Waking up after every visit to Rakin’s land of crimson always left Isaac feeling… off.

  Why? He couldn’t quite tell. Was it because his body was technically still asleep on Earth while his mind—spirit?—spoke to the Overlord? Or was it because he always returned with more questions than answers?

  Either way, Isaac didn’t like it, even if there wasn’t much he could do about it.

  Yet.

  Whatever. Time to return to the land of the living, he told himself, and slowly opened his eyes. A glimpse of the dimly lit wooden ceiling and the soft cushions beneath him was enough to tell him where he was.

  Home.

  Or more specifically, the large couch in the living room of the improved and rebuilt house he shared with his friends. Not surprising, though he couldn’t help but wonder why they hadn’t put him in his own room. They had those now for a reason.

  At least it’s quiet. And they gave me a blanket, he noted, turning his stiff neck a bit to look at the rest of the room. Am I alo— Harry?

  He had expected Elaine, James, or even the ever-busy Marie to be watching over him until he woke up. Harry though?

  No. Never.

  Hell, the man was supposed to still be in London, not halfway across the world. And sure, the first round rewards made the trip easy now, but his fellow Pioneer wasn’t supposed to arrive until the beginning of the next stage.

  Am I still dreaming?

  At that moment, it sounded like a logical conclusion. Harry shouldn’t be here. And even if he were, why the hell was one of his small nightmare creations bouncing around the room, cleaning the floor, while the man himself sat in one of their more comfortable chairs, dressed in a dark brown suit-vest combo, reading a thick and old book.

  Without thinking, Isaac pinched his own side, feeling the light sting right away.

  Not dreaming then.

  Harry was really here. As was the little monstrosity cosplaying a maid. That left only one explanation.

  Isaac had been out far longer than he would have liked.

  Shit.

  He was just about to summon the Interface to check how much time remained before the second round when Harry’s voice filled the room.

  “You’re finally awake, friend. I’m glad. We were all worried.”

  In a blink, the book vanished from Harry’s hand, and his nightmare sank into the floor. He remained seated, though, and just glanced at something nobody else could see. Then, he offered Isaac a smile.

  “I’ve informed the others. They should be here soon.”

  “Thanks,” Isaac muttered, suppressing a grimace. That will be fun.

  Accepting his fate, he closed his eyes again, refusing to move for now. Nothing really hurt, but even moving a finger felt like a workout. The stiffness and dull headache didn’t help either.

  “When did you arrive?”

  “Only a few hours back,” Harry replied. “I still have business to attend to in London, but once I heard what happened, I couldn’t stay away. The life and safety of my dear friend take priority.”

  Isaac smiled faintly. “I appreciate it.”

  “Think nothing of it.”

  And that was it for now. Isaac had a few more questions, but decided to save them for later. The others could barge in at any moment, and he still wanted a moment of peace for himself.

  Interface. The timer, please.

  Round Two of Virus War begins in: <50h:01m:42s>

  This time, he couldn’t stifle the wince. Only a bit over two days left. That had to be the longest he had ever been unconscious. Even the fight against the Minotaur took less to recover from, and he had been covered in burns from top to bottom back then.

  Even without fulfilling its purpose, that poison had really done a number on him.

  Thing must have cost a fortune… hopefully.

  He sighed and dismissed the timer. There were no other notifications waiting for him. No debuffs. No permanent side effects from the poison. Hell, even his Viron reserves were full, though the connection to his Core felt slightly sluggish.

  Lucky indeed.

  Might still be able to reach Fu—

  The thought died as a loud slam echoed through the room. Eyes snapping open, Isaac watched three figures spill into the house through the now-open door. A heartbeat later, Marie was next to him, with James and Elaine hanging back.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Isaac tried to sit up, only to be instantly pushed down by the healer of the group.

  “Don’t,” she said firmly. “You just survived a poison that—“

  “Should have killed me,” he cut in. “Yeah, I know. Rakin told me all about it when I was out.”

  Marie narrowed her eyes. “Then you should know you need to rest. Your body is still healing.”

  That got Isaac to frown. Sure, he was stiff as a board, and every motion took twice as much energy as it should. But it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Just another Tuesday.

  Seeing the confusion on his face, Marie sighed. “Of course you don’t feel it. Why am I not surprised? Fine.” She turned to James. “Help me.”

  The older man nodded and approached. Together, they eased Isaac into a sitting position. The blanket that previously covered him fell to his waist, exposing his naked chest to the cool air.

  Yet the sudden chill wasn’t what caught his attention.

  No, that honor belonged to the large patch of blackened, dead skin spreading outward from a tiny nick on the right side of his chest. It looked even worse than necrosis. And wasn’t that a thought?

  “Oh…” he muttered.

  “Oh is right, boss,” James said with a grimace. “And you haven’t even seen the worst of it. When we first got to you, this stuff covered like two-thirds of your body. You looked no better than a burned corpse. Princess here nearly had a heart attack.”

  Despite the familiar nicknames, the usual light, joking tone everyone expected from James was nowhere to be seen. If anything, he sounded angry.

  Yet again, Isaac winced. His gaze strayed to Elaine, who looked down the moment their eyes met. That, and the clenched fists at her sides, told him enough. He really must have been quite the sight.

  “Sorry for worrying you all,” he said, offering a weak smile. It vanished when the next thought crossed his mind. “I didn’t expect an attempt on my life now and here of all places. My mistake.”

  James opened his mouth, clearly about to respond. Before he could even utter a word, though, another voice filled the room.

  “Hindsight, as they say, is twenty-twenty, my friend,” Harry said calmly. “What happened, happened. What matters is that we learn from it and put the necessary measures in place to ensure it never happens again. ”

  “Mr. Hayward is right,” Marie added, always the voice of reason. “Live and learn.”

  Isaac nodded, and after a moment of silence, he asked, “Who did this?”

  Marie and James exchanged a look, clearly unsure whether this was the right moment. Isaac disagreed, as did the only other person who hadn’t spoken yet.

  “Daniel Smith,” Elaine spat. “Age 31. Level 23. Origin of Invisibility. A nobody. That’s all his two friends I caught knew. Nothing about the poisoned dagger or why that dead bastard tried to kill you.”

  Isaac’s eyes widened ever so slightly at the venom in her voice. He shouldn’t have felt comforted by it, but he did. Even now, it was still hard to believe he had more than one person who cared.

  That said, her words reminded him that he, indeed, had killed his would-be assassin. The first human to die by his hand. It had been self-defense, and Isaac didn’t feel even a shred of guilt, but it still mattered.

  The end of yet another chapter in his life.

  For better or worse.

  Another sigh slipped past his lips. First human kill or not, it could wait. Right now, it was high time his friends learned just what he had brought upon himself—and by extension, onto them—by accepting Genesis.

  “There is no need to question anyone,” he said, keeping his voice steady. “I know exactly why he tried to kill me.”

  Everybody, even Harry, looked at him.

  Isaac offered a faint smile and began to explain. Before today, they had known some things about the Scars and Genesis, but soon they would know almost everything. Including the consequences that would most likely follow him forever. Or at least until he grew strong enough to face them.

  Once he finished, silence followed.

  Elaine’s and Harry’s expressions were unreadable. Marie’s and James’s weren’t much better.

  They didn’t blame him for withholding the full truth. That much he could see. They had agreed to do whatever it took to win the first round, after all.

  And yet, guilt still gnawed at him. Those were his best friends, family even, as he had told Elaine. And his problems wouldn’t end with just a single assassination attempt. It was only a matter of time before the people around him would be affected, too.

  The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them.

  “Maybe I should leave. Stay somewhere else for a while. Rakin is helping me, but your Pat—“

  “To hell with them!” Elaine growled, cutting him off. “They’re just tools for us to use. Remember? If they abandon us, screw them. We can survive without them.”

  “Listen to the princess, bossman,” James added. “Nobody is going anywhere. This is your home as much as it’s ours. And if we gotta fight even harder to win the next round, then that’s life, eh?”

  Isaac tried to answer, but Marie spoke first.

  “You’re staying,” she stated, arms crossed. “None of you gets to abandon this place after forcing me to run it. Absolutely not. And this assassination attempt will be the last one to happen in Silent Oasis. Once we are done here, I’m buying the Whitelist.”

  Every head snapped toward her, some looking more shocked than others.

  Why?

  The Whitelist was a Safe Zone security upgrade. One so expensive it would halt most ongoing and planned improvements to the village. With how peaceful Silent Oasis had been, it had never been a priority, but now?

  Now, Isaac could see why Marie had changed her mind. Daniel Smith would never have touched him if he had been unable to use his Origin or Viron.

  And that was exactly what the upgrade did.

  Near-total suppression of Viron, Origin, and Legacy for anyone not on the Whitelist. There was also another level that didn’t allow anybody not on a secondary list to even enter the Safe Zone, but he doubted Marie planned to go that far from the get-go. For now, the first level would be enough.

  Or so Isaac hoped.

  We will all survive this, he swore, blood and fire awakening within his Core. Whatever it takes.

  Round Two of Virus War begins in: <6h:55m:22s>

  Red eyes snapped open, staring into the ring of fire surrounding them.

  Another push of Viron. Another drop of Mana. And a touch of blood.

  A snap of fingers.

  The flames erupted, growing twice as tall and hiding the rest of the world from the figure sitting within them. And yet, he didn’t move. Not even when the fire tried to burn him.

  Not that it could.

  A hand shot forward and the flames followed, gathering above the open palm. A twist of will had them reform into a long, burning blade. Not perfect or even usable in battle. But it was more than enough.

  Isaac smiled and let go.

  The blade vanished, replaced by something far more important.

  Fire Manipulation (IV->Max)

  Almost there.