Anomaly of Fate
Chapter 77: Field Test: Chaos!

Chapter 77: Field Test: Chaos!

Velren’s breath came in ragged bursts as he ducked under the wyvern’s claws, its talons raking the air just inches from his head. The massive beast refused to let up, each of its movements sending shockwaves through the ground. The wind from its crippled wings howled around him, yet Velren’s mind was still preoccupied with the strange, flickering rifts appearing whenever he swung his katana.

’Now, what to do..?’

He dodged another snap of the wyvern’s jagged maw, rolling across the dirt before flipping back onto his feet. His gaze darted to the flickering scars in space, remnants of his previous slashes. They didn’t seem to harm the wyvern directly—at least not yet.

"Alright," Velren muttered under his breath. "Let’s figure this out."

With a swift motion, he swung his katana at one of the lingering rifts, aiming to see if it did anything—

SHING!

The moment his blade made contact, the rift simply... split intersect into one another.

Now there were two of them.

Velren blinked.

He slashed again.

SHING!

Now there were three.

He slashed again—

Four.

Velren stopped mid-motion, staring at the increasingly intersecting mess of rifts in front of him.

"...Nope."

A thunderous roar reminded him that the wyvern was still charging at him. He barely had time to twist out of the way before a swipe from its tail shattered a nearby boulder into dust. The ground trembled from the impact, cracks splintering outward. Debris flew past him, cutting into his cheek as he skidded back.

’Next test!’

Maybe if slashing didn’t do anything, stabbing would? He lunged forward, driving his katana into one of the rifts like a spear.

It was like trying to stab air.

Nothing happened—except now he was standing completely still, mid-experiment, while the wyvern was not.

’Shit—!’

A gust of wind exploded behind him as the beast surged forward, its jaws snapping down—

Velren barely yanked his blade free in time to sidestep, but not before the wyvern’s fangs manage to grazed his shoulder. He winced as pain flared up, but he didn’t have the luxury to check the wound. He needed answers now.

’Next test!’

This one was a dumb idea, but at this point, why not?

He spun on his heel and kicked at one of the flickering scars in space.

His foot passed right through it.

"...Goddammit."

A shadow loomed over him—Velren barely managed to throw himself to the side as the wyvern brought both claws down, BOOM, sending up a cloud of dirt and shattered rock. The impact rattled his bones even from a distance.

He coughed, spitting out dust as he scrambled back to his feet. "Yeah, that was stupid."

’Next... test!’

Velren yanked his knife from his belt and threw it straight at one of the rifts.

The moment the blade touched the strange, flickering tear in space—

It just went right through.

No distortion. No resistance. The knife sailed clean past the rift, continuing on its trajectory as if the anomaly wasn’t even there.

It embedded itself into a random tree several meters away with a dull thunk.

"...Fuck! My favorite knife!!"

But he had no time to dwell on it further. The wyvern lunged, its massive bulk covering the distance in a terrifyingly short amount of time. Velren threw himself into a backflip, barely escaping the sweeping claws. The wyvern slammed into the spot he had just been standing, causing the ground to cratered instantly beneath it.

’Next test!’

If the rifts were connected to his sword, maybe he had to do something special with it.

He slid his katana back into its scabbard. Then—

SHING!

Unsheathed it in one smooth motion.

The rifts remained unchanged.

’No?’

He sheathed it again.

SHING!

Unsheathed.

Again.

Again.

And again.

Velren paused, standing in the middle of a battlefield with a murderous wyvern looming before him—mindlessly sheathing and unsheathing his katana like an absolute lunatic.

He frowned to himself.

’I look like a fucking idiot...’

The wyvern snarled and rushed him again. Velren dashed to the side, flipping over its sweeping tail before landing in a crouch. He grit his teeth, frustration boiling in his veins.

Fine. If the rifts won’t react to his sword, then what about his Ka instead?’

It was an idea born out of sheer desperation. If the rifts were part of him—his ability, his existence—then maybe they would respond to his essence. His Ka.

Still keeping his eyes on the wyvern, Velren focused inward, channeling his Ka like he would in meditation. It was a tricky process, requiring deep concentration, but he had no choice but to attempt it on the battlefield.

His body tensed. He reached out—not with his hands, but with something deeper.

The rifts flickered.

Velren’s breath caught.

It was working!

Or at least, something was happening.

He pushed harder, directing his Ka toward the floating fractures in space, willing them to respond—

But then, just as quickly as they had reacted, the flickering stopped. The rifts remained motionless, indifferent. Velren’s eye twitched at the sight.

’Are you fucking serious?’

A gust of wind howled as the wyvern reared up once more. He barely managed to dodge, rolling to the side just as its claws slammed down, sending a shockwave through the ground.

The sheer force sent him tumbling, his back slamming against a jagged rock. Pain flared along his spine, but he forced himself upright, chest rising and falling in exhaustion.

This was getting ridiculous.

The wyvern wasn’t slowing down, and his little "science experiment" wasn’t getting him anywhere.

Before he could get any more irritated, his fingers unconsciously twitched—his thumb flicking against the guard of his katana in irritation.

Click.

The moment the sound rang out, the rifts suddenly detonated—jagged explosions of force were bursting from the fractures in space.

One of them was inside the wyvern’s figure.

The beast let out a pained and disoriented roar as the sudden explosion of energy tore through its stance, causing it to stumble.

Velren froze.

"...What?"

His Codex appeared:

[V1tal 3cho 0bta1ned: Ruinweave]