The Phase Lynx didn't waste any more time with growling. One moment it was tensed up ten feet away, and the next, it vanished.
It didn't run; it just… wasn't there anymore. Ryan's Hyper-Awareness screamed a warning, not with sound, but with a prickling sensation on the back of his neck.
His newly awakened Temporal Sense gave him a strange, split-second feeling of déjà vu, as if this had already happened. The air to his right shimmered.
He didn't think, he just reacted. He threw himself to the left as the Lynx reappeared, claws extended, swiping at the exact spot where his head had just been.
It was unnervingly fast. Before he could even counter-attack, the Lynx shimmered again and was gone.
"Okay," Ryan muttered to himself, his heart pounding a little faster. "So, we're playing hide-and-seek with a teleporting space cat. Fun."
His Neural Symbiote Map flickered, trying to keep up. It couldn't track the Lynx when it was phased out, but it did show tiny, fading trails of energy where it had been.
The Lynx was zipping around him, a blur of silver fur and deadly claws, appearing for only a second at a time before vanishing again.
It was trying to wear him down, to land a lucky, fatal strike.
Swinging his knife wildly was useless. He'd just be swinging at empty air ninety-nine percent of the time. He needed a plan. He stood still, focusing, trying to sync up with his enhanced senses.
The Temporal Sense was the key, he realized. It wasn't showing him the future, but it was giving him a tiny, fractional heads-up, a whisper of where the Lynx was about to be.
The air behind him tingled. There!
Instead of turning to attack, Ryan used his Phase Gauntlet's "Short Blink" skill, teleporting himself a few feet forward. The Lynx appeared right where he had been standing, its claws slicing through the air with a whoosh.
It looked momentarily surprised that its target had vanished too. This gave Ryan the opening he needed. He activated his Lore Scanner.
[Phase Lynx]
Weak Point: Temporal Gland [located base of skull]. This gland regulates the creature's phasing ability. A critical strike may cause a catastrophic temporal feedback loop.
"Temporal Gland, base of the skull. Got it," Ryan thought. "Now I just need to hit a moving, teleporting target on a spot the size of a coin. Easy peasy."
The Lynx, frustrated, phased out again. This time, Ryan was ready. He didn't look for the creature; he felt for it with his Temporal Sense.
A flicker of premonition to his left. He didn't attack. Another flicker, high and to his right. He waited.
The Lynx was getting impatient, its phasing becoming more aggressive, the time between its appearances shortening. He needed the perfect moment.
The tingling sensation flared up directly in front of him. This was it. The Lynx was going for a direct, head-on attack. As the air began to shimmer and distort, Ryan didn't try to dodge.
He used his last charge of Short Blink to teleport forward, right into the shimmering distortion where the Lynx was materializing.
For a split second, they occupied the same space, and the world felt like jelly. The Lynx's glowing blue eyes widened in shock. It had never expected its prey to charge into its attack.
In that moment of surprise, its defenses were down. Ryan's arm shot out, his reinforced knife held in a reverse grip. Guided by his system's pinpoint accuracy, he plunged the blade precisely into the base of the Lynx's skull, right where the Lore Scanner had indicated.
There was no sound, just a blinding flash of blue light. The Lynx convulsed, its body flickering rapidly in and out of existence before it collapsed, solid and very, very dead.
The god Interface chimed with a satisfying sound. "+170 god Points."
His experience bar now read: Level 5 [1220/1500 NP]. Close to leveling up.
Ryan let out a long breath, his hand still trembling slightly from the adrenaline. "That," he said to the empty forest, "was way too close." He knelt by the deadly creature. Time to see what prizes it held. His system went to work.
From the still-warm corpse, he extracted "+2 Agility Essence,"
then, from the temporal gland he had just stabbed, he pulled out a small, quivering, pearl-like organ.
[Flicker Gland]
Description: A rare biological part that causes brief, unstable phasing. It can be used in some gear or studied to learn about space-related mechanics.
His system also noted: "Agility Essence extraction from local Level 5 fauna is now complete. Diminishing returns will apply." He had officially gotten all the Agility boosts he could from the "standard" Level 5 creatures in this area. It was another milestone passed.
He didn't have long to rest. A loud, rumbling crash nearby alerted him to another creature, probably drawn by the noise of the fight. A lumbering beast made of living crystal, a "Crystalhide Grotesque," stomped into the clearing.
It was another Level 5 Anomaly, but compared to the tricky Phase Lynx, this thing was a slow, walking tank. It was a straightforward brawl, a test of pure strength and endurance.
Ryan met its charge, his improved stats allowing him to dodge its clumsy swings and chip away at its crystalline hide. After a short, brutal fight, he brought it down.
"+180 god Points."
The new points tipped him over the edge. A warm, powerful wave of energy washed through him, healing his minor scrapes and filling him with strength.
"Congratulations! You have reached Level 6! All base stats increased by +5! You have gained +3 Flex Essence Points!"
"Finally," Ryan sighed in relief. Level 6 felt like a major step up.
He spent the next several hours traveling, guided by the glowing lines of his Neural Map, which pointed him deeper into the wilds toward the "god Confluence Point."
The journey was long, and the landscape grew stranger and more dangerous. He didn't just walk, though. He hunted. He was a Level 6 now, and he needed to test his new limits.
He took down two more Level 5 Anomalies that got in his way, then a massive, snake-like creature called a "Sky Serpent" that he spotted coiling around a tall rock spire. He even fought a "Deep Lurker" that burst out of a murky pool of water.
Each kill added to his experience pool and gave him more materials to study later.
He finally arrived. In front of him stood the entrance to a massive underground Precursor Labyrinth. A large, square archway made of smooth black stone, partly covered in glowing moss.
A cold, ancient air flowed out from the darkness within, carrying the faint scent of ozone and dust. The Confluence Point, according to his map, was somewhere in the heart of this massive structure.
Just as he was about to step inside, he got a trade notification. It was Scarlett.
"Ryan," her message read, "I heard you made some improved knives. I've got three Level 4 Anomaly Cores my team just gathered.
A 'Gale-Wing Core,' a 'Blight-Root Core,' and another 'Shadow Panther Core.' Trade for one of your Chitin-Reinforced Knives?"
It was a good trade. He needed the cores, and she clearly valued his craftsmanship. "Deal," he replied. "Leave them at our usual spot. I'll leave the knife." They had a silent understanding and an efficient system.
A little while later, he retrieved the cores. He sat down and got to work. His system hummed as he extracted the essences.
"+12 attribute points distributed among stats." His system noted that he was getting close to maxing out all his potential gains from Level 4 cores. The only ones left to fully extract were from volcanic, fire-based creatures.
The CommNet had been quieter lately. Most of the lower-level players were probably resting or carefully grouping up, realizing that the wilds were only getting more dangerous.
The initial flurry of panicked chatter had settled into a more grim, determined focus on survival. Ryan decided to update his trade offer one last time, targeting the last few things he needed from this tier.
"Ryan Stone: Trading for specific items only. Seeking 'Level 4 Volcanic Cores,' any 'Level 5+ Cores,' unique Precursor artifacts, or 'Labyrinth Key Fragments.' Have custom goods for trade."
He added the "Labyrinth Key Fragments" on a hunch. A place this big and important probably had keys.
To his surprise, he got an almost instant reply from Ace Striker.
"Stone," the message said, "I have one of those Volcanic Cores you want. And a Level 3 Corrupted Sprite Core. I'll trade you both, plus a basic knife, for one of your reinforced ones."
Ryan almost laughed. Ace was essentially trading a rare component Ryan specifically asked for, plus some junk, for a simple upgraded knife. Ace probably thought he was getting a great deal, offloading a core he couldn't use.
"Sure, Ace. Deal," Ryan replied, keeping his amusement to himself.
After the trade, Ryan extracted from the new cores.
"+3 attribute points."
A notification popped up: "All common Level 4 Anomaly Core essences are now fully extracted. Congratulations!"
He had officially graduated. It was time for the big leagues.
Ryan stood up, feeling stronger and more prepared than ever. He checked his status one last time before entering the darkness.
Name: Ryan Stone
Level: 6 [Experience: 780/2200 god Points]
Strength: 74
Agility: 83
Vitality: 69
Intellect: 94
Spirit: 83
Influence: 10 [Title: Outpost Pioneer]
Threat Level: Seasoned Vanguard
Unspent Flex Points: 3
He took a deep breath of the cold, ancient air and stepped through the archway into the Precursor Labyrinth. The darkness swallowed him whole.
The moment he was inside, his Temporal Sense didn't just tingle; it flared up with a sharp, painful pulse, like a sudden migraine. A powerful, active temporal distortion was nearby.
He followed the feeling, his hand on his knife, his other senses on high alert. In a large, circular chamber ahead, a creature was pacing. It was canine in shape, but its body seemed to be made of rippling, distorted time. Faint afterimages flickered around it, and its howl echoed through both the past and the future.
The god Interface flashed a stark, red warning.
[Temporal Hound [Level 7 Anomaly]]
Threat Level: EXTREME.
Abilities: Localized Time Manipulation [Stutter-Time Fields, Acceleration]. 5% chance to drop "Temporal Stabilizer."
Ryan's eyes narrowed. Level 7. Extreme threat. And it controlled time.
"Well," he thought grimly. "This Labyrinth certainly doesn't mess around."