The forest was eerily quiet by the time Akhil and Aria got to the camp.
Several fires were dying, and smoke was rising from them. The flames cast a soft orange light over the clearing where the orcs had gathered.
What they saw was bad. The orcs used to be fierce, loud, and restless, but now they were sitting in groups with heavy, laboured breathing.
The smell of wet dirt, sweat, and metal was in the air. A few of them coughed, and dark, thick blood splattered on the ground. Their skin had faint purple lines that pulsed under the surface and glowed faintly when they were in pain.
Even for Akhil, who had seen his share of horrors since the game began, it was difficult to watch.
Some were missing fingers. Others had torn clothes that stuck to half-healed wounds. A few younger ones sat apart, trembling, whispering quietly to each other in their guttural tongue — voices small and afraid, like children lost in a nightmare.
'It's spreading,' Akhil thought grimly. 'The mutation's unstable... they're barely holding together.'
He'd seen signs of this before. Back in the game, players who experimented with gene-altering potions often lost control — their bodies twisted beyond saving. The same thing was happening here, only this time, it wasn't a player's choice.
The system had done it to them.
Aria walked past him and knelt beside one of the orcs — a young male whose arms had swollen to twice their normal size, veins throbbing as if something inside was pushing to break free. His breathing came in harsh, uneven gasps. She gently wiped his forehead with a damp cloth, her expression tight.
"It's getting worse," she murmured. "Half of them won't make it through the night."
Akhil didn't answer. He stood there quietly, his gaze sweeping across the camp. Gon was on the far side, speaking with a few orc warriors, his tone calm and commanding. The others looked to him with something close to trust. Akhil found that hard to do.
He folded his arms, staring at the dying fire in front of him.
'Even if I use the Gene Stabilizer... could it even help them? They're not human anymore. Their DNA's already rewritten.'
He clenched his fists slightly, the thought leaving a weight in his chest.
It would've been easier to leave. To move on like he always did. The logical part of him knew that staying here was a risk — that every second spent helping them was a second wasted before the next scenario started.
But logic didn't silence the guilt.
He looked again at the smallest of the orcs — a boy with sunken eyes and grayish skin, curled up beside an older female who tried to soothe him. His tusks were barely formed, his hands shaking as he tried to drink water from a wooden bowl.
Akhil turned away. His chest tightened.
He'd seen too many like that already. People caught in the system's cruelty, forced to survive a nightmare they didn't choose.
He sighed. "Maybe I'm just tired of watching everyone die."
"Thinking of running off again?"
Aria's voice broke through his thoughts. She had returned from tending to the sick, her hands stained faintly with dried blood. Her eyes caught the firelight, soft but searching.
"Not exactly," Akhil said, keeping his voice calm.
She tilted her head. "Then what?"
He looked out over the camp, the moonlight falling over the still bodies of the orcs. "I was just... thinking how unlucky they are. To be born into this kind of world, to mutate into something they never asked for. They didn't even get the choice."
Aria crossed her arms. "You sound like you pity them."
"I do," he replied quietly. "They were probably people like us once. Now they're caught between what they were and what the system turned them into."
For a long moment, neither spoke. The fire popped softly, sending sparks into the air. The night was still except for the distant hoot of a bird and the occasional groan of a dying orc.
Then Akhil turned slightly toward her. "You mentioned the serum earlier. The one everyone keeps talking about. Who told you about it?"
Aria hesitated, then answered, "Gon."
Akhil raised an eyebrow. "Figures."
She nodded slowly. "He said the humans have it — that they've been developing something to stabilize the mutations. Supposedly, if we can reach them, they'll help."
Akhil's tone stayed even. "Humans have it, huh?"
Aria glanced at him, noticing the faint edge in his voice. "It sounds strange to me as well. If they manufactured a serum to stabilize the mutation, that could only mean they expected it, right? But none of us did… or at least that's what it looks like. It would've made more sense if it was coming from the system itself. But I doubt something like that exists on the system. I've never seen anything called a serum, have you?"
Akhil's lips curved slightly, his expression unreadable.
"You'd be surprised if I told you I have."
She blinked. "You're serious?"
He nodded once. "Yeah. It's not exactly what you'd call a serum, but close enough — something that stabilizes gene expression, enhances strength for a short time. I found it in the system store. It's called Gene Stabilizer: Arc-Alpha."
Aria frowned. "That's… not something I've seen before."
"Because it's not common," Akhil said. "The system store's mostly identical for everyone, but sometimes, it offers specific items based on your traits, abilities, or... I don't know, how you're evolving."
Her eyes widened slightly. "So you're saying Gon lied?"
"I'm saying," Akhil replied carefully, "that if he truly believes the humans have a serum, either someone fed him false information… or he knows more than he's letting on."
Aria crossed her arms again, studying him. "You've been suspicious of him for a while, haven't you?"
Akhil gave a faint, dry laugh. "Guess it's that obvious?"
"Very," she said with a small smile. "You look at him like you're waiting for him to admit something he hasn't said yet."
He chuckled quietly. "Maybe I am."
The light from the campfire danced across his face, softening the lines of exhaustion there.
Aria's smile faded. "Even if you are right, we can't act on it. Not without proof."
"I know."
"So what are you going to do?"
Akhil met her gaze, his voice steady. "I'll get proof."
She frowned. "How?"
He turned slightly, eyes following Gon's distant figure across the camp. "Let's just say… the pieces are already moving."
She blinked, curiosity flickering in her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
Akhil's lips curved into a faint smile — one that didn't reach his eyes.
"You'll find out soon enough," he said, voice quiet but certain. "Because you'll be part of it."