[721/1000]

That was where Neo stood by the time the hunting day ended.

Fifty-four souls.

Not bad, all things considered.

The group had been out for hours, cutting through the jungle, following broken trails, checking old hunting spots, and pressing deeper whenever the area around the camp felt too empty. Even so, the Soul Beasts hadn’t been as plentiful as they had hoped. Enough to make the day worthwhile. Not enough to satisfy him.

Every Soul Core had gone to Neo.

That had already been decided. He was the closest to Vein, and once he crossed it, Alice would be next. Of the five of them, they were the only two still lagging behind.

By the time they started climbing the path back toward camp, the light had already shifted toward evening. The jungle behind them had gone quieter, the way it always did after a full day of killing.

Marika was the one who broke the silence first.

"How much more do you need to reach Vein, Neo?"

Neo answered without slowing. "Around two hundred and eighty more."

Marika clicked her tongue softly. "At this pace, you should make it before we enter the tower." A faint note of satisfaction slipped into her voice. "That’d give us four people at Vein. After that, it’s Alice’s turn."

Alice gave a small nod beside her. Nothing more. That was enough. The arrangement was fair, and she knew it. They were moving the group forward without dragging anyone behind for too long.

Neo walked in silence after that, his thoughts turning over the number again.

[721]

Still irritatingly far.

Closer than before, though. And close was enough when the days were running out.

They reached the camp not long after.

The huts Byron had built stood under the lengthening shadows of the tower, rough but sturdy, ugly in the practical way useful things often were. Before the girls peeled off toward their own hut, Marika stopped and turned halfway toward the three of them.

"Don’t even think about spying on us, alright? See you tomorrow morning."

Snot put a hand against his chest as if personally wounded. "I would never do something like that. Do you really trust me so little?"

Marika gave him a flat look. "The only one I’d trust not to do it is Neo. You and Max? Absolutely not. Right, Alice?"

Alice nodded once.

Neo’s mouth twitched faintly.

’I’m not sure whether I should take that as praise or an insult.’

The girls disappeared into their hut, and that was the end of them for the day.

The three boys went inside theirs.

Max handled the food almost immediately. He crouched by the fire, stripped off his shirt without the slightest shame, and started cooking cuts from one of the Night Stalkers they had brought back. He had skinned it earlier, cleaned the meat, and now turned it over the flame with the kind of quiet focus that made him look older than the rest of them.

Snot and Neo stayed near the fire and waited, both hungry enough that neither felt like pretending otherwise.

After a while, Max spoke without lifting his head.

"How high do you think our chances are of getting through the tower?"

Snot answered first, easy as ever. "High, I guess." He turned toward Neo. "What do you think?"

Neo watched the fire for a moment before replying. "We should be able to do it. We have the information we need, and we’ll be going in with more than fifty people. That makes it a lot easier than what happened to her group."

Max gave a slow nod. "Yeah. I think so too."

That was all either of them said about it.

The meat finished soon after. Max divided it without fuss, handed portions over, ate his own quickly, and rose once he was done. He stretched, broad chest and shoulders shifting under the firelight, then grabbed his shirt and discarded the idea of wearing it.

"Well," he said, already sounding half-finished with consciousness, "I’m going to sleep. And I don’t snore. If I do, just shove something in my mouth."

Snot snorted. "I think it’d be kinder to suffocate you outright."

Max gave him a tired grin. "Try it and I’ll haunt you."

Neo listened to them trade that nonsense until Max dropped onto his bedding, rolled once, and was gone within minutes.

The snoring started not long after.

Neo glanced over.

"He looked exhausted."

Snot leaned back on one arm. "You think?" He jerked his chin toward Max’s sleeping shape. "He earned it. There was that moment earlier when five of them piled onto us at once. He took all the pressure and held them there while the rest of us cut them down." A crooked little smile touched his mouth. "For a walking wall, he’s useful."

Neo gave a quiet hum.

The fire cracked softly between them.

Snot turned his head and spoke lower. "You told me earlier you wanted to talk about something. What is it?"

Neo lifted his gaze to him, then past him to Max.

Max was out cold. Flat on his back, one arm across his stomach, mouth slightly open, snoring with the dignity of a collapsed ox.

Neo waited one beat longer just to be sure.

Then he spoke, keeping his own voice low enough that even if someone pressed themselves against the hut, they’d have to work for every word.

"I entered the tower."

Snot’s whole expression changed.

"What?" The word came out fast, but he caught himself before it could rise any louder. His attention flicked toward Max, then back to Neo. "You did what?"

"I got in yesterday," Neo said. "I was curious about what was inside and about why they were guarding it like that."

Snot stared at him.

Neo continued before he could start arguing.

"I’m telling you because I want you to come with me tonight. When the camp’s asleep."

That shut Snot up properly.

He didn’t answer right away. He just looked at Neo as if trying to decide whether to call him insane, impressive, or both.

Finally he said, quieter now, "Can I ask why you want back in there?"

"Yes." Neo shifted slightly, keeping his tone even. "I got inside, checked around, and didn’t see much in the main chamber."

That part was a lie, and he gave it without any visible effort.

"There’s the statue. The stairs. Nothing else obvious." He paused. "Before I left, I saw four of the gray-haired bastard’s men enter."

Snot frowned. "Four?"

Neo nodded once. "They talked about using the tower for as much as they could before the camp finally got serious and tried to clear it."

Snot’s eyes narrowed.

"So they really are exploiting it."

"That’s what it sounded like." Neo leaned forward slightly. "They also said all five of them reached Vein because of this place."

That got the reaction he wanted.

Snot let out a low breath. "If you put it like that, yeah. I’m curious now."

Neo’s mouth moved faintly. "I thought you might be."

Snot looked over at Max again.

Max hadn’t shifted even a little. The man was dead to the world, sprawled out under the blanket with the same expression he’d probably wear if a house fell on him.

Snot huffed a quiet laugh. "Well, Max is in a deep sleep like Sleeping Beauty."

Neo turned his head. "Sleeping Beauty?"

"It’s a story." Snot shrugged lightly. "I tell it to my sister before bed. Must’ve stuck in my head."

Neo absorbed that, said nothing about it, and rose.

"So," he asked, "are we going?"

Snot pushed himself up at once.

"We’re going."