Even though Marie had nothing against checking out the Battleworld right away, she refused to come along. As she had previously told Elaine, she worried that Silent Oasis might burn down if all three of them disappeared for too long. Hell, according to her, it was a miracle that nothing had happened when they were all asleep.

Isaac thought that she might be exaggerating a bit, but at the same time, he also didn't trust any of the strangers who had arrived here. So he kept quiet and let the two women sort things out.

Besides, the less he was involved in the leadership of Silent Oasis, the better. For him… and probably everyone else.

And so, about five minutes later, he and Elaine left the Great Hall behind. They returned to the building they had slept in to gather some supplies, just in case they got trapped on the Battleworld. Isaac even bought another five-day extension for his Storage Brand. He had hoped to push it to a full week, but when he tried, the Interface gave him a rather unwelcome message.

Your Storage Brand (T) has reached its maximum power capacity. Once its current lifetime runs out, it will vanish forever.

Disappointing, but not unexpected. The Brand had 'temporary' in its name for a reason. It would have been somewhat strange and overpowered if he could just extend it indefinitely.

"Good to go?" Elaine's voice brought him back to reality.

He turned to face her and nodded. "Yeah."

With that, he summoned the Support Nexus menu and selected the final option. Another notification—one in full red text—appeared before him.

You are trying to enter the Battleworld created for the Fusion War between Earth and Reprizem. Are you sure you wish to proceed? You may only return to your home planet after ten hours have passed.

So there is a cooldown. Not a long one, though, Isaac mused, glancing at Elaine. She gave him a nod. That settles it, then. Proceed.

Acknowledged. Transference begins in 3… 2… 1… Brace yourself, Host.

The moment these final words flashed before his eyes, the world around him went dark. He felt weightless, as if he were flying through an endless void at speeds unimaginable to a human mind. And maybe he was, he just couldn't see a thing.

In the end, he had no idea how long this 'flight' took. It could have been seconds or maybe even minutes before the figurative light appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Isaac was sent hurling straight through it, and a moment later, he was back on his feet, stumbling and almost falling. Thankfully, instincts kicked in, and he gathered his bearings in a blink, the Root already in his hand.

Not that the blade was needed. Not with what he was before him.

Instead of the primitive hut in Silent Oasis, he now stood on a hard cobblestone road, one wide enough for two cars to pass each other. On either side stretched rows of identical small square, box-like buildings. They had no windows, no decorative roof. Just clean, white marble walls and a single light-blue metal door.

What in the…

Isaac's thought trailed off as his gaze fell on other people—no more than a dozen. Some had arrived before him, while others were just now appearing in flashes of light. All of them, though, looked as confused as he felt.

Sure, the blue barrier high above signaled that he was inside a Safe Zone, but he wouldn't mind a little extra info from the Interface. Though… he definitely wasn't on Earth anymore. The absence of the Sun, and a sky filled with more colors than he could name, told him as much.

Fortunately, the Interface answered his prayers.

Welcome, Host, to Human Battleworld Headquarters. Viral connection with the local Support Nexus established. Data exchange in progress… Done! You may now enjoy the full benefits of the Nexus.

Unique Fusion War functions unlocked.

This time, Isaac didn't waste time checking this place's status. No, instead, he went straight to the new functions, one of which was a map.

Holy shit…

The thing that appeared in his mind's eyes? Huge didn't even come close to describing it, and that was just the map of the Safe Zone, not the entire Battleworld. At the very least, everything shown to him was simple enough.

The Safe Zone was round—pretty standard, no surprise there. The map, however, divided it into three uneven parts, or slices might be the better word here.

The first and the largest was marked as Residential District, which explained what those box-like buildings were. The second slice was called Training Fields, which was pretty self-explanatory, even if the map didn't show anything there. Maybe it was really just an empty field for people to practice in?

Now, the third and smallest slice was something named Production District. Isaac had a good guess as to what that meant, but he would have to go there to make sure he was right.

Another day, though. For now, he had better things to take care—

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

A brand-new notification cut off this thought process. Isaac stared blankly at its contents.

[Message from Elaine Blake: Isaac! Where are you? It dropped me next to an AF-5482 house. You anywhere close?]

Confused twice as much as he was a second before, Isaac furrowed his brow.

AF-5482? He repeated in his head. The hell is she talking about?

At once, his gaze returned to the nearest house. He also promptly ignored the quiet voice in his head that laughed at him for forgetting about Elaine. Not his fault, he was just a bit overwhelmed.

Huh… I'm blind after all, Isaac thought suddenly.

There, on the wall next to the metallic blue door, was a small engraved plaque. A code. Similar to the one Elaine had sent.

Oh. So it's an address.

Feeling more than a little stupid, he quickly sent Elaine the code. A moment later, he received a reply from her.

[Message from Elaine Blake: Be there soon. Don't move. Those things have showers, Isaac. Showers!]

Isaac snorted.

Looked like everyone had their own priorities.

Despite the sheer size of this Safe Zone, Elaine had managed to find him quite fast. Apparently, the house she landed next to was close to him, according to the map at least… Which brought on yet another surprise.

If he wanted to, he could zoom in on the map to see the code assigned to every single building in the area. Useful, sure, but also a little overwhelming. He was somewhat impressed that Elaine had found the code he had sent her so quickly.

In any case, once they reunited, they headed to the nearest house. The Interface instantly marked them as the new temporary owners and let them inside. And honestly? While it was definitely better than their shack back in Silent Oasis, it also wasn't anything that could explain Elaine's excitement.

Really, she looked like this house was a gift from god.

And sure, it had a separate room with a shower and other bathroom necessities, but overall, the place was quite spartan. Two bunk beds and a tiny kitchenette. Nothing more, nothing less.

When he voiced his opinion, Elaine smacked his arm and called him dumb. Why? He had no idea. For him, a house was a house. And it wasn't like he would get to enjoy it anyway. He had places to be.

Which brought him to this moment.

"You want to go now?" Elaine asked, incredulous. "You got three days."

"And we have no idea just how large this Battleworld is," Isaac countered. "For all I know, it might take two days to reach the enemy yellow zone and then another to find a Warp Portal."

That stopped any potential argument from ever beginning.

Elaine just groaned and dropped onto one of the bunk beds.

"Hate it when you make sense," she grumbled. "Just remember what we talked about, okay? Take care of yourself."

Isaac smiled. Despite some issues, the two of them had really come a long way since the apocalypse began.

"I will," he promised, summoning the Nexus menu. "See you soon."

With another mental command, the ground beneath his feet vanished as he once again was pulled into the void. This time, though, the trip was almost instantaneous.

He landed just at the edge of the Safe Zone, with the blue barrier being the only thing blocking his access to the first hostile territory of this Battleworld. He scanned the area ahead.

The territory beyond the Safe Zone was unlike any other he had seen before. Ruins stretched as far as the eye could see. Collapsed modern houses. Fallen futuristic skyscrapers. Half-burned buildings straight from the medieval ages. It was as if someone had taken the remains of countless civilizations and dumped them all into one place.

And that wasn't the worst of it.

Aside from the hundreds of monsters—quite similar to mutants from Sacramento, just more grotesque and coming in all sizes—there was a sickness infecting this entire territory. It took the form of living, crimson flesh that coiled around the collapsed buildings or slithered across the ruined streets like a snake. Some beasts even adapted it into their bodies.

Disgusting… and weak, Isaac thought, watching some random Host fight against a mutant with three arms and four legs. The thing moved so slowly that probably even a base human could beat it.

Potential Threat: Very Low

No surprises there. It was the only green territory after all.

Whatever… Let's go.

Isaac pulled on his Legacy, forcing his transformation. Only, it didn't work. Instead, a notification blinked into view.

Legacy transformations are limited in this Safe Zone. Please leave or visit the Training Fields to use your full powers.

Oh… Okay then.

And just like that, Isaac stepped through the barrier.

Now Entering: Broken Hopes

His face twisted at the name. It sure was fitting, if a bit depressing.

For hours, Isaac flew over the shattered remnants of civilizations. At first, he had passed plenty of Hosts on the way, but now there was no one here, just endless hordes of monsters. Although that might not be the truth either. There could be others like him out there, pushing onward instead of fighting.

Not that Isaac hadn't tested the local beasts. No, he had killed plenty on the way and even cleared out a small Quarantine Site just to see how many points it would give him.

The answer? Almost none at all. The rewards were also disappointing—just a few Inferior Virality Gems.

By now, he had slain over a hundred monsters. Yet, even with the double points gained thanks to the Battleworld buff, his total count remained more than a little disappointing.

Fusion Points: 56

This was the single reason why he no longer stopped when he saw a nest or a Quarantine Site. It just wasn't worth the time and effort. Throwing a Crimson Death here and there as he flew was just as rewarding after all. That or just playing around with his Blood Manipulation in hopes of getting another tier.

The only things still holding his attention were the Fusion War ranking and another map he had gained after leaving the Safe Zone. It wasn't any different from what Fisk had shown them during the transmission. Almost no details, but at least it gave him a direction.

As for the ranking?

Somehow, for the first three hours, Earth remained in the lead. Now? Not so much. The Zerian's number advantage must have finally kicked in.

Isaac pushed his wings harder in response. He might be only a single human, but he still planned to make a decent dent in Reprizem's fighting force.

The hundred mentioned in Rakin's mission?

That would be just the beginning.

One way or another, we will win.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.