Sitting in a different transport, Xander chatted casually with several of the soldiers he had spilt blood with on the battlefield. They were all unevolved, with only 2 or 3 gene-mods each, but that just meant that their camaraderie was even higher than normal, since they needed to work together more to get the desired results.

  “I still find it difficult to believe that things like what happened two nights ago are common. Wouldn't that mean that we’d have run into another pack by now?” Xander spoke with a calm confidence, no longer as cautious as before, but that was a calculated move in and of itself.

  One of the first things that the soldiers had congratulated him for was the fact that he was just as fierce as them. It meant that he was somewhat ostracized from the scholars, who were more in line with his colder and calmer attitude, but he was still close to Gerome, so that was fine.

  “The only reason we’re not neck deep in mutant beasts is the fact that we’re closer to the coast. If we were closer to either of the bordering kingdoms, or worse, the central Wilderness, things would be far more terrible than they are right now.” Formund, a significantly taller than average soldier with 3 gene-mods, one of which had toughened his skin up and changed it to a dark and stony gray, took a pull from a flask before biting into a tofu-looking food bar with a grimace.

  Xander’s stomach churned at the sight. The sickening sensation of the nutrient bricks being mulched inside his mouth was something he had the displeasure of experiencing when he had woken up the day before.

  It was by far the worst thing he had ever eaten, but he needed it after turning into something close to a walking skeleton after using up so much biomass to heal his injuries.

  “Here, wash it down with this.” He slid his own flask over to the much larger man, who un-hesitantly reached out and took a swig.

  The relieved sigh that came from the gargoyle-like man rumbled through the truck and made some of the looser equipment rattle in the racks.

  A soft giggling cut through the air a moment later. “You sound like you just had the greatest ‘release’ of your life. Are the drinks that our dear VIP has access to really that good?”

  Slender hands reached forward for Xander’s flask, only for him to reach forward and take it away before she could get a hold of it.

  “Chill, Tami, Formund has the constitution to handle this drink. Without the specific internal toughness, or a healing factor, the fuel in this would burn even you up from the inside out.” Xander carefully recapped his flask and tucked it away.

  Tami was a small woman who was nearly a foot and a half shorter than Xander, but while she lacked in physical stature, she more than made up for it as the only Rank 1 soldier in the vehicle, with 5 Rank 1 gene-mods at that. The apparent minimum needed for a successful evolution to take place.

  A fact he had learned not long after meeting up with this squad.

  Crossing her arms with a pout, Tami settled back into her seat while the others laughed.

  Alongside her and Formund, the team’s captain and ‘tank’, respectively, there were four others that made up his new group.

  Evel, a thin blonde man of average height, with slitted eyes and carrying mostly lighter weapons meant for fast moves and maneuverability, acted as the scout for the team.

  Laisa, who had no visible modifications, much like Tami, who had red hair and a mousey, but still bigger than her captain's, stature, acted as the team medic. She mainly worked off the field but was a major asset for this team thanks to her previous experiences as a scholar.

  Finally, there were the twins, brother and sister, Morris and Heida, both were utterly hairless, and had scatterings of scales across their bodies that were splayed out in intricate patterns. Yet the surprising thing was that there scales weren’t born from gene-mods. Supposedly, the twins were born with them, having a ‘natural mutant trait’ that meant that they had an inborn compatibility with a specific path.

  Usually this would be a problem, since it limits options, but apparently the path they walked was one that was well developed, so it meant that they would likely reach Rank 2 with ease.

  “Hey, hey, hey! That’s no way to treat you dear captain, is it? Who's to say that my constitution isn’t up to par for whatever it is you’re drinking? I’m nearly at rank 2, after all.” Tami stuck her chest out and threw her head back, taking on a haughty pose, but the rest of her team just laughed harder. “Screw you all! Maybe when the next attack comes, I’ll just have to let you all take the offensive on your own, while I go take out a few pests by myself!”

  Her statement immediately forced everyone else to stop laughing. All of them began talking fast as they tried to calm their captain down.

  “Wait, there’s no need to go that far!”

  “Yeah! We were just joking! The Captain's the best!”

  The twins began flattering the small woman with rapid compliments, all while Formund shifted uneasily in his seat, Evel sighed and closed his eyes, while Laisa began rummaging through her kits to find something.

  All the while, Xander just leaned back and chuckled. Given his unique status as a VIP and advisor, he didn’t have any responsibilities beyond answering to Gerome and helping if there was anything that he could interact with when they got to the ruins.

  Keeping himself safe was a given as well, but letting others die for him without trying to carry his own weight would just lead to resentment.

  “Captain, here!” Laisa finally found what she was looking for and tossed a small bottle to Tami.

  Inside it was a glittery liquid, something that Xander knew was poisonous, though not semi-corrosive like his own drink was.

  The possibility of being poisoned didn’t seem to cross Tami’s mind, however, and she ripped open the bottle and downed the whole thing before licking her lips.

  “Delicious!” She sighed and slumped in her seat. “Laisa, you’re the only one who seems to truly appreciate me.”

  Xander snorted in amusement, even as Formund narrowed his eyes, and the twins retreated to their own seats.

  While the scene he’d just witnessed was fun, Xander knew that everybody here was a veteran. The slightly twitches coming from Evel, who didn’t seem to be paying attention, but whose eyes and ears flicked in every direction.

  The twins were tense, their bodies coiled and ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

  Laisa and her medical remedies and toxins. All prepped and set to bring out massive harm to whoever got hit by them.

  Even Formund remained in position to blast his way out of the truck and into the fray, should another attack come for them.

  The less said about the chills that ran down his spine whenever he saw Tami glancing in his direction the better. That woman was dangerous, and wasn’t nearly as good at hiding it as Gerome was.

  It was honestly startling, just how aware he was of these soldier’s tics after just a day of travel in the same truck as them. His own transport, having been destroyed toward the aftermath of that first fight, had basically been disassembled to repair some of the larger vehicles that could carry more supplies.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The number of deaths wasn’t small either, so there was more than an ample amount of room in the remaining vehicles.

  “Excuse me, captain,” Xander’s voice carried over the quiet noise of Tami’s happy expressions, and the twins hurried whispers as they berated each other for their previous mocking, “but I have some questions about gene-mods and the evolutionary process, if that’s a topic that you don’t find inappropriate. The scholars told me that the specifics regarding a person’s gene-mods was a private matter.”

  Tami snorted and scrunched up her nose. “Those book worms might think that it’s a private thing, but that’s just because they get mocked for their lacking abilities, since it’s almost impossible for them to make any progress towards their evolutions.”

  “Isn’t Gerome one of the head scholars under Lady Elyria’s command?” Xander’s eyebrow raised, and Tami turned her head and let out a quiet cough to clear her throat in response.

  “Specialist Gerome is an exception. He served time in the Malicent Military, so he has real-life experience in stabilizing and progressing through mutative evolution.” A red tint spread across her face while she spoke. “Please don’t let it be said that I inadvertently implied that he was weak.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Xander saw the twins share a smile. He raised his voice before they could further mock their captain.

  “Of course. If any rumors start spreading, I’ll just tell Gerome that it was the twins. I’m sure that their natural physiques will keep him from doing too much damage.”

  Left unsaid was the fact that Gerome was just more likely to experiment on them than he was to kill them.

  The twins seemed to know this too, since they immediately paled and backed off instead of taunting their leader. Though they both threw a glare at Xander in response.

  “Thank you. Now, regarding mutations and evolution... I guess that the thing you need to do most is draw forth the instincts of your gene-mods sources.” Tami spoke with an easy tone, and none of the others seemed to be too interested.

  Xander got the feeling that they had already heard most of this.

  “There is a surprising amount of mental interference that affects the integration and stabilization of one’s genes. Like, a vegetarian would literally get closer to biological rampancy if they got a gene-mods from a carnivorous source but still refused to eat meat. It just goes against the nature of their body.”

  This was something that made sense to Xander, and was somewhat in line with the vague instructions Gerome had given to him regarding doing what he felt was right when it came to his new abilities.

  The emphasis that the man had put on what Xander felt, rather than knew or wanted, wasn’t something he’d missed.

  “How does that tie into evolution? Do you have to play to the instincts of all your gene sources to evolve? Can’t a person have mods from multiple sources? What would happen if they conflicted, and why don’t the scholars seem worried about their evolutions?” More and more questions spewed from Xander’s mouth.

  The scholars were all about give and take when it came to his questions, but these soldiers seemed to be much easier going. At least when it came to their mutations.

  Though, Xander didn’t like the way that Laisa was starting to narrow her eyes at him.

  At the same time, Tami just shrugged. “Genetic compatibility means that those issues aren’t usually a problem. Almost all gene-mods that can become stable enough for evolution are connected via some sort of ancestral species. It depends on the route that you take. Personally, I’m ready for my evolution, but I don’t want to cut off my path too early. So, I’m hoping to get a few more mods before I make the attempt.”

  Xander couldn’t get any more answers, not that his previous questions were truly addressed, before Tami was cut off by the team medic.

  “Captain! I think that’s enough for now. You know that the scholars and higher ranks won’t like you talking about this.” Laisa had reached out and put a hand over Tami’s mouth, now openly glaring at Xander. “You might not care about privacy, but there are still rules in place, and no one else on the team is cleared for that much information. The specifics for meeting evolutionary requirements are a military secret.”

  At that, Xander couldn’t help but frown. He hadn’t been made aware of that. Everyone he’d asked or tried to dig into for information had merely rebuffed him. Most would say that they didn’t have the info, or gave a straight-out response that it wasn’t something he needed to know yet.

  Not once had it been said that this information was secret.

  “Let’s stop there then.” He said and looked to the side. It seemed like Tami’s words had finally gotten the other’s attention. “I’m sure that, if the number of mods you have is relevant, then I’ll learn what I want in time. No need for our beautifully short captain to get in trouble on my account.”

  The rest of the team snickered at his description of Tami, who let out an indignant huff.

  “Keep up that attitude and you won’t even make it to the necessary number of gene-mods. I’ll just have to show you the difference between a proper genetic warrior, and a newbie like you, by myself.” The spunky team captain pointed to herself with her thumbs.

  At the same time Laisa didn’t stop looking at Xander with a narrowed gaze.

  “How about you show the difference with a different target?” Evel spoke up for the first time that day. The man usually kept quiet and simply observed the conversations between the others. “We’ve got company, and one of the outer ring teams has sent up a flare for help.”

  The hidden focus on the soldiers immediately rose to prominence. Their easy-going attitudes disappeared, and their faces set into more sullen and serious expressions. Their truck came to a stop, and all of them rose to their feet. Weapons were drawn and armor was donned.

  Even Tami’s brightly burning playfulness had disappeared, like a fire doused by a bucket of water.

  “Xander, you stay back for now. Only after the stronger betas and the alpha have been killed are you to enter the fight. Stragglers that the first line defenses let through are fine, but you are not to leave the immediate area surrounding the convoy. Understood?”

  He didn’t reply right away, listening in on the fights that seemed to be getting closer and closer.

  Suddenly, an air rending and cacophonous howl passed over them, nearly bringing all of them to their knees.

  The only one still standing was Tami, who stepped over and reached up before Xander could stand up straight. He was nearly brought back onto the floor with how hard the shorter woman had pulled him down.

  “Stay. Near. The convoy. Understood?” Her words were short and sharp.

  A formless pressure seemed to bare down on Xander’s entire body. One that made his heart race as a cold sweat broke out on his back.

  “Understood.”

  She released him a moment later, and Xander realized that he had barely been breathing when she had grabbed him. That strange sense of overwhelming fear, like a mouse staring up at a hungry cat, disappeared, and he immediately gasped for air.

  “Laisa, you’re with us this time. If that howl was what I think it was, we can’t afford to keep you out of it. Your toxins and other tinctures will be needed.” With that said, Tami opened the armored hatch at the back of the truck.

  A swing of arm released a glowing red extendable spear that cut through a hairless jackal-looking beast that had jumped toward her. “Let’s get moving people!”

  As one, Xander’s new friends rushed out and began cutting their way through the numerous mutant canines that had been let through by the first defensive line.

  Reaching over to the side of the truck, Xander pulled his own spear off one of the racks near the roof. It wasn’t glowing hot like Tami’s was, but it provided better reach than the knife had.

  With a jerk of his other arm, his shield unfolded, and he stepped out of the truck and into the fray once more.

  This time, he moved to team up with a few of the other lower ranked soldiers that weren’t deployed to the front line. Those with only 1 or 2 gene-mods, much like himself.

  From there, he allowed himself to fall into a sense of Zen, never noticing as his regeneration seemed to work faster and faster as the battle wore on.

  A sense of pride and rightness filled his body, as he seemingly relaxed more and more with every lethal blow he deflected into somewhere less deadly on his body.

  His instincts blared at him, creating the same warmth that turned into a burning rage just a few days ago. This time, he clamped down on it, even as those instincts roared in the back of his mind, screaming to be let out.

  I see. He couldn’t help but reflect on these feelings as he fought alongside the other soldiers. This is what Tami meant by following one’s instincts... But how could such rage come from a prey creature like the Millennium Starlight Gecko? It’s practically at the bottom of the food chain.

  “Xander! Focus!” One of the soldiers, whose face was obscured by their helmet, pulled him from his musing. His anger flared for a moment, but it was directed at himself, rather than the man who had called him out.

  Swinging wide, Xander cut through another jackal beast. It fell to the side with a whimper, and he followed up with a downward jab, stabbing through its ribs with ease.

  “Sorry about that. It won’t happen again.” He shook his head before nodding at the soldier next to him.

  He received a nod in response. From there, he worked with others to clear out the stragglers that had been let through to the convoy.

  It was apparent that this pack was much larger, however, because it was nearly an hour later that the fighting finally died down.

  But that wasn’t the end of things for them.

  “All forces!” Gerome’s voice cut through the regrouping soldiers and scholars. “Repair what we can, but we leave in no more than an hour. Double time. We need to reach those ruins by tomorrow.”

  The other soldiers groaned at the rushed pace, but Xander saw something that he didn’t think anyone else noticed on the geneticist’s face.

  It was a frown, but one that wasn’t directed at them, or the fallen members of their convoy.

  Instead, it seemed to be directed at something in the distance.

  Continuing to delve into his new instincts, Xander couldn’t help but get chills, just like the ones that Tami could force from him when she exerted her dominance.

  At that moment, he could tell that something much bigger was getting closer to them. Something that Gerome thought only the ruins might shelter them from.