Read Novel Full Chapter 777: Troubling Anomaly [1]
Chapter 777: Troubling Anomaly [1]
‘Very troubling.’
I watched the man for a little longer, tapping a finger against the desk before stopping when I felt like I was going to lose the staring contest.
It didn’t count if I looked away.
Probably.
‘…Either way, I have a feeling that this will be a rather useful anomaly if I tame it.’
That was the part that kept me from leaving it alone. I still wasn’t entirely sure what it could do, but being able to follow me around without attracting my attention was already quite impressive.
I tended to pay attention to things that might kill me.
Not always successfully, but I made an effort. Somehow it even managed to avoid the compass’s detection and all of that.
This was no simple anomaly.
If I could use that ability to send it somewhere without anyone noticing, there were quite a few things that would become easier. Investigating VILE-1048, for example. There were places Joanna and the others couldn’t simply walk into.
There were also places I would rather not walk into myself.
‘The Section Chief’s office…’
Hm.
Perhaps I should start with something more useful.
I brought my attention back to the screen and examined the anomaly’s face. Before deciding what to do with it, I needed to know what I was dealing with.
Fortunately, I had a way to check.
‘Right, I should analyse it.’
I only had four slots for it, but a copy of this anomaly was perfect for my proceeding Gate.
The teacher had noticed when I tried analyse it before. I remembered that quite clearly, along with what had happened to the cameras.
‘But things are different now.’
The anomaly was trapped.
I didn’t need to worry about it trying to reach me.
My hand rested beside the laptop for a moment before I activated the ability.
[Analysis initiated.]
Immediately, a familiar scene appeared before my eyes.
[—[11%]————————]
The anomaly remained still.
But just slightly, its head twitched.
It… felt it.
I waited, keeping the feed open while watching the progress from the corner of my eye. It was considerably easier to do this from an office than from inside a pod, although I would’ve preferred if it didn’t keep staring at the camera feed.
It felt as though it was challenging me to a staring contest.
I knew that was nonsense, but… I just felt like it was.
“Ah, fuck.”
I rubbed my forehead.
These voices…
Things should’ve gotten better after reaching the Fifth Order, but instead of progressing, I regressed.
‘No, that’s not quite right.’
In truth, I could control this more than in the past.
I let my intrusive thoughts win most of the time, but unlike before, when it truly mattered, I could still control myself.
Surely that could be considered as progress…
[———[37%]——————]
“Hm?”
The anomaly’s hand moved.
I sat a little straighter as it slowly raised it towards the camera. It’s fingers disappeared past the edge of the image displayed, and I pursed my lips together.
Somehow, I was expecting for the camera feed to cut off.
It didn’t.
Instead, a faint scraping sound came from the speakers.
His fingernail moved against something beside the lens, dragging down before returning to the top.
I lowered the volume.
The scraping continued, quieter now, while its eyes remained fixed on the camera.
[——————[64%]———]
“What are you trying to do?”
Its finger stopped.
For a moment, neither of us moved. I couldn’t tell whether it had heard me or whether the timing was a coincidence, and I wasn’t particularly interested in checking.
I took my hand away from the volume control.
[————————[81%]—]
The anomaly leaned closer until I could no longer see the lower half of its face. The image darkened around its eyes, but they remained open as I waited for the last part of the bar to fill.
[—————————[100%]]
The notification came soon after.
[Analysis complete.]
I let out a breath and looked through the information that appeared.
[VILE – 2883]
[Rank: ]
[Detected abilities: 3]
“…”
I read the rank again before moving on to the first ability.
[Presence Erasure]
: Suppresses the user’s presence, making it difficult for others to notice or maintain awareness of its existence.
‘So that’s how it did it.’
I thought back to the Malovia incident, and how it had tricked me. At the same time, I thought back to how I struggled to find it.
Glancing around the office, I returned my attention to the next entry.
[Body Swap]
: Allows the user to enter and temporarily take control of another body.
Maximum duration: Dependent on adaptation.
“…..”
My hand stopped beside the keyboard.
Then I moved further away from the monitor, making sure to distance myself from the anomaly.
It probably didn’t work like that, but there was no harm in being careful.
‘So it really can do it.’
I had considered the possibility before, although seeing it written down made me even less eager to see the anomaly in person.
What really stumped me was the last part.
Dependent on adaptation?
What did that even mean?
It all clicked the moment I read the next part of its abilities.
[Adaptive Mimicry]
: Gradually replicates a target’s appearance, voice, handwriting, and mannerisms through observation.Accuracy improves with continued exposure. Memories and abilities are not replicated.
I whistled softly, sucking in a breath of cold air.
“Well… That’s a bit much.”
My eyes returned to the anomaly.
For a while, I remained like that, looking between its face and the description.
Then something clicked inside of my mind.
‘That’s why.’
It had always bothered me. It’s lack of actions against me during the Gate. I knew that it had entered the Gate, and I had been waiting for it to attack so I could take it down, but it never did. I had always wondered why, but this explained it.
‘It… was studying me.’
Just as I had done now.
The way I spoke, the way I moved, and whatever expressions I made while dealing with the things around me. All the time I had spent wondering what it wanted, the anomaly had been getting exactly what it needed.
I looked up from the description.
The anomaly smiled at the camera, my heart skipping a beat for a moment.
“…..”
My hand rose to cover my lips.
“Just like Zoey, I’m being flirted on again…”
I felt shivers running down my body. To be honest, I was a little flattered by Zoey’s flirtations, but not this…
The anomaly continued smiling.
“Stop it.”
I didn’t appreciate it nearly as much this time.
Keeping my hand where it was, I looked through the description again.
‘I guess the good thing is that it can’t copy abilities and memories. Otherwise, it might really be a little bit too overpowered.’
That was good since copying my abilities would be quite troublesome.
Still, I would’ve preferred finding that out before providing the anomaly with so much material.
‘How much did it manage to learn?’
I thought back to everything I had done inside the Gate, then decided that I would rather not think about it anymore.
The anomaly had seen enough.
That much was clear.
“Yeah, there’s no way I’m leaving this alone.”
The combination of abilities was too useful to leave alone, but I couldn’t quite just go to where the anomaly was trapped and use [Containment Vessel] on it. That would put me in too much risk.
‘Right, I also don’t want it to take over my body.’
It analysed me enough.
Just how long would it be able to be me?
My nodes were already giving me enough trouble. I didn’t want more trouble.
There were also things the analysis didn’t explain. Did the anomaly need to touch me when using its ability? How close did it have to be? Could it enter anyone, or were there conditions?
The fact that it hadn’t tried before didn’t mean it wouldn’t try now.
“…Let’s not find out.”
I would need to stop the anomaly from using those abilities before attempting to contain it. Otherwise, it really would be impossible.
‘There’s also the fact that my nodes aren’t working properly.’
There was a real chance that [Containment Vessel] would fade, but I didn’t have much of a choice in this regard. I couldn’t keep the anomaly trapped for much longer.
There was a limit to how long I could keep things inside of a Gate before it faded.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to do it alone.
There was someone who could give me the opening I needed.
I rested my hands on the desk.
“Come out, little one.”
Nothing happened.
I waited a little longer before calling again.
“Mirelle.”
The bottom of the screen darkened.
A small hand emerged beside the taskbar, its fingers curling around the lower edge of the display. Another followed, and I moved the monitor back towards me before it could tip forward.
“…Careful.”
Her head slowly came through the screen, her hair falling over the keyboard as she pulled herself halfway out.
The man was still visible behind her.
Still smiling.
Mirelle, on the other hand, looked as though getting this far had been a terrible mistake.
She lowered her chin onto the keyboard and remained there until I leaned forward.
“I need your help with something.”
Her eyes rose towards me.
For a moment, she simply stared. Then her lips trembled, and she lowered her head again.
“Kill me. Am I that useless to you?”