“That was damn fine fighting, kid,” Tyler praised, stopping a few feet away from him. “Honestly, when we saw the horde outside Brandon’s place, we were tearing our hair out, trying to figure out how to handle them. Then, they all started moving and running, and the problem solved itself. That was you, wasn’t it?”

  Issac grimaced. This was exactly what he wanted to avoid. The questions, attention, and other people recognizing just how strong he already was. Of course, unless he was willing to hide his strength—he wasn’t—he had to deal with it. Better start early…

  “Yeah. I told Mrs. Jackson I would help, so I did,” he answered, snatching another gem and putting it in his pocket. At this point, he had to have at least ten of them.

  “Incredible…” Tyler muttered. “A few of us have unlocked their Origin while the others are waiting for the awakening to end, but I doubt anyone here could have taken down as many as you did. That sword of yours, too. Neat thing even if Analyze doesn’t work on it. Any chance you know where we can get something similar?”

  This was the moment where Issac could lie and dodge the question about the trial or just get it over with. In the end, it wasn’t even much of a choice. Carol already knew the truth, and without a doubt, she would tell her husband everything. It wouldn’t take long for the older man to find out, too.

  “The Pioneer trial,” he said.

  The footsteps behind him halted. When he glanced over his shoulder, he found Tyler frozen in shock. It might have been amusing if not for the words that followed.

  “Bloody hell!” Tyler cursed, catching up to him. “You are one of the Hosts the notification mentioned! That explains so much, but now I’ve got even more questions… To think one of the Pioneers is from Galt… What happened in those trials, kid? You gotta tell us.”

  Issac stopped after grabbing the final gem. “No,” he answered firmly. “I don’t have to tell you anything. What happened, happened. That’s it. If you want to know more, find another Pioneer.”

  Tyler’s eyes widened as he raised his hands in surrender. “Ah, no need to get all worked up, lad. Forgive me if I overstepped. You know how it is. The Interface doesn’t tell us much, so I just jumped at the chance to learn something new. No hard feelings?”

  Issac glanced at the extended hand and sighed. “No hard feelings,” he repeated, accepting the handshake.

  The older man grinned. “So the trial is a big no-no. Got it. What about your Origin, then? That wave of red liquid that cut through the Wretched like through paper? I’d kill to have that.”

  Ah, might as well…

  “Blood. It’s blood,” he answered. “What about you?”

  Tyler raised his left hand, a streak of blue sparking across his fingers for a second. “Lightning. Got two skills for it. Pretty handy overall—at least when I’m not using this.” He patted the rifle slung across his chest.

  That piqued Issac’s curiosity. If the man was so intent on asking questions, then he might as well learn something in return. They were waiting for the others to dismantle his makeshift barricade in the lobby anyway.

  “Where did you even get it? There is no weapon store between the bank and here.”

  “Ah... There was a police car that crashed near the bank,” Tyler replied. “All our guns come from it and the poor sods trapped inside. Really, what the world’s come to…”

  Issac didn’t comment, settling to watch as the last of his barrier was pushed out of the way. He walked inside right after, ignoring the looks he was getting. Tyler was right on his heels.

  “Listen, kid,” the man called out as they climbed the first flight of stairs. “I need to help everyone settle in first, but I would like to talk again later. Hope you don’t mind? There is much we can learn from each other.”

  I doubt that.

  Still, he saw no reason to antagonize the guy. Even if he was a chatterbox full of questions, he had backed off when told to. Isaac could respect that—even if the whole ‘kid’ thing was starting to wear thin. He had given his name for a reason.

  “We will see,” he said without really answering. “If you need something, ask Carol—that is Mr. Jackson’s wife.”

  “Right.” Tyler smiled. “We will do that. And thanks again for the assist out there. You really saved us a lot of trouble.”

  Issac only nodded and continued to climb up while the other man returned downstairs. On the way, he passed Carol and her husband, the two holding each other like they hadn’t seen one another in years. Still, the woman spotted him and offered him a grateful smile.

  He did his best to return it and continued onward.

  “Home sweet home,” he muttered after shutting the door of his apartment and locking it with a key.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Without a second thought, he shed his bloodied hoodie and marched straight to the bathroom to wash his face. Once done with that, he dropped on the couch in his living room and reached for the Viron in his body.

  Still almost empty…

  Issac clicked his tongue before removing the Inferior Virality Gems from his pocket. There were exactly twelve of them. Overall, not a bad haul from creatures that died from a single swing of his sword.

  First though, I ignored you for long enough, he thought, and with a simple command, summoned all the Interface messages that had been waiting ever since the fighting began.

  The kill notification arrived first, and after he added them all up, he counted over a hundred monsters killed just by him. Together with the other Hosts, they had most likely reduced the Wretched population by at least two hundred.

  Not bad… Not bad at all.

  You have leveled up! You are now level 7. Distribution of Ascension Power in Progress. No attribute has advanced a tier.

  Issac blinked. That was new. He definitely remembered the feeling of power surging through his body, yet nothing advanced? And here he was, getting excited about more of his attributes moving to the next grade.

  “Oh well, next time it is…” he muttered, calling on the next notification.

  Blood Dagger and Viron: Potency have advanced a tier. Blood Draw has reached its maximum tier.

  That was fast.

  Not even a day had passed since he obtained Blood Draw, yet it had already come so far. He remembered how much effort it took to push his Viron and activate the skill at first. Now, the skill came alive with just a thought; not even the new energy within his body tried to stop its formation.

  There has to be a way to improve it further, right?

  He summoned the skill’s description.

  [Blood Draw | Grade: Normal | Max Tier]

  An active Origin ability. By drawing onto the power of your Origin with Viron, you may now unleash waves of deadly blood. Best used when armed. Ready to evolve to a higher grade.

  There it is. Evolution. But how? And why doesn't Stealth have it? He furrowed his brow. Maybe like this? Interface: Skill evolution.

  To his surprise, the call for help worked, and a quite lengthy Interface message materialized in front of him.

  [Skill evolution is a process that some skills may undergo to advance to the next grade. This can happen in several ways. The first is through simple training. Consistent use over time allows most skills to evolve naturally. Another method involves Origin artifacts, which temporarily strengthen your connection to your Origin, accelerating the evolution process. Lastly, skills may evolve when your Origin awakens them after a level-up. The higher your proficiency, the greater the chance of advancement.

  Skills that do not have an evolution mentioned in their description may still advance to the next grade. In such cases, an ability merge or an advanced skill blueprint is usually required.]

  “Huh,” Issac hummed. “That’s helpful. Very helpful…”

  Then again, for now, all he could do was keep using Blood Draw and hope for the best. He had no access to any Origin artifacts, and he doubted he would be leveling up any time soon—at least not today. Almost every Wretched had been level one. Not the best source for gathering Ascension Power for someone at level seven.

  The sheer amount of monsters he had killed today only proved that.

  Though the Interface mentioned other ways of leveling up… Now, if only I knew what they were. Maybe simply advancing my other Origin skills will work?

  That was a possibility—one he would try to test once he took another nap and got something to eat. For now, he didn’t have enough Viron in his body to use more than a single Blood Dagger anyway.

  “Before that”—he glanced at the gems in front of him—“it’s your turn.”

  With a nudge to the remnants of his power, Issac consumed the objects one by one. Each gave him a bit of Viron back, slowly refilling his reserves—not by much, but still better than nothing. Then, once he reached the tenth gem, a shiver ran down his spine. His veins pulsed, glowing faintly beneath his skin.

  It lasted only a few seconds, but by the time it was over, he was covered in a fresh layer of sweat. At the very least, the Interface didn’t leave him waiting for answers.

  Congratulations, Host! Your Virus has now entered the maturity phase of its current stage. Soon, it might be ready to advance.

  Curious, Issac grabbed one of the remaining gems and nudged his Viron toward it.

  Once more, his veins lit up like a Christmas tree for a brief moment. Consuming the final gem earned the same reaction. He shrugged and pulled up a small part of his status.

  Virus Stage: I - Attachment (Matured)

  He also checked the description of the current stage but found nothing new there. Disappointing, but not unexpected. Until the Virus advanced to the next stage, he probably wouldn’t learn anything new.

  Food and a nap it is, then…

  For the second time today, a loud banging on his door awoke Issac from his slumber. He rubbed his eyes and slowly slipped off his couch. He took a peek through the peephole in his door and sighed when he spotted Carol waiting on the other side.

  “Yes?” he asked once the door slid open.

  Carol took one look at him and grimaced. “I woke you up again, didn’t I?”

  “It’s fine.” Issac offered her a weak smile. “I feel much better anyway. Maybe it’s for the best that I don’t sleep through the entire day.”

  “It’s been four hours. It’s almost two.”

  “That explains it,” he muttered. He had run on less sleep in the past. “It should do for now…” He met her gaze. “So what’s going on? More Wretched?”

  Carol shook her head. “No, no. Brandon and Tyler asked me to get you. They are planning their next move and thought you would like to be a part of the conversation.”

  “I see.” He ran a hand through his hair. “All right then. I will be there—“

  “In five, right?” Carol finished with a small smile. “I will let them know. The door is open.”

  Issac nodded and returned to his apartment once the woman left. Even if he didn’t care much for his appearance at this point, he should at least find some clothes that weren’t covered from head to toe in blood.

  Not gonna lie, I could use a skill for cleaning…

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