I, The Anomalous God

Chapter 19 Back to Borina Cave

John sparred with Durano twice a day. He advanced his Danger Sense skill by a level and improved his mastery of his level 2 Heightened Sense skill, especially the Intuition and Predict skills. With the help of his Confusion Resistance skill, he was able to finally take advantage of the Predict skill.

“Not bad! Your reaction time improved again!” Durano praised him.

“Yes, but it is not enough.” John thought about the Dark Elves. By the time they would finally come for him, he knew they would be enhanced. His abilities now won’t be able to counter them. Of course, this is also greatly affected due to his level. He is only level 24 while his enemies are well beyond, in the 80’s and possibly more in the 100’s.

“I need to increase my levels or at least my skills if I want to survive this!” John thought.

“Hm? Suppress!” Durano enveloped John with his Orc’s Aura and, immediately, John felt the world was crumbling down on him.

“Tssk!” He felt the ground shake with the force of the Aura. “Orc’s Aura!” He countered Durano’s aura with his own. He struggled to stand, but nonetheless he was able to stand firm. It was then Durano’s punch came hurtling towards John’s waiting face.

Boom!

“Ack!” John flew off from the punch and hit a boulder.

“Let’s rest a bit,” Durano declared.

John crawled out of the wreckage. “I almost died again!” He muttered.

During the days of his training under Durano, John inspected his stats every time they rested. In a span of four days, John was able to gain 30 Strength points, 100 Agility points, 20 Dexterity points, and 300 Vitality points.

His vitality stat gained the most because of his near-death experiences with Durano. Every time, he was almost killed and restored. This happened again and again, resulting in him gaining a lot of points for the said stat.

Unbeknownst to John, all of that was thanks to Durano. The half-orc has a Trainer title and anyone who trains under him will receive buffs and permanent stat enhancements.

In the evening, John and Durano ate dinner in the small hut. Durano opened a conversation, “Tomorrow, the Dark Elves will come.”

“Hm.” John answered. He already knew. Durano told him days before.

“I know about the traps you created around my land.”

John smiled awkwardly at that. Durano then continued, “I don’t mind any of that. However, do you think it will do any good?”

John shook his head, “I know it won’t. But at least, it might slow them down a bit. Well, I hope it will slow them down.”

“Trust me, kid. They won’t even notice it. It would be like a Prakkito bite.” Durano said to John honestly.

“Prakkito?” John thought, “A mosquito maybe? Or ant?”

“Here.” Durano placed a small scroll skin on the table.

“What is it?” John said while bringing a spoonful of food into his mouth.

“It’s a map. Map of Borina Cave, 20th floor,” he answered.

John unrolled the scroll and inspected the contents. It was indeed a map. On the right corner of the map, a text can be read as ‘Borina’s Tomb’.

“Borina’s tomb?” John eyed Durano questioningly.

Durano nodded and said, “Borina is one of the legendary guardians of the great forest. She’s been long forgotten and there is only a handful of people who knew about her and the other guardians.”

“Durano, I feel like this story’s content is not for my ears!” John voiced out his concern.

The half-orc smiled, “Indeed,” was his sort of answer. “In any case, your salvation is on the 20th floor of Borina Cave.”

“What is in there?” John asked him. He stood up and started to clean the table. “Do you want some tea?”

“No, thank you.” Durano rejected the offer. He continued, “There is a secret entrance hidden away on the 20th floor.”

“Entrance to where?”

“You’ll find out if you go there.” Durano smiled to John. Durano seemed to be saying to John that he should leave now. John got the hint and also smiled at the man. Durano treated him kindly and even trained him earnestly without asking for anything.

“Will you be alright?” John couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I will survive for many years. I am still young, you know!” Durano laughed loudly.

====

Later that night, John took his pack and slowly left the hut. He took a last glance at the hut and whispered, “I hope you stay alive, old man. And thank you for everything!”

He sneaked outside and rode his shadow out of Durano’s territory. Just as he left, Durano walked out of the hut and whispered, “Good luck, kid!”

Above the trees, 3 kilometers away from Durano’s land, a dark elf covered in black clothing whispered onto a leaf badge on his chest. “The target has left Durano’s land!” The dark elf melted into his shadow after making his report.

In the dark elf village, “Your highness, the human has left Durano’s territory. What is your order?” The general dark elf asked Princess Thasia.

“As expected, Durano won’t be able to help the child since he has broken his vow!” The Princess muttered and said, “Intercept him!”

“As you command!” The general dark elf then left.

John decided to leave at night to maximize his Shadow Hunt skill. His destination was Borina Cave. He had to circle around to avoid contact with the dark elf village. But, unbeknown to him, the dark elves were already waiting. They were not taking any chances and let John escape.

Ting! Danger!

John’s Danger Sense skill flared up loudly. He hurriedly leapt out of his shadow and somersaulted into a bush. A second later, a blinding light shone, illuminating a 100-meter radius.

“Damn! They found me!” John grumbled. He turned tail and sprinted away. Activating Area Sense with his Danger Sense, a clear map appeared in his sight. Red dots covered the area surrounding John.

They were also moving fast towards him. Even with his sprint active, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get away. In his desperation, John thought of an idea. He activated his imagery skill and created a dozen clone images of him. Using his Dark Control skill to control his shadow. He divided them and injected them into his clone images. It was a complicated process, but John did it in mere seconds.

Ting! Title: Skill Creator effect activated. Skill creation is successful. Name the skill. The mysterious voice in John’s head sounded.

“Shadow Clone!”

John said the name of the new skill. Then, all the clone images moved the same way as John. They ran in every direction while John discreetly drilled a small hole in the ground with his Drill Shield skill.

The dark elves engaged with the clones. As soon as the dark elves’ attack landed, the clones dissipated into shadows. “They are all illusions!”

“He is underground!” Someone shouted as he discovered John.

“Tsk!” John grumbled. He emerged above ground, near the weaker dark elves. He secretly inspected some of them and found this group of fairly weak dark elves. Their levels average in the 80’s. Their stats are way lower than John's as well.

“He’s here…ack!” The elf was not able to finish as he was impaled by the Thorn Shield’s thorn.

John kicked off the ground and attacked the dark elves. “Orc’s Aura!” The indomitable aura of the orc descended on to the weaker dark elves. They crumbled onto the ground, unable to move. John took this opportunity and grabbed a sword from the incapacitated dark elf.

He sprinted through the dark elves who were immobilized and slashed them to death. “Get him!”

Ice spears, shadow balls, and fire spells landed behind John. Most of the spells landed on his Force Shield.

John kicked off the ground and pushed himself away from the crowd’s encirclement. He activated his Float skill; thus, he shot off like a bullet. He further sped up by pulling himself with Telekinesis.

The dark elves chased him fervently. Throwing spells and firing off arrows. John dodged and shielded himself with Force Shields while jumping on to trees and diving into the shadows. The dark elves were exasperated. No matter what they did, they could not reach him, nor did their attacks do any damage.

“Damn it!” The dark elf leader grumbled angrily.

“What do we do, sir?” One of the dark elf soldiers asked.

“Chase him! Do whatever you can!”

Soon, John was able to shake them off. He opened the map to Borina Cave and compared it to the images in his Area Sense skill. The cave was still a bit far from him. He sprinted away at full speed.

After several minutes, John’s Danger Sense flared up again. Something was coming to him from the sky. He hurriedly activated a five-layered Force Shield above his head, and he dove forward.

Thud! Crash!

The Force Shield broke off instantly after the collision. John looked at the attacker. It was a huge eagle. He appraised the beast.

Ting!

Name: Atrocious Galewind

Level: 98

Status: Tamed, Enhanced β

Description: A fierce beast native to Avalund forest. It captures prey with its hard and sharp talons. Its wings and feathers can cut steel easily. An adult species has a minimum wingspan of 5 meters and can reach up to 8 meters.

Another enhanced beast! John looked grim. There might only be one beast, but it was tamed, so it was craftier and speedy compared to the enhanced monsters before, which only bulldozed their way.

“You are one slippery human, even for a child!” An arrogant voice sounded from above the tree branch. John looked over and saw a handsome dark elf.

Without exchanging words with the man, John chose to attack first. He conjured Shadow Spikes on the tree branch where the dark elf was and tried to impale the man. The Dark Elf jumped off lightly and tapped his foot on the shadow spikes.

John didn’t wait to see the man impaled, however, as he hurriedly sprinted away. John was so fast; he was gliding with his Float and Telekinesis skills.

“Kweee!” The eagle beast flew away to chase John.

“I wonder how long you can run?” The man called to John.

“Shadow Clone!” John used his new skill and summoned six clones of himself. He sent them in different directions in hopes of distracting the beast and the dark elf. The man was obviously a general dark elf. And most probably, an enhanced one as well.

If it was a normal fight, John might have been able to stand his ground, but as his opponent was greatly enhanced, John did not take the gamble.

“Illusions won’t work against me!” The dark elf smiled and threw a dagger.

Ting! Danger!

John hurriedly tilted his head to the right, avoiding the dagger. He was lucky that he was fast at activating his prediction skill as soon as his danger sense flared.

“Kweee!” The eagle beast flapped its wings, sending a rain of sharp feathers towards John. Sensing this, John turned his body and conjured a 20-layered Force Shield.

Bam! Ting! Ting! c***k!

The Force Shield broke and exploded, sending John careening away. He finally stopped when he hit a huge boulder.

“Ack!” John’s small body was embedded into the boulder. He spat blood. The injury this time was grave. Thankfully, John resisted the pain and confusion. He managed to stay conscious.

“Give up, kid!” The dark elf said to John.

John gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He swung his hand and cast the spell Rock Throw. The boulder he was embedded in crumbled into smaller rocks and flew off towards the eagle beast and the dark elf.

“Futile attempt!” The dark elf said and waved his hand. A strong wind blasted the rocks back at John.

Thud! Thud!

The rocks hit John’s Force Shield. The man praised honestly, “For a child, you are quite tenacious! It is no wonder you survived alone in the Avalund Forest!”

John’s health and Mana were dwindling. If this continues, he will surely suffer a fate much worse than death. He must think of a way to escape this grim predicament. The dark elf slowly walked towards John. “If you just surrendered yourself peacefully, you wouldn’t have to endure this.”

Suddenly, Durano’s voice sounded. “Kid, you left without saying goodbye.”

The dark elf was startled and jumped away. He landed beside the eagle beast and readied himself for a fierce fight. His temperament changed immediately, unlike how it was earlier when he was facing John. His eyes monitored the surroundings, trying to find Durano. But there was no one in the area except for the two of them and the eagle beast.

“Old man?” John said weakly as he spat some blood.

“Durano! You can’t be here!” The dark elf called out.

Durano’s voice did not respond to the dark elf, instead, it continued speaking to John, “Take this.”

A small scroll landed in front of John. He hurriedly took it, “What is this?” John asked.

Durano answered, “A little parting gift.” John unrolled the scroll and a blinding light shone upon him. “Be well, kid!” Durano’s voice said.

“No!” The dark elf immediately understood what the scroll was and hurriedly sprang towards John. The eagle beast also flapped its wing, sending a feather arrow towards John.

Pop! A bubble-popping sound was heard, and the blinding light was dispersed. Standing there was only the dark elf and his eagle beast. There was no sign of John anywhere. “Ah!” The dark elf screamed angrily. John was able to escape thanks to Durano. It was thanks to the half-orc again.

Somewhere in Avalund, in the westernmost part of the Darklia village, a blinding light sprouted.

Thud!

John was dropped off. “Huh?” He looked at his surroundings. He was teleported away! John laughed loudly. He escaped. Thanks to Durano, he was able to survive the encounter. “Thank you, old man!” He screamed.

John slowly stood up and took another look at the area. He must find his way towards Borina Cave fast. He opened his Area Sense skill and a map appeared in his sight. Surprisingly, he was already close to his destination. He was already standing above the cave entrance. The blinding light had teleported him directly towards the entrance.

“Man, you had that escape scroll but you waited until I was beaten half to death before you gave it!” John complained.

Slowly, John dragged his gravely injured body down towards the cave entrance. His new armor was badly damaged as well; it only had a little more than 40 durability left.

At the cave entrance, John finds an interesting humanoid creature. It was small with a dog's head and lower body. Its arms and upper body were of a human, only, its skin is greenish. Fortunately, the cave entrance was not owned by the dark elves. Another race of Avalund guards it.

John, slowly approached the creature. He then appraised it.

Ting!

Name: Baw Alwon III

Level: 41

Race: Goblog

Status: Bored, Sleepy

Health: 6020

Mana: 140

Strength: 45 Vitality: 301 Intelligence: 4

Dexterity: 105 Agility: 20 Wisdom: 4

“Goblog?” John whispered, “What kind of race is that? I really thought it was a kobold or something close!” No matter, John dove into his shadow and sneaked behind the creature.

John stared at the closed door. If he pushed it open, the goblog would surely find him. If it was any other day, he wouldn’t mind about the little goblog. However, right now, he was seriously injured. He has a little over 3000 health and 6000 mana left. Honestly, he could easily deal with the goblog in front of him, but he was reluctant to draw attention. The dark elves are still hot on his tail and the commotion he would create might attract their attention.

After a minute, John decided. He turned his attention toward the goblog. He seized the creature with telekinesis. “Wh-what is this?” The creature blurted in surprise. The creature did not see any other creature beside him.

The goblog was about to scream for help when John impaled the poor goblog with Shadow Spike. “Sorry!” John had already realized that in Avalund Forest, everyone was his enemy. Well, except Durano. Avalund Forest is not kind to the human race.

He then jumped out of the shadow and pushed the door to Borina Cave. Creak! The door slowly opened.

========

The next morning…

A horde of enhanced beasts is marching towards Durano’s land. Behind the horde stood the Dark Elf King.

“The time has finally come to purge you out of our territory!” The Dark Elf King muttered.

Soon, they arrived around Durano’s hut. “Durano!” The Dark Elf King called. “Come out!”

Durano slowly walked out of his hut carrying a jug of wine. “Why are you so noisy early in the morning?”

“Durano, it is time you left our territory!” The Dark Elf King said firmly.

Durano drank from the jug of wine and then said, “You know that this state of mine is temporary, right?”

Everyone turned quiet. Only the growls of the enhanced beasts can be heard. Durano continued, “I wonder, what will I do then?”

The king’s breath became fast, a sign of his rising rage. He said, “No matter! Right now, you are weak! You must leave!”

“True. However, what will you do if I don’t leave?”

“Hmph!” The king snorted angrily, then ordered, “Trample him!” The beasts roared and began to charge at Durano.

“It will be just for 10 years. I’ll be a mortal for 10 years.” Durano muttered softly. He was not afraid even though the raging enhanced beasts were charging at him.

Boom! Thud! Splat!

The beasts were stopped by an invisible wall. “Rune wall!” The king was surprised. He ordered, “Again! Charge again!”

“You won’t be able to breach that wall.” Durano sat on a rocking chair on his porch and drank his wine. “No matter, your desperation kind of entertains me. Continue.”

After a while, the beast horde was almost finished off just by ramming on to the invisible wall. “Good!” The king said angrily, “Even if I can’t break this wall, you won’t be able to come out as well!” The dark elf king then ordered his men to leave the area.

“Yes, just for 10 years. After that, you should prepare…” Durano said, staring sharply at the dark elf king’s back.

“By that time, I will have the power to kill you!” The dark elf king answered.

After the king and the horde left, a handsome man wearing a long white robe appeared behind Durano.

“They did not change after all.” The handsome man sighed.

“Tsk!” Durano complained and drank wine, “You still come…”

The handsome man who looked divine smiled and replied, “As soon as you broke your vow, everyone up there was alerted. It is a very rare occurrence by your standards.”

“Hm…” Durano did not comment and continued to chug down on his wine jug.

“I wonder what made you lose your composure?” The handsome man glanced at Durano.

“I was bored…” was Durano’s flat answer.

“Someone like you is bored. Is that it?” The handsome man smirked, not believing Durano. “Also, those beasts earlier, they are not your typical beasts. Do you know what is going on with that?”

“Tsk! Troublesome…” Durano replied briefly and drank more wine, “It is just a result of an ambitious man’s research. No matter, I’ve already sorted it out.”

“Hm…” The handsome man nodded and went silent for a good while. After a few minutes, the man spoke, “My orders were only to check on you and confirm the punishment for breaking the sacred vow. Those beasts… I hope you truly sorted things out.”

Durano threw a side glance at the man and then drank a big mouthful of wine. Then he said, “I sorted it out.”

The handsome man walked out of the hut, he turned to Durano, “I hope that you did. I hate to see a beautiful place turn into a wasteland.”

“I know how you people work. I sorted things out. No need to bring the cleaners.” Durano said to the man.

The handsome man smiled, “Well then, in that case, I will take my leave.” Two pristine white wings appeared behind the handsome man. It flapped once and he was already gone. There was no sound nor any vibrations in the air. It was as if the handsome man teleported away.

“Tsk!”

==================

“Your highness!” The general dark elf who intercepted John bowed to the dark elf king.

The King hurriedly asked, “Marak, where is the boy?”

The man trembled and replied, “I was not able to catch him, sire. Durano helped him at the last second!”

Bam!

The throne’s armrest broke apart after the king smashed his fist on it. “Durano!” The king blurted with gritted teeth.

Meanwhile, inside the goblog cave entrance, John sat down in a hidden corner. He took some bandages from his pack and treated his wounds. He rested for a bit. After an hour or so, he slowly stood up and walked towards the deeper area of the cave.

The monsters on the first to fifth floors posed no threat to him and he easily strode past them. From time to time, John encountered a group of goblogs hunting. He activated his Hide skill and hid behind boulders and wall crevices.

The groups of goblog consisted of low-level ones and a sole level 35 leader. It turned out, the first to fifth floor of the dungeon was made into a training field by the goblogs.

“I wonder where the door to Shacanna is?” John muttered. Borina is only one dungeon but has multiple entrances. It was a wonder to John how this dungeon was created and operated. The hidden multiple entrances, and the different races that have access to it, to John, it felt like it was created for the purpose of training people. “I guess, Borina, as one of the guardians, tried to train the races of Avalund.” John muttered to himself.

With John’s current abilities, he was able to blitz through the floors and reached the 10th floor in just a day. He defeated the boss effortlessly. The boss of the 10th floor is called Borina Cave Wulf. It’s a level 25 wolf-like creature coated with sharp crystals around its legs and back. “This was a pretty hard foe before.” John took out its core and stuffed it in his pack.

Ting!

Name: John Arcala

Nickname: Reborn

Level: 24 (Exp. 59.68%)

Race: Human

Class: Pupa

Age: 2 months and 3 weeks

Health: 12320

Mana: 17980

AP: 6390

DP: 10100

Strength: 156 (+300)

Dexterity: 22 (+305)

Intelligence: 100 (+523)

Vitality: 111 (+505)

Wisdom: 55 (+313)

Agility: 40 (+302)

Active Skills: Telekinesis (Lv.8), Float (Lv.5), Divine Light (Broken), Sprint (Lv.6), Force Shield I (Lv.3), Meditation (Semi-passive/Level 7), Parkour (Lv.7), Hard Punch (Lv.8), Skull Bash (Lv.5), Appraisal (Lv.8), Sink (Lv.1), Hold Breath (Lv.1), Swim (Lv.1), Energy Control (Lv.5), Area Sense (Lv.6), Shadow Hunt (Lv.2), Dark Control (Lv.2), Mana Manipulation (Lv.3), Hide (Lv.1), Doll Make (Lv.2), Shadow Spike (Lv.2), Energy Sense (Lv.2), Orc’s Aura [Degraded] (Lv.1), Shadow Clone (Lv.1)

Passive Skills: Universal Language (Max), Fear Resistance (Lv.1), Pain Resistance (Lv.6), Memory Bank I (Semi-active/Lv.3), Illusion Resistance (Lv.1), Craftsman (Lv.2), Book of Spells I (Lv.2), Heightened Sense (Lv.2), Cold Resistance (Lv.1), Confusion Resistance (Lv.6)

Title: Anomaly (Awakened), Tatiana’s Son, Contracted [!], Reborn, Coward, Worm, First Kill, Craftsman, Skill Creator, Spell Holder, Great Liar, Clay Doll Maker, Thought Weaver

Title Skill: Danger Sense (Passive/Lv.6), Imagery (Active/Lv.3)

Branch Skill:

Force Shield I [Open]: Thorn Shield (Lv.3), Thorn Coffin (Lv.5), Drill Shield: Tornado (Lv.3)

Craftsman [Open]: Cooking (Lv.3), Mining (Lv.2)

Spellbook [Open] [5/5]: Bloodline (Lv.1)[Sprite (Locked)], Air Shot (Lv.3), Flame Shot (Lv.3), Water Shot (Lv.3), Rock Throw (Lv.3)

Heightened Sense [Open] [6/6]: Sight (Lv.3), Sniff (Lv.2), Listen (Lv.3), Taste (Lv.1), Sensitivity (Lv.3), Intuition (Lv.4)

Status points: 10