The Rising Of The Anomaly - Chapter 164

It was currently the 31st of October, at 8 AM in the morning…I was at one of the outside bases, one that was along the farthest radius from the Sanctuary. It was to the northwest of the Sanctuary, and it was from here that the combat exam would begin for me and my temporary team.

Naturally, my temporary teammates were here too…Kiran and the bitch. The exam was to last approximately twelve hours…we’re to spend six hours heading out, and then turning around and heading back at the end of that. Of course, if we take less time to head back, that’s not a problem.

Now, then, we just had to wait…specifically, for our overseer to show up. As usual, we weren’t informed about who it was going to be, only that they were an Ace. So long as it’s not Zarina, I’m fine with anyone…actually, scratch that, I’d rather not have my sister oversee this exam either.

I still hadn’t spoken to her since…that. And since I’ve been avoiding thinking about it, I have no idea what I’d even say to her. Pretending like it never happened would be the ideal approach, but the problem with that method is that it’s easier said than done.

“Why do we have to start so early?” Sighed Kiran, stifling a yawn.

“That’s why I messaged you yesterday and told you to sleep early. That’s what I did, and I feel fine,” I responded dryly.

“You sent me that message at 5 PM, so I forgot about it. What time did you go to sleep anyway?” He inquired as he rubbed the side of his left eye.

“Hm? Oh, I went to sleep at 7 PM, and woke up at a bit past 6:30 AM this morning,” I replied, feeling genuinely well-rested.

“…that’s way too early,” He responded with a sigh.

“That’s unexpected, coming from you,” I countered in surprise.

“Yeah, well, I take naps throughout the day and then go to sleep at a normal time, usually somewhere between 9 to 11 PM, later on weekends…I can’t really fall asleep for long periods at a time,” He explained with a shrug.

“Huh…that’s kinda unusual. But yeah, now that I think about it, whenever you sleep in class, you wake up after a little while, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sleep through an entire session,” I realized, after thinking back on it.

“Uh-huh…that’s why I hate stuff like this, though if nothing else, today’s exam shouldn’t be as bad as the overnight teamwork exam…that was the absolute worst,” He sighed despondently.

“Anyway, our overseer is late, we’d better not lose points for a late start…by the way, where’d the bitch disappear off to?” I inquired, looking around.

“Screw you, dipshit. I just had to go to the bathroom,” She huffed, appearing from around a nearby corner.

Not sure how to feel about her change, she went from being all meek and miserable to actually standing up for herself. On the one hand, it’s easier to insult someone who will actually retort, instead of just staying silent and taking it.

But on the other hand, from a neutral standpoint, this is a change for the better…I’d hate to think that she went through this positive change because of me. I’d much rather ruin her life than help improve it.

“Yeah, whatever, just make sure to play your part once the exam begins and we won’t have a problem,” I responded icily.

“Hmph, after saying all that, you better hope that you don’t screw up instead,” She retorted with a glare.

“And after saying that, you definitely better not screw up, bitch,” I shot back.

“Keep acting all high and mighty, and you know what, I hope you do screw up, I can’t wait to see what kind of expression you’d make if and when that happens!” She exclaimed with a smirk.

“You do realize that I’m not above punching you in the face if you piss me off, right?”

“Go right ahead, I’m not afraid of you!”

“Well, if you insist-.”

“Hey, guys-…,” Began Kiran.

“What!?” She and I responded in unison…tch, I feel really irritated right now…

“The Ace is here,” He replied, nodding at the hallway, where a familiar figure was approaching.

Him, huh…it’s Johan Grantz, one of the Ace Anomalies, haven’t seen him in a while. Good, I can rely on him to be unbiased and objective in his overseeing of the exam.

“It’s been a while, Kilzachs,” He greeted me with a polite nod, as he walked over.

“Yeah, how’s it going?” I replied with a slight wave of my hand.

“Good, thanks. Now, then…I’m sorry I’m late, I didn’t mean to delay the start of the exam. Don’t worry though, since it’s my fault, you won’t be penalized for the late start,” He stated, before gesturing to the exit, “Let’s get started immediately, shall we?”

“Sounds good to me,” I responded affirmatively.

“Yeah, might as well get it over with,” Sighed Kiran in reply, while Bytra simply nodded.

We followed him as he led the way out of the base and through the protective barriers, before halting and stepping back.

“Okay, I’m going to be hanging around the back now and will stay out of your way while I observe, which includes listening in on your comms. Avoid interacting with me, just pretend I’m not here,” He instructed, before heading for the back of the group.

“Alright, then…get into the formation we settled on, and keep a sharp eye out. It’s only three of us instead of the usual four or five that we’re used to, so stay on high alert. Got it?” I instructed them.

“Yeah, I know,” Replied Kiran with a sigh.

“We already discussed this, shithead,” Added Bytra with a frown.

…I hate this team.

“Then what are you waiting for? Get moving already,” I responded icily.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” Yawned Kiran, heading for the front.

“Hmph, whatever,” Muttered Bytra, before following suit.

I then tapped on the side of my glasses’ frame to activate the bug-sized drones, before linking up their cam footage to the right lens of my glasses. I’ve been working on using my left eye to watch my surroundings while my right eye keeps track of the surveillance footage that my drones capture. It was a little tricky to get the hang of, but I’d practiced enough to pull it off.

I’ll send the drones out about a hundred meters ahead of where Bytra and Kiran are, that should be enough of a buffer to prepare ourselves for any Mutant attacks. I just hope we don’t encounter any underground Mutants like last time…fortunately, those type of Mutants are rare, especially among those ranked at higher than Q.

“Okay, start heading forward. You know your roles, and I’ll back you up,” I stated into the comms, giving them the go ahead to begin.

I kept a distance of about thirty meters from them as they headed forward…normally, I’d be much further back, but I want to reduce my margin of error as much as possible. I can’t operate with these two as efficiently as I can with my permanent team, so I need to compensate for the drop in compatibility.

“Any Mutants up ahead?” Inquired Kiran, after about half an hour had passed.

“Nope, the coast is still clear,” I responded, with nothing but more wasteland footage showing up on my lens.

This might be boring if nothing happens, but if you ask me, boring is good. I’ve gone through enough shitty incidents in the recent past as it is, I can do without another one. I mean, seriously…that time with the Two-Headed Serpents, which, yes, resulted in me unlocking Tier Two, but I still could have done without the harrowing experience.

Then there was the first time we encountered the Wights, which subsequently led to the attack on the Wight base camp, which resulted in my first encounter with the Crocsnek. And then the Wights infiltrated the Sanctuary, that was another shitty experience that I could have very much done without.

And then, of course, came the incidents in the South Quadrant, which were engineered by Aku, the Wight Anomaly that’s able to manipulate space around himself and others. Ah, and let’s not forget the cherry on top, that day of non-stop devastating incidents.

Fine, that last one was kinda my fault for carelessly experimenting with my powers, but still! The point is, I’ve had enough, and I’d like things to go smoothly from here on, at least for a while. Is that too much to ask f-…hold that thought, I spy a Mutant up ahead…

“I’ve spotted a Mutant, a hundred meters up ahead!” I informed my teammates through the comms.

“What type is it?” Inquired Kiran in response.

“If I’m not mistaken, that’s…a Kong,” I responded, after carefully scanning the creature.

A Kong is a Gorilla-like Mutant that can grow upto ten meters tall, with powerful arms and sharp fangs and claws. As for its rank…

“Wait, isn’t that a Level K Mutant? Can we take it on?” Inquired Bytra skeptically.

“I believe so, this one’s still juvenile, it looks like it’s about six meters tall at most…just do your job and give me a clear shot, bitch,” I replied, readying my X-Blasters, as the two of them activated their manifestations.

“Tch, fine, but you’d better not miss, douchebag.”

It wasn’t long before the Mutant came into sight, and it barely took it a second to notice us, letting out a ravenous roar and pounding on its chest, before rapidly barreling towards us on all fours, drooling as it rushed in our direction.

Kiran swiftly expanded his swatter straight towards it, striking its midsection before it could react and causing it to stumble back, a shallow cut appearing in the spot where he struck it.

He then shrunk the swatter a bit before whipping it across the ground as he rapidly expanded it again, kicking up some dirt towards the Mutant’s eyes and raising a dust cloud.

The Mutant let out an agonized roar and clutched its eyes with both hands, as Bytra swiftly shot forward and cracked her whip up and across, hitting the side of the Mutant’s head and wrapping around it rapidly, restraining its hands to its face.

“Hey, take the shot, shithead!” She exclaimed, but I was way ahead of her…before she even finished her sentence, I had already nailed a headshot, striking the Kong square in the middle of its forehead…

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