Ryan didn't waste the precious seconds of hesitation from the remaining three Anomaly A-listers.
The Rage Boar was still snorting like a grumpy steam engine, the shadowy Grove Stalker was coiling and uncoiling like a very angry, very dark Slinky, and the Distortion Hound was flickering at the edges as if it couldn't quite decide which dimension it wanted to be terrifying.
Before they could regroup and remember that they were supposed to be turning him into a Ryan-flavored smear on the cave floor, he quickly scooped up the Minor Shadow Cache that the Dark Echo Spine Whelp Alpha had so kindly left behind.
"No time like the present for presents!" he muttered, mentally telling his god Interface to open the cache.
He was hoping for something good, something that might help him survive the next few minutes. A bigger knife? A shield?
The dark wooden chest dissolved in his hand with a puff of cool, shadow-scented air, and an item materialized. It was a cloak.
It wasn't a fancy, wizard-style cloak with stars and moons on it. This was made of a strange, dark fabric that seemed to drink the faint, sickly light of the fissure. It felt cool and surprisingly light.
Item Acquired: Cloak of Shifting Umbra [Tier 1 Equipment – Back Slot]
Grants:
Stealth +15
Minor Resistance to Light-Based Detection
System Note: Ooh, sneaky! Now you can be even better at not being seen. Perfect for surprising your enemies, or for sneaking extra cookies from the jar. Just try not to trip over it.
"Stealth plus fifteen!" Ryan whispered excitedly. That was a huge boost to not being noticed! He immediately shrugged off his tattered starting shirt and slipped the Cloak of Shifting Umbra on.
It settled around his shoulders comfortably, and he immediately felt less visible. The shadows in the fissure seemed to cling to him a bit more, and the already dim light seemed to bend around him just a little.
It wasn't invisibility, but it was definitely a step up in the "not being an obvious target" department.
He also grabbed the other item the Alpha Whelp had dropped: the Dark Echo Fragment. It was cold to the touch and pulsed with that same unsettling, corrupted energy he'd felt from the Frenzied Anomalies.
He didn't have time to figure out what it did right now, so he mentally tucked it away into his Interface's inventory.
Then, he quickly focused his "Ultimate Infinite Extraction System" on the lingering energy signature of the defeated Dark Echo Spine Whelp Alpha. He needed every advantage he could get.
Target: Dark Echo Spine Whelp Alpha [Fading Energy Signature]
Initiating Extraction Protocol
Extraction Complete!
Acquired:
Spirit Essence [Dark Echo Variant]: +2 Permanent Spirit!
Corrupted Frenzy Essence: You've absorbed a minuscule amount of the chaotic energy that drove this creature into a Frenzied state. It hums with raw, unfocused power. Further research might yield interesting results. Or just a really bad headache.
System Note: More Spirit for you! And a little taste of crazy! Don't let it go to your head. Literally.
Ryan felt that familiar warm flow as his Spirit stat increased.
His mind felt sharper, his resolve even stronger. The "Corrupted Frenzy Essence" was another one of those "handle with care, might explode" type ingredients he seemed to be collecting.
He filed it away next to the Chaotic Energy Residue from the Distortion Hound. His internal inventory was starting to look like a mad scientist's shopping list.
He quickly checked his updated status. After leveling up to Level 3 and getting the +2 Spirit, his stats were looking much healthier:
Ryan Stone
Assimilation Level: 3 [105/600 Np]
Stats:
Vitality: 20
Agility: 20 [+10 From Phase Gauntlet] = 30
Strength: 20
Intellect: 22
Spirit: 24
Flex Essence Points: 3 [Unspent] + 3 [From Level 3] = 6 [Unspent]
Threat Level: Formidable Human
"Formidable Human!" Ryan allowed himself a tight grin. That sounded a lot better than "Basic Human Plus" or "Novice Hunter."
And he had six Flex Essence Points saved up! Those could be a lifesaver if things got dicey again. Which, looking at the three remaining Anomaly All-Stars, seemed highly probable.
He also checked the Outpost #7 Leaderboard. He was curious if his recent level-up had boosted his rank.
Genesis Outpost #7 – Leaderboard [Top 100]
Scarlett "Red" Viper – Level 3
Jennifer "Quake" Lee – Level 3 [ She must have leveled up recently! ]
Emma "Sage" Thorne – Level 3 [ Her too! Busy day for the top players. ]
Ryan Stone – Level 3
It seemed he was keeping pace with the top brass, at least for now. That was a good feeling.
Right, back to the business of not dying. The Rage Boar, Grove Stalker, and Distortion Hound were starting to look restless again. Their brief moment of "huh, what just happened?" was clearly over.
Ryan remembered the "Quill Toxin" he'd extracted from the regular Spine Whelps. His system had said he needed to analyze it for synthesis or resistance. He hadn't had time for that. But maybe…
He mentally accessed the toxin sample in his inventory. "System, can I just smear this on my knife?" he thought, hoping for a quick and dirty weapon upgrade.
Query: Apply Raw Quill Toxin [Minor] To Reinforced Utility Knife?
Warning: Raw Toxin Is Mildly Caustic. May Slightly Degrade Weapon Integrity Over Time. Effectiveness Against Higher-Level Targets May Be Limited.
Proceed? Y/N
Ryan mentally mashed the "Y" button. A little bit of knife degradation was a small price to pay if it helped him take down these behemoths.
A faint, oily sheen coated the blade of his reinforced knife. It didn't look very impressive, but hopefully, it would add a little extra "ouch" to his stabs.
Now, how to deal with three very angry, very powerful, Frenzied Anomalies at once? His new Cloak of Shifting Umbra would help him be less of an obvious target, and his Phase Gauntlet was great for quick dodges.
But he couldn't fight them all head-on. That was a recipe for becoming a red smear.
He re-engaged, but this time with a new strategy. He used his cloak to try and melt into the deeper shadows of the fissure, then used a Short Blink to appear briefly near the shadowy Grove Stalker, landing a quick, poisoned slash on its flank before blinking away again.
The Stalker hissed and swiped at the empty air, its movements seeming a little off. Were its shadowy powers interfering with the poison, or was the poison interfering with it?
He repeated this tactic, darting in and out, a shadowy blur thanks to his cloak and gauntlet, trying to land poisoned hits on all three of them without getting cornered.
It was exhausting, like playing a deadly game of tag with opponents who could kill him with a single mistake.
He noticed something odd. The three Anomalies, despite being different types of creatures, were moving with an unnatural coordination.
When he attacked one, the other two would try to cut off his escape route, or attack from an unexpected angle.
It was almost like they were being controlled. Like puppets on invisible strings.
His Hyper-Awareness, already on high alert, suddenly spiked, focusing on a point deeper in the fissure, beyond where the Anomalies were currently positioned.
He saw a flicker of movement there, a deeper shadow within the shadows, almost too quick to register.
He managed to land a solid, poisoned stab on the Rage Boar's thick leg. The Boar roared in pain and fury, but as it did, Ryan saw that flicker again, from the same spot deeper in the tunnel.
And then he saw it. The source of the unease, the reason for the coordinated attacks.
Further down the dark fissure, near a pile of what looked like disturbingly fresh bones, was a pulsating, crystalline structure. It glowed with that same sickly yellow light as the fungi on the walls, but this light was stronger, more focused. It looked like a giant, evil crystal heart, beating with dark energy.
A Dark Echo Node, the Interface helpfully supplied.
And, just for a terrifying instant, a shadowy, vaguely humanoid figure flickered into existence beside the Node. It had no clear features, just a silhouette of darkness, but it seemed to radiate an aura of cold, calculating intelligence. And malice.
The figure raised a shadowy hand, and Ryan felt a wave of mental pressure, a whisper of despair trying to worm its way into his mind.
Then, the shadowy figure vanished, as if it had never been. But the Node still pulsed. And the three Frenzied Anomalies turned towards him, their red eyes burning with renewed, and clearly directed, fury.
He wasn't just fighting monsters anymore. He was fighting monsters with a puppeteer. A very creepy, very shadowy puppeteer. This day just kept getting better and better.