Broken Anomaly

The incursion platform went through its activation process, lighting up completely. The last thing it did was power what Anna assumed was the portal. She hadn’t actually witnessed how the invaders arrived, but it was an obvious conclusion considering the circular archway.

The center of the archway, the portal, began to shimmer until it settled on a distorted image, as if clear but very wavy water was between here and there, much like how heat distorts distant images. Beyond the portal, she could make out green figures in what appeared to be a gray city.

The green figures in the distance grew as they approached the portal from their side. Anna tightened her grip on her weapon, her heart rate steadying as she prepared for what was coming.

Emerging from the portal was a single goblin, the same size as the one her friends had described to her, the only difference being that it was dressed in simple leather armor.

Their eyes met, locking in place. Tension began to build as neither of them wanted to be the first to make a move. The tense exchange lasted longer than either of them expected.

Anna, seeing another figure approach the portal, tensed her muscles. Part of her knew what she had to do, but hesitation crept in. She didn’t know what the consequences of her actions would be, and that uncertainty made her hesitate.

What if they could be talked to? The eyes of the goblin before her clearly showed signs of intelligence—intelligence capable of crafting armor, perhaps even intelligence that understood peaceful resolutions.

She could strike down this goblin with ease, but would the ones that followed understand that she acted out of fear? On the other hand, intelligence didn’t mean peaceful. It wouldn’t take long to find an example of such within her personal memories.

She thought back to the lessons given to her by her grandfather; for a moment she could even smell the sandalwood incense that always permeated the air in his house.

“Judging a person for what they do in desperation is unwise. Survival makes animals out of us all.” Her grandfather suddenly kicked her in the chest, making her fall on her rear. “It’s what they do with strength that determines their character,” he continued, a mischievous grin forming as he snatched the ice cream from her young hands. “I’m a terrible person,” he added, sticking out his tongue as he turned to run away.

Anna felt a sense of anger rise within her, but it was only her remembering how she felt in that moment.

She took the actual lesson and thought of ways to apply it. Seeing that another figure on the other side of the portal was mere steps away from arriving, she chose the quickest option.

She let her guard down a bit, showing a clear opening on her left side. The goblin didn’t miss such an obvious opportunity, lunging at Anna. This was more than enough to answer her question and dispel all doubts about doing what she had to do.

She turned her body to the side, easily dodging the goblins attack. She raised her sword and brought it down just as the goblin was turning to face her. A gash appeared across the goblin’s face, and before it could make a sound, Anna swung her sword once more, this time against its neck.

The goblins had noticed that something was occurring on the other side. It wasn’t uncommon for natives to find the incursion portal before it was activated, so they always sent a single soldier, armed with as much as the System would allow, to scout the area before their main forces crossed over. They had done this countless times before.

Seeing what looked like combat from beyond the portal didn’t really faze the commander in front. The cacophony of heavy machinery surrounding them annoyed them more than the possible death of their scout.

The commander emerged from the portal just as Anna severed the head of their scout. The commander blew their nose forcefully, disgusted by the clean air that surrounded them. Paying Anna no mind, its gaze turned to the open plains. The commander began to plan out the construction he would do here.

It turned its sights on Anna, inspecting her and everything she carried thoroughly. The commander was determining whether the natives of this world were smart enough to have reached the level of making great factories yet. However, none of the possessions on the native gave a clear answer.

Then, something caught its attention—a glint from inside the bag that contained Anna’s supplies. Without hesitation or concern for what Anna might do, it walked over to the bag behind Anna and plucked out a water bottle.

The commander bit off the cap, chewing it thoroughly, and as the taste of processed plastic filled its mouth, a wide grin spread across its face. The precision with which both the bottle and cap were made caused the commander’s mind to go wild, imagining what they would learn from the great factories of the natives.

Anna shuddered the moment the goblin commander emerged from the incursion portal. Though it was the same size as the one she had just killed, this one was full of muscles adorned with scars.

It wore no armor, only a pair of studded leather pants with small pieces of metal intertwined. It dragged a thick sword that was far too big for its small stature.

But the commander carried himself with a level of confidence that made Anna hesitate. The way it completely ignored her only intensified the fear that was building within her—this goblin was dangerous, and it knew it.

The commander turned to Anna. Then, without warning, it twisted its entire body and whipped its right arm, swinging the sword at Anna.

Anna reacted fast enough to lift her sword and block the incoming strike. The sound of the swords clashing was deafening, sending vibrations through her entire body. The force behind the blow was so great that it pushed her backward, making her hit the stone portal.

The commander didn’t stop. When its sword bounced back slightly from hitting Anna’s sword, it twisted its entire body, following the sword’s movement.

Anna, who hadn’t even begun to regain her balance, was barely able to back away as the sword hit the portal, bouncing back. Once again, the goblin followed the trajectory that the sword was already on.

Anna had backed away enough to see what the goblin was doing. It was like a dance. The goblin was using the momentum from the initial swing to power every strike that followed.

Its body contorted once more, and Anna blocked another strike, this time significantly heavier. Anna knew what followed, it took longer to redirect the blow when it was blocked, so she took the opening and ran into the forest.

Though Anna would have preferred to stay and fight, from the corner of her eye she noticed more figures approaching the portal from the other side. The goblin commander was not something she could take on while having to worry about other enemies. So, she made the most rational decision she could think of and ran away.

Once she reached the edge of the forest, she turned, seeing that the small goblin hadn’t even left the platform, as many more exited the portal behind it.

----------

Alex spent the entire day searching the desert for any semblance of activity. The sun had begun to burn his skin almost immediately, and the heat from the ground easily passed through his shoes, which were now damp with sweat.

“Fucking Eric! Motivating people to do stupid shit!” he exclaimed, frustration coating his every word. “I hope you’re going through something worse! Bastard!” he continued, his words now venomous.

He continued walking, eventually stopping at a tall rock formation, where he found refuge in its shadow, feeling a momentary relief from the relentless heat of the sun.

Despair began to creep into his mind. It highlighted how empty the desert was and how he had ventured too far in to be able to retreat. Did he even know which direction he came from?

He took a deep breath, cooling his head and dispelling such despairing thoughts. He began to reflect on his current situation, considering his options going forward.

First of all, he did know where he came from, he just had to walk back, and he’d eventually reach the forest. Second, the desert wasn’t empty, at least not according to the system window before him.

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

He rested for a bit longer, long enough for his feet to cool. He then got back up and continued walking, making sure to do so in a straight line.

As night fell, the searing heat became a bone-chilling cold, but Alex continued walking forward, his determination only strengthened by the harsh conditions.

Soon, he came across a deep canyon, but his interest in the canyon itself was fleeting as something else caught his eye.

Below, in a canyon wall, a shadow illuminated by the moonlight disappeared into the canyon wall. This was the first sign of possible life he had found since entering the desert.

Fueled by nothing but the desire to not be on the surface when the sun rose, he searched for a way down, scanning the rocky terrain for any path that might lead him closer to where the shadow had vanished.

He followed the edge of the canyon, at times almost falling as he stopped and considered jumping down on multiple occasions. He clicked his tongue each time he saw that there was nothing to jump down to. No matter how much he looked, he couldn't find a path down. Until finally, he stopped.

Alex looked down, seeing the same thing he had seen countless times before, a jagged canyon wall with nowhere to land on. However, there was one difference, the distance between the cliff and the canyon floor was the shortest he had found.

He opened his skill list, thankful that he hadn’t spent any of his skill points other than the one he used to get Stone armor.

Fist mastery. Tough skin. Amplification. Dash. Regeneration. Inspect.

He looked at the canyon floor, then he inspected himself. He took a moment to think about the skills. He was sure that he was close to developing Fist mastery on his own, since it was the only way he fought.

Also, according to his friends, the order in which the skills appeared was a combination of System recommendations and skills that were the nearest to being developed, so he discarded Fist Mastery.

Inspect, while a staple of the web novels he used to read, wasn’t really needed. He functioned properly without it, and right now, he needed survivability. Dash didn’t go with his fighting style, since he was more of a close and personal brawler that refused to retreat, in his mind at least.

That left Tough skin, Amplification and Regeneration. Three skills and three skill points. He could easily justify getting each skill.

Tough skin would increase his resistance, and he was clearly about to enter into a battle. Amplification would increase his strength, something that he knew he needed ever since the battle with the giant crab, where he couldn’t even damage it.

Lastly, Regeneration was an obvious one, especially as a foundational skill. You never knew when you would end up in an area where you wouldn’t be able to take your time and recover, like now. Having convinced himself, he selected all three skills.

He once again looked down at the canyon floor. The only reason he could see it as clearly as he did was because of the more than ample light provided by the three moons in the sky. He gathered his courage and activated both Stone armor and Tough skin, for a brief moment feeling a spark between the two skills.

He lowered himself, holding the edge of the cliff firmly. His breathing began to accelerate. The jagged canyon wall was at somewhat of an angle, though not really, it was just really misshapen. He, knowing that at this point he was only stalling, let go.

The first few seconds were simple. It was just Alex descending step by step. The canyon wall offered little in the way of handholds, but he managed to find some, nonetheless.

His feet scraped against the wall, searching until they found small ledges to rest on. This continued until suddenly, without warning, the wall disappeared from under him.

He quickly extended his arm, feeling the wall once more. He tried to grab onto anything, but there was nothing, until he felt a small rock protruding from the cliff face. He grabbed it, feeling his shoulder joint recoil from the sudden jolt, at the same time, he pulled himself toward it, once again feeling the wall.

Finally, he slid onto the nearest platform, or better said, a protruding rock that offered just enough space for him to stand on. He repeated such a risky tactic two more times, the risk not changing in the slightest. After slowly climbing down, the wall disappeared from him once more.

However, this time, no matter how much he desperately searched for another rock from which to pull himself toward the wall once more, he never found one. But he was prepared for this, this was why he had gotten new skills.

As he fell toward the ground, he activated his new skill, Regeneration, knowing that when he reached the ground, he was going to need healing. Finally, after a few seconds of free fall, he crashed onto the canyon floor with a loud thud, the sound echoing through the canyon.