The first item took up most of the space with its sheer size. Isaac reached out, unfolded it, and laid it out on the chest's edge for a better look. As he expected from the sturdy, yet somehow flexible, dark brown material, it was an article of clothing. A vest, to be more precise.

It wasn't anything fancy. Definitely not something to pair with a suit. Rather, it was an armor, very light one at that. That said, he couldn't quite place the material. It looked a bit like leather, but also not at the same time.

Analyze it is.

[Basic Armored Vest | Grade: Normal] One of many mass-produced vests made from a blend of different materials. Offers decent protection against bladed weapons of normal or lower grade. This defense is not shared with Legacy forms.

So not as special as I thought. Isaac hummed as he shrugged off his hoodie. Then, moving carefully to avoid aggravating his wounds, he pulled the vest over his blood-stained shirt. Somehow, it fit him like a glove, like this thing was made for him.

And honestly, maybe it was. He was the only one to contribute to the destruction of this Quarantine, after all. Getting armor tailored to him wasn't that surprising.

Next then, he thought, reaching into the chest. Once more, his hand pulled out another piece of armor—a vambrace. Frowning, he searched for its counterpart but came up empty. For some reason, the Interface decided that he only should have one.

Weird, but whatever. It still looks pretty good.

This time, the material was easier to identify. It was leather, or at least something very similar. The top, however, was reinforced with a dark blue metal plate that absorbed all the light that hit it. Isaac didn't hesitate to use Analyze on it.

[Skinshell Vambrace | Grade: Superior] A carefully crafted piece of armor made from the leather of an Ether Goat and a common blend of meteor metals. Thanks to some minor enchantments, the metal plating offers protection against all attacks of a lower grade than the item's. This defense is not shared with Legacy forms.

Ah… So that's why there is only one.

The high grade pretty much guaranteed that almost nothing could break through its protection, at least for now. From what he had seen, the Wretched weren't nearly strong enough to match the power of a Superior-grade weapon, and there probably weren't too many Hosts with abilities of this caliber either. Hell, even in his team, the others only had one such ability.

They were advancing fast, though, so that might change soon.

I wonder how you would hold up against a higher-caliber gun…

Not that Isaac planned to get shot anytime soon, but it would be nice to know, just in case. The meeting with the armed group at UC Davis had made one thing clear—it was better to be safe than sorry. All it took was one wrong person with a gun for a disaster to happen.

Shaking the thought away, he secured the vambrace on his left forearm. Why? Simply because his right hand already had Root of Blood to worry about. Having the armor there would be a waste. At least this way, he could use the vambrace as a makeshift shield if needed.

Looks good. He smiled, flexing his now-armored forearm. Just like with the vest, it fit him perfectly. He barely had to adjust the clasp at the bottom. Moving on…

The next two items he removed from the chest were potions. One brown, the other red. At first glance, they looked identical to the ones he had used earlier, but a closer look showed that their coloring was slightly darker.

Oh?

[Restoration Potion (H) | Grade: Normal] A standard issue health potion. It will enhance the Host's regeneration for a short period of time. Instantly restores 5% of Virus Integrity.

"Exactly what I needed," he muttered, uncorking the vial and downing it in one go.

Right away, a wave of cold spread through his body, washing over his internal injuries and numbing the constant pain. It returned a few seconds later, but compared to what he had felt after crashing into that tree? This was almost nothing.

Hell, maybe a flight back home wasn't that far out of reach.

First though, gotta take care of the rest stuff.

For now, he put the higher-grade energy potion into his small bag and removed the final few items from the chest—a couple of Virality Gems and a single Virus Blueprint. He set the former aside and Analyzed the latter.

[Virus Blueprint | Grade: Normal] A special blueprint that teaches a Host's Virus how to use a certain ability. This blueprint contains knowledge about one of the three basic filtration skills—Storage.

Bingo! Isaac grinned. That's three for three.

Without wasting another second, he consumed the blueprint.

You have obtained a new skill, Viron: Storage.

[Viron: Storage | Grade: Normal | Max Tier]

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. A part of basic filtering technique. It teaches your Virus how to store Viron more efficiently in your body.

Max tier already, hmm? I will gladly take that.

Isaac waved away the description and focused on the seven Normal-grade Virality Gems. He hesitated for only a moment before consuming four of them and putting the final three in his pocket. A tiny gift for his team wouldn't hurt. He got what he wanted anyway.

Congratulations! Your Virus has entered the third Phase of development.

With a small smile on his face, he rose to his feet, leaving the empty chest behind. Still limping, he walked toward the edge of this tiny park, his eyes searching for any Wretched nearby. There were none.

Just like the crimson fog, the monsters fled, leaving this place empty and forgotten. All the better for Isaac. He was in no condition to fight anyway. However, as much as he wanted to lie down and rest, he couldn't do that.

Any moment now, his teammates would realize what happened here and wait for his return. And if he took too long, they would most likely try to reach this place. Now, with the Quarantine gone, they just might manage that, but it was still a big risk. He had avoided a lot of fighting thanks to his bird form…

Yeah, I need to get going.

Grimacing, he reached toward his Legacy spark and forced the transformation. In the next second, he almost wished he hadn't.

Instead of the instant process he had grown used to, this time, pain erupted across his entire body as he felt the change happen piece by piece. First, his arms turned into wings, then his feet into sharp talons. His head went next, followed by his torso.

Pain Resistance has advanced a tier.

Isaac groaned, which in his current form amounted to a weak squeak.

Shit. That hurt…

Still, the transformation worked. Now, he just had to spread his wings and fly back. Which was easier said than done, as every bit of internal damage he had sustained carried over to this new form. It was a miracle he was still standing.

All right, you can do this.

Wings spread, Isaac took a deep breath and pushed himself off the ground as hard as he could. His entire body screamed in protest, but he pushed the pain away and flew up, almost hitting a lamppost on the way.

Slow and steady now. Slow and steady…

With this mantra playing in his head, he started flying toward his team's last known location. For the most part, he stuck to gliding, but even that didn't save him from the occasional spike of pain that almost sent him crashing into walls. Even worse, his low altitude meant it didn't take long for the Wretched below to spot him.

At least they didn't try to chase him once they realized that there was no way they could reach him.

Still, if he crashed now, he was so done for…

Don't think about it.

Then, about halfway through his drunk flight, another Interface notification appeared before him. Luckily, there were no walls near him at that time. It was still a close call with another lamppost, though. Seriously, those things were out to get him.

The purge has been completed successfully. Wretched in this territory are now severely weakened.

True to the notification, there was no more crimson fog around him. The monsters below, though? No obvious change. Either the weakening was internal, or there was some kind of delay.

Not that he really cared. All that mattered now was reaching his team with his battered body and half-hearted flaps of his wings.

Come on, I have to be close now…

Only… he wasn't. Somewhere along the way, he must have taken a wrong turn. And if not for the distant pained wails of the Wretched, he probably would have never found his team. At least not without taking an hour or two to rest first.

There you are!

Isaac perked up once he spotted his teammates after taking another turn. They were just finishing off the local group of Wretched.

Great, now I gotta land without killing myself.

His eyes quickly scanned the area, finally settling on a stack of boxes by the entrance to an alley. A few trash bags were piled up next to them—good enough. At the very least, he wouldn't break his neck this way.

This is gonna suck.

Spreading his wings wide, Isaac glided toward his chosen spot. A yell of his name almost made him look away. Still, he ignored it and started flapping his wings as fast as possible to slow his descent.

It worked. Well, partially, at least.

Instead of slamming into the boxes and trash headfirst, he crashed into them with his whole body. He squeaked as each of his recovering injuries flared up. Though, at least he didn't hear anything new breaking. He would call it a win.

"Isaac!"

A voice shouted his name again, and within seconds, soft hands pulled him out of the mess around him.

"What the hell was that? You forgot how to land?"

He looked up, blinking his bleary eyes. Elaine. Of course, it was Elaine who picked him up and held his almost unresponsive body in front of her. He let out a weak squawk.

She frowned, but before she could say anything else, another voice stopped her.

"Lass? How is it looking? Why isn't he transforming?"

Elaine's frown deepened. "I don't know, but it doesn't look like he is in the best shape. Isaac, can you change, please?"

Oh, hell no! I'm staying like this until I recover. I ain't a masochist. Unfortunately, they couldn't understand him or read his mind. All they heard was more squawking.

"We're getting nowhere like this," Elaine grumbled. "Let's try again. I will ask questions. One caw for yes, two for no, okay?"

Now we're talking. Despite his growing exhaustion, Isaac cawed once.

"Great. Can you transform?"

A caw.

"Will you transform?"

Two caws.

"Great…" She sighed. "Are you hurt?"

A caw.

"Is it really bad?"

Two caws.

Elaine scowled. "I don't believe that for a second. Otherwise, you would have transformed already." Isaac squawked indignantly. "Yeah, yeah, you have only yourself to blame, dumbass."

Why you?!

"All right, enough of that, kids," Tyler said, stepping in before Isaac could peck Elaine with the last of his strength. "Let's take a break and let Isaac recover. I'm running low on Viron anyway."

"Same," James, who just appeared next to them, chimed in. "What's up, boss? Nice landing. I give it a solid two out of ten."

Isaac let out a sharp caw, but before he could try to do more, the hold around him tightened as Elaine brought him closer to her chest. He looked up and narrowed his eyes.

She met his glare with a raised brow. "I can drop you if you want," she muttered, quiet enough so only he could hear. "Just try me."

Wisely, Isaac decided to shut up.

"That's what I thought…"

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