The Rising Of The Anomaly - Chapter 159

“That’s a K-Rank! Let me step in-,” Began Altan with a grimace, taking a step forward.

“No, we’ve got this,” I responded, before instructing the others, “Get some distance, guys, let me first confirm what type of Mutant it is. We’ll attack as soon as I’ve identified it.”

“Alright, got it,” Responded Suri, as the three of them backed away.

“Just let us know when to attack, we’re ready to strike,” Added Seila, as she and the others activated their manifestations.

As the dust cloud then cleared, I got a good look at the Mutant…yeah, definitely a K-Rank.

“That’s…a Peen,” I identified the creature…it’s a worm-like Mutant that grows upto fifteen meters in length, and its mouth is wide enough to swallow a human whole, with several rows of sharp teeth inside its mouth.

It was named Peen because, well…penis. These things are generally easily distracted and can’t see very well. They can get a general, vague sense of XFE, but they’re not good at pinpointing, and if you stay still, there’s a good chance that they won’t even notice you. But if they do notice you, they attack with overwhelming speed and brutality, hesitate for a moment and you’re dead.

Once you’re within their jaws, you’ll be torn apart by their rows of teeth in a matter of seconds. They have a lot of weaknesses and can be easily dealt with if you know about them, but they’re still classified as K-Ranked Mutants because of how dangerous they are when they do attack. They’re definitely among the weaker K-Ranked Mutants though.

“Ugh, why do we always get the disgusting ones?” Groaned Suri in dismay.

“I know these things can be really dangerous, but I have to agree with Suri,” Spoke up Seila, sounding put-off.

“Same,” Agreed Katie.

“Well, this brings back memories. Hey, Seila, remember that time with the Lubes, how you fell on Kil-?” Began Mitchell teasingly.

“Okay, that’s enough…fine, I’ll take this out myself, but regardless of what the next Mutant we face is, you guys can’t stay out of it, got it?” I remarked with an exasperated sigh.

“Yes, we get it, just take this thing out already!” Exclaimed Suri in response.

“Yeah, yeah…,” I muttered, before chanting, “<Activate Anomaly, Tier Two: Pause>…now, then, Mutant…give me some head, <Activate Anomaly, Tier Three: Cut>.”

There, I removed its head. Also, I feel like I’ve used that ‘give me some head’ line before…well, whatever, it’s not like anyone heard it, so it doesn’t matter. Anyway, guess I should unfreeze time now…

“<Activate Anomaly, Tier Two: Play>.”

The body of the Peen then collapsed onto the ground, gelatinous fluids pouring out of the stump where it’s head had just been.

“Nicely done as always, dude. But, uh, where’d the head go?” Inquired Mitchell curiously.

Oh, right…

“<Activate Anomaly, Tier Three: Paste>,” I chanted inaudibly, the head of the Mutant reappearing next to where the body was.

“I’m not really sure what just happened, but that was awesome…and a little terrifying, admittedly. Though I’m not sure how to score it since this is a teamwork exam,” Remarked Altan, looking on with intrigue…yeah, he wasn’t lying when he said he’d never overseen an exam before…

He’s not supposed to give us feedback like this, but maybe I can use his inexperience to my advantage and influence his decision-making when scoring us…

“Actually, what I did was a result of our current level of teamwork…the girls don’t do well with bug-type Mutants or other types that could be considered gross, and it wouldn’t have been prudent to have our scout join in on the fight, we’d be in trouble if another Mutant showed up and he wasn’t able to warn us in time,” I replied in a nonchalant tone, before changing the subject, “Let’s keep moving, shall we? Everyone, stay on guard, Peens are Mutants that don’t usually move in groups, but it isn’t impossible that another one might be close by.”

“You know, you seem kinda icy at first, but you’re pretty good at this…leading a team, I mean,” Said Altan, as we began moving again, after the others responded affirmatively.

“Well, it didn’t really start out that way, I didn’t like the idea of working with others…but since I didn’t have a choice in the matter, I had to adapt, and as it turned out, my tactical management of others was pretty efficient, that’s all,” I responded with a shrug.

“Wow, you sure do make it sound coldly logical.”

“I mean, getting emotional in these situations isn’t going to help anybody…staying calm, cold and calculating is what gives you the highest chance of success with minimal errors, and consequently, minimal to no casualties, ideally speaking. Of course, not everything always goes according to plan, and it’s in those moments that staying unemotional becomes critical…a moment’s panic or hesitation could be fatal. Since I’m still a student, I don’t have a lot of experience, but from what I’ve seen so far, responding quickly and efficiently to an abrupt or unexpected obstacle is one of the most important skills to have,” I surmised…crap, I might be talking too much, I won’t be able to complain if he docks points for that.

Alright, time to get focused, I don’t have the luxury to take it easy…

“Well, now…you’ve got a scary mind, kid, and that coupled with your powers and skills…let’s just say that, right now, I’m thankful that you’re on our side,” Responded Altan wryly.

“You’re exaggerating, it’s not like I’m unstoppable, after all,” I replied, a bit awkwardly.

“Maybe against other Anomalies, sure…but Prodigies don’t stand a chance against you, along with everyone else that isn’t an Anomaly,” He pointed out in response.

Okay, I think it’s time I reminded him of his current job…

“You know, I said this before, and I don’t mean to tell you how to do your job, but, uh…I doubt you’re supposed to be interacting with the examinees this much,” I stated with a wry smile.

“…shit, I keep forgetting. It’s boring to just observe though,” He sighed wistfully.

I have to wonder, why did they pick someone like him to oversee this exam? He’s really strong and all, but that’s not the primary concern here…he’s too hyper and energetic for a role like this. Well, whatever, I can’t change the overseer at this point, so I’ll just have to deal with it…

…

About an hour later, after a few uneventful kilometers of traveling-…well, technically, we did encounter a few J-Ranked Mutants here and there, but those don’t really count…-we finally had our next real encounter…

“Hey, guys, I think we should take a short break now, I’m-…,” Mitchell began, before trailing off and stating in an urgent tone, “Actually, scratch that, we’ve got a pack of Mutants incoming, they look like…Spikys and Komodos!”

So, reptile type Mutants, huh? Spikys are giant lizards with, well, spikes on their backs, each with a row of said spikes that run down their spines. As for Komodos…they’re just Mutant komodo dragons, and a rare Mutant type without an absurd name. They grow up to about four meters long and have venemous fangs.

“Alright, how many do you see?” I inquired, as I prepared myself, the girls activating their manifestations following Mitchell’s alert.

“There’s…eight Spikys and six Komodos!”

“Okay, continue to keep an eye out, let us know if any more of them show up…now, then, Seila, Suri and Katie, take out the ones that get closest to you, don’t worry about any that get past you or try to surround you, I’ll take care of those,” I instructed, as I used my Jetback to fly up a bit and get a better vantage point.

“Here they come!” Warned Mitchell, a couple of seconds before the Mutants came into view.

Looks like he got their numbers right, good, his eye-in-the-sky scouting is improving nicely.

One of the Spikys rushed in ahead of the pack and leapt at Seila, before getting sliced in half as she expanded one of her energy blades towards it, without moving a step. And then, with flicks of her wrists, she tore apart two more than began to approach her, killing them before they could get too close.

Suri formed an energy shuriken and flung it at the head of a Komodo that was sprinting towards her, before dashing forward as another one leapt up from behind the one she just killed, and tore it in half with her chainsaw.

As she shot forward, a Spiky slipped past her and began to leap at her from behind, which she noticed too late, a look of alarm appearing in her eyes…but it wasn’t a problem, I’ve got this. I swiftly took aim and fired, nailing the headshot and dropping the Mutant before it could strike.

Meanwhile, Katie was blasting any of the Mutant that got within her range with her lightning, sticking to her regular manifestations instead of going for Manifestation Overdrive…just as well, that’d be a bit overkill here, we’ve all improved significantly enough that Q-Ranked Mutants were no longer a real threat to us. So long as we don’t get careless, with these numbers, they’re not a problem.

From the time Seila launched the initial attack, it barely took us a minute to wrap things up and kill all the Mutants…pretty good efficiency, it especially helps that they’ve become more and more trusting of me backing them up, which lets them focus more on attacking aggressively.

Alright, then…time for a break!

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