), Stealth (Nor | Max), Transform, Basic Filtering (Sup | VIII)

Ultimates: Crimson Fury, Blood Moon

Still plenty to work on, Isaac admitted, scanning the list of his skills. Some would require Origin Fusion to advance, but others? They were his to play with. Soon.

For now, he closed the status, drank another healing potion, and waited for his regeneration to finish patching him up. Recovering his Viron would take longer, but as long as he regained full mobility, he didn't mind.

Fifteen minutes…

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