Chapter 109 - Anomaly (1/2)
With all the members of his party within arm's length of himself, Cynrik cast [Shadow Veil], covering all four of them in a shroud of Dark Mana.
”Everyone stay close; we move as one unit; if my legs move, your legs move, be watching for any hand signs I give. Keep your weapons at the ready.” Cynrik's eyes shifted away from his party towards a stone door the size of a full-sized SUV, and he made his way over to it. He slowly reached forward and applied just enough pressure on the door to inch it open without looking back.
Unexpectedly, when the door cracked open, a blast of hot, sulfuric-smelling air forced its way through and past Cynrik, jostling his hair, making his pupils shrink. He could faintly hear the sounds of multiple hissing and grunts coming from the other side of the door. Cynrik pressed his face against the door and peered into the crack, which was less than an inch wide and activated [Mana Sight].
From his point of view, he was able to see multiple small groups of ugly, tall, orange-scaled Reptilian Kobolds. These groups were scattered about from what he could tell appeared to be a small village, with stone huts and all. The Kobolds appeared to be going about their daily lives unhindered by the high temperatures and surrounding lava flows that coated the landscape. Cynrik could see small groups chatting while others were fornicating, and a few even seemed to be participating in some kind of combat training.
Having seen enough, Cynrik backed away from the stone door slightly and leaned over to Gabby and Benny.”Reptilian Kobolds, volcanic terrain, with my limited view, I could count around 40 of them, but there could be more. Unfortunately, from this angle, I couldn't spot the Shaman. Fall back; it looks like the Boss room is in the form of a small village, so we will need to be careful; the plan needs to be reevaluated. I am about to close the door so keep quiet.” Cynrik whispered his findings to the group, and he noticed Brance seemed to be unsettled by it.
{What the fuck, a village? I thought this was supposed to be a Boss room.}
{Your guess is as good as mine, Brancie, everything I read about this Egress indicated that we would find a standard Boss room, just like in RPGs, but that isn't what I just saw. This shit is a full-on Volcanic Village, with huts and numerous villagers. Shit, they even look to be self-aware. This is some Gnarniaa level shit, man; it's like a whole different world on the other side.} Cynrik slowly reached over and dug his fingers into the stone before dragging the door closed carefully and dropping his [Shadow Veil], his sudden actions startling Gabby and Benny.
Cynrik crossed his arms without saying a word and began pacing back and forth, leaving the other three confused. They had just been ready to charge in and start wreaking havoc, but Cynrik had suddenly changed the plot.
{Tobs, what the fuck is going on?}
-I have detected an anomaly with the Egress Core, but other than that, I have no further information at this time to present.-
Cynrik took a deep breath then turned to face his party. ”Things have changed. Everything just got a lot more complicated, and I have no idea what to make of it. What I do know is that for some reason, on the other side of that door appears to be another world or realm. Unfortunately, I have no clue about its size or the full scope of its inhabitants. However, the only thing that hasn't changed is our goal. We still have to fight and kill the Kobold Shaman, but now…now we are going up against a whole army of Reptilian Kobolds. With just the quick glance I took, I spotted at least 40 to 50 creatures, and that's only what was in plain sight.”
”Numbers aren't the only issue; the rocky volcanic terrain and high temperatures are also factors we can't exclude as they will quickly eat away at our Stamina. I…I need a minute to think of a plan, so Brance, fill them in on what I told you while I do my thing.”
With that, Cynrik sat down, closed his eyes, and began regulating his breathing to enter his Mindscape. Within seconds the world around Cynrik stilled and went dead silent before he was transported into his Mindscape. When he opened his eyes, the rocky cavern he was initially in melted and began reshaping into the interior of the boss room.
Cynrik watched with calm eyes as the world was formed in his Mindscape, and seconds later, a picture-perfect mirror image of what he had seen on the other side of the door spanned as far as he could see. But it was only the basic layout, so Cynrik calmly waved his hand and formed the multitude of stone huts before, seconds later manifesting the frozen, mannequin-like images of Kobolds in the exact location he had last seen them.
Knowing his time in the Mindscape was limited, Cynrik set about quickly running around the newly constructed Kobold Village in search of the Shaman. The gravelly surface of the ground crunched lightly under his feet as Cynrik ran at full speed, looking for any indication or sign that would lead him to the Boss. After a couple of seconds, he stopped at a hut that looked drastically different from the surrounding ones. But to his dismay, when he went to open the door, he was greeted by pure darkness.
'Makes sense, I didn't see the interior of the huts, so I can't recreate it.' Then, clicking his tongue and biting at the skin on the corner of his thumb, Cynrik turned around to face the rest of the village and started taking count of all the individual Kobolds within sight.