Zion rushed into the kitchen, finding Ludwig and his father peering out the windows. “What the hell is going on!” His voice came out louder than intended, but given the circumstances, it was understandable.
“We're trying to figure that out,” Ludwig snapped back, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a bracelet with a solid purple gem. It began to glow, projecting a floating image above it—a soldier's form. “Report, Captain, what in Creation is happening out there?”
“Sir, there have been multiple breaches all around the city. No warning; they appeared out of nowhere. It was as if they were cloaked during their approach,” the Captain answered urgently. “Worst of all, they are peak tier-one, Governor Ludwig. Many are elite rank, with two even being legend rank.”
The color drained from Ludwig's face, a reaction Zion could relate to. Mobs reaching peak tier was rare enough; becoming Elite rank was a one-in-a-thousand occurrence. Legend-rank monsters were the stuff of nightmares, the subjects of horror stories. Having two of them here was not a good sign.
“Send a distress call to nearby Spheres; we need reinforcements. Meanwhile, gather all civilians and head towards the town center. Deploy stalling squads, but do not engage. We must keep the monsters from following while we evacuate,” Ludwig commanded, his demeanor shifting instantly. Gone was the amiable man; in his place stood a true military leader. Zion had to admit he fit the role well.
Their conversation was interrupted as Galen turned to him. “Zion, listen, they're going to need you out there. It's not fair that you have to fight right away, but that's the life of an adventurer.” Galen held out a simple shortsword and a solid redwood box. “Take this sword; it has no special effects, but it's tier-three craftsmanship. Then absorb this; it was meant to be my gift to you after the ceremony, but so much happened.” Regret tinged his voice.
Opening the box, Galen revealed a single string floating inside, glowing with an emerald green light. Mana seemed to emanate from every fiber. Zion's body seemed to yearn for the string, fitting, as it was a power string, essential for early-level collection to develop his initial threads.
“Dad, how did you get this?” Zion asked after accepting the box. “This must have cost a fortune!”
“Well, it didn’t really cost anything, considering it originally belonged to me,” Galen chuckled. “It's from my training days, a tier-one spell called Arcane Edge. It infuses any bladed weapon with mana, effectively doubling its damage output.”
“Zion, I wish we had more time to go over things. There's so much I want to teach you, so much knowledge to pass along, but we need you now. Take the spell and save as many as you can. I have absolute faith in your abilities.” Zion didn’t hesitate any longer; excitement had built up too much.
Ability Acquired:
Arcane Edge (Active): Infuses an edged weapon with a layer of mana, enhancing the impact of each strike. Effects: Doubles the damage output of all melee attacks for a duration of 10 minutes. Requires 100 mana to activate.
“Good, now strap that sword on and get out there.” A slap on the back and Zion began to prepare. His father turned to Ludwig, interrupting the man's communications. “Ludwig, I'm sending Zion out to the front; he's the strongest person within the Sphere. He should be able to hold off the north end independently.”
“Are you mad? Zion’s never fought a monster, let alone a horde of them!” Ludwig was incredulous at the announcement.
“He’ll be fine, Ludwig. You and I will handle the logistics while the army holds the mobs off. We should get reinforcements in time if we can last thirty minutes.” Galen finished and glanced back at Zion, who had just finished affixing his scabbard and looked up to see his father's gaze.
“I got it, Dad. I'm heading north; I'll make sure nothing gets by.” He gave them a mock salute and took off, to his father's amused laughter and Ludwig's sputtering rage.
Zion sped through the wide alleys of the town, his new body covering the distance at an incredible pace. He soon approached the northern edge of the town and witnessed the damage wrought by the monsters. Rubble was strewn along the streets, wooden stalls smashed into splinters, and mana batteries fizzled.
The worst sight was the bodies. He had naively hoped he would arrive to find only infrastructure damage, with all citizens evacuated in time. Instead, he counted hundreds of bodies littering the city wreckage. Anger welled up within him at the sight. Though he likely didn't know any of these people personally, they were still people—simple folk trying to live their lives as best they could. They had likely died hopeless and terrified, and that enraged him.
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Bouncing off larger pieces of buildings, he crested the edge of the wreckage. In front of him lay a small army of mobs, at least forty monsters breaking through the shattered walls. Soldiers battled to shut the gap while others escorted civilians from the scene. Who knew how many remained behind the wall?!
A wererat, a vile creature with the appearance of a rat but the stature of a man, pursued one group. Zion wasted no time and launched himself at the monsters. With a mental command, Arcane Edge activated, enveloping his shortsword in a shimmering green aura. The unsuspecting wererat felt the blade pierce its side as Zion struck. It hissed in outrage and swung around to retaliate, but Zion dodged the swiping claws with a swift sidestep. With a fluid motion, he withdrew his sword and delivered a decisive, underhanded slice, severing the creature's head from its body.
Without pausing, Zion rushed towards the broken wall, scaling the battlements amidst a barrage of arrows from archers and the desperate thrusts of spearmen. The soldiers, exhausted from the relentless battle, were barely holding their ground. Zion realized that years of peace had made the army complacent.
Approaching the man in charge, Zion spoke urgently amid the chaos. “Sir, I’ve been sent to hold the northern wall. I don’t have time to explain; just assist who you can and hold off the stragglers,” he conveyed before plunging into the shattered passage.
His descent was met with another wererat, which he dispatched swiftly with a lethal thrust through its skull. Another creature leaped at him, claws bared, but Zion evaded its attack and swiftly delivered a fatal blow, cleaving the beast in twain.
As a spirit bear charged at him, Zion focused his energy and conjured a mana bolt. Releasing the bolt just as the bear closed in, it struck with explosive force, rending the creature's flesh with blue mana and ending its charge abruptly.His blade came down swiftly, ending its life.
The battlefield erupted with more creatures converging on Zion, but the other soldiers rallied in his wake. Ignoring the chaos around him, Zion extended his left hand and unleashed a rapid barrage of mana bolts, each finding its mark and halting the advance of the rampaging beasts.
Diving back into the fray, Zion's sword flashed with deadly precision as he dispatched a pair of goblins with swift strokes. Parrying a descending blade from a larger hobgoblin, he countered with a deft flick of his sword, disarming the creature. Stepping into its range, Zion delivered a devastating blow to its jaw with the hilt of his sword, staggering the hobgoblin before delivering the final blow with a precise mana bolt.
In the midst of the chaos, a wererat managed to land a piercing blow to Zion's flank, marking his first injury of the battle.
He activated Arcane Shield, conjuring a shimmering blue bubble that enveloped him just in time to deflect three consecutive strikes. The strain on his mana reserves was palpable, reminding him of the finite nature of his protective barrier. Jerking and parrying another strike to his left, Zion retaliated with a precise mana bolt that found its mark in a goblin's throat. With a swift stab, he pierced the lung of his assailant before withdrawing his blade and swiftly dispatching another foe, driving his sword into the side of a spirit bear.
Despite his efforts, Zion was caught off guard by the ferocious momentum of the bear's attack, sending him tumbling backward. As the creature bore down on him, Zion unleashed another mana bolt, but his shield crackled under the strain. With his mana rapidly depleting, he considered retreat until a timely barrage of spears from his comrades forced the beast back, ultimately ending its life.
With the soldiers rallying around him, Zion watched as they pushed back the onslaught of enemies, their combined efforts driving tooth and claw away from the breach. Grateful for their assistance, Zion rolled back, allowing the soldiers to take the forefront of the battle. Despite his enhanced stats, Zion found himself panting from exertion, a testament to his lack of training and conditioning.
Holy Devastation! He’d only been in combat for maybe five minutes and was almost half mana. That might be contributing to the feeling of exhaustion. If his mana was now his health, then he was almost half-health as well. Ki’s warning that this was a double-edged sword made sense. If he didn't pace himself, then death would come swiftly. This type of fight didn’t play into his class very well.
“Does anyone have any mana potions!?” He yelled, trying to be heard over the sounds of battle. One of the soldiers must have heard him and tossed him a single mana potion. A quick scan showed him it was a common-grade potion so that it would restore a hundred mana. Nothing crazy, but he'd take all the mana he could get. He’d use the necklace but wanted to save it for emergencies because a twenty-hour recharge wasn’t short.
The potion and the break in fighting were doing wonders for his mana. His regen was decent, at least enough to gain a mana bolt or two. With that in mind, he decided to rotate with the soldier to conserve both mana and avoid fatigue.
“On your right!” Zion yelled as he waded into combat. Like the trained soldiers they were, his new battlemates opened a gap for him. He dived into the fray, his blade knocking a falling axe from his fellow's hand. He stabbed forward, sinking the blade through a hobgoblin. He followed with a forward kick into a smaller goblin, then twirled, firing a mana bolt into a herd of wererats.
He battled on with vigor, not letting any creatures through the gap. The soldiers' makeshift shield wall was enough to hold them at bay. It was going to be a long, bloody fight.