Isaac landed in one of the countless houses on the Battleworld. Unlike during his first visit, though, it was far from empty. Clothes were scattered around, mixed with other belongings someone hadn't bothered to put away. And that someone? His three friends, of course, one of whom sat at the small table by the kitchenette.

Isaac arched a brow, crossing his arms. "Cereal, really? Where did you even get it?"

James froze mid-bite, dropped his spoon into the bowl full of milk and cereal, then swallowed and leaned back with a grin.

"Production District, where else?" the man said. "You wouldn't believe what some folks are selling there."

Isaac hummed, glancing around the messy house again. "Elaine? Told me she would be here."

"Rushed out ten minutes ago," James said with a shrug. "Didn't say why."

"Of course she didn't," Isaac muttered, not surprised in the least. This was Elaine in a nutshell. Acting on impulse and forgetting about everything else. It was a flaw the two of them partially shared. "I will just message her."

James nodded and returned to his meal. He had his priorities set straight.

Right… Isaac thought, summoning the communication menu. A quick message later, he dropped into the second chair by the table.

"Trouble in paradise?" James asked with that familiar stupid grin.

Isaac scowled. "Don't you even sta—"

An Interface notification cut him off. He ignored James' chuckle and checked it.

[Message from Elaine Blake: I'm so sorry, Isaac. A friend I haven't heard from since the fall just contacted me. I ran out without thinking. Give me half an hour to check up on them and I will join you, okay?]

Ah… that makes sense, Isaac mused, scratching his head. He fired back a message telling her not to rush and to enjoy the reunion. He could take care of himself for the time being. At the very least, she wouldn't be there when he planned to meet Harry, so that was a win in his book. The longer the two of them went without talking, the better.

A moment later, he received another notification. Elaine apologized again and told him to be careful when exploring the Safe Zone.

"Careful?" he echoed, frowning.

"Huh?" James looked up from his meal. "What did ya say?"

Isaac read out the message to him, earning himself a loud laugh.

"You can't be this clueless, man," James said, still chuckling. "Almost the whole Earth saw that livestream. What do you think will happen if people recognize you here on the streets?"

That made Isaac grimace. Right, he had completely forgotten about this little tidbit. He ignored his newfound minor celebrity status outside of Earth because it didn't really affect him yet. But this? This could prove to be a little more than just irritating.

"Goddammit…." he muttered.

James laughed again. "Relax, it won't be that bad. Throw a hood over that mask of yours, and you will be fine. Maybe. Oh, and try to hide those eyes of yours. Quite noticeable these."

Isaac's eye twitched, but he did indeed summon a hoodie out of his Storage Brand. The thing was quite baggy, so it should do the trick. Hopefully.

"Want a pen and paper, too?" James asked.

Isaac shot him a look. "What? Why?"

James grinned. "Why? For the autographs of course!"

"I hate you."

Whiplash.

That was how Isaac would describe walking through the streets of the Battleworld's Safe Zone. After so much time in the wilds, away from civilization, he had forgotten what it felt like to push through endless crowds. Yet here he was, shoulder to shoulder with thousands of humans in just this one district.

In hindsight, though, he should have expected this. The Battleworld was a hub for the entire human race. Not even the largest cities before the Breakout could match it.

I see now why we can't use Legacies here, Isaac thought, slipping past a pack of shouting teenagers. It's bad enough now, but add a horde of running animals? Disaster.

The only blessing about a crowd like this was that no one paid attention to him. Everybody had a destination and didn't have the necessary time or focus to look for a ghost in the crowd.

But if someone did recognize him now…

Isaac shuddered. If that happened, his only method of escape would be teleportation to the edge of the Safe Zone. Not ideal when his goal was the Production District.

How far am I now anyway? He wondered, opening the map. The grimace came instantly. Right… still nowhere close. This is gonna take a while.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Over an hour later—an hour that included a lot of running—Isaac arrived at the Production District. And if the Residential District had been crowded, this place made it look empty. Some streets were so packed he had to take detours because there was literally no way forward.

This also made exploring a bit difficult as he could barely see anything.

Still, he managed.

Smiths, enchanters, alchemists, cooks, and so much more. Each and every one of them had a shop in this district. Some larger, some smaller. One place Isaac passed looked like a massive forge with at least ten people working there, while another couldn't be much different from a corner ramen stand.

The smell drifting from that one made his stomach growl. If not for the crowd and his empty pockets, he might have stopped there.

Alas, Isaac was here just to explore. Sure, it would probably take days to check out everything this district had to offer, but he wasn't planning that in the first place. As long as he got the feel of the area, it would be enough.

Still… I could eat, he admitted, passing yet another food stall. Where people even got the ingredients, he had no idea. Maybe James would know. His Uncle was a cook after all. Later…

On and on it went. It felt like Isaac spent hours lost in the crowd, drifting from one shop to another. Sometimes one of his friends would message him to ask if he wanted to meet up. Tempting, but he always rejected the offer, stating that he was fine on his own for now. Besides, he still had one important matter to attend to today.

All right, enough messing around.

The communication menu appeared before him again. Careful not to bump anyone, he typed a short message to Harry. A couple of seconds later, he received a reply. Like always, his strange ally didn't disappoint.

[Message from Harry Hayward: Of course, my dear friend. Currently, I'm at the Training Field-VE2. Shall I wait for you here, or do you prefer to meet up somewhere else?]

Isaac quickly checked the map and sent his response.

"Be there soon."

Unlike the other two districts, the Training Fields were far less chaotic despite the name. They were still filled with thousands upon thousands of people fighting or testing their skills, but somehow there was enough space here for everybody. Strange, considering this part of the Safe Zone didn't appear this large on the map.

Isaac would bet some Overseer bullshittery was at play here.

Not that he minded. More space, and the fact that his Legacy was usable again, made finding Harry much, much easier and faster. The man wasn't alone, though.

A spar? Isaac thought as he landed on the edge of a tennis-court-sized arena. A few nearby people shot him curious looks, but didn't approach. Maybe James was wrong about his supposed popularity after all.

Whatever…

His gaze returned to the arena where Harry was facing a young guy of Asian descent. While his friend fought with just his dagger and a single summoned monstrosity, the other man blitzed around the battlefield as if he were living lightning. Only Isaac's enhanced senses allowed him to follow the movements.

That has to be a skill, he mused, watching the unknown man move again. Definitely not Burst. Not lightning either. Just what is your Origin?

But as the fight dragged on, he got no closer to the answer. Even when the two combatants clashed, the stranger's form never glowed, never showed any signs of using skills. It was like everything the man did was internal. Origin of Speed could be a possibility, but didn't sound right for some reason.

What will you do? Isaac wondered, eyes back on Harry.

The man didn't look tired at all as he avoided the majority of the speedster's strikes. Hell, sometimes Harry even had his eyes closed while dodging. Was he using the sight of his summoned five-legged monstrosity, or was this something else? His Dreams, maybe?

You can never know with him.

A moment later, it looked like the stranger just scored a clean hit. As always with Harry, though, nothing was ever as it seemed. His body flickered and was replaced by his summon. The attacker's gauntleted punch connected, but the beast barely flinched before snatching the man in one meaty hand.

And just like that, the battle came to an end.

The monstrosity vanished, dropping the stranger lightly to the ground. He then exchanged a few words with Harry, bowed, and turned his gaze to Isaac. It didn't take long for both men to approach him.

"Isaac, my dear friend," Harry greeted. "I trust you enjoyed our little display?"

Isaac hummed. "You could say that." He turned to the stranger and extended his hand. "Isaac Walker. Interesting Origin you have there."

The man's eyes widened. "You are…" He caught himself, then bowed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Walker. I'm Kim Hyun."

Korean then. Isaac nodded as they shook hands. "Just Isaac is fine. You know Harry long? "

"Ah, no," Hyun replied with a light accent. "I simply saw Mr. Hayward's illusions and wished to test my Origin of Acceleration against him." He smiled. "Could have gone better."

"But you did wonderfully, my young friend!" Harry exclaimed. "An excellent showing for someone five levels below me. I would ask for another round, but alas, I need to speak with Isaac here."

Hyun recognized the dismissal at once. He bowed again and left after wishing them a good day.

"Acceleration, hmm?" Isaac muttered once they were alone. "Interesting."

"But quite limited," Harry stated. "It's one of those Origins with fewer skills and more raw power. I much prefer my Dreams."

Isaac just nodded in agreement. He liked what he had with his Origin of Blood. Having about three skills at level twenty may have worked for some, but it wouldn't for him. Not at this point.

"Are you free for the next few days?" he asked, changing the subject.

Harry perked up. "Oh? Another invasion expedition? If so, you needn't even ask."

Isaac shook his head. "Not exactly. Not yet, at least. This is about something else."

"I'm listening, friend."

It took less than a minute to convince Harry to follow him into the wilds and head for the border between the yellow and red territories. Even better, thanks to his speed and Harry's invisibility illusion, the trip was almost relaxing. They even made a few stops to bail out groups who had bitten off more than they could chew.

It netted Isaac another level and advanced his Virus to the Maturity phase, so there was also that.

About a day after leaving the Safe Zone, however, they reached the beginning of the red territory. It should have taken less time, but finding a place not crawling with people had been harder than expected. Everyone seemed to use the border like a budget Safe Zone.

Still, they managed, and there should be no humans in at least a ten-minute radius.

"Shall I, my friend?" Harry asked from his perch atop the last tree before the red zone.

Next to him, Isaac nodded. "Do it. Let's see just what we are up against."

With that, Harry's summons manifested below them. Within seconds, all three were running across the hot red sands of the Smoldering Mountains territory. No way the worms could ignore them. And if they did, Isaac had other ideas to draw them out.

Come. Show me what you got.

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