The Mutation (Part 1)

As soon as Alisha left the tent, Liam dropped his respectful and shaken facade. Imitating emotions was a child's play for him.

Thinking back to his conversation with Alisha, he couldn't get a read on her. The entire time, she was frank, cordial, and showed her friendly attitude. It was disturbing to know she helped him even after facing a lot of opposition.

Another thing bothering him was the last part of their discussion. She was hinting at her ability to read minds. He didn't think such a convenient skill existed as Lupa was sure to know it, but he wasn't positive.

Given the circumstances, it would be unwise to test the theory, and he could base his actions under the assumption it was true.

Pearl walked into the tent, interrupting his thoughts, and threw a bag at him. "Change into these clothes. I will take you to your friends."

She walked out without waiting for his reply. Her actions reinforced his opinion about the hostility he was about to face.

He dressed and went outside.

There was a sound-dampening spell around the tent, blocking the majority of sounds coming from outdoors. When he stepped out, the noises of pain and suffering hit him.

His sudden appearance startled the medics carrying an injured soldier.

"Get out of the way!"

One of them threw his arm out to push Liam.

Dodging the hand, Liam evaluated the injured soldier. There was a sickle sticking out of his chest, and the blood painted his entire front side in red.

Without having any understanding of the healer's skill, Liam couldn't be sure about the soldier's chances of survival.

The medic who tried to shove Liam didn't throw a second glance in his direction and hurried the soldier into a tent.

"How long does it take to wear clothes?"

Pearl's irritated voice made him look at her to see she was already walking away.

Liam followed her without minding her words.

Pained groans filled the air as soldiers and medics rushed their injured comrades to tents. Healers were bustling about, treating them. They barely had a moment of rest as one patient was immediately swapped for another.

Even with all of their efforts, the number of patients kept growing without end.

A healer wearing a white gown covered with blood and grime passed by him. Dark circles underlined her eyes. Her neatly tied hair escaped the bun, untidily scattered across her face. She was rushing past him when she stumbled, collapsing to the ground.

Pearl ran past him and gave the healer a hand, putting her on her feet.

"Are you ok?"

The healer swayed but managed to stay on her feet.

"Thank you," she said, entering a nearby tent.

Pearl glared at Liam and walked into him, knocking his shoulder.

"Let's go," she said, storming off.

'Yup. Flat as a board,' he thought, finding her actions childish and amusing.

Glancing around, he noticed a bunch of healers working on a soldier who was missing half of his waist.

"Slow down his metabolism!" the lead healer shouted. "We will start by healing his spine. Focus on regenerating his muscles and blood vessels. Organs and nerves come last."

The others cast spells, going about their tasks.

Their inefficiency surprised Liam. There was no way these healers could save the soldier. Putting their efforts into saving someone who had a better survival chance was the optimal choice.

Did they think a miracle would occur if they persisted in their foolish actions?

Their indecision would lead to higher casualties in the future.

Pearl followed his eyes and noticed the soldier.

She grit her teeth. "That is your fault. If the commander didn't decide to save you, he could have lived. It's not fair."

Those words nearly made him burst into laughter.

Fair? The world was built on unfairness.

Did she think it was fair he fell into the Rift? Fair so many people suffered or died unjust deaths? Was it fair some were born rich while others had nothing?

The concept of fairness was a pipe dream of people who did not understand the world.

Hiding his inner thoughts, he put on a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry."

His words did the job as she mellowed down.

Soon, they were out of the medical zone allowing Liam to get a good look at the camp.

It was a temporary establishment as they didn't build any permanent structures.

Even with the day nearing its end, the camp was busy with people going about their jobs.

Compared to the medical region, the somber atmosphere had improved, but not by much. Soldiers with broken armor were guiding their horses with grim looks on their faces.

Some of them dragged their tired bodies through the camp, on the verge of collapse.

Many of them threw nasty looks in his direction. At least they tried, but some of the women failed miserably and ended up blushing.

Liam acted as if he didn't notice their reactions and kept walking. Inwardly, he grumbled at the amount of attention he was grabbing.

Calling Liam handsome was an understatement. He had the face of a male god of beauty.

Blond hair framed his delicate heart-shaped face, and blue eyes similar to crystal sapphires shone in the setting sun.

Years of surviving in the Rift gave him a perfectly toned body. At 6'1ft (186 cm), he stood taller than most soldiers.

His warm ivory colored skin was perfect except for two razor-thin scars that marred his face. The first one was present over his left eye while the second one ran through his right cheek and disappeared down his neck.

The scars destroyed a part of his looks but added a sense of mystery.

Liam's face drew a lot of attention in the Rift, especially from the wrong sort. He couldn't decide who was worse; the people who were jealous of his looks or those who coveted it.

The majority of the soldiers ignored his looks and focused on their anger, maintaining the glare.

Many of them tightly clenched their weapons, wanting to pick a fight with him, but they didn't act on their impulses. Alisha's message was clear for anyone to see. She was allowing a stranger to freely move through the camp without having any guards escort him.

Paying no heed to the hostility, Liam continued moving when something grabbed his attention.

Pearl kept walking without noticing Liam come to a stop. After moving for quite some distance, she noticed Liam missing.

She strode towards him like a raging bull and snarled, "What's your problem? Can't you do something as simple as following me?"

Not paying any attention to her angry tirade, he kept his eyes trained on the camp entrance.

Discerning his strange behavior, Pearl also gazed at the entrance.

A group of battered soldiers entered the camp. Liam counted forty soldiers within the group, but only fifteen of them were in a condition to walk. Some of them were supported by their friends. Horses dragged makeshift stretchers which carried the remaining ones.

All of them were sporting varying degrees of injuries. The lucky ones had scratches or bruises, and the unlucky ones had multiple missing limbs.

Their armor had fist-shaped dents all over them. One of the reasons Liam stopped was to assess the kind of opponents the soldiers were facing. Injuries told a lot about the enemy's fighting style.

Soldiers in the vicinity moved towards the returning batch to help them. Confusion ensued as many people started shouting orders.

Liam heard the nearby soldiers whispering among themselves.

"I don't understand what the commander is thinking!"

"Yeah. We should leave the villagers to their fate. Honestly speaking, they don't even belong to the Theocracy. I don't understand why we have to risk our lives to save them."

"The rescue missions are getting dangerous. Have you heard about the villagers ambushing our soldiers? They ended up killing twenty of our men!" a voice fearfully whispered.

"The captains proposed we should save our strength, but the commander was adamant about rescuing them," a soldier bitterly exclaimed. "If she told us the reason, we can bite the bullet and do it, but she remains mum."

The corner of Liam's mouth curled upwards. The gossip gave him lots of information.

Before he could understand what it meant, the strange sense of familiarity washed over him once again.

A group of people followed the soldiers into the camp. They huddled together, watching the approaching soldiers with fearful gazes. They were neither equipped with armor nor weapons. Dirt-stained clothes covered their bodies and most of them had hollow expressions on their face.

The kids hugged the adults and cried in loud voices. Several refugees were bound more violently. They were constantly twitching and tried to break their restraints.

Liam didn't need a second glance to know they were corrupted. He used mana vision and carefully examined each one.

His gaze landed on a refugee who had lost all control over his faculties.

"You should kill him."

"Huh?" Pearl couldn't make head or tails or his statement. "What?"

Noticing she hadn't been paying attention, Liam pointed towards the refugee and repeated, "You should kill him."