"Clear," Isaac muttered as he yanked the Root out of the final Wretched in the room.

Muffled sounds of fighting still echoed from the other classrooms or maybe the hallway, but at this point, his teammates didn't need his help. There couldn't be more than a handful of Wretched left in the building. The Quarantine Site progress said as much.

Current Progress: 95%

Simply seeing this made Symphony of Blood back off and return to its dormant state. Not that its song ever became loud during the whole hunt for the fleeing monsters. The Wretched here, while stronger than those on the streets, were quite weaker than the ones he fought back in the other school. On top of that, there weren't any crawler types here.

All in all, aside from a few shallow cuts, the beasts here failed to lower his Virus Integrity by even five percent. They were just too weak and posed no real threat to him and his teammates. Though, he still tried to be careful. He had learned his lesson about fighting recklessly during the cleanup of the elementary school.

Anyway, while the other two finish up, let's see what you have for me, Interface, Issac thought as he hopped onto one of the tables in the classroom. He needed to wait for the surrounding bodies to disappear anyway.

The notifications appeared before him at his call, but he quickly waved off all the ones informing him about the defeated Wretched. As much as he liked to have the confirmation of his kills, he had enough of seeing how many level two and three monsters he had defeated.

Here you are…

Symphony of Blood, Viron: Potency, and Blood Draw have advanced a tier.

Isaac nodded. "I will take that."

With another wave of his hand, the short notification faded, only to be replaced by another. That said, this time, it wasn't him who summoned it.

Good job, guys. He smiled.

Well done, Hosts. You have managed to neutralize this Quarantine Site. Purging in progress. Your reward shall arrive soon. Level progression will be distributed between all contributors.

You have leveled up! You are now level 10. Distribution of Ascension Power in progress. Power and Regeneration have advanced a tier. Blood Dagger has evolved to the next grade, growing in strength and efficiency.

No matter how good those two notifications and the following rush of power made him feel, Isaac's focus stayed solely on the next message. After all, it wasn't every day that he unlocked the final Interface feature that he knew of.

Congratulations! Your Origin has grown strong enough to pierce the veil of the Mystical World and establish contact with your Legacy. The process shall begin in exactly thirty seconds. Brace yourself.

Isaac snorted. "More pain? Go on. Bring it on."

In hindsight, maybe he should have kept his mouth shut.

The moment the timer hit zero, his chest constricted, a gasp ripping from his throat. For the first time, the connection to his Origin erupted in pain, spreading it across his body like a raging wildfire.

Once more, he dropped to the ground, his arms wrapped around himself as he felt his Origin shift and grow. More linking threads rushed out of it, all connecting to different parts of his body—legs, arms, shoulders, even his head.

Yet, that still wasn't the end.

As the dozens or maybe even hundreds of new links settled, one more branched out from the main connection in his chest. Unlike the others, it didn't reach for his body. Instead, it shot outward—far beyond his reach, beyond his sight.

And just like that, the pain mostly faded, leaving him gasping on the floor.

"Isaac?!" A voice came from somewhere next to him. "Come on, man! Say something. Open your eyes. Marie! Quick!"

"Wha—" Isaac tried to respond, only for a coughing fit to cut him off. He spat something out, leaving a sharp, metallic, salty taste in his mouth.

Blood.

"Oh, thank fuck, you're alive." He heard James say. "I don't know what the hell just happened, but stay still. You ain't in any condition to move."

What? What are you talking about?

Dazed and confused, Isaac forced his eyes to open, blinking the blurriness away. Sure, he felt like hell. His whole body ached, and his throat refused to get any words out, but that didn't mean he was dying.

Then, his vision sharpened, and he understood.

Oh…

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Blood. It was everywhere—on him, around him. His clothes, while previously dirty, now were soaked in the crimson liquid. As for his exposed skin? It was covered in fresh cuts, some smaller, some larger, barely leaving any space untouched.

Yet, one thing became obvious right away. None of the injuries bled, almost as if his body had no more blood to give. And maybe it didn't. Hell, even his Bloodbank was empty after all.

Just then, in the corner of his vision, he spotted Marie rushing into the classroom, her eyes widening at the sight of him. She crouched before him, her hands filling with water.

"What happened?!" she hissed, glancing at James. "Wretched got him?"

"I don't know! He was like this when I came in," James yelled back, fishing out a bottle of water from his backpack. He uncorked it and brought it to Isaac's lips. "Drink."

Isaac did just that, taking a few large gulps that soothed his burning throat. Once the older man took the bottle away, he let out a scratchy "Thanks."

"Don't speak," Marie ordered. "Save your strength, and let me do my job."

He coughed again. "I'm… I'm fine…"

James scoffed. "Like hell you are. Listen to the doctor's orders and stay still, boss."

Isaac rolled his eyes but stopped his attempts to move. Instead, his gaze drifted to the notifications that had been hovering next to him ever since he opened his eyes.

Pain Tolerance has reached its maximum tier and broke through to the next grade. Pain Resistance obtained.

Legacy Web established. Your body is now ready to adapt to the inherited power your Origin is searching for. This process will finish in approximately: 4 hours.

So that wasn't even it?

Isaac wanted to groan but stopped himself. No reason to worry his teammates any further. Instead, he focused on all the new information and forced the Interface to show him more.

Will you work now? Interface: Legacy.

[Legacy - A power inherited from one of the many creatures of the Mystical World, the only beings capable of wielding raw Immortal Mana without any side effects. Always perfectly suited to the Host, it shall allow you to temporarily transform into a brand-new form that will grow and evolve during your journey. Unlocks access to Inheritances.]

Brand new form, you say? What, like a cat? A dog? I guess it could be interesting. No idea how it will help anyone survive though. Need to wait for this process to finish first… But Inheritances? Interface?

Yet this time, the powerful entity stayed silent. Whatever all of this meant, he would have to wait a few more hours to find out. Not that he really minded. His body wasn't in any condition to test anything anyway.

Legacy Web, huh? He thought, glancing at all the cuts on his arms. He then reached to his Origin and all the new threads waiting there. He wasn't one hundred percent sure if they connected to his injuries, but it definitely felt that way.

Is this really something every Host has to go through? Damn, Interface, you sure are a sadist…

He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Of course, that action garnered his teammates' attention.

"Boss? You good?" James asked from somewhere to his right.

Isaac simply nodded.

"Ari, can we move him yet?"

"I have no idea. You're forgetting I'm not a real doctor," Marie grumbled. "He still looks like he got chewed up by a lawnmower. My skill doesn't seem to be helping either."

"Damn." James clicked his tongue. "We can't stay here. The people outside might start panicking. Besides, don't know about ya, but I don't want to be here when the next earthquake hits."

"I'm not a cripple," Isaac croaked, opening his eyes. "Just… just help me up, and let's go."

His teammates looked at each other and nodded.

"Up you go then," James muttered. He threw Isaac's arm over his shoulders and hauled him upright. "Ari, lead the way. You have the loot, right?"

The woman patted her backpack. "All in here. We can split it later."

"Then let's move."

With that, they left the classroom, going slower than ever. Isaac tried to support his weight as well as he could, but in the end, he had to lean on James to avoid falling. His body was almost out of strength—and Viron, he checked.

By the time they reached the first floor, someone finally broke the silence.

"So what really happened, Isaac?" Marie asked, keeping her voice low.

"Legacy," he said, keeping most of his focus on moving his feet. "This… this was the first phase of its awakening… The next… should finish in about four hours…"

"The Interface did you in like this? Holy shit…" James muttered. "That's…"

"Messed up?" Marie suggested.

James shook his head. "Worse. Fuck. And we have to go through the same shit soon? I think I preferred not knowing."

"Too late now…"

They continued down the dark school hallway. Yet, before Marie could push the exit doors open, Isaac stopped her. "Wait!" he called out. "Give me a moment."

"Boss?"

Ignoring James, Isaac leaned against the wall, taking a few slow, deep breaths. His body still ached all over and every step was a struggle, but he could finally feel his regeneration kicking in.

"Just a minute or two, then we go," he said

"But why?" James asked, furrowing his brow. "The faster we get you to the camp, the sooner you can rest."

"Can't go out like this... with you supporting me," Isaac explained. "People will ask questions… Not our place to tell them… Leave it to Daryl and the others…"

Marie snorted. "And here I thought you just didn't want them to see you at your weakest."

He shot her a bloody grin. "That too…"

She grimaced. "You know what? You're right. You can't go out like this. You will scare everyone to death." She glanced at James. "Let's get him to the bathroom. Maybe, by some miracle, the water is still working."

And so, despite Isaac's protest, they dragged him into the nearest bathroom, where, with the help of some toilet paper and a spare bottle of water, they made him a bit more presentable. Every inch of his clothes was still covered in blood, but at least that could be explained by all the Wretched they had killed.

Marie took a step back, inspecting her work. "Much better." She crossed her arms. "Now the question is, can you walk?"

Isaac narrowed his eyes at her and, with only some effort, pushed himself off the toilet seat. His legs still trembled a bit, but as he took a few cautious steps forward, they didn't give in. Even better, some of the smaller cuts on his arms had already begun to scab over.

"I'm good to go."

James, standing by the door, grinned. "Well then, let's face the music."

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