ALL NOVEL Chapter 60: Rewards
We battled the final wave for nearly half a day. Between the beasts and the defenders, the forest had become a no-man's-land. A domain where I could use my strength to its fullest. I wasn't sure when it happened, but the battlefield had become a second home. We continued like that until the System announced a new wave. The beast's tide slowed to a complete stop as the ground began to tremble. I opened a portal and returned to the wall as a new timer began. We had thirty minutes before the final battle would begin.
"Do you know what we will fight? Is it a numbers game or just a big beast?" I asked as I stepped out of my portal.
"It doesn't say. Just that the final wave would start and we would get our governor." Tyrone replied.
"It still hasn't said anything about me being here? I don't want to take your city." Murmurs about that had started during my initial onslaught. The System hadn't clarified how contribution worked, nor did it reveal who would be the leader once the quest had finished. They had assumed that the highest contributor would win, which only made people nervous. Tyrone and Ajani had the advantage over me in points, but that was because of time. I had slaughtered the vast majority of the monsters now that I was here. The worst-case scenario would be that I just straight up stole the opportunity from them.
Honestly, I didn't think that would happen since this place was far from Amara and I didn't have the personnel to claim it. Especially not if the people here didn't want me. I was hoping that something else would happen. That one of the town's unofficial leaders would take the title and I could bring either Ajani or Tyrone back with me. They were getting close to level 20.
"No, are you going to participate in the last battle?"
"Yeah, there are a few items in your points store that I have my eyes on. If it's just a single beast, I might stay back. It should leave your people feeling a bit better about the situation. Did you find your family?"
He sighed and shook his head. "Our mother and father were gone by the time we arrived. We still haven't found our baby sister. In truth, we were hoping that she would be at that auction."
"I will check with the government when I get back. They might be more willing to get shit done if I ask them. If not, I will keep an eye and ear out when I go out exploring."
"We appreciate that." He took a deep breath and then smiled. "So tell me a bit more about the city of yours. I have heard a few stories about you."
We settled into a small conversation. I went over some of the more interesting aspects of my adventure, but neither of our hearts was into it. It was a bit like waiting for the teacher to return your test. We would find out if we were ready once the timer hit zero. The other fighters were fidgety and more than a few were sneaking glances at me, as if trying to decide if I was real or not. At first, the side glances were fun, but over time, they became annoying. They treated me like a cross between a celebrity and a wild animal. They wanted to be near me because I would protect them but also be far away from me whenever the fighting started. Despite my aimless mind, the countdown hit zero and the ground began to rumble. I cocked my head as a dense killing intent spread throughout the forest. I looked over at Ajani and Tyrone, who readied their weapons.
I decided to stay seated. The last few trees that had managed to stay upright were crushed as a massive grey-skinned beast came into few. The thing looked like a cross between a rhino and an elephant. It had a trunk covered in bone barbs that made it more like a mace. It borrowed the elephant's size with a black horn that was more like a javelin. As soon as the thing saw the wall it tossed his head back, revealing a maw filled with dozens of sharp teeth. A pang of danger forced me to activate Psychic Aegis and imbue it with the strand of adamance. The indigo wall appeared just as the monster unleashed a torrent of emerald acid. The attack hit the wall with the power of a pressure washer.
The shield was enough to defend against the attack, but the misshapen monster wasn't satisfied with that. It lowered its head and the black horn began to glow with palpable force. I grimaced and braced myself to block its charge. Tyrone started firing arrows, which woke up the rest of the defenders. Everyone with a ranged weapon joined the battle. Unfortunately, very few were able to pierce the damn thing's skin. It was like the System had supercharged the elephant and rhino's natural defenses. Despite that, there was nothing I could do. The monster slammed into my shield with such force that I felt it in my head. It felt like I had just been shot in the head with a shotgun. I dropped to one knee as cracks spread across the shield.
The monster started backing up and let out a trumpet of fury at being rebuffed. I funneled more spiritual energy into the shield in a desperate attempt to repair the damage. Even with that, I couldn't be sure it would survive another big hit. The others leaped off of the wall and braced themselves behind the shield. I couldn't spare them any more thoughts as the elephant began its charge again. I gritted my teeth and poured more mental energy into the barrier. Time seemed to slow as the monstrous animal charged into the wall. My barrier stole the beast's momentum at the cost of its integrity. At the moment after the shield was destroyed, the melee attackers threw themselves into the battle. Ajani was like a lion as he slashed at every soft piece of flesh he could bear his claws at.
Despite that, the elephant's skin was just too hard. Regular weapons were barely able to leave a mark, let alone pierce it. There was only one choice. I got to my feet and leaped down. I activated Psionic Rain, overcharged and imbued with the tao of lucidity. The blades and shards turned into barely coherent shapes as they rained down on the beast. Thankfully, the System only supercharged its skin. Its psyche was practically defenseless. The elephant turned toward me and unleashed a torrent of acid. I leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding it, and conjured a pair of psychic blades. I acted as a distraction for Ajani and the other warriors to up their attacks.
I took advantage of the elephant's attention and drew it further away from the wall. After a few minutes, the elephant had given up on the others and focused exclusively on me. Its horn turned a deep emerald green and a scream of danger forced me to activate Apportation. The portal opened, and I dived inside just as ten spears of emerald acid formed in the air and rained down on where I had just been. I stepped out of the portal a second later to find the spot a blighted wasteland. Everything that had been alive was gone. It looked like those movies that described acid rain said the whole world would look like. I gritted my teeth and unleashed Psychic Blast. A beam of pure psychic energy washed over the elephant and forced it back a step. It still wasn't enough to kill the damn thing.
I sighed as I realized that I couldn't hold myself back if we were going to win this. I would eventually run out of energy and who knew how many people would die if I let this grind continue? "Call your people back. Keep them out of the mist." I barely had enough time to get the words out when the elephant began another charge. I couldn't spare Ajani, Tyrone, and the others another thought as the fog of Realm of Consciousness billowed out of me. I leaped to the side as the elephant practically became a runaway train. Despite its speed and power, the beast could do nothing about the drain of my domain spell. The world around us turned into something out of a horror movie. The mist turned everything into an uncomfortable grey. My awareness warned me that some people had been caught at the edges of my domain. I did what I could to angle our battle away from them. The elephant rhino's mental energy filled my reserves, and I unleashed blast after blast of energy.
Our battle continued for another hour before the beast finally gave up the ghost. The elephant rhino thing lacked any tao strands or anything similar, so it wasn't a match for me. It was a massive tank that just absorbed the damage. Despite that, the energy from the kill was worth it. It took me straight to level 36. Unfortunately, my dantian had grown again and I could tell that the last fourteen levels were going to be a pain in the ass to get. I wasn't sure if all the monsters before the rhino would be enough if I fought them all again. Hell, it might take two or three rhinos and that would require me to use the minimum amount of energy. I collapsed into the destroyed forest and relished my victory for several minutes before I felt someone approach.
"You are truly a freak of nature." Tyrone's voice interrupted the brief after-battle peace.
"What can I say? I am just that good." I smiled and slowly got to my feet. "I assume that your quest is over."
"Not quite. The quest will end in two days, along with the end of the point shop. You should get a move on if you want to buy anything. After that, we will find out who gets the reward."
I nodded. "Did we lose anyone in the battle?"
"No, a couple of people were hurt trying to get away from whatever you did at the end, but nothing to be worried about. A few people were wondering when you..." He let his words linger in the air for a moment. Which made me laugh.
"They are wondering when I will leave. Just in case the System wants to award me the title?" I sighed and looked up at the sky. "Do you and your brother want to join Amara? We could use some more people, and I have a few things that would benefit you."
Tyrone shook his head. "No, this is what remains of our home, at least what I know of it. We are thankful for the offer of course and we wouldn't mind helping you out for what you did but it wouldn't be right. Our father worked on these docks, building naval vessels. I don't think he would want to see it abandoned. Even if it was now in a desert."
I got to my feet and nodded. "Yeah, I figured that would be the case, but it was fun to ask. My people and I will head back in two hours. That should give everyone plenty of time to do what we needed."
We slowly walked back into town and talked about whatever came to mind. We agreed that I could take the corpse of the elephant thing and whatever other monsters I could carry. Every other corpse would stay here for them to do with whatever it is they wanted. The meat would probably make good food. The skin, bones, and other parts would become weapons if they could figure out the blacksmithing. Once we reached the middle of the town, we said our goodbyes and he left to join the others in surveying the damage. I made my way over to the system shop my excitement building with every step.
The shop was located inside a small room. It was hard to be sure, but it looked like a small store that was completely renovated. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing to look at but it wasn't the point. When I arrived, the group that was looking through the wares stepped out and away. I decided to not notice the looks of awe and fear on their faces as I stepped up to the floating interface. I slowly paged through the items and found that despite my sizeable 40 million points, there weren't too many impressive things to buy. The first thing that I had my eyes on was called 1st-Realm Spirit Beast Egg. The problem was, that the System didn't tell me anything about the beast.
It could be something weak and useless, or it could be the greatest beast of all time. I was confident that it would be somewhere in the middle, but it cost a whopping 30 million points, which made it one of the most expensive items. I had sent someone back to ask Desbera about it in-between waves and what could share wasn't that useful. Spirit beast was the common term for all the beasts that existed. Everything from a monstrous lion to hydra and other creatures. They were somewhat like cultivators. They needed to grow in power, reach the thresholds, and breakthrough. If you got one early enough in your cultivation, it was possible to bond it with you. There were classes devoted to this kind of thing but I didn't have one. Nor did I want one.
I considered it for another minute before I said fuck it. I made the purchase. Either the beast would be useful or it wouldn't. Ideally, I would be able to help it get stronger no matter what it was. Less than a second later, a glass box appeared at my feet. The box was cuboidal with foggy white glass that seemed incredibly durable. I picked it up and placed it in my bag so I could review it later. I turned my attention back to the available items. There were two options and both of them had strong reasons why I should pick them. The first was a generic cultivation manual. Its description was similar to the one we got at the tutorial, which made it perfect for Trey once he got going. He would have to find a better one, but it was "baby's starting manual."
I chuckled at my joke before I turned to the second choice. It was a skill called Aura Sight. It would let me see a target's aura, which would be amazing. I would know the approximate strength, level, and possibly even the name of a creature. The skill was useful, so that wasn't the problem. I might be able to find a better skill or spell later on. My class might even provide one like it. Of course, playing the long game was fine and dandy, but I had to survive that long. The situation could be simplified into whether I wanted to improve my strength or look out for Trey. When put like that, the option was pretty clear. With any luck, the spirit beast would become an improvement to my power, so it was best to look out for the next generation. I made the purchase and slipped the box containing the manual into my bag.
With that, my business in this town was wrapped up. I made my way back to the teleportation array. The five makeshift coffins dashed the joy in my heart. I had grown by leaps and bounds since I came here, but it wasn't free. I took a breath and calmed myself down. There was nothing I could do about it. As far as I knew, death was the end and everyone who came knew what they were getting themselves into. I made a mental note to figure out how to handle deaths. Some sort of safety net or payment to families, but even that was far off. We didn't even have a graveyard picked out. The more I thought about it the more small things I had to do. After twenty minutes, I gave up and waited for my warriors to line up.
"If you need to use the bathroom, you better do it now, or so help me," I called out as they arrived. The joke earned me a few glares and half-smiles, so I considered it a win. Once everyone was ready I activated the array and stepped through. When I saw the walls of Amara I couldn't help but feel relieved. I sent a few guards to bring Christopher as the first of our warriors returned. I decided to leave the bodies in an empty room until I could have Saanite find an area that would make a good graveyard. The last thing I wanted was a Night of the Living Dead scenario. Especially if the System decided I needed a new challenge. I went over the quest with Christopher, including the massive gains the group had. They were all nearing the threshold of the top 100 though I had a feeling that they wouldn't reach it anytime soon. Everyone's levels had seen a slight increase since the Standings were revealed and now they had to be at least level 12 to have a shot. Without a steady source of monsters and someone to watch their backs while they grew, there was little chance of them sprinting that last distance. Once that was done Christopher took a moment to go over the changes that I missed. The cave was taken care of and my position in the wealth standings improved slightly. Between the money I had spent and the worth of the water, I was firmly in the top five. Once we were finished, I headed to my apartment to get some rest. It was time to review gains and plot my next moves. I even had a new spell to claim.