Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 111: Hardships Create Opportunity…Probably

Morning came quicker than he thought.

Aren blinked his eyes open as sunlight spilled across the inside of their cave. For a moment, he simply lay there, staring up at the stone ceiling while the last bit of sleep slowly faded away. Or what little sleep he did manage to get.

He rubbed his face and let out a quiet breath.

Yeah...don’t think I’m gonna be sleeping this entire week.

The thunder had rumbled across the lagoon for most of the night. Between that and the thoughts still circling his mind from the conversation with Luna before, Aren hadn’t gotten much rest.

With a small groan, he pushed himself upright. The rest of the group was already outside and ready.

Marcus was stretching his arms near the entrance, Iris was packing away the cooking pot from the night before, and Emily looked far more alive than she had yesterday now that her ether had mostly recovered.

The moment he stepped outside, Aren paused.

The storm from the night before was completely gone. Not a single cloud remained in the sky. If he hadn’t been there last night...Aren would never have believed a violent thunderstorm had swept across this exact place just a few hours earlier.

He exhaled slowly.

"...This place really is strange."

Behind him, footsteps crunched lightly against the sand. Daniel stepped out of the cave and rolled his shoulders.

"Morning, junior."

Aren glanced sideways at him.

"Morning."

Daniel squinted out across the lagoon and whistled softly. "Hard to believe, huh? I was like that too on my first expedition."

Professor Sterling was a bit further out, washing her hands with the cold lagoon water before she turned around. When she saw everyone gathered, she gave a small nod.

"Good," she said. "Since everyone’s awake, we’ll begin."

"We’ll be splitting into teams."

That finally got everyone’s attention. Marcus straightened slightly while the statement completely snapped the drowsiness out of Aren.

Sterling raised her left hand and began listing the first team.

"Marcus, Iris, Emily, and Luna."

She gestured toward the opposite side of the lagoon. "You’ll be surveying the western islands and will be looking for a place called the Sunken Cave."

Then she turned slightly.

"Aren. Daniel."

Daniel blinked.

"...Wait."

Sterling pointed toward the eastern horizon. "You two will be heading east and will look for the Reverse Waterfall."

The senior crossed his arms.

"That seems a little unfair."

Sterling adjusted her glasses before smirking. "Hardships create opportunity, am I right?"

Daniel opened his mouth to argue, but knowing he would probably lose any argument... the senior closed it instead.

Aren tilted his head slightly.

"Professor, just a question," he said. "Why did you say ’look for’?"

"Hasn’t everyone been here before except us two?" he pointed at himself and Luna.

Sterling looked at him for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle. "Because the Lagoons don’t stay the same."

Aren frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

The professor took a step back from the water and gestured out toward the scattered islands dotting the lagoon.

"What you’re looking at right now won’t look the same in a few weeks."

Luna raised an eyebrow.

"...You mean the tides?"

Sterling shook her head. "Not the tides, the islands themselves move."

"The Lagoons sit on top of an unstable network of underwater currents," she continued. "The water energy here is extremely dense, which constantly shifts the sandbars beneath the surface."

She pointed toward one of the distant islands. "This causes some islands to slowly drift, some sink and resurface somewhere else..."

"And others break apart and merge with nearby ones."

Great...another phenomenon we’ll have to figure out. This place really is called the Wildlands for a reason.

"Even hunters who’ve been here before still have to rediscover it every time the islands shift," she continued slowly as she looked toward the eastern horizon again.

"There’s a good chance the places you’ll be finding are in a different area now."

"Well," Daniel said casually as he glanced at Aren, "that explains why you sent the two of us."

Aren glanced back at him, question already at the tip of his tongue. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Because we’re both trouble magnets, doofus," Daniel grinned. "If anyone’s gonna find it randomly, it’ll be us."

"Right..."

***

By the time the conversation ended, Marcus’ team had already departed. Aren barely caught a glimpse of them across the golden beach before they disappeared behind a tall piece of limestone.

Which left only three people standing at the eastern shore: Aren, Daniel, and Professor Sterling.

"Welp," she said casually. "I’ll get going now as well."

"Where can you even go in a place like this?" Aren asked quickly. "There’s literally no civilization around."

"Now that’s where you’re wrong, Junior," Daniel quickly corrected him. "In the Highlands, it’s safe enough that a small city exists there."

"Yep!" Sterling quickly added, "I’m going to grab a coffee."

"What about us?!"

"You’ll figure it out quickly," she waved her hand in dismissal. "You gotta get that natural camping vibe, you know?"

’Well then, toodles!" she wiggled her fingers playfully before walking off into the distance.

"I regret joining this club..." Aren muttered.

"Hey, you’ll get used to her antics after a while," Daniel slapped him in the back. "Guess it’s our turn to suffer."

Aren glanced down at the general direction. There was nothing but open blue water in the east.

"...How exactly are we getting out there?"

Daniel didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he crouched down and pressed his palm against the ground. Suddenly, small metallic particles started to drain themselves from the sand, condensing and gathering until...

CLANG!

A sheet of dull gray steel abruptly formed beside the shore.

It wasn’t shaped like a boat, or even like anything in particular. It was quite literally just a small slab of curved metal about the size of a table.

Daniel stood up and wiped the sand off his hands.

"There."

Aren stared at it.

"No."

"Come on! Give it a try!" Daniel nodded proudly. "You might not know this, but I have a degree in mechanical engineering."

Sensing the bullshit in his voice, Aren shook his head immediately.

"Not a chance in hell, man."

Daniel stepped onto the metal plate first. The moment he did, the slab dipped dangerously low into the water before barely stabilizing above the surface.

"...See?"

Aren sighed, then stepped onto the steel platform. Water immediately rushed over the sides from the increased weight

Daniel glanced down at the now half-submerged metal raft.

"...Okay," he admitted.

"Maybe don’t move too much."

"...We’re going to die out there."