"Teach?" Elaine muttered, finally breaking the silence.

Isaac nodded. "Yeah. This isn't an Origin skill, so it should be possible… or at least, I hope so. Might be a good way for us to practice controlling our Viron better. That can't hurt, right?"

Deep down, he also hoped that this process would help him recreate Blood Daggers later on. Despite his earlier experimentation, all he really achieved were a few crude shapes made from the artificial blood his Origin produced. That was far from enough, and he wanted his old skill back—the faster, the better. Crimson Death might be powerful, but too flashy and too draining to use against every enemy.

He explained all this to the others, earning a look of understanding from most of them. Only James looked a bit confused for some reason.

"I guess I don't have a choice, then," Elaine said, sighing. "Just so you know. I'm a terrible teacher. They made me tutor this underclassman back in school once. Total disaster."

James snorted. "It couldn't be that bad, princess."

"It was." She deadpanned. "The guy canceled our second meeting. Said I made the subject more confusing than it already was."

"Huh." The older man hummed. "And now I'm curious. Just what were you teaching him? Math? 'Cause if so, you have my condolences."

Elaine flushed and looked away. "No… Biology, my best subject," she mumbled. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. It was embarrassing."

Shouldn't have brought it up then, Isaac thought, a small smile playing on his lips. Now, you can say goodbye to privacy. James will get all the details out of you sooner or later.

That said, before the man could pounce on the subject and annoy Elaine until she revealed everything, Marie laid a hand on his shoulder. Like always lately, this simple gesture made their so-called 'tank' settle down. There had to be something going on between those two at this point.

Isaac was pretty sure of that. Or, well, about eighty percent sure. When it came to relationships, his experience ranked somewhere between a prepubescent kid and a monk. Sad? He didn't think so. That was just how his life went.

Focus.

He shook his head, his gaze returning to Elaine. "Go on, use it. Let's see if the skill is even useful."

She nodded, and within seconds, the blue tablet vanished from her hands, its particles sinking into her body. She blinked, her lips forming a small O-shape.

"This might be a bit easier than I thought," she said, looking down at her feet. "Watch this."

When, after a few seconds, nothing happened, Isaac was about to ask her what they were supposed to watch. But just then, a light blue sheen appeared around the lower part of her legs. In the next second, she moved.

It wasn't teleportation. Not quite bullet-speed, either. But his eyes barely registered when she took the first step, and her form blurred. Where before she stood a good ten or so feet away from him, now she was almost in his face.

What followed, however, was less impressive.

Either Elaine must have lost her footing, or the skill had to be harder to control than she thought, because the moment she stopped, she stumbled. Isaac reacted on instinct, stepping forward and grabbing her arms before she could faceplant into the dirt.

"Thanks," she muttered, still catching her breath.

"You okay?" he asked when she kept using him for support.

Elaine grimaced. "Yeah… Just… just a bit overwhelmed. And tired."

Isaac gave a small nod and guided her to sit down on a chunk of rubble. Maire approached next, offering a bottle of water to the taller woman. She took it and gulped half of it in one go.

"Looks like the teaching is gonna have to wait, boss," James said.

So it seems. Isaac clicked his tongue, his gaze returning to Elaine. She was still visibly winded. "How did it feel?" he asked.

The woman looked up. "Strange," she admitted. "Puts a lot of strain on the body. And it burned through about a third of the Viron I had left from the fight. That's… around an eighth of my full capacity."

"Makes sense," Marie spoke up. "You moved way faster than your body's used to. Our boosted stats help, but there's still a limit. Are you hurt anywhere? Any sharp aches, weird pains inside?"

Elaine shook her head. "No… Well, yes, but not in the way you think. It is similar to how you feel after a good workout. It will pass."

"But it's definitely not a skill that you can spam," Isaac noted. "At least not yet."

"Not surprising," James said. "It looks strong. If you used it against me, I wouldn't be able to react."

Elaine nodded. "It's strong. Or at least will be once I get the hang of it. The good news, though, is that I know how it works. I think I can give you guys some pointers."

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"Let's leave that for later. Rest for now," Isaac stated, turning to the rest of his team. "In the meantime, James, Marie, and I will search the village. Look for valuables, stuff that will make our journey easier, and any clues as to where all the human bodies came from."

Everybody around him winced at the mention of the corpses. Between the loot and the new skill, they must have forgotten about them. Well, he definitely didn't. The image of those bodies strung up like meat was still fresh in his mind.

"Split up and get to work," he continued when nobody spoke. "Meet back here in twenty. Shout if you need help."

With that, Isaac walked away, his feet carrying him toward the first building he and Marie cleared. If there was any hint about the origin of those corpses, it would be there.

I forgot about the smell, he grimaced as he entered the slaughterhouse. There were no signs of the goblins he and Marie had killed, but the human corpses were still here, hanging like they used to.

Yeah, no.

He summoned the Root to his hand and cut off every body in his path. While there was no way he could bury them—there were just too many corpses in the village—he could at least do this much. If they had someone with fire Origin, burning them could have been an option, but well…

Isaac shook his head as he proceeded deeper into the building. Since when did he care so much about others? Especially about people long dead? As much as the sight tugged at his heart, he had already done all he could for those people.

The goblins were dead. There was no one else here who could use the bodies for their gain. At least for now.

Move on. This isn't a problem you can fix…

His gaze hardened as he stopped at the butcher's table. Ignoring the scraps of human flesh, he focused on the few scattered papers and clothes off to the side. The former looked like some primitive blueprints of the tools the goblins used. The latter, though? Those definitely belonged to humans.

He reached out, sifting through the bloodied hoodies and pants. At first, he found nothing, but then his fingers brushed against a closed wallet. He quickly opened it and searched for some identification.

Here… Jennifer Hayes. Fourteen-year-old. God…

He swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and continued reading. Stockton… That's about twenty miles from Galt if I'm not mistaken. Damn…

Isaac put away the ID and searched for another in the pile of clothes lying on the side. It took him a minute or two, but he finally succeeded and confirmed that this next person was also from Stockton. This could mean only one thing.

This village… it's a fragment of the city. But where's the rest? Where are the other people?

Of course, there was no one to answer him. Deep down, he hoped that the others were maybe teleported to the nearest Contamination Zone. Yet something told him it wasn't so simple. If Earth hadn't experienced the Breakout stage, that might have been possible, but that obviously wasn't the case.

There is someone who might have the answers, he thought, his mind going back to his brief meeting with Rakin. But how do I contact you again?

Isaac sighed and stepped away from the butcher's table. He could discuss this with his team later. For now, he had a job to do. A very long and thankless job.

In the end, they didn't find any clues as to where more people might be hiding. His team scoured every building, every corner of the village. Aside from a few more IDs and some minor loot, it was a dead end. If not for the few Inferior potions and a Normal-grade sword that James and Maire found, the whole effort would have been a waste.

As it was, at least James now had a weapon other than his own arms. Sure, the hilt was made from a human femur, but the blade itself was solid metal, sharp enough to slice through a sapling like paper. If not for that, they would have probably left the sword alone.

Time to settle in for the night, Isaac thought, glancing at the sun sinking toward the horizon. His gaze then dropped to the small grove and the river running next to it. That should do.

With a loud caw, he dived, earning his team's attention. He cawed again, and that was enough for the others to speed up and follow after him. Before long, they arrived at the edge of the grove where he transformed.

"The river's that way," he said, gesturing toward the trees. "You two can go first. James and I will set up the camp. We're sleeping here."

Marie and Elaine shot him a grateful smile and darted into the grove. James, meanwhile, joined him as he took their camping tent out of his Storage Brand.

"So you and the princess, hmm?" the older man drawled, breaking the silence. "For a pair of mortal enemies, you two sure are getting cozy. I think someone here has been lying."

Isaac paused mid-setup, staring flatly at him. Are we really doing this? Now? he thought, letting out a deep sigh. What are we? High school girls?

"There is nothing to talk about," he said, returning to his task. "The world is ending, so we decided to put our differences aside for the time being. That's all there is to it."

James snorted. "Nahhh. I call bullshit." He raised his hands in surrender when Isaac shot him a glare. "But fine. Live in denial if that's what you prefer, man. Your call."

Isaac rolled his eyes. It wasn't denial. He just wasn't about to dive into anything when he and Elaine had just started getting along. Besides, romance was about as far down the priority list as it could get. The world might be ending soon, for fuck's sake.

As such, he just settled for "Whatever you say" and continued working.

Despite his enhanced vision cutting through most of the darkness of the night, there was still something special about this part of the day. He should be feeling tired after so much running and fighting, yet he was still full of energy. Was this due to his Legacy, or maybe his overpowered Regeneration?

Isaac wasn't sure, though, something told him both of those things were partially responsible. He sighed, leaning a little harder against the tree trunk. At least from this high up, he had a good view of the open plains ahead.

Not that there was much to see there. The entire world seemed to be asleep.

Or maybe not…

Isaac straightened when he caught movement in the distance—faint shapes, both in the air and on the ground. Seven figures, still far away, but definitely moving toward the camp.

Analyze.

Potential Threat: Low-Moderate

Isaac repeated this process on every dark blur he could spot, always getting the same result. He was about to jump down to warn James and wake up the girls when all seven figures suddenly erupted in flames.

With their bodies now covered in fire, it wasn't hard to recognize the four shapes on the ground. Those were the same raptors he had seen earlier today. The three burning birds in the sky, though? Those were a first.

"James!" he yelled. "Wake up the others! We've got company!"

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