Broken Anomaly

Alex was the first to react, “Everyone, over here!” he yelled, pointing in the direction that Eric was fighting in. He covered most of his arms in stone and ran outside the safe zone, diverting some of the barghest that would’ve gone to Eric.

Stella was about to join Alex when she saw something straight ahead as the barghest moved, “Are those, people?” she muttered. Before she could consider what to do, Marcus was right beside her, throwing something into the swarm of barghest.

A crackling sound was heard as Marcus’s arm reached once more into his bag. Then, a loud zap could be heard, as small visible electrical currents could be seen, paralyzing all the monsters that they hit. Soon, similar explosions could be heard all around the small plains between the safe zone and the tree line. The other survivors who were already killing the barghest from within the safe zone, left the safe zone and started to kill the paralyzed monsters.

Stella ran forward, killing all the barghest she could, clearing the way for the people that were hiding, “Now! Run!” she yelled at them. They ran forward, taking large steps and avoiding the paralyzed barghest. Stella could already see some of the barghest getting up, as soon as Hilda passed her, she started to retreat. She was about to run and join Alex, but stopped as she saw him standing beside a sitting Eric who was panting and full of injuries.

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Eric was sitting on the floor of the first room they fought goblins in, casually eating cookies and drinking an orange juice. He was making a conscious effort to ignore the glares he was receiving from his friends.

Stella crouched, grabbed Eric by the chin and said, “What’s with the eyepatch and why haven’t you moved your left hand, at all.”

Eric ignored Stella and moved a cookie toward his mouth when she grabbed his hand, trying to stop him. "Ans—" she began, but she was unsuccessful as Eric dragged her hand along with his.

Eric swallowed the cookie and clicked his teeth in annoyance. “Fine, what do you want to know?” he said sarcastically as he began to explain what he had done ever since he left the night before. He didn’t go into much detail, only explaining things in general terms and leaving out the warning he had received from the system.

“So, how’s your arm right now?” Alex asked.

“Better I think.”

“Ok!” Stella said, clapping her hands. “Let’s get some food and clear the barghest. Because we’re going back to the dungeon.”

All of them except Marcus, went down, grabbed something to eat and went outside to kill as many barghest as they could. Marcus stayed in the room and continued working on his devices, having learned something from seeing them in action. The day passed by quickly and the number of barghest dwindled as the sun set, similar to the day before. They also realized that while there seemed to be a literal swarm surrounding the safe zone, it wasn’t as great for getting experience as they hoped, at some point they started getting less and less. All having played video games regularly, guessed that it was due to the level difference.

“Even more of a reason to go to the dungeon,” Alex said as he cleared the sweat from his brow. “I’m also getting less skill experience, like I’ve learned everything I can from fighting the barghest.”

“Let me just go get Marcus and something to eat and we’ll be on our way,” Stella said as she walked back into the gym.

“Do you think she’s doing fine?” Alex asked, looking in the direction of the administration building.

“Who? Anna? Yeah, we’re fine, she should also be fine,” Eric answered as he lifted his left arm with his right hand and let it go, watching it fall.

“Ho—” Alex was about to speak but was interrupted by Stella. “Lets go. I want to get stronger before the timer runs out. You guys ready?” she asked. Alex and Eric got up and started walking. Stella had reminded David that he was in charge of the survivors while they were away, she also told him to try to get everyone to a higher level. They now had little more than twelve hours before the timer ran out, they had to get a hold of every advantage they could.

Time remaining: 13:54:32

Their journey to the dungeon was an easy one. Everyone was cautious of their surroundings, especially Eric, but they didn’t see a single monster, they didn’t even hear any strange noises. They were curious about the lack of monsters, but they were short on time and had things to do.

Once inside, Alex and Marcus ate as much as they could. Back in the gym, Marcus was busy and would only take an occasional bite of some cookies that Stella had given him, and Alex hadn’t wanted to eat too much food, in case it was the only one they would get from the dungeon. But to their surprise, all the food was there, even the food Eric had taken out.

“That answers that question,” Eric muttered to himself.

Stella walked toward the counter and grabbed some stuff to eat as well. While everyone was eating, Eric explained to them the general layout of the dungeon, confirming the spawning rules.

After they finished eating, all of them except Eric, headed toward the gallery. Their first attempt ended in success but only barely. Alex had gone in front of the others, depending on his stone armor so that he could resist the spider attacks, but was surprised by the spiders not being where Eric had said. Instead of adapting to the situation, he hesitated long enough for the other spiders to arrive and attack all of them together. They retreated and were only saved by Marcus using his electric bombs. Eric hadn’t gotten a good look the first time around, but this time he did. He saw how the small black device was sparking and crackling, and after a few seconds, paralyzed the attacking spiders with small arcs of lightning.

Eric saw five spider corpses, curious about the amount, he went into the gallery. He walked to where he had seen the eggs and they were no longer where there. “Maybe it’s because I was passed out for a couple of hours. The dungeon must reset to the same conditions each time,” he said to the others, having received help from his Mental focus skill.

“What about the rest of the dungeon? Will we find any other surprises later on?” Alex asked but the only response he got from Eric was shrugged shoulders.

“Guess we’ll find out,” Stella added as she led the group to the language center.

Eric didn’t participate this time either. The three would use this time to get a better hang on their own capabilities. Alex already had combat knowledge, where he struggled was on the application of that knowledge. Also, most martial arts are for fighting humans and not giant spiders, little by little, he was adapting.

Stella knew enough to defend herself from what her parents had taught her, but through the years she had practiced less and less. She remembered most of it, but her body wasn’t as capable as it used to be. Her goal was magic, but it wouldn’t hurt to be able to defend against those who got to close. At a slower and more painful pace than Alex, she was getting used to the flow of combat.

Marcus was the worst of the three. Just because he could take a hit, didn’t mean he could give one back and he really couldn’t. If he wasn’t quick enough to kill all the paralyzed spiders before they recovered, the fight would go on for longer than anyone was willing to wait. The only thing he learned was that he needed better bombs.

After they finished and before they headed to the second floor, they started gathering everything they could use to carry food and drinks in. Marcus filled some of the bags with various electronics that were in the language center. He grabbed all the left behind laptops, cellphones and cables he could find. He even opened up some computers, only taking the boards that were inside.

Having finished ransacking the language center, the four of them stood before the music room, having encountered the same problem that Eric had. They couldn’t see anything within the room. They moved and crouched, trying to see something at an angle, but it was fruitless. Marcus reached into his bag and brought out an intact cellphone and turned its flashlight on. He then opened the door slightly and slid it across the floor, face down.

As the phone slid across the floor, the ceiling could be seen, nothing was crawling across it. The phone stopped near the center of the room. Marcus was about to throw two more phones into the room but was stopped by Alex.

“Wait. How did you fight it?” he asked, looking at Eric.

“Walked in, got ambushed and won by pure luck,” Eric answered, no sarcasm present in his voice.

Silence took over for a brief moment before Alex spoke once again. “So, you didn’t see where it came from?”

“Not really.”

“I have an idea,” Stella interjected. “How about Alex does what you did, and we go in after him. With some light, obviously.”

“Explain.”

“Alex does exactly the same thing that you did and then the rest of us go in after the spider attacks him.”

Eric made a slight nod and turned to Alex, “You down?”

Alex took a moment to consider it before he ultimately said yes. Marcus took one of the phones he was going to throw into the before and slid into the corner of the room, illuminating part of the hallway entrance.

Alex moved to the front of the door and shook his body slightly, shaking away the unease. He grabbed the handle, let out a small breath and walked in. Eric had gone into more detail about his encounter with the spider, even the speed at which he walked. Alex tried to fit the description that Eric gave him as best he could. As he reached the hallway entrance, nervousness overtook him and he turned around to look at his friends, only for the spider to be right in front of him, clearly illuminated by the phone’s flashlight. The spider managed to pierce his right shoulder but failed to do anything to his left arm as he had activated his stone armor in time.

As Alex went in, the other three got themselves ready, firmly grasping their weapons. They saw the spider creeping up on Alex and before he turned around to face it, they were already rushing toward them. Eric at the front with his broken mop, splintered end pointing forward, ready to strike.

Eric was the first to strike the spider, as the splintered end of his weapon pierced its backside. Marcus followed up by striking its right side with his axe and Stella stabbed its left with her knife. The spider recoiled from the pain, moving its front legs just enough for Alex to remove the one currently stabbing his right shoulder. Instead of letting go, Alex firmly grasped it at a higher point and then grabbed the leg that had tried to pierce his arm in a similar manner and yanked the spider downwards. He then let go of both legs and with his left hand, pushed the head of the spider down and punched it with his right.

The spider continued to struggle but the constant punches from Alex had left it disoriented and it couldn’t think straight. The attacks on its rear had eventually crept further up, increasing its wounds and the pain. It died after only landing one attack and receiving many.

Fledgling spider +300 experience.

As everyone got ready to leave the room, Eric turned the spider over with his leg. He asked Stella for her knife and proceeded to open the spider’s thorax. The first time he did this, he had found a dark crystal, this time he found a clear one. He examined it momentarily before putting it in his pocket. He got up and started walking toward the door, the others hadn’t waited for him and were about to exit.

“The name—” Eric was about to mention how the name of the spider was different from when he had killed it the first time, but his words were cut short, as the entire room become completely white.

The room had become enveloped in a brilliant white, it was fast, but they all saw how the white enveloped everything in the room. A weird gurgling noise, unlike anything any of them had ever experienced, could be heard from behind Eric. The noise made them all uneasy as they turned to face its origin. The noise was coming from the spider’s corpse, it was melting, becoming a pool of pitch-black liquid that irradiated a black smoke. The liquid started to rise, slowly taking the form of a lanky man, that was until the head was formed. Its face had a flat deerlike face, and from the corners of its forehead, extended two big antlers that extended back and slightly outward.

From the moment its pitch-black eyes were formed, it looked at Eric, its gaze never shifting anywhere else. Everyone was paralyzed, not unsure of what to do, but also incapable of doing anything else, as their bodies refused to move. Eric managed to activate his skill, only for it to stop, before he could sense that the reason was internal, this time however he could tell that the reason was external.

Eric felt something stir within.

“Ignorant…. Of course you are…. You killed my pet. And now you try to use your sad skill in my presence,” it said in a calm town that didn’t fit its words.

Its voice resounded throughout not only the room, but throughout everyone’s body, something inside each and every one of them shook every time it spoke, causing physical pain.

The feeling within Eric began to build.

“You were warned…. It always warns them,” it said, slowly advancing toward Eric, one step at a time.

Eric remembered the feeling. It was something he hadn’t felt it in years.

“You took something of mine. You will now give me something of yours…. Ah, it seems there is already something for me to take…. You won’t miss it. It doesn’t work,” it said having reached Eric.

It shifted its gaze to the eyepatch covering Eric’s right eye and lifted it. It then began to gouge his right eye out with its fingers, no, it was something else. Eric could feel the darkness moving around his eye, settling behind it. It felt cold, wet, purple, dark, it felt like a hot day after one of heavy rain. Eric’s mind was overloaded trying to comprehend what he was experiencing. He could feel his eye being both pushed and yanked out at the same time. Eric wanted to scream, but something else was welling up inside him.

Suddenly, Eric’s mind was quelled, the feeling having forced it.

“Be happy. I have taken something useless. Not everyone is as kind,” it said, examining Eric’s eye.

As the creature stood before Eric, two heads taller than him, Eric could see the contempt in its eyes. Finally, as the creature examined his eye, the feeling reached its tipping point.

“Stop,” Eric said with an authoritative tone full of anger. Anger fueled by the way the creature looked at him, like he was lesser, weaker.

The single word that Eric spoke caused the creature to freeze, it was only for a second but by the time the creature could move once more, it had a knife embedded on its left side. With a look full of contempt and as if saying to the creature that he was the one that was lesser, Eric uttered a final word.

“Pathetic,” he said in a calm tone, the anger having vanished.

The creature’s entire demeanor changed and as it was about to move against Eric, it started to struggle against its surroundings, an invisible force closing it in. Its struggle only lasted a few seconds, before it completely disappeared, causing the room to return to normal. Eric was flooded with system messages, as he fell to his knees, pushing the palm of his hand against the now empty eye socket.

Unauthorized incursion forcefully closed.

Dungeon clear!