I Can See Evolution Paths

The expedition had settled into a routine.

Every morning groups gathered at camp, professors assigned tasks, students collected herbs, small areas were mapped, Beast Tamers trained, researchers recorded plants and Beast behavior, and students returned before sunset.

By the fifth day, things that had stopped the entire first-year class on their first morning barely slowed them down anymore.

A Mirefang Raptor shifted inside the reeds.

Several students noticed it.

Nobody panicked.

One student simply pointed. "Raptor."

His Beast Partner glanced over.

"I see it."

The Mirefang stared at them for several seconds before disappearing back into the vegetation.

Sun watched it leave. "Remember when everyone almost attacked the first one we saw?"

Mithra smiled. "You mean when you almost attacked it?"

Sun immediately looked at her. "It appeared behind me."

Kong laughed. "Scared."

"I wasn’t scared."

"Scared."

Sun pointed at him. "We’ve been here for a week and you’re still saying that?"

Kong grinned. "Still true."

Arthur laughed as they continued walking.

Even the terrain had become easier. They knew which roots were safe to step on. Which flowers released irritating pollen. Which pools were deeper than they looked.

Eden suddenly stopped Arthur. "Wait!"

Arthur froze.

Eden proudly pointed toward a patch of purple grass. "Stinging Grass."

Arthur smiled. "Good."

Eden puffed out her chest.

Vedas walked around it. "You stepped in that three days ago."

Eden’s proud expression disappeared. "...That’s how I learned."

Arthur laughed.

They weren’t experts.

Not even close.

But the Everglades no longer felt completely unfamiliar.

On the sixth day Arthur was able to push Vedas to level 10. While Eden herself was more focused on exploring than fighting and so she remained at level 8. And the others also helped increase their own beasts’ level with Melo being the highest level at 19.

The biggest change was that students were no longer constantly looking around nervously. Some were joking, some complained about assignments, and some had already started competing over who discovered the most useful plants.

Arthur, however, was having the time of his life.

Arthur returned to camp carrying several strange plants.

Sun looked at him. "How many did you collect?"

Arthur looked down. "I don’t know."

Sun stared. "You don’t know?"

"I saw interesting ones."

Sun sighed. "That wasn’t the question."

Athena looked through the plants. "These three aren’t part of today’s assignment," she said.

Arthur nodded. "I know."

"Then why did you collect them?"

Arthur smiled. "They looked interesting."

Athena closed her eyes. "Of course."

Mithra laughed, and Vedas shook his head. "At least he’s consistent."

Not everyone’s progress was Arthur’s. A student successfully identified an herb they couldn’t recognize earlier, and another group returned after mapping a small waterway.

Someone proudly told their friends, "We found a safe route through the western marsh!"

Another student responded, "We already found that yesterday."

Professors also started praising students for teamwork.

While the students were traveling between areas, the sky suddenly became crowded, and Arthur looked upward as a flock of enormous Stormwing Manticores crossed the clouds, their wings generating faint arcs of electricity.

Eden’s eyes widened. "Arthur!"

Arthur looked up. "Whoa."

Athena immediately pulled out her notebook. "Stormwing Manticores," she said.

Sun looked at her. "You know those?"

"I’ve read about them."

Arthur grinned. "First time seeing one?"

Athena paused. "Yes."

Arthur smiled. "Then we’re both seeing something new."

Before they could continue, a roar came from above, and the students looked upward as one of the Stormwing Manticores suddenly dove. Something enormous burst from the clouds after it, a Cloudscale Serpent, its long body twisting through the sky, scales blending with the clouds.

Eden gasped. "What’s happening?"

Athena watched carefully. "They’re fighting," she said.

The two Beasts clashed high above the expedition, lightning flashing as the serpent coiled around the Manticore before the Manticore tore free, and the entire first-year group stopped to watch. Nobody moved, nobody spoke, every eye in the camp pulled skyward at once.

Someone shouted, "That’s incredible!"

Another student asked, "Are they fighting over territory?"

A professor answered, "Probably."

Arthur’s eyes shone. "Can we watch?"

Sun looked at him. "We’re already watching."

Arthur smiled. "Good."

Arthur noticed something. The Stormwing Manticore wasn’t trying to kill the serpent. It was trying to force it away.

Arthur said, "It’s protecting something."

Vedas looked at him. "How can you tell?"

Arthur pointed. "It keeps returning to the same area."

Athena watched, and he was right, the Manticore repeatedly driving the serpent away from one section of cloud.

Athena wrote it down. "Interesting," she said.

Arthur smiled as he continued watching. "Everything here has a reason."

But then he tilted his head. "Wait."

Athena stopped writing. "What?"

Arthur pointed toward the clouds. "The others aren’t helping."

Athena looked upward.

There were more than a dozen Stormwing Manticores circling nearby, yet not a single one joined the battle.

Sun frowned. "Maybe they’re cowards."

One of the Manticores immediately released a thunderous roar.

Sun paused. "...It heard me."

Mithra laughed.

Athena ignored them, watching the formation carefully. "He’s right. They’re deliberately staying away."

Vedas narrowed his eyes. "Territory?"

Arthur shook his head. "Maybe."

Then the fighting Manticore suddenly folded its wings and dropped through the clouds. For a fraction of a second, the clouds beneath it separated.

Arthur saw something.

A massive nest.

And inside—

several glowing blue objects.

Then the clouds closed.

Arthur’s eyes widened. "Eggs."

Athena immediately looked at him. "You saw them?"

Arthur nodded.

Eden pressed herself against his shoulder. "Baby Manticores?"

"Probably."

Vedas smiled. "So it really was protecting something."

"Amazing."

Eventually the Cloudscale Serpent retreated, and the Manticore followed for a short distance before returning, and the students cheered.

Eden was extremely excited. "That was amazing!"

Vedas laughed. "You liked that?"

Eden nodded enthusiastically. "I want to fly like that!"

Arthur looked at her. "You already fly."

Eden thought. "Like that."

Arthur laughed. "That’s harder."

Eden immediately looked determined. "Then I’ll get stronger."

Vedas smiled. "That’s the spirit."

...

Later, the Beast Partners relaxed around camp, the excitement from the fight overhead settling into the easy warmth of an evening that had become almost familiar by now.

Mithra placed a piece of cooked meat onto Melo’s plate.

Melo sniffed it.

Then looked at Mithra. "What?"

Melo sniffed it again. "Too burnt."

Mithra stared at her. "You ate three pieces already."

"I was being polite."

Sun nearly choked on his food.

Mithra slowly narrowed her silver eyes. "Polite?"

Melo nodded seriously. "Very."

Mithra picked up the plate. "Then I’ll give the rest to Kong."

Melo’s tails immediately wrapped around it.

"Wait."

Mithra smiled. "I thought it was burnt."

Melo pulled the plate closer. "I’ve reconsidered."

Kong looked over from his own food. "I can eat it."

Melo immediately turned away from him. "No."

"You said it was burnt."

"Mine."

Kong stared.

Melo stared back.

Eden whispered to Arthur, "Are they fighting?"

Arthur watched them. "I think they’re negotiating."

Vedas shook his head. "That’s not negotiating."

Mithra started laughing.

Kong ate steadily beside them.

Sun looked at him. "That’s your third meal."

Kong continued eating. "Training."

Sun stared. "How is eating training?"

Kong swallowed. "Strength."

Melo laughed. "That’s just eating."

Kong pointed toward her. "You eat too."

Melo looked offended. "I eat elegantly."

Vedas chuckled.

Eden immediately asked, "What’s elegantly?"

Melo lifted her head proudly. "Slowly."

Eden nodded. "I can do that." She immediately started eating quickly.

Arthur looked at her. "No, you can’t."

Eden pouted. "I can!"

Everyone laughed.

Athena now had multiple notebooks filled with Beast observations, plant classifications, mana density, weather patterns, maps, ancient markers, and strange behavior.

Arthur looked at her notes. "How much have you written?"

Athena closed the notebook slightly. "A lot."

Arthur smiled. "Can I see?"

"No."

Arthur blinked. "Why?"

"Because you’ll start asking questions."

"I always ask questions."

"Exactly."

Mithra laughed, and Athena reluctantly let him see one page. Arthur’s eyes widened. "You drew the Floating Pillar Turtle," he said.

Athena looked slightly embarrassed. "I wanted to record its structure," she said.

Arthur smiled. "It’s good."

Athena quietly said, "Thank you."

At night everyone gathered around the expedition camp, lanterns glowing, food being prepared, Beast Partners resting nearby, some sleeping, some eating, others talking. It was the same kind of quiet the camp had settled into every night that week, familiar enough now that nobody thought twice about it.

A student said, "I want to discover a new Beast species."

Another said, "I want to find an unexplored ruin."

Another said, "I’m going to bring back enough materials to buy a new weapon."

Someone laughed. "You’ve been saying that all week."

"I’ll do it!"

Someone eventually asked Arthur, "What about you?"

Arthur looked toward the dark forest. "What do I want?"

The student nodded.

Arthur thought, then smiled. "I want to see what’s deeper," he said.

Vedas immediately answered, "I knew you’d say that."

Arthur laughed.

Mithra smiled. "You haven’t even finished exploring the outer region."

"Exactly."

Sun shook his head. "That’s what worries me."

Eden raised her hand. "I want to go deeper too!"

Vedas looked at her. "Of course you do."

Athy smiled. "I’ll scout."

Athena closed her notebook. "I’ll map it."

Melo raised her tail. "I’ll look for interesting things."

Kong grinned. "I’ll fight."

Sun sighed. "And apparently I’ll be dragged along."

Arthur laughed. "Sounds like a team."

Eventually the conversations faded as students returned to their tents, Beast Partners settled down, the fire burned lower, and the Everglades became almost peaceful.

Arthur remained awake for a little longer, looking toward the forest. The ancient path from days before was somewhere out there. He knew it. But he didn’t investigate. Not tonight. For once, Arthur simply enjoyed the quiet.

Mithra noticed. "You aren’t going?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not tonight."

Mithra smiled. "You’re learning restraint."

Arthur grinned. "Don’t get used to it."

Arthur looked toward the forest. For some reason, his eyes drifted toward the direction of the ancient markers.

He couldn’t explain why.

Vedas noticed his expression. "You’re thinking about the path again."

Arthur nodded. "Maybe."

Vedas sighed. "I knew it."

Arthur smiled slightly. "I was planning to—"

SCREEEEEECH!

Arthur’s smile disappeared as the Beast screamed somewhere deep within the Everglades, and every student froze.

Then silence.

There was no other sound around the area except for the crackling of the flames. Even the Beasts they had heard every night for the past week had stopped. The whole camp seemed to hold its breath at once, waiting for the sound to come again, or for something worse to follow it.

Sun slowly looked around. "...Why did everything stop?"

Athena didn’t answer.

Neither did the professors.

Roland had already stood.

That was what finally wiped the remaining smiles from the students’ faces.

Eden quietly whispered, "Arthur."

Arthur didn’t answer and simply looked toward the forest. Something had happened. Nobody knew what. And unlike the other sounds they had heard throughout the week, this one had been different.

Arthur’s green eyes remained fixed on the darkness.

Then, very far away—

CRACK.

Something enormous moved between the trees.

And the forest went still again.