Chrysalis

The whole island is covered in monsters, because of course it is, this is a wave. The size of the beasties is certainly larger than what I’ve gotten accustomed to in other strata. In the first, pretty much all monsters start off smaller than a human, ditto for the second and third. In fact, all demons start basically cat-sized, but they can get a lot bigger rather fast.

Most of the monsters down there are likely tier two or three, considering how rapidly they spawn, but there are some chonkers out there. Sea beasts of all sorts charge out of the water and onto the shore, tentacles writhing, shark-jaws snapping, pinchers… pinching. In an endless tide, they emerge, throw themselves against the walls of the fortress, only to be beaten back by the stalwart defenders.

Completely standard defensive mess. The wave is always a battle of attrition and if we’d had even a little less time to fortify this position, we would’ve been in real strife.

Well, I can clear the field a little and then we may be able to get something productive done. Sucking in all the mana I can handle, I whip together a gravity construct and start pumping out as much energy as I can manage. To make a dent in this battle, I’m going to need a massive gravity well, so that’s what I get to making.

When it’s finished, I empower it with the Altar and watch as the crush of monsters in front of me becomes just that little bit more crushed. Nice.

The sudden silence is deafening. I couldn’t surround the entire mountain with a gravity well, of course, but at least this segment in front of me is, blessedly, free of invaders. Oop, more are coming out of the water now, well, that didn’t last long.

“Alright. Let’s get down there and you twenty can stuff yourselves with Biomass, survey the terrain and study the monsters, or whatever you need to do. We don’t have long, though, so let's hop to it!”

Solant and her crew file in behind me without a word. They really can step in time when they want to! Like they’re marching on a parade ground.

[Come on, you three, I want you to keep the monsters off us for a bit.]

the battlefield itself, now coated in a thin layer of squashed monster. Some of the tentacle… octopus kind appear to have survived, albeit

go smash stuff. I’ll keep

ape gleefully bounds off as the little ants get stuck into

you used

version that I intended to slow you down. You were very clever to use it against

“But with a power like this…” she indicates the field full of squished monsters, “I don’t see

too naive. It’s good that I brought her down

not the strongest monster on this stratum, far from it. We fought tier eights on the third, who knows, there might be tier nines hanging around the fourth. That’s two whole evolutions further developed than me! You need to keep in mind that this is a wave, a constant assault from uncountable

give the little

think we

thinks for a long moment

to get the monsters to fight each

and XP to these frenzied monsters, so the moment they catch wind of us, they come running. Let’s not forget, the wave is also an incredible opportunity for us. A chance to gain

“I see.”