Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: End of the First Wave
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We reached the rift and immediately linked up with Barundel to dive into the fray.
“You almost made me feel left out.”
“Haha, I was just taking a moment to size up the situation….”
“A party’s gotta fight together, right!”
Barundel covered my right, Thompson my left, and Kayla provided support from behind.
Of course, I didn’t hesitate to throw myself into the mix whenever any of them looked to be in danger.
In that way, we guarded the rift like an iron wall, and the demons dropped like flies the moment they emerged.
After three or four hours, maybe?
Repeating the same fights over and over was starting to wear thin.
‘This thing really has no end….’
Even after all that time, the demon legion’s assault showed no signs of letting up.
If anything, it felt like they were getting stronger.
Not only were more of them pouring out, but increasingly powerful ones were joining the mix.
The lesser demons that had been scattered among the early waves were nowhere to be seen now.
The legion was made up almost entirely of mid-tier demons and above.
I’d been through the [Red Moon War] countless times in the game, so I knew it would play out like this—but knowing and experiencing it firsthand were two different beasts.
The truly terrifying part?
‘This is just the beginning.’
The [Red Moon War] consisted of a total of five waves.
The waves broke along daily lines, and with each new one, the rifts grew larger and more numerous, overflowing with even fiercer demons.
In simple terms, today—the first day—was wave 1.
Which meant it was the easiest day to endure out of what remained.
‘Wave 4 is when the legion commander shows up in person.’
If that happened, then the real hellish war would begin.
No more room for idle thoughts or slacking off.
Every moment would demand total focus, and we’d have to endure the fatigue of a prolonged battle.
Casualties would pile up accordingly, of course.
There was only one way to prevent that disaster.
Close the rift.
In some ways, it wasn’t all that different from when Baal had appeared at the Aldeon Magic Tower.
Shut the rift, and the war ends.
But the differences were clear-cut.
First off, this was an officially prophesied war straight out of the prophecy book, so we couldn’t resort to summoning a ‘Gate Keeper’ or anything like that.
In short, closing the rift was far more difficult than before.
Second, there wasn’t just one rift that needed closing.
‘At least ten of them.’
From my experience, rifts could only be sealed after at least wave 3—and the minimum number to seal was over ten.
The demons wouldn’t just sit idly by while we did it, so it wouldn’t be easy—and if we failed to pull it off before wave 4 ended?
Wave 5 would begin.
The hallmark of wave 5 was the infusion of Baal’s own power.
At that point, Asteron might as well be considered fallen.
Not that I’d ever seen it get that far, though.
In my playthroughs of the [Red Moon War], we’d always succeeded in closing the rifts around wave 3. Even in the slower runs, we’d managed it before wave 4 wrapped up.
As long as the royals didn’t just sit on their hands, success was practically guaranteed.
Anyway.
For now, the best we could do was hold out until wave 3, when we could actually close the rifts.
Until then, we just had to grit our teeth through this monotonous grind.
The silver lining? There were some decent perks to keep us going.
First up: feeling the growth in my comrades’ power.
“Hraaah!”
Thompson condensed mana into his right fist and threw a punch.
At the same moment—
Crack-boom!
Kieeeek!
Something shattered, and the massive [Demon Basilisk] went flying back from Thompson’s blow, utterly limp.
The aftermath bowled over a dozen demons that had been swarming it.
Kweeeek!
Shiiiiek!
Insane power.
Hard to believe this was the same Thompson who’d struggled against one back at Aldeon.
But it wasn’t just the raw power—his right arm looked completely different now, and that was the most intriguing part.
‘…What the hell is that?’
From his fingertips to his shoulder.
Thompson’s right arm had transformed into a thick, gray-skinned limb.
Like someone had fused an elephant’s leg with a human arm.
I’d memorized pretty much every spell in the book while leveling a new mage character, but this was totally unfamiliar.
Of course it was—back in my gaming days, this was a spell created by Asion Gail, a mage who hadn’t existed.
Anyway.
“Mister, what’s with that arm?”
I’d planned to ask after the war, but I couldn’t hold back any longer.
Thompson scratched his head with the beefy arm.
“Oh, this? Hmm… How do I explain it?”
He rolled his eyes, searching for the right words, then said,
“It’s a body transformation spell I learned. Kinda unstable still. Can only do one arm for now. Looks pretty grotesque, huh?”
“Grotesque? Nah, just impressive.”
“Heh heh, glad to hear it. Anyway, once I master it completely, I’ll be able to transform my whole body, not just one arm.”
“…Your whole body?”
“Yeah.”
Kwang-gang!
Thompson charged again, sending another demon sailing far away.
Still absurd power.
I stared at his right hand, lost in thought.
‘Transforming the whole body—what does that even mean?’
Hard to picture from the description alone.
Did it mean his entire body covered in that thick hide?
Or…?
I asked on a hunch.
There was a simple way to clear it up.
“Have you seen it yourself? The chairman using body transformation magic.”
Just find out what Asion Gail looked like when he used it.
That’d reveal the spell’s final form naturally.
But.
“…”
For some reason, Thompson hesitated to speak.
“What? You didn’t see it? Even with the chairman, you’ve gotta confirm spells in person to learn them properly….”
“No, no. I saw it clear as day. The chairman’s body transformation magic. Just once.”
“Ah, got it. So, what’d it look like?”
“…Well, see…”
Thompson hesitated again.
He was even trembling slightly, like he was scared of something.
What the hell had happened?
Thompson didn’t elaborate.
“You’ll find out soon enough yourself, top ranker. The chairman’s joining the war too….”
Curiosity hit me like a tidal wave.
I was dying to know.
But he wasn’t wrong.
Asion Gail had signed a contract to participate, after all.
I’d see his body transformation magic soon enough.
‘Guess it’s something tough to talk about. No need to push.’
I decided to witness it myself and shifted my thoughts.
Anyway, checking Thompson’s growth like this was the first bit of fun.
The second was this.
Swoooosh—!
The nonstop battles filled me with an endless sense of fulfillment.
Experience points.
[Defeated ‘Demon Basilisk.’ Gained 5 EXP.]
[Defeated ‘Stone Gargoyle.’ Gained 5 EXP.]
[Defeated ‘Demon Lizard.’ Gained 5 EXP.]
In the game, these messages would be scrolling across the bottom of the screen nonstop.
Amid that constant rush, my body had lit up five times.
Meaning I’d gained 5 levels.
I’d hit level 12 after two weeks of hunting, so…
‘Level 17.’
Already in the late teens.
‘Damn, 5 levels on the first day alone?’
The leveling speed was insane.
Nothing like the hellish grinding outside the borders.
Back then, I had to hunt down prey; now, they were spilling out of the rift on their own. No surprise there, but still impressive.
This was the [Red Moon War] for a reason—one of Devil Fantasy’s marquee events.
Big risks, big rewards.
‘If I play it right, I could hit 20 in this war.’
From level 20, each level-up boosted all stats by 2.
Double the efficiency.
Plus, it’d unlock hidden pieces I couldn’t touch before due to low level.
After the war, time to gobble them up one by one.
‘Man… already getting excited.’
That’s when a veteran’s true value shines.
Users with hidden pieces and those without were worlds apart.
‘Might as well grab some good stuff for the comrades while I’m at it.’
A few hours of fighting and planning in my head later.
“Aren’t the demon numbers thinning out a bit?”
“Ooh… yeah, looks like it? Finally ending?”
As the sun dipped low, the demons emerging from the rift visibly slowed.
Signs that wave 1 was wrapping up.
We’d started at dawn, and now dusk was falling. One hell of a long day.
Thirty minutes more.
“It’s over!”
“Wooo! Victory is ours!”
The demon legion finally stopped crossing, and soldiers collapsed where they stood, roaring in triumph.
We were just as thrilled.
“What a grueling slog that was….”
“Couldn’t have made it without the EXP grind, right? Eh, top ranker?”
“Yeah, stamina would’ve run dry otherwise.”
“It’s really over, right?”
Kayla had slipped out from the outpost and joined us.
“Yeah, it’s done.”
I nodded and scanned the group.
“No one hurt?”
“Not from this! I’m good.”
“I’m fine too. Maybe it’s the age, but I’m a bit worn out.”
“Me too. Just blasting spells from back there—no way to get hurt.”
“Good.”
No injuries among us.
Even for wave 1, it was a decisive victory.
As that thought crossed my mind, a man in full armor stepped into the noisy battlefield.
The knight captain in charge today.
Elbert Tairan, if I recalled right.
“Attention, all!”
Proving his rank, he levitated into the air, drawing every eye.
Knight captain—an advanced knight who’d fully mastered aura, capable of such flight.
Meaning Elbert Tairan was at least Dershion-tier.
With everyone focused, he bellowed in a voice thick with power.
“Great army! The war is not yet over!”
“…”
“…”
The jubilant mood sank in an instant.
Harsh words that killed the vibe, but no one argued.
Because he was right.
No time to celebrate.
We’d barely cleared wave 1.
“Look around! See what became of the soldiers who laughed and joked with you this morning!”
People glanced about, swallowing silent groans.
Just as Elbert said, hundreds of soldiers’ corpses littered the area.
A brief silence followed.
Then Elbert spoke again.
“For their sacrifice, we must prepare an even more perfect tomorrow! Everyone, on your feet!”
At his words, people rose one by one, faces solemn.