The Transmigrated Author

Chapter 22: Distorted Lair

[Sifter's Foundations Distortion Cave]

Shit... well I guess it was expected that we would be split up one way or the other. Originally what happened was that Jan would save the extra character by shoving them and Louise jumped out of the way to Jan's side to dodge.

As the story would go they'd continue fighting monsters, eventually getting distorted into a lair of Sifters Foundation with one of their lackey's experimenting with the DM Doping Drug.

But I realised of all the people who had to be here with me, It was Valencia who stood there silently pondering on what to do next, She had her Katana sheathed by her side and I thought it was best if I left her alone so I tip toed down the path leaving her behind.

tap, tap, tap,

[5 minutes later]

Lost. Utterly, fucking lost. Each carved archway mocked me with its distorted "wanggg?" mirroring the disarray in my head. Each path I went through twisted and turned, spitting me back out into the same dank hall every few turns.

I felt really stupid to think of how easy this distorted walk would be but It seemed that I had underestimated my knowledge as the author. This cave pathing began to annoy me so I tried to go through paths where the sounds were more evident but I would just end up going down the same way each time.

Then, a chill. A prickling on my neck like eyes boring into my skull. I froze, every instinct screaming. Something watched me, The air crackled with unseen tension, my breath a shallow rasp in the cavernous quiet.

Swallowing hard, I spun, scanning the shadows like a trapped animal. Nothing. But the feeling persisted, a cold weight on my chest. This wasn't just paranoia. Something was out there, waiting.

But as I looked closer using deadeye I realized the person hiding was Valencia who was just following me. So I eased up a bit and continued to walk down another set path hoping to have some sort of breakthrough in this stupid cave.

wangggg!

After marking places I'd been to for continuous minutes, this part of the cave was the one I had yet to discover, and there weren't any markings on the wall. So I grabbed the closest rock and marked the side of a cave with an X.

Closer. Something on my skin crawled, and the heavy breathing of something towering overshadowed the mark, making it invisible.

GARRRR.

[Evasiveness Stat has been triggered! your speed will temporarily be enhanced for the remainder of the fight.]

The echoing growl signaled the arrival of a massive bear. Its fur was as dark as the shadows on the cave's walls.

The bear lunged at me, aiming for my torso with its claws. However, I was able to dodge the attack using the evasiveness stat boost. The bear's claws missed me by inches, creating deep gouges in the cave floor.

But my advantage was short-lived. Five more bears, equally menacing, emerged from the shadows, growling in unison.

I was outnumbered, and the confined space of the cave left me with no room for maneuvering. "Shit," I muttered to myself as I pulled out my crossbow.

These were the same grizzly bears that the extras had faced in the story. They were eight feet tall and had hardened skin like natural armor.

The grizzly bear's attack was deafening, as its massive paw slashed through the air like a deadly arc. Its claws were sharp as obsidian blades, aimed at rending flesh and shattering bones. I dodged with a dancer's grace, narrowly escaping the attack. The cavern echoed with the clash of feral might against the calculated finesse of a protagonist.

I then activated the Vulnerability Reader, which revealed the bears' potential weak points. However, the information was incomplete, leaving me to rely on intuition.

The first grizzly bear displayed a peculiar reaction near its forelimb. I took a gamble and used the Piercing Shot, imbuing the arrows with my ability. The projectiles streaked through the air, finding their mark with precision. As the bear's side was pierced, it slowed down to a near standstill. I quickly finished it off with a shot to its head and moved on to the next ones.

Two bears rushed at me as my movements synchronized with the rhythmic pulses of the cave's unseen currents. Another Piercing Shot, this time infused with my fire attribute, jolted through the air, delivering a small blast of fire that pierced the second and third grizzly bear. The last two followed suit from behind as I activated the Vulnerability Reader once more. It revealed only sparks of potential weakness.

The Grizzly bear came at me again, trying to slash down towards my torso, but I sidestepped the close-range encounter and shot at its feet. I panicked and fired countless arrows in slowed time by activating the Clockwork of Time. As the bear fell victim to my flaming arrows, it fell into a rage and tried to pin me to the side of the cave. I dodged countless times thanks to my invisible robe and the passive stat of Evasiveness. With the angry Grizzly bear swinging downwards, I kicked off its arm and aimed my crossbow towards its head, firing it and sending the bear back to the afterlife.

"shit." I muttered to myself as I pulled out my Crossbow. I knew these were the same exact bears that the extras faced in the story.

Grizzly bears. eight feet of pure, brawny menace, their formidable presence emphasized by the darkness that clung to their coarse, grizzled fur. Hardened skin, like a natural armour,

The Grizzly's attack unfolded with a thunderous roar, its massive paw slashing through the air like a deadly arc. Claws, sharp as obsidian blades, aimed to rend flesh and shatter bone. I pivoted with a dancer's grace, narrowly evading the brutal assault. The cavern echoed with the clash of feral might against the calculated finesse of a protagonist.

Seizing the moment, I activated the Vulnerability Reader. Sparkling motes of light danced across the bears' forms, hinting at potential weak points. However, the information gleaned was far from complete, leaving me to rely on intuition and experience.

The first Grizzly, muscles rippling with power, displayed a peculiar reaction near its forelimb. A gamble, but my fingers placed over the Crossbow, imbuing the arrows with my ability as I used Piercing Shot. TAK, TAK, TAK, The projectiles streaked through the air, finding their mark with precision. As the bear's sides was pierced, slowing its movements to a near standstill.

I quickly finished the bear off with a quick shot to its head and moved on towards the ones that were rushing at me. 2 of the bears seemed to close in as my movements synchronized with the rhythmic pulses of the cave's unseen currents. Another Piercing Shot, this time infused with my fire attribute, jolted through the air, delivering a small blast of fire piercing to the second and third grizzly bear.

As the last 2 followed suit from behind I activated Vulnerability Reader once more revealing only sparks of potential weakness.

GARRRR

With the Grizzly coming in close he tried to slash down towards my torso but I luckily sidestepped the close-range encounter shooting the feet of the bear as I panicked. and as I readied my arrows once again the onslaught of fire rained towards the bear I fired countless arrows in slowed time by activating Clockwork of time.

TAK, TAK, TAK

As the bear fell victim to my flaming arrows, the Grizzly bear fell mad into anger as he rushed hitting the walls and trying to pin me to the side of the cave.

I dodged countless times thanks to my invisible robe and the passive stat of Evasiveness I could move much faster when it came to close combat.

With the angry Grizzly bear swinging downwards I kicked off his arm and aimed my crossbow towards his head firing it and sending the bear back to the afterlife.

The cavern fell silent, the lifeless bodies of the Grizzlies serving as testaments to the narrative's unfolding drama. In this dance of calculated moves and fictional vulnerabilities, I emerged victorious and continued down the path hopefully finding the area with the flag or maybe Jan and Louise's whereabouts.

Jan and Louise are probably fighting hordes of monsters since this place was a testing ground for Sifters Foundation...

Valencia, emerging from the shadows, stumbled upon the lifeless Grizzlies strewn across the cavern floor. Her features were filled with awe and disbelief as she surveyed the aftermath. "Did he do all of this?" she mused, a tone of incredulity threading through her words.

***

The cave seemed to close in on us with every step, our footfalls echoing in the damp silence. Louise's discontent hung in the air; he kept nagging about being stuck here, but I simply ignored him, trying to figure out this cave's weird barrier change.

"Why am I stuck with you?" Louise grumbled, bitterness evident in his voice. I responded cautiously, trying not to bite his bark.

"Sorry, let's find the flag and get out of here," I said, attempting to shift our attention to the assignment. The cave's eerie soundtrack, a mix of growls and echoes, added an unsettling backdrop to our uneasy partnership.

Haah, I guess there's no helping it. I don't want to fail this assignment because we got split up, so I think we should be fine now that Valencia is with Rel. But in all honesty, I can only pray that Rel can deal with Valencia, knowing what kind of person she's like.

Moving through the cave felt like navigating a confusing puzzle. The repeating pattern of the design slowly revealed that we were going in circles.

The cave trek went on, and every time we stepped into a new spot, weird noises like 'wham' or 'wang' hit our ears. It was like a signal that we'd entered a different part of the cave, messing with our sense of direction. These sounds made navigation trickier, keeping us on our toes as we tried to figure out where the heck we were going.

"AHHH, WHAT EVEN IS THIS CAVE?" Louise yelled out in frustration as he hit the side of the cave with his fist in anger.

"We just need to find a pattern where the sounds become smaller, which means we are heading in the right direction," I tried to calm him down, but he seemed to wander in his frustration.

Wham!

The cave seemed to shift once more, and down the very end of the cave, there was a massive door and a ton of monsters in front of it. Louise's eyes seemed to light up, judging by how our cave seemed to have an end.

[Sifter's Foundations Front Entrance.]