“Alright, here’s the low down.” Rory paced about the camp as Apostolos quietly listened. “This is wave ten. Wave nine, thankfully, wasn’t as bad as I expected, especially with that new ballista.”

Taking a moment, Rory glanced toward the wall where an oversized crossbow had been installed. Aside from being an oversized crossbow, its construction had been straightforward, just a larger crossbow.

“But we can expect a more significant resistance for this final wave.”

“So, like, a lot of monsters?” Apostolos questioned. “Maybe a proper mid-tier-five?”

“That’s my guess,” Rory said with a nod. Based on his theory that the successive one hundred waves would span from tiers five through eight, he guessed that waves one through thirty were dedicated tier five, thirty through sixty would be tier six, sixty through ninety would be tier seven, and the final ten waves would culminate with the fateful battle against a proper tier eight boss.

While the grander scope wasn’t relevant for the near future or even the far future, the details of the first thirty waves were. So far, they’d only encountered levels fifty through fifty-five, so if Rory were a betting man, he’d place money on the tenth wave being a level fifty-six, with waves ten through twenty approximately levels of fifty-six through fifty-eight. Which left the final ten waves of the tier five grouping likely to be leveled fifty-eight to a level sixty boss.

Or that was how Rory would have planned it if he were in charge, which was a good suggestion that it worked exactly like that.

“So, a level fifty-six. That’s not going to be easy, is it?” Apostolos asked.

“No, but it’s not the end of the world. It will be coming to us, so we can plan around that. I doubt it will be a large swarm of level fifty-six monsters. My guess is no more than five stages in the wave.”

“That’s probably doable.”

“Not sounding confident now, are you?”

“Err, I mean, we’ve got this.” Apostolos amended with a cheeky grin.

“Better. Our battle plan is pretty much the same as it has always been. We barrage whatever comes our way. In the worst-case scenario, I’ll engage directly, drawing on my blood weave. If things get even worse, you bust out Big Berta. But that’s only in the absolute worst-case scenario, like I’m either currently being torn limb from limb, or I’m already dead.”

Apostolos blanched. The mental image of his master being torn apart was an image he’d never seriously considered; Rory had always seemed entirely in control.

“So, are you ready?” Rory questioned, examining Apostolos closely.

“Yeah.” Apostolos nodded after a moment. “We got this.”

“Good mental,” Rory said with a good-natured wink. “Whatever happens, happens. No point fretting about what might happen now that we’ve made the decision. Sleep in the bed we made and all that jazz.”

“Whatever you say, Master.” Apostolos snorted. “So...”

“Now.”

“Now?”

“Now. No point delaying any longer. Go, get ready. Ten minutes, then it’s game time.”

Amused, Rory watched Apostolos take off like a chicken with his head cut off. He’d talked a big game in the days and weeks earlier leading to this point. Still, they were about to engage the most significant threat that Apostolos had ever faced in his young life.

“Hah. To be young again.” Rory said with a sigh. It was weird for Rory to consider that he was already in his thirties. In fact, he barely looked a year older than when he’d first arrived. It was a sign that he was still aging, just incredibly slowly now, and with each ascension, it further slowed.

Which was helpful given that it would likely take at least a few decades to clear tier six. Exactly how many, Rory wasn’t sure. The ten times energy cost per tier didn’t directly correlate to the timeframe, as higher tier monsters and creations also granted more ascension energy.

The point is Apostolos isn’t going to be a teenager much longer. I wish he’d had the chance to experience more of what it’s like to be a teenager… Actually, on second thought, why couldn’t he? If my aging has slowed as much as it has given -I’m already in my prime- what’s to say Apostolos won’t start seeing his rate of physical growth and aging slow dramatically now that he’s basically at that point as well?

Musing over the thought, Rory was dragged out of his thoughts in what felt like only seconds later to a pair of fingers snapping in his face.

“Attention to Master, you there?”

“Oh, sorry.” Rory shook his head, freeing himself of his wandering thoughts. “Ready?”

In response, Apostolos merely gestured at himself, now wearing the ‘Ent-flesh’ armor Rory had made some time back.

Ent Flesh Cuirass

Grade: Uncommon

A cuirass constructed of the rugged bark of an uncommon rarity tree and the fused leather from a tier five monster. Extremely durable and resistant to slashing, stabbing, and bludgeoning damage. No innate resistance to magic and weakness to fire-based attacks make this the armor of choice for dealing with purely physical dangers.

It had been the product of Rory finally figuring out a way to harvest and utilize the rigid but brittle bark of the bloodwood trees. As far as armor went, it was physically superior to his blood weave. Where the Ent Flesh armor fell short was that the blood weave had the benefit of containing an innate pool of essence it could draw upon due to the countless monsters that were required to be sacrificed to prompt the growth of the bloodwood trees. With that innate essence pool, it could be drawn from to reduce damage, repair itself, or even enhance Rory’s physical attributes.

“You’ve got your bow ready?”

Pulling something free from his back, Apostolos showed off his bow. Appearance-wise, it was a remarkably similar design to Rory’s bow, albeit without the Blood Legacy Akashic Record. Apostolos couldn’t use such an effect due to his lack of affinity for blood essence. Instead, it had a specified Inscription that enabled accelerated arrow flight speed and runes to enhance its base self-repair and make it more efficient.

“Spear?”

Apostolos hung his bow across his back before pulling free a small canister. With a quick downward flick, the canister suddenly sprung outward in either direction as the spear sprang to full size.

Crimson Steel Spring-loaded Spear

Grade: Uncommon

A spear crafted from Crimson Steel. High durability and capable of causing wounds that bleed more freely. This particular spear has been inscribed with runes to grant a spring-loaded effect, allowing for surprise thrusts with devastating power. It may also be used as a storage means, allowing the spear to be more easily concealed or carried.

Rory hadn’t bothered to make a spear of the same type for himself, as Apostolos had proven more gifted at utilizing a spear. The few times Rory had tried using a spear, it had generally been an awkward and flailing endeavor for anything more than the most basic thrusts. Instead, Rory had a trusty bat-like weapon strapped to his side.

Blood Soul Macahuitl

Grade: Uncommon

A macahuitl crafted from Crimson Steel razors and bloodwood, inserted with an Ossified Blood Gem to act as its core. Inscribed with runes to utilize latent Pneuma and active Essence to galvanize its durability.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

What was an Ossified Blood Gem?

Well, it was nothing more than an improvement on the concentrated blood gems Rory could make by concentrating Essence Spark into forming a solid object.

Ossified Blood Gem

Quality: Uncommon (+).

The result of several concentrated blood gems being further condensed into a small marble. Has uses for both alchemy and specialized crafting. Those with matching bloodlines may also ingest it to recover stamina, vitality, and overall status.

Thanks to Ossified Blood Gems, Rory had learned there were ‘in-between’ tiers, denoted by a simple plus sign. If he had to guess, it was simply that the object was an improvement over another item, except not such an improvement to warrant a tier increase in quality, rarity, or grade.

“Spear, armor, and bow. Looks like you really are prepared.” Rory said after a moment, taking in Apostolos once more. “And you still remember where I have Big Bertha stored?”

“You’ve asked this before,” Apostolos said with a roll of his eyes.

“Right, right. Just making sure.” Rory answered back. “Well then, if that’s the case, let us get this show on the road.”

Opening his interface, Rory quickly brought up the details of the next wave.

What is the point of the wave cooldown? Rory suddenly found himself wondering, thoughts interrupting his actions. Really, what is the point if you can initiate waves early? Unless it’s a fake cooldown meant to deter people from recklessly pushing waves without rest? Meh, thoughts for another time.

After mentally clicking a few more times, Rory was presented with a countdown timer that displayed nothing more than a single word: ‘Imminent.’

“I’ve summoned the wave,” Rory said, informing Apostolos. Immediately, the boy changed in demeanor, a much more serious expression than even Rory ever had. Taking his post opposite the gate from Rory and behind the ballistae, the young man loaded a javelin into the war machine.

Now, what will it be? A single-stage boss? Three stages of sort-of bosses? Maybe five stages of mid-tier, but otherwise, normal monsters?

Rory was given the first part of his answer when three monsters appeared only a few minutes later.

The first was what looked like a hummingbird, of all things.

Coronal Falcon

Level: 55

A monster born of the sun and wind, it flies with speed that the wind itself admires. Its feathers are razor sharp and can slash through enemies who take it lightly.

“Falcon?” Rory muttered to himself. Sure, it was an oversized bird, far larger than a regular hummingbird from Earth, but it was undeniably still a hummingbird.

Speed type. Which means low durability. Got it.

The next monster was a tad more imposing, albeit odd-looking. It almost reminded Rory of a two-dimensional drawing, thinner than a starved cat. It was like a canine formed of twisted orange vines, coiling tightly and covered with thorns.

Penghou-Sol’s Glory

Level: 55

A canine tree spirit, they seek the death of those who despoil the sacred groves they call home. This Penghou variety is born of the wrath of angered Sol’s Glory.

Fair enough. Rory nodded in assessment of the description. If he were amongst the trees, he’d probably be rather pissed off at himself as well, given the corruption he’d enacted on some of their kind.

If it’s born from trees, it probably has similar weaknesses.

As for the final monster of the triplet lineup, it looked like a bear had been compressed, about the size of a wolfhound or Great Dane.

Bjarki

Level: 55

A ursine of great strength. It has retained its mass while decreasing in size and is capable of immense strength.

So, it really is nothing more than a compressed bear. Nifty, I guess. That aside, it’s still flesh and blood. Berserker type, probably, so the best bet is to bleed it.

With a plan to deal with all three monsters, Rory instantly shouted instructions.

“Leave the Penghou to me. You shoot down the Bjarki; Crimson Steel will bleed it dry. As for the Coronal Falcon, I’ve got a trick for that.”

Signaling once, instantly, the imp constructs began covering fire on the Coronal Falcon. Fast as it was, it easily dodged, but all they needed for the moment was to keep it distracted; its ability to fly made it far more dangerous than the other two monsters. At the same moment, Apostolos released the first javelin as it shot through the air fast as a rocket, impaling into the thick fur hide of the small bear.

Best of luck.

Rory wanted to watch Apostolos handle the Bjarki, but it would only distract him. The walls would hold for long enough—or they should—for Apostolos to put down the beast, leaving Rory to handle the Penghou.

I hoped not to have to try this, but that’s life for you.

Drawing an arrow, Rory began chanting under his breath, a rhythmic string of airy-sounding exhales. As he did, Rory felt a strain forming between his eyes, an annoyance but not one Rory wasn’t prepared to endure.

And this is why I prefer to avoid using this if I can.

The Penghou began to advance rapidly, a weird undulating and twisting of vines that made it look more like a writhing mass when in motion than the form of any identifiable monster.

Ick. I’m not too fond of that.

Still chanting, the tension between his eyes began to swell, building to a headache that felt like his head was about to pop.

And…. Ready!

Pneuma built to the bursting point; Rory exhaled one final time before whispering a single word.

“Cenizas.”

There wasn’t an actual need to use ‘magic words’ when using Pneuma for magic. Still, Rory had discovered that it seemed to ease the tension. For someone as lacking in magical talent as Rory, anything he could do to reduce the tension was beneficial.

Releasing his arrow in time with his magic, it raced forward, a comet in flight as a blazing tail trailed the burning arrow.

The Penghou likely sensed the danger and tried to writhe out of the way, but with a mental snap, the arrow exploded in a lashing net of phantasmal vines.

I love those Ghost Vine Arrows.

Not only did the ghost vines ensnare the tree spirit, but they ignited as the flames raced through them.

I really, really, love those arrows.

They were one of the more difficult arrows for Rory to prepare. They required taking a rather obnoxious amount of Flesh-Vine Ropes and then reducing them to a conceptual form.

How did that work? Like hell if Rory knew. In his mind, it had been possible through a bound circle powered by runes meant to break down the ‘physical’ form of the vines while retaining their concept. From there, he ‘bottled’ that concept and instilled it within some arrows designed to embody it.

It all seemed far too mumbo-jumbo, a bunch of random stuff he’d tried out of blanket curiosity instead of any fundamental theory, but all that mattered was that, in the end, it had worked.

Game bullshit, but not like I won’t gleefully utilize it.

Trapped by the net of burning ghost vines, the tree spirit began undulating and twisting with increasing desperation, which only worsened the situation.

These trees don’t have high magic resistance; add that weakness to fire, and you have one hell of a silver bullet.

Dealing with such a monster without such a method would have likely required chopping it to pieces, which would be extremely difficult given the mass of writhing, vengeful spirit vines wouldn’t take that without fighting back.

As for whether the flaming net of phantasmal vines was enough to defeat the Penghou outright was yet to be seen, but for the time being, it was distracted. Ignoring it, Rory turned his attention to the bird zipping through the air, wincing.

Damnit. Those take work, you know!

Of the several imp constructs, they had been reduced to a final two defenders; the rest were shredded shrapnel and firewood.

God, I hate flying monsters.

Grabbing another arrow, he quickly fired several regular arrows at the bird, which flipped around the projectiles with an annoying, if not outright insulting, degree of ease.

Arrogant prick of a bird.

It was also precisely what Rory wanted. Birds, no matter the world or planet, were preening little shits.

Alright, probably letting childhood feelings color my thoughts. It’s not my fault that a pack of crows made my life hell one summer.

Ignoring his childhood traumas, Rory continued to let the bird build up confidence that it could easily avoid his arrows. Waiting for the opportune moment, Rory finally saw the bird switch gears, flying off before swooping down and toward them like a living arrow.

There we are. You’re finally done playing with your food.

Grabbing a new arrow, neither a standard arrow nor a Ghost Vine, Rory pulled his bowstring back before taking a deep breath.

A split second, no more.

Tracking the bird in a way that only someone who’d put as many attributes toward cognition as he had, Rory waited until the perfect, tenth, hundredth, thousandth of a second before releasing the arrow, tapping into the power of his bow for a single split second as he did.

The bird, so arrogant and sure in its ability to avoid any arrows that he released, was taken off guard when a crimson streak flew forward several times faster than any prior shots. Fast as it was, it barely avoided a fatal headshot, the arrow striking directly through its breast instead. For a tier-five monster, such a shot would be painful but not outright fatal, having missed any major organs.

That was until the arrow exploded from within. As a result, the bird also exploded, showering the area with feathers and viscera.

“Hate birds,” Rory muttered, pleased with himself. With a moment’s reprieve, Rory finally turned his attention toward Apostolos, checking how he was doing.

Oh, it could be better, but it could be worse.

Several large chunks of siding had been shredded from their wall. Still, ultimately, the bear lay flat on the ground, bloody spittle flying from the exhausted monster’s mouth. Piercing its side were nearly a dozen javelins, blood soaking the fur as if it had taken a crimson bath.

“The damn thing didn’t want to die,” Apostolos said, noticing his gaze. “I didn’t know if I should risk it, so I kept firing more javelins into it.”

“Good call,” Rory said in agreement. “Berserker types don’t die easily; they fight well past their expiration date.”

“Expiration date?”

“Never mind.” Rory dismissed the question, not feeling like explaining the background of such a simple phrase. “The point is, the best way to deal with them is exactly as you did: bleed them and keep the hell out of the way. Thankfully, we’ve got these walls here, but otherwise, berserker-type monsters are some of our worst matchups if we encounter them in the wild.”

“I can see that,” Apostolos muttered, glancing down again at the still bear. “I saw the bird explode out of the corner of my eye. What about the plant thing?”

“The Penghou?” Rory said. Glancing where it had last been, he quickly confirmed its fate. “Dead as hell. I can’t say I have experience with spirit-type monsters. Still, I’d assume their strength is proportional to what exactly they’re the spirit of. In this case, Sol’s Glory is a mundane ranked tree vulnerable to magic and fire, and so was the spirit monster. Now, if it was the spirit of a bloodwood? Well, that’s something I don’t want to see any time soon.”

Apostolos nodded vigorously in agreement. If mundane ranked trees could give rise to a tier-five monster, they really did not want to see what would result from an uncommon rarity tree.

“So…. Is that the wave?”

“No,” Rory said instantly. “No wave clear notification.”

“Meaning there is more to go?” Apostolos asked.

“No rest for the wicked,” Rory answered, chuckling.

Only going to get worse from here.