Durreg and I rushed out to the academy to find people willing to join us. On our way, people were recovering now that the wind had passed, with no idea of the danger to come. The guards were beginning to spread out and tell the residents to stay in their homes and barricade the entrances. A guard was yelling at us to do the same, but we left him in the dust.

A regular guard had no chance of catching up to two peak rank C dragons.

It wasn’t long before we entered through the gates and stood in the empty courtyard. A distant clerk waved us over from the Hall’s reception building to the left. It was the same receptionist who had helped me with class registration.

“Ms. Azoth! Mr. Durreg!” He yelled, running our way.

“What’s the matter? Where’re all the students?” Durreg asked.

“They’re all attending an emergency meeting in the house or the hall, depending on which they’re enrolled in. All students are required to attend!” he said.

“Can you lead us there?” I asked, and the man gestured for us to follow.

***

We eventually arrived in the largest arena in the Hall, which was already packed with attendees. Everyone was seated on the spectator gallery, and headmaster Iltani stood on the arena proper next to a giant, scarred man with an eyepatch and a massive battle-axe strapped to his back.

[Proto-Force Elemental - Human Lv. 32 – Breaker of Men Lv. 196]

Rank A creature.

Further Appraisal Denied.

[Titan of Kengir Lv. 83 – Berserk Disaster Lv. 342]

Rank S creature. The Titan of Kengir is a one-of-a-kind monster, responsible for killing scores of criminals, invaders, and monsters. His strength is a match for that of the God-King himself, and the battles between the two still shake the very bedrock of the earth itself to this day.

The Berserk Disaster, as his name implies, is a walking calamity to any foe that dares to stand against him. Wherever he fights, rivers of blood follow. No mortal could hope to stand against this relentless, destructive force of nature.

As we took our seats, I whistled at the message appraisal showed; the man next to the headmaster must be a god in his own right. He glanced at me briefly but carried on standing stoically.

As the last of the new arrivals took their seats, the headmaster began speaking up.

“Thank you for arriving at such short notice, students of the Hall. Due to time constraints, I will get straight to the point.” She said promptly.

“The largest monster horde in history emerged from the Serpent’s Throat, where the mana pillar you may have witnessed erupted. All communication with our outposts in the island is lost, and we presume that everyone on the island has been lost to the horde.”

Murmurs began to spread amongst the crowd, though they quieted down when the headmaster continued speaking.

“The government of Kengir is offering each of you ten kilograms of gold each in exchange for manning the walls and repelling the initial wave. Those of you who distinguish themselves will be given further awards by the God-King himself.”

A wave of awe at the sheer amount of wealth spread through the audience, followed quickly by wild cheers.

“We would normally compensate you with platinum shekels, but we have a feeling that coins will quickly lose their value in the coming days. Consider this a show of sincerity from the Kengir authorities. In the meantime, we would also appreciate any of you with skills in food production to come forward, since there is no guarantee of further food coming in from trade or the countryside. Now, if you have any questions, please ask away. Only one question per person because time is of the essence!” the headmaster said, and people quieted down.

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I stood up and raised my hand, earning a few glances from nearby students.

The headmaster and the Titan of Kengir looked at me.

“What is your question, Ms. Azoth?” she asked.

“What are your plans to evacuate the folks in the villages? All I’ve heard are plans to protect the city.”

The woman pushed up her glasses, then responded.

“Any group we send out now will not be able to guard rural folk on their way back in time. They would all be swallowed by the horde, and they won’t have walls and an army to back them up. It’s a pity, but God-King Katu commanded that the lives that could be saved ought to be prioritized.”

Some in the audience gasped, while others resigned themselves to abandoning the rural folk. Others still seemed to not care either way, whether it was because they were foreigners, or because they looked down on mundane folk like the God-King did.

One person stood up to speak; it was the man who finished the entrance exam to the Hall of the Elites before us.

More importantly, he wasn’t addressing the two in the center of the room.

“I cannot speak for the rest of you, but I will not leave the villagers to their fate. I will go to save as many of them as I can; this city has more than enough defenders. If any of you feel the same way as I do, follow me to the courtyard so that we may divide the work between us. I will follow through even if none of you join – but I implore you to do so! I know you may not like me, but the people of the villages don’t deserve to die to the hordes!” he yelled passionately.

“Anbu Shullat, I have not given you permission to speak!” the headmaster screamed furiously at him.

She took a deep breath then addressed the audience.

“You are all free men and women, and we cannot force you to defend the city with us. However, that misguided rescue attempt that Mr. Shullat wishes to embark on is both futile and suicidal – and, thus, not sanctioned by Kengir. We would have made that request of you ourselves had that not been the case. If you wish to join him regardless, then you will be forfeiting your pay for defending the city.”

People began murmuring again, and the titan finally spoke up, his deep voice rumbling through the room.

“God-King Katu has not forbidden anyone from attempting to rescue the villagers. If any of you manage to save even a single villager, the city will shelter them – as long as it does not endanger those already inside. If you intend to attempt it, then I recommend you get going right away. The remainder of this meeting will not contribute to your mission.”

The first to leave was the man who was standing, Anbu.

“I don’t know if the rest of you can find your spines but do follow us if you manage it!” A familiar voice said in the back.

I turned my head with the crowd, only to end up seeing Atria wearing a cheeky grin on her face. Silia stood up from her seat next to her with and sighed deeply, before following her sister outside the room.

“Let’s go, Durreg.” I said, standing up to walk outside.

He didn’t have any quips to throw my way for once as we left. Just as we were about to go and catch up with the siblings, the door swung open behind us, and an Ionian boy stepped out of it.

“Kiara, wait for me!” Nisos said.

The two of us turned around to see the Ionian boy walk up to us.

“Nisos! It’s been a while! How have you been?”

“I am well. Let’s go to the courtyard to meet the others while we talk.” He said, walking ahead.

Durreg and I followed.

“And you are…?” Durreg asked curiously.

“Durreg, meet Nisos Iphitus, the leader of the party I was in. Nisos, meet Durreg, my irritating cousin who thinks he’s smarter than he actually is.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nisos. I apologize for all the trouble she must’ve put you through.” He said, though he was looking at me with a teasing expression.

I rolled my eyes.

“No, no. If anything, it was the other way around.” Nisos chuckled.

“So, when did you join the Hall?” I asked, as we entered the reception area on our way outside.

“There was a test held the day after we returned, so I attended it. After all the monsters we fought, killing a single rank C creature alone was trivial.” He said with a smile.

“Well, if you’re looking for a challenge, we’re about to head into a fiendishly difficult one.” Durreg said, as we exited the building.

At the courtyard were the other three, waiting to see if anyone else chose to join.

Anbu stepped forward as we approached them.

“Thank you for joining us, you three. Every bit of help counts. Still, I’d hoped more people would join.” He bit his lip in frustration.

Atria walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Take another look behind them,” she said, pointing back at the Hall of the Elites, “we’re a lot more than just the six of us, even if it’s still not enough.” She smiled.

We turned around, and sure enough, nearly two dozen people stepped out of the building.

“Well said, boy! Those pretentious bastards are more than willing to throw away commoner lives like they were scraps on their plate!” an Ionian middle-aged man with a beer belly and a large mace said to Anbu at the head of the multi-national group.

“Nobility earned its place through the duty to protect the common man. While I can’t disagree with your words disparaging those cowards, I can’t allow you to dirty the name of the gentry as a whole.” A Tameryian young man responded as he meticulously combed his hair.

Atria started laughing.

“We’ve got a motley crew here already; let’s get this show on the road!”