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Chapter 378 - The lake
🕑 Added 2022-01-07 13:01:02 +0000 UTCAfter hearing the strategy that would be used during this rampage, Hera pulled her tablet to let Blue and the others know about everything that was going on. Luckily, Alex had already taken care of that. She sent a text in their group chat, which even Leo and Mark were a part of, explaining the rampage and how long it would take for the room to be closed off. To Hera's surprise, Leo and Mark had already replied, letting them know they were on their way. Leo was constantly moving around, doing odd jobs for the coalition, and he was close enough to come help. On the other hand, Mark was still working in the Carpon Caverns. During the past year, he realized that helping out during a rampage was an incredible way to level up. He also added that he had some new ideas about making items that could benefit the party. It was nice that even if they weren't working together directly, everyone still considered them part of the same group.
"Dad, are you sure you want to stay here?" Hera asked one more time.
"I am, Goldilocks. Don't worry. I won't be in the thick of it. I'll be part of the support staff, making arrows and such," Eridan replied.
"Don't worry, he's already a grown man. Besides, it's not like he can't handle himself against monsters," Ganek, one of the guards that helped Hera level up, got close to the group.
"You've been doing dungeons? You promised you would talk to me before doing that!" Hera gasped. She couldn't imagine her dad, who was in his mid-40s, having to run from an incoming goat.
"What the hell, man? I told you to keep it a secret," Eridan pushed Ganek.
"You were taking too long to talk about it. We've been doing dungeons for a couple of months already. He wanted to impress you when you went together," Ganek explained.
"Shut up! Why are you doing this?" Eridan gasped.
"I'm still eating on a stone slab."
"You little! How can someone so old be so petty? Fethy asked me to rush a job for the king. I had to delay your table."
"OK, OK. We can talk about this later. Just promise me that you won't put yourself in danger," as soon as Hera finished speaking, she noticed Helena staring at her, "I know I'm a hypocrite, and I don't wanna hear about it."
"Fine. Let's see where we will be placed. People are already forming teams."
Unlike how it was in Brinnefront, the number of available people to participate in the defense was much smaller. Even Hazelpond was bigger than this city. And since they weren't exactly sure how many monsters would come from where, the teams had to be split more or less equally. Out of the 97 people here, there were only 5 who would be exclusively in the support team. Fixing equipment, making ammunition, and other things like that. Silah's dad and brother would be part of that team, as well as Eridan, Kahala, and another human crafter. If Mark got here in time, he would join the support team. Ogryn and the Mages from the city would be both helping with the monsters and making the fortifications. However, a considerable number of them would be focusing only on the creation of walls and other ways to protect the city from any attacks. After that, they would be on standby spread around the city to see if any monsters were trying to sneak by. Part of the mage's training included expanding their perception of the mana in the air, which allowed them to be even better than most radars since they could detect even small disturbances that would be overlooked by the machine.
A few minutes passed, and soon Naka had already split the 92 people into three teams. Following the guild's suggestions, each team would be in one of the three defensive positions for 8 hours before swapping it with the next one. While one group was defending, the rest had to stay away, rest, sleep, and perform any maintenance on their equipment that was needed. The guards had some issues with that setup, but they understood the reason after explaining that the rampage could last a long time. Most humans wanted to get dispatched to the group that would defend the outside. That worked well since the dwarves didn't have much experience fighting in a place with snow or against flying creatures. Even now that the Sky rulers were no longer a threat, very few guards would actually try to fight them in the dungeons. Another big potential issue was the presence of wendigos. During the past year, four of them were killed roaming the mountain. None was particularly strong. They were just the blank slates of monsters that would grow while feeding. However, due to the lack of any actual food to help them grow, not only the wendigos were severely malnourished when they appeared, but they were also level 4, being among the weakest monsters one could find in the 3rd layer.
Hera wasn't in the mood to fight for a spot in any of the groups, and she was more interested in protecting the city than getting a big reward. Not that getting some gear made by Kahala wouldn't be amazing, but the blacksmith was so cranky that just getting her measurements would be a drag. That's why when the clerk asked if there was anyone who preferred to stay outside, Hera didn't say anything. Seeing the frenzy, Helena and Alex also decided against asking to be placed in the team that would stay outside. After a quick lottery draw, the humans would be part of the team that would defend the entrance to the city. They would also be responsible for ensuring that no monster would try to reach the doorway leading to the White Desert. Even if letting a monster go to a stronger layer shouldn't cause many problems, it was still something the guild wanted to avoid. Aside from Hera, Alex, and Helena, all the humans ended up in that team.
Now, what was left was the team taking care of the lake and the team who would take care of the farmland. There was some evidence that the lake would be a problem since some fish creatures appeared. According to Rutigan, the first generation of people who came here found some similar monsters, but they fished them all to extinction. It seemed that the food ended up being just enough to make the farmlands start to get going. Despite it being somewhat unpleasant, the fact that they killed all the fish from the lake was what ultimately allowed the people of Boothudurn to survive. Because of the possibility of dealing with aquatic monsters, Naka suggested that Hera and her group be assigned to that area. Ideally, they would fight in separate shifts, but it would be better for them to stay together first to understand what was going on.
Hera and the others agreed to that. Silah also said she would be with them to see what kind of monster they were fighting and help the support teams figure out what kind of weapon or trap should work against them. The blacksmith was one of the dwarves who spent most of her time studying and using the guild's knowledge to improve her craft. Silah could be someone who always wanted something new and exciting, but she was still a crafter at heart.
With their assignments ready, the team that would be by the lake headed out. Ogryn went along with them, and some other mages followed, including Lija, one of the mages that helped Hera and Blue train for the fight against the Sky Ruler. She was the one who helped Hera figure out her Earth Wall spell, and she was a specialist in fortifications. Having her help set up some defenses by the lake would be a massive boon to the team. In the farmland, they would also make a barrier, but there was an area between the city and the crops that was narrow enough for the people to fight as a group. The lake was a completely different beast. It was ample space, and everyone would be basically alone while fighting. Lija was there primarily to help with that. It would be much easier to defend that position if she could make some sort of barrier that would stop the fish from appearing in certain places.
About ten minutes after Hera left the guild, she arrived at the lake. It's been a while since she came here. The place had no sand, only the pitch-black water that refused to reveal its secrets. Ogryn gestured to a couple of guards carrying a large box and asked Lija to make a small tower. Five minutes passed, and the structure was completed. Ogryn grabbed the box and made a small stone platform to lift him up. On the top, he opened the chest and took out an enormous white mana crystal. He made a spell circle under it, and with a light tap on the crystal, he activated the spell. A giant ball of light appeared on top of the tower, and then it slowly moved to the middle of the lake. Then, the orb split into two. One-piece went up almost to the ceiling while the other sunk deep into the water. When they reached their positions, both spheres started glowing, creating what was almost like artificial moonlight. Now, Hera could even see beneath the water.
The lake was massive. It was almost as wide as the side of the city. If one was to walk from one end of the shore to the other, it would take about five minutes. However, now that Hera could see all the water, it should take at least ten minutes to reach the other side of the water if they were going through the surface. The lake should be at least 40 meters deep, which was much deeper than she was expecting. Glancing to the side, she even noticed that path that she, Silah, and Blue took when they were looking for the Sky Ruler's nest.
"Anyone has a suggestion on what I should make?" Lija asked.
"Can you raise the ground from the lake? Like, Make a path on the sides that funnel the water to a specific spot," Helena suggested.
"I can do that in some places, but anything that gets deeper than 1 meter is a no-go. The water ends up seeping under the earth and splitting it," Lija explained.
"Have you tried it?" Silah asked.
"Yeah, we wanted to see if we could make some houses here a few decades ago. I tried it then and a few times ever since, but nothing works. I mean, I can make a path, but the stone will be floating. If I just create the stone, it will require me to use mana to keep it up. If I run out of mana, it goes away. What I was trying to do was to pull the rock from the bottom up, but I couldn't do that and keep the rest of the earth in place. Eventually, the water will get under it and mess everything up," Lija sighed.
"Could wave breakers help?" Alex asked.
"What's that?" Silah turned to the assassin.
Alex showed some pictures to help the mage, but those things wouldn't work. As the name suggested, they were good for breaking waves, not stopping creatures from passing through. It was a shame that they didn't have an actual image of the monster that appeared. When it showed up, people killed it quickly, and the spells that were used were a bit too destructive, leaving the body completely charred.
In the end, Lija kept her original plan. She made a complete wall splitting the lake and the city. As a way not to make anyone stuck on the wrong side of the barricade, she also made several sets of stairs on both sides going along with the wall. According to the reports, the creature that appeared here was a fish. It didn't have legs, and it would have a lot of trouble climbing stairs. Using a setup like that would allow any mage who could shape stones or anyone who was moderately strong to destroy the stairs and stop any monsters from coming up.
One hour later, everything was ready. The team discussed their plans when one of the clerks came to meet them. She was bringing the rampage quest they had to set up because of this situation.
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Monster Rampage - Boothudurn Peaks
Protect the city from the waves of monsters that will attack the settlements. Any damage to the room structures will be deducted from the basic reward.
Rewards: 20 000 gold
Killing a monster will give you increased rewards based on the type of monster.
Any monster - 200 gold
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Everyone got the quest and went on to discuss what they could do to fight against whatever was coming.
