Becca was walking around one of the tents in the back of the camp, away from the Wall. Her equipment and crew were all in the protected area, together with the lower-level explorers who came to help. She understood why she was here. She was just level 47, and even Bright Night and Dark Star, who were close to level 70 were inside the protected area. Outside of it was a place that only the strongest could inhabit.

  Her first few hours of work for the day were all about the support crew. The brave explorers who came to places far beyond their levels were risking their lives for the assault's success. Among them, there was a mage just level 18, but she had an exceedingly strong enchantment skill. More specifically, a spell that allowed others to place two enchantments on the same item.

  Becca already had made a round of interviews with all the supports, including the mage. Those would be used later after the Wall had broken to show how those at a lower level could help. Now she was helping to do a headcount of all of them before the beginning of the assault.

  Some of the people who were going to participate in the attack had buffs that only lasted half an hour. In order to make the best of it, they were ordered to wait until five minutes before the assault and then rush towards the protected area. After they arrived, Becca would run towards her vantage point to broadcast the assault. She would go alone since the rest of her crew was below her level. Just being close to so many attacks happening at the same time was dangerous, and the type of equipment that could protect them wasn't available here.

  After the last mage entered the tent, Becca gave a thumb up to her crew and dashed off to the cliff near the wall. The same one that had been the stage for the entire show. She had a small floating camera following her. It was a piece of enchanted equipment that could lock to her position and follow her around.

  Any time she was trying to get a story that required a lot of movement, or was a certain type of dangerous, she would use it. The video's quality wasn't the best, but even a pristine new model from the best manufacture would struggle to handle the amount of strange effects that would be on display. Activating her skills, she managed to zoom through the area, pointing the camera towards the Wall.

  Becca wasn't there just to film, but also be the one who signaled the start of the operation. People were already waiting for her, ready to begin the attack.

  "This, my dear viewers, is the formation that will be used. The 20 melee warriors in front will focus on opening a path close to the ground, while the mages and archers will aim for the Wall's upper layer. Hitting it on two fronts makes the Wall weaker, as we have discovered. The point seemed to be the total damage dealt, not just piercing through it."

  She knew most people wouldn't be able to see what was going on at the time. Running at max speed with her [Fury] activated, Becca could reach 80km/h. If needed, she could go even faster, but the camera feed would be awful. In less than a minute, she arrived at her vantage point.

  With a big smile, the reporter positioned the camera to see her profile, "This is it, everyone, a moment to go down in history," the camera panned down, showing the crowd of two hundred explorers. Almost every single one of them above level 70. And every one human as the other species of the MAZE opted not to join on this operation.

  "It's been 62 years since the last wall was broken. Now we are reaching a once in a lifetime event. Are you ready to become legends?" she shouted.

  The assault team roared as the camera panned towards them, some already activating buffs.

  "Remember, we need to break through the other side. From top to bottom. If any part of the wall is still connected to the other side by the time the reset starts, the wall will fix itself. In the case that we fail and the reset is about to begin, anyone in the middle of the wall needs to rush back. If you stay there, you will die. We choose this room exactly because of its shorter height. It's only ten meters up so let's tear it down!"

  Becca looked to the sides and saw the fire starting on the walls, "Here it comes. The moment the fire is gone, you all attack. I'll be timing the assault. If it gets too close to the reset, I'll warn you."

  The wall light up, the multicolored flames licking the roof of the room. It changed colors, turning once again to the dark fire from before. Suddenly, they all vanished leaving behind a pristine white wall.

  "NOW!!" Becca yelled.

  What followed was absolute mayhem. The warriors jumped forward and started to tear down the stone using their weapons, hands, feet, and even pieces of the wall that broke apart.

  Above them could only be described as a warzone. Explosions of fire, ice, and rock resonated with each other, creating larger blasts. Arrows flew from the back line, hitting with the impact of a ballista, destroying large chunks of the wall. A few other projectiles were closer to what Toxic Rain had done before. Small arrows that corroded and weakened the structure.

  Little by little, the explosions began to disappear in the opening created on the wall. Becca tried to get a better angle at the action, moving more to the side. It helped a bit, but not enough to show everything. After ten minutes of the assault, Becca cast a spell that she had created. A small magic camera appeared in front of her, and she sent it towards the wall gap. She picked her tablet and stared at it. A few moments later, she frowned and cast the spell once again. This time, giving more mana to the construct to increase the invulnerability time.

  With a nod, Becca showed the image on her tablet to the screen while speaking, "Here we go guys, 10 minutes in, we dug 10 meters of the wall. We still have 35 minutes to break the other 40 meters. Time your berserker skills right."

  Becca finished speaking and then showed a small earpiece from where she was giving information to the rest. During the next few minutes, some shouts came from the back line. A few of the attackers showed visible differences. Some had an aura around them, while others seemed to wear the elements they were using as armor.

  The blasts became louder and more violent. Becca tried to play it off as if it wasn't a dangerous thing, but she couldn't be confident while talking to the melee fighters in the middle of the tunnel. Becca kept giving updates about their progress the entire time, as if she was narrating a horserace.

  When the timer reached the 38 mark, there was a huge shout coming from the wall. Mages stopped firing, and after a few moments, the fighters appeared, leaving the gap. Becca rushed towards it and saw the opening that was created. She activated the camera spell once again while the team watched her expectantly.

  In the location where they started attack was a clean break between the sides of the wall. They could even see the other side of the Queeroni Wilds. More forest that looked the same, but still, it was beyond the wall. They had completed their task.

  "Unless the wall has some weird tricks. We did it!" Becca shouted.

  Some cheered, but others still kept analyzing the opening, making sure there was no part connecting the two pieces of the wall. After a few moments, the fire began once again. However, instead of becoming a black flame, the fire turned white. When it vanished, the Wall was no more.

  There was a moment of silence, followed by another loud cheer from all the assault team members. People were jumping, hugging each other, and celebrating in their own ways. Becca was tossed up by Wildborn, who appeared out of nowhere and then left after placing her on the ground. All across the MAZE, every pub, every coffee shop, every place that was showing the assault on the Wall was filled with similar reactions.

  Even Hera and her friends were clapping and hugging each other.

  Becca turned around to see the newly revealed for the first time.

  "We did it. We did..." she stopped talking when she noticed what was beyond the wall. Hundreds of moss-covered, veiny, pulsating eggs seemed to be spread around the other side of the now gone barrier.

  "What the hell is that?" Azure Chain asked.

  "Wait. Some are hatching," Toxic Rain yelled, already notching an arrow.

  Becca looked towards where the Hunter pointed. One of the eggs opened like a flower, and a weird creature came out of it. It looked like a hairless monkey, with pointed ears and completely red eyes. Its skin was pure white, aside from the edge of the fingers and toes where big red claws meet the flesh. The monster turned towards the group of Explorers and smiled, revealing blood red teeth that dripped a strange red liquid, like a beast who was in the middle of a meal.

  Seeing the creature sent a shiver down Becca's spine. They seemed wrong. More eggs started hatching. Wolves, rats, and taller, spindly creatures, all with the same color and claws, joined other types of monkeys. In a short time, hundreds of those creatures had been born.

  The explorers could be tired, but they were a team of High-level individuals. In a few seconds, they were already setting up a defense perimeter, ready to face the creatures. Without warning, the monsters dashed towards the encampment, covering the 300 meter distance between them and the explorers in just 3 seconds.

  At first, the team managed to hold the creatures back. However, their numbers were staggering. For each monster that was killed, ten more would take its place. Becca was sent to the back, being told to run to the protected area. However, the woman refused to go and just stood together with the Healers, not wanting to miss the action.

  With each passing moment, the explorers were pushed back. One of the ice mages was caught alone, and a group of creatures ripped him apart in an instant. Not only that, but the monsters started to eat the man right then and there. A few fighters tried to reach him, but the horde of monsters refused to let them pass.

  Becca couldn't look away, the camera following her eyes. She activated her [Observe] trying to get some information about the creatures.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Wendigo (Newborn) Level - ??

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The monsters who gorged on the Mage finished their meals and started to shiver. Sickening cracks and rips came from the creatures as if their body was crushing itself.

  When the sounds stopped, the creatures raised, showing large ice spikes coming out of their knees and elbows. As they roared, Becca could see their cold breath forming in front of them.

  Despite her bravado, this was too much. She turned and started to run towards the protected area. Before she reached it, screams came out of the tent as a group of white, hairless, wolves looking monsters ripped through the side of the tent and started their feast.

  One of the monsters lunged at Becca, who pushed him away, the camera being smashed into the ground in the process. The reporter looked around, taking in the surrounding carnage in hopes of finding a way out. She noticed a few members of her crew running towards the jungle and dashed towards them, hoping she would reach her friends before the bloodthirsty hairless monkey that was closing in.

  ———————————————————

  Hera was watching the coverage in the coffee shop that she went with Helena. There was a small setup with a couple of dozen people there. All eyes glued to the screen. They yelled when the attack began, talked about the spells while the tunnel opened, and cheered when the wall disappeared. However, when the first of the creatures appeared, the entire shop went quiet. Even the servers stopped working and just stared at the screen.

  Watching not only the 200 members of the attack team at level 70 or more, and the other 300 explorers being overwhelmed filled the viewers with dread. It was a brutal reminder that life inside the MAZE was like walking on a tightrope. One false step and they would forever be in death's icy embrace.

  They watched as the creatures devoured a mage and seemed to absorb part of its power. The screen showed Becca being hit, and the camera falling to the ground, the lens cracking in the process. Once that happened, only small parts of the screen showed clear images.

  Hera watched as Becca rushed towards a group in the back, and a white hairless wolf jumped onto her. People were leaving the protected tent, rushing towards the jungle. Becca got back up, apparently holding her arm, and the image went dark.

  No one in the coffee shop made a sound. They were all still processing what just had happened. Before they could understand anything. The screen blinked, and the guild logo appeared followed by a voice.

  "Hello everyone. I am Leliana Mihafrey, the current chairwoman of the guild. I understand that the images that we just saw were disturbing. However, I ask you all to remain calm. There is no indication that anyone outside of the Queeroni Wilds is in danger. All explorers in the 25th layer, please report to the guild and stay inside the doorway cities while we assess the situation. If you have friends or family participating in the assault, head to a guild branch. We will get your contact info and let you know as soon as we have more information. I'm also issuing a set of quests for all high-level explorers. We need people to fortify defenses, patrol areas, and search parties for our missing members. For now, that will be all, and don't forget. We fight together, and we survive together."

  Leliana's voice was strong and confident. It helped to dissolve some of the tension lingering in the air. As the screen went blank again and started to play some random commercials. The shop started to return to life. People talked about what they just witnessed in hushed tones as if talking about it would attract the monsters.

  Hera kept staring at the screen, her head already spinning. Helena was supposed to be in the protection tent, the same place invaded by the four-legged beasts. Did she manage to get out? Hera couldn't see if she was in the group that ran after the camera fell.

  Blue stared at Hera, worried. The explorer's face was white, and she had a weird look.

  "Hera? Are you ok? Do you need some water?"

  Hera didn't take her eyes out of the screen, "I have to go."

  "Go where?"

  "I have to go," Hera said again and got up, rushing towards the exit.

  "Wait, Hera," Blue ran after her friend.

  Hera went down the stairs 3 steps at a time, almost falling more than once. Helena had saved her life. The woman gave her the chance to follow her dreams. Now she was alone in a place filled with monsters. She had to do something to help her. She needed to help her.

  "Hera!" Blue yelled, already in the street, seeing the explorer head towards the docks.

  The controller ran towards her friend and grabbed her arm, "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

  "I need to help Helena," Hera's eyes were already watering.

  "Hera, no. We can't do anything. You will die before even getting there," Blue protested.

  "Blue, let me go. I have to help her!" the Explorer cried, using all of her strenght to pull away.

  Hera kept walking, dragging Blue with her. The controller wasn't able to pull her back since despite having a stronger strength attribute, but she had to stop Hera.

  Blue stepped to the side, still holding Hera's arm. Placing a foot between her legs, she pulled the explorer back and threw her on the ground. Climbing on top of her friend and holding her down.

  "HERA, STOP! Think about what you are trying to do."

  Hera stared at Blue, tears starting to run down her face, "I can't let her die. She saved my life."

  Blue hugged her friend. A few moments later, the rest of the group arrived at the scene. Hera was sitting with Blue on top of her, the two women holding each other while the Explorer sobbed.

  The group returned to the hotel. Hera wanted to pass by the guild, but there were too many people in there. Instead, they all gathered in Blue's room.

  "Hera, we understand that you are worried. But you can't do anything to help her right now," Leo said.

  "That's not entirely true," the whole group stared at Alex.

  "How?" Hera said, already getting up.

  "Sit back down. It's not something you can do running around. But you are in the Order of something something, right? That's a network you can use. Talk to the people there. See if anyone is willing to rescue Helena. She is a member. I'm sure they are worried as well," Alex explained.

  "I could. I mean, I can, it's not much, and I can see about posting a quest on the guild too. Worst-case scenario, I get a loan and work to pay it off," Hera was already getting her tablet and accessing the Order's website.

  "Focus on the order first. We can check the quest thing later, ok?" Bonnie said.

  It wasn't hard to figure out if anyone was willing to help Helena. The order wasn't a big organization, having just a bit over 200 members, and Helena was very well known among them. Before even Hera got into the forums, there was a fixed thread about what happened.

  There was a list of 3 people who were called to help with the assault. Helena, the level 18 Mage, as a buffer, Korey a level 45 crafted to perform maintenance on weapons, and Samera the level 75 Assassin, as part of the guard team. They still had no information on their whereabouts, but someone had confirmed that their bracelets were still sending life signs.

  There were also a few people volunteering to find the three. Someone with the username 'The_Ancient_Gran_Mage' had created the thread, and the person also said that they would post an Order quest for the rescue mission. There was also a small form to register and receive any updates about the situation.

  Hera filled the form and wrote a reply on the thread, saying that Helena had saved her life, and even though she was very weak, she was willing to do anything to help. Only after the first few replies came in telling her not to worry and that no one would let little Lena get hurt that she looked back to her friends.

  "Thanks, Alex. Someone already confirmed that her bracelet is still sending signals, and some people are already setting up a search party."

  The assassin smiled, "See, you have good connections. Use them. Now, what do you think about it?"

  Hera tilted her head, "About what?"

  "What we were just talking about, were you even listening?" Leo asked.

  "No, sorry."

  Leo let out a sigh, "We were talking about putting the frog valley dungeon on the backburner since it might be a good idea if we stay close to the city for a while."

  "Oh, that's a good idea. I want to be close to the city to get any updates. That way we can also get more information about those things. We still don't know if they can go through Doorways."

  The group stared at Hera.

  "What?"

  "Do you think those things can move rooms?" Blue asked.

  "No idea, but it's not unheard of. There was the invasion, the Devil Hunt, and even smaller things like the giants who invaded this room. Besides, you saw how they ate a man and gained his powers somehow. What if that allows them to cross Doorway?"

  They all stayed quiet for a few moments, before Bonnie asked, "Are we safe here?"

  "Probably, we pretty far from the layer they showed up. Even if they can cross the doorways, it would still take quite some time to get here," Hera said.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Not at all, but that's part of the point of staying close to the city, right?" Hera asked.

  "Yeah, I guess," Leo replied.

  There was a palpable tension in the room. The group was taking in what happened and what that could mean for them. Hera, on the other hand, kept browsing the net, looking for ways to help Helena. She found out that the requirements for any of the emergency quests were way too high for her.

  Reading through different websites and on Chipper, she looked for the price to hire a high-level explorer. Sadly, even basic delivery missions would cost her hundreds of thousands.

  In the end, every angle she tried gave the same result. Hera wasn't powerful enough to do anything. Be it in actual strength or monetary power. Trying something different, Hera looked for quick ways to level up. There were some sketchy looking websites about magical pills or drinks that would increase your experience gain, but they all asked for money, and it felt like those fake lose fat quick products.

  She found some people talking about how their leveling speed was better since they didn't have a party or hunt stronger enemies. Some suggested being power leveled by other high-level explorers, but that was a different can of worms. From being too risky to not actually working, people had dozens of reasons why that was a bad idea.

  If Hera wanted to level up faster, she needed to start hunting on her own. Yet, she needed to do some things before being able to be efficient at that. First, she needed a way to heal herself. It would all be for nothing if she ended up dying. Potions could work, but after seeing Runir, she understood how much healing magic could help.

  Second, she needed an offensive spell. Bonnie's magic was a game-changer during the hunts, and she heard about monsters that are strong against physical attacks. Third, she wanted to find a good place to farm. A place with a lot of monsters spread out that could recover their numbers quickly.

  However, that was just basic preparation. She needed more.

  As Hera was thinking about what she lacked, Blue let out a loud grunt, breaking the explorer's concentration.

  "That's it. I'm going to train. I can't stand being around moping like that. Anyone coming?"

  Hera got up, "Yeah, it will be good to take my mind away from this. I want to get some new spells."

  Agreeing that it was better than sitting around sulking, the group headed to the ATRs on the guild. Apparently, most people had the same idea, and there were a limited number of rooms available. Leo picked the last spot in a shared room, Alex and Bonnie were in the same room but not at each other's side. Blue made a point of being close to Hera, still worried about her friend.

  Hera looked through the list of spells that were available to the trainer. She had already picked a fire spell, but she didn't like the idea of using fire. It was too easy to make a mistake and cause some irreparable damage. Blue was already using lighting, and even though Hera wanted to hunt alone, she rather pick something that her team lacked.

  Reading through the list, there was one spell that caught her attention, poison spray. The skills that Toxic Rain showed left a big impression on Hera. If she could do something similar, it would be amazing. She could hit her target and hide until it died. Which frankly, sounded like the only possible thing she could've done.

  Picking that spell, Hera focused on learning it. The appearance was a bit different from what she expected. Instead of an actual spray, the spell functioned more like a short-range ray. Trying to mimic the effect, Hera attempted to make her mana go forth in a line. It wasn't as hard as she expected, but nothing happened when she hit a target. Even though she was trying to focus, there was too much going on in her head to make a breakthrough.

  Hera spent a couple of hours trying to make the spell work when something clicked inside her head. Not about her current endeavor, but about what she could do to level up faster. Or better yet, who she could ask about it.

  "Blue, I'm heading to the hotel. But I want to be alone for a while. Can you kill time somewhere?"

  Blue gave Hera a worried look, " I can spend some more time here or in the gym, but promise you won't do anything stupid."

  "I won't. I just want to do something, and I need to be alone for that."

  Blue stared at her friend for a while, "Oh, right. Of course. My bad," she got closer to Hera, "The store on the corner sells batteries if you need and try to keep your voice down. I overdid it a few days ago and got some complaints."

  Hera blushed a bit. She wasn't going to do that, but it could be good to pretend like she was. After all, she needed the privacy.

  "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

  Hera left the guild and headed straight for the hotel. She had itching to use this skill for a while now, and had no real reason to do so. But if anyone knew the best ways to get stronger, it would be a guide.

  Want more? Next chapter is already available for Patreons!

  Tiers:

  $3 Explorer: Advanced chapter + Side Stories

  $5 Gold Card Explorer: Everything Above + Book 1 rewrite early access

  $10 Legacy Holder: Everything Above + create your own MAZE/ Energy Eater character

  $35 Guide: Everything Above + create your room, guide, and 4 chapter story arc

  or buy me a Ko-fi

  Join our Discord!

  Massive thanks to our amazing Patreons:

  Guide Tier: Lemon Ghost, Dr Dankness, Personssess

  Legacy Holders: Lillith Ophidia, NessaroseDyer

  Gold Card Explorers: Faeolin the Wild Elf, Jinx, laciw, Eric M, A.b, Kaouenn, Someone

  Explorers: Giuseppe, Theredescare77, Matt, Will C, Pltergeist, Nix, Frightful6_7, Cog, Maren, Tomas, Pletter, Kensyi, Daniel, ShadowedForest, Rosy, Lara, Kitzuna, Kakaae, Alex, Psyren G, Baseplate36, Scott, Tierhon, Gabriel