“All right. Your plan has been approved.”
Elliot Warren’s voice came through the communicator, noticeably deeper than before. “We’ve made some guesses about the activities of that mysterious awakened individual, but for now, every decision has to prioritize the safety of the settlements. This flood is intensifying incredibly quickly. Brooks, you must hold the defense line at all costs and minimize casualties.”
Nathan Brooks glanced at the warning map before him and immediately replied, “Understood. We’ll hold the line.”
The call ended.
Nathan set the communicator on the desk and turned to the staff waiting for orders in the center. No one needed him to explain how serious the situation was. On the main screen, the flood warning zone continued expanding by the minute, while the prediction models constantly updated the impact time for populated areas.
“Everyone on the emergency response list at Level 20 or above, assemble at Stormwall. The remaining teams will continue coordinating evacuations, sealing off at-risk gate routes, and maintaining contact with the outposts.” Nathan pulled on his coat and headed for the door. “The Forbidden Spell source ahead isn’t something we can interfere with yet. Our job is to keep its consequences from sweeping over the people behind us.”
Before long, a large number of awakened had gathered at the Stormwall Defense Line.
It was one of the oldest defensive structures in Stormtide Reach. Built during the earliest stages of development, it had been reinforced continuously over many generations. Sturdy barrier walls ran along the coastline, backed by a network of wards with anchor points spread across the area. For years, the system had withstood countless storm surges, elemental storms, and sea monsters washing ashore.
But no one had ever seen a wall of water like this one.
From the assembly point, the horizon had nearly disappeared. A massive dark expanse of water was rising in the distance, swallowing most of the view and continuing to close in at a speed no one present could afford to underestimate.
As they waited for Nathan to arrive, a few people exchanged remarks to ease the tension.
“Did you hear? They say this wave is the aftermath of a battle in the southern island region.”
A man in Warrior gear turned around. “I also heard the opponent was a Supreme-Rank monster.”
A nearby Mage raised an eyebrow. “If that’s true, then whoever’s fighting it has to be at least Saint Rank. The mana fluctuations earlier reached Forbidden Spell levels, and they were powerful enough to cause this entire chain of disasters.”
The Warrior frowned. “I was just asking. Do you have to look at me like I don’t know that two plus two equals four?”
“No. I’m just considering whether the rumor that Warriors always think more slowly than their staves is true.”
“Want to find out exactly how slowly I think?”
“That’s enough.”
Nathan’s voice cut through the exchange before it could go any further. Everyone nearby immediately turned around.
He had changed out of his work clothes at the center and into a Mage’s field gear. Nathan Brooks, Director of the Stormtide Reach Anomaly Monitoring Center, was also a Level 43 awakened of Diamond Rank. At most outposts in the region, that was already enough power to command respect.
But precisely because he was strong enough, Nathan understood even better just how vast the gap was between himself and the source of the fluctuations the system had just recorded.
He climbed onto a raised section of Stormwall, looked toward the approaching flood, then quickly turned back.
“Listen carefully. Stormwall will take the first impact. If the structure begins to overload, we activate the Defensive Barrier and channel mana through the anchor points. Anyone incompatible with the ward network will switch to protecting the relay stations, assisting the exhausted, and keeping the retreat routes clear.”
Nathan swept his gaze across the people before him. “If this line breaks before the wave loses strength, the settlements and logistics facilities behind us will take the full remainder. No one here needs to prove how brave they are. Just hold your position and do your job.”
There was no cheering.
The people present silently checked their equipment, positions, and mana conduits. Behind Stormwall were the places where they lived and worked, along with their comrades and families. No one needed another speech to understand why they had to stand there.
The flood continued drawing closer.
The first sound to reach them wasn’t the water. It was a deep, prolonged vibration running through the entire ground. Only afterward did the roar of the enormous mass of water gradually swallow every other sound.
Nathan tightened his grip on his staff.
“Get ready.”
Only a few seconds later, the wall of water slammed into Stormwall.
The impact shook the entire defense line. Water blasted dozens of meters into the air, and the force traveled through the thick structure with enough power to make the ground behind it tremble. Almost immediately, the first cracks appeared across the wall’s surface before racing in both directions.
“Anchor Point Three is overloaded.”
“Water’s coming through the eastern section.”
“The pressure is still rising.”
Reports poured in one after another.
Nathan only had to look once to know the physical structure couldn’t withstand this on its own.
“Activate the barrier.”
The relay stations behind them lit up in unison. Runes embedded in Stormwall’s structure reconnected into a complete network, and then an enormous layer of magical protection rose directly behind the barrier wall.
Nathan was among the first to channel mana into the system.
The Mages and compatible support professions immediately followed suit. Mana from dozens of positions flowed into the anchor points, redistributed across the entire line, and transformed into supporting force behind the cracking structure. People of other professions held the relay stations, moved the injured, and dealt with sections where water had broken through.
Stormwall continued to shake.
Only about ten seconds after the initial impact, cracks had covered large sections of the wall. Nathan could feel the pressure passing through the ward network like a heavy weight grinding through layer after layer of protection. If everyone stopped supplying mana now, the wall would collapse almost instantly.
He had once considered the possibility that Stormwall might be unable to withstand a disaster large enough.
Nathan just hadn’t expected that day to come so soon.
A structure that had survived countless sea monsters washing ashore and elemental storms was being pushed to the brink in mere seconds today.
How powerful was the person who had created the event out there?
Nathan had no time to keep thinking.
A person at the anchor point on the left suddenly collapsed from mana exhaustion. The person beside him immediately pulled him away and took his place. People at other sections were also beginning to buckle under the prolonged pressure, but no one dared conserve their strength.
Nathan felt sweat run down his temple. His mana was dropping rapidly, while the pressure from ahead still hadn’t disappeared.
“Keep the rhythm steady. Don’t dump all your mana at once.”
He adjusted the flow of energy into the anchor point, trying to keep the ward network from fluctuating too violently.
More time passed.
The force pressing against them began to change.
At first, the decrease was so slight it was nearly impossible to notice amid the constant tremors. But Nathan had been watching the data long enough to immediately detect when the load on the barrier began to fall.
“Keep holding.”
He didn’t let everyone stop right away.
The water weakened little by little. Stormwall’s tremors were still frightening, but the pressure bearing down on the ward network was no longer increasing.
Nathan waited a little longer, confirming that the peak of the surge had passed before taking a deep breath.
“Prepare to stop supplying mana on my command.”
Everyone immediately focused.
Nathan looked at the final readings on the anchor point in front of him.
“One.”
Mana continued to flow.
“Two.”
Those who were nearly exhausted gritted their teeth and held through the final beat.
“Three.”
Everyone stopped supplying mana at once.
The Stormwall Defensive Barrier shut down almost simultaneously.
The physical structure, which had been supported by the ward network, immediately lost its foundation. A long, cracking sound rang out along the line. Then large sections of the wall began to collapse, sending countless chunks of shattered material tumbling into the water ahead.
No one cheered.
Everyone watched the sea.
The next wave was still advancing, but its height had dropped dramatically. After passing over the section of Stormwall that had just collapsed, it had only enough strength to spill across the low-lying areas ahead before quickly losing momentum. It could no longer surge deep into the residential zones as the worst-case models had predicted.
Nathan stood motionless for several seconds before finally exhaling.
They had held.
Stormwall was gone, but the areas behind it remained intact.
Around him, few people were still capable of standing upright. Some sat down where they were, while others leaned against their equipment or the remaining walls to keep their balance. Nathan was nearly out of mana too, but at least the battle to hold the line had ended before they were forced past their limits.
If the wave had been even slightly stronger, the outcome could have been completely different.
While the entire Stormtide Reach defense line had just survived a battle for their lives, Ethan had already returned to the transfer point on the island.
He had no idea what was happening in the distant settlements.
The Wind Origin had been successfully obtained.
Together with the Fire Origin in his possession, the main objective of this trip had been completed far beyond his initial expectations. Ethan had not only reached Level 10 in a single use of the Chaos Realm, but had also obtained a large amount of equipment, an extremely rare skill book, and two Elemental Origins.
If he put the unnecessary equipment up on exchanges for awakened individuals, the money he brought in would certainly be substantial.
But right now, Ethan cared more about advancing than money.
He had reached the Level 10 limit. To continue leveling up, the next step was to unlock the Advancement Quest and complete the Life Priest’s requirement to absorb an Elemental Origin.
The wall that had once made him think his professional path might end at Level 10 was no longer a problem.
What made Ethan feel urgent was something else.
The secret he carried was too great.
Limitless Amplification could evolve Profession Profiles, equipment, and skill books in ways far beyond ordinary laws. He currently possessed five abilities classified as Forbidden Spells, but that didn’t mean he could afford to look down on awakened individuals at the peak of the power system.
He had no idea how many battles someone of Supreme Rank or Saint Rank had survived, or how many pieces of equipment, skills, and countermeasures they possessed.
His current strength was enough to destroy an island.
But having enough destructive power to cause massive devastation didn’t mean he couldn’t be killed.
He needed to become stronger.
That thought kept Ethan from delaying any longer. He activated a return trip through the gate network. Light filled his vision and pulled his body away from Stormtide Reach.
When he stepped out of Chicago Gate Terminal, the familiar cityscape appeared before him once again.
Cars still traveled along the roads. Information boards at the station continuously updated the status of the gate routes. Awakened individuals moved in and out of the various checkpoints, while public screens broadcast warnings about the incident at Stormtide Reach.
The moment Ethan stepped onto the street, he noticed that many people were discussing the same subject.
“Did you see the news? Stormwall collapsed.”
“I just saw it. Apparently, they had to mobilize a whole crowd of high-level awakened just to hold back that wave.”
Someone else cut in. “I heard it was caused by a battle involving a Saint-Rank awakened. They used a Forbidden Spell in the southern island region, triggering volcanoes and a massive flood.”
“No one knows who it was?”
“Not yet. It’s all rumors. Some people say their opponent was a Supreme-Rank monster.”
The first person shook his head. “Power at that level is hard to imagine. One battle, and even Stormwall was knocked down.”
“When you reach that level, we might as well be ordinary people standing next to a storm.”
Ethan passed them, his steps slowing for a brief moment.
Stormwall?
He had never heard that detail in last night’s data.
But Ethan only assumed it was the aftermath in another area of Stormtide Reach. He didn’t know that the defense line had collapsed because of the flood created by his Meteor Rain, much less that the “mysterious Saint-Rank powerhouse” everyone was discussing was a student who had awakened a profession just yesterday.
Ethan continued walking.
His next objective was perfectly clear.
The Advancement Quest.