Transform: Clean Mode.

With this simple command, Isaac turned and shot toward the sky, for now remaining inside the Safe Zone. Then, once he got high enough to see the tops of the half-bald pines, he took a deep breath and flew forward, crossing the border within the blink of an eye.

Now entering: Rotborne Woods

The name of this forest sounded just as ominous and creepy as it looked. Worse still, even from this high up, he couldn't see the end of it. The Rotborne Woods stretched on for miles, and from this angle, not even his enhanced sight could see beyond the tall trees.

Let's try going higher.

Isaac ignored the phantom weight of this territory—of the outside world—and forced his small body to climb faster and faster. Before long, the encompassing coldness he had experienced in the No Man's Land returned, so he stopped his ascent. For now, he just hovered in place and took a proper look around.

Trying to see into the forest was a lost cause. The canopy was too dense, which explained why it was so dark inside. But now, from his new vantage point, he could finally see the forest's edge.

A couple miles of walking, maybe more, he guessed, scanning the lands beyond the Rotborne Woods, or rather trying to. He was way, way too far to get anything more than vague shapes and colors. What he could make out looked like plains—open and green, without any massive forest like this one.

Then again, the words of Overlord Broadcast still rang loud in his head. The further they ventured outside the Safe Zones, the stronger the enemies they faced would become. Which pretty much meant that even though the forest looked scary, it might be less dangerous than what lay beyond it.

At least the visibility will be better.

With a low croak, Isaac shook his head and dived back toward the forest. His priority was scouting for threats in the woods. Besides, he didn't want to leave the others waiting too long.

And so, at first, he just scanned the trees for a good place to enter. The last thing he needed was to get tangled in a branch mid-flight. Once he found the perfect entry point, he cawed and shot toward it, already preparing himself for the challenge of weaving through dense, narrow spaces.

He was just a few feet away from the canopy when a loud series of high-pitched wails reached his ears. He winced at the noise and pulled up just in case. It was a good thing he did.

As Isaac turned and looked toward the source of the sound, he spotted a flock of birds erupting from the trees. Their yellow eyes instantly locked onto him.

Damn, you're ugly…

Each creature was about half his size, but that wasn't important. No, what truly caught his attention was how emaciated those things looked, with bones sticking out in some places. In addition, instead of feathers, their bodies were covered in yellow pine needles.

No wonder I missed them. They blended in with the trees, he noted, flying faster to put some distance between him and the monsters. Analyze.

Potential Threat: Very Low

The reading didn't surprise him in the slightest. In the end, this was still supposed to be a starting area. If every monster here showed for him as a Low or higher threat, then most Hosts wouldn't survive their first encounter. Still, the ever-growing number of those birds was kind of concerning.

What began with just a handful, now turned into a small swarm counting more than a few dozen of those annoyances. Maybe it was time to show them who the new king of those skies was.

Kill a few. Find out their name and level. Then return. Sounds good.

With that plan in mind, Isaac banked hard into a U-turn and summoned his Viron. Blood Daggers manifested at his sides, while at the same time, a crimson aura began to gather around his body.

Without hesitation, he shot toward the swarm, their wails growing in volume with each second.

Three… Two… One…

Both Isaac and his projectiles tore into the cloud of skeletal birds, silencing their cries. Blood sprayed in all directions as each creature in his path burst apart without any chance to defend. Even when he lost the connection to his Blood Daggers, he continued onward until he burst out on the other side of the swarm.

[Hollowbeak (LVL. 3) slain.]

At least a dozen more similar notifications were waiting for him, but Isaac ignored them and veered back toward the Safe Zone. Behind him, the swarm regrouped and replenished their numbers. Yet, as soon as they spotted the blue barrier, they shrieked and dove back into the forest.

Good to know you can abuse the system like this, he thought as he passed the barrier. His keen eyes quickly located his team still waiting near the border, and without a moment of hesitation, he landed next to them.

"So I have good and bad news," he announced after transforming. "Which one do you guys want first?"

Elaine, seated on the ground, shrugged. "Let's get the bad out of the way first."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Seconded!" James agreed.

"Okay…" Isaac muttered, thinking about how to deliver the news. "To make a long story short, my Legacy form might not be too useful here. Oh, and I have no idea what's waiting inside the forest."

Marie frowned. "Didn't you go specifically to figure that out?"

Seeing the looks of confusion everybody was giving him, Isaac sighed. "Right… So maybe long story short ain't gonna cut it…"

And just like that, he proceeded to quickly explain his encounter with the Hollowbeaks and how they probably wouldn't let him inside the forest unless he killed them all. Which wasn't impossible, but he also didn't want to waste all his Viron before even entering the woods properly.

"Okay, you're grounded for now. No biggie," James commented. "But if they swarm us while we're deep in the woods, that could be a problem."

"If they are only level three, the four of us should be able to handle them," Elaine reasoned.

Isaac nodded. "Cover each other's backs and be always on the lookout for danger or movement. And if it gets too much, fall back here—they won't cross the barrier."

James clicked his tongue. "I guess that's better than nothing. And the good news, boss?"

"Oh, that." Isaac gestured toward the forest. "It only goes on for a couple of miles. Shouldn't take us long to get past it."

Isaac's teammates didn't look too convinced, but he just shrugged it off. As long as they kept a certain pace and didn't encounter too many issues, they should be out of the forest before the evening or even faster. He didn't voice his opinion, though, and just moved toward the Safe Zone's border.

The others followed.

"All right," he called out, stopping a step away from the barrier. "Go slow, eyes open. Once we know what we are working with, we can go faster. Understood?"

His friends nodded, and so he stepped into the Rotborne Woods for real this time. Though not without summoning the Root into his hand first.

The soil crunched beneath his feet, dry and brittle enough that he sank into it an inch or two. The cold also returned, sending shivers down his spine. Creepy was definitely the right word for this place, especially with the mist covering the ground.

Still, as they pressed on, the Hollowbeaks never descended. The forest remained silent.

Too silent.

"Is it weird that I'm missing the Wretched now?" Marie whispered, a dagger in one hand, a short water whip coiled in the other.

"Not at all," James answered in the same hushed tone. "Same here, Ari."

Up front, Isaac didn't respond. Thanks to his enhanced eyesight, he could see more than the others, and it didn't take him long to spot some movement in the trees. He raised his hand to signal his team to stop and nodded toward a little creature that clung to one of the trunks.

It looked a lot like a fox, only smaller and with missing patches of fur that exposed its sickly green skin. To top it all, its head was nothing but a bare skull, with two glowing yellow orbs in place of eyes. The theme of this forest was starting to make sense.

Potential Threat: Very Low

At least there is that, he thought, summoning a single Blood Dagger. But before he could throw it, the fox's gaze snapped toward him, and in a blink, it was gone, skittering higher into the trees.

"Must be a scavenger," Elaine said as she stepped up beside him. "Or it can feel we are too strong for it."

Isaac nodded and gestured for the group to move again. For about a minute, maybe two, nothing happened. Then the forest around them—or rather the bushes—came alive.

"Look out!" he shouted, Blood Draw already igniting along the Root.

The bushes tore themselves free from the ground, warping into twisted, almost humanoid shapes. The crimson goo, in part, became their eyes, while the rest settled at the end of their new limbs to form claw-like extensions.

Isaac scoffed and cut through the nearest monster with a single swing of Blood Draw. Its branches shattered on impact, the goo dissolving into crimson dust.

[Barkspawn (LVL. 2) slain.]

Yet it was far from the end of the ambush.

Dozens more bushes stirred to life, each varying in size. Worse, a familiar high-pitched wail echoed from above, signaling the arrival of the Hollowbeaks. Isaac also spotted a few of those foxes from before clinging to the nearby trees. But they didn't attack. Just waited like a scavenger should.

Not that they would ever get a chance to take a bite out of his team. Despite the surprise attack, they were all ready for it.

James already had his arms transformed and was charging at the nearest Barkspawns. Marie, on the other hand, abandoned her dagger in favor of dual water whips to keep her enemies at bay. And Elaine? She was already darting from enemy to enemy, a soft white glow surrounding her and her rapier.

Seeing that the trio had the situation on the ground handled, Isaac transformed and shot toward the descending Hollowbeaks. They were his.

Without even activating a skill, he collided with the first monster, his larger form allowing him to snatch it mid-air and hurl it into a nearby tree. The next bird that came at him, he tore apart with his beak, leaving a gaping hole in its neck.

But that wasn't enough. Even if this swarm was smaller than the one he had faced earlier, picking them off one by one wouldn't cut it. Time to kick things up a notch.

With a loud caw that drew the attention of every nearby monster, Isaac summoned as many Blood Daggers as he could. His Viron reserves took quite a dip, but he could always recover them later.

Let's go.

With the blades at his side, he resumed his assault. His talons and beak tore through any Hollowbeaks that got too close while his daggers took care of those trying to slip past him. Not that he managed to get them all; he was only one person, after all.

In those cases, Isaac just had to trust his team to handle a few more minor annoyances. As that was what this ambush really was—an annoyance. That said, this showed him that other, weaker survivors should be able to handle themselves here if they stayed cautious.

Before long, the Hollowbeaks began to retreat, leaving Barkspawns to their death. Those had no chance to escape, not when they moved slower than an average human.

"That was fun, eh?" James grinned as the final Barkspawn shattered under Marie's whip. "I kinda expected this to be harder."

"It's a starting area," Elaine pointed out.

"Fair enough."

Nearby, Isaac dismissed the Root and turned to Marie. "Can I have the radio Daryl gave us?" The woman nodded and quickly handed him the device. "Thanks."

He switched it on and called out to Daryl, but only the static answered him. Obviously, at this point, he was a bit too far to reach his friend. He frowned and turned to the rest of his team.

"Wait here, I will be back in five or so," he said.

They nodded, knowing well what he meant by that. They had talked about this before, after all.

With that, Isaac transformed again and shot back toward the Safe Zone. He just needed to get in range to give Daryl a heads-up about the dangers in the forest. That should save some people a lot of pain.

Quick in and out.

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.