87 The Wall

Hera had to admit Blue had a knack for finding good spots. The bar she picked was not only in a lovely place near the guild, but the smell coming from the kitchen was otherworldly. The pub was called the Lying Apple, and being true to the name, most dishes and drinks looked as if apples were among their ingredients, but it was all just a trick. There were a great number of people in the establishment. Luckily, the group found a table just for them.

It didn't take long for the waiter to bring the first round of drinks. Hera kept talking to her friends, discussing what happened in the tower, and the conversation spiraled into how much they were annoyed with Anaya.

During that time, more and more people entered the bar, most of them looked at the large TV expectantly. As the waiter brought the third round of drinks and a plate of fries, Leo asked.

"Hey, is something going on? There seems to be a lot of people here."

The waiter looked at the hunter with a puzzled expression, "You guys don't know? They are preparing to break the next wall. Today there will be the start of the coverage."

"Really? They actually televise that?" Blue gasped.

"Yeah, only to the MAZE, though. The strength that people show on those things can cause a panic outside," the waiter explained.

Suddenly, the bar erupted in loud cheers, followed by a few people telling everyone to quiet down. The television showed the guild emblem, the familiar doorway with a city inside of it. The camera then panned towards the door and flashes of different places appeared on the screen. First, an urban city, then a castle, a volcano, a desert, an island, and it ended with a wide shot of one of the guild branches. The screen went dark and then a woman with pale blue hair, brown eyes, and large white rings painted on the side of her face appeared on the screen .

"Hello Everyone, this is Becca Swan coming at you live from the Queeroni Wilds, where the preparations for the wall breaking are underway."

The camera panned to the side, showing hundreds of tents and people walking around. The camera was clearly in a good advantage point. In the back, Hera could see a few hundred meters of an open field followed by a thick and lush jungle.

"This is just the crew that came to set everything up, thankfully we are being protected by a few of the best among us. Later this week, I will have the honor of interviewing them. But today, I want to show you all the stars of our show!"

Becca made a motion to her left, and the camera panned to what she was pointing. The field suddenly stopped, and an impossibly large wall was in front of it. It rose from the bottom to the top of the room and streched to both sides, completely blocking the passage. The barrier was mostly smooth, with a few dents here and there. There was a particular big gash right in the middle of the screen. The camera didn't stay long on that shot, and Becca quickly stepped in the frame.

"As you all know, when you travel deeper into new layers, we find this wall from time to time. To be able to travel even further, we need to break this barrier, doing so will unlock new rooms, new layers, and, of course, new treasures for us all!"

The complete bar cheered at the comment.

"Now, each new wall that we find is harder than the last one. The first wall was destroyed by a single man, Khan, the Wall Breaker. Sadly, no one is able to do the same today. Now we need a huge number of powerful individuals to take this barrier down."

The camera panned to the camp once more and focused on a group walking towards the vantage point. At the same time, Becca kept talking.

"Our protectors will also be a part of the effort to break the wall. You can see the ones already here. Toxic Rain, the deadly hunter with a heart of gold. Iron Heart, the great defender. Wildborn, the healer with a soul and, of course, the best hunter in the entire world. Azure chain!"

People cheered even harder as she introduced the explorers. They were a bit too far away to be able to see too many details, the only thing that Hera could see was someone clad in blue with a chain floating around his arms.

"Dam, they even got Iron Heart to help. The kid hardly ever makes an appearance," A man from another table said.

"Yeah, but I'm more surprised Wildborn is there. The dude is insane," another patron spoke.

"I wonder who is leading the assault. Or do you think it will just be a ready, set, go thing?" a woman asked.

The camera went back to Becca with the wall behind her. "It's been a while since a group like this was gathered to break a wall. At the time, we weren't strong enough to breakthrough. That's why the guild increased the level of requirements for the operation. Every single one of two hundred explorers who will be a part of the attack will be over level 85."

"Damn, that is a lot. I had no idea there were so many people on that level already," Leo gasped.

"Really? I think it's rather low. Think about it. People spend their entire lives here. I imagined the levels would be over a hundred already," Alex said.

"Sure, but you are forgetting the age problem. I believe that the oldest explorer in the front line is just 43. Everyone older than that tends to stay away from places that are too unpredictable. Trying to raise your level in places below your level is too ineffective," Bonnie explained.

"Wait, isn't that layer 25? That already a big gap on the levels," Blue said.

"Layers are not levels. Each room has its own level range, although you need a high level observe to see it. Brinefrot range is from 2 to 6. When you move through the same layer, the difference is not that big. But when you go from the first to the second layer, for instance. It's not impossible to see a 10 level gap among the rooms. Mr. Greyson told us that during training," Bonnie concluded.

"Now, everyone. Pay close attention to what is about to happen. You won't want to miss it!" Becca twirled around like the host of a carnival presenting the next attraction.

The wall suddenly was engulfed in flames. The fire covered the barrier all at once. After a few moments, the fire started to change colors, from orange to red, then yellow and becoming darker and darker. At one point, looking at the barrier was like looking into the darkness, no light, no movement, just an endless dark abyss. Not a single sound came from the patrons at the bar.

Just as quickly as the flames began, they were snuffed out, and the wall remained in place, unscathed. The small dents and the gashes on the wall vanished with the flames. The wall was perfectly smooth now.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, was the wall reset. It happens once every 45 minutes. If we can't break down the wall during that time, it will regenerate completely. Now, as I asked you to send me your questions about the operation via Chipper, so let's see here," Becca picked her tablet and started to scroll through the messages. She then pressed something on the tablet, and a picture with the chiip appeared on the screen.

"@ladyrat asks, who am I most excited to interview. The true answer to that is still a secret. We are still making some arrangements to see if it will work out. But among the ones I can tell you about, it would be Iron Heart. It is so rare for him to agree to interviews. I can't wait to get to know him better."

Hera kept watching Becca. Her eyes seemed to shine when she answered the questions. She couldn't help but notice that the reporter seemed very comfortable with what she was doing. She would play with the camera, joke with the questions. It all felt very natural and fun to watch.

"@loney_narwhal_72 asks, why only 200 will be part of the attack? Shouldn't the guild send everyone?" Becca tapped on her tablet once more, and a picture of a different wall appeared. This one seemed to be in a beach area, "We had another 50 questions like this one. I will do my best to explain why we limit the number of people. Each wall has different attributes. They can vary from magic or physical resistance. Those attributes will also increase depending on the number of people that are attacking it at once. Not only that, but there is a threshold for when those attributes increase even more."

Becca made a pause, looking beyond the camera, " Well, if my crew's expression is anything to go by. This made no sense," she laughed, "Lets put it in numbers. Let's say that each member of the attack group would increase the wall strength by 10. If the number of people attacking goes over the limit, the increase would turn into 100 per person," she looked back at the crew, "Is that better, guys?"

Some laughs came out of the crew and the people in the bar. Becca kept explaining about how they figured out the limit for this particular wall, and that in some cases, they could only have a little over 20 people attacking at once.

Becca continued to answer various questions while the bar returned to normal. People went back to order food and drinks. Some were still paying attention to the television, but not nearly as invested as before.

"Do you guys think anyone we know is going to be there?" Blue asked.

"Yeah, sure we, who have been explorers for less than a month, already know the strongest people in the entire world," Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Well, who knows, we saw a bunch of people in the guild. Nothing stops them from being strong. But this is the first time I hear about that wall. When did they find it?" Hera asked.

"It was around 50 years ago. For a while, they tried once a year, but when it became clear, they didn't have enough people, they sent a message for everyone to level up. I heard they got the required numbers to try just last week."

The group turned around to the voice. A familiar face met them, wearing one of the waiters' uniforms and picking up the empty glasses from the table.

"Kenji? What are you doing here?" Hera asked.

"Working, I had some issues to find a party. And I'm not about to group up with Anaya after what she did. I mean, it's one thing to go for the gold, another to toss your party to the wolves while you do it," Kenjiro finished picking up the dirty dished from the table, "I'm sorry for what happened. I thought she had found a lever or something. When I realized it was too late. I should have waited or something, but I messed up. Your next round is on me. It is the least I can do."

"Oh... thanks," Leo wasn't expecting that type of apology. He never gave too much thought about Kenji or Tiffany, for that matter. He was sure it was all Anaya's fault.

"Why couldn't you find a party?" Blue asked.

"Nothing much. I didn't want to be in a group with Anaya, and no low-level parties were recruiting. I'm going to wait for Tiffany so we can at least be a duo. I tried to hunt alone, but it takes too much time to find a frog alone. Anyway, I'll be right back with your orders and another round," Kenjiro said as he left the table.

"I guess he wasn't to blame in the end," Leo mumbled.

"I'm not sure. I mean, if you commit a crime by accident, it is still a crime," Alex said.

"That's a bit harsh considering what he did. It wasn't a crime," Hera said.

"It still was wrong, and I'm with Alex on this," Blue huffed as she bit the last piece bacon left on the table.

Kenji came back with their orders and a round of beer. He apologized once more and kept working. Hera and her friends kept drinking and eating until late at night. Near the closing time of the bar, they returned to the hotel.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow?" Bonnie asked.

"Drinking some more!" Blue shouted, raising an invisible glass.

"I'm guessing she's going to nurse another hangover," Leo was strolling with his head tilted back, feeling the breeze on his face.

"Probably, and you want to find the thing, right?" Hera asked.

"Yep, and you two?" Leo turned to Bonnie and Alex.

"I wanted to go back to the lookout, but I think I should look for a new spell first. I have some ideas. Either way, I hoped we could make some money this week. I'm just 4 000 gold away from the 10 000 I need for the first installment of my debt," Bonnie said.

"I want to deal with a role quest in the morning. But I'm free in the afternoon if you guys want to hunt," Alex stretched, raising her arms to the sky.

"Stop being a buzzkill, we think about what to do tomorrow," Blue jumped on Hera's back, almost making the explorer fall.

"Fine, fine. You are so gonna regret drinking this much," Hera said, laughing.