Before long, Elaine had to pull away from Isaac. Not because she looked like she wanted to, but because Marie arrived, her arms full of food. She shot them both an amused look before clearing the lone table and pulling over enough chairs for everyone.

That was when Elaine let go and went to help Marie after giving him a weak smile. No words were said again.

For a brief moment, Isaac watched her, feeling a little bit confused. Then James stepped forward and clapped him on the back, grinning like an idiot.

Isaac scowled. "Not even a word."

"Didn't say anything. It's all in your head, man," James said, chuckling. "It's good to see you again. In one piece, too."

Isaac's expression softened. "Yeah… been a while. Honestly, didn't expect to see you here. Why—"

James stopped him with a raised hand. "Later. Come on, let's eat. Took Ari and me an hour to prepare all this."

And so they did just that. Within a minute, they were all seated around the table, eating and talking about nothing in particular. It was like an unspoken agreement to avoid all the obvious subjects until everybody finished their portion. And to be honest, it was quite nice. A break from reality.

Of course, it didn't last long. Soon enough, Isaac was once more recounting his invasion, this time in much more detail. The others listened without interrupting. It was only when he mentioned Harry that James couldn't stop himself from giving a teasing remark.

Marie punched him afterward, so at least that was something.

Once Isaac reached the final part—the fight in the volcano—tension returned to the table. He kept things short there. No point in retelling what they had all seen on the livestream. Almost twelve hours of blood and death.

Silence consumed the room the moment he finished.

Marie didn't seem all that moved by the story, probably because she had already heard it before. James, on the other hand, was frowning, as if he had no idea what to think about any of it. A fair reaction, really, to a tale about one man killing hundreds.

As for Elaine?

She was already looking right at Isaac when he turned his gaze toward her. Usually, it was quite easy to guess what she felt based on the expression on her face. Not this time. Not until she spoke.

"You survived, Isaac." She smiled. "That's all that matters. Welcome home."

Maybe it was a strange thing to say at that moment, but it made Isaac's lips twitch into a smile anyway. He nodded at the woman, and just like that, tension drained out of the room. Questions came all at once from everybody around the table, be it about Reprizem or the monsters he had encountered.

That said, he quickly realized that his friends were avoiding questions about his fights and kills. Why? There could be a few reasons, but he chose not to dwell on any of them.

Soon enough, though, it was his turn to ask some questions. He started with the obvious.

"Why are you here?" He turned to James. "What about your sisters?"

The man clutched his chest dramatically. "You hear it, Ari? Why, he asks! I'm hurt. Boss, if it ain't obvious, I had to check if your dumb ass was still alive after what I saw on the live. The girls will be fine with my uncle for a few days. And I can teleport back now, remember?"

Right… Isaac had completely forgotten about the Fast-travel function.

He gave the other man a genuine smile. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

James waved him off. "Don't mention it, man. We're a team. After everything you have done for me, checking up on you is the least I could do."

Isaac nodded and cast his gaze around the table. Hard to believe that just over two weeks ago, he had almost no one in his life. Now? Three people he trusted with his life sat right here.

Hope you're proud of me, Old Man. I'm not alone anymore…

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Whether it would last was another question. All Isaac knew was that he planned to do anything to keep the people at this table alive. Which was why the next question that left his mouth wasn't just something casual.

"How is it really going on this side? Marie told me a bit, but…" he trailed off, knowing well they understood what he meant.

"Honestly? Not too bad, and that was even before your livestream kicked all of our asses into higher gear," James said. "Earth is mostly calm, even in other parts of the world, from what I hear. People are fighting, earning points. Like I said, not too bad."

"And invasions?" Isaac pressed.

"We had a few," Marie answered. "None lasted long. Whether they all died or extracted, we don't know. No global announcements like with your extraction either."

Isaac nodded. That was good. Expected, too. The Zerians had numbers, not raw power. On that front, Earth should have the edge thanks to the Breakout stage. Invasions wouldn't be how their opponent won the war.

"Okay, that's Earth," he said after a moment. "What about the Battleworld?"

That got reactions from everybody at the table. And none of them were too positive in his opinion.

"Ah… Nobody, really?" James muttered as he glanced at the two women. "Fine, whatever…" He cleared his throat. "So overall, things are going quite… well? Green zone is packed with lower levels killing everything in sight. Everybody else is sitting in the yellow territory, which honestly, is more than enough for us right now."

Isaac frowned. "That does sound good. What's with the faces then?"

James grimaced, his eyes darting between their friends. "Princess, your turn!"

Elaine rolled her eyes. "It's the red zone. Some of us with higher levels wanted to group up and push through it to the Zerian territories. Set up ambushes, maybe do some damage without invading."

"But?" Isaac prompted when she stopped.

"But that place is a deathtrap for almost anyone who can't fly," she said. "We expected the mountains and the monsters there to be a big issue, but no. The true problems lie beneath the desert."

"Worms, man!" James exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Massive fucking worms. I thought sharks had way too many teeth, but these things?" He shuddered. "Scariest shit I have ever seen in my life."

Oh… So that's what I felt, Isaac thought, recalling the few breaks he took in the desert. The vibrations. They made sense now. Something was moving beneath him.

He looked at his friends. "Just how big are we talking about?"

"No idea," James answered. "We only saw it surface a few times. Never looked like there was an end to its body. It just kept going. And going. And going—"

"Right, I get it," Isaac cut in. "And you didn't try to fight it even once?"

For some reason, both Elaine and James laughed. Marie just shook her head.

"Fight it?" Elaine repeated. "Isaac, its threat level isn't Moderate, High, or even Very High. No, it's literally Deathwish. Even the Minotaur wasn't on that level. And if there are multiple worms in that desert?"

"Then it would be a massacre," he finished for her.

She nodded. "Exactly. For now, it's just smarter to stay in the yellow zone and let the fliers do their job. Maybe we can try later. We still have a month after all."

Isaac nodded to that. It made him curious, though. What threat level would the worm show for him? Also Deathwish? Or would all the levels he had gained during the invasion change anything? He voiced the question, but none of his friends could give him an answer.

There was no Host with level thirty-five back when they last saw the worm two days ago. The highest they had in their group was a guy at twenty-eight. He got the same result as everyone else.

Not good, Isaac mused. Sure, it also stops most Zerians from coming to our side, but in the long run, it's an advantage for them. Guess I'm gonna have to do some scouting once I recover.

He kept that plan to himself, though. For now, he steered the conversation to a different subject. He had to recover fully before even thinking about going anywhere. Also, something told him his friends wouldn't appreciate hearing about more of his suicidal ideas just after they saw him almost die on live television.

Yeah… all in due time.

Fusion War Round 1 ends in: 31 days and 16 hours

It took over twelve more hours and another healing potion, but at last, Isaac was back to full power. The debuff was gone, and his body no longer felt sluggish. Not even a scar remained after all the wounds he had gained during the final part of his invasion. Hell, even his hair managed to regrow quite nicely. Still just a buzz cut, but better than nothing.

Now, while he definitely didn't fight anything during his recovery, he also wasn't idle.

Origin Fusion and Burst became his priority.

The former? Not much progress there. He could make his Viron a bit warmer with the help of the Flameborn Core, but aside from that, his success was limited. No hurry, though. Like Rakin had said, Fusion took a lot of work.

As for Burst? Isaac got it to the point where he could use it without falling face-first to the ground. His balance afterward was still a bit off, but at least now he should be able to pull it off once or twice during a fight. The rest would come with experience.

Time to go, he thought, putting on his mask.

A few potions, courtesy of Marie and Elaine, went into his Storage Brand. He also had some food in there. Not enough for a long journey, but he wasn't planning another invasion just yet. First, he had some other important matters to attend to. Like, meeting up with Harry, for example.

Take me to the Battleworld, Interface.

Acknowledged. Transference begins in 3… 2… 1… Brace yourself, Host.

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