Chapter 20

The tension in the capital was growing thicker with every passing day. The glowing red sand in the Dragon Era Hourglass was down to its final grains. There was exactly one week left until the sky tore open.

Maya sat in her inn room, sharpening a set of throwing knives she had purchased from the black market. Onyx was curled up happily at her feet, gnawing on a massive, leftover bone from their last dungeon run.

"We have the stats, we have the gear, and we have the gold," Maya muttered, tossing a knife into the air and catching it flawlessly. "But the Waves don't just spawn a boss in an empty arena. They drop hordes of monsters directly onto civilian populations."

She knew how MMO invasion events worked. The highest casualty rates weren't among the max-level players; they were the low-level NPCs caught in the crossfire while the "heroes" rushed the boss for loot.

Maya stood up, sliding the daggers into the hidden sheaths of her boots.

"Onyx, hide," she commanded. The wolf pup instantly dissolved into the shadow cast by the bedframe.

Maya knocked on the adjoining door. "Myne? Are you ready?"

Myne emerged, looking flawless in her tailored magical armor, her crimson hair perfectly braided. "Always, Maya-sama. Which hunting ground shall we conquer today? The northern mountains? The eastern swamps?"

"Neither," Maya said, her expression turning uncharacteristically serious. "We are going to Lute Village."

Myne blinked, her nose wrinkling slightly in distaste. "Lute? But Maya-sama, that is a miserable little farming hamlet on the outskirts of the capital. There are no high-level monsters there. The EXP yields will be atrocious."

"We aren't going there for EXP," Maya explained, stepping closer and placing her hands gently on Myne's shoulders. She looked deeply into Myne's emerald eyes, projecting the image of a profoundly noble, caring knight. "The Wave could strike anywhere, Myne. If it hits the capital, the King's knights and the thick walls will protect you. But what about the people in the villages? They have nothing. If we don't fortify the outskirts, innocent people will die."

Maya let her thumb gently brush against the collar of Myne's armor. "A true Hero doesn't just kill monsters, Myne. She protects the kingdom's foundation. And I want the people to know that the beautiful, brilliant Myne Suphia was the one who saved them."

Myne’s initial disgust completely evaporated. The idea of peasants groveling at her feet, worshipping her as their beautiful savior, fed her bottomless vanity perfectly.

"You are so wise, Maya-sama," Myne sighed, leaning into the touch. "Very well. We shall go to this Lute Village and show them the grace of the royal… ah, the grace of a true adventurer."

An hour later, they arrived at Lute Village. It was exactly as Myne had described—a peaceful, rustic farming community surrounded by rolling fields and dense woods. It was also completely defenseless.

Maya immediately went to work. She found the village elder and, hiding her actions from Myne, slipped him five of the Queen's gold coins.

"Hire every able-bodied man and woman," Maya ordered the stunned elder. "Buy all the lumber in the village. We are building a wall."

For the next five days, Lute Village transformed from a sleepy hamlet into a fortified military encampment.

Maya was a machine. She equipped her [Iron Gauntlet] to shatter massive boulders, clearing trenches around the village perimeter. She swapped to her [Spider-Silk Gauntlet] to rapidly lash massive logs together, creating a sturdy palisade wall in a fraction of the time it would take normal carpenters.

When the villagers grew exhausted, Maya used the [Leaf Gauntlet] to deliver minor area-of-effect stamina recovery bursts, keeping morale and energy high.

And Myne? Maya kept the princess perfectly placated. She had Myne sit on a shaded chair near the village square, tasking her with using her fire magic to harden the tips of the wooden spikes they placed in the trenches.

"Your magic is the absolute core of our defense, Myne," Maya would praise her every few hours, bringing her cold water and fresh fruit. "No monster will be able to breach the spikes you've enchanted."

Myne would preen, casting a few effortless fireballs at the wood, entirely convinced she was the mastermind of the operation while Maya did the grueling manual labor. At night, Onyx would detach from Maya's shadow, patrolling the perimeter to ensure no wandering monsters disrupted their work.

By the time the seventh day arrived, Lute Village was completely enclosed in a ring of sharpened wood, trenches, and barricaded choke points. The villagers were armed with pitchforks and whatever basic weapons they had, instructed by Maya on exactly where to hide the women and children.

Then, the air grew incredibly heavy.

Maya was standing on top of the newly built palisade wall, looking out over the fields. The mid-afternoon sun suddenly vanished, eclipsed by a sickening, unnatural darkness.

The sky above the fields of Lute ripped open.

It looked like a massive, jagged wound in the fabric of reality. The edges of the rift glowed with a chaotic, violent purple light. A sound like grinding metal and screaming wind echoed across the plains.

DING.

A blaring alarm sounded in Maya's head.

[Event Triggered: The First Wave of Calamity.]

Suddenly, three flashes of brilliant light erupted in the fields about a mile away from the village. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki had been automatically teleported to the epicenter of the Wave, exactly as the game mechanics dictated. Maya, already at the location, simply drew her weapon.

From the dimensional rift, a black tide began to pour out.

Gargoyles, massive undead knights, and swarms of insectoid horrors fell from the sky like rain, hitting the ground and immediately turning their glowing red eyes toward the nearest source of life: Lute Village.

"Here they come," Maya yelled, dropping down from the wall to join the terrified village militia at the main gate.

Myne stood behind her, her rapier drawn, looking legitimately pale. "Maya-sama… there are hundreds of them."

"Stay behind me!" Maya commanded, equipping the [Chimera-Acid Gauntlet]. The sapphire on her knuckle flared with intense, violent green light. From the shadow at her feet, Onyx let out a low, blood-curdling growl, his red eyes locking onto the approaching horde.

The Wave had arrived.

Interactive Choice: The Battle of Lute Village

The monsters are swarming toward the village. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki are far off in the distance, completely ignoring the town to hunt the Wave's Boss monster. How does Maya lead the defense?