A sharp gust cut through the chill air, and the skies above Sanctum darkened unnaturally.
At first, Iden thought it was a brewing storm—until the world system's interface blared into existence in front of every candidate's eyes with a deafening pulse of crimson light.
GLOBAL SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT
Beast Tide: Frostline Collapse Detected
Origin: Forbidden North, Iceborne Rift
Estimated Arrival of Apex Threat (Tier A-class Entities): 2 Days
Early waves of corrupted beasts incoming at intervals.Sanctuary-class defenses highly recommended.Issuing Global Quest:
[QUEST – Beast Tide: Resist the Iceborne Howl]
Objective: Survive all waves of the Frostline Beast Tide.
Final Boss Arrival: Tier A-class Behemoth-Class Monsters
Reward Pool (based on contribution):— Unique Blueprints— Mythical Material Cache— Title: "Frostbane Sentinel"— ???
Failure Consequence: Regional Collapse
This is a Class 1 World Event.
They felt it before they heard it.
A sound like glaciers cracking and avalanches converging.The northern barrier trembled as the first shapes burst from the horizon—twisted beasts clad in frost armor, their limbs unnaturally jagged, mouths ringed with violet flame.
"Contact," one of the scouts called from the watchtower. "They've breached our outer perimeter!"
Skeleton archers fired their first coordinated volley. Bolts of sharpened mana whistled through the air—only to shatter uselessly against the hide of the front-liners.
Rael narrowed her eyes.
"They're... absorbing the mana."
Kael's expression darkened. "They're corrupted. The tier system's warped them. They're closer to Abyss-born than natural monsters."
Iden didn't hesitate.
"Launch the intercept drills. Builders, start fallback trenches. Push the limits of every production queue. We have 48 hours to survive hell."
With his mind-link active, Iden coordinated every skeleton—warrior, mage, scout, tank, and more. They adapted fast. Summons who failed to pierce armor switched to slowing tactics, dragging enemies into trap zones lined with Arlen's mana-reactive mines.
The walls held. For now.
Each kill brought experience—not just to the skeletons, but to Iden himself.
[EXP Gained: +22,450]
Current Level: 30 → 31 → 32
+2 Summon Capacity (31, 32)Double Effect Activated (Level 30): Total Summon Capacity Doubled → 2,688 → 5,376
Despite success with early waves, a new wave approached—and this time, they weren't malformed beasts.
They were composed. Intelligent.
Tier A Sub-Beasts, marked with jagged horns and eyes that shimmered with abyssal cold.
Icaros, the Mythical Skeleton Commander, struck one with his void-forged blade. It passed through without resistance.
"No damage…" he muttered. "These are not mere beasts."
"Withdraw," Iden ordered. "No direct confrontation until we've cracked their resistance profile."
Kael and Arlen immediately redirected resources to analyze beast corpses collected in the outer field. Something had to give. Something had to work.
Despite the pressure, the non-stop combat and tactical victories surged Sanctum's force ahead.
▸ Skeleton Warriors → Level 27–29▸ Elite Mages → Level 25–28▸ Scout Leader Rank Achieved (New Trait: Stealth Burst)▸ Kael's Tyrants: Level 26▸ Rael: Level 31 | Skill Upgraded: Sanctum Pulse → Divine Surge (Cooldown -1 Day)▸ Nyra: Level 30 | Familiar Evolution Progressing (Stage 2: Icebrand Serpent)
Iden, riding the adrenaline of control and battle, assigned his newest summon points to fortify the North Bastion and launched an aerial drone sweep for preemptive vision.
That night, as the snow began to fall, Iden sat with Nyra and Rael near the Beacon Core—watching the sky pulse gently above Sanctum's walls.
"I don't think the others understand what's coming," Nyra said. "This isn't like the siege with Valtross. These things… they don't fear us."
"They don't even think," Rael murmured. "They just exist to destroy."
Iden didn't respond at first.
Then he opened the system map.
He marked every ally. Every corridor. Every backup plan.
"Then we'll teach them what we are."