Zane and the others had an easy time attacking the mana creatures from the rear. Most of the mana creatures continued to charge forward despite hearing the sound of mana creatures dying behind them. Rarely would a mana creature turn around to face them, but when they did, they would be instantly killed.

Killing tier zero mana creatures was easier than killing tier one mana creatures. However, both still required Zane and the others to use energy. The most important difference in Zane’s mind was the amount of experience gained. Zane and a few others received no experience from killing tier zero mana creatures. The rest of the group only received a small amount of experience.

Receiving less or no experience made the group more reliant on potions. They no longer received the cool rush of energy that came from leveling up. Without communicating everyone began to slow down their attack to conserve energy after their first potion. Weapons were swung less frequently, and spells were cast less often.

Eventually, Zane’s group and everyone else on the battlefield managed to kill all of the mana creatures. Once all the mana creatures were killed some people calmly surveyed the battlefield while others sat on the ground to rest. After a few moments of silence, Zane heard someone speak.

“That should be it, right? I mean, all the monsters are dead, so the battle should be over. Right?”

Immediately, a multicolored mist began to rise from the corpses of the mana creatures after the person spoke. Also, the corpses started to slowly sink into the ground. Zane smiled as he saw destruction of the corpses.

Before the Upheaval it was confirmed that the system will get rid of all corpses after each battle. The multicolored mist and sinking corpses were clear signs of their victory. However, if that was not enough for some people the system also sent out a message announcing the end of the first attack.

“Fuck yeah!”

“We won!”

“Victory!”

Cheers filled the battlefield. Also, Zane could hear shouting from the wall. Brad and a few others in Zane’s group started to celebrate as well. The other members smiled and watched them in amusement.

Slowly the cheering died down after a few minutes. During that time Zane’s group walked pass the defensive walls and made it to the inn. As they walked Zane saw some people with cuts, bruises, torn clothing and damaged equipment. Other people looked like they hadn’t engaged in any fighting. Also, he was able to see the training ground that disappeared become visible again.

Once most of the people on the battlefield had made it to the inn, the leader in charge of the inns defense told everyone to go to the meeting area. She said that there will be a breakdown of the battle and a short discussion on how to prepare for the next attack. Although some people were tired after fighting in the battle, nobody was against having a meeting.

Truthfully, the battle didn’t last long. Less than three hours had passed from the start of the battle to the end. Zane’s group spent the majority of that time calmly killing tier zero mana creatures from the rear.

While walking toward the meeting area Zane decided to look at the Upheaval Ranking. Everyone in Zane’s group managed to make it in to the top twenty. However, based on the points everyone gained, Zane could see that they had all barely made it in.

People in the first to tenth position on the Upheaval Ranking all had the same number of points. People int the eleventh to thirtieth position on the Upheaval Ranking all had the same number of points. The difference between the two groups was only a single point.

If Zane’s group killed one less mana creature or killed mana creatures slightly slower than other people, they would have seen a drop in their position. Zane was surprised when he realized this because he felt like their group had faced a lot of tier one mana creatures. Killing a tier one mana creature rewarded an individual five points and killing a tier zero mana creature only rewarded an adventurer one point.

Shrugging his shoulders, Zane decided not to think too much about it. He decided to treat the Upheaval Rankings like a fun event rather than a serious competition. Zane stopped treating the starting village as a serious trial a long time ago. The first attack of the Upheaval only made him more relaxed.

Initially, Zane thought the Upheaval would be the event that pushed him to his limits. However, Zane barely felt any pressure. He knew the first attack wasn’t supposed to be difficult, but he didn’t expect it to be as easy as it was.

I should expect this by now, Zane thought to himself. Everyone has different levels of combat experience. It would be unfair for people like Brad and the others if the system created the trial based on my combat experience. Even with the training we’ve given them, I’m still confident in beating up all of them in a fight. Perhaps I’m the problem. After all, Teacher has put me through many difficult and challenging situations all in the name of training.

Lost in his thoughts Zane made his way to the meeting area with the rest of his group. Zane was pulled from his thoughts as he heard the excited voice around him. Regardless of their current physical condition everyone sounded happy about the recent victory. The crowd excitedly conversed amongst each other until Jade and the others appeared. Bruce moved forward to speak and raised his hand for silence.

“We have defeated the first attack and we have done so with no casualties.”

Bruce’s simple statement caused the crowd to erupt in cheers. Zane was happy to hear that nobody died from the Upheaval. He had seen first-hand how brutal and bloody a true Upheaval could be. Bruce let everyone cheer for some time before raising his hand for silence.

“This was only the first battle. The next attacks will only increase in difficulty. Do not become complacent. In war complacency can often be deadlier than the enemy. Continue to train and make preparations for the next attack. Whether you live or die is up to your own efforts.”

From there Bruce started discussing some of the numbers of the first attack. The number of mana creatures in the first attack were twenty thousand seven hundred and thirty-six. The number of mana creatures were evenly distributed amongst the six inns. However, the strength of the mana creatures was not.

Bruce stated that the inn protected by Zane’s group faced more tier one mana creatures than the other inns. Tier one mana creatures only made-up five percent of the total mana creatures. He made sure to thank all the defenders and attackers that dealt with the stronger mana creatures. Also, he warned everyone else about the possibility of other inns having to fight a stronger than normal horde of mana creatures.

Next, Bruce listed what people did and didn’t do well during the attack. He made some suggestions and asked everyone if they had any helpful ideas. Some people made suggestions on how the defenses could improve. Others mentioned different ways of attacking. Nothing was finalized, but there were many suggestions that could prove useful in the future.

“Finally, I will end by thanking the laborers and craftsman for their efforts. Even though most people holding these two classes didn’t directly participate in the battle, the walls they built were helpful in maintaining a proper defense of the inn. I looked at the Upheaval Ranking list and saw the system has given all of you points for your contribution. That’s all I have to say for now. If no one has any questions, then you are free to leave.”

“I would like to say something before everyone leaves,” Jade said. “Everyone has recently participated in a battle against thousands of mana creatures. Therefore, it is highly likely that everyone will experience negative emotions from the multiple deaths. It doesn’t matter how many mana creatures you personally killed. Everyone will be affected. What I suggest is that everyone take some time to rest. Eat, meditate, sleep or have a drink. Do whatever you need to do to calm your mind.”

Everyone had no problem following Jade’s suggestions. The crowd dispersed with everyone still excited about the victory. Zane and the others decided to go look for a place that was serving food. They knew some shops would still be closed because of the battle.

“Where are all the chefs?” Britney asked. “We fought so hard and now they don’t even show up to make some food.”

“We shouldn’t be so impatient.” Whitney said. “The chefs cooked for everyone before the battle began and some of them might have participated in the fighting. They also need time to rest before they get back to work.”

“Fine, but the best way for me to relax is with a good meal.”

“The best way for me to rest would be to spend time with Jade.” Jason thoughtlessly spoke. His hands were resting behind his head, and he was staring at the sky as the group walked.

“Ha-ha, that sounds like a good idea to me,” Brad encouraged him.

“Rude,” Sophie said. She swung her fist into Jason’s gut and started to rebuke him after he bend over in pain.

“Don’t forget what world you’re from. If you let Brad lead you astray, don’t blame me if I help Jade when she beats you up in anger from your rude words.”

“Don’t blame me,” Brad quickly defended himself. “Those words were clearly spoken from Jason’s own heart.”

When a person sees their family member in pain sometimes, they feel the same pain. Other times a person will laugh while their family member is in pain. While watching Jason’s misfortune Zane had a smile on his. However, that smile didn’t stay for long.

Slowly, Zane’s smile disappeared from his face as he thought about Sophie hitting Jason. After thinking over Sophie simple action Zane came up with a crazy theory. Without hesitation he decided to test that theory. Raising his hand, he slapped Jason on the back of his head. Hard.

“Ow!” Jason shouted. What did you hit me for?”

Jason glared at Zane with eyes filled with fury. Zane wasn’t surprised that he was so angry from a simple slap. He knew that Jason would be affected by negative emotions, but he hit him anyway.

“Try punching me as hard as you can,” Zane stated.

“As hard as I can?” Jason asked with an evil grin.

He raised his fist and prepared to punch Zane in the face. However, before he threw his punch, he stopped. A flash of realization appeared in his eyes, and he sneered at Zane before speaking.

“Nice try. I know that I won’t be able to hurt you while you’re under the system protection. Instead, I would probably fall on my butt rather than cause you pain.”

“Then how was I able to hit you?” Zane asked.

Zane watched as Jason and the other members of the group eyes widen in alarm. Everyone stopped moving and fell silent. Each of them conveying a myriad of emotions to each other through their eyes. However, only Britney’s words were able to perfectly sum up what everyone was thinking.

“Things are about to get really fucked up, aren’t they?”