BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Erik came out of the jungle onto the windswept beach, his boots sinking into the soft sand and leaving mud prints on it.

He sighed.

<At least the ocean is still here. I was starting to worry it might have disappeared too.>

[Wow, someone's feeling extra dramatic today! Want me to check if the sky is still up there too?] the system said.

<Your sense of humor needs calibration,> Erik said.

The ocean lay in front of him. The waves hit the beach over and over. He had spent days walking along the coast and searching inside the forest, looking for any clues about where his friends had landed.

<I hope they are ok.>

[I bet they are…]

Something then caught his eye in the distance.

<Is that…?>

In front of Erik were what looked like large depressions in the sand. They were too regular to be natural.

<System, those marks... do they look like landing sites to you?>

The system paused a little to examine the impressions.

[Yes, definitely wyvern tracks. And not just one or two—there are multiple landing zones spread across the beach.]

Erik quickened his pace, moving closer to investigate. The marks became clearer as he approached—massive claw prints and wing impressions pressed deep into the sand, preserved by the salty air.

However, the wind wasn't helping and was slowly moving the sand away, erasing any trace of the creatures that made them.

Yet the tracks were enough to fill Erik's heart. Maybe, just maybe, he finally found what he came searching for. His worried face relaxed, and for the first time in days, he managed a genuine smile.

The wrinkles on his forehead smoothed out, and his eyes lit up with fresh hope. For the first time on this coastline, Erik's burden lightened.

<How many would you estimate landed here?> He asked as he observed the tracks.

[Based on the distribution pattern and density of tracks... I'd say around 500 creatures. I assume they are the Chimaeric Demons since there is no way for a group of wyverns this large to exist. Wyverns are solitary creatures, after all.]

The system paused. [The impressions cover around 3 kilometers of beach, and the patterns suggest they arrived in waves.]

Relief flooded through Erik. Five hundred clones meant significant fighting power, enough to establish a defensive position and protect the others. His shoulders relaxed slightly, the second good news he'd had since arriving on Mur.

He examined the tracks carefully, moving his gaze from left to right across the beach. The marks were most visible near the waterline but far enough so that the water didn't erase them.

Following the trail, he noticed a clear pattern change. The wyvern claw marks morphed into smaller human footprints as they neared the trees, confirming that multiple people had changed from flying creatures to walking humans.

The human footprints confirmed these were definitely the Chimaeric Demons, removing any doubt Erik or the system might have had about the tracks' origin.

[They probably changed back to human shape to save their strength and to move without being noticed.]

Following the tracks with his eyes, Erik saw they led into the forest, exactly as expected. However, looking at the sand, he couldn't pick out Amber's, Mira's, or Emily's footprints among the hundreds of others. Too many people had walked this way.

<I can't confirm if they actually made it,> he thought. The tracks showed his clones survived the crossing but gave no evidence of his women.

[The clones would have protected them during the crossing,] the system said, sensing his concern. [And the footprints suggest organized movement, not panic or combat. That's a good sign.]

Erik nodded, but the worry remained. The tracks led away from the beach, heading into the forest that loomed beyond the sand.

It was a logical choice—one he made himself when he arrived. The open beach left them exposed to flying thaids, and if they were as deadly as the Three-headed Void Ravagers. Erik would have no way to survive.

The forest hid them from flying thaids and formed a natural barrier against anything hunting from above.

A high-pitched shriek cut through the air from somewhere in the clouds, reminding Erik he needed to leave the area quickly.

<Better get the hell out of it.> Erik didn't waste time—he broke into a run, following the tracks into the treeline.

Though the ground was harder here, the recent rain made it muddy enough to see footprints. Erik could clearly see where many people had walked through, crushing plants and making an obvious path into the forest.

[They were smart to move inland quickly,] the system said. [The beach is basically a killing field for flying thaids.]

<Tell me something I don't know, for example, when did they come here?>

[Based on these tracks, I can tell they came through about four days ago. You can see it in how deep the footprints are and how rain and wind have worn them down.]

Erik checked around for threats as he advanced. The jungle here was nothing like Mannard's familiar forests.

The trees were massive, protected by thick, hardened bark that was able to withstand a lot of thaids attacks, aside from their weight.

Even the undergrowth was dangerous, but that was something that was also present on Mannard.

<Any sign of combat along their route?> Erik asked, noting how some branches had been broken, most likely when they passed from here.

[Nothing showing major battles,] the system said after analyzing the trails. The two moved deep into the forest at that point.

[I see signs of them resting occasionally. There were the remnants of some fires, most likely made not long after they landed to rest a little before going deeper into the forest. But no. There is no blood, no signs of fighting at all. They moved through carefully but weren't actively engaged.]

The situation looked promising. Erik picked up his pace to close the gap with the group, now four days ahead.

The trees grew denser, blocking more and more of the sun. At some point, mushrooms started growing. However, they were massive, as cartwheels sprouted from dead tree trunks.

[Be careful of those purple flowers,] the system said. [They release pollen that can paralyze you.]