The swarm moved at a steady pace, leaving the rocky terrain behind. The dark structure they had left behind—and the creatures that had emerged from it—still echoed in Alexander's mind. Those sounds… those strange appendages… they wouldn't fade easily. He didn't know what they were, but he was certain they weren't mindless. Shaping a massive structure nearly thirty meters tall with such precision required something beyond simple instinct.
When he had been controlling the Drone, he hadn't seen a single living thing inside. And yet, the creatures had appeared all at once. The thought gave rise to an unsettling possibility. A hidden passage… or worse—they had been watching him the entire time. Lurking in the corners, silent, waiting for the right moment.
The idea left a cold unease within him.
Still, it wasn't just fear.
There was something else as well.
Curiosity.
They looked powerful. Complex. And most importantly… different. That realization inevitably led to another question: what would he gain if he consumed them?
For a brief moment, a thought surfaced in the depths of his mind.
Maybe… I could have an upright spine again.
The idea flared, then slowly faded. For now, it was far beyond his reach. In his current state, he lacked both the analytical capacity and the biological foundation to integrate something so different into himself. He still had a long way to go.
After hours of travel, the swarm finally emerged from the rocky terrain. The open savanna stretched out before them once more. Sparse acacia trees, rolling grasslands… but now it was more than just a view. The small ponds glimmering in the distance, the herbivore herds gathered around them, and the fertile grazing grounds had already formed a clear map in Alexander's mind.
He made his decision.
The swarm shifted direction and began moving toward the ponds.
Under the relentless weight of the sun, the long and monotonous journey wore down both body and mind. By the time they finally arrived, the swarm was exhausted. A small pond lay quietly in the open terrain.
Their arrival sent a ripple of tension through the ostrich herd drinking on the opposite shore. Long necks shot upward, eyes locking onto the approaching swarm. They had sensed the danger. Without hesitation, they stopped drinking and began to withdraw, quickly scattering away from the water.
Alexander watched them.
It was the first time he had seen creatures like these. Their movements were fast, their legs powerful. Under normal circumstances, they would have drawn his interest—he would have considered them as prey.
But not now.
His body was tired. His muscles felt heavy. The tension within him had not yet fully faded. This was not a moment for hunting.
First, water.
Then rest.
There would be time to explore the region. Tomorrow… and the days after.
He approached the pond slowly. The swarm followed him, and together, they drank.
The swarm finally came to a halt along the edge of the pond and settled down to rest as the sun began to set. As it sank beyond the horizon, the sky transformed into a strange and mesmerizing display, where shades of green blended into violet, pulsing faintly as if alive. The surface of the water reflected those shifting colors, and the light, broken and scattered by gentle ripples, cast an almost unreal sense of calm over the surroundings.
Hours passed in that quiet stillness.
Alexander lay near the shore, watching. From time to time, vultures, eagles, and other predatory birds descended to the pond, drank briefly, and then rose back into the sky. As he observed them, his mind never truly rested. Everything he saw was analyzed, broken apart, weighed for possibilities.
A flying Nuxali… what would it look like?
The thought took hold of his mind and refused to leave him throughout the night. Wing structure, balance, hunting methods—he tried to design each aspect piece by piece. But no matter how he approached it, he couldn't form a viable prototype in his mind.
Even so, the idea left a mark.
And that mark would not fade easily.
The night passed in silence. Life around the pond slowed beneath the cover of darkness. One by one, the swarm drifted into sleep. Eventually, exhaustion claimed Alexander as well.
—
He woke with the first light of morning.
The air was cool. The sun had only just risen above the horizon. The pond shimmered faintly under the pale morning light. He looked around.
Silence dominated the area.
Aside from a small, rodent-like creature moving through the grass in the distance, there was no visible movement.
Then hunger made itself known.
Sharp. Unpleasant.
It had been more than two days since his last proper meal.
With a powerful mental wave, he roused the swarm. The Drones stirred one by one, quickly regrouping before moving together toward the nearby fertile grasslands, where vibrant green vegetation spread across the ground. There, they fed, consuming the abundant greenery as their morning meal.
The feeding was quick and efficient.
When Alexander finished, he didn't move.
He remained where he was.
As he waited for digestion to begin, his thoughts slowly drifted elsewhere.
To the system.
[Analysis Progress: 58.9]
He watched the indicator for a while.
"Slower than I expected…"
He wasn't pleased, but he understood there was little he could do. Finding another prey of the same kind anytime soon seemed unlikely. Without new data, the system's progress would remain limited.
After lingering on the system for a while longer, he slowly rose to his feet.
Rest was over.
It was time to explore.
Alexander rose, and with a silent command, the swarm moved.
They left the pond behind and stepped into the wide expanse of the savanna. The land stretched endlessly in every direction, broken only by scattered trees, tall grasses, and distant glimmers of water. They did not rush. They moved slowly, carefully, and with control.
Alexander spread his awareness through the Drones. He sent some ahead while placing others along the flanks and rear of the swarm. Through their eyes, the world revealed itself in fragments.
They discovered more small ponds scattered across the land. Around them gathered different herds of herbivores, each moving in its own rhythm. Some grazed calmly, while others lifted their heads at the slightest disturbance, scanning their surroundings.
But one group stood out.
Massive creatures moved with slow, deliberate steps, their thick hides resembling living stone. Their horns curved forward like weapons shaped by nature itself. Rhinos. Even from a distance, their presence felt dangerous.
Alexander watched them carefully, committing every detail to memory.
Elsewhere, danger revealed itself in quieter ways.
Slim, cheetah-like predators slipped through the tall grass. Their bodies stayed low to the ground, their movements fluid and fast. One moment they were visible, the next they vanished—like shadows. In the hollows of trees and beneath dense grass, snakes lay hidden. Silent and patient, waiting for a single mistake. Above, birds nested among the branches, alert and ready to take flight at the slightest sign of danger.
As Alexander moved through the land and observed his surroundings, he realized just how active and alive these plains truly were.
Then, through one of his distant Drones, he noticed something else.
A pack.
Spotted hyenas.
They moved in a loose formation, but their attention was sharp, their eyes constantly scanning. They were not as large as the rhinos, nor as fast as the feline predators… but there was something deeply unsettling about them. Coordination. Patience. Numbers.
The moment he saw them, old memories resurfaced, sending a chill through him. He still remembered clearly how hyenas had once wounded his mother—the way they had surrounded her, the pressure they had created.
Fortunately, the Drone had not been noticed.
He pulled it back in silence.
And so, unseen and unheard, the swarm continued its quiet survey of the land.