The Mark Of Rebirth

Looking down at Hollia from above, I started to wonder how exactly I was going to track down the Anomaly in such a massive and crowded city. I parked the Airblade on the top of one of the many buildings in the sprawling cityscape.

In the heart of the vibrant metropolis, high-rises pierced the sky, their sleek glass facades reflecting the constant movement below. A web of bustling streets seemed alive, with the rhythm of hurried footsteps and the symphony of honking horns. Some landmarks stood out to me as testaments to the city's rich history, whilst other modern architectural marvels seamlessly blended the past with the present. Amidst the towering structures, sidewalks teemed with a diverse tapestry of individuals, each immersed in their own narratives. There were street vendors who were offering an array of global cuisines, creating a tantalizing aroma that mingled with the city's energy.

Scattered about were small parks, which provided a touch of greenery amongst the concrete jungle. The city's pulse quickens with the ebb and flow of commuters utilizing a well-connected public transportation system. Subways rumble beneath the surface, weaving a complex network that binds neighborhoods together.

“This place is like a maze, this is going to take forever…" I grumbled as I made my way to the location where the Anomaly had first appeared.

Consulting [Neuro] for a bit of assistance, I opened up a three-dimensional map of the city to narrow down my initial search area. After analyzing the map, I marked off the area where the Anomaly had originally been detected. The method I used to find the Anomaly was by tracking abnormal mana convergence through satellite sensors — Nanik tells me the specific way the abnormality occurs, and I then create an algorithm to identify them. But how exactly did Nanik get his hands on these satellites? It's stuff like this that makes me reassess how much of a big shot he might be… Not like I’d get a peep from him if I asked anyway.

Still, I don't have the slightest clue how to locate the anomalies after they appear, and Nanik, who I really hoped would’ve been my catch-all, hadn’t helped me in the slightest. Instead, all I got from him was a comment ladled with what I could only describe to be sheer snarkiness, "You'll know when you see them!" What does that even mean? That guy really gets on my nerves! Isn't this something important?

I slowly made my way through the streets of the city and the crowds of citizens and toward the estimated location of the Anomaly. I haphazardly wandered about for a few moments, as I wasn't well-versed with the routes within Hollia. I did, however, notice that as I went further from the heart of the city, it became more and more decrepit, as though the city itself had regressed to an earlier, less lavish time.

I eventually came upon an open park on the city's outskirts, with weeds abundant throughout the uneven and neglected cobblestone paths. The sparsely planted trees stood forlornly, their branches like skeletons with sickly brown leaves. This park, once likely full of lush greenery and foliage, now hung like a wilted flower.

‘Hmm… is this really the right place?’ As I tapped on the glasses’ frame for [Neuro] to double-check, I noticed a peculiar man standing alone nearby. He appeared to be middle-aged, wearing a black vest with a yellow-black striped tie. He was scanning around with a certain dullness to his emerald green eyes, seemingly looking for something.

The man seemed to have spotted me as his previously uninterested expression immediately perked up. He partitioned his dirty-blonde hair that peered through his half-top hat, struck up an unusually enthusiastic smile, and strode towards my direction.

He stopped right in front of me and extended his hands forward. "Hello, madam! My name is Farthington Redsworth and you are the hundredth person I have seen today, and I am giving out my autobiography for free to every hundredth person I encounter!"

Farthington’s attitude felt akin to that of a door-to-door salesman, with an energetic tone and a voice that was visibly bouncing, as though he had struck gold.

"Every hundredth? There's practically no one around here…," I remarked, looking around with a hint of skepticism, completely shutting down his initial friendly gesture. Completely unfazed by my suspicion, he replied with an exaggerated shrug, "Well, I walk the city quite often - what can I say?"

‘This isn’t going anywhere…’, Instead of playing into his persistence, I readjusted the sides of my glasses. 'I wonder if using the [Developer's Eye] would help me find out if the Anomaly’s around…’

Focusing, a slight tingling sensation suffused my eyes. The park around me seemed to dissolve. The trees, the bushes, and even the mysterious stranger himself - gone. In their places, cascades of blue text appeared, enveloping my periphery. The only thing that did not change from my view was me, who looked the same as always. However, what was most peculiar was that, while everything around me was made of a calming deep blue sea of code, there was a single gleaming orange bundle of error code, presumably in the place of the strange man.

Deactivating the [Developer's Eye], I felt a slight headache. In front of me, Farthington returned to normal, yet the sight of his orange code lingered in my mind. 'I've never seen a person with orange-colored code in my life... In fact, I've never seen orange code, ever.'

'So does this mean I’ve been talking to one this whole time? Way to hide in plain sight, but that just makes my job easier…’ I discreetly reactivated my glasses and fed [Neuro] the command to do a background check on the man in front of me, to which the AI belted out its usual cold response, [Of course, ma'am.]

Attempting to stall some more time for [Neuro] to run a background check regarding this man, I inquired further about this 'business' of his. "Do you do this often?"

Farthington replied, "Do what exactly?" with a hint of confusion laced in his voice.

'What's taking [Neuro] so long…?' Suddenly, it generated pages of information that seemed to explode onto the interface of my glasses.

Wait… so you're telling me that this dude standing in front of me was an actor in the movie Galactic Battles and played the character Banakin Groundswimmer? Why do I have the feeling that this is some kind of rip-off? The corners of my mouth twitched slightly. 'Does Nanik really need someone like this?! I mean, look at him. It's obvious he's a jobless bum who's probably in debt.'

Unable to audibly sigh, I held in my frustration and looked at the rest of his background.

What? He's a Martial Artist on top of all this? What's next, am I gonna see pigs fly? This guy seems like he'd be working for exposure, not a paycheck. Nonetheless, I still have a mission to do…

"Do you sell your book like this often?" I said, repeating my question from earlier.

Farthington smirked. "It's not selling if I'm giving it out for free, now is it? I mean, free publicity… but I do indeed sell my book - it's good to have word of mouth. If I give it away for free, other people may want a copy."

"Do I have to do anything to get the book?" I probed.

Farthington seemed to get very excited at my mentioning that.

"Yes! You have to sign a contract to get the book."

I frowned. 'This guy… is clearly a fraud.'

"Is there a reason?" I continued, with my face deadpan.

"Why, of course. We can't just have people taking the book and then selling copies of it, can we?"

'This is something that can be solved simply by having the legal office take care of it. He must think I'm gullible if he's giving out such poor excuses…'

Already having concluded that he was the Anomaly, I figured that this wasn't the best place to talk about recruiting him. 'Even though I don't see a reason why he should get recruited...'

Swiftly gliding my hands horizontally, a string of code was sent in Farthington's direction, discreetly attaching itself to him like a tick. "I think I'll pass on the book."

The line of code latched onto Farthington's section of code. The target's reality data would transmit relative information about the target's approximate whereabouts back to the receiver. This would allow the user to observe their targets within certain distance parameters. And that very [Data Tag] laid dormant unbeknownst to Farthington, who appeared to be getting more and more antsy by the minute. "Are you sure…? It's free!" He insisted.

Alarmed by his persistence, I stammered to reject him. "I-I think I'm fine."

'Since it wouldn't hurt to know more about him, I might as well ask some questions.' "Say, how long have you lived here?" I asked, putting extra emphasis on the 'lived' part.

Farthington looked slightly flustered at this random yet innocuous question. "That's a good question…uhm, I've been around here for about three years."

After asking a few more relatively harmless questions, I bid him farewell, leaving the area where I met him. 'Time to conduct a successful recruitment... hopefully.'