Richter sat at the end of the pond, skipping a stone across the water's surface with a flick of his fingers. He had stayed hunkered down in the clearing for quite some time now, allowing him some time to rest and heal his wounds. Since his fight, the forest had settled into a familiar hum of nature. Bugs and small rodents rustled and burrowed in and out of the ground, as birds sang songs with the awakening of the world around him. Once in a while, off in the distance, there were unfamiliar roars that disturbed the stillness of the woods that set Richter on edge.

It seemed the system’s cycle had completed, relieving some of the pent-up stress Richter had been having. Originally, he wanted to move to a safer location, but the thought of him trying to navigate through the forest injured like this… he was better off in the small clearing he started in. His wounds had healed significantly and he was able to hobble around now, but he couldn’t imagine trying to fight another anomaly right now.

What he did know, however, was the fact he needed to get moving soon. He couldn’t risk staying in the open like this and encountering another monster. He didn’t know much about the beasts, but he couldn’t help the instinctual fear that he might attract more of them, or perhaps something worse with all the blood covering the clearing. Not to mention, with the roars he could hear echoing in the distance, he was willing to bet the anomaly was not the most sinister thing hunting in these woods.

Richter thought about his next course of action. No specific direction looked promising, just vegetation going on as far as the eye could see. There was one particular place that caught his attention; an enormous mountain that loomed far in the distance. The canopy of the trees made it difficult to get a good look at it, but it seemed interesting. Other than that, his options weren’t too thrilling. East looked impossible with the number of roars he heard in the distance, and north and south appeared to have a barricade of hardwoods being choked to death by briar patches. If Richter chose West, he would at least be following the sun; if he could keep it overhead for most of the day, he’d know he wasn’t wandering around in circles.

Richter strained his ears, listening to the sounds echoing through the forest, trying to pick up on anything that might lead him in the safest direction. Ideally, he hoped to hear some type of running of water, but it was chaotic; the beasts echoed far throughout the forest on all sides as if someone had turned on some hidden speakers to confuse him, drowning out the sound of anything that might be worthwhile. Despite his best effort and several frustrating minutes, Richter couldn't arrive at a decision just yet. The choice was too important to be made hastily, and he’d rather give it more thought until he was healed up.

Something did catch his eye as he scanned the clearing. A large, thorny bush of vibrant flowers laid on the outskirts of the field. They seemed to beckon him closer to them, which was a pretty strange feeling altogether. The flowers were more vibrant and colorful than any flower he ever saw before the initiation, and he had to admit it piqued his curiosity.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Richter said as he walked up to them, a glint of mischief in his eyes. They looked strangely familiar, but he couldn’t quite put a name to them. Shrugging his shoulders, he reached out and plucked one from its perch. A prompt appeared before him almost instantly.

[You have discovered (Unknown plant). Because you lack [Herb Knowledge] you have destroyed the plant. Guess we know who didn't pay attention in botany class.]

Richter gaped at the notification, feeling the delicate petals disintegrate in his grasp. "Did... the system just throw a jab at me?" Speechless, he just looked at the decayed flower in his hand, then back up to the prompt. Shaking his head, he plucked another flower from the vine, this time with more care.

[You have discovered (Unknown plant). Because you lack [Herb Knowledge] you have destroyed the plant. Maybe instead of learning botany, you should use those shovels at the end of your arms to learn how to kill plants more efficiently—clearly, you've got a real talent for it.]

“The hell? What’s with the sass?” The flower once again disintegrated in his palm, the vibrant colors turning into a charred black. Richter scratched the back of his head while staring blankly at the prompt, wondering what to do with this new information.

“Herb Knowledge…” He mused, re-reading the text a couple times over. It sounded familiar to something he'd have when he used to play Runescape. The more you invest time into learning a skill - let's say learning about botany - you would gain mastery in said skill in terms of levels and experience. More mastery in any given skill would grant you the ability to acquire and use higher quality materials for different things. If that was truly the case, it would make sense why he was unable to pluck the flower from the thorn; he didn’t have any mastery in [Herb Knowledge], thus destroying the plant.

Of course, this was sheer speculation based on his past experiences with video games. But as that seemed to be the running theme so far, Richter didn’t think it was a bad hypothesis. He would have to dedicate more time in the future to learn more about it.

Richter looked towards the anomaly's corpse. The body was practically molded into the dirt, with large, hollow holes covering its body. Richter hadn’t really looked at it yet, despite resting here for a couple hours already, mostly because he had wanted to tend to his wounds more than anything else. But as he walked closer to the corpse, he remembered the other reason.

A wave of revulsion washed over him. The body was grotesquely disfigured at the start, but now it was severely mutilated from their fight. He couldn’t help but scrunch his nose at the smell. The odor was foul, wafting and permeating the air with a vile aroma. "Gods, the things I’d do for a mint right now…" Richter choked.

Richter looked at the beast in thought as he stood over it, eventually groaning, knowing what he needed to do. He was in a life or death situation, and he needed everything he could get. And if the running theme so far proved to be correct… there was a chance there was some type of loot on this disgusting, mutilated corpse, even if he couldn’t see anything on hand.

With a sigh, he hesitantly extended his hand to search the creature's remains. When his finger touched the cold skin of the monster, a familiar blue screen flickered into existence, surprising Richter. He quickly scanned the notification.

[Corpse of [Anomaly (3)]. Loot the body? Y/N]

A large smile broke across his face as he read the prompt. “Well, isn’t that exceptionally convenient.” Richter said. He inwardly cheered at himself for the correct hypothesis and focused on the prompt, clicking ‘Yes’.

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Immediately, the corpse began to dissolve into a colorful rainbow of smoke. The entire body dissolved in moments as if it had never existed. The only thing that lingered as proof it was ever there was the colorful wisps of smoke swirling in unusual patterns around him. It’s actually pretty beautiful. Gotta admit, the system has a knack for creating some pretty scenes. However, as the smoke approached Richter, he made a catastrophic error.

Inhaling deeply just as the vaporous tendrils reached him, he was immediately assaulted by an unbearable stench. He immediately doubled over, choking on the unbearable stench that invaded his nostrils, fully realizing the gravity of his monumental mistake.

It smelt like a month-old corpse marinated in a sewer, was thrown outside, decomposed in the sun for the last three weeks, eaten, and then thrown up in chunky bile-filled sour pieces to rot in a pile of chicken shit. The smoke immediately permeated the area like some noxious gas, and tears welled in Richters eyes as he desperately tried to move out of the smoke, choking as it followed him.

Richter stumbled forward, trying to wave the vapors away from his face with one hand while holding his breath with the other. His eyes burned, his vision blurry but he could just make out a clearer area near the pond. Primal instinct kicked in as Richter lurched himself forward, his only thoughts were to get away from the vapors.

With a shockingly loud splash that echoed across the relative peace of the large clearing, Richter plummeted into the small pond. The water was surprisingly warm to the touch, almost like he jumped into bathwater.

The water of the pond felt strangely welcoming. There was a tingling sensation that started at his toes and snaked its way up his body, oddly revitalizing. For a brief moment, Richter's panic subsided, replaced by a sense of calm. The pond’s embrace was gentle, an unexpected contrast to the chaos before. It seemed as if the water itself was cleansing him, not just of the filth and sweat, but also washing away the fatigue that clung to his muscles like cobwebs.

He resurfaced quickly, gasping for fresh air—well, fresher than what was offered by the disgusting vapors that still faintly loomed above—drenched and tingling with relief. Dragging himself onto the bank, Richter rolled to his back, his chest heaving.

Richter lay there, panting heavily, his mind's fog gradually lifting. Raising a brow curiously, he noted that despite his unplanned dip, he was drier than one would expect. Not the slightest dampness seeped through his clothes — it was as though the pond rejected the very concept of wetness.

“A pond that dries you off?” Richter muttered, lifting himself off the ground, “I could definitely make a fortune off that. Well, if the world never got so fucked up, anyway.”

Suddenly, Richters gaze sharpened when his vision flashed. A system notification popped up, and he blinked at the sudden intrusion.

[You have entered the Pond of Clarity! Temporary enlightenment gained.]

[+10% to all experience earned for the next 3 days.]

Richter blinked at the prompt, not quite sure what to make of it. “Enlightenment, huh? Well, I guess I’ll take accidental wisdom over accidental death any day.” He said, his mind wandering as he gazed at the pond.

While unexpected, this was actually an enormous boon. This would make it easier for him to gain strength at a faster pace, which was desperately needed right now. This place was definitely something he would have to make note of to come back to in the future.

While he may be pushing his luck, something niggled at the back of his mind while looking at the pond. He took a step towards the water again, wondering whether another dip might net him an additional boost or something new entirely.

“Ah, screw it. You can’t overdose on clarity, right?” Richter half-jokingly said.

The moment his skin met the embrace of the pond water, Richter reeled back. It was cold! Not just cold—absolutely freezing! Shaking off the droplets from his now-wet foot, Richter grumbled, turning his attention from the pond back to more pressing matters.

While the pond was for sure an incredible boon, it wouldn’t do too much for his current situation. He needed something to protect himself, or at the very least something to get him back into fighting condition. And it just so happened he had some loot from a certain something that could offer that.

The notification was still blaring in the edge of his vision. The rainbow smoke probably ranked as one of the most miserable experiences of his life; still, at least he got something out of it. With a giddy sense of anticipation, Richter focused on the prompt.

[Body of Anomaly (3) Harvested!]

[Loot found: 1 (F) Crystal Coins. 2 Half-chewed Leaves]

Richters jaw dropped slack at the message, his mind not even registering the radiant ray of light that appeared in front of him that dropped off his hard earned loot. His eyes twitched at words, and he clenched his fist to the point his nails dug into his palms.

Piece of shit robot. Useless, good-for-nothing hardware. That hunk of junk bot better hope they never meet one day; Richter could feel his hands itching for a fight. So much for the ‘law of balance’ he thought about earlier. The only thing he gained from that was the knowledge that he could loot and collect items, and that rainbow smoke was a new addition to the Geneva Convention war crimes. How is that a fair trade when it just attempted first-degree murder by attacking him with the worst stench ever? It was good to know, but as the inside of his nose still burned, he wasn’t sure it was worth it.

Well, it did at least get him moving, at least. That smoke had pushed him to the edge of the clearing while claiming it as its own, and he was not going to fight for it. His first plan of events was to find a safe place to shelter so he could figure out his next move. Food would also soon become a necessity since he had emptied the contents of his breakfast, looting the corpse.

The thought of food made his stomach sour, and he had no desire to ever eat again. That being said, it wouldn’t be long before he succumbed to his basic necessities of survival whether he had an appetite or not. If he didn’t find a way to address them soon, the enemies lurking in the woods would be the least of his worries – thirst and starvation would claim him first.

Richter gazed up at the vast sky, feeling lost and desperate. “Could use a little help here, system. Giving me something, anything. It’s only fair, considering you dropped me to the middle of -- where are we again?” he pleaded, his voice booming across the empty landscape. His heart raced with anticipation, hoping to hear the familiar, chilling chime of a system notification. But only silence came to greet him, leaving him to confront the stark realization that he was truly alone... for now.

Richter grumbled and started walking to what he assumed was West, deciding to follow the sun, limping the entire way. It was the direction leading towards the mountain, and while he didn’t know what he would find there, he assumed it would be better than mindlessly walking through the forest. Eventually, he’d find or run into something, ideally, some outcropping of the land to adequately survey his location.

As he walked, he decided to pull up the system message he got when he arrived here. Hoping that if he reread it, it would reveal something he might have missed.

[Earth initiation ongoing. Biomass High D-grade. Energy High D-grade. 0/7 Dominion slots filled. 6,809,895,164 anomalies were detected and neutralized. One chosen initiate. Dominion will open in 1 month.]

Richter carefully examined the notification, scrutinizing each word. "Dominion slots... 1 month," he mumbled, his brow furrowed in confusion. An event of some sort was looming in a month's time, but he just didn’t know what. Whatever it was, he’d have to do his best to figure it out, and he’d have to be prepared for it. After all, if there's one thing he learned about the system so far, it never pulled its punches.