BXBX NOVEL Chapter 998: The Tidebreaker's Return
Chapter 998: The Tidebreaker\'s Return
Because of that, just as Valyr was about to ask for more information in return, Alfaera and the others worked alongside Tristan to get the young man up to speed on the current situation regarding the monster tides.
Thankfully, it only took a couple rounds of repeated explanation for Valyr to finally
understand what was going on, eliciting both a slight sigh of relief and a look of slight anxiety to appear on his face.
From what the others had told him, after the final monster tide Valyr participated in was over, the monster tides after that had gradually increased in length, with each subsequent tide gaining an additional wave to clear compared to the previous.
Because of that, the most recent monster tide that struck Astarto before Valyr arrived had a total of eight waves, with the last and final wave being the fight against the Greater Tidemother.
On the other hand, the current monster tide he and the others were up against had a total of nine waves, with each wave having a distinct level of power just like the other waves that came before it.
The first wave all contained monsters that were at the peak of Rank 1 in strength.
Once the first wave was cleared, the second to fourth waves appeared, where the strengths of the monsters went from the early levels of Rank 2 to the peak of Rank 2.
The fifth to seventh waves of the current tide were similar to the previous set. However, unlike the previous set of waves, the monsters now exhibited a level of strength equivalent to Rank 3.
As for the penultimate wave, the eighth wave, all of the monsters there boasted strength that were at the early levels of Rank 4.
Now having a greater understanding of what was going on, Valyr glanced at the battlefield for a bit, gazing at the Greater Tidemother that led the tide from afar.
Sensing the aura that the Tidemother passively emanated, a slight frown briefly appeared on the young man\'s face, prompting him to recall Alfaera\'s mention of the worst-case scenario. Then again, even though he already understood what kind of Tidemother they would be up against, the young man still decided to ask the others for confirmation.
"Since the eighth wave is filled with monsters at the early levels of Rank 4, does that mean the Greater Tidemother is at the peak of Rank 4?"
"At first, that\'s what we thought," said Tristan in response to Valyr\'s question. "Yet, the reconnaissance team crushed those hopes once they confirmed that the Greater Tidemother was above Rank 4 in strength."
"To be more specific, we\'ll be up against a Rank 5 Epic-level Greater Tidemother," said Alfaera, continuing where Tristan left off. "There\'s the possibility of it reaching the Legend level if it has a second phase like the previous Greater Tidemother."
"With that in mind, are you sure you\'re fine handling the Greater Tidemother on your own, Valyr?" Alfaera looked at the young man directly in the eyes, only to be greeted back by a gaze filled with determination and drive.
Briefly sweeping his gaze over the others, Valyr let out a slight chuckle. "It wouldn\'t be bad to have the assistance of the others here, but let me assure you once more."
"There\'s no issue with me handling the Greater Tidemother on my own."
those words, Valyr flared out his aura once more, though this time it did not instill fear into Alfaera and the others.
Instead, it instilled them with courage that the monster tide would be cleared without many casualties. It instilled them with the notion that Astarto would become a greater force than ever before.
It instilled them... with hope.
Just as Alfaera and the others showed their gratitude to Valyr once more, the latter soon made a proposal that caused them to look at the young man in slight shock.
"Now that I think about it, it probably wouldn\'t be a problem for me to handle one of the waves on my own as well."
As those words left his mouth, Alfaera and the others looked at each other, with Alfaera and Tristan seemingly exchanging a conversation through their gazes.
After that, Alfaera shared a glance with Claire, who\'d been with them throughout the entire conversation.
It was only after sharing a couple glances with Myst did Alfaera look back at Valyr before taking in a deep breath to compose herself. "We have no doubts that you\'d be able to clear a wave on your own."
"But are you sure you want to clear a wave on your own? You don\'t have to push yourself to this extent. Even defeating the Greater Tidemother is more than enough to ease our worries." "Just consider it an extension of my gratitude to Astarto," said Valyr in response with a faint smile, causing Alfaera to go silent for a bit.
With how much time had passed since the two of them last interacted, it was no surprise that Myst and Tristan told her about Valyr not being able to help Astarto out in their defense in the future.
Recalling the things the young man had forged for their town in the hopes it could help them against the monster tide even if he wasn\'t there, Alfaera eventually let out a sigh, giving Valyr a slightly apologetic smile as she nodded.
"Alright. If you phrase it that way, then I guess it would be rude for me to decline."
"But at the very least, I should make this exchange a bit more equal."
Saying those words, Alfaera briefly glanced at the battlefield before opening up her screen.
Interacting with the various buttons and lines of text that littered it, she eventually glanced back at Valyr, giving him a knowing smile as a notification sound resounded in Valyr\'s mind.
Ding!
[You have received a new quest: The Tidebreaker\'s Return.]