Mutagen

<strong>Day 253 - 10:31 AM - Destroyed Crater, Municipality of Viga, Province of Catanduanes</strong>

An hour after the abrupt end of the battle...

The forces under Diwata Iraya that fought the [Mechids] stayed at the mountain far northwest of the crater. Although the battle might have ended, some unexpected things still could happen. Thus, they stayed there temporarily. On the other hand, those injured were brought back to the village with the help of Spera's [Portal] to get treated. There, they would receive treatment from Aliya and those that stayed behind.

Mei and the rest of the group also stayed put with Diwata Iraya.

As for Mark...

<strong>CLACK!</strong>

Mark kicked the ground in annoyance, scattering a clump of dust to disperse through the air.

While leaving the others to rest after a tiring battle, Mark returned to the crater with Chimetrice while Thirteenth tagged along with the two.

The emotionless Mark, with a heavy heart, looked at the surroundings.

There was nothing.

The explosion that was caused by what was likely to be the A.I. of the factory destroyed everything. The mutated trees, the black goo that covered the ground, the remains of the defeated [Mechids]... Everything inside the crater was gone.

Even the ground within the crater seemed to be a few meters lower than before. It was the result of the explosion obliterating the surface of the ground into nothingness. Furthermore, the crater could not be called mountainous any longer, with more than half of the surrounding mountains that walled in the crater getting engulfed by the explosion.

The previously corrupted land surrounded by steep mountains was now nothing but a barren wasteland devoid of anything but radiation.

Mark made his way to the center of the crater. Knowing his current foul mood, Chimetrice and Thirteenth followed behind Mark silently. Thirteenth had a lot of things to ask Mark. However, even if she had a childish personality as the [Eye of Excitement], she was not that boorish to someone she deemed important.

The three soon arrived near the center of the crater. All they found in that place was a deeper hole where the center of the explosion occurred.

"TSK!"

Mark scratched his head.

The main reason that drove Mark to eliminate the [Mechids] was to ensure his family's safety before he left this island. Nonetheless, he was still looking forward to the loot he could bring back. Furthermore, he learned that his [Miasmic Lightning] could disable [Mechids] and destroy the black goo within them. Thus, he thought he could use it to clean the factory and study the alien structure.

Now, all those plans were gone for naught. All the loot and interesting things Mark could have gotten were gone in a flash.

Mark, who loves collecting and tinkering with things, was bound to be annoyed at this development.

Chimetrice stepped towards the edge of the deeper crater.

"This is what humans call anti-climatic, isn't it?"

The [Humanoid Chimera] voiced out in an emotionless tone.

Mark did not reply anything to Chimetrice's words. The battle ended in the most abrupt way. Mark was not given enough time to fully test his newly acquired power, and all his possible loot went to dust.

So, it was actually good that Mark had the urge to not let the other [Fighter Mechids] fall to the ground after he defeated them. If he let all of them fall to the ground and decided to do the looting in the end, he would end up with nothing.

Furthermore, not only did the explosion erase everything within the crater up to half of the mountain wall, but it left a wide area covered in radiation way further outside.

"Hah..."

Mark sighed as he checked the contents of his repaired [Spatial Ring]. It looked like he had to make do with what he managed to get. And if he felt that he needed more, he could make do with the destroyed [Mechids] outside the crater left after the battle. Not to mention that the cleaning of the [Mechids] they destroyed the other day was not done yet, and a lot of them still littered the island.

However, the abrupt end decided by the artificial intelligence of the factory created a new problem. A large portion of the central area of the island of Catanduanes was now inaccessible due to radiation. It was quite hard to say when it would dissipate completely.

And due to [Mutagen's] presence on Earth, this radiation would rapidly mutate everything within the affected area. This meant that the island would have less arable land and places to hunt for food. Worse, the appearance of irradiated animals, [Infected], and plants become highly likely.

Furthermore, the events that unfolded during the battle would clearly attract all kinds of dangers from the surroundings of the island. Mark already expected another wave of [Infected Sea Creatures] to come ashore soon. The remaining settlements of the island, all built near coastlines, would definitely suffer the constant attacks of the [Aquatic Infected] even more in the next few days or weeks.

And for sure, the ones coming were not the same as the ones before. This time, the [Infected] would be far more powerful than in the past.

If not depended properly, the destruction of Codon Settlement would be imminent.

"Not like that place mattered anymore."

Mark murmured as simulations of what could possibly happen next on this island ran through his head.

At this time, Mark turned to Thirteenth.

"So, why are you hear now?"

Mark asked.

"You're really asking?"

Thirteenth replied with a frown.

"My new power?" Mark responded. "But I'm pretty sure it isn't my fault."

Thirteenth glared at Mark with exasperated eyes.

"The main fault isn't yours, but a portion of it is. It's because of your freaking adaptive body."

"I'm pretty sure that's not my fault either."

Mark reasoned nonchalantly. It was a reasonable comeback, however. After all, Mark had no control over what changes his body would bring to the abilities he acquired. In fact, there was one time that the ability did not change. It was the [Magical Energy Manifestation] from the [Earth Demon] that possessed the self-proclaimed king of [Tamawos]. That ability remained the same even after Mark received it.

Thirteenth could only glare at Mark in silence. She was not really blaming him. In fact, she was glad that her candidate was getting stronger. It was just that the abilities Mark was getting were things that could cause the world's imbalance if used in the wrong ways.

[Miasma], [High-Level Empath], [Miasmic Lightning] acquired from a [Lightning Tribulation], and now, the [Aura of Death]. All of these were not something that a mortal should have control of. All of these things were supposed to kill all that touched them, but Mark turned them all into his abilities. Well, Mark as an [Empath] was something he was born with. However, Mark was supposed to become crazy after reaching the mortal limit of this ability. Yet, Mark was alive and fine, controlling this supposedly uncontrollable ability with ease.

These abilities were making Mark the best ally Thirteenth could have, but also possibly the worst enemy if things go awry.

Since Thirteenth was just glaring without saying anything else, Mark turned his attention somewhere else.

"So? What's your explanation. Come out. I know you're watching."

Mark said, looking at the sky.

"You realized?"

A voice was heard as Magwayen's avatar manifested.

"I left the artifact with Ilia so you won't end up disturbing me during the battle," Mark turned to Magwayen with a frown. "But when my body changed earlier, I could feel your annoying gaze, somehow."

"A god that directly gave their blessing can watch the blessed person almost everywhere with almost no limit."

Thirteenth explained, glaring at the culprit of this mess.

Magwayen smiled, not minding Mark's rude words or Thirteenth's hostile glare. After all, no matter what both parties did, there was no way any of them could harm the other.

"I didn't expect for you to notice."

The Ancient Visayan Goddess of Death replied. During this battle, Magwayen was watching Mark despite him not having the artifact.

"Well, all the things you did earlier were unexpected, even for me."

Magwayen added.

Mark stared in silence, clearly asking for an explanation.

With a playful shrug, Magwayen did not hesitate to fill in the details. The time when she gave Mark the blessing, what she gave him and why. She told everything in detail.

This came clear that Mark was only supposed to receive a [Lower Blessing of Death's Aura]. It was something that could only enhance the destructive capabilities of Mark's abilities. However, Mark's absurdness turned the blessing into something else. While Magwayen's blessing was still there, which allowed her to watch him, she now had no idea what it became after Mark changed its structure without knowing.

Mark and Thirteenth thought hard about the circumstances they had just heard from Magwayen. Chimetrice was not that interested in the conversation and looked for uneven ground and sat down.

At this time, Magwayen spoke to Mark.

"Don't think about it too much. Isn't it great that you had become stronger? You have all the time to slowly learn about it. I'm also looking forward to it since I really have no idea what the blessing became. All I know is that it's most likely a [Higher Blessing] or a [Middle Blessing] in the least. Minus the malevolent intent, of course."

Magwayen was clearly in a cheerful mood. After all, she gave Mark a [Lower Blessing], yet, it was upgraded on its own. It just meant that it was like she gave him a [Higher Blessing] at a discount since she only used a substantial amount of [Magical Energy] from the artifact.

"Seriously..." Thirteenth spoke to Magwayen. "This is why Gods like you are unfit for this world. You all are too carefree to actually manage the mortals of this plane."

In the eyes of Thirteenth, this kind of approach of the Gods towards mortals was why other realms were slow to develop. The humans in their realms rely on Gods too much. They barely do anything on their own to advance their civilizations.

Earth, compared to the [Lower Realms] actively ruled by Gods, was far more advanced.

"Haah, seriously... There's a whole lot of things to do..."

Mark grumbled with a sigh, turning away from the Godly beings exchanging hostility in front of him.

The battle already ended, and the threat of the Earth-made [Mechids] on this island was finally dealt with. There were still problems that persisted to exist, the worst of which could only be dealt with through time. As for the possible arrival of [Aquatic Infected], Mark was not that worried. They still planned to stay for a few more days to see the situation before returning home. They could fight any powerful [Mutated Infected] that arrived during their stay.

Mark also planned to study the changes of the blessing Magwayen gave him without him knowing. There was no point in wielding a power he could barely understand. If Mark ended up using it wrong, there was the possibility of it causing unintended effects. He should master it to some extent before moving on to their next plans.

And just like that, their remaining days staying on this island began.

Thirteenth left quickly after a short argument with Magwayen. After all, she still had another candidate to look after. While Mark was doing well on his own and causing some problems for Thirteenth, the other candidate in Indonesia was having a hard time. She had to monitor the other candidate closely while directing the candidate while watching in the shadows.

Magwayen felt no remorse in stealthily giving Mark her blessing. Among the Ancient Gods of the Philippines, she was actually one of the few that never gave her blessing to any mortal. After all, the power of death was not something a normal mortal could wield. She never gave anyone a blessing as the Goddess of the Sea, either. Thus, it was clear that she was quite excited about having her first [Blessed Individual], especially since it was someone as special as Mark.

And from here, a few days passed on the island of Catanduanes.