When Wave 12 ended, wave 13 immediately followed suit. Just like Wave 12, the monsters are coming in groups, with the difference being that they are more numerous than before. I know I have defeated these waves multiple times, back in the last timeline, and in this timeline as well before the reset, but for some reason, I can't shake the feeling that something is different. I can't think too much about what it was but I am certain that there is something entirely new that I still can't put my finger about.
But it's pointless to think what it was. We will have to survive this and take the long shortest time to level up. We don't have much time and this is the only way.
Wave 13 consists of more of the bigger variants of the starfish octopus monsters. The reason we call them that is because I can't understand their names in the panels. They are distorted and it was like they got corrupted in the process so we decided to call them that. And besides, they are indeed like starfish but with tentacles like octopuses and can move like one, but the difference between the two is that this one is a star-shaped monster, the head is missing and seems to be grasping on the location of the ruckus and sounds, compared to the much cunning and smarter octopus monsters that can be troublesome if left alone.
Thankfully, they are not together in battle, or else, this will be a bit troublesome.
The Dark Sea is wide and multiple players are also here, but they are mostly divided in places to defend themselves. I don't know what magic the guardian of this place has done for he was able to do this, but this made our life easier without seeing the other players who are also leveling up in the Dark Sea.
"Manato! Catch!" my father tosses a big octopus-like monster in my direction that has lost two limbs already which might be my father's doing. Without a second thought, I sliced the monster in half and destroyed it before it can regenerate its body parts.
My father gave me a thumbs up before he tosses another one in my direction but before my sword can even slice it up, a golden chain pierces through the monster and tears it apart.
I then saw Pandora smiling next to me which I didn't notice as I am very focused on the battle.
"Chill out, Bladeheart, or should I keep calling you Manato-san?" Pandora smiled, which is pretty a bit uncanny for me especially with her voice being the voice of Sigma who I view to be a bit more masculine compared to Pandora who still remained as her frail self, only with the fragility of her body disappearing the moment she came to the Alternate World.
"Manato is fine. My old name should remain as the relic of the Nexus past."
"Nah, I suggest you don't get rid of it. You are still Bladeheart when I see you to be honest and how I still feel as Sigma even though I no longer resemble her."
"I am not saying that I am getting rid of my Bladeheart identity. But I am more of my own self right now rather than my online personality. You can say this is my true self now."
"Hmm, is that so?" Pandora smiled before she waved her hand and two golden chains shot toward an incoming monster, killing it in the process.
"I still don't see much difference between you and Bladeheart, but we will see. Doesn't make any difference that I like you just like before."
She then moved away from me and continue her slaughter spree. As for me, I was a bit stunned as that was very sudden. Was that an indirect confession or is it something else? I don't know what to think about it but I am not sure whether she likes me as a friend or as a guy.
Although I am confused, perhaps I should think about that later. Now that wave 13 is almost over, wave 14 will be coming in soon and I have to ensure no one is totally injured or currently in need of immediate help.
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We soon passed the threshold of Wave 19 and the 20th wave is upon us. Almost everyone is exhausted as there are only a few resting times before we fight monsters once more. And aside from that, I also realized what this feeling I am getting at earlier was that the enemies were a lot tougher than they should be and a lot more numerous than I thought they should be. It's not a big change that can affect us but it made the battles harder and now that we are using our real bodies and we finally cave in to our needs, keeping on fighting leads to fatigue which is why I decided that we will stop on the wave 20 and we go back to the surface.
"Everyone, please hang in there if you are tired already. We are almost done. We will be stopping on wave 20 this time around."
"Is that right? Looks like we will be getting a bit more of a good rest soon, let's do this everyone!" Riko raised her staff which is followed by everyone cheering on as well.
"But son, we still haven't broken through level 300? We are still around the average of 210. Shouldn't the later levels be much more rewarding?" my mother tilted her head.
"Although that is true, our bodies have yet to fully give in to our previous bodies' capabilities. Even right now, I am feeling a bit tired and sore in my body. Everyone might be the same right now. I don't want everyone to suffer from those side effects later on just because we are rushing too much. We can still come back another day."
"Now that you mention it, I feel a bit more tired than I used to be. I usually go wild most of the time but now, I feel a bit tired and I can't fully properly do my usual way of doing things," Rika wiped off the sweat on her forehead.
"Which is why we will stop at wave 20. As much as we have to level up, we should also rest up and also organize our stats later on. We should go back in here later on."
"I agree. The more we are prepared and energized, the more things we can do later on," Pandora nodded in agreement.
Then, Lina alongside Atlas came alerted us of the arrival of wave 20 which is a boss. However, it seems what we faced before had changed.
"Master, I don't know what to say but this boss is a bit different than we should have faced before. I am just seeing it now!" Atlas then points to the boss that is slowly surfacing from the water.
"Lina, Atlas, tell everyone to go far from the water, let them come here in safety. That thing is f*cking new..." I ordered as I stare at the monster.
It is slowly rising up above the water to the surface, it would have been fine if it was big and if it was the same boss which was supposed to be the Shell Hermit. But the thing is...the monster appearing in front of us right now does not even resemble a Shell Hermit. In fact, it's not even the same family.
A monster with a glutinous body texture yet it looked like a big ball that is common for kids to play with during their early childhood. It looked smooth but seeing the transparency of it reveals that it was a big creature. Its intestines are in full view like it was from some kind of anatomical model.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm Below this transparent ball, are the countless legs that look like frills from a dress, but with continuous lightning voltage running around them as they slowly move out of the water. At first, those lightning voltages looked like it was some kind of Christmas lights but upon closer inspection, they are just rapid electric current rapidly moving around causing light to show around them. It's not a crab, and it's not an octopus. Of course, it's not a starfish as well but this is something that has yet to appear here in the Dark Sea as an enemy.
"Oh sh*t...is that a jellyfish?" Riko couldn't believe her eyes.
Yes, a jellyfish. It doesn't look threatening but due to its towering stature that is very similar to the tripods seen in the War of the Worlds movies and described in the books.
The elves are already backing away seeing the monstrosity before them while the rest are just as baffled as me. However, I don't have time to be amazed and mesmerized by the view of the new monster. It's pretty clear that it wasn't there just to reveal itself. Just like the monsters before, it came here to fight.
"Ready your weapons. We are going to take this one down."
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