Around 4:00 PM, lucky survivors from various large and small parties began returning.

  However, when they entered the city, there were no smiles on their faces. Instead, they were filled with sorrow.

  Today, some had lost their best friends, some had lost party members, while others had lost their closest companions.

  As Kenji waited for the commotion to die down, he noticed a movement near the notice board.

  For the first time in hours, everyone forgot about their grief and sorrow and frantically gathered around the notice area.

  “Quiet down!! Here is everything I got from the Fairies.

  Today marks the start of the Monster Tide. This means monsters will become more aggressive and will actively hunt humans. Some elite monsters may even band together to kill us.”

  Hearing the man's words, blood was instantly drained from all the listeners' faces.

  “Why is this happening? During the Monster Tide, monsters are able to use Ascension Credits to quickly level up, acquire innate skills, and even resurrect.

  How do monsters get Ascension Credits? It’s simple, they obtain them by killing humans, just like how we increase our own reserves by killing them.

  Now, there is good news and bad news. Which one should I explain first?”

  Arriving at the notice area, Kenji listened as the man explained what had happened today.

  “Good news!”

  “Good news first. I don’t think I have the heart to hear bad news.”

  “Good news!!”

  “Bad news first, then the good news to wash it down.”

  “Bad!” “Good!” “Good!” “Bad!”

  “Okay, okay, I hear you all. The good news is that this Monster Tide will only last one week. The bad news is that it’s going to happen every month from now on.”

  The moment people heard that the Monster Tide was only going to last one week, they felt relieved. However, hearing the second part of the sentence made their hearts drop.

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  There was no way they could handle this kind of situation every month. Monsters had become so crazy that even stepping a few steps outside the city was dangerous.

  “No way!!! Something is surely wrong with my ears.”

  “I am not going out. I have some savings, I think I will survive.”

  “My God! I don’t even have enough money for tonight’s dinner, and you’re telling me this is going to last a whole week?”

  “Hey, can you lend me some money? I don’t need much, just a few gold coins.”

  Just as the man announced that the Monster Tide would continue for another six days, the commotion broke out within seconds.

  It had been less than two months since humanity was transported to the Ancient World, and everyone was still adjusting to their new lives. The majority of people were living hand to mouth.

  They had to buy every single item from the Fairies, from food to clothing, from pills to armor, and from skill books to information. Overall, humanity was completely dependent on the Fairies, the overseers of the Ascension Program.

  The prices of pills, potions, armor, skill books, and materials for Gifts weren’t the main problem. However, the prices of food-related items fluctuated almost daily.

  After a while, the crowd dispersed, but Kenji lingered around, trying to get a better understanding of the situation.

  Around an hour later, Kenji headed back to the housing complex.

  Looking at the situation, it would be extremely hard to get work before the Monster Tide ended.

  Entering the living room, Kenji sensed that the atmosphere was a little tense. However, he didn’t care. Placing 50 copper coins on the side table, he headed back to his room.

  “Don’t worry,” Kevin tried to calm Maria down, as there was still no news from their hunting party.

  “Huuuh But Huuuh what if?…..” Maria couldn’t control herself and burst into tears.

  Half an hour ago, she had heard Kevin and Luke talking about something called the Monster Tide and how thousands of people had died because of it in just a single day.

  Maria, who was already worried about her husband’s late return, put two and two together and assumed the worst-case scenario.

  While Maria was worried sick about her husband, Kenji, who had returned to his room, started circulating his Ki.

  Since finding work would be difficult over the next few days, Kenji planned to spend all his time increasing his Ki reserves—the only thing that made him feel like he was making progress.

  “Small goal! Increase my reserves by 100 in these six days.”

  Setting a small goal, Kenji started absorbing Ki frantically.

  “Better rest.” In the blink of an eye, three hours went by, and mental fatigue caught up to him.

  [Ki: 253]

  Grrmbl Grrmbl

  Getting up from the bed, Kenji headed toward the kitchen as his stomach begged for food.

  However, as he entered the living room, he saw that the atmosphere had become even more tense.

  Maria was lying on the sofa with hazy eyes as tears continued to pour down her cheeks.

  Kevin and Ryan were also in a daze, while Rex was covered in bandages, his face stone-cold and expressionless.

  Aside from Rex, everyone else from the hunting party was missing.

  “It’s all your fault.” Just as Kenji figured out what might have happened to everyone else, Maria lashed out at him.

  “If an evil star like you wasn’t here, nothing would have happened to my husband!!!” Maria shouted at the top of her lungs.

  She refused to accept that her husband had first been killed by a monster and then had his body torn apart and eaten.

  Right now, she needed someone to blame, someone to hold accountable, so she could pour all her grief and pain into hatred.

  Initially, Maria had been about to lash out at Rex, but then she caught sight of Kenji out of the corner of her eye. Unknowingly, all that hatred shifted toward him.

  In a fit of rage, Maria grabbed Kenji by the hair and started yanking hard.

  For a split second, Kenji wanted to resist, but in the end, he simply let her vent her anger.

  Before long, a clump of Kenji’s hair was torn from his head, and he broke free from Maria’s grip.

  “Get away. Don’t come before me again.” Staring at the hair in her hand, Maria finally came back to her senses.

  Seizing the opportunity, Kenji slipped back into his room.

  “I…” As Kenji retreated, Rex finally spoke, breaking his long silence.

  __________

  Author’s Note:

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