The City of Beginning had always awakened with the sun, but today, it stirred long before dawn. Torchlight flickered in every alley, echoing off the city walls that had become a symbol of hope and defiance. From the highest watchtower, I gazed over our home, the horizon a river of black, uncertain mist.
I could feel it—a pressure building in the air, the tremor in the spirit energy that even the unawakened could sense. The beast wave was coming. And in the heart of the city, thousands waited for my word.
The council had finished its planning, the Adventure Guild's scouts had returned with grave faces, and every association leader stood ready. But it was not enough to have a plan. The people needed courage. They needed a flame to ignite their hearts.
[MC's Speech – A Heroic Call]
I stood atop the wall, overlooking the gathered citizens—defenders in armor, Academy students clutching staves and spears, tailors and bakers, children and elders, all bound by a single will. The world was silent for a moment, as if holding its breath.
I let my spirit energy amplify my voice, making it ring across every street and courtyard.
"Citizens of Beginning!For fourteen years, we have built together, laughed together, and fought side by side for a future that was once only a dream. Today, destiny calls us to stand as one—not just for ourselves, but for all humanity.
The beast tide is no myth. It comes for our homes, our families, and the light we have kindled in the darkness! But we are not the scattered tribes of old! We are the City of Beginning! We are the forge where legends are made!
The beasts are many, but we are many more. They come with claws and fangs, but we meet them with courage, with unity, with minds and hearts sharper than any sword!
I will not hide behind these walls. I will fight beside you—all of you!Today, let the wild know that humanity will not kneel. Today, we draw the line. Let every blow you strike be a promise to your children: We are the dawn of a new world!
Are you with me?!"
A roar erupted, shaking the stones beneath my feet. Weapons rose, fists pounded against shields, and a thousand voices became one. I felt my own blood burn. For a moment, there was no fear—only pride, hope, and the unbreakable will of a people who had chosen to fight together.
As the first hints of sunlight crept over the horizon, a low, thunderous growl rolled from the distant forest. Shapes moved in the gloom—scores, then hundreds, then thousands of beasts emerging from the trees. Boar and wolf, serpent and bird, horned and fanged, their eyes aglow with spirit energy.
But this time, we would not wait.
"Form up!" I called. "First and Second Realm evolvers—front lines with Academy squads! This is your trial by fire! I and the third-realm defenders will cover you—only intervene if a beast lord appears!"
Our gates opened. Columns of defenders streamed forth, banners fluttering. I led the vanguard, my heart steady, every sense sharpened by cultivation and purpose. The air was thick with tension, but also with the fire of resolve.
The beasts surged forward in a wild wave. Our front ranks held firm—Academy students, farmers, tradesmen, newly awakened evolvers—spears leveled, shields locked.
The first impact was chaos: a mass of fur, muscle, and bone crashing against human lines. But we held.
Earth evolvers raised barriers, slowing the charge.
Water users doused wounds, hardened mud into stone.
Fire users ignited lines of oil, forcing the beasts to break formation.
Air users swept back the thickest clouds of bats and insects, keeping vision clear.
I saw the fear in some eyes—the tremor in a young blacksmith's grip, the pale knuckles of an Academy girl at her staff. I shouted, "Hold! Trust your training!" and moved to reinforce the lines.
As planned, I mostly watched, only intervening when a First or Second Realm beast broke through—knocking it aside with a burst of air and flame, then letting the students finish it off. The experience was invaluable:
Young hunters faced their first spirit boar, working together to bring it down.
Water and earth users learned to combine their powers—turning the soil to mud, then freezing it, trapping dozens of beasts at once.
The city's militia, drilled for months, proved themselves under fire.
But among the wild tide, I sensed something more: several First and even a handful of Second Realm beasts. Not just mindless monsters—these creatures fought with cunning, targeting our weak points.
I watched as a group of Academy students—barely older than children—stood their ground against a horned wolf, its eyes burning with spirit power. They flanked it, one distracting with bursts of water, another drawing it onto a line of sharpened stakes. It fell, and their cheers rippled down the line, emboldening others.
Elsewhere, an elderly farmer, his hair white but his grip steady, shielded a pair of apprentices with nothing but a pitchfork and a wall of hardened earth. "You want my city?" he roared at a charging beast. "Come and take it, you damned mutt!"
The Adventure Guild worked in teams, thinning out clusters of beasts before they could mass for a larger charge. Traps—concealed pits, falling nets, oil-filled trenches—snared dozens, buying precious time.
All the while, I kept scanning for signs of true threat—a sudden spike of spirit energy, the telltale shimmer of a beast lord. When a Second Realm bear thundered through the line, scattering defenders, I leapt into the breach.
Combining fire and air, I launched a spear of flame, forcing the beast to rear up, then dashed beneath its guard.
"You want the heart of the city?" I whispered, unleashing a wave of condensed air that blasted it back. "You'll have to go through me."
Together, students and militia swarmed it, their confidence growing with every blow. The bear fell, and I let myself fall back, watching them cheer—knowing that today, experience mattered more than glory.
After hours of grinding struggle, the sun rose high. The field beyond the wall was a graveyard of fallen beasts and broken weapons, but the city had held. We withdrew in good order, casualties light but not absent.
Healers and water users tended the wounded.
Scouts and air users scoured the battlefield for survivors.
That night, we feasted—not in arrogance, but in gratitude. The city's defenders, especially the young, looked to the future with new eyes. They had seen what it meant to stand together.
But as I stood atop the wall, gazing into the endless forest, I knew it was only the beginning. The true challenge lay ahead. The beast lords would not be so easily deterred.