The Rising Of The Anomaly - Chapter 161

“Hey, you sure you don’t want me to jump in? Just say the word and I’ll do it,” Remarked Altan in a hopeful tone.

Man, he must really be bored, huh…

“If things get out of hand, then you can take over,” I responded, before addressing my teammates, “Alright, Katie, take the lead. Seila, Suri, fan out a bit and follow after her from a distance, provide back-up if necessary. I’ll cover you from further behind. Mitchell, keep an eye out and let us know if any other Mutants show up. Got it, everyone?”

“Got it!” They all responded affirmatively, before Katie began heading forward.

Altan was looking pretty disappointed, guess he was really hoping to get a chance to shine, huh. But I don’t plan to give him a chance unless absolutely necessary, for two reasons. First, because it might affect our final score for the exam. And second, because his attacks would negatively affect us too, not just the Mutants.

“You kids are way too organized for a student team, it’s no fun,” Sighed Altan wistfully.

“You make it sound like most X-Warrior teams have poor teamwork,” I responded, as we got closer to where the Mutant was.

“Kinda, yeah. See, very few of the permanent teams that are set when they’re students actually stick together once they become X-Warriors. After they graduate, most X-Warriors team up with those that they get along with, and hardly consider factors like compatibility and balance. But those are mostly with J-Ranks and low-end Q-Ranks, those that are higher ranked generally have the sense to be a part of more well-balanced teams,” He explained in reply.

“I see…that’s not very encouraging to hear,” I responded wryly, before getting serious as the Werewolf came into view, “Okay…it’s all yours, Katie…”

“Right. Leave it to me.”

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Katie Cummins

———————————————————————————

Finally, an opportunity to test this out. The Werewolf was about fifty meters away, and it had just noticed us. It was looking around at each of us carefully, as it bared its fangs and extended its claws out. I better get started before the Mutant decides to attack.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, before channeling my XFE into the spot between my shoulder-blades, concentrating and keeping myself calm.

I’m already past the point where Manifestation Overdrive would be triggered, and that would probably be enough to finish off this Mutant. But I’ve tested out Manifestation Overdrive more than enough times already…let’s take it to the next level.

A wave of yellow XFE burst out from me in an intense shockwave, kicking up dust all around me as my power surged, a huge mass of XFE manifesting around me…before rapidly compressing and wrapping around my body, right as I triggered the activation chant…

“<Manifestation Surge: Dragon Cloak>.”

My XFE formed like armor around my torso and limbs, as wings manifested by my shoulder-blades and a row of spikes ran down my back and continued straight down my tail, which grew out about two meters long. And around my head, the XFE formed in the shape of a dragon’s head.

My entire body, from my head down to my toes, was completely covered, with yellow sparks of lightning crackling all around me, and it felt like my senses were supercharged…it was like everything was moving in slow motion.

I began to move towards the Mutant, and almost before I knew it, I had closed in on it. And despite my speed, it didn’t feel like I was out of control and unable to keep up…my senses were keeping pace with my speed, I could see and hear more clearly and sharply than ever before.

I then leapt up and swung my right hand towards the Mutant’s right side, my electric XFE claws striking it…and with a vicious spark and crackle, tore it’s right arm and shoulder off effortlessly. No way…this is surpassing my wildest expectations, I didn’t expect this form to be so effective and powerful.

I then bent my index finger under my thumb as I pointed my left hand towards the Werewolf’s chest, before flicking my finger out, striking it…and sending it flying back several meters, skidding along the ground at a breakneck speed and crashing onto a large rock with immense impact.

“Woah, holy crap…,” I heard Mitchell mutter into the comms.

The Werewolf then got back on its feet with a whimper, blood spilling out of its mouth as it shakily stood up. Time to end this. I charged up a powerful bolt of lightning in my right hand, and as the Mutant began to run away, I swiftly took aim and fired, hitting my target before it could react, killing it as its top half got completely incinerated.

I dissipated the XFE manifested around me as the lower half of the Mutant collapsed onto the ground, letting out a quiet sigh. Okay, that was way too easy…I was pretty eager to test out my Manifestation Surge against a real target, but with how effortless that was, now it kinda feels like it was overkill.

I don’t feel satisfied at all, I really thought that a K-Ranked Mutant would be much tougher than this. Or is it more that I’m underestimating my power level in my Manifestation Surge form? Because while it wasn’t a satisfactory test of that form, I did get a bit of a rush from how powerful I felt when I demolished the Mutant.

“Nicely done, that was really something,” Remarked Kilzachs, sounding impressed.

“Thanks,” I responded, as the others approached me.

“That’s seriously understating what just happened, that was incredible! Like, holy shit, I couldn’t even keep up with your speed!” Exclaimed Altan, his eyes wide.

“Wait, for real? I mean, I definitely couldn’t see a thing beyond an electric blur, but you’re an Ace, so-,” Began Suri in surprise.

“Yeah, well, I can say with certainty that I don’t have any moves up my sleeve that are fast enough to block or counter…whatever that was!”

Okay, this is a little embarrassing, to have everyone’s attention on me like this…

“What exactly was that? I heard you chant ‘Manifestation Surge’,” Chimed in Seila with a look of intrigue.

“Is that the level beyond Manifestation Overdrive that you mentioned a while ago?” Inquired Suri curiously.

“Yeah, it’s-,” I began to reply.

“Can you trigger it at will with full control? That’s seriously impressive, I still can’t even figure out how to trigger Manifestation Overdrive!” Interrupted Altan in awe.

They’re crowding me way too much, this is suffocating. I then met Kilzachs’ eye, who was watching on with amusement…as he met my gaze, I gave him a pleading look to help me get out of this situation.

I wasn’t sure that I’d gotten the message across since I’m not very good at being expressive, so all I could do was hope…

“Alright, guys, this is no time to let your guards down. We’re still in the middle of this exam, save your questions for after we’re back in the Sanctuary,” He spoke up with a loud clap of his hands, before turning to Altan, “As the overseer, you really shouldn’t be obstructing our progress, you know.”

“Aw, man, you can be kind of a wet blanket sometimes,” Altan sighed in response.

“Come on, everyone, let’s get back into formation!” Instructed Kilzachs, and to my relief, they complied without any delay.

But as we began heading back, I could feel them all staring at me. This is pretty uncomfortable, but it’s better than a non-stop barrage of questions, I suppose. I’ll ask them to keep this to themselves once we get to the base, I’d prefer it if too many people don’t find out about this too soon.

I managed to trigger Manifestation Surge about a week ago, and I still hadn’t informed Director Silva, because I wanted to get as familiar with it as possible before revealing it to anyone. But the temptation to test it out against a K-Ranked Mutant was too much to resist…yes, we encountered a K-Rank yesterday too, but that one was gross.

Anyway, I wasn’t able to test the limits of this new form, I can’t help but wonder how powerful I really am in that state. Altan seemed convinced that I was too fast for him to deal with, but what about the other Aces?

Instructor Silva’s Primary Manifestation has unreal defense, do I have the firepower to breach it? And what about Kilzachs’ sister? It’s hard to imagine defeating her, and she’d learnt how to trigger Manifestation Overdrive a while ago, so she might not be far off from figuring out Surge too.

And then there’s Kilzachs himself, someone that can literally freeze time itself…and that aside, I know he’s been working on trying to trigger whatever the Anomaly equivalent of Manifestation Overdrive is…has he learnt how to do so yet? And if he has, just how powerful will he become?

There are also other Aces whom I haven’t gone up against or met yet, I wonder how strong they are in comparison to my new form…somehow, thinking about all this makes me feel really hyped up…

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.