The steady rhythm of wheels grinding against stone began to slow, each rotation softer, more deliberate, and Zora didn't need to hear Ifas pulling back the horizontal slit to know they were getting close to their destination.

"We're almost there, men. Get your masks straight."

Zora cracked his neck, placing his staff in an underseat compartment and giving it a mental farewell for the time being. He didn't know how long he'd be infiltrating the academy for, but he couldn't very well bring his iconic staff into the institution—he'd be discovered in a heartbeat—so, very reluctantly, he had to leave his most prized possession with Ifas. So did Enki have to leave his rifle here.

It's not that big a problem even if I don't have the staff with me, but still…

He called up his interface as he sat up straight, focusing on the words and numbers that came up in his head.

[// STATUS]

[Name: Zora Fabre]

[Grade: B-Rank Mutant-Class]

[Specialized Class: Magicicada]

[Passive Mutation: Resilin Cords]

[Swarmblood Art: God Tongue]

[Aura: 4,872]

[Points: 1,359]

[Strength: 6, Speed: 5, Toughness: 5, Dexterity: 5, Perception: 8]

[// MUTATION TREE]

[T1 Mutation | Pulsatile Lungs Lvl. 4]

[T2 Mutations | Sonorous Chitin Lvl. 5 | Shielding Spiracles Lvl. 5]

[T3 Mutations | Basic Digestion Lvl. 2 | Basic Wings Lvl. 3 | Basic Setae Lvl. 2]

[T4 Mutations | Basic Reflux | Basic Abdovoid Lvl. 1 | Basic Tympana Lvl. 2 | Basic Dormancy] 500P

Killing the final set of Mutant-Classes had certainly yielded him a fair amount of points. Most of it had gone to Enki—seeing as he was the one who'd dealt most of the finishing blows—and one Mutant-Class' worth had also gone to Kita for her troubles, but even the leftovers were enough for Zora to unlock his remaining tier four mutations.

Considering where he was going, it may be a smarter idea to strengthen what he already had instead of unlocking more mutations, but also considering what 'Basic Reflux' and 'Basic Dormancy' did, he didn't think they were mutations that'd make him look even more conspicuous than he already was.

And it's just to get the tier fours out of the way so I can see what my tier fives are.

Unlock 'Basic Reflux' and 'Basic Dormancy', level them to three, then put the rest of the points into 'Basic Abdovoid' and 'Basic Tympana' evenly.

[T4 Core Mutation Unlocked: Basic Reflux Lvl. 3]

[Brief Description: Your blood circulation has adapted to rapidly redirect internal fluids, allowing you to regulate body pressure and temperature more efficiently, enhancing stamina recovery and preventing dehydration. Subsequent levels will further increase your ability to regulate internal pressure and temperature]

[T4 Core Mutation Unlocked: Basic Dormancy Lvl. 3]

[Brief Description: You can enter a deep slumber state, allowing you to heal and recover your stamina at an accelerated rate. However, you are exceptionally vulnerable during the slumber. Subsequent levels in this mutation will increase the rate of healing and stamina regeneration in the slumber state]

[Basic Abdovoid Lvl. 1 → Basic Abdovoid Lvl. 4]

[Basic Tympana Lvl. 2 → Basic Tympana Lvl. 4]

[Points: 1,359 vBe → 3 vBe]

So I no longer overheat as quickly like I did on that train, and I heal faster when I'm sleeping?

They were useful tier four mutations, if nothing else, and the Royal Ayapcha Military Academy was well-known for its meals, which were point-rich meals catered to students from every corner of the empire. He'd surely get enough over the course of his infiltration to raise some of his mutations to branch mutations, so he wasn't worried about that.

Rather, he immediately turned his focus onto his newly visible line of tier five mutations.

[T5 Mutations | Visual Acoustics | Echo Chamber | Teneral Adaptation | Dissonance | Broodborn Synchrony] 1000P

… Interesting-sounding, to say the least.

Just as he was about to pull up their brief descriptions, he noticed Enki staring off into the wall behind his head.

"What about you?" he asked casually, tilting his head. The boy didn't move much. "Your Whiteworm Class is already specialized like mine, so neither of us are in a hurry to unlock all our tier five mutations for a class mutation, but seeing as you've already unlocked all of your tier fives, what do you use your points for now?"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Enki didn't turn as he responded, "Attribute levels."

"Just attribute levels?"

"Sometimes mutation levels if I think they are necessary."

Zora huffed, a low, amusing sound. "Sounds boring to only be able to increase your physicality from now on."

A pause, then, "Not when I lose attribute levels every time I create and lose a clone."

Ah.

Right.

Zora tapped his knee thoughtfully, filing that away again. He'd forgotten Enki's clones were a greater point sink than any other mutation in any class he'd heard of. The boy needed a constant supply of points if he wanted to maintain his clones.

And I shouldn't be one to say his use of points is 'boring', hm?

Enki's strength, like his own, wasn't in an elaborate web of mutations or secondary abilities. Their power was mostly frontloaded in their extremely versatile Arts; their mutations were more like tools to support the weight. Points were useful for them, but perhaps not more efficient than someone with, say, a Standard Ant Class with room left to grow and mutate into a more Advanced and Specialized Class.

Right as he was about to get back to checking up on his tier five mutations, though, Ifas called back through the horizontal slit in the wall again.

"We're in the Divine Capital. Look a bit sharper for students of the Royal Military Academy, eh?"

Zora straightened his spine as he automatically reached to adjust his ornate anti-chitin mask, fingers brushing the edges as if it could sharpen his hearing even further.

The Divine Capital.

Blindness never left him wanting for sight. The world made itself known in other ways. In the outer regions of the empire, the air carried a natural song—a constant whisper of the wild, mostly due to the colossal fungi forests that stretched between every village, town, and city—but here, the city breathed differently. It was packed and bustling, a heart beating too loud, and right outside, footsteps fell dense and layered. A million voices tangled with sharp clicks of heels and heavy boots.

If he had to describe it, he would say the Capital thrummed with the weight of confidence.

It was confident it would never fall to the Swarm.

He tilted his head slightly, listening beyond the carriage. One sound loomed in his mind above all. Far off, but not far enough, there was the gentle groan of something vast. A living giant. A memory stirred, and he knew what it was immediately: one of the Five Divine Trees of the Attini Empire. It was a colossal mushroom towering somewhere at the city's heart, and its roots dug deep into the land, holding the Capital together by sheer will of existence. People said the roots of the Five Divine Trees scattered across the empire kept the earth from folding in on itself. He believed it. He'd seen two of them on his way down the south over the past two years, but he'd never been this close to one before.

And to think the titanic bugs in the northeastern Rampaging Hinterland Front are supposed to be that big as well…

But higher still, enclosing the Divine Capital, were the walls. 'The Earthen Walls'. They were hundred-metre-tall monoliths of earth, circling the city like the rim of a bowl and separating it from the rest of the empire—and the chaos beyond.

His ears picked up Enki's breathing, and he knew the boy was staring at the southern walls. Supposedly, there lay the choke point—a narrow hundred-metre-wide gap in the wall—where southern humanity's line was drawn again and again. After all, the Divine Capital stood at the very southernmost tip of the continent, and that little chokepoint was the only thing standing between the endless waves of Swarm and the entire southern end of the continent. There were other ways to get into the southern end of the continent, but they were much more defensible positions than the funnel the Attini Empire had artificially created to lure the Swarm in.

They called the chokepoint the K'atunka—the 'World End Battlefront'—and even now, it roared in the distance. Constant artillery fire thumped from the ramparts of the Earthen Walls, never-ending, never-ceasing, and while he was quite distant from the southern walls, still, he could hear the faint thumps of hundreds of bioarcanic shells being flung into the sky every minute.

The empire's strongest warriors are gathered at the World End Battlefront as well.

The Empress' Spore Knights.

Another hour passed beneath the shadow of the Divine Capital's restless sprawl. Zora sat still, letting the noise of it all fill him.

The city itself wasn't like the borderlands he'd walked for months. It was too 'bright', too clean, and far too proud. Here, even the cobbles seemed smug beneath the carriage's wheels, and his ears picked up the clash of polished shoes, sharp ceremonial heels, the shuffle of robes that rustled like silk leaves, and the quiet clink of fine jewelry worn openly, unbothered by the weight of suffering in every other part of the empire.

These people were untouched. Not by the Swarm, nor by fear. They wore their mutations like medals: armoured limbs and chitinous adornments integrated into their feathery, fine silk fashion. There was laughter in the markets and shops he passed by, but it all felt tight and controlled, not the wild, hearty kind he could find in slum taverns or marching camps in the outer regions. Maybe it was the lack of flora—the lack of giant mushrooms rooted like trees on the sidewalks—that made it all feel 'dry' and barren.

The carriage finally rolled to a halt.

"We're here," Ifas called.

Wasting no time, Zora and Enki pushed their way out of the carriage, and before them stretched the Royal Ayapacha Military Academy.

If Zora had to describe it, it was more like a fortress and a university district rolled into one than a normal school. In a way, the vastness of it reminded him of Amadeus Academy. Even just at the gates where streams of giant ant-pulled carriages pulled to a stop by the guardhouse, he could hear dozens of giant buildings cluttered together within the premises. It really wasn't a place just about anyone could afford to get into. Just getting past the massive wrought iron gates surrounding the entire academy would require pedigree most men in the empire couldn't get in multiple generations.

Enki lingered at his side, silent as ever. Zora could feel the boy's attention still fixed southward, towards the World End Battlefront, but they had work to do here.

"Let's go," Zora murmured, adjusting his mask one last time.

Ifas had pulled his carriage to a halt right before the guardhouse at the end of the turning yard. They shared the road with about twenty other carriages at this evening hour, which meant they passed by all sorts of people: officers barking orders to carriages to move along swiftly, patrolling soldiers marching in disciplined lines, and Noble-Blood students entering and exiting the academy with their flowing capes and elaborate ant-chitin accessories.

Most people cast a strange look at him and Enki as they passed by, but nobody stopped to question them until they stopped right at the guardhouse.

"Identification documents, please," the guard said, standing in front of them with a rifle rested against his shoulder.

Zora smiled, reached into his uniform, and handed over the folded papers with the seal pressed carefully. While the man inspected them, another guard exited the guardhouse behind him and headed towards Ifas, who was still lounging in his driver's seat.

"You there, driver—letter for you."

Ifas rustled in his seat, frowning as he took the envelope. Zora listened, noting the stiffness in the driver's breath as he unfolded it, but before he could think much of it, the guard in front of him handed their documents back.

"You're cleared. Welcome to the Royal Ayapacha Military Academy."

Baya really did his work forging our identities. Zora dipped his head in acknowledgment. "Much obliged."

Turning, he caught Ifas still staring at the letter in his hands.

"We'll be seeing you again, I hope?" Zora said.

Ifas chuckled without looking. "Oh, I'll be around."

A bit cryptic, but Zora wasn't about to press the driver on what that letter entailed.

He stepped past the gates with Enki at his side.

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