Chapter 206 - 201: The Road Beyond Ravencross
The morning after the collapse of the bathhouse felt strangely normal.
That was what bothered John the most.
People were already talking about what had happened.
Some said an old building had collapsed because of unstable foundations.
Others claimed a monster had somehow gotten underneath the city.
A few adventurers were already exaggerating the story.
By noon, there were rumors that a dragon had attacked Ravencross.
John almost laughed when he heard that.
Almost.
He was sitting near the window of the inn, listening to the noise outside.
Across the room, Darius was sorting the rescued prisoners’ belongings.
Sylvara was checking on the injured.
Aerion was eating.
And Specimen 001 was sitting outside in an empty courtyard because there was absolutely no way the creature could fit comfortably inside the inn.
Lythriel walked over and dropped into the chair opposite John.
"You look terrible."
"Good morning to you too."
"You didn’t sleep."
"Neither did you."
"I slept more than you."
John looked at her.
"That’s not difficult."
She smiled.
For a moment, neither said anything.
Then Lythriel’s expression became serious.
"Are you thinking about what happened underground?"
"Partly."
"The voice?"
John looked toward the window.
"Yeah."
She waited.
John didn’t continue.
Lythriel sighed.
"You don’t have to tell me."
"I know."
She looked at him for another moment.
"But something changed after that, didn’t it?"
John slowly nodded.
"When it spoke to me, it knew I wasn’t from this world."
Lythriel’s eyes narrowed.
"How could it know?"
"I don’t know."
"Did Veyr know?"
"No."
"Then whatever was beneath the facility knew something that Veyr didn’t."
"That’s what worries me."
Lythriel leaned back.
"So what are you going to do?"
John looked toward the road outside.
"Leave."
She blinked.
"Leave Ravencross?"
"Yes."
"That soon?"
"The Project Evolve facilities are still out there. We have locations, but we’ve already made ourselves a target here."
Lythriel nodded.
"And there’s something else."
John looked at her.
"The thing beneath Ravencross wasn’t connected to this city."
She frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The facility was built around it. Project Evolve discovered it and tried to use it."
John tapped the table.
"But the thing itself was much older."
"So?"
"So I don’t think destroying Veyr’s operation solves the real problem."
Lythriel understood.
"You think there are more places like this."
"Exactly."
---
Darius joined them a few minutes later.
"I’ve finished."
John looked up.
"How are the prisoners?"
"Most are recovering. The guild has arranged temporary housing."
"Good."
Darius sat down.
"There is something else."
He placed a map on the table.
John recognized the markings.
The locations from Project Evolve.
"There are five facilities."
"Five?"
"That we know of."
John studied the map.
One was in the Silverwood.
One beneath Ravencross.
The others were spread across the region.
But one location caught his attention.
A small mark far to the west.
"What’s this?"
Darius pointed.
"An old mining settlement."
"Still active?"
"No."
"Why did they build a facility there?"
"We don’t know."
John stared at the map.
"Then that’s where we’re going."
Darius nodded.
"I thought you’d say that."
Lythriel looked at him.
"You’re really not going to take a break, are you?"
John smiled.
"We’ll take one."
"When?"
"On the road."
She rolled her eyes.
---
They left Ravencross two days later.
The rescued prisoners had been transferred to the guild’s care.
The evidence had been copied.
And the surviving members of Project Evolve had disappeared.
Nobody knew where Lord Veyr had gone.
John suspected he hadn’t survived the collapse.
But he wasn’t completely convinced.
People like Veyr rarely disappeared without preparing an escape route.
The group traveled west.
This time, they weren’t entering a dangerous forest.
There was no immediate quest.
No urgent mission.
Just a road.
And for the first few days, that was exactly what John wanted.
They passed through several small villages.
They bought food.
Repaired equipment.
Talked to locals.
Nothing strange happened.
It was almost peaceful.
Specimen 001 attracted attention wherever they went.
Most people assumed it was some strange monster that John had somehow tamed.
John didn’t bother correcting them.
One afternoon, a group of children followed the creature for almost a kilometer.
Eventually, Specimen 001 stopped.
The children stopped too.
One little boy raised his hand.
"Can I touch you?"
The creature looked at John.
John shrugged.
"I don’t think it’ll bite."
Specimen 001 lowered its head.
The boy cautiously touched its scales.
His face lit up.
"It’s warm!"
Another child ran forward.
Then another.
Within seconds, several children were surrounding the creature.
John laughed.
"Looks like you’ve made friends."
**They are strange creatures.**
"They’re children."
**Exactly.**
John smiled.
For once, Specimen 001 looked almost comfortable.
---
That evening, they camped beside a river.
Aerion started a fire.
Sylvara prepared dinner.
Darius studied the map.
Lythriel sat beside John.
Specimen 001 rested near the trees.
The atmosphere was relaxed.
Then Aerion spoke.
"So..."
John looked at him.
"What’s up?"
"Where are we actually going?"
"The abandoned mining settlement."
"I know that."
Aerion pointed at the map.
"But what’s after that?"
John paused.
"I don’t know."
Aerion looked surprised.
"You don’t?"
"No."
John stared at the fire.
"We’ll figure it out."
Darius smiled.
"That’s probably the first sensible thing you’ve said all week."
John threw a small piece of wood at him.
Darius caught it.
Everyone laughed.
For a while, there was no talk of Project Evolve.
No ancient entities.
No hidden facilities.
Just friends sitting around a campfire.
John realized how much he had missed moments like this.
Then something moved across the river.
John’s head turned.
The others noticed.
"What is it?" Lythriel asked.
John stood.
"Probably nothing."
He focused his senses.
There was a presence.
Small.
Weak.
But moving quickly.
Something emerged from the bushes.
A young girl.
She was covered in dirt.
Her clothes were torn.
She stumbled toward the camp.
"Help..."
Then she collapsed.
Sylvara immediately ran to her.
"She’s alive."
Lythriel knelt beside her.
"What happened?"
The girl was barely conscious.
"Please..."
Her eyes opened.
"They’re coming."
John’s expression changed.
"Who?"
The girl grabbed Sylvara’s arm.
"The hunters."
John looked toward the forest.
"What hunters?"
The girl tried to speak.
But then—
An arrow struck the ground beside her.
John moved instantly.
"Down!"
Everyone dropped.
Three more arrows flew across the camp.
Aerion grabbed his weapon.
Darius raised a barrier.
John stared into the trees.
Figures were moving between them.
Not monsters.
People.
Hunters.
But their movements were too organized.
John recognized the equipment.
Black armor.
No insignia.
His expression hardened.
Project Evolve.
Or someone connected to them.
"How did they find us?"
Darius asked.
John didn’t answer.
He looked at the girl.
Then at the forest.
"We were followed."
A voice called from the darkness.
"Hand over the girl."
John stepped forward.
"No."
The voice responded.
"She doesn’t belong to you."
John drew his sword.
"Neither do you."
Several figures emerged.
There were eight.
Their weapons were enchanted.
Their armor was designed for fighting monsters.
One of them stepped forward.
"You’ve interfered with our organization twice already."
John stared.
"So you know who we are."
"We know enough."
The hunter raised his weapon.
"You destroyed our facility."
John smiled faintly.
"And you’re here to avenge it?"
"No."
The hunter’s answer surprised him.
"We’re here because of her."
John glanced at the unconscious girl.
"What makes her so important?"
The hunter didn’t answer.
Specimen 001 suddenly stood.
Its golden eyes focused on the girl.
Then its expression changed.
**John.**
"What?"
**She is not human.**
Everyone went silent.
John looked at the girl.
She appeared completely human.
Small.
Frightened.
Injured.
"What do you mean?"
Specimen 001 stepped closer.
**There is something inside her.**
The hunter immediately shouted.
"Don’t let the creature touch her!"
John looked back.
That reaction told him enough.
Whatever was inside the girl—
They were afraid of it.
John raised his sword.
"Everyone stay behind me."
The hunters charged.
---
The first one reached John.
He blocked the attack.
The hunter’s weapon was heavier than expected.
John twisted his wrist and knocked the sword away.
Another attacked from the side.
Lythriel intercepted him.
Her blade struck his armor.
He staggered.
Aerion charged into the group.
Darius cast a barrier around Sylvara and the girl.
The fight erupted around the campsite.
John moved quickly.
He wasn’t using his strongest abilities.
There was no need.
These people were skilled, but they weren’t on the same level as the strongest enemies he’d fought before.
One tried to escape toward the girl.
Specimen 001 blocked his path.
The hunter froze.
The creature lowered its head.
**Leave.**
The man attacked.
Specimen 001 caught his weapon in its jaws.
The metal shattered.
The hunter stared.
Then the creature knocked him unconscious.
Within minutes, the remaining hunters were defeated.
John looked around.
Nobody in his group was seriously injured.
He turned toward the girl.
She was awake.
And staring directly at Specimen 001.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
The creature stared back.
John noticed something strange.
The girl’s eyes briefly glowed.
A faint golden light.
Then it disappeared.
Specimen 001 took one step toward her.
**You.**
The girl whispered something.
John couldn’t hear it.
"What did you say?"
She looked at him.
"I know that creature."
John froze.
Specimen 001 didn’t move.
The girl continued.
"My father told me stories about him."
John looked at the creature.
"Your father?"
She nodded.
"He said the first specimen wasn’t created by humans."
Darius’s expression changed.
"Then who created it?"
The girl looked toward the western mountains.
"I don’t know."
She paused.
"But my father said they found him."
John frowned.
"Found him where?"
The girl slowly raised her hand.
And pointed west.
"Inside the ruins beneath the old mining city."
John stared at the map.
The abandoned settlement.
The location they’d been traveling toward.
He suddenly understood.
Project Evolve hadn’t discovered Specimen 001 in the Silverwood.
They had found it somewhere else.
And the mining settlement might contain the answer to where it came from.
The girl looked at John.
"They’re going there now."
"Who?"
"The people who took my father."
John’s expression hardened.
"When?"
She looked toward the mountains.
"Yesterday."
John glanced at Darius.
The old mining settlement was no longer just another abandoned Project Evolve site.
Someone was already there.
And whatever secret had created Specimen 001...
They were searching for it.
John picked up his sword.
"Then we’re changing our plans."
Lythriel looked at him.
"Still taking a break?"
John smiled.
"Apparently not."
Specimen 001 looked toward the mountains.
For the first time since they had met it, the creature seemed genuinely uneasy.
**I remember those ruins.**
John looked at it.
"You’ve been there?"
The creature nodded.
**And I remember what was waiting beneath them.**
The fire suddenly went out.
Nobody had touched it.
The night became completely dark.
Then Specimen 001 whispered:
**We should not go there.**
John stared toward the mountains.
And despite the warning...
He knew they had to.
Because whatever was waiting beneath those ruins might finally answer the question that had been following him since the moment he arrived in this world.
Why had he come here?
And why did ancient things keep recognizing him?
The journey west had just become something far more important than another investigation.
It was the beginning of a new arc.
---
100 ps = 1 extra Chapter
200 ps = 2 Extra Chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter