Fluxes... Are crazy.

Zack had seen this same scene yesterday, but from the outside it was hard to really get an idea of how insane the fighting really was at the line. Fully armored men cleaved monsters apart every few seconds, swatting them away and cutting them apart with every other movement. After all, it was almost impossible to miss. Regardless of which way you swung there was something to catch the blade. But it took some serious skill to not break from the ever present pressure of the monster tide.

An assortment of archers stood up on the wall behind them, picking off monsters every once in awhile with a well placed arrow. Zack had been one of those archers, as he had some basic knowledge of how to use a bow and he wasn't helpful for much else. His skill was by all definitions a crazy one, but it wasn't useful in this situation either.

Zack had learned that all of the monsters that showed up to a flux were likely weak by human standards, only having classed up maybe one or two times at most. But still, just the sheer number of the things would make you think there would be at least some difficulty for the defenders. Well, there was, the difficulty was an endurance test really. It was a shame none of them had Planeswalker as a skill. If they did, Zack had no doubt one of them could probably class advance multiple times in a single day.

An assorted mishmash of corpses littered the feet of the gaunt defenders. Bodies naturally cleaned up by the ever ravenous tide of beats, tearing into the ranks of their own fallen for sustenance. And then more bodies thrown into the piles. Blood and viscera covered the battlefield, but nothing hesitated for even a moment despite it. The monsters certainly couldn't for that matter. He'd learned a little bit more about fluxes this morning, and honestly? They were a pretty shitty deal for monsters spawned from mana veins.

When a flux occurred, it was essentially a many times multiplied output of mana from the mana veins. Through some magic that the people he was with didn't really understand, this caused any monsters spawned by mana veins to naturally be pulled towards the largest source of mana. This was, quite obviously, the human settlement. Monsters who were strong enough could resist the pull, but it depended on the strength of the flux itself.

Generally, because of the rising flux period, the fluxes themselves were stronger then average. Which caused more and stronger monsters to be pulled in, which in turn was a serious threat every time it happened. Only the REALLY nasty monsters wouldn't get pulled in by a flux at the moment. And on the off chance that one of those said monsters decided to pull an attack on the town during a flux, it would be a real bad time for those who lived there. Which was why hunting parties were sent out in advance after monsters like those.

Zack continued to gaze out across the battlefield, amazed at the sheer display of ferocity and prowess. Though he almost jumped out of his skin when the man next to him yelled out at the top of his lungs. "SECOND LINE! SWAP OUT WITH AUXILARY! WE'RE ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH! GET SOME REST!"

Only... Only half way?! Zack shot an arrow, landing solidly in the hide of a monster out in the frenzy. After a moment of silence, he asked the commander next to him a question. "Hey uh, how long are fluxes on average anyways?" At least he assumed that's what they were, given what they'd been doing this whole attack.

"Zack. I understand that you came up here because you weren't useful for much else, but you absolutely cannot distract me right now. If anything were to happen immediate response is required, lives are at stake. If you have anything to ask, it can wait until afterwards. But for now, shut your mouth. Or get back down the wall. Understood?"

"...Yes sir."

I've got absolutely no idea how to talk to this guy, actually, maybe that's the problem and I shouldn't be talking to them right now. Yeah, that sounds about right. Well, I'll try to keep myself occupied here. Any particularly strong looking monsters around? I can play where's malicious Wally with the horde.

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Zack glanced around the mass of clawing and biting monsters looking for exactly what he wanted to. Monsters that looked a cut above the rest. Bigger or badder ones, enormous or malevolent beasts that just gave off an... Aura, so to speak. It was an instinctive feeling most living beings got when they saw something a great deal stronger then them. Bar freshly spawned monsters, which actually encompassed a lot of "living beings" currently. So maybe not 'most' but the point still stood.

Zack though, was not one of those freshly spawned monsters, so when he laid eyes on a monster that looked like a... He wanted to say gryphon? But without the bird head. He could tell it was pretty strong. Laying eyes on it, he felt his body instinctively recoil away from it, almost tumbling off the wall. But he reigned in the urge and continued to watch it with a fixation. Picking off monsters around it with stray arrows every once in awhile.

It had managed to go strong for a pretty good amount of time, crushing through the ranks of monsters with ease and tearing it's enemies apart. Zack figured it's wings were useless, given the wide gashes in them. Otherwise it probably would've taken off by now. The beast had sustained many an injury over time, despite it's constant kills, bleeding out slowly. It probably wouldn't last much longer, and lo and behold after it got a little too close to the wall a member of the auxiliary force had come upon it and cleaved it's head from it's torso.

Zack felt a little bad for it, but it was it or them, and Zack was firmly in the camp of 'them' rather then a random monster he'd just picked out from the crowd and spectated. With it's death, he went back to searching for another monster.

...

"So what exactly can you do during the flux, Zack?"

"I uh... Not much. If you've got anything physical for me to do I could help out, but I'm not great for much."

"...Well, can you use a bow? Or a crossbow? You might not be able to fight on the front lines, but we've got plenty of ammunition. Any extra trained hands would be welcome."

"Oh, yeah, I can use a bow. I had... I uh... I think I can use a bow.' Nice save, Zack.

Miller gave Zack a suspicious glance, but sighed and relented. "Well, Mr. "amnesiac". If you're so sure, you can help out with the flux on the wall. Afterwards, we should have a group arranged for you to take care of any dangerous monsters that managed to get away."

...

Another volley of arrows whistled through the air, piercing through numerous monsters as they sailed into their targets. Cries rung out in the air as the last breaths of dozens of monstrous beasts rang out. Through the duration of the flux, Zack had managed to level up two times. Bringing him to level eleven. He knew others were also leveling, but probably not nearly as much as he was. Supposedly the flux was a bit over half way over, so he might just level a few more times still. He had been rusty when he started after all, and most of his arrows weren't fatal. Killing blow seemed to be the requirement to level up via Planeswalker, so maybe he could speed up the leveling a bit.

Fuew-

Another arrow shot forth from Zack's bow, sailing true towards... Towards... Towards nothing? "I could've sworn there was something there a moment ago..."

He took a closer look around the area, and after a moment, something seemed to fade into his point of view. It was a hard to see thing, a small canine monster with a jet black coat that had a surprising lack of aggression. Avoiding combat and attacks wherever possible, but more then anything, looking at it Zack felt a deep sense of dread. Similar to some of the stronger monsters he'd seen during this flux, but a little different at the same time... In conclusion? Textbook definition of a monster that the town would probably be worried about.