Monster Tide: The Final Bout

As Damian allowed everyone to take a rest for the meantime, all of them stared at the Tidemother heading their way, feeling a hint of trepidation at the idea that they were going to fight against something like this. Nevertheless, as they had decided to stay with Damian and the others in the fight against the Tidemother, they would see to it till the bitter end.

Finally being able to catch his breath, Valyr could not help but lie down on the ground, gazing at the sky for a bit as he gathered his thoughts. Although his body had already gone past the point of being drained of energy, for some reason, he felt like he could still tap into a source of energy deep inside his body to continue fighting.

'Then again, since I've pushed myself far beyond my limits, I'm sure the quest will reciprocate that.' Thinking about this, he brought up a screen in front of him, containing information on the emergency quest related to the monster tide. Looking at the number of kills he had racked up so far, a light smile could not help but appear on his face, pondering as to how he was going to spend his rewards once everything was done.

Ding!

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Number of kills: 272/1000

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Just as he closed the screen in front of him and closed his eyes, wanting to relax his mind for a bit before the final bout against the Tidemother, something blocked the sunlight over his face all of a sudden. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Damian looking back at him, which prompted him to get up. "What's up, Damian?"

"Not much." Seeing Valyr stand up, Damian told him that he could remain seated if he wanted to. "I just wanted to thank you for helping out the village in defending against the monster tide, even though you didn't really have to. Once all of this is over, the village will make sure to properly reward you."

"Well, it's not like I'm not getting anything out of it at all." Valyr chuckled in response. "The rewards I've accumulated from the emergency quest so far is enough for me to buy a lot of stuff from the contribution shop. Perhaps I could even kit myself out with better gear with the points I'll get."

"Either way, you still deserve to be rewarded." Damian shrugged his shoulders. "Among those in the village guards, you are probably the one closest to embodying the true purpose of it."

"Tell me, what made you decide to help the village out in defending against the monster tide?"

Hearing that, Valyr thought about it for a bit and decided to say that he did it more or less for the rewards he would obtain from the quest. Though, as he pondered over it for a bit more, he could not help but find it a bit peculiar that he had accepted the request outright when Damian asked him to participate back then. 'Now that I think about it…'

'What made me accept the request in the first place aside from the rewards?'

Fortunately for him, it did not take long for him to find the answer, his expression turning solemn, only to turn slightly glum soon after. In his mind, memories of their side losing the final battle surfaced, making him realize that he had decided to accept the quest as a way to remind himself of the past. It was as if he had joined the defense against the monster tide to cope with the loss.

Nevertheless, delving deeper into his reasons behind joining also made him realize that he had joined it because he knew he had the strength to actually make a change in the outcome of the tide. 'I only revealed my full strength near the end of the final battle… if I revealed it from the start, the outcome might have changed.'

'Well, there's no point thinking about the past.' Focusing on his train of thought, Valyr could not help but laugh inwardly. 'There's nothing I can change about that. But now…'

'Since I have the strength to make a positive change, why not use it?'

"Let's just say I've got a couple of reasons in mind." Consolidating all his thoughts, Valyr eventually opened his mouth to respond to Damian's words.

"Plus, Astarto Village has done nothing but treat me well, so think of it as a way for me to give back to the village."

…

"Now that everyone has gotten sufficient amounts of rest, we'll be assigning roles to everyone before we fight against the Tidemother." Clapping his hands, Damian attracted everyone's attention, prompting everyone to stop what they were doing and focus on what he had to say.

"First, Tristan and Rampart, you'll be our tanks. Tristan will be the main tank, while Rampart will be the sub tank." Hearing those words, Tristan nodded in response, as well as another man that Valyr recognized. Rampart was the name of the man who fought with the greatsword beside him during the third wave.

"Lythia, you'll be the mage. As for Malek, you'll be the healer." Saying those words, Damian shifted his gaze towards two people, a mature woman in her 30s that radiated the pure feeling of mana around her, as well as a young man in his late 20s that looked to be a devout believer of a religion. If not for the fact that both of them currently wore tattered clothes soaked in a mix of their own blood and monster blood, one would not think that these two people would be able to fill in those roles.

"Myst, you and I shall act as mid-range DPS." Damian looked at Myst, who looked back at him before nodding.

"These six people shall make up the main striking force against the Tidemother. Are there any questions?" As Damian looked around to see if there were any complaints, his eyes slightly widened when he noticed that Valyr raised his hand. "Yes, Valyr?"

"Is it possible for me to be part of the main striking force?" Valyr asked in response, prompting almost everyone there to look back at him with a hint of curiosity.

Unfortunately for him, Damian shook his head. "Unfortunately, the level gap between you and the Tidemother is too large. I know you're able to dish great amounts of damage, but in front of a level gap that wide, that damage becomes moot."

"I understand." Rather than get angry at the fact he couldn't participate, Valyr nodded, clenching his fist as he inwardly cursed his lack of strength. 'Once this monster tide is over, I should ascend to Rank 1 as soon as possible.'

Nodding in response to Valyr's words, Damian then returned his attention to everyone. "Now, for those whose names haven't been called, you shall be making up the quick response team. Your task is to exterminate each and every minion the Tidemother spawns."

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Unsurprisingly, everyone exclaimed in unison, some of them letting out inward sighs of relief from the fact that they wouldn't be the ones fighting against the Tidemother. Although the Tidemother's minions were also a nuisance to deal with, in their minds, they were far easier to handle.

With that, Damian ordered the five people he had called out earlier to move forward as everyone beelined for the Tidemother ahead of them.

"Move forth!"