Chapter 531 (1/2)

The first thing that occurred was relatively innocuous, but it made the squad leader’s skin crawl. Abruptly, they found themselves back where they started, with a no trespassing sign standing between them and the cabin. Below that sign, there was a smaller sign that said beware of dog.

“Illusions, as we thought.” His watch chirped. “And the drones are seeing the same thing you do; it looks like the Skill doesn’t work on you individually, but on the world itself. Troublesome. But they can’t bend space. You must have moved forward. Continue with the operation.”

So they pushed forward, passing the no trespassing sign. Then a mist sprung up from the ground, making it almost impossible to proceed. But the watch rang out “proceed” so the squad leader gritted his teeth and continued forward. The rest of the squad continued with him, arrayed around him in formation.

The next obstacle they encountered was a wall of interconnected roots and vines that blocked their path and extended up a dozen meters into the air. Looking up, it was almost impossible to imagine a way over such a barrier. In his heart, the squad leader felt a sense of foreboding and considered leading his squad backward.

Unfortunately, one of his technical soldiers spoke up.

“Ares Leader, I have a Skill called true eye that has been shooting up like crazy in this mist. It’s all been an illusion. I’ve gotten almost 12 Levels on it, and a headache to boot. But this… this is real. I can’t see through it at all.”

The squad leader paused. “... you could see through this shit the entire time and you didn’t say anything?”

The soldier in question awkwardly coughed into his hand. The squad leader sighed.

“Fine then, if its real, it will burn. Everybody get out your plasma rifles. Fire on my mark.”

There was the soft shuffling of fatigues as all of the squad members got into position.

“Fire.”

The bolts of plasma buzzed forward indiscriminately. The squad leader supposed they could have arranged for a more thorough strike, but he was still pretty suspicious of this wall of plant life that had appeared out of nowhere. This was not a natural thing. But he had a job to do, so he was going to bulldoze his way forward, anyway he needed to.

However, as the plasma sizzled through the air, the wall moved.

Where the bolts of plasma were heading, it simply opened up, the vines moving and stretching. The projectiles harmlessly passed through it, with only a smell of burned greenery to show for it. Slowly, the squad leader lowered his rifle and solemnly regarded the wall.

“Everyone, take a step back.” The squad leader said, producing a plasma grenade. But as he reached for the pin, there was a hissing, and the thorny vines drew themselves into the ground, leaving only the mist once more.

This was even more ominous, but at least it meant a problem was out of the way. The squad leader pocketed the grenade and walked several steps forward, but he was stopped by a question.

“Ares Leader, what are you doing?” The soldier with the hidden Skill asked, his voice puzzled.

The squad leader’s mouth formed into a tight, thin line. He glanced contemptuously back over his shoulder and then turned back forward. “What does it look like I’m-”

Then he froze. There it was, the 10 meters tall wall of thorny vegetation, right in front of him, as if it had never moved. Which it probably hadn’t. In front of him, several exceedingly sharp thorns gleamed maliciously, almost amused by the squad leader’s attempts to circumvent the obstruction.

An illusion then.

Disturbing.

“Private, get that fucking Skill of yours operating at full efficiency.” The squad leader said darkly. “Come stand with me. Point out everything you see.”

Behind him, from one of the other soldiers, the squad leader heard someone mutter “this operation is so fucked.” Inwardly, the squad leader agreed. But he couldn’t let that show. So the team continued on, burning through the wall of vines and tromping forward. If he was being honest with himself, he squad leader enjoyed it more than a little. This strange wall of plant life that had appeared suddenly was likely just a Skill, but it had still caught him by surprise. Venting that frustration is cathartic.

Although their source of true vision was unreliable, it was at least something to go on. It would give them valuable points of data so they could determine their next step. But the squad leader didn’t like how it had come. It was all luck. That was the thing about this System, it all seemed to end up being about damnable luck. If your luck was good, you could get a Skill or a Path that could earn you a fancy Class.

If you weren’t… you just became stuck playing long odds in the most dangerous borderlands humanity had ever face.

It took a half hour, but soon they found themselves at the small prairie where the cabin was located. The cooking fire was there, still burning, the pot swinging slowly back and forth. There was no one in the surrounding area. The squad leader paused. Had the target fled?

“Negative,” came the response from the watch. “Proceed, Squad Leader.”

Sighing, they continued. The prairie around them was still. Too still. It was completely silent. There wasn’t a single gust of wind or buzzing insect to interrupt the heavy sound of silence. It blanketed them all, and everyone seemed to shrink a little in its presence. They took smaller, more gentle steps, so the deafening sound of their feet crushing grass was just a bit more palatable.