The second Nexus Event will start in 10 minutes, 35 seconds.

Breathing out steadily as I lean against the ledge overlooking the base, I admired the view that I could make out over the downpour of rain. My current position is the eastern tower, and as a sniper I sat under the cover of the tower itself, a way to try and alleviate the problem with vision due to the downpour.

Glancing behind me, I saw my support, a young man named March. His duty is to act as my support, including being my spotter, relaying information between us and the command, which included Sheep and three others he had selected to act as commanders on the battlefield. Whilst I could make calls, ultimately any combat-related call would go through him.

Each tower had a sniper of sorts, with some of them selecting Sharpshooter like I did, but some had magic Classes that benefited from being long range, like Water Mage. Each had a support to help relay information. Along the walls, twenty people were gathered at each section between the towers, armed and ready to take out anything that made it through the water filled moat.

Small huts had been made just behind each section of the wall, responsible for resupplying their respective walls. The huts contained food, water, ammo and weapons along with ten people who would resupply where needed. As for the remaining two hundred or so, they remained at the base in teams of fifty, ready to reinforce sections of the wall that needed it. The only issue is they had no Class or Jobs, so they could only really use handguns.

As for the nine that we had become aware of, they were working under the everwatchful eye of Sheep, their job to mark down which walls were having problems and to relay information if required, basically backups. It’s a placebo job, intended to keep them away from endangering our lives. An additional ten people were assigned along with them, to ensure they didn’t catch on that we were onto them.

As for the Lvl 3s, they were carefully spread out. Sheep, while he would be in command, would go to the frontlines of the most impacted area. His ability to increase his allies' stats would be very beneficial if an area became overwhelmed. Including being able to see through all illusions, he can use a new racial spell to mark particular enemies, allowing all of those within fifty metres to see that target. He can mark up to three enemies, opening up the ability to focus fire on threats.

As for Aerith, who led a team to the south, she had changed quite a bit. A singular blue horn stuck out from her forehead and her hair had turned silver, along with her eyes becoming white with a blue outline around them. She also emitted a frigid cold air around herself, which is her racial talent and could be turned up a notch which could freeze enemies around her. According to her, she’d become a mystical form of Kijin, and her fighting style switched from support to more solo frontliner.

Dawn, to the north, had barely changed, but I knew the truth. She is simply in her human form, her true form is that of a giant about five metres tall. It wasn’t an ugly, muscled giant form either, she mostly retained her looks but just gained height and strength. Her clothing, made by two Weavers in a hurry, grew with her and so did her shield and sword, which is thanks to her racial talent. In her giant form she gained outrageous strength, being able to punch the ground and cause the ground to sink heavily around her.

Lemon, who is waiting to the west, has changed a lot. Now with silvery skin, his endurance had increased massively, quite literally becoming a tank on the battlefield. His racial talent allowed him to absorb all of the physical damage he takes and use it as a counter with his racial spell, which could be either a powerful blast of energy or used to heal his injuries. According to him, his unique race is akin to an iron golem, but still human.

Finally, Melody, who joined me at the eastern side. She herself also had a transformation state with the ability to become an energy form, gaining tremendous mana regeneration and her spell casting would be tripled for everything, range, power and size. The form used an extremely high amount of stamina so its use is limited to desperate moments.

As for Rebecca and Ghost, they currently were on standby. Ghost would be sent out in the case that we required extremely dangerous Husks or monsters killed before they got to the walls. As for Rebecca, she’d be sent to any wall that is being overwhelmed first.

Raising my hands, the spirits, as usual, came swarming over to me, landing happily on my arms and shoulders. They typically didn’t come inside buildings, but they’ve done so today. Perhaps they know danger is coming? Looking out of the window, spirits could be seen scattered around the walls, as if ready for something.

A tenseness filled the air, one which I couldn’t fault at all. Tonight could be the last for all of us, deep down everyone here knew it would only take one mistake and that would be it. Breathing out, I calmed my nerves once more while looking out the window, towards our base.

Ignoring the stare from March, which has happened multiple times tonight, I sigh and look outwards of the walls. The flood lights helped to look past the rain, but it only covers a tiny part. With so little time before the Nexus Event, there is still no known threat near us.

The first Nexus Event made the Husks empowered, causing them to gain sight and strength. Back then, we were stuck in a single building, relying on advancement weapons and grenades. This time, we had over a hundred people at Lvl 1, dozens of Lvl 2s and eight Lvl 3s, all armed with weapons and magic, a massive power gap between then and now. But we couldn’t be overconfident, just the thought of a monster like that Butterfly arriving would mean the end of everyone in this base.

Seeing three minutes left, I heard a crashing sound and tilting my head back, I saw March with a red face, picking up the radio that he had accidentally dropped. Thankfully there wasn’t any damage, I could tell at a glance, but I noticed March’s hands and pursed my lips.

They were shaking fairly badly. I understood why; everyone was nervous, especially those who went through the first Nexus Event. Trinity had told me some had been unable to fight, due to malnutrition like Aerith, and those who fought watched dozens of their friends die. With another Nexus Event happening, it’s understandable they would be high-strung, all of us are.

“March, steady yourself. Remember, you’re safe up here.”

“Y-yes, M-madam…”

“No titles, just call me Midnight.” Picking up my sniper, I exhale and look out of the walls. There is no guarantee that Husks wouldn’t just appear in the base, we were fully aware of this and is the reason we had an armed team within the base itself, just in case.

“M-Mada-er, Midnight? Can I ask a question?”

“You have two minutes and twenty seconds.” Glancing at the timer, I turned my head to look at March. I didn’t know anything about him, he’d been assigned to me because he had a spell that allowed him to unlock a wind tunnel which we could ride to safety. As one of the few Wind Mages, he had promise.

“O-oh…Um, do…do you think we’ll ever get to go home?”

“That’s a loaded question. Yes, we can, we just need to survive this world first. Survive first, March, then you can see your family again.” Turning my head around, I cringed inwardly. I wasn’t good at inspiring others, nor comforting them and I knew my words were rather bland.

“Y-yes.” Hearing a bit more confidence from March, I felt surprised that my words had any sort of effect. The timer slowly ticked down and with thirty seconds left, March came over and set up a scope. Even the spirits floated nearby, away from me as I exhaled as I grip my rifle firmly, looking outwards. If we could survive this, we would advance massively in all aspects.

Nexus Event starts in 5 seconds.

4 seconds…

3 seconds…

2 seconds…

1…

‘Don’t die, Rubes.’

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

‘You too, Bek.’

0.

The Second Nexus Event has started.

Looking out, I saw nothing change. Perhaps due to our surroundings being relatively safe the Nexus event wouldn’t impact us?

Listening to the rain, I frowned before I realised the sound of the rain started to sound unusual. Concentrating, I focused on the sound, realising that it’s not just the sound of rain. Suddenly a large crashing sound could be heard in the distance as I looked up, my stomach dropping slightly.

I couldn’t see through the rain, but I knew exactly what's heading towards us. Reaching to my waist, I grabbed my radio and brought it up to my lips.

‘A horde of thousands is heading towards the eastern wall!’

Just as I finished my words, the sound of the stampede became clearer as a new sound rang out, the sound of bodies hitting water. Reaching up, I moved the floodlight towards the moat, the sight causing me to nearly gasp.

Thousands of Husks were stampeding towards the base, throwing themselves into the water filled moat, most just sinking but the stampede wasn’t slowing down. The radio springs to life, reports from every single section of the wall, all reporting the same thing, that thousands of Husks were stampeding towards them.

Second Nexus Event has begun.

The forces of destruction are launching a full-on attack on the survivors of the Prime World in the hopes of eradicating life altogether. If successful, the Prime World will die and so too will all life within the universe.

You must survive until the Totems of Necrotic Awakening are either destroyed or run out of energy.

“There are totems?!” With a gasp, I look towards the horizon, unable to see anything past the veil of rain. The sound of a familiar roar met my ears as the manifestation of my fear from earlier appeared.

‘A Dragon is at the Southern wall!’

Just as I’m about to look towards the south, the ground shakes heavily followed by a large, muddy thud. Looking towards the sound, I used Expose. Thousands of lights lit up as my vision changed, showing the exposed skin of the thousands of Husks, but one particular sight made my breathing stop. There, a giant light stood, at least a hundred metres tall, nearly two kilometres away from us…

“A giant…” Without hesitating, I scope down my sniper, keeping Expose active, aiming at the giant and fire. Darkness swallows half the giant, but I knew that my shot had actually blown half of it away. The remaining light dissipated and disappeared as it fell.

You have slain a Mithril Giant.

+100 Class Points.

This is your first kill on an enemy of this type!

+200 Class Points.

You received an item drop!

+5 Mithril Ingot.

Just as I’m about to breathe out, the ground shook once more, another thus sounding out. Expose still active, I looked up and saw seven more giants.

“Fuck…” They weren’t slow, each step quickly bringing them closer. Raising my sniper, I heard the radio spitting out panicked voices. Dragons to the south, giants to the east, hydras to the west and massive snakes to the north. This wasn’t a horde, it’s an outright siege.

Raising my sniper, I shot at each giant. The horde of Husks sunk into the moat, unable to swim, but it wouldn’t take long to fill at the rate they were swarming us. The radio sounded out nonstop commands, panic across the entire base as this unexpected siege started to overwhelm certain sides. The south was in the most danger as the dragons easily flew over the moat, breathing hot molten fire at the defenders.

Orders came through the radio, trying to figure out who needs to go where. Orders for Melody to go south sounded through the radio, along with mobilising both Rebecca’s group and Sheep’s to the other sides, but the constant orders were overwhelming, confusion starting to make itself apparent until one order came through, one that made me stop firing for a moment.

‘All units evacuate the south wall. I repeat, all units to the south, pull back!’

“Is the wall breached?!” Glancing at March, who had paled, I saw him shake his head with uncertainty.

“N-no…I don’t know…there are too many voices…”

Grimacing, if the south had been breached, the rest of the base would fall. Turning, I fired more shots, finishing the rest of the giants before turning my Exposed active eyes towards the south, barely making out a few lights in the sky, nearly three kilometres from me.

Just as I raised my sniper, a chill hit and with a frown, I watched as the lights were suddenly pulled down to the ground before a very heavy chilly wind hit us. Deactivating Expose, I used Hawkeye to try and see what happened, but the rain obstructed my vision, I couldn’t see anything, but the cold air made me imagine what exactly had happened, and a voice in my head told me my theory is right.

‘Holy shit Rubes! Do not ever piss off Kate!’

‘What happened?!’

‘She completely froze the entire southern wall, thousands of Husks and used dozens of ice chains to drag the dragons down and killed them!’

‘She’s that powerful?!’

‘Yea! Though I think she’s exhausted herself, we have to take over. Love you, Rubes!’

‘Mm, love you too, Bek!’

Turning my attention back to the east, I heard orders coming through the radio to reinforce the southern wall. It’s then I heard that those at Lvl 3 started to move against the threatening monsters, downing them easily. Orders quickly went from panic to reports ranging from Lemon mowing down Husks and hydras, Ghost easily assassinating hydras alongside him.

Dawn to the north had unleashed her giantess form and started using the pythons as a weapon, easily crushing hundreds of Husks herself. I knew however, this wouldn’t go on for long. Dawn’s transformation only lasted five minutes currently, once it ran out she’d be exhausted. The same goes for Melody’s transformation. Lemon only had so much ammo as well, he didn’t have any abilities that increased his damage but he could tank the frontlines like nothing.

Which meant once they were spent, they would have to work within the confines of what they could to deal with the stampede of Husks. No more giants were appearing, reports from the south stated there were no more dragons, meaning that the Husks were the only threat.

Turning my attention to the horde of Husks, I knew we were in for a very long fight. Even with our plans, a horde like this could still overwhelm us. We waited patiently as the horde kept charging into the moat, filling it very quickly, and it very soon filled enough that the Husks started to cross. Without hesitation, I threw out a hand, aiming at one of many barrels of napalm that we had prepared.

Even with the rain, napalm will burn and burn very hot. Just as the horde started to cross the Husk-filled moat, I fired off a Fireball that slammed into a barrel, exploding as the horde ran into it, spreading napalm very quickly.

Repeating this three times, the horde became engulfed in fire as the Husks failed to approach the wall, burning out before they could. Those on the wall started firing themselves as burning Husks still tried to approach. The napalm kept burning, its effects overall would be minimal, but it would help us until it burnt out.

Smiling with confidence, I put the sniper aside and started to use my bow to fire into the crowd of Husks, accumulating kills with it. The voices over the radio started to sound more confident, all sides starting to easily deal with the Husks before they even reached the wall. Things were going extremely well, to the point where our previous worries looked like nothing.

Warning! Unexpected anomaly detected near you. This is a new development. Your strength has drawn out a dangerous foe!

Just as our confidence was starting to reach its peak, a strange message came from the System, and wondering what it meant, I soon saw it. Hundreds of cracks appeared all around the eastern side, humanoid figures stepping out, all of them with various shapes, like blades for arms or skinny bodies with large arms.

Warning! The Void Legion has set its sights on you!

I sensed a presence nearby, a presence that made me shiver, both with anticipation and fear. I couldn’t see it in the rain, but I knew…It saw me.

This Nexus Event wasn’t over, it was just beginning.