"Did ya have fun, lad?" Tyler asked with a wide grin.

Isaac let out a loud caw after landing on the truck bed.

"I will take it as a yes then. The big question now—can you turn back?"

Isaac tilted his head and, just like before, reached for the spark powering his transformation. He followed with a short mental command for one of his new skills, and in the blink of an eye, the world shifted for him again, returning him to human form.

Just to make sure, he quickly ran his hands over himself—not that he really needed to. The familiar weight of his clothes returned along with his old height. How the transformation preserved his clothes during his time as a bird, he had no idea. Though, for a brief moment, he wondered whether they would suffer any damage if he got injured in his Legacy form.

That thought, however, didn't stick around for long.

Holy…

Just as the Interface had promised, his first Inheritance, the Darksight, activated after his transformation. While not on the same level as his raven vision, his sight still became much sharper, feeding him details he would have missed before. The color palette, though, remained mostly the same.

And maybe that was for the best. He needed at least some normalcy in his life. Too many changes at once couldn't be good.

Not that it really applies here. I can turn into a bird now, after all. Isaac shook his head and looked up at the trio, who had been watching him the whole time. "What?"

Elaine pinched the bridge of her nose. "Really? You just became the first human to turn into an animal, and all you have to say is 'what?"

"She's got you there, man," James added. "We want details."

Isaac crossed his arms. "I don't know what you want me to tell you. That it felt good? Because it did. Very good even. But if you want more than that, you'll just have to wait until your own Legacy unlocks."

James opened his mouth to protest, but Tyler cut in. "That's fair, lad. We don't have time for this anyway. Just please tell me if you felt any pain, discomfort, or really anything concerning in that form."

"No," Isaac answered right away. "At least not in the Clean mode. Haven't tested the others yet."

"Very well." Tyler nodded. "Now, as much as I don't want to depend on an ability you just gained, would you mind flying up there again to check if you can see anything in Sacramento?"

"Sure, why not? Need more practice with that form anyway."

With that, he ignored whatever the others tried to say and jumped off the truck bed. However, before he could land, his transformation triggered, and with a repeated beat of his wings, he shot back into the sky. The trio's gasps were like music to his ears.

Yeah… 'Very good' doesn't come close to describing how this feels. Isaac laughed in his head, climbing higher and higher. Once the humans beneath him became as tiny as an ant, he stopped and hovered in place.

Let's see…

He glanced toward Sacramento and narrowed his eyes. Now, while even his enhanced vision couldn't make up all of the details of the city in the distance, the specks of crimson mist rising above it were hard to miss. At the very least, it looked like only the Midtown was consumed. Though he could be wrong…

Either way, it should be enough, he thought, diving back toward the ground. A quick transformation into a human and an explanation later, they were back on the road, their target unchanged for now.

Looks like a completely different place, Isaac mused, scanning the land ahead of him.

Cracked streets, collapsed highways, every other building reduced to rubble. This wasn't the Sacramento he remembered from his few visits. Now, it looked more like a ghost town than one of California's largest cities. For once, the total lack of Wretched also didn't help the image.

Either the survivors here are doing well, or the Wretched are grouping somewhere else. Doubt that though…

The crimson fog covering the entire Midtown and its surroundings seemed like an obvious place for monsters to gather, but there wasn't enough space there to fit them all. No, the Hosts in the suburbs had to be doing their part of the job too. They had to, or the progress of the second phase task wouldn't be moving so quickly.

Current progress: 40% | Your contribution ranking: 1st | Time left: 35h:51m:22s

To be honest, Isaac was kind of surprised no one had knocked him off the first place. Sure, he had been taking down Wretched here and there on the way, but that was far from enough to contribute to the seven percent of progress achieved in the last four hours. At best, he had killed about a hundred monsters at that time.

Maybe I'm just underestimating the power of a large group…

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Shaking his head, he flew higher, scanning the city for any signs of fighting. He had seen some colorful flashes already, but back then, the rest of his team was too far to follow. Now, with them driving into the suburbs, it was time to locate the nearest survivors.

Gonna need to ditch the car soon, though, he noted, his gaze washing over all the obstacles lying in their path. Cars, debris, broken roads. It would be a pain and a total waste of time to avoid all that.

But where to go?

He squinted, continuing his search. Yet, to his surprise, his ears alerted him of someone fighting quite close. Without hesitation, he dived toward the noise, Blood Daggers already manifesting around him.

Before long, he arrived at a large parking lot. What it belonged to, he had no idea—most of the surrounding buildings had been reduced to ruins. Then again, what mattered more were the Wretched swarming this place and the group of survivors fighting them.

In the chaos, it was hard to tell just how many Hosts were there, but Isaac didn't care much for that anyway. He simply flew even lower and released his first volley of Blood Daggers before summoning another and another. In the meantime, he also pulled on Blood Draw and covered himself in a familiar shimmering crimson aura.

Now, let's dance.

Like an arrow, he shot at the nearest Wretched in his sight and tore right through its chest. But he wasn't done and plowed through two more before he had to pull up to avoid a crash landing.

Shouts of the survivors reached his ears, but he tuned them out and descended upon the battlefield again and again. Before long, the parking lot and the neighboring street were cleared out of Wretched thanks to his effort and the assistance of a few Hosts who weren't dumb enough to just stand there and watch him work.

Isaac's gaze locked on a woman who probably took out the most Wretched aside from him.

Let's get this over with…

Moving slowly to avoid scaring the survivors further, he flew down to the street. There, he transformed, ignored the surprised gasps, and stepped toward the blonde woman.

"Name's Isaac Walker," he announced. "I'm one of the six Pioneers and the first-ranked Host in this Contamination Zone. My group and I are searching for someone who can fill us in on the situation in Sacramento. Think you can help?"

As much as he cringed inside at the use of his 'achievements,' this was the easiest way to get these people to work with him. The next words that came out of the woman's mouth only proved that.

"L-Linda Howard," she stuttered out, her eyes wide. "I… I… What was that? No, sorry! I mean, I can help you. Our camp is about twenty minutes away from here. We can take you there."

Isaac nodded. "Thanks. And for your information, that was my Legacy."

"Oh… Legacy. Already…" Linda muttered before shaking her head. "Do you… Do you mind if we gather supplies before going?" She gestured to the only standing building, which apparently was some local grocery store. "We kinda came here for a reason…"

He smiled. "Sure, do what you have to. I gotta bring my group here anyway. Just don't go anywhere, okay?"

The woman nodded right away, and Isaac took it as a sign to leave. He transformed and shot back into the sky in search of his party. Hopefully, they didn't get too far…

"I'll admit, you being able to fly now is making this trip very easy," Elaine muttered.

She, Isaac, and James stood huddled together while Tyler spoke with Linda and another guy from her group.

"Man, I wonder what I gotta do to get a flying Legacy too," James mused. "Think it's possible to become a dragon?"

Isaac shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know. I didn't choose my Legacy. My Origin did. From what I understand, they have to fit together."

The older man hummed. "By the way, boss. What did you do to them? Almost everyone here's looking at you like the second coming of Jesus."

Elaine snorted. "They saw him slaughter Wretched as a small raven and then turn into a human. I think that will do it…"

"Pretty much," Isaac confirmed. "I might have also announced that I'm a Pioneer and rank one in the task…"

Elaine turned toward him, her eyes growing wide. "You what?" She shook her head. "Damn… maybe we really don't know each other that well."

"You sure that was a good idea?" James asked, ignoring the woman. "When word gets out—and it will—this might become a problem. Remember, we still don't know what happened to the previous rank one."

Isaac sighed. "It will be fine. Besides, if my status makes them listen to us, then that's worth it in my book. Tyler sure isn't complaining."

James chuckled as he glanced at their leader. "That he isn't."

"Wait! Hold up," Elaine cut in. "What was that about the last rank one?"

Shit…

"Here we are," Linda announced as she led them into a camp not that much different from the one in Galt.

Survivors bustled everywhere Isaac looked, moving through the maze of makeshift tents like ants in a colony. Just how big this place was, he had no idea, but given Sacramento's population, it had to be massive. Once he got a moment, he would transform and take a proper look.

"So, Miss Howard, just how many people are here?" Tyler asked.

"We can't be sure," Linda admitted, sounding more confident now. "The numbers are constantly growing. But it's easily in the five digits."

Tyler whistled. "Then I can see how you have cleared so much of the city already."

The woman shook her head. "It's not just us. There are three other groups scattered across the city, each with similar numbers."

"Damn," James muttered. "Next to that, Galt is like a blip on the map… You all coordinate?"

Linda grimaced. "We try… Colonel Williams is doing his best to unite everyone, but due to conflicting opinions and the lack of proper communication equipment, it isn't easy. Not everyone wants to listen to a man who was part of an organization that was supposed to save people in situations like this."

Tyler scoffed. "The army couldn't have done shite even if they wanted to. Ain't their fault a higher being decided to screw with us."

"Most people understand that," Linda agreed. "But there are some who don't."

Isaac rolled his eyes. Of course there had to be people like that. Some folks just needed something—or someone—to blame. It didn't matter who was really responsible as long as they had a target for their anger. He knew that cycle all too well.

"The Colonel should be inside," Linda announced, stopping in front of a fairly small square tent. "Please wait here for a moment. I will let him know you're here."

Just like that, she slid inside the tent, leaving the four of them outside. Tyler, however, quickly broke the silence.

"Remember, kids," he whispered, keeping his tone firm. "Unless you are asked something, please keep quiet and let me do the talking. Isaac's status might have gotten us here, but we are still just a tiny group from Galt. Let's not mess this up."

They all nodded.

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