Well done, Hosts! You have managed to destroy the core of this nest. Without a source to sustain it, its collapse is imminent. Your reward shall arrive soon. Level progression will be distributed between all contributors.

There were more, a lot more Interface messages waiting for Isaac. Yet, for the time being, he pushed them aside and watched as the nest around him crumbled inch by inch. The roots that made up the walls withered before his eyes, turning from healthy to decayed, then to dust in seconds.

Soon, the massive trees of the Rotborne Woods once more appeared in his sight, along with the rest of this cursed forest. But that wasn't all the collapse of the nest revealed, far from it.

Dozens, maybe even hundreds of monsters—Hollowbeaks, Barkspawns, and Fog Wisps—emerged as the massive root walls and thick mist vanished. None of them tried to attack, though. No, some just spared Isaac's team a glance before turning tail, running, crawling, or flying away as fast as they could. Obviously, they didn't want to face Hosts, who had just killed their guardian.

Understandable.

And so, as the beasts made their escape, Isaac turned his gaze away from them and glanced toward another problem. Or sort of a problem, at least.

James and the Revenant.

Even with the beast as dead as it could be, the older man didn't stop his assault. He now stood over the mangled corpse in his human form, arms reshaped into massive gray hammers that slammed into Revenant one after another. If it had been barely recognizable before, now the beast was just a mass of broken branches, flesh, and shattered bones.

Still, James kept going. He was like a man possessed, and it wasn't hard to understand why.

Minotaur, it might not be, but the Revenant was still a guardian of some kind. And if this gave the older man even a scrap of closure… well, who were they to stop him?

Even so, someone probably should before he hurts himself, Isaac thought, grimacing at the chunks of the Revenant splattering over James. This is getting a bit out of hand.

That said, he still hesitated, unsure if he should step forward and drag the man away from the rotting mass of flesh. In the end, though, someone else made the call. Within seconds, Marie was at James' side, slender hands gripping his arm.

"He will be fine," Elaine murmured as she stepped up beside Isaac. "Even if I doubt this made him feel any better, he's not alone. That's all that mattered in the end."

"I hope so," he said quietly.

The woman chuckled, nudging his shoulder. "You know… it's still a little weird. You always struck me as a total loner. Now look at you—working in a team, caring for everybody in it."

Isaac smiled lightly. "What can I say? You all grew on me. And what better time to bond than the end of the world?"

The corner of her mouth tugged upward. "I guess… Grandpa would be proud of you. He always mentioned how you had trouble fitting in. Probably why he pushed so hard for us to get along." She sighed. "I didn't care back then, of course, but I wish…"

She trailed off. Isaac glanced at her, offering her a weak shrug. "Doesn't matter now. In the end, the old man got what he wanted, no?" His smile widened. "Besides, you're wrong. He would be proud of both of us."

"Maybe…" she muttered, her gaze returning to James and Marie. "They seem close… really close. How long have they known each other again?"

"Since the beginning of the Breakout… I think," Isaac answered, brow furrowed. "Yeah, that's it."

"Huh," Elaine hummed softly. "Nice…" She averted her gaze from the duo. "Let's give them a moment. I'm gonna check my notifications."

"Good idea."

With that, Isaac called up the Interface and all the notifications it was hiding from him. There were quite a few.

You have leveled up! You are now level 14. Distribution of Ascension Power in progress. Regeneration has advanced a tier.

Already? Isaac's eyebrows shot up. Sure, it was the only attribute of his that had an advanced distribution rank, but still. It had advanced with the last level-up too. The fruit must have done more work than he had expected.

Not complaining, though. Next…

Blood Dagger has evolved into Crimson Death, a Mystic-grade ability. Congratulations! Harden has advanced a tier. Viron: Regeneration has reached its maximum tier.

Possible skill fusion detected! Do you wish to proceed?

Just as Isaac was about to agree, a sharp, pained gasp came beside him. His gaze snapped toward Elaine, who lay on the ground, her body covered in a thick white glow. She writhed, groaning as the light grew stronger and stronger.

"Shit," he cursed, dropping into a crouch beside her. He tried to reach out, but a wave of heat washed over his fingers, almost burning them. "Elaine! Can you hear me?! Come on!"

She didn't open her eyes, but a single, stuttered word slipped through her clenched teeth.

"L-legacy…"

Relief crashed over him like a wave. Aside from him and James, he had only heard about four other people who unlocked their Legacy, and while most experienced pain, no one died. It just looked like each Origin jump-started the awakening process with different results. Some more painful than others.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

As such, he could do nothing but watch as Elaine curled into a ball and had to go through whatever suffering her Origin decided to put her through. At the very least, it didn't last long, and soon, the glow around her weakened, allowing him to reach out.

Isaac put an arm around her back, helping her sit up.

"That sucked," she grumbled as her chest heaved.

He shot her what he hoped was a comforting smile. "Look on the bright side. Your Origin didn't cut you up."

"Yeah, I guess…" Elaine muttered, wiping her sweaty forehead. "At least it's behind me now… Now, I just got to wait two hours."

"Two?" Isaac frowned. "I needed four. James too."

She shrugged weakly. "Your guess is as good as mine. The wonders of the Interface, or Virus, or whatever…"

Fair enough, he thought, nodding.

After a quick scan of the clearing, he stood up and helped Elaine do the same. Her legs wobbled a bit, but compared to him, she took to the awakening process quite well. He wasn't jealous, even if it irked him a bit that only his Origin had almost killed him.

Further off, Marie and James finally seemed to notice something was wrong as they began walking toward them. Yet, before they could meet up, a bright flash filled the space between them. It vanished as quickly as it arrived, leaving behind a medium-sized chest.

"Rewards.. finally," Elaine whispered, limping forward.

"Guys, you okay?" James asked once they stopped by the chest. "Saw you on the ground, princess."

"I'm good, thanks. Legacy."

"Ah… That will do it," James said, then eyed the chest. "So… loot anyone?"

Isaac gestured for him to go on, and the man did, crouching down and unlatching the claps. Once done with that, he pushed the lid open.

For a chest so large, it sure is almost empty, he thought, glancing inside. So tiny…

First, James pulled out a bag that almost always came with every reward. It contained a couple of Virality Gems of Normal-grade. They put them aside for now.

Next came three small shards of blue stone. At first glance, they looked quite familiar to Isaac, and a quick Analyze explained why.

[Virus Blueprint Shard | Grade: Superior] A small shard of a shattered Virus Blueprint. Can be used in crafting, or combined with 4 other shards to form a random Superior-quality Blueprint.

Interesting… and a bit disappointing.

Back in the Contamination Zone, clearing a single Quarantine Site was sometimes enough to get two whole Blueprints. And here, where the monsters were much stronger, they didn't even get one. Sure, the shards were of Superior-quality, but still.

"Boss, want to hold onto those?" James asked, pulling him back to reality.

Isaac nodded, taking the shards and placing them all in his Storage Brand. "What else do we have?"

"This!" James exclaimed, pulling out…

"A pill?" Marie asked, frowning. A second later, her eyes widened. "Oh, never mind. A mutagen… Analyze it, guys."

Was planning to do that anyway, but sure, Isaac thought, looking back at the red-black pill lying atop James' palm. Analyze.

[Mutagen: Goliath's Skin | Grade: Superior] A basic Virus Mutagen that mutates the Host's skin and significantly enhances its durability. Created from the pieces of a slain Goliath and claimed by the Overseer for future use.

First Mutagen encountered. The Interface has prepared a short guide for you.

Those notifications appeared before him on top of the ones already waiting for his attention. Isaac quickly confirmed the skill fusion and then called on the new guide.

Acknowledged. Fusion of, Viron: Potency, Viron: Regeneration, Viron: Storage, in progress. Please stand by…

[Mutagen - A special item type invented by the first Hosts and then adapted and improved by later generations. Crafted from pieces of creatures from the Mystical World and other monsters, Mutagens grant mutations with effects comparable to Inheritances, though without growth potential. Note: Each Host has a limited number of Mutagen slots, determined by Virus Stage—one slot per stage.

Mutagens can be removed at the Host's request. This process is quite painful.]

Isaac didn't expect this at all. For some reason, he thought that Mutagens would be just some temporary enhancements, hence the pills. But the Interface once more proved him wrong. Those things were important, very important, maybe even on the level of Inheritances.

And they can be removed. Painfully…

The Interface never warned the Hosts about any potential pain. Yet here it did. Isaac shuddered. The removal process couldn't be much worse than the awakening of his Legacy, right?

Of course, he received no answer.

"So, who wants it?" James asked, pulling the entire group out of their thoughts.

"Shouldn't you have it?" Elaine suggested. "It fits pretty well."

Isaac nodded to that. If those Mutagens were as rare as he suspected, it could be a while before they found something that fit the older man so well. Or maybe not. For all he knew, they might get another one of those before they even left the forest.

James hummed. "But I'm already pretty damn durable. Can't say the same about you three. At least Isaac heals fast, but you two? What's your Toughness distribution grade?"

"Low," both women said at the same time.

"Exactly." James snapped his fingers. "You two take it."

Elaine raised her hands. "Let Marie have it then. I will be fine as I am."

And that should have been the end of it. Marie would take the Mutagen, they would move on, and life would be simple. But of course, it wasn't. Marie immediately protested, arguing that James should take it anyway.

Dear god… Isaac groaned, dragging a hand down his face. He turned around with a sigh and left the trio to argue. He wasn't getting involved in that. They were all grown-ups, after all. Besides, he still had a few notifications to check.

Fusion successful. You have obtained a new skill, Basic Filtering.

[Basic Filtering | Grade: Superior | Tier I] Bread and butter of every beginner Host. This skill teaches your Virus how to improve its Mana filtering process, significantly enhancing Viron potency, regeneration, and optimizing storage.

Finally, a skill that can still advance. Isaac chuckled. Aside from Harden, he really didn't have many of those left. Or maybe not. Let's see.

[Crimson Death | Grade: Mystic | Tier I] An active Origin ability. Summons a powerful blood spear tainted by the aspect of Death. Upon losing momentum, it detonates, releasing tiny blood blades over a limited area.

Death aspect. That definitely explained the name and how the spear almost shredded the Revenant into pieces. That said, this skill evolution left him with one important question.

Can I still use Blood Daggers?

Without hesitation, Isaac reached for his Viron and Origin, trying to summon a small blade of blood into his hand. The energy responded, spilling crimson liquid on his palm. But it didn't shift, didn't try to assume the shape he wanted it to.

He frowned.

This might be a problem…

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