The reward chest wasn't that large, but calling it small didn't feel right either. Average, that was probably the best word to describe what stood in front of Isaac. He doubted it held a weapon, which was fine. At this point, everyone on the team already had something decent.

Now armor, though? He definitely wouldn't be against getting some of that. And if it worked for both his human and Legacy form, all the better. He might heal fast, but not fast enough to tank every single hit. At least not yet.

The fight with the vultures showed that well enough.

Well then, let's see, Isaac thought, crouching in front of the chest and popping its lid open. His teammates gathered around, watching over his shoulders, though he paid them no mind. Right now, it was all about the loot.

The first thing he noticed was that the chest was quite full. Why? Short answer—clothes, a lot of them. All black with white highlights. The material? According to Analyze, it was some weird blend of spider silk and leather-like chitin. How that even worked, he had no clue.

That said, for now, he didn't even try to take them out of the chest. They could wait. He wanted to first check the smaller items stacked neatly on top.

The first object Isaac recognized instantly. It was just a single shard of a Virus Blueprint. Quite disappointing, but at least it was Superior-grade. Better that than nothing.

He stored it inside his Storage Brand and moved on.

The next item was yet another fruit. A tiny, yellow, grape-shaped fruit. Isaac lifted it and used Analyze.

[World's Eye | Grade: Superior] A low-grade fruit capable of providing a limited amount of Ascension Power for a single attribute. Consuming it will improve your Insight.

So those things aren't as rare as I thought. Nice. He hummed before looking up at his team. "Anyone want it? Improves Insight."

"You should have it, Isaac," Marie said. "We practically did nothing here. It's only fair."

When the others nodded in agreement, Isaac shrugged. "I guess," he muttered and threw the fruit into his mouth. With a single bite, a surge of power surged through his body, igniting all his basic senses for a short second. He blinked, barely registering the sour aftertaste of the strange grape.

Insight has advanced a tier.

Huh, had to be close to advancing, Isaac commented internally. This also meant that his Agility may advance with the next level up. That or this World's Eye had a better effect on his attribute than the previous fruit. Which fair, his Regeneration was a whole grade higher than his Insight.

Okay next.

Skipping over a pouch filled with over a dozen Inferior Virality Gems, he picked up the final item. A small black and white pill—another mutagen, if he wasn't wrong. And apparently, he wasn't based on James' next words.

"Spider's Dance? All yours, boss."

Isaac snorted and activated Analyze.

[Mutagen: Spider's Dance | Grade: Superior] A basic Virus Mutagen that mutates the Host's senses to slightly enhance perception and reaction time. Additionally, the Host may now summon three phantom Baby Forest Widows. They aren't the best fighters, but they make for decent distractions.

"Useful," he muttered, glancing at the two women in his team. "You guys sure you don't want it? I mean, I will gladly take it, but…"

Elaine paled and frantically shook her head. "Nope! Nope, nope. As James said. All yours."

Marie nodded, grimacing. "Yeah, hard pass for me too."

Isaac rolled his eyes, grumbling "cowards" under his breath. Still, he wasn't complaining. He wanted to experience Mutagen's effects on his body anyway. That it would give him more minions to control was a win in his book. Unlike his teammate, though, he first took out a bottle of water before swallowing the pill.

The moment it went down his throat, he grimaced, shutting his eyes. A sharp burn flared behind his eyeballs and inside his ears. It spread in a wave across his skin before settling somewhere deep inside his head. Then, just like that, the light pain vanished, but not without leaving something behind.

A link—or maybe a trigger was a better word for it—somewhere inside his mind. Somehow, he instantly knew what it did. All it needed was a bit of Viron and a mental pull to activate the Mutagen's secondary ability.

Mutagen successfully adapted (Slot 1 of 3). To remove it, issue a simple mental command.

"You good?" James asked, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

Isaac nodded, clearing his throat to get rid of the sudden dryness. It didn't help, so he quickly took another sip of his water.

"Yeah. A little pain won't take me down at this point," he muttered, his voice still a bit rough.

He turned back to the chest, handed James the pouch of gems, and picked up the first piece of clothing. It was a short-sleeved shirt. Way too small for him or the older man. Grabbing a pair of pants confirmed it. These things definitely weren't made for men.

Yet, before he could say anything, the pants vanished from his hands, snatched by Elaine. She completely ignored him and turned to the other woman.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Marie, look at these. The material!"

Isaac stepped back as the two women settled before the chest, digging through the assortment of different clothes.

"Unbelievable," he muttered just loud enough for James to hear. "They won't fight spiders or touch a spider-based mutagen, but give them clothes..." He gestured helplessly at the scene unfolding in front of them. "Yeah…"

Next to him, James shrugged. "I mean, there is a difference. One you eat, the other you wear. If there's anything in there my size, I'm calling dibs too."

"Whatever," Isaac grumbled, crossing his arms.

It took over ten minutes before Marie and Elaine stood up, each with a bunch of clothes in their hands. The shorter woman glanced at them with a grin. "Alright, boys! Turn around. We're changing. And no, before you ask, there wasn't anything in there for you two. We double-checked."

Elaine smirked, adding. "And no peeking."

James snorted. "You have nothing I haven't seen before, princess."

Elaine arched an eyebrow. "Didn't realize you were a woman… Good to know. I will make sure to address you properly next time."

As James spluttered for a comeback, Isaac sighed, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him away from the clearing. They really didn't need to waste more time here. And quite frankly, the older man wasn't winning this one.

"Come on, I gotta check the ability the mutagen gave me."

Once they were out of earshot, Isaac stopped. Even if his mutagen didn't change his appearance at all, and he couldn't quite feel its primary effects yet, he had to test the strength and limitations of his new summons.

And so, without further delay, he tugged on the trigger inside his mind, providing it with a bit of Viron.

At once, the energy rushed out of his body, taking the form of three dark violet blobs. For a second or two, they writhed on the ground before shifting into the form of cat-sized spiders. The trio looked up at him, their posture eerily similar to a pair of eager puppies waiting for a command.

Isaac hummed, his gaze drifting to James.

The older man, as if feeling the eyes on him, turned and took a step back. "Don't you fucking dare," he said, raising his hands. "I won't forgive you."

Isaac quirked an eyebrow. "It's nothing personal. Think of it as… shock therapy." And with another mental tug at the connection in his mind, the three spiders shot toward their new target.

That was all the warning James needed. He spun on his heel and sprinted toward the exit from the forest, shouting the entire way. That the three spiders could barely keep up with him didn't register in his mind.

"I hate you, boss! You hear me!?"

Isaac chuckled, only for a voice behind him to cut in.

"So that happened," Elaine said flatly. "And I swear, if you pull anything even remotely like that on me, I will strangle you."

Turning toward her, his snarky reply died on his tongue. His eyes widened a fraction as he took in both women in their new gear. To say they looked good would be an understatement. Suddenly, he felt very underdressed next to them. Which really wasn't a surprise. He had blood and spiders' insides splattered over his clothes.

Still…

While the new outfits—just pants and a shirt combined with a jacket—weren't tight like some cheap stage costumes, they still hugged their forms without being obscene. And the fabric, the strange blend of silk and leather-like chitin, seemed to glow in the faint light coming through the few gaps in nearby trees. All that looked practical yet elegant at once.

Just then, Isaac noticed the smirk on Elaine's face. "What cat got your tongue?" she teased.

He snorted, rolling his eyes. "In your dreams… We good to go now?"

The two women before him shared a look and, with matching grins, started strolling toward him like they were strutting down a runway. In his honest opinion, it was a little too exaggerated to be truly graceful, but he let them have their moment.

"Oh, come on, Isaac. Don't be like that," Elaine said, her grin widening. "Just admit we l— Ah!"

Before she could finish, one of his phantom spiders dropped from the branches above, landing on his shoulder. The small creature gave the woman a little wave before its legs tensed.

While Elaine was too startled to notice that, Marie definitely did. She narrowed her eyes. "Isaac, don't."

He smiled. "Too late."

The spider pounced.

After some screaming and running around the forest, they all settled and resumed their journey down south. However, Isaac wisely kept a safe distance from the others just in case they planned to take revenge on him. A task made even easier as he was flying, and they traveled on foot.

Not even Marie in her Legacy form could reach him, as her floating had a limit of about fifteen feet above the ground. A bit less useful than they had initially thought, but still quite good.

And so, for hours, they traveled, cutting down everything in their path. They even destroyed another tiny nest belonging to a variant of Barkspawns, but the rewards were quite underwhelming. Just a sack full of Virality Gems and a knife that could ignite with white-hot flames.

By the time the sun started to dip below the horizon, the beasts in their path once more began to grow stronger. Which was both good and bad news.

Good, because they needed to face stronger foes to level up—one level per day definitely wasn't enough. And bad, due to what was waiting ahead.

Just before Isaac had landed to help his team set up a camp for the night, he had seen the end of the Peaceful Plains in the distance. The endless lands filled with trees, open fields of grass, and other flora slowly gave way to a much less colorful place.

Sand, massive cliffs, and more sand pretty much summed up the territory waiting ahead. If he ever had to compare it to something he had seen in the past, then the Grand Canyon would be it. That was assuming the canyon had rivers of molten lava running through it.

At least it will be something new, Isaac thought as he lay down inside the tent they set up. His teammates didn't share his enthusiasm, but it was either the desert canyon to the south or the snowy mountains to the west. Which was to say there was no choice at all.

His gaze shifted to James, already snoring on the other side of the tent. He frowned. It wasn't that he didn't trust his team, but he really doubted they would let him get away scot-free after chasing them around with his new summons.

Yeah… Just in case.

With a pull on his Viron, three spiders materialized next to him. A quick command later, they all settled before him, shielding him from the rest of the world.

Good luck trying anything now.

Isaac smiled and closed his eyes, letting the darkness take him.

He woke to a soft breeze brushing against his skin. For a brief, disoriented moment, he wondered if his team had actually dragged him out of the tent as payback, but then his eyes opened.

Crimson.

"I'm back," Isaac muttered, sitting up as his fingers brushed through the crimson grass surrounding him.

"That you are, kid," a voice he remembered well echoed from behind him. "Told you we will see each other again soon."

Isaac turned, his gaze falling on the same alien from before—Rakin. The man lounged in a plush armchair in the middle of the field of crimson, his silver eyes glinting with amusement while a small crooked grin played on his lips.

"You…"

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.