Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening
Chapter 157: Reconnaissance (1)

Chapter 157: Reconnaissance (1)

"Very well..." Caleb sighed, having nothing to say to that. "But don’t expect me to cover your back whenever you get into trouble."

His words made Jess turn to look at him with raised brows. Understanding her look, Caleb explained, turning to look at the tigerkin. "I’ve heard a lot about you, Crusher. But hearing from you would be the best. Why don’t you tell me about yourself?"

"Of course..." Crusher nodded in understanding, going ahead to tell Caleb about his origins, among other details.

.....

Three days later

With a new member added to the group of two, the journey became much slower. Caleb had many options to choose from, but decided not to.

Additionally, his path wasn’t a straight one towards the capital of the kingdom. Caleb wanted to take a slight detour towards the destination of his second mission.

"Are you sure this is a smart move?" Jess asked; not out of worry, but out of curiosity.

"I just want to gather some information, is all." Caleb shrugged. "During our encounter with those guys, I made a few interesting observations." He added, his explanation referring to his system’s appraisal function.

The system had pointed out some interesting things he hadn’t observed since his arrival in this world. For one, those five individuals were genetically enhanced.

Not in the same way as him, but more like an overall change in their biology due to their strength level. It was like an actual breakthrough rather than just an increase in mana and physical stats.

They had enhanced senses capable of picking up on his domain sense, allowing them to do what they had attempted against Jess.

There had to be something different in that kingdom for those guys to be far stronger than the strongest in the Luntheria Kingdom — and Caleb intended to find out.

The group of three had travelled out of Duke Coldmere’s domain, crossing several other domains to reach the border lands of the kingdom shared with the Growian Kingdom.

"There..." Caleb gestured a kilometre ahead, where a village could be seen. Turning to face his comrades, he said. "I’ll be going in alone." At those words, his appearance began changing.

Taking the form of an average good-looking young man with short dirty blonde hair, auburn eyes and a stubble, Caleb became unrecognisable to Jess and Crusher.

The latter was shocked to see the flawless transformation, recalling how he was able to deceive the bounty hunters with his Belzac persona.

’He can even mimic a normal person’s aura...’ The tigerkin thought and swallowed hard, impressed with Caleb’s wide range of abilities. ’And he never seemed to tire.’

The tigerkin had been observing Caleb during their travels. If there was one thing he noticed, it was Caleb’s inability to tire. His body felt as if it was constructed differently from others.

Even Jess showcased excellent physical abilities he had never noticed before. The catwoman was far stronger than the person he knew during the dungeon subjugation; it was a real shock to him.

Putting those thoughts aside, the tigerkin focused on Caleb, watching as his clothes changed into a typical village attire, having nothing but the travelling sack on his back.

"Won’t it be suspicious for you to pose as a simple traveller at this place?" Crusher asked after a bit of thought. "With the tension in the region, people might wonder why a person like that would choose to come here."

Jess nodded, looking at Caleb with the same questioning gaze. Had it not been for the army blockade created a couple of hundred meters ahead of the village, this place might have been deserted already.

Caleb lowered his gaze to his attire and chuckled. "You don’t have to worry. I’m just a man desiring to find a job with the army." He assured.

"There’s the option of farming, you know?" Jess shot back with a smirk. "I must say, you didn’t think this through, did you?"

"Does it matter?" Caleb replied with a raised brow, silencing his critics. "I can decide to go stealth or airborne if I want. But my goal is information gathering, and for that, I need to blend in."

"Very well." Jess conceded her defeat, releasing a silent sigh.

"You guys can wait here," Caleb said, looking around the silent woods. "There aren’t a lot of human activities in these parts. Also..."

He stepped forward and past his companion, moving towards the boulder in the distance. With every step he took, the dried leaves and twigs littered on the ground crunched under his boots, evident of the location’s weather conditions.

Arriving before the boulder, Caleb stared at it for a couple of seconds, making his companions furrow their brows in confusion.

Turning to look at Jess and Crusher, he added. "I can make a hidden cave right under this boulder. You’ll be safe and out of sight."

Crusher glanced at Jess, noticing the catkin was also looking at him. They both looked back at Caleb, Jess sighing while Crusher shook his head.

"What...?" Caleb asked with clear confusion. "Is there something I’m missing?" He looked around his feet and back to the boulder, not seeing anything wrong with the location or his suggestion.

"Nothing," Jess replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just do what you must."

"Okay..." Caleb nodded, not convinced by their half-hearted response. Still, he did what he suggested.

With a stomp of his left foot, the ground trembled continuously for several seconds. The brief but slightly intense shaking affected most of the trees, making them shed a lot of their leaves.

"You even have Earth spells?" The tigerkin asked with shock in his voice, adjusting his stance in order not to fall. "Just how many spells did you learn?!"

"Done."

Caleb shrugged off the question, gesturing towards the opening just beneath the boulder. The entrance into the cave was not too wide or too narrow — just right for beings their size.

"..."

Jess looked at the entrance and then at the smiling Caleb with a blank expression. "I’m not going in there, Caleb." She stated point-blank, the tigerkin nodding in agreement.

"Why?" Caleb asked.

"You don’t expect the two of us to just hide like some rats, do you?" The tigerkin replied. "I’d rather stand here..." He folded his arms over his chest, affirming his stance.

"You should have said something." Caleb wasn’t sure why they remained quiet until he finished putting his architectural skills to use.

"You should have asked us what we wanted to do." Jess short back, following Crusher’s lead. There was this smirk tugging at the corner of her lips that made Caleb’s mouth twitch in annoyance.

"Fine..." Caleb gave up with a sigh. "Do what you want..."

Turning around, he faced the direction of the village, quickly spotting a commonly travelled path leading out of the village. "I’ll be going now..."

The two beastkins nodded as they watched Caleb disappear past the many trees. Crusher turned to look at Jess. "I plan on exploring this place myself. Coming?"

"You don’t have to convince me." Jess scoffed as the two moved towards the village soon after.

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