For over five minutes, nothing happened.

The monstrous summons kept charging deeper into the red desert while Isaac and Harry flew above, scanning for any sign of worms. They even considered dropping lower, maybe baiting the beasts out themselves, but just then, they spotted a ripple in the dunes in the distance.

At first, it was barely noticeable to the naked eye. A shift here, some sand moving there. Then, those motions reached the summons. A moment later, they were no more.

The ground split open, revealing endless rows of teeth as black as midnight. A massive circular maw swallowed everything in its path, be it the sand, air, or summons. And it didn't stop there.

"Scatter!" Isaac shouted, using a burst of Burnout to get out of the way of the gaping maw that reached them even this high up in the sky.

The terrifying part was that even with the worm's head next to them, its body was still touching the ground. Even now, Isaac could see more and more of its brown, armored flesh slithering out of the sands.

Just what the hell are you? he wondered, watching the worm drop and bury back into the ground. The way its entire body moved, and how its armor plates shifted… it was both terrifying and exciting. This monster was unlike anything else he had ever seen before.

Analyze.

Potential Threat: Edge of Death

"Not Deathwish," Isaac muttered to himself, his gaze still on the beast. It was taking quite a while for it to burrow its entire body back under the ground. "Huh…"

Until now, he had thought Deathwish was the rank above Very High. He had never encountered anything beyond it, after all. Yet it seemed that he had been wrong again. There was one more, or hell, many more. The existence of "Edge of Death" only proved that.

Interface? A little help here?

To his surprise, this time the entity answered. Why now and not when he asked about this in the past? He had no idea.

[Discovered Threats: None - Very Low - Low - Low-Moderate - Moderate - Moderate-High - High - Very High - Edge of Death - Deathwish - ?]

So there is more, just in the other direction. Isaac swallowed. What could rank above Deathwish? Certain death? Honestly, with the Interface's logic, that sounded about right.

At least we aren't completely screwed.

Sure, he was the only one for now to see the worm as anything lower than Deathwish, but it wasn't all bad. Maybe if he gathered hundreds, no, thousands of level-forty fighters, they could bring it down without much bloodshed. And once that happened…

Well, Isaac had a certain idea. One involving a corpse and the power of his Origin. It was nothing more than a dream now, but just maybe, with enough work, he could make it happen.

A man can dream. He sighed just as the last of the worm's body vanished beneath the sand. He glanced at Harry, who had just rejoined his side, and gestured to the yellow territory behind them.

"Up for some hunting?"

Even as a ray-fish, Harry somehow managed to beam at him.

"Thought you would never ask, friend."

Hours flew by as he and Harry carved their way through the Forgotten Wilds. Even this close to the red zone, the monsters weren't strong enough to stop two Pioneers. Massive man-eating plants, Storm Elementals, or swarms of overgrown insects of all kinds. They all failed.

Isaac, for the most part, stayed on the ground, using the attack form of Maker's Shell. Harry, however, hovered above, covering him with illusions and summons while picking off the troublesome elementals. It was a good system they had. Though they definitely left plenty of other Hosts close to a heart attack.

Harry's fleshy abominations and Isaac's blood form weren't too nice to look at, after all.

Either way, the constant running and fighting on the ground reminded Isaac just how much he loved being able to fly. Powerful didn't even begin to cover it. He could see now why it was apparently such a rare skill.

Elaine had once told him that only one Host in a thousand could fly. Whether she was right, he didn't know. She was the one who spent most of the past week among other humans on the Battleworld, though. It would at least explain why he saw so few fliers in the Training Fields.

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All that, of course, led to another thought. Both he and Harry could fly. And both of them were Pioneers of Earth. Did the same apply to the other four? It was a possibility, but one he couldn't confirm.

Similar to how he was a complete unknown to most of Earth before the invasion, nobody knew a thing about the others. Not their names, or if they were even still alive.

Might have to start searching for them, Isaac thought as he stopped in the middle of a small clearing. Maker's Shell dissolved, reshaping his body back into its usual human form. A moment later, Harry landed beside him and also transformed.

"Is that enough for today?" the man asked.

Isaac shook his head, sinking onto a nearby stone. "Just a break. Drink something. Check your notifications…"

"As you wish, friend."

Just like that, Harry also took a seat, pulling a foil-wrapped sandwich out of nowhere. Always prepared, that one.

Isaac chuckled to himself and summoned a bottle of water from his Brand. Taking a long swig, he called forth the Interface to himself. With how his head throbbed, he figured plenty of notifications were waiting.

He was right, even if the vast majority were just simple kill confirmation. He dismissed them until he reached the bottom.

You have leveled up. You are now level 37. Distribution of Ascension Power had advanced the tier of the following attributes: Regeneration (IV->V). No further changes detected.

Not much progress, but still more than after the last level. As for his skills? Those looked a bit better.

The following skills have advanced tiers: Maker's Shell (I->II) Red Puppeteer (II->III) Obliteration (V->VI) Burst (II->III)

Much better, Isaac thought, smiling.

He still wanted to push Cursed Draw and Crimson Death to their potential maximum tier, but that could wait a little longer. This wasn't the end of the hunt, and even if it was, he could always take care of this on the way back to the Safe Zone. No pressure.

With that, he dismissed the Interface and reached for his new Storage Brand. Plenty of Virality Gems, potions, and some low-quality Origin artifacts. He considered using all the gems now, but held himself back. That could wait until after he bought some stuff in the Production District.

Closing his eyes, Isaac stretched out on the rock. All in all, this trip had been fruitful. Two levels already, and some new information about the Sandworm.

Should head back soon, though. Told everybody I won't be out lon—

Once again, the Interface decided to cut him off. His eyes snapped open, landing on a new notification.

Hosts of Earth rejoice! Carmela Lorenzo has extracted after a successful Infamy S-rank invasion. Points Earned: 682,241. Congratulations! Earth is now in the lead.

Isaac blinked, then rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Yet, the notification remained as clear as day, unchanged. He wasn't alone anymore. And even better, those six hundred thousand points were enough to push Earth back into first place.

This war is really a lot closer than anyone thought.

But that wasn't what held his focus. No, his gaze instead lingered on the name. The name he could contact once the woman returned to the Battleworld.

Coordinate, huh? he thought, a smile tugging at his lips. Maybe there is something I can do after all.

He had planned to hunt until his next level, maybe longer. Not anymore. Not with the plan taking form in his head. He could definitely make it happen. He just needed some help.

James whistled as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Not a bad plan, boss. Bit insane, but not bad."

Isaac smiled in thanks and looked around the small table. He, James, Elaine, and Harry were seated in one of the many restaurant-like buildings in the Production District. It took a while to find one that wasn't crowded, but they managed, somehow.

"Just how many people are we talking about?" Elaine asked out of the sudden.

Isaac hummed. "The more the better. And if we could get over a thousand…" He let the thought hang in the air.

Elaine grimaced. "That's a lot. I heard of smaller groups, not even ten strong, already doing this, but a thousand? Might be more than a little difficult."

Isaac nodded. "That's why I'm asking you all for help. And remember it's just an idea. We can make it work with less if we have to."

"And this Carmela?" Elaine pressed.

That earned her a sigh from him. "Nothing yet."

He wasn't disappointed. Or at least not much. Only a day had passed since the global notification, and he knew better than anyone how exhausting an invasion was. For all he knew, the woman was still asleep. Still, he had hoped for a faster reply to his message.

Doesn't matter, this isn't something we can organize in a day or two, he thought, his gaze drifting to the last person at the table.

Harry. For some reason, he hadn't said much since they sat down. And this confused Isaac more than anything.

He had thought that introducing Harry to his friends would be awkward at best, and a mistake at worst. But aside from just greeting everyone in his own usual eccentric way, he stayed silent, just smiling and nodding along. Hell, he even ignored James' annoying quips.

"Harry?" Isaac asked. "All good?"

The man blinked, then met his eyes. "Ah, forgive me. I was merely considering your plan… I might know some people who could assist us. It will take some time to contact them all, however."

Isaac smiled. "That's fine. Do what you must. We have time."

A loud clap came from the other side of the table.

"Well then, it's settled, ain't it?" James said, grinning. "Time to hit the streets, people! We got an army to recruit."

Isaac buried his face in his hand.

This is gonna go great. I can feel it…

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