[ Isn’t this a cursed artifact Rosoa? ]

[ Uhh. Most likely. I wasn’t the one that carried it home but the servant that did was fine when I saw him. ]

[ I’m not touching that. ]

The ring was already on Rosoa’s hand when Izo warned him of the horrifying abilities it could have. Thankfully, it did nothing at all.

[ This is used to turn oneself invisible. I’ve used it as a sexual kind of thing and uh. Never touched it since. ]

The only item left was the painting which was covered by cloth. Neither wanted to touch whatever it was.

[ She did forbid me from looking at the image within. Her exact words were ‘Show it only when necessary’. ]

Rosoa sighed then picked it up with his two webbed hands with utmost carefulness, ready to throw it away at any second.

Izo gave him a wide berth, making sure to look at it with his peripheral vision just in case.

[ Do we need to take anything else? ]

[ There should be nothing more in this half rotten house. Crap. I dearly wanted to raise kids here. ]

They placed the painting on the carriage. Now they were ready to journey back. Before that however Izo let out the crimson orb.

[ You should circle us and tell me if you detect any lifeforms approaching us. Your scanners can do that right? ]

[ I’ll make sure to inform you Izo. ]

[ Uhh. Are you conversing with this… thing? ]

Izo realized that Rosoa was only connected to him, not hearing the orb at all. He ordered it to connect the three of them.

[ Yes. This is a helper of mine. ]

[ Okay then. What’s your name little helper? ]

[ Name? ]

The lanky monster and the floating sphere just stayed silent as if waiting for the other. Izo had to step in.

[ It’s a word that identifies a creature. My name is Izo, he’s Rosoa, you. You don’t have any yet. ]

There was only one reason for that. Izo wanted it to choose its name.

Names have great power. Giving a child the name “Hardworking” can make him/her that or the reverse. Izo found it funny how some people’s name determines a great portion of their personality. Just by choosing a fancy sounding one a child can become arrogant.

So, Izo felt that he had no right to give it a name. Maybe the feeling of being responsible over this being also scared him.

He never had a younger sibling or a pet. Whenever he was given a position at school, he always refused. It was too stressful being responsible for other people’s fate.

He was studying to be a businessman so how leading a company different? Well, there wasn’t as much emotional “chains”. They’re all their to earn money and it was professional. Accompanying this orb was a very personal thing, on a subconscious level he knew. And naming it would be admitting the responsibility.

[ Do I have a name Izo? ]

[ No. You should make one. ]

[ Eh? Scanning word library. What should I choose? Izo what word would you name me? ]

[ I can’t choose for you. A name is very special. You can think of it later if its too hard for you. ]

Rosoa looked at Izo confused but slightly understanding his action. The older man should have more experience with his years.

With that, the trio began journeying back to the inn.

The orb and Izo scouted while Rosoa pulled the carriage. For a rich painter, he looked accustomed to pulling it.

‘He did say he started from a poor background.’

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Little trouble faced them as they parked the carriage in front of the inn.

[ Finally safe. ]

They began moving the contents to one of the rooms on the first floor. Since they were probably going to need a storage anyway, the furniture was moved out .

[ Ok. What now Izo? ]

[ I’m feeling pooped out already. What about you? ]

[ Not at all. My memory of below is still conflicting with my life as Rosoa but I feel like I can stay awake for 3 more days even without water and food. ]

[ What kind of dangerous environment would make an organism have that amount of energy in store? ]

[ A very brutal one. Ah my fellows are still suffering out there. ]

Izo scratched his head. It was dangerous to force his body right now.

[ Taking them here as well as finding the food sources down below would be our agenda tomorrow then. ]

[ I understand. For now, I would like to read the notes from the temple. There might just be something there hiding in plain sight. ]

They then decided to that Rosoa would take one of the rooms in the top floor too. Just in case they were attacked and either of them needed help.

Izo however told the orb to monitor Rosoa and knock him out if does tries to leave the inn or enter his room. A certain level of wariness as the man cautioned.

*

After six hours of sleep, followed by reading the manual for an hour then eating, Izo was ready for a new day under the fixed ever watching moon.

With silently floating orb that was still analyzing the DNA taken yesterday behind Izo, he knocked on the Rosoa’s door.

The lanky man was still at it reading. Like he said, he was still very energetic.

[ Found anything? ]

[ Nothing. It’s all very mundane running the temple business. ]

Izo thought for a while as he was consulting his ‘Goal List’

[ Strategic Goals:

1. Establish contact with the Nexus and go back.

Tactical Goals:

1. Strengthen myself.

2. Food and water (save the inhabitants below)

3. Find the Guardian to turn off the barrier.

2.1 Gather her notes.

2.2 Investigate the other Demigods

4. Understand what happened to this world. ]

He now felt deeply unconfident about his strength. If he really wanted to, he could wage a guerilla war against the skeleton warriors and win. It would take a long time but he could since they were very simple minded.

The Demigods however…

[ The only way I can strengthen myself is by modifying my genes. ]

If it was a necessity then he would just have to suck it up and be brave. Izo would think hard on what kind of modifications to do but there was no selection for now. For that, lots of DNA from below were needed.

[ Ok. Let’s go down now. ]

They leapt down the hole that was the fountain and began walking towards the lake area.

With Rosoa leading the way as the supposedly most familiar here, they were slow at first.

[ Hey, I remember scouting these tunnels on my own. Huh, the others didn’t seem to like travelling out of lake area. That direction is where I saw you in the street! ]

[ You ran away from me then. ]

[ That’s because you look gigantic like a golem of sorts. ]

Rosoa was very quickly regaining his knowledge from below even finding a shortcut from a hole above that Izo missed before.

‘If an enemy was hiding there, it would’ve been bad.’

Izo needs to be more wary of attacks from above. Or some directions that he wouldn’t normally think of.

Once they jumped inside that shortcut, they arrived faster than the route Izo took before.

They jumped down on this shallow water and Izo was back to the battle site from before. The plant that was left to dry was gone as well as Rosoa’s fellows.

[ Follow me. ]

With this knowledgeable guide, Izo travelled northeast. This time without being attacked by the dogs or anything at all. It was because of the plant that Rosoa handed to him. It was like another vine plant colored red. It’s thorns containing toxins enough to kill in minutes most things here.

It seemed that Rosoa’s rough skin allowed him to ignore it as well as the other humans here.

[ I remember how a lot of us were dying at first. We still had our normal bodies then. The only way we survived was with this toxic plant. We wrapped them at the end of the long stick and used it as a deterrent. ]

Rosoa clutched his head again though he might be getting used to the headaches as he gestured to another plant.

[ This is one of our food sources. ]

[ It looks ugly. ]

It looked like an orange filled with holes the size of Izo’s pinky. It was triggering his trypophobia hard.

[ It’s a citrus. Very sour with little moisture. It tastes better when paired with other foods. Shine that light, little helper. ]

And the orb did target it with its laser.

[ Let’s move. ]

After 10 minutes of travelling while scanning the local flora and fauna, they arrived at a drier section of the lake. At coordinates 1,2 in the northeast was a collection of trees in an islet. They were not tall owing to the low ceiling. Instead, they had lots of subsections like mangroves. If mangroves were thick as electric pole.

There were tribal huts worse than what Izo had in camp. Those weren’t lived in however as the trees served as the home

The trio positioned themselves far enough that Rosoa’s vision only saw silhouettes in the distance. The Ural however was allowing Izo to see just fine.

Izo had asked the orb if it could make the intelligence regaining virus water borne or air borne. It seemed that passing it through the air was a lot more complicated than Izo thought. Unless they could release a gaseous substance that contained the virus, this method was unfeasible.

Izo decided to choose the water borne variant.

[ Rosoa you need to pour this on the water source. Do you guys have that? ]

[ No. We can drink from the waters around here just fine. ]

[ This irradiated and dirty water? ]

[ Yes. There’s something though. We store our food in a central place. ]

After discussing for a bit, they decided on a plan.

[ I might not be an actor but I know the intricacies of drama. I can manage. ]

[ Ok. Good luck then. ]

Izo watched as Rosoa entered this village. Two of his fellow approached him, looking him up and down. Then the female one slapped him as it began screeching.

Rosoa acted as if this was normal however and slapped her back before replying with his own screech.

He was allowed inside. As he was entering however Rosoa looked in Izo’s direction with what seemed like a proud smirk. Izo wouldn’t know with those inhuman features but he had a hunch.