The little monster wave in Magisteria City, which people initially thought would be dealt with in a day or two, had dragged on for a full week—and it still wasn't over. To make matters worse, troubling reports were coming in from neighboring human settlements as well.
Meanwhile, news from the forest spoke of massive battles erupting all over. At times, the tremors from these clashes could even be felt within the city walls. In response, the city had mobilized its higher-ranked warriors and senior mages, while the lower-ranked ones were kept busy handling weaker monsters—those roughly equal to them in strength.
Cassian was among them. With his team, he had been fighting monsters in the area between the third and second defensive lines. The city had a total of six defensive lines, with the outermost—the first line—held by the strongest warriors. Their role was to deal with the most powerful monsters while allowing weaker ones to slip past, forcing the forces stationed at the inner lines to keep fighting. However, monsters rarely made it past the third defensive line, and only the weakest ones ever did. That was why Cassian and his team, composed of ordinary humans, were stationed there—to hunt down the occasional stragglers that managed to break through.
Not all of them were ordinary humans. Cassian was a Circle Warrior, and Wanni was a mage, but the other four were regular humans—though they had improved in combat and developed a sense of teamwork. Cassian also had to adjust since he was used to fighting in groups composed entirely of Circle Warriors, with no mages. It took some effort, but they finally got their positioning right.
For now, though, they were utterly bored. Stationed in an open grass field, their job was to handle any monsters that made it this far. But in all the days they had been here, they had only fought about a dozen times—and only against weak, one-star monsters that Cassian could have handled on his own.
"I thought we were gonna be fighting all the time…" Theron muttered, lying against a tree, looking bored.
Cassian had different thoughts. He was bored too, spending his days just lazing around, but it was still better than being in constant danger. The others, however, hadn't experienced as many life-threatening battles as he had. To them, the lack of action felt disappointing, making them crave the thrill of a real fight.
But once you were in true danger, all you wanted was to get out of it—and the only way to do that was either to meet your end or to make sure your opponent did. That was the harsh truth for anyone seeking to transcend human limits.
Cassian had to admit—he also felt the need for a challenge.
"Are you all as bored as he is?" he asked, glancing at his team. They all nodded in unison. Meanwhile, the small kitten in Lumine's lap, having just woken up, looked around in confusion at everyone staring at Cassian.
He let out a sigh, scanning each of them before continuing, "Well then, don't complain later. I'll request for us to be assigned to a hot zone during the next rotation—so be ready for some intense fighting tomorrow."
"We won't…" they all said in unison. Cassian nodded before turning his attention to the kitten that had just woken up and wandered over to him, licking his hand.
With a big smile, he picked it up and began showering it with kisses, speaking in a playful, toddler-like voice, "Oh, my little kuchi-kuchi woke up… Kuhci kuhci cute baby, my sweetie…"
The kitten, which they had named Hope, purred in delight, enjoying the attention and returning his affection with soft licks.
The others barely reacted—it had become a usual sight by now. Not particularly interested, Wanni changed the subject, "Has anyone heard what's happening in the other territories around the Arcadian Forest? I heard they were attacked just around the start of this."
"Yeah, my sister mentioned it. You know about the Moshin Earldom in the Andhartha Kingdom? A few days ago, it was attacked by an army of giant monsters—like the one we saw at over first day here," Lumine said, shocking everyone.
Robert quickly asked, "Were they able to defend themselves?"
Lumine nodded but looked a bit grim as she continued, "They only managed to drive them away when the Earl himself stepped in to fight."
"Just drove them away? He's a Seventh-Circle Warrior—he should've been able to wipe out hundreds of them easily," Theron said, frowning.
Althea, nodding in agreement with her brother, added, "Yeah, that doesn't sound right…"
"This might be far worse than we realize. All we know is that those lunatic cultists have their hands in this…" Wanni said, his voice laced with anger.
His words cast a heavy silence over the group. It had all started with those fanatics performing a sacrificial ritual—meant to create something. No one knew exactly what, but the official reports claimed it had already been dealt with. Yet, the attacks hadn't stopped.
As everyone pondered what that could mean, Althea finally voiced what they were all thinking.
"It feels like they've declared war… doesn't it?"
The weight of Althea's words settled over them like a thick fog. No one spoke for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. The idea of war wasn't something they had seriously considered—until now.
Cassian exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "If that's the case, we're sitting ducks out here. The front lines might not hold forever."
Lumine tightened her grip on Hope, the kitten mewing softly in protest. "If the cultists are really behind this, then they're after something. Armies of monsters don't just appear out of nowhere. There has to be a goal."
"Yeah," Theron muttered, arms crossed. "And whatever that goal is, we're probably not going to like it."
Robert tapped his fingers against his knee, thinking. "Should we report this up the chain? I mean, it's just speculation, but if we—"
"They already know," Wanni cut in. His face was serious, his usual easygoing demeanor nowhere to be seen. "If we've figured it out, you can bet the higher-ups have too. The question is, what are they doing about it?"