-Callen-

  As more and more refugees continued to pour out from the gate, the rest of town quickly realized just how big the situation was becoming. At first the earthkin shelter was suitable for the refugees, but as more and more continued to come, we had to start redirecting the refugees into the castle shelter. Thankfully the guards and townsfolk have an unusual amount of experience dealing with spontaneous refugee crises. Hew and the local guards took over organizing the refugees and moving them away from exposed places and hiding them in the town's shelters. As the shelters began to fill, we had to change the arrangement from everyone hiding in the local shelters to only the weak and vulnerable. The rest were armed and conscripted into an emergency militia as the monsters in the immediate vicinity of town were showing signs of unrest, testing the borders of Nightshade’s domain.

  I could tell that Nightshade wasn’t thrilled by the sudden intrusion and was especially upset by the threat brought by the new population, but she was willing to tolerate it for now. I suspect we'll be having a conversation over the issue later, but for now she started using the reach of her roots outside to fill the outside forest with poisonous flowers that both thinned the monsters and bought us more time. My squad of knights also caught on to the commotion and immediately visited me at the heart of it. Most of the members I passed on instructions to coordinate with Reesia to defend the town, but I had Sir Jolen stay with me so I could use him to pass on an update regarding the changing situation of the elves and my suspicion of the next target. I also gave him an update regarding the citadel, but considering the limitations of his bond, it was impossible to know how effectively it was passed on.

  The seemingly endless tide of refugees slowly came to an end as the dungeons on Callia’s side emptied. The population of Port Town had effectively doubled even if we counted the original refugees from Woodside and Porten as residents, but the real issue was the local fauna. The monsters had noticed the surge of allure created by thousands of the blessed gathering in a single location. The earthkin mounted weapons, Nixie’s traps, Nightshade’s flowers, and a militia swelling with paladin trainees and extra bodies all acting together to resist the tide of monsters. The initial assault was lighter since the strongest of the local monsters had perished when the great bear attacked, but as the hours passed, more distant threats started to make themselves known.

  Despite the relentless assault, nothing that could breach the wall attacked, meaning the biggest issue was ammunition and mana for Nightshade. I focused my hands on crafting new bolts for the ballistas while my magic went into experimenting with solutions to Nightshade’s mana problem. Mana exists everywhere there is life, but people are limited to using the mana they naturally generate because it is tainted with the will of its origin. Runes bypass that by forcefully rearranging mana, which is why they deteriorate. Enchantment works by linking into the user's mana system, but Nightshade’s method of storing mana involves storing and retrieving her own mana from flowers enchanted to hold it. It’s a level of mastery I’m nowhere near, but something I’m sure would make the earthkin completely flip out. Regardless, I took that as inspiration and the perfect avenue to try supporting Nightshade while I worked.

  Using my Dominate mana skill, I forcefully stripped the inherent will of natural mana and guided it to align with the mana in Nightshade’s flowers. The first attempts went poorly, causing the unfortunate flowers to burst into flame, freeze, or petrify, but with plenty of slightly depleted flowers locally available, I finally started getting something manageable working by the time midday came. I spared no thought to the lost experience burned by my skill and focused on helping Nightshade stabilize her expenditure. The forests around Porttown started blooming with purple flowers no matter which direction you looked. I couldn’t help but smile as the monsters approaching Porttown started arriving weaker and weaker as the air around our town became tainted with poisonous mists. The pressure on the guards faded to the point that weaker conscripts were released and the guards were able to cycle shifts. I looked at the personal cost, lamenting the loss of all my XP. Over 15 thousand XP all spent refueling Nightshade, but I can’t argue with the results. Nightshade’s natural recovery was just enough to keep the flowers active now that we had finished growing them.

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  The low-level threat had finally been brought under control, but everyone familiar with the forest could tell that it wasn’t just the low-level monsters on the move anymore. I reached out to Callia to check on her situation to find out when we could return the civilians to the citadel, but all I could tell was just how chaotic things on her end were becoming. I wanted to go help her, but she had already stored the void gate, so I had no means of getting there until she managed to disengage and get some distance, which she was in the process of working towards.

  I pushed off my seat at the table I was working on, intending to get some rest while the situation was stable. After all, there's no knowing how long it will be until monsters strong enough to threaten the town arrive. The act of standing up made my vision go dark as blood rushed back to my head. My hands were trembling like I had starved myself for an extended period, and my whole body was weak. I took a moment to reassess my condition and immediately noticed that my body was gaunt, with skin stretching over muscle and bone tightly like I hadn’t eaten in days. My condition actually felt eerily reminiscent of the elves. I stumbled out of Nightshade’s tower and slowly back home as my mind started coming to conclusions. Powerful skills have costs beyond mana and stamina, so whatever skill was using the illusion to ignore death was likely slowly but consistently taking a toll similar to mine, like a parasite drinking from them until there is nothing left.

  The ground suddenly rocks violently, nearly throwing me from my feet. I don’t need to look for the source, as the cracking of branches and groaning of wood on a cataclysmic scale immediately drew my attention. A massive sea serpent was writhing and wriggling its way past the Wither Tree. Countless black spots and cracked scales marred its body as it broke through and into the bay. I swallow slowly and dryly as I realize that the knights were all occupied defending the town, leaving only me and whoever was on break available to stop it. My whole body is shaking, and I know it's not just because I’m exhausted. The thought of running jumps to mind, but I clench my fists and think of Dad. He never hesitated to risk his life for our family and home. If I gave up so easily on the town he loved, it would be like spitting on his sacrifice.

  My resolve solidified as I boldly took the first step forward and then the next. Before I realized it, I was sprinting towards the colossal monster. A massive wave generated by the monster’s writhing slowly climbed up the bank, heralding the monster's arrival. It alone was a disaster that could destroy swathes of the town and take countless lives. Especially since there was no time for the civilians to take shelter. I arrived at the docks at the edge of town, and not far behind I noticed a steady and reliable presence, Reesia. I expanded my mana domain and immediately inscribed the ocean surface with the largest rune for freezing I could. Icy reached out in every direction; the dock snapped as it was dislodged, and the pipes leading from the ocean burst as ice crawled into them, but most importantly, the wave slowed and cracked into countless shards just short of the town. The water around the serpent froze but did little to slow the beast itself. However, with a solid path ahead, Reesia charged out, intending to confront the beast before it got any closer.

  I wheeze, gasping as my mana domain exhausted all my mana. I felt darkness starting to take me, but I grit my teeth and forcefully activated Dominate mana, seizing the power around me and recovering my spent mana. My vision started going double as my guts felt like I was going through an elemental blender, but all the chaotic energy was sucked into a black hole in my heart. My vision stabilized, but my body felt incredibly sick. I wheezed in agony but forced myself to take my first step onto the ice. My eyes locked on Reesia and the giant serpent towering over her. I activated mana boost and launched myself forward at full speed. My mind raced as it tried to dissect an avenue of attack against a monster that outclassed us in every category.