Tideworm

Another midsummer had arrived. The azure sky was clear and spotless, and sunlight poured down like molten amber, gilding the edges of the abandoned port.

Sixteen-year-old Rosaline stood atop a watchtower that had partially collapsed, silently observing the ruined harbor below. The salty sea breeze brushed past her nose. Moss and ivy covered the tower walls beneath her, while dewdrops glittered in the sunlight.

Compared to the girl who had first arrived six years ago, she had undoubtedly become much more mature—and much more beautiful. Her figure had grown to nearly one point seven meters, making her a forehead taller than the teacher she had once looked up to. The delicate roundness of her childlike face had faded, replaced by a calmness very similar to her teacher's, though with several more traces of vibrant life.

After looking down for a while, she propped her notebook against the rust-covered railing and lowered her head to start writing.

"Grayport City harbor district, Mutated Beetle gathering site... All are base type Aberrations of the beetle variety. No evolved types detected... Bodies rotten and covered in flesh... Primary attack methods: claw strikes and horn charges... Note: They all like to stay in dark places such as cargo containers and cracks in the breakwater. Beware of ambushes..."

A moment later, after recording all the observation data concerning the Mutated Beetles, Rosaline hummed an unknown little tune. Like a gust of wind, she left the top of the watchtower and drifted down to the abandoned streets of Grayport City.

Traveling around to observe and record information on all kinds of Aberrations was a long-term mission her teacher had assigned her at the end of last year.

The main reason was that, after years of practice and with a military-grade weapon at her side, Rosaline had completely gained the ability to survive alone in this wasteland. As such, she no longer needed to remain in certain restricted safe zones and could freely explore areas beyond the Central District, and even beyond Ish City.

Of course, there were still two dangerous areas she could not approach: the Ish Mountains and Luya City beyond them. These were two high-risk regions even her teacher was wary of. Having learned to think before acting, Rosaline naturally kept well away from them.

She stepped over rubble and broken stones, slowly making her way down the silent street. Sunlight carved the ruins' shadows into sharply defined shapes.

But in the very next instant, two enormous Tideworms suddenly burst from the shadows of the ruins beside her. They were Mutated Tideworms, over a meter long and covered in flesh. Their blood-red heads had no additional organs, only enormous abyssal mouths splitting wide from side to side and lined with sharp teeth. They became two foul-smelling black shadows as they lunged straight at the girl's head.

A clear look of surprise flashed across Rosaline's face, but she did not panic. Being attacked by a suddenly appearing Aberration while walking down the street was perfectly normal. She was already used to it.

Dark-red glowing runes suddenly surfaced across her skin and clothing. She immediately erupted with tremendous force, stomping hard against the ground. As she kicked cracks into the earth, she dodged to the side and avoided the fatal strike.

Then she smoothly drew the Alloy Combat Blade hanging diagonally at her waist in its metal sheath. Blue light swept through the air, and the two Mutated Tideworms burst apart like pouches filled with pus, spraying foul yellow bodily fluids everywhere. Rosaline, already prepared, immediately scattered them with Wind Control, leaving not a single drop on herself.

"Phew... Damn, no matter how many times this happens, it still startles me..." she muttered. She washed her beloved blade with a simple water spell, then returned it to its sheath.

Afterward, she lowered her head and looked at the two Tideworm corpses.

They were actually what people commonly called pill bugs, but their bodies were terrifyingly huge. The enormous mouths that had mutated on their heads were densely packed with hundreds of fine, sharp teeth. Even a child who had played with countless pill bugs would probably have been frightened into developing trypophobia here.

However, Rosaline was not staring at the corpses to desensitize herself. She had seen far too many disgusting Aberrations over the years. Two giant Tideworms were nothing special.

What truly puzzled her was that she had not discovered any Mutated Tideworms while exploring Grayport City last year. Now, however, they were becoming more and more numerous, as if they were rapidly breeding somewhere.

The key point was that Aberrations possessed terrifying regenerative abilities and seemingly endless lifespans so long as they continued eating. Yet when it came to reproduction, neither she nor her teacher had ever witnessed it. Their primary source still appeared to be wild animals breeding, then being infected and transformed by Aberrations in a repeating cycle.

So why were there more and more Mutated Tideworms in Grayport City? As a student and seeker of knowledge bearing her teacher's expectations, Rosaline felt it was her responsibility to investigate and find out.

I'll try gathering some clues first. If I discover danger, I'll retreat immediately and go back to inform my teacher...

She silently warned herself, then entered an alley and picked up the Magic Skateboard she had left there. Its runes lit up, and the skateboard moved forward soundlessly, carrying her through streets overgrown with iron ferns as she began advancing deeper into Grayport City.

Because she was flying close to the ground with little noise and was not conspicuously exposed in midair, Rosaline did not encounter much danger along the way.

However, as she drew near the harbor's central area, a dense, heart-pounding rustling sound and inhuman roars caught her attention.

Rosaline immediately controlled the skateboard to rise and landed on the roof of a nearby ruin that was still relatively intact. There, she saw a scene that shocked her—hundreds of Mutated Tideworms were advancing in a tight cluster, devouring every animal and Aberration they encountered along the way.

Afterward, the Tideworms that had eaten their fill immediately returned to their original positions. None of their companions attacked them, while the other Tideworms continued surging onward, toward who knew where.

Rosaline froze. This group of Aberrations actually knew how to move together, had a unified objective, and did not attack one another at all!

This was completely inconsistent with her impression of base type Aberrations as "mindless killing machines without self-awareness"!

Impossible. How could this happen? Could all of these be evolved types?

Rosaline's brows knitted tightly, and an intense sense of eeriness and unease rose within her.

According to her teacher's classification, Aberrations were generally divided into two levels.

The lowest level was called "base type Aberrations," or "base types" for short. Their characteristics were mutated heads, exposed flesh, deformed heads, and a lack of self-awareness. They attacked their own kind and ate everything in front of them.

The higher level was called "evolved types." Their characteristics included less exposed flesh, newly evolved offensive or defensive organs, and the possession of a relatively weak biological instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm.

Rosaline had dealt with both levels over the years.

Base types were the most numerous and were often killed instantly by her, just like the Tideworms earlier. Evolved types, meanwhile, were rare, and their strength varied greatly. Powerful evolved types could chase Rosaline into fleeing in all directions, forcing her to keep her distance, while weaker ones were only slightly more troublesome than base types.

But this swarm...

If they were base types, they could recognize their companions and did not attack one another. If they were evolved types, setting aside their thousands upon thousands of members, their mutations were limited to their heads and the large patches of flesh covering their skin. Their external characteristics were completely those of base types.

Why was this happening? Could this be a unique trait of Mutated Tideworms, allowing them to distinguish their companions through some kind of pheromone?

But if so, why did the Aberrations of other insect species lack this ability?

Moreover, the direction in which the members that had just finished feeding retreated was the Ish Mountains. That was one of the two places on Ish Island her teacher had once solemnly warned her never to approach!

Could this be related to the danger within the Ish Mountains?

At this thought, Rosaline had already begun considering retreating. To be safe, I'll go back and find my teacher first!

But just as she was about to step onto the skateboard and fly back to Ish City, a gaze filled with malice suddenly triggered her vigilance.

She immediately raised her head and saw a pitch-black humanoid shadow standing on the roof of a ruined building not far away, staring directly at her.

It was a humanoid Aberration clad in black scales, and without a doubt, it was a top-tier evolved type! Four pairs of dragonfly-like wings grew from its back. Two sharp bone blades extended from the ends of its arms. Its pitch-black face looked as though it wore an iron-shell mask with enormous gray-white compound eyes, though the rough outline of humanlike facial features could still just barely be made out.

Such... such a high degree of evolution... It's probably the most highly evolved Aberration among all the evolved types I've seen, and it's ahead by an entire tier...

Rosaline's mood sank. Her sharply jointed right hand slowly moved toward the Alloy Combat Blade at her waist as she prepared to fight while retreating.

According to her teacher's judgment, among all biological Aberrations, the less exposed flesh they had, the higher their degree of evolution. A monster that had completely concealed all its external flesh stood at the very pinnacle of the Aberrations. Even if her teacher came, they would have to face it with all their strength.

Rosaline drew the Alloy Combat Blade and retreated bit by bit, trying to reach the Magic Skateboard. To her surprise, however, the humanoid Aberration standing high above her on the rooftop made no attempt to stop her escape, as though it were merely watching a play unrelated to itself.

Why isn't it attacking? Rosaline grew even more wary and confused. She even suspected that its vision might be limited—that although it appeared to be looking at her, it might not actually be able to see very far.

But at that moment, she suddenly saw the humanoid Aberration's mouth slowly curl upward as it looked down at her, forming a tiny, contemptuous, maliciously humanlike arc.

Was that... a smile?

Rosaline wondered if she had seen it incorrectly. But in the instant she blinked, the humanoid Aberration's figure abruptly vanished from the rooftop, as though it had never existed.