Pain Resistance, Basic Filtering, and Harden have advanced a tier.

Isaac waited, hoping for more notifications to appear, but none did. Despite how tough those vultures had been, they weren't enough to give him another level up. A pity, as he definitely could use a power-up right about now. His Regeneration attribute should be close to advancing after all.

Can't have everything, he reasoned with a grimace. Once he mentally dismissed the short notification, he reached for his Core—his new heart—and drew on all the blood stored there. No sense saving it when he was this beat up. Maybe even a Hollowbeak would be able to kill him now. Or maybe not… but still. Not worth the risk.

This sucks, he thought as he looked at his torn, blood-splattered clothes.

His shirt and hoodie were done for, there was no saving them thanks to all those cuts. His pants weren't fairing much better after the vulture's talons had torn through them. Still, at the very least, they still protected his decency. No way was he limping back to camp half-naked. He felt embarrassed enough about almost dying against three stupid birds.

Sure, they were fast, strong, quite intelligent, and could spew fireballs, but…

Never mind. Maybe there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

Truth be told, aside from the mutant horde in Double-layered Quarantine and their stand against the Minotaur, Isaac hadn't been pushed this hard in a while. The battle in the goblin village forced him to use his ultimate and spent most of his Viron, but in the end, he only got one arrow to the side. An injury like that was nothing in the face of his regeneration at this point.

Now though?

Now, he had been one wrong move away from death. If the vultures had managed to swarm him or hit him with more than one fireball, he would have been roasted alive. Or if he hadn't used that beast to break his fall, it would be him now lying broken and forgotten.

Still, he had made it. He had survived, won, and no one could take that away from him. Could he have done some things better? Definitely. His Sacrifice skill went almost unused during the fight, and if he stayed closer to the ground, maybe he could have avoided breaking half of his bones.

Of course, hindsight was twenty-twenty. All he could do now was learn, adapt, and do better next time. That said, going forward, he and his team definitely had to be more careful. The world out here wasn't the same anymore.

They weren't dealing with just low-threat Wretched or Rotborn beasts. Every mile they pushed south, things got worse. And if they wanted to keep the current pace and reach LA in seven days, they might have to start sneaking around soon. After all, who knew when another Minotaur-class monster would pop up.

If we weren't in a hurry, this wouldn't be an issue, Isaac mused, leaning hard against the tree. Gotta bring this up with the others.

He sighed and looked around to make sure he was still alone. The leaves swayed lazily in the breeze, and a couple of bushes twitched every now and then. Yet, nothing ever came out of them.

Can't stay here.

Despite his less-than-ideal state, Isaac braced himself with his only working arm and forced his way to his feet. His torn muscles and broken bones screamed in protest, but it was this or getting eaten alive by some forest creature soon. He had to find his team.

Come, he called, and with a single nudge of Viron, Root of Blood landed in his left hand. He wasn't sure if he had the strength to swing it, but at the very least, it could serve as a makeshift crutch. The blade didn't even complain at the thought.

And so, one slow step after another, Isaac went off searching for the exit from this forest. He had no idea where his team was, but getting the hell out of this place was the first step.

Pain Resistance has advanced a tier.

He stifled a chuckle as he felt his regeneration rearrange some broken bones in his chest. If he continued like this, sooner or later, pain would have no hold on him. And to be honest, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Considering my strongest attribute, probably goo—

His thought got cut off as, out of nowhere, a bright flash of light punched through the dense tree line of the forest. A light tremor traveled through the ground next. Somehow, it was still enough to make Isaac stumble. Only the branch in his way saved him from falling.

That light… He coughed, stabilizing himself. Looked like Elaine's skill. Ultimate?

The woman hadn't revealed what her Legacy unlocked, stating it was a surprise. But given the sheer scale of that light, it didn't take a genius to connect the dots. Though now, he would really like to see it with his own two eyes. For him to feel the effects even so far away?

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Isaac shook his head and adjusted his course. At the very least, now he knew where to search for his team. Small mercies.

For once, someone up there must have been listening to his prayers, as even before Isaac could leave the forest, a shout of his name reached his ears. He quickly leaned against a tree, cleared his throat, and called back.

"Here!"

A moment later, the undergrowth rustled, and James stepped out of the bushes, his face going pale at the sight of him. Without a word, the man rushed forward and quickly flung Isaac's arm over his shoulder to support him.

"Holy shit, man. Did you fall into a meat grinder or what?"

Isaac chuckled despite the pain that action caused him. "Something like that," he muttered. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Ari saw you fall somewhere around here," James replied, leading them out of the forest. "Good to see you alive, boss."

"You too." Isaac smiled lightly, turning a bit to glance at the older man. While he was also covered in blood, his clothes barely had any damage on them. Just some tears and holes. Still, he spotted some fresh cuts on his skin.

"How did it go for you three? Hopefully better than for me."

James snorted. "That goes without saying… We struggled a bit at first. Bastards were pretty fast, and that fire of theirs? Annoying as hell, let me tell you that."

"Trust me, I believe it," Issac muttered.

The older man shot a glance at his battered form. "Right… Anyway, the first kill was mostly a lucky shot. Ari managed to knock one of them down with her whips, and I finished it with some spikes. Afterward, they wised up, so we had to switch tactics."

"That explosion of light?"

"You saw that?" James asked before shaking his head. "Of course you did—thing looked like a damn miniature nuke. Long story short, Ari and I played bait to herd the last three together. Once we had them lined up, princess hit them with her ultimate."

The man shuddered. "She really is the definition of a glass canon, ya know? Almost vaporized two on the spot and left the last one missing a leg. Quite scary… though it nearly knocked her out cold."

Isaac nodded. "But overall, everyone is fine?"

"Yeah," James confirmed. "Couple cuts, some burns. Nothing serious. Can't say the same about you, man."

"I will heal," Isaac said. "You should have seen me ten minutes ago. Could barely move my hand."

The older man grimaced. "I would rather not… How you didn't black out from the pain, I have no idea."

"Skills," he answered simply. And speaking of…

Pain Resistance has advanced a tier.

At this rate, the skill would hit the tenth tier before he finished recovering. Isaac really didn't want to think about how bad the pain would be if he didn't have it. After all, even now every single step sent fire tearing through his legs, while his throat felt like someone had taken sandpaper to it. And the less said about his right arm, the better. His fingers there still refused to move.

"Almost there, boss," James muttered when the fire from their camp appeared in the distance. "Almost there…"

The moment they stepped into the camp, Marie came sprinting toward them, with Elaine limping behind her. Without a word, they helped James carry Isaac the rest of the way and laid him down next to the tent.

"Don't move," the shorter woman ordered as water filled her hands. With a few gestures, it flowed down toward Isaac's body, washing over all the visible injuries.

He let out a long breath, closing his eyes as the chill spread through his form. Not even the healing potions helped with the pain so much. Marie's Healing Touch had gotten much better over the days. Or maybe it had already evolved? He had forgotten to ask.

"Rough fall?" Elaine's quiet voice pulled him back to reality.

He opened his eyes to the sight of her sitting next to him. As James said, there were no visible wounds on her from this angle, but her slumped posture and half-closed eyes showed just how tired she was.

"You could say that," Isaac muttered. "And you? Heard you are throwing nukes around now."

She snorted. "I wish… Best I can do is a small-scale bomb… Say, when you use your Ultimate, do you get completely drained too?"

"No. Barely affects me."

Elaine released a long sigh. "Figures. Guess that's what I get for having garbage Toughness and Regeneration."

"No complaining, princess," James said, walking over and handing Isaac a bottle of water. "You still hit like a truck. Man, you gotta see the crater she left behind. Nothing big, but still."

"Enough," Marie interrupted. "You can swap stories later. Right now, he needs rest. Help me get him inside the tent."

"I'm fin—" Isaac tried to say, only to stop at the glare the woman shot him. Never mind.

James chuckled. "Don't argue with our resident healer, boss. It's a battle you will lose."

Isaac rolled his eyes and tried not to pay attention to how he was being manhandled by his team. In the end, a short nap didn't sound too bad.

"Hey, wake up."

Isaac blinked, opening his eyes when someone kept nudging his side. He sat up, wincing when that action flared up his still recovering torso. Right, he had almost died not that long ago.

He turned, his gaze landing on James standing at the entrance to their only tent.

"What's going on?"

The older man grinned. "Ari finally unlocked her Legacy. Thought you would like to see her transformation."

Isaac nodded. "Right. Give me a minute, and I will be out."

James mock-saluted and left him alone.

"Great…" Isaac muttered, looking down at his body.

Most of the burns and cuts were gone, replaced by scabbed or newly healed skin. He also regained some control over his right arm, but even a twitch of his finger sent a jolt of pain through his shoulder. At the very least, the injuries on his legs left behind by the vulture's talons had recovered to some degree.

Regeneration for the win, he thought, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over his shoulders. As much as he wanted to change right now, his damaged shoulder wouldn't allow that. Let's see it then.

Without hesitation, Isaac stood up and slipped through the open tent flap. It was time to find out what Marie's Origin had in store for her. Was it another large beast, or maybe something to help him secure the skies for them?

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