"I don’t know, Miche. It’s..." Paula paused and looked around. "It’s strange. I can feel it. But for some reason, we can’t enter it."

Everyone fell silent, letting their commander, Miche, take over the conversation with Paula.

"What do you mean? Like, we’re standing here where the town should have been?"

"Yes. I can feel it strongly here."

Miche did not immediately continue; instead, she looked around them, where there were no signs of the town. However, deep down, she believed Paula.

She felt something was amiss, as though someone were observing them.

"The scout confirmed the existence of the town and the anomaly here. They did not enter because of the danger they felt, but it’s real." Miche began his analysis. "The higher-ups are also very excited about this. You know how they love anomalies, especially if it’s about mana disturbances."

One thing they could confirm was that the anomaly was related to mana disturbances, and the whole town was part of it. Such a massive anomaly, and yet no one had found it yet.

If not for the scouts suddenly getting lost here, they would not have known of its existence.

Its discovery basically made those madm... Higher-ups vibrated with anticipation. If not for safety reasons, they might have already come here personally.

Just by this alone, they knew how important this mission was.

"It’s not that we’re lost or Paula isn’t doing a good job," Miche realized it then, her lips curved. It was as though he had been possessed by those madmen. "This place... has consciousness!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The others flinched at that, and they could not help but exchange glances. Just as they thought, their commander had been possessed by those madmen.

How was it making sense for an anomaly to have consciousness? That was impossible.

Yet, Paula appeared solemn. Her boyfriend, Finneas, noticed it.

"Don’t tell me, you believed Miche?"

Paula nodded slightly.

The others were taken aback, stunned. Had Paula been possessed, too?

Miche did not care if they were skeptical, but her grin widened as she laughed maniacally. She swept her eyes around, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"How else can a town know when to hide? Trust me, guys. This anomaly is pretty unusual." She looked at her comrades. "I’ve been feeling something observing us..."

"Huh? Someone’s observing us?"

"Do they have a death wish?"

The others began to curse, and the man around their commander made them stop and zip their mouths.

"Let me finish, dumbasses." She glared at everyone. "So I was saying, someone or something is observing us. Now, they hide, and I can’t feel it anymore. But it’s real... Or are you all skeptical about my senses?"

The others quickly shook their heads.

"So..." Miche grinned widely and looked back. "This town is hiding from us!" Her excitement lingered in her voice.

One way or another, being part of this institution, they must have a few screws loose.

The others could not argue anymore. Half convinced, they began to ask.

"Then, how can we find it?"

"Right! The town’s hiding, so... The mission failed?"

Miche shook her head. "Why? There has to be a condition we need to meet somewhere here. Or... We can wait! The mission doesn’t have a time limit. I refuse to believe the town can hide from us forever."

The others, even Paula, who was on their commander’s side, felt her lips twitch. No one wanted to stay here forever and wait! This place was in the middle of nowhere.

However, they were afraid of their commander’s temper. None said any rebuttal and agreed on the surface.

Just like that, the seven of them had spent a week in this place, including the five days they were searching for the damn town.

That was when it began to be exciting.

Since it had only been a week, the group had yet to feel exhausted by the scenery. They often raid dungeons for weeks or do missions. Their patience was honed through that.

There was no sighting of the town yet, but the group was now convinced as they also sensed the mana disturbance here.

There were no monsters at this place, which was one of the great indications of an anomaly, but they continued to have two people keep watch through the night.

Troy and Finneas became the designated night watch. They often argue but are serious at their jobs.

The two played some cards to pass the time, but suddenly both became alert. As A-class espers, they quickly sensed the shift in the air.

They exchanged glances and went to alert everyone. There was no need to, as their leader woke up on her own, and so did the other two espers. Only Paula and Malcom, their guides, they needed to wake up.

"Enemies?" Miche asked, but was already preparing for combat.

Troy nodded. "Seems so," his voice was solemn.

He was their scout; his abilities were about sound waves. The shift in the air was more palpable to him, especially how it had gotten quiet.

Miche nodded.

"You and Finneas, come with me." She began her series of instructions. The two espers were tasked with protecting their guides.

Just as they were about to set off, a blinding light made everyone curse. In that split second, a scream was heard. When everything became clear again, they looked at each other.

Finneas’ eyes widened. "Paula!" His girlfriend disappeared.

His eyes quickly became bloodshot as mana exploded from him; he looked up and yelled.

"Fuck! Playing dirty, fuckers!" Fire ignited everywhere.

Miche, who was about to stop him, could only shake her head. They were no less indignant about this sudden turn of events.

"Go! Find those bastards and drag them where they are hiding!" She jumped high into the sky, her eyes quickly turned yellow as her body began transforming into a massive beast.

A roar resounded through the whole place; she landed with a thud, a crater under her feet.

The others were not idle; Troy waved his hand, and the air seemed to gather around him. This was an illusion, but his senses quickly enhanced.

"There! Those bastards!" He began running, the others following him.

Malcom was carried by one of the espers. Since Paula was already captured, they could not leave anyone behind.