Chapter 6: Unprecedented Threat
Just a few days has passed since the guild meeting because the Ancient Pillar in the center of the town shifted its hue to a foreboding red.
In response, craftsmen and low-level adventurers were swiftly relocated in proximity to the guild hall, a strategic move to ensure their safety during the impending Monster Siege.
The city's formidable wall, constructed from resilient Corundum blocks extracted from a nearby quarry near the abandoned mines, stood as a bastion capable of withstanding assaults from creatures of up to level 50.
However, the Corundum reservoir, nearly depleted upon the wall's completion, was wisely conserved for reinforcing the Guild Hall.
To fortify the city's defense, adventurers bearing insignias ranging from bronze to gold were strategically stationed at the North and South entrances.
Meanwhile, the East and West gates were fortified with robust steel doors crafted from materials salvaged from the abandoned mine's treasures.
Those tasked with safeguarding the East and West gates consisted predominantly of students brandishing bronze insignias.
Each group of students was paired with a skilled mage capable of launching a Fireball spell into the sky as a precautionary measure in the event of a breach at either gate.
This meticulous deployment aimed to optimize the city's defenses and enhance its resilience against the impending Monster Siege.
The robust steel gates, designed to withstand the onslaught of level 40 monsters, were a formidable line of defense.
However, due to the scarcity of materials required for their construction, only two such gates could be fabricated in a timely manner, heightening the challenge of fortifying the city against the impending threat.
The strategy devised involved drawing the monsters towards the North and South Gates by opening the two Iron Gates, where stalwart melee classes, Shielders, Brawlers, and Warriors, stood ready to intercept and repel the encroaching hordes.
Positioned strategically on the walls and atop houses, Archers and Mages were entrusted with bombarding the monsters using spells and arrows.
Meanwhile, Healers, stationed at a safe distance towards the rear, were poised to provide essential support by tending to the injuries sustained by the melee classes engaged in the frontline defense.
Guild Master Gray assumed command at the Northern Gate, taking on a leadership role to guide and coordinate the defense efforts.
Simultaneously, I, along with my group, was assigned to the Southern Gate, under the leadership of Professor Klein.
With approximately fifty defenders stationed at each gate, a united front was established to confront the imminent threat.
On an early Saturday morning, the resonant chime of a bell echoed throughout the city, signaling the impending threat of approaching monsters.
A pair of skilled level 30 Assassin adventurers were assigned the crucial task of surveying the surrounding areas, employing the effectiveness of their cloaks to remain unseen by the advancing monsters, a perfect strategy for navigating hazardous zones undetected.
As we convened at our designated positions, I observed my friend Ash, his demeanor tinged with tension and worry, understandable given the uncertainty of the impending monster attack.
Suddenly, five azure flares ascended into the sky, conveying the alarming information that the monster approaching from the Southern Gate of the City boasted an estimated level of 50.
Currently, most adventurers stationed at the southern gates were barely above level 20. Despair was evident in the eyes of some, yet none dared to flee.
The awareness that fleeing equated to losing everything kept them rooted in place.
The looming threat was a colossal monster, a Cyclops, leading a horde comprising over 20 Ogres.
Glancing at the northern sky, I observed three blue flares, indicating that Old Man Gray and the adventurers at the Northern Gate were handling their share of challenges.
Professor Klein, faced with the dilemma of the approaching formidable monsters at the southern gate, appeared perplexed as our group contemplated the daunting task ahead.
Ogres might be manageable, but with the addition of the Cyclops, the situation took a dire turn.
I approached Professor Klein's position, retrieving my obsidian insignia from my inventory and firmly holding it in my right hand.
"Today, I'm resuming my position as the Vice Guild Master," I declared with a commanding voice.
The shock on their faces indicated more confusion than despair, and Professor Klein wore a concerned expression, suggesting he might be aware of the reason for my concealed identity.
Opening my inventory, I took out a green flare and shot it into the sky, an unmistakable signal to Old Gray that we did not require reinforcements, urging him to focus on dealing with the monsters at the Northern Gate.
"We won't wait for the monsters to breach the gate; instead, we'll confront them outside," I commanded.
Numerous questions bombarded us, but time was of the essence, leaving no room for argument or detailed explanations.
Equipping my best gear, I held my class card and uttered, "Class Change Enchanter." As my hair transformed into platinum blonde, a profound silence ensued, and a light blue aura enveloped my equipment, resembling the vastness of the sky.
In our town, few had witnessed an adventurer with an advanced class, making this unique class, "Enchanter," an all-rounder capable of enhancing allied buffs, exceptionally rare.
"This class allows lower-level melee classes to combat higher-level mobs on equal footing," I explained.
I then cast Stone Skin, Status Boost, and Sharp Edge on our platoon. Stone Skin increased our physical resistance by 50%, while Status Boost raised our current status by 50%, and finally, Sharp Edge added an armor-piercing ability with reduced durability consumption.
The recipients of these buffs could visibly observe their enhanced status. "This is incredible, Asriel, or should I say Vice Guild Master Leirsa," Professor exclaimed excitedly.
Ash flashed me a smile and urged, "Let's defend the city!" The buffs not only elevated their stats but also boosted their morale.
A massive rock hurtled toward the city gate, propelled by the Cyclops' Boulder Throw.
Without hesitation, Neil unleashed Greater Fireball, dampening the boulder's initial momentum, but it didn't obliterate it.
Professor Klein employed Tiger Kick to redirect the boulder just outside the city's wall.
In my initial encounter with the Cyclops, I had managed to dodge all its boulders, but now, evading them was not an option for the city's survival but also for the safety of my friends and acquaintances.
"I will protect your friends and the city Asriel. I'll leave the Cyclops to you," Professor Klein shouted.
In an instant, flames enveloped my body, turning my armor and sword a deep, blood-red hue, I had cast Flame Aura.
With exceptional agility, I darted towards the Cyclops, dispatching a couple of ogres in my path using Fiery Dash followed by Crimson Sword Thrust.
Although the skill obliterated two ogres, it negated a considerable portion of my damage.
Suddenly, darkness engulfed me, and a massive warhammer swung in my direction.
I invoked Flame Counter, nullifying the damage and redirecting the warhammer.
The Cyclops staggered momentarily but quickly regained its composure.
It retaliated with Tyrant's Howl, a skill with a wide area of effect that buffed monsters' damage twofold and reduced adventurers' mobility by 40%. Fortunately, the skill had no effect on me due to my debuff resistance, but for Ash and the other adventurers defending the city, it posed a significant challenge.
Their movements slowed by 40%, the adventurers became sluggish, vulnerable to the onslaught of rampaging ogres.
As their HP dwindled, a radiant light enveloped them, Claire had activated her level 30 skill, Holy Sanctuary, obtained after our successful venture through the Graveyard of the Undead.
Holy Sanctuary is a Healer's class skill, capable of removing all debuffs and restoring a percentage of an ally's HP as long as they remain within its protective area.
However, the skill came with a downside, it had a lengthy cooldown period and consumed a substantial amount of MP while active.
In response, a cascade of light arrows descended upon the battlefield.
This was the archer's wide area range skill, Arrow Rain, Archers level 30 skill, releasing hundreds of light arrows with a paralysis effect that reduced the enemy's mobility by 30%,slowing the hordes of Ogres significantly.
As the ogres' movements became more sluggish, Mages seized the opportunity to employ Sludge Bomb, a level 25 Mages slow projectile skill that not only lowered armor but also applied a toxic effect to its target.
With Holy Sanctuary still in effect, adventurers remained unaffected even if inadvertently caught in the crossfire of spells.
Within a few minutes, the rampaging hordes of ogres were successfully vanquished, showcasing the remarkable growth of my teammates in combat and spellcasting.
However, my focus swiftly returned to the Cyclops, which was preparing to unleash its most devastating skill, Meteor Barrage.
Strangely, its target was not me but the adventurers positioned outside the gate.
Meteor Barrage was an immensely wide-area spell with the potential to flatten anything in its path, yet it demanded the user's entire mana pool, a fact I knew from my cousin's fondness for the spell in Arcadia Online.
A barrage of burning boulders hurtled toward the adventurers, indicating that the monster had recognized the level disparity and aimed to eliminate the other adventurers first.
I was unable to kill the cyclops since it has a passive skill known in the Arcadia Online as Mana Skin, this allows the Cyclops to use mana as a damage barrier on its HP.
I already took 80% of the Cyclops mana with two hits of Crimson Phoenix Slash. I quickly chanted " Aura Wind, Sword Enchant" and activated Windwalk to instantly get in front of Claire.
They were surprised to see me, without wasting a single second I casted five consecutive Tempest Quick Slash.
The barrage of burning boulders transformed into smaller chunks, losing momentum.
Before the burning stones would rain down on the fatigued and injured melee classes below, I used the same skill I had used to defeat the Cyclops before, Tempest Roaring Slash.
In a matter of seconds, the skill obliterated not only the falling burning stones but also the upper half of the Cyclops's body.
Tempest Roaring Slash served as the wind attribute counterpart to Crimson Phoenix Slash.
Unlike the explosive damage of Crimson Phoenix Slash, Tempest Roaring Slash possesses long-range capabilities with a decent damage and high knockback effect, making it effective against distant threats.
Suddenly, a warm hug enveloped me from behind, Claire. "I thought we were done for," Neil admitted, still gripped by fear. Rain remained seated on the city wall floor, seemingly processing the recent events.
I requested Professor Klein to launch three green flares, signaling Old Man Gray that we had successfully defended the Southern Gate. Despite the tension, a lingering feeling persisted, as if I were forgetting something.
"Did any of you see a green flare on the Northern Gate?" I inquired, and everyone responded with a unanimous "No."
Despite the desire to revel in the triumph of no casualties at the Southern Gate, I swiftly traversed the town using my Windwalk Skill.
This skill, accessible under the Wind Aura, doubled my mobility and granted me the ability to fly short distances.
Observing most of the defenders from the northern gate gathered inside, I urgently sought out Old Man Gray, but he was nowhere to be found within the city.
My attention then turned to Miss Laila, casting spells on someone outside the gate, while Mages and Archers continued bombarding something with spells and arrows.
Finally, I spotted the city guild master, valiantly holding his ground against a level 45 Iron Golem, with a mere 5 percent of his HP remaining.
Just as the Iron Golem was about to execute its Ground Slam, he miraculously found himself inside the city.
His memory only recalls being seized by an adventurer with emerald hair.
In my haste to extract Old Man Gray from danger, I swiftly grabbed and tossed him toward the city's entrance just as the colossal iron arm loomed inches above my head.
Initiating the chant for Ethereal, the gigantic iron hand passed through me as if I were a ghost.
As the Iron Golem raised its hand, flames erupted from the ground, giving rise to a flaming bird resembling a phoenix.
With the Golem's HP dwindling below 10%, it succumbed to the searing impact of the Crimson Phoenix Slash.
As the Iron Golem's form began to dissipate, the silhouette of a young man emerged, enveloped in a flaming aura.
Observing Miss Laila rush towards Old Man Gray to ensure his well-being, I approached him, and he met my gaze with a hint of guilt.
Rather than reproach him, I felt a sense of relief that everyone had survived. "Don't do that again, Old Man," I uttered. "Information is a crucial key to our survival," I added.
He chuckled incredulously, responding, "I won't promise." "I really thought I was going to die there," he admitted.
Just as he was about to conclude what he perceived as playful punches on his chest, he was enveloped in a warm, tight hug from his daughter, Miss Laila.
I heard her sobbing; she had been genuinely worried about her father.
A few minutes later, Professor Klein and my group arrived at the Northern Gate. After Guild Master Gray had recovered, he asked everyone to head to the central plaza.
"I have an important announcement; we just successfully defended our city from the Monster Siege without any casualties," he said.
"This is thanks to an adventurer named Asriel, or should I say Vice Guild Master Leirsa," he added.
I saw my parents and siblings in the crowd, appearing both confused and happy.
"I know everyone is surprised and has a lot of questions, but for now, let's celebrate our victory," I said.
"The guild will release further explanations in the near future," I added.
Despite most of the residents being confused, they began preparing for the feast.
I bid goodbye to my group; I knew they wanted some explanation, but first, I needed to clarify things with my family.
Upon entering our house, I found my mom and dad seated on the couch.
"There are some things you can only do alone," my dad said softly.
"We have a feeling that you're doing something important," my mom added.
"But still… we were a bit surprised that you are the Vice Guild Master, Asriel," dad quickly added.
"Is Ladon and Cleo already asleep?" I asked.
"Yes, they were overly excited when they figured out that you're the Vice Guild Master," mom stated.
"They fell asleep waiting for you to come home; your dad carried them to their beds," she added. Ladon and Cleo were my twin little brother and sister.
"You've had a long day, right? Have you already eaten?" mom asked.
"Yeah, I did grab a few skewers on my way home," I answered.
"Then you should rest for the night, son," my dad softly said.
I went to my room to rest, and as I lay down on the bed, a thought came to me: "It seems that I no longer need to explain to my parents."
Relieved and exhausted, I slept soundly on my bed.