The sun was coming up over the horizon, and the ship was being boarded. Synexus had laid his equipment in the room next to Kumo and then made his way back onto the deck where he sat cross legged on the bow. This is where he would accomplish his most complicated gene refinement yet.

  He was going to perform the edit and then use Extreme Growth to grow the vessel from the seed in front of his fellow class chosen. The edit itself would be boring to watch since most of it took place inside his own head, but the seed growing into an owl would be quite the sight to see.

  A few nights ago, he had logged the genes of the Grand Umbra Owl, and now for the first time he was diving into them. This would be the easy part even though it was extremely difficult already. The owl had a complicated genome, and he needed to take parts of it to edit them into the seed he’d been carrying around for the Living System. Performing the edit into the seed would be the more difficult part, however. This was because he only had one percent of the genome of the Living System to work with. The rest was locked. His idea was he only needed this much because it was the foundation for the strange being in the library.

  The incomplete genome held the basics of how the seed would grow, the physical features, and some other various things. Synexus would go in and edit out the physical features with the physical genes of the owl. Theoretically, this would work, but the Living System made it sound like it wanted to be a living animal. He didn’t want to harm an animal by rewriting its DNA like that, so instead this seed would grow into a living, breathing owl.

  Once he had isolated the physical genes of the owl that he wanted, he put the seed into his hands to press his sensors against it. This wasn’t necessary, but it made him more confident. The Living System was a being beyond his understanding and naturally held a complicated genome. Even the 1% Synexus had gathered was already a labyrinth inside a labyrinth to keep with the maze metaphor.

  His physical body was sitting in the growing sunlight while in his mind, he found himself in a complicated web of pathways. They each ended in shadow which was where the locked parts of the genome were. Pathway after pathway, he searched for the physical traits of the tree. It took nearly twenty minutes to find the correct genes, and another five minutes to understand what he was looking at. There were way more genes than there should be here. This being held a vast amount of secrets, and Synexus hoped it would eventually share them with him. For now, he needed to focus on the task at hand.

  After sorting out the known genes from the unknown and then further sorting the known genes into what was being kept and what was being removed, he had his starting point. This is where he would start to edit in the owl’s genes. Once he got them in a working order, he would refine the genome to try and get what the Living System wanted.

  Kumo sat near the front of the ship watching Synexus as he worked on his project. He didn’t even realize she had come over to him, so she figured he was focusing intensely on the task at hand. In fact, she knew he was because it had been three hours since he sat down in that spot.

  He never even flinched when the boat started moving. She knows he would have been the type of person to give one last glance at Gale as they pulled away from the dock, but he missed his chance. There was some debate between herself, Zuls, and Prith if they should disturb him to give him the chance at a last goodbye, but the decision ultimately ended up being to let him focus. They were both sitting with her while Captain Vorin was up on the wheel.

  The sun was shining in the clear blue sky and the water all around them was sparkling. Not a single monster had even gone near the ship yet. This gave Synexus time to work and them time to chat a little. Kumo hadn’t gotten to know them that well. She only had the time at the tavern and that was only a couple hours.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She told them about her childhood in Whisper and how her dad was the lord there. They were surprised she left because most nobles don’t let their children take a voyage around the world. She explained that was almost the case with her until Synexus stumbled into her life. Her life there had been a comfortable one, but it would never have brought her happiness.

  Prith shared more about his experiences in the Smile Isles. They sounded beautiful, and Kumo would love to visit them one day. He had been sent out to fight monsters even before becoming a class chosen. That was the custom of his people. Apparently, it always granted them a couple more options from the system when first choosing their classes.

  Zuls went after and explained that she was born in Gale but barely spent time there. Her family all had classes based on animals, so she spent most of her childhood traveling with her parents to research the most exotic animal species. This sounded like an amazing life to Kumo. Her father had never left the continent with her. The thought of getting to go around and see the world before even being class chosen made her a little jealous. Both of these people have had much more life experience than her and now it was her time. She was on a voyage across the ocean to see things that she once dreamed of.

  Finally, after the fourth hour of watching Synexus, his eyes shot open.

  Deep within his mind, Synexus was surrounded by the genes of the owl and the Living System. There was hurdle after hurdle while trying to figure this puzzle out, but he didn’t let himself get frustrated. This would take time, patience, and a lot of failed attempts. He had lost track of time. It was a good thing that patience came easy to him since this was attempt number 83.

  The problem was the genes just didn’t want to go together. He was attempting to turn a tree seed into a living owl which he knew would be nearly impossible for his current skill level. His determination to help his new friend was what kept him going. The outside world felt distant, and he had pushed all the noises out of his mind. This is what mattered right now.

  Genes for plant systems, and genes for animal systems were vastly different. Trying to turn roots into veins, branches into wings, leaves into feathers, and bark into skin was proving to be the hardest challenge he had ever faced in his life. The seed basically had to turn into an egg, and his mana would act as the incubator.

  It was the 94th attempt when something clicked. The genes themselves started to arrange them into an optimal pattern. It was as if nature started to take over, and the new layout made sense. This was what he was working toward, and with each failed attempt he had gotten closer and closer. He looked at the new arrangement and understood what the blueprints were. It required some refinement here and there, but eventually he got what he wanted.

  Genome Refinement Successful!

  Grand Vessel of the Living System has been created.

  Genome Refinement has leveled up!

  His eyes shot open as soon as the notifications started to come in. The level was unexpected, and it showed just how difficult this was. The seed was ready, and the System had approved. It was time to gather everyone and grow an owl.

  They all went up and stood by the wheel to include Vorin. Synexus took out the seed and started pouring his mana into it. Something went wrong. The seed started taking more than expected. His health and his stamina were draining fast. The seed was ravenous, and it wanted everything.

  He watched in panic as his resources depleted quickly. The seed wouldn’t stop, and he couldn’t let go. It was out of his control now and everyone could see the pain in his face. He heard yelling from the others but couldn’t understand them. It was like sight, and sound were all mixed together before everything went black.

  The only thing he could make out before his consciousness completely slipped from his mind was an unfamiliar voice. It was speaking the common language, and it sounded wise. The voice wasn’t speaking to him though. It was speaking to his friends about him. The voice simply said, “he will be okay. His resources are just drained. This form took much more out of him to grow than expected.”