It was the night before the tide surge.
The mayor had gathered all the top adventurers who were still in town. He looked down from the podium with a grim expression. The gathered adventurers looked back with the upmost serious of expressions. All of them were tense.
Crule and Ming were standing in the back in the corner of the room. Due to the serious atmosphere, they too were not in their usual smirks.
[Mayor]: I have said what had to be said. This tide will be the biggest in the history of our coastal town. The first few zones will be completely submerged in water. Everyone had already evacuated. Those who stayed can only blame their own stubbornness. Thus we are giving up on the first two zones.The mayor expressed the seriousness of the tide change yet the lofty nobles who live near the waters wouldn’t budge. The mayor can only sigh.
[Mayor]: We assume the most commons of beasts will swarm the latter zones. Hammer and Scissor crabs will flood in. They are too strong for most of the beginner adventurers so I hope some of you veterans will help.The adventurers nodded.
[Mayor]: We have around four thousand participating adventurers this time around. Each of you veterans will take a handful and spread out over the zones.Some of the adventurers in the room visibly scoffed. The one thing some veterans hated the most were overzealous newbies.
[Mayor]: In the case of pistol clams and electric tunas, we beg of you to divert their attention away from infrastructure.The mayor hoped that recovering from the tide change wouldn’t be too much of an issue.
After a long meeting, the mayor, who was covered in sweat, finally finished. The veteran adventurers were led out of the meeting room into the auditorium filled with beginners.
A few thousand beginner adventurers were chatting in the huge auditorium. Most of them were between lvl15 to 30. Given how deep Lake Trysl was in the Wild, anyone below 15 must have been born in the town.
A single lvl15 adventurer can do nothing to a scissor crab but a dozen can at least stall it. This is why a veteran adventurer was in charge of a group. So they can finish off the corralled beasts.
The mayor hurried to the middle of the crowd and tapped the voice amplifier on the stage.
[Mayor]: Beginner adventurers, please group up and choose a veteran you wish to work under.The few veteran adventurers lined up on stage with some distance between each other. The beginner adventurers started to scramble and line up in front of a veteran they either worshiped, or want to learn something from. To them, this was a chance to have a rapid period of growth. As some people say, power-leveling.
Crule and Ming stood next to each other. They were a pair. Although the mayor wanted to separate them so the town would get more coverage. He couldn’t bring himself to ask.
The people who lined up in front of them were the onlookers from their spar at the tide pools. They personally have seen how strong the two were, so they were eager to join.
Soon a dozen people stood before the pair. Crule looked at the group and sighed.
He didn’t really get anyone with overwhelming potential. Even Dodge and Marg joined his group.
The two had seen the spar on their way back to town with their crab corpse. They were utterly shocked. If only they can one day achieve such levels of movement…
In the group of adventurers, Dodge and Marg were in the upper ranks, both in the early 30s in level.
The two being able to take down a crab beast shows how good they were. Most lvl 15 to 30 can’t even damage the hard carapace.
Soon the beginners were completely divided among the veterans.
Some had many, some had few. The mayor didn’t make them balanced. He knew that the beginners may work harder to show off to their idols.
All the mayor had to do was to put the larger groups in the more dangerous areas.
The mayor said a few words of thanks and bowed. The adventurers bowed back and left.
The night was ending as dawn approached but the twin suns were blocked by the stormy clouds above.
The cause of the tides had many theories. The clouds above always appear during the tide change. Some theorize that it’s a magnetic storm and that the charged particles in the cloud brings the waters that have built up a charge over the year.
Some say it’s a large creature in the lake that hibernate for most of the year, getting up to feed.
Some even say it’s the cause of the nine moons aligning.
No one can prove their theory but yet they can’t disprove it either.
The veterans led the beginners to their designated areas.
Crule and Ming’s small group of slightly over a dozen was left a small district in zone four.
The group on the front lines was Captain Cytex. A veteran adventurer turned ship captain. He was born in the lake town and lived there most his life.
He left his large group bunkered down at the main street of the third zone, right where the flood will enter.
Cytex himself headed toward the port with haste. He leaped off the roof of buildings with high agility. If Cruel had seen it, he would judge him to be a silver ranked adventurer.
He had to be around lvl50s. This would mean five gates opened…But his newest gates must have been opened in recent years because there wasn’t anyone that high before. He had to be a Monarch before the start of the games. Four gates to be called a Monarch…Now he has five. He was now an Ancient.
Upon reaching the port, he stood on top his boat and stared intently at the cloud over the horizon and the grey wall slowly approaching from the distance.
[Cytex]: Not this time, I won’t let anyone die this time…A flame burned in his eyes. The flames of anger and vengeance.
He promised himself to kill as many beasts as he could.
To avenge his dear wife. To protect his children. This was something he must do.
