It didn't stop.
Of course it didn't.
THUMP—THUMP—
The anomaly surged.
Violent.
Sudden.
The entire field reacted instantly.
RUSTLE—CRRK—SHFT—
Everything moved.
Everything tightened.
Everything responded.
"…That's new."
System Alert
Anomaly Growth Spike Detected
Cause: Unknown
"…Unknown is bad."
The fragment pulsed rapidly.
thmp-thmp-thmp
The ground cracked again.
Wider this time.
CRRK—
"…No."
The crops rushed to contain it.
But—
Not fast enough.
A small piece broke off.
plop
Silence.
Then—
thmp
"…No."
System Warning
Fragment Multiplication (Uncontrolled)
"…We already solved this."
"…Why is it happening again?"
Kiro stepped back this time.
Even he looked concerned.
"…It's accelerating."
The adventurer drew his weapon.
"…We might need to destroy it."
"…No."
"…Containment first."
Ryo stood.
Faster than before.
Less hesitation.
Skill Activated: Field Command I
"…Compress."
The crops surged.
Harder.
Faster.
More precise.
The new fragment resisted—
But weaker than before.
It merged back.
Forced.
crrk… thmp
Contained.
Again.
But—
The anomaly pulsed harder.
Angrier.
THUMP—
"…It didn't like that."