Broken Anomaly

Anna retreated with a small leap, barely dodging an arrow that struck the ground where she had been standing mere moments ago.

The goblin archer in the distance growled in annoyance, muttering incomprehensible words. It reached for another arrow from the small quiver tied to its leg. It began to aim its bow using its finger as a guide, at the same time as it prepared the arrow, the steadiness of both actions showing how proficient the goblin was in its role.

Anna dodged another arrow from a different goblin. Seeing a window, the goblin archer focused its aim on her, then quickly shifted it to where she would land, letting the arrow loose.

As Anna landed, she thought that she was free enough to congratulate herself mentally. Sadly, her celebration was cut short as an arrow grazed her cheek. The sudden pain caused her to flinch, bringing her back to reality.

The goblins hadn’t taken long to begin building around the incursion portal. The first group that followed after the goblin commander was a team mostly composed of builders, who quickly fortified the area around the incursion portal.

While the construction was going on, the commander served as the only security, killing any monster that approached with ease. It proved to be more than sufficient in its role. With some monsters retreating as soon as the commander glanced their way.

Having run out of materials, the goblins began to venture into the nearby forest, cutting down trees at a rapid pace. The organization and efficiency with which they did every task clashed with the typical image of goblins that Anna had built in her mind.

It was impossible for her to not have a pre-established image of goblins in her head when they were such a staple monster within fantasy writing. Even her friends had confirmed most of what she had read.

“So, what the hell is this?” she muttered as she retreated from the goblin archers.

The only relief she found was the realization that no more goblins were coming through, at least not anytime soon. She had seen the portal turn off after the last of the goblins passed through, carrying some wooden crates.

Eventually, she noticed the goblins stop their advance, as if they had hit an invisible wall. But Anna wouldn’t keep making assumptions like that. Until she could confirm for herself that they couldn’t pass a certain threshold instead of just choosing not to, she would continue to create more distance between them and herself.

She knew she was at a severe disadvantage when it came to fighting these goblins. From what she had managed to see, they weren’t unnecessarily violent, nor were they dumb—quite the opposite, in fact. They advanced in very well-defined formations.

Despite being preoccupied with all the dodging, she couldn’t help but notice how the archers always kept the same distance between them, and how they never got in each other’s way.

The way that the logging goblins treated her was an even greater indication of their intelligence. They treated her more like an annoyance, like wildlife that had come to disturb their place of work. She could have sworn one of them even shooed her away. They even feel superior, she thought.

Once she believed that she was far enough away, Anna slumped down, resting her back against a big tree, more than thick enough to cover her.

She was panting and found it difficult to control her breathing. Her hands still trembled, still feeling the vibrations that occurred every time she blocked the goblin commander’s strikes. The deafening sound of their swords clashing was still clear in her mind.

She took her dagger out of her back pocket and pressed the tip of the blade against her forearm. Using the pain as a point of concentration, she forced her mind to settle, regaining focus once more.

It was something that Stella had taught her—though she never knew why Stella knew such a thing. Even her grandfather, who had his own extreme ways of teaching, had never shown her something like that.

With her mind now calm, she began to consider her options.

She could retreat right now and come back with her friends. With all her friends in tow, she would have a much easier time clearing this place.

Stella would definitely be the most useful. They had begun to build with wood, her fireballs would be an enormous advantage over them. But would the goblins stay still for the days that it would take her to get back to Solace and then back here? Of course not, and at the speed they were moving, this entire forest would be taken over by then.

Her gaze dropped to her sword. She grabbed it by the hilt, sliding her palm on the blade and examining it carefully. Given the force behind the goblin commander’s strikes, the sword should’ve been chipped or dulled by now, but the blade was pristine, still glimmering, as if new.

She had asked Stella to use Inspect on it, but the only thing she got from it was a headache.

“What are you?” Anna muttered, her eyes still fixed on the mysterious weapon, knowing it wouldn’t answer.

Finding herself a bit embarrassed at having asked a sword a question, she brought her attention toward something else, her skills.

Sword mastery level 7.

Adrenaline rush level 2.

Stamina reserve level 1.

Critical eye level 1.

Quickstep level 2.

All of her skills were geared toward combat. She had even prepared in case of a drawn-out battle by getting a stamina-enhancing skill. The more she looked at her skill window, the more her resolve was strengthened.

Anna, unlike her friends, didn’t really like reading that much. She tried reading the stories that they would occasionally talk about, just to join the conversation.

That’s when she discovered that there was something about seeing a numerical representation of your abilities going higher that excited her. She would push herself through every story, no matter how well-crafted or trashy it was. If the power-ups were good, then in her mind, so was the story.

Eric had told her that skills evolved and could even merge. The thought of her abilities growing stronger and transforming into something new fueled her resolve. If she kept pushing herself, she’d see that progress firsthand.

With both urgency and anticipation driving her, Anna stood up and looked at the sky. Soon it would be night, and that would be her best chance to strike.

----------

Alex awoke with a start, jolted by the burning sensation that had taken over his face. Instinct quickly kicked in, and he sprinted toward the nearest shadow, ignoring the cries of his exhausted body.

As he reached the shadow and collapsed to the ground, he groaned. He could feel all his muscles ache, a clear reminder of what he had done to get down from the cliff. Still, the pain wasn’t as bad as it would’ve been if he hadn’t been as quick as he had been during those final moments.

During the final moments of his fall, he had managed to turn his body and angle it so that most of the impact would be taken by his stone-covered left arm. And as he looked at it, the most he felt was a tingling sensation. He was prepared to lose it if he had to, fully convinced that as long as he had one arm, he would be able to fight.

He rested for a brief moment, allowing his body to recover and the aching to subside, before finally getting up and peering around the rock formation he was currently using as shade.

There it was, in the distance. Where he had seen the shadow disappear was a cave entrance. He was too far away to make out anything specific, like its size, much less how deep it was.

He stayed put for a little while longer, observing the cave entrance. He wanted to be sure that nothing would surprise him if he attempted to get closer. After observing it for a while, he saw that nothing exited or entered the cave or even moved near it.

Confirming that there was no activity, he began to advance. He was still cautious. There could be monsters or something hidden at odd angles that he wasn’t aware of. So, he maneuvered from cover to cover, trying to make sure that he wasn’t exposed for long.

Soon, he was mere steps from the cave. As he stood directly in front of the cave entrance, he admired its size. If he were to take a guess, it could easily fit a freight truck without issue.

A sudden thought invaded his mind, and he considered the possibility of the cave being artificial. The mere notion sent a shiver down his spine and made him reconsider his next move.

“What would need such an entrance?” he muttered with genuine trepidation. He took a step back, and as he was about to take another, he stopped. “No.” He calmed his racing heart through sheer force of will. He clenched his fists, small stones appearing without him noticing.

“Now or never,” he said, knowing that if he didn’t enter the cave now, he would convince himself to retreat.

The cave felt like an endless passage, with Alex walking for what seemed like an eternity. The light from the entrance had faded long ago, leaving him in darkness.

He advanced with caution, his arms extended, feeling around, careful not to hit something face-first. After several minutes of walking carefully, he hit a wall, and just as he was about to feel around to gain direction, a light to his left caught his attention.

He turned to his left, and he spotted a blueish glow emanating from deeper within the tunnel. Not only curious but knowing that some light was better than no light, he walked toward it and immediately found its source.

The tunnel’s walls were covered in small crystals that were emitting a blue light of varying intensity. He took a moment to examine and then admire the crystal studded wall.

After observing it for a while, he pried one out of the tunnel wall, looked at it for a moment, and stored it in his pocket. As he was about to continue walking, leaving the crystals behind, he stopped and took some more.

“Could be useful, and if they aren’t, I could probably gift them,” he told himself as he patted his pockets.

After walking through the illuminated tunnel for a short while, he came upon a big dome-like chamber. At the top, peering from the tunnel’s ceiling, was a big crystal. He couldn’t accurately gauge its size since only part of it was exposed, but it was at least as wide as a basketball.

Bringing his sight back down, he noticed four tunnel entrances branching out from the chamber, not counting the one he came from.

“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... This tunnel it is,” he said, pointing toward one of the passages. He took two steps before realizing what he had just done to make a decision that could cost him his life. Letting out a light chuckle, he let it go and continued.

Two seconds later, he came running out of the tunnel and dashed back into the one he had arrived from, not stopping for a second.

Adrenaline surged through him as he sprinted blindly, eventually crashing against the tunnel wall. He ignored the pain and got back up, continuing to run, until he saw the light from the entrance. He picked up the pace, and even when he was outside once again, he kept running until he was behind a rock formation, where he stood completely still.

From the cave’s entrance, 3 sets of antennas could be seen moving about rapidly, their owners searching for something in a frantic manner.

Alex peeked from behind the rock formation and observed the behavior of his pursuers. After a moment, he stepped away from his cover and began to make his way back toward the cave’s entrance.

He considered his pursuers’ odd behavior. It was as if they were avoiding something. He knew that they weren’t avoiding the outside since he had seen one of them last night.

As he walked, his mind began to form a plan—a risky plan, but if it worked, it would make his quest significantly easier. He was sure that his pursuers were the hybrids his quest talked about.

Quest: Exterminator. Objective: Kill the escaped hybrids and prevent further desertification. Hybrids 0/?? Reward(s): +2 skill points. Unknown.

Standing before the cave entrance and looking directly ahead into it, the light that bounced off the cave floor illuminated the figures of his pursuers somewhat .

Alex took a step forward and observed their reaction. They became more agitated, trying to rush forward, but they didn’t leave the shadows.

He took another step, and their agitation grew. With one more step, the tip of one antenna escaped the shadows and was hit by sunlight, immediately catching fire and causing its owner to jump back.

With that one example, Alex confirmed his thoughts, and without a second’s delay, he lunged at the nearest enemy.

He grabbed its mandibles with his stone-covered hands and started to pull back. The creature began to shake and thrash about violently, but only for a moment as it began to resist, pulling Alex slowly back toward the cave.

The creature was winning, slowly pulling Alex into the cave. Noticing this, Alex gathered all his strength into his left hand, strengthening his grip, and pulled back his right. With a powerful windup, he unleashed a devastating punch on the creature’s head.

Another of the creatures tried to snap at Alex’s fist as it struck, only managing to tear off some of the stone covering his hand.

With the creature stunned by the impact, Alex once more pulled, only managing to get its head out before it recovered. But by then, the fire had already begun.

Alex did his best to keep the creature in place as the fire spread and consumed its entire head. With its head gone, he let go, and the creature’s now headless body walked forward on its own, burning as it did so.

Optera hybrid V28E +320 experience.

Alex managed to get a good look at it. He had already seen its head. It resembled that of an ant, maybe smaller mandibles, he wasn’t sure. Its hind legs reminded him of a cricket, though the noise they rarely made was different.

He checked on his quest.

Quest: Exterminator. Objective: Kill the escaped hybrids and prevent further desertification. Hybrids 1/?? Reward(s): +2 skill points. Unknown.