The Dark Sea is never a peaceful place. Not once did this place have been quiet and even when it didn't have any monsters, it is clear that the peace here is just a fake facade below the dark ocean full of monsters.
Right now, the monsters continue their attack. Like before, the monsters are countless in numbers and just looking at them will make you fear they would soon climb up from the barrier, break through it, then escape and destroy the world.
We might just be destroying them without any problems right now but knowing that this is no longer a game, does that make the situation possible to happen?
Still, I don't know whether that will indeed happen. What I decided to do is to continue recovering the levels I lost.
We already passed the 10th level not too long ago and right now, we are just clearing up the remnants of the monsters left after the 10th wave while the rest are resting.
It was a hard fight and without everyone's help, things would have been pretty bad. I toss the bottle of water to everyone after the battle, even my followers and pets included.
"How's everyone's level? Is everyone in the level 200 threshold now?" I asked.
"Looks like it. After we killed the last monster during the 10th wave, we received a lot of experience points in the process and that allowed us to reach level 200 as well."
The desert wolves came back carrying the loot that the monsters dropped including the enhancement materials and the metals we needed for the upgrade.
Compared to before when we almost had unlimited inventory space and infinite weight, right now, our inventory is pretty limited, weight limit is present and we have to plan out whether we take the important stuff or leave things out.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThankfully, we have Leona, with whom I have fitted an inventory container with a pocket dimension inside. If not for Almira lending us the inventory container for us to carry the metals, we will have no chance of carrying these from her.
After putting the items in the container, I noticed the elves are much quieter than usual. I don't even think they are on their best behavior either. Curious as to why they seemed to have been down, I decided to check on them. I don't want them to suddenly space out in the middle of the battle. It can be fatal.
"You guys alright? You three seemed like you all are not okay right now," I asked as I sat down with them.
"Ah, no worries, Manato. I just didn't expect things to be this bad even here. Who would have thought something hellish like this exist in the corner of the world? I was quite sure they were just stories from our childhood but never thought it would be a real deal," Renatta answered as she sips her water bit by bit.
"A real deal?" I frowned.
"Well, some of the elves have made some tales about deep sea monsters and how most of the seas out in the world have hidden dangers of these monsters. They even gave some vivid descriptions which soon evolved as something to be used to scare kids. We didn't think all of those tales were actually true and most of the descriptions they have done are a lot more tamer than how the monsters looked," Alena explained.
So there were elves who explored outside their home as well and have returned bearing the tales of their journey. No wonder the elves might hold the information we needed and although it is still not pretty much a guarantee, it only gives us a little bit of hope that we have indeed managed to get something good on this one.
"Are you guys sure you all are okay? You guys can sit this one out for a bit if you guys are not comfortable?"
"No, don't worry about us. We just didn't think things were this horrifying in the first place. We can manage. Also, we don't want to be late and be left behind from the leveling process."
Then, Tina approached us.
"Master, the tides are receding, it's time for the 11th wave to begin."
"Alright, we will be coming. Inform the others as well and prepare for combat."
The three stood up as well, checking their bows if they are still fine.
"You guys shouldn't push yourselves too hard. It's okay to take a break if you guys can't stand the unspeakable horrors of the sea. Besides, it will only get much worse later on, so be prepared as those things will get much worse as time goes on."
I am not joking since the waves of monsters climbing up would be stronger, they also get weirder and weirder as the waves of monsters progress. Much weirder than what we have right now.
And so, I stood up and ready my weapons. This will be a troublesome fight until we reach level 300 soon.
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Wave 11 has started. And as I expected, the boss of Wave 10, a starfish-looking monster that has its arms as tentacles like an octopus became a normal mob in Wave 11. Hermit crabs started to appear as well and they are much tougher as well, making the situation really bad even for us.
Even while fighting, I am also paying attention to everyone.
"Akira! Block the left, Sora watch out from above and blast it with your magic! Father, to your right! Mother, throw a few [Slow Agent Bottles] to Father's left and slow down the enemies on their advance! Rika, take advantage of the enemies taking their aggro on both Father and Akira to wipe down a few of them. I will take care of the stragglers, Riko, conserve your mana, just because you have recovered your spell doesn't mean your stats have caught up. Pixie, heal the wounded! Alena-san, Labo-san, Renatta, cover me, I will strike down the leader!"
Everyone immediately followed my instructions and although it's pretty chaotic, we are doing fine. Thanks to my followers, who have fought these monsters again and again before, they have basically memorized the movements of the monsters, allowing everyone to have a much easier time dealing with them.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAnd due to their major help, we cleared wave 11 fast. But our rest are clearly not yet present as the moment wave 11 was done, wave 12 revs up, and throws over their monsters as well.
"Wave 12 is starting! Don't start relaxing guys! We have yet to go out of the tide just yet!"
"SH*T, SH*T, I HATE THIS WAVE SO MUCH! AAAAAAHHHH!" Riko, who hated spiders so much started releasing a blast of magic to the monsters causing them to explode on contact.
"Hey, keep it low, will ya?! They are flying all over the place due to the explosion!" Rika angrily squeezes Riko's cheeks to make her calm down from panicking.
Well, I can't blame Riko who has arachnophobia to be truly afraid of enemies. They looked like spiders but they are more crabs that are hairy, making them look like giant spiders. And because they are spewing out some sticky stuff to enemies as well, they might as well be spiders in the sea. But officially, they are called [Corrupted Hairy Crab] and due to their numbers, they are considered to be pretty dangerous if not known early.
"Riko, back off a bit and just support once you have calmed down. If possible, just remain in the back and just support us there so that you don't have to be so near them during their attacks."
"I understand. Sorry about this, Manato," Riko can only shake her head and as much as Riko felt bad, I don't think Riko needed to apologize for her fears.
Since we have reached the threshold of 200, the levels are a lot slower now compared to before. The monster's difficulty also served as a basis for whether they will offer big rewards or not. But thanks to the multiplier of my title that has its effects shared with everyone, we can safely say that the experience gained isn't as bad as before.
We just needed to defeat the enemies one by one and deal with them accordingly, gain momentum in battle, and ensure everyone does not necessarily have many problems either.
After Wave 12, everyone is looking tired now, and even my followers are also showing signs of fatigue as well. But I can't blame them as wave 12 is a bit brutal for them.
"Everyone back off, Leona, go and blow them away."
Leona flaps her wings and flies above the sky. Everyone went back to the area.
"What are you doing, Manato?" my father asked, questioning about why I let Leona take over.
"Wave 13 is a bit brutal and long. Everyone is tired, take advantage of this time to rest up and heal up your wounds. Stay healthy and make sure no one dies."