Eryndor once again read through the abilities of the Anomaly which the mission undertakers were supposed to deal with.
He went through it thrice and couldn't help but feel that things indeed fit too well.
The abilities of the Anomaly were related to fortune and misfortune.
Yep, it could mess with fate to a certain extent.
No wonder Rodrick didn't stay in the inn with his group anymore.
Eryndor knew that it was his Cognitive Scrying of Jeremy which might have brought about a sense of misfortune in Rodrick's fate.
The young man must've then immediately moved out of the inn, going to his elder brother's mansion where he felt the same sense of misfortune plaguing his fate.
No wonder I couldn't find him there as well.
Rodrick likely kept switching places until he could feel the aura of misfortune fading.
All he needed to do was use the Anomaly's abilities on himself to sense his fate. As to why he didn't bless himself with fortune?
There might be a price.
This also explained the time when his Sovereign's Cloak exerted itself to the limit and disappeared.
It was probably an attack of misfortune, and the Anomaly sensor was the 'misfortune' which plagued their group.
The misfortune played out in the manner that he, the paranoid cautious one, left the scene, which allowed the first aid box to be successfully received by the team.
But wait, what part of it did the Sovereign's Cloak block?
Eryndor thought hard about it for a few minutes before his eyes widened.
Holy shit!
Eryndor remembered kicking a small rock when his energy of Consciousness began draining.
No fucking wonder!
It meant that the misfortune which Sovereign's Cloak blocked was most likely him tripping on the stone and falling.
It would also allow the first aid box to be more easily received. Even him being present wouldn't be an obstacle as he would have fallen on the ground simply a moment ago, making him more receptive to the first aid box in that particular time frame.
But wait, is the Sovereign's Cloak only capable of blocking misfortune on the level of being tripped?
Eryndor furrowed his brows, leaving his bed and pacing around the room.
A minute later things clicked into his mind once again, an excited whisper escaped his mouth as he punched his fist into the air.
"Yesss!"
What was the question I had when Rodrick delivered this to us?
Eryndor remembered being confused why Rodrick had chosen the night time.
But…
That question appeared because the first aid box was delivered standalone at night with just a reason that the kid's family 'was grateful' for help.
What if he had fallen?
The delivery of the first aid box would be paired with 'his fall' and be called 'a timely appearance' even if the boy had still later declared the gratefulness of his family.
The question wouldn't have arisen in his heart.
With the doubt of time being solved, his question would have geared towards 'How did Rodrick know he would fall?' and so on.
The Sovereign's Cloak exposed this gap.
Eryndor now knew that Rodrick delivering the Anomaly sensor at night was an important clue.
Could it be because he couldn't do it at any other time?
Eryndor went over to the laptop and checked the details of the mission.
*****
Anomaly File: Hand of Destruction
State of Anomaly: No independent consciousness detected. Executes its abilities based on a set of conditions.
Classification: Unstable - Fray - Anchor
Operation Lead: Professor Melissa Ashford
Description:
The Hand of Destruction is an immobile but highly volatile Anomaly capable of annihilating all matter within its range down to the atomic level.
The Anomaly's timer stops for twelve hours after a cycle of two nights before restarting at the night of that day. The Anomaly is impervious to all attacks during this duration.
The destruction extends to inanimate objects, as the Anomaly perceives their inert state as "sleeping."
Consequently, even the ground beneath its range has been obliterated, sparing only a specific, unidentified slab of material upon which it is situated.
Containment procedure:
Enter Range:
- Operatives must enter the Anomaly's range during nighttime.
- Under no circumstances should anyone sleep within the Anomaly's influence. Even brief naps (e.g., ten minutes) will trigger annihilation.
Weaken the Anomaly:
- Employ multiple students' abilities to inflict damage on the Hand of Destruction.
- Once a critical damage threshold is reached, the Anomaly will split into smaller versions of itself.
- Each mini-Anomaly causes damage without requiring sleep as a condition, but their destructive capacity is significantly reduced.
Defend and Counterattack:
- Utilize defensive abilities to block damage from the mini-Anomalies.
- Combine Professor Melissa Ashford's unique ability with the designated Mystical Artifact to deliver damage to mini-Anomalies.
Reversion and Containment:
- After each mini-Anomaly sustains sufficient damage, it will revert to its original form and become temporarily inactive.
- At this stage, approach the Anomaly and secure it within the designated Containment Box.
Additional notes:
Environmental Considerations: The Anomaly has obliterated all terrain within its radius, leaving a deep pit around it.
To enter the range, enter this pit and spend two nights while avoiding sleep.
Ladder Formation: The Anomaly resides above a slab of unidentified material which is unaffected by its destruction. The slab also seems to be unaffected by gravity, which means it floats above the pit.
To secure the Anomaly upon deactivation, operatives must form a human ladder from the pit's base to reach the Anomaly and place it into the Containment Box.
Extreme caution is advised throughout the operation to prevent collateral damage or operational failure.
End of Report
*****
Eryndor knew what the classification of the Anomaly meant.
Unstable was the third level of Risk class. Considering that it completely annihilated targets, this was a reasonable classification.
But he also wondered what kind of abilities would be classified under the last two levels of Risk class.
Fray was the second level of Disruption class. It also seemed reasonable considering the Anomaly was immobile.
Anchor was the first level of Containment class. This meant that the Anomaly was extremely easy to contain, which was also true given that it only needed one to not sleep and have adequate damage and defense capabilities to seal it.
After he was done reading the file, Eryndor finally knew why the question was so important.
Why did Rodrick send us the Anomaly sensor at night, and not anytime later?
Eryndor looked outside his window at the night sky.
Because they are going to start the procedure of dealing with Anomaly tonight.
"This is an extremely bad situation."
Eryndor whispered.
It seemed that their team would need to step up instead of waiting for The Human Federation's rescue team.