Dawn broke over Mount Sepulcher, accompanied by a sudden, drifting drizzle.
Jax stirred from his sleep, the gentle patter of rain against the fortress walls pulling him into consciousness. He sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he gazed out the window at the misty curtain of rain.
"It's raining..."
As his senses sharpened, Jax realized the fortress felt emptier than usual. Silas and Gareth were nowhere to be seen.
He took a bowl of millet porridge from Annie and turned to Kaleb. "Where are Gareth and Silas?"
Kaleb took a loud slurp of the scalding porridge before answering. "Out there. Standing in the rain."
"Huh? Standing in the rain? What the hell for? Are they trying to catch pneumonia?"
Kaleb sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know what kind of madness seized Silas last night. It was my turn to take the second watch, but he claimed he wasn't tired and insisted on pulling a double shift. I only found out later that the idiot realized it was raining and decided to stand out there all night soaking it up."
"Okay... and Gareth?"
"He saw the rain when he woke up, saw Silas standing in it, and decided to join the party."
Jax frowned, his expression a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Those two have completely lost their minds. Is becoming an Awakened really worth all that? What's so great about it anyway?"
Kaleb set his empty bowl aside, stood up, and dusted off his pants. "I think I'll go stand in it for a bit, too."
"Holy shit, are you all crazy?"
Jax felt utterly helpless. He turned to Annie. "Don't tell me you're planning to go out there too?"
Annie’s face flushed a soft pink. She shook her head. "I... I won't go."
It was only then that Jax noticed the state of her clothing. She wore a single, threadbare garment that had been washed so thin it was nearly translucent. If she stepped out into the rain, the water would make it cling to her skin, leaving nothing to the imagination.
"Good. Don't learn from them. Being an Awakened isn't all it's cracked up to be."
Annie lowered her head, muttering softly, "Actually... actually, being an Awakened is amazing. You're an Awakened, aren't you, Brother Jax?"
Her quiet words shattered Jax's intention to scold the others.
He didn't care much about the status himself, but his indifference didn't mean others felt the same. He had displayed mysterious, powerful abilities that kept them alive. To say they weren't envious would be a lie—they were desperate for that same power.
Jax sighed and retreated to his room. Through the window, he watched the three men standing in the downpour like idiots, occasionally letting out strange whoops and hollers.
That evening, the System chimed with a new task. With the Wall now established, dealing with the Zerg attacks had become almost trivial.
"One hundred Stardust Stones! Phew, finally some resources. But I'm not dumping them into the Wall—I need to upgrade the Defense Tower."
Upgrading the Wall felt redundant right now. The field tests with the Rodent-Maw Creeper and Sandworm proved the current defenses were sufficient. Burning hard-earned Stardust Stones on static defense seemed wasteful when he could invest in active firepower.
Jax pulled up the Bounty Protocol interface. Another F-Rank mission awaited him.
He burned ten Tier 2 Cores to activate it.
[F-Level Bounty Protocol] Objective: Eliminate 300 Tier 2 Rodent-Maw Creeper and 500 Sandworm. Time Limit: 60 Minutes. Reward: Unlock Tier 2 Sentry Tower upgrade permission! Failure Penalty: -20 Bio-Score.
Jax stared at the holographic text, stunned.
"Damn. Three hundred Tier 2 Creeper and five hundred Sandworm in an hour? Are you kidding me? Since when did the difficulty spike like this?"
Then his eyes locked onto the reward.
Unlock Tier 2 Sentry Tower upgrade permission.
"That reward... it's incredibly tempting."
Without further hesitation, Jax hit accept. Another ten Tier 2 Cores vanished from his inventory, leaving him with nearly fifty Tier 2 Cores and over five hundred Tier 1 Cores.
Resource scarcity was becoming a thing of the past. Every Zerg wave was essentially a delivery service bringing him more funds.
Jax cleared his throat, drawing the room's attention.
"Ahem. Listen up. There's another wave coming tonight. But this one... it might be a bit dangerous. Everyone needs to stay sharp."
The group looked back at him, confusion written on their faces.
"Jax, can't the Defense Tower handle it?"
"Yeah, Boss," Silas chimed in, sneezing. "Is this going to be another show where we just watch you work? I'm not feeling great—I think I caught a cold from the rain."
"I'm so sleepy... Boss, how long will this take?"
Their nonchalance left Jax speechless.
"Guys, be serious! This isn't like before. The numbers are huge this time."
Annie, standing off to the side, whispered the question that had been lingering in everyone's minds.
"Brother Jax... how do you know all this so clearly? You... you aren't the one releasing these bugs, are you?"
Jax snapped his head toward her. "Why would you have such a dangerous thought?"
"Uh... because... well, we all feel like you can predict exactly when the monsters are coming. You even know the types and numbers beforehand!"
Jax froze. She wasn't wrong. Every time the System alerted him, he relayed the intel perfectly.
"I... I used to be a fortune-teller. You believe me, right?"
"You tell fortunes for bugs?" Silas snorted. "Can you predict when they'll go extinct?"
Defeated by their logic, Jax waved a hand dismissively. "Fine! If you want to sleep, go sleep! But don't blame me if I have to drag you out of bed later!"
Moments later, a low rumble vibrated through the ground in the distance. The darkness obscured the visual, but the distinct grinding sound identified the threat immediately: Sandworm.
BOOM!
The Howitzer Turret roared, spewing a tongue of flame into the night.
A searing shell arced through the rain and slammed into the center of the swarm.
[Killed Tier 1 Sandworm x1] [Killed Tier 1 Sandworm x5] [Killed Tier 1 Sandworm x3]
The notifications cascaded in a blur, but Jax barely blinked. He was numb to it.
The others were equally unfazed. Standing under the shelter of the fortress entrance, they watched the distant explosions like spectators at a fireworks show.
"I bet the Sandworm won't even pass the fourth Wall," Kaleb said, leaning against the doorframe.
"Hah! Forget the fourth Wall," Silas scoffed. "If they get past the third Wall, I'll clean up every single corpse tomorrow morning myself."
"I'll put ten Tier 1 Cores on the line," Gareth added, eyes gleaming. "They get wiped out at the second Wall, max."
"..."
There was zero fear. Even Gareth had turned into a degenerate gambler.
"You guys..." Jax shook his head. "You've really fallen."
As predicted, the Howitzer Turret obliterated the Sandworm wave before a single one could breach the second Wall. Not one escaped.
Just as the group turned to head back inside, yawning, Jax spoke up.
"Not yet. There's a wave of Rodent-Maw Creeper coming. We sleep after they're dead."
"Ah? More?" Silas groaned. "I'm already broke, Boss!"
"No more betting," Kaleb said, eyeing the turret. "That Howitzer is too fierce. Plus, with this rain turning the ground to mud, I can't tell if the Creeper can dig properly."
"Come on," Gareth goaded. "I bet the Creeper make it to the fourth Wall at best. Ten Tier 1 Cores!"
Jax looked at his relaxed, gambling teammates, then cast his gaze toward the darkness where a dense, chattering mass of Rodent-Maw Creeper was emerging.
"This time..." Jax’s voice dropped, turning serious. "I'm betting they make it all the way to the base of our platform."