'Scary...'
Neo swallowed nervously, watching how both Specters collapsed onto the ground with their throats split wide open, blood gushing out of their wounds in a torrent. And right above them, Rose stood indifferently, her right hand clenching the weapon she used to slay those two poor fellows.
[Considering for how long she had been using her Legacy without getting tired, she must be above the Infected Stage.]
'So a Transformed?' Neo asked as pieces of information resurfaced in his mind.
Infected, Transformed, Mutant, Evolved, Harrowed, Reborn, Purified, and Graced. These were the Evolution Stages Humans could undergo with their Legacies if they consumed enough Cores.
The same went for Monsters too, but with slight differences which were the following; Infected, Transmuted, Mutated, Evolved, Harrowed, Awakened, Corrupted, and Endowed.
Both of them, humans and Monsters had their Stages of Evolution and in both cases, their titles held special meaning. For instance, humans like Rose, who reached the Transformed Stage, were capable of transforming some parts of their bodies to allow their Legacies to thrive and become a better version of themselves, thus granting them stronger abilities for a limited amount of time!
Thinking about this, Neo glanced at the deathly figure of the woman before him and pondered silently, wondering just what kind of transformation would she go through if she decided to do so.
"What are you looking at, boy?"
"Eh?"
Realizing that he stared a bit too intensely at her, Neo cleared his throat and laughed a bit awkwardly.
"N-Nothing, really... I was just stunned a bit."
Rose raised a brow as she spun her blade in her hand skillfully, making the blood fly off of it in seconds.
"And why is that?"
"Why...? I mean, your ability to move like that is truly astounding."
"Is that so?" Rose hummed and as she gestured toward Neo to follow she added, "It's nothing special, just a Tier 2 Infection. I happened to acquire it through sheer luck."
Infection... That was the way others called Legacies within this world.
"Luck?" Neo tilted his head slightly while silently activating his Mist Camouflage, hiding both of them within a thick veil of mist.
Rose nodded and as she walked in front of Neo she said;
"Yes. Through Luck. I killed an already heavily wounded Infected Hazard."
'Infected... Hazard?'
Neo frowned and tried to remember what that was, but failed. He could find no memories amongst the ones Aurora shared with him which made him feel weird.
[Master, Hazards are not a type of Monsters but their Grade. Horrors that possess 2 Legacies are Hazard Grade Monsters while those with 3 are Calamities.]
Then, she quickly continued;
[Also, although rarely, there are creatures that hold more than 3 Legacies, they are known as Chaos Grade Monsters.]
'Oh... So does that mean Monsters with 2 Legacies on the Mutated Grade are called Mutated Hazards?'
[Exactly!]
Neo nodded, now understanding things a bit better.
The two walked slowly in the veil of the thick fog, killing any Specter that they spotted on their way. And soon enough, after killing more than 50, from which Neo only had to kill 6, they cleared the Shelter from all threats.
Giving a few orders to the soldiers who were still alive to help and protect the innocent, Rose glanced at Neo before turning her attention to the gates in front of her... or at least at the sight that remained of it after the Specters destroyed it.
"Let's go."
"Huh? Where?" Neo asked, even though knowing the answer already.
"We will help Logan and the rest," Rose said, grabbed Neo, and without saying anything else dragged him toward the outside world.
"Use your ability."
"Urgh..."
Although not delighted to be ordered around like that, Neo still groaned and did as he was told, quickly activating his Legacy and hiding both of them in the veil of the thick fog.
Just like that, the two of them left the Shelter, welcomed by the gruesome scenery outside shortly after.
"These bastards!"
Rose cursed through her clenched teeth, the anger in her eyes turning into boiling rage.
Even Neo felt anger surging within his chest upon seeing the cruel sight around him, wondering just what pushed people to such length.
"This is another world, Neo. Things work differently here. The strong thrive while the weak... They die."
Hearing Zen's voice Neo sighed with bitterness in his heart before shaking his head.
Zen was indeed right. Although he had long ago accepted he had been transported into another world and despite almost dying twice already, he had yet to fully acknowledge the truth that here strength was everything. However, now, facing the harsh reality and realizing that he could easily end up with such a fate if he was not strong enough, he felt his heart changing a bit whether he liked it or not.
For the first time, Zen hummed with satisfaction.
"That's right. Adapt to the things around you and adjust your heart to survive! That's the only way."
As those words sounded in Neo's head, suddenly Rose halted her steps while gesturing to him to do the same.
At first, Neo was confused by why they stopped all of a sudden, but soon he noticed that in the distance, about thirty or so meters away from them, five figures were visible.
"Huh? Wait... Aren't those two..."
Recognizing the face standing behind Stella and above the heavily wounded Logan, Neo's face paled scarcely. Even a fool would understand without any word what was happening.
"I told you. Those two smelled rotten to the core the moment I saw them."
Neo nodded and after he thought for a few seconds turned toward Rose, wishing to ask what they should do, however, even before he had the chance a voice thundered through the forest.
"So? How long are you planning on hiding there?"
Neo froze, realizing that they had been discovered.
'Curses!'
He glanced at Rose on his side and was ready to deactivate his ability when suddenly his hand was grabbed and he was tossed behind a large fallen trunk on the side.
"Wha-"
"You stay there," Rose whispered quietly and without saying anything else walked away, revealing herself to the enemy.
'Did she go crazy or what!?' Neo cried inwardly and deactivated his Legacy before looking through the small crack of the tree's trunk, watching as she approached the group of five with her weapon already in her hand.
'The hell is her plan? Does she really wish to fight those three alone!?'
Zen groaned softly.
"Those two snakes... I'm sure she can take care of them without any issue even if they work together, however, that big one is a different matter."
[Indeed, Master. Not only does he seem to be on the Transformed Stage but he is also in possession of a rather powerful Artifact.]
[Fighting him is already hard enough, but getting aid from two Infected at the same time is more than a challenge she could take on alone.]
Neo frowned.
'So she will die if I don't help her, right?'
[Most probably.]
Neo felt a headache upon hearing the answer, but soon something flashed in his head. He had an idea.
'Yeah... That could work.'
And with that, he quickly opened his Artifact Hall...