The Empires Rise

As the timer for the next wave approaches, I look at the wall to see how durable it is.

- Wooden Palisade Level 3: Durability 470/500 -

- Sixth Wave starting in 1 Minute

Difficulty has increased to level 4 -

The wall has plenty of durability even after several fights. My hope is for it to be held during the entire event.

As the timer counts down, I gather the commanders together; I ask, "What should we plan going forward? I don't want to be caught off guard like we were with the goblin commander."

"I don't think it will be an issue again," Draemish says. "If something comes up, we will have to handle it on the fly like we have been."

Shadow and Vranjaya nod, though Vranjaya still acts hurt whenever Muiress looks over.

"Do we know if we will continue to face the same monsters in the upcoming waves, or should we expect different monsters because there was a 'boss'?"

"I think we should ask Ritotorous. By the way, where is he?" Shadow looks around, confused.

"I don't know," I also look for him. I reach out with my mind to connect with him; it doesn't take long to establish the connection. "Where are you?" I ask.

"I have been flying around the walls, making sure nothing comes from an unexpected side," he replies.

"Oh, thanks!" I tell everyone what he has been doing.

"That is a great use of our main advantage; we should be able to get people to the sides of the wall if we are attacked from different sides." Draemish praises Ritotorous for his intellect.

"Do you know what we could expect from the future waves?" I ask Ritotorous.

"I don't, and I know the difficulty will increase after every fifth wave."

"Thank you for the heads up." Telling my commanders this information will help us once the wave starts.

- Sixth Wave starting in 5 Seconds -

I nod to everyone, "Just like he said, there has been an increase in difficulty." I look out towards where all the monsters have been spawning. Not long after, they spawn in.

Counting, there are 100 undead, with a mix of zombies and skeletons.

Thanking my lucky stars, I ask Draemish, "They should be pretty slow; let's see if it is true. If so, do you want to send some warriors down to the gate and get some formation practice?"

"Let's see how they do. If so, we will head down and get more melee practice on live targets. I require that you be there with us to put shields on the struggling fighters."

"I can do that," I acknowledge.

The first zombie shambles into the range of the arrow tower, and it continues to walk. Like the other waves, one hit kicks it all off.

All the undead come at us at a crawling pace. Looking at Draemish, I ask again, "Do you want to send the warriors down?"

Sighing at how slow the enemies are, she responds, "We can let's clear at least half of the wave first. No need to get swarmed by accident."

We all agree with this plan. And the hunters start to pick off individual targets. I look at the mages, "Fire, but keep some of your mana."

They all look grateful to me because they haven't received much experience since the start.

By the time the undead reach the mages' range, their numbers have drastically reduced. Only 30 are left.

We get everyone in position, and all the warriors stand shoulder to shoulder in a shield wall. There is enough space inside the front line to have all but five warriors as backup.

Being the tallest warrior, Rognar is right behind the line, showing he can reach over the line to attack enemies that reach a certain height. Thankfully, the undead fit this description.

Once they are ready, we open the gate. Once we do, the undead immediately head towards the opening.

"Don't leave the front of the gatehouse. Let them come to us." Draemish orders.

With the hunters and mages no longer firing at the undead, only 20 are left in the field before they reach the gatehouse's opening.

Once the undead are close enough to us, their focus sharpens. They pick up speed and come at us faster than their typical shambles.

I don't see the speed being an issue, but they have a decent amount of momentum for when their 'charge' hits the shields.

With the second row able to stabilize the line, though there isn't a need for the stabilization due to the weak charge, they start to hack down at the disorganized mob of undead.

Through the engagement, I cast two shields on two different people. This doesn't take much of my mana. I do notice the warriors working together to kill their foes.

One would bash a zombie for another right next to them to decapitate it while it was unbalanced. Rognar would reach over and thrust into heads while those in front of him held the undead in place.

It doesn't take long before the melee is over.

- Sixth Wave Cleared

Calculating Experience...

Contribution 0 Kills. No Experience granted.

Seventh Wave Starting in 1 minute -

Grumbling about not having received any experience since I didn't kill anything, I looked at the average level of the settlers.

- Average Level of Settlers: 2.28

Difficulty Based on Levels: 3

Added Difficulty based on waves completed: 1

Total Difficulty of waves: 4 -

I look at Draemish. "I need to level up. We will have more mobs coming at us, and if I remain behind, it will hinder us."

"True. What do you have in mind?"

"I want to cast Nature's Grasp at the entrance of the gatehouse. One cast should be able to cover most of the area, and I should also get some kills just from the undead walking through it."

She thinks about it for a little bit. "What about the experience for the warriors?"

"I shouldn't be able to kill all the undead coming through, and if you want, you can position your warriors nearby and kill those that get close to leaving the area of effect."

"That sssoundsss like a good compromissse." Vranjaya comes up. "I alssso wanted to asssk if we could have sssome of the other magesss do sssomthing sssimiliar."

"The gatehouse is the best place to include the mages for their area of effect." Shadow agrees. "I want to ensure that those with an area of effect won't harm the gatehouse first, though. So we should have Drake first and then, at the next wave, talk about the other mages."

"That is a fair deal," Draemish acknowledges.

- Seventh Wave Starting in 5 seconds -

Shadow runs up to the battlements with Vranjaya while I stay on the ground with Draemish. I reach out to Ritotorous, "Have you seen any monsters appear from the other sides?"

"Not at this time. They seem bunched up on the one side at this time." He responds before flying down. He appears to be fidgeting, hopping from one foot to the other.

"What did you see while you were in the sky?" I inquire.

"I don't know for certain. The energy seems to be gathering. I don't know where, but I can tell it is gathering."

"Can you keep an eye on it for me?" I ask.

"Yes, I will let you know if anything happens."

The wave starts. I don't see how many enemies there are this round, but I see them approaching the gatehouse opening—a minute passes before they are close enough for me to cast my spell.

A five-meter radius inside the gatehouse has been covered by thick, grasping, thorned vines. The first of the undead walks straight into it. By the time it has reached halfway, it has already collapsed from the wounds and died. This continues until more undead in the gatehouse than the vines can cover.

They skirt around the edges and come closer with only mild burns on their forms. The flame towers are doing an excellent job of softening the undead.

Half a minute later, the first undead reaches the warriors, and they start slowly dismantling the mob. Some warriors push the undead back, hoping to fall into the grasping vines.

It doesn't take long before this wave has been cleared. I cast another shield on an overly confident Xelyphe, but nothing else major happens.

- Seventh Wave Cleared

Calculating Experience...

Contribution 20 Kills. 100 Experience granted.

Eighth Wave Starting in 1 minute -

I look at my stat sheet upon receiving my contribution.

- Basic Status:

Name: Drake Taldrit

Race: Human (F)

Gender: Male

Planet of Origin: Culhara

Mana Heart 50%

Mana Veins 50%

Class: Mage

Class Level: 2

Experience 175/200

Affinity: Healing, Nature

Special Class: Noble

Level: 2

Oaths of Fielty: 5/10

Profession: Enchanter

Profession Level: 1

Experience 9/25 -

I briefly look through and notice how close I am to leveling up. Thinking carefully, I remember I have a bag of class experience back at the manor.

"Rito, could you do me a favor and get the bag of experience and bring it over to me?" I ask my companion.

"Sure, close to leveling up?" He asks.

"Yup, might as well get the additional mana before the next wave starts."

"Good idea." He flies back to the manor.

Vranjaya approaches while I wait for Ritotorous to return, "Drake, could we sssend another mage with an area of effect ssspell down?"

"What is the spell? And who is the mage?" I ask.

"It'sss Gibnic the Gnome. He can ussse chain lightning. It ssshould be ussseful inside the ssspace, and it ssshouldn't disssrupt your ssspellsss."

I look at Draemish. "I think it would be a good idea. What level is he?"

"He hasss reached level 2 ssso far. Thisss will be a great opportunity for him to catch up."

Draemish thinks about it. "We this isn't a bad idea, bring him down."

Seconds later, a gnome is in front of us.

"Gibnic, can you describe your spell to me?" I ask him.

"Sure, upon casting the spell, it hits the enemy and then has a chance to bounce up to five times between different targets. I have seen the spell bounce between two different targets before."

"Is there a chance of friendly fire?"

"No, it only targets those I view as an enemy."

"Alright, one last question: how will you cast your spells? Not to bring it up, but you are shorter than everyone on the front lines."

He looks at me, puzzled. "Can't I just stand in the front and back away after casting my spells?"

"You could, but what happens if there are different types of undead?"

"Then I will have to figure it out like the rest of you," he says.

"Fair enough," I reply. "Feel free to stay down here then and cast your spells when you see them group up. Ensure not to blow through all your mana unless you are about to level up at the end of the wave." I iterate.

"Roger," he says while throwing me a poor salute.

Sighing, I hear Ritotorous come back with what I asked for.

"Thanks," I gently rub his head upon receiving the bag. I immediately open it and feel a rush of power, then check my status.

- Status:

Name: Drake Taldrit

Health: 15/15

Mana: 42/42

Race: Human (F)

Gender: Male

Planet of Origin: Culhara

Mana Heart: 65%

Class: Mage

Class Level: 3

Experience 55/300

Affinity: Healing, Nature

Special Class: Noble

Level: 2

Oaths of Fielty 5/10

Profession: Enchanter

Profession Level: 1

Experience 9/25

Attributes:

Strength 1

Intelligence 7

Wisdom 7

Charisma 2

Dexterity 1

Constitution: 3

Free Points: 1 -

With my free point from leveling up, I put it into intelligence. With that increase, I have 48 mana to spend on spells.

I look down the tunnel and see my spell is still there. Some of it has been trampled, but for the most part, it can still work on the enemies.

- Eighth Wave Starting in 5 Seconds -

Another wave is about to start.