The barricade exploded inward with a deafening crack.

Wood splintered, men screamed, and the monsters came pouring through like a tsunami.

Iron-hide boars smashed through the openings, trampling soldiers underfoot.

Wolves leapt over fallen bodies, claws flashing in the flickering torchlight.

Above, winged beasts swooped low, snatching defenders from the ground.

Wade met them head-on.

"Toothpick!" he roared, swinging the weapon in a brutal arc.

The axe head bit deep into the neck of a lunging wolf, cleaving through it.

He ripped the weapon free, spun, and slammed the hammer end into another creature's skull.

The impact sent bone fragments flying.

Fireburst.

Flames erupted from his hand, engulfing a cluster of smaller beasts. They shrieked, the smell of burning flesh thick in the air.

But the fire barely slowed the flood. More replaced them, clawing and snapping their way through the wreckage.

Around him, the defense line collapsed.

Soldiers screamed as they were crushed beneath the weight of the monsters.

Some tried to flee, only to be torn apart before they could take ten steps.

Others fought on until they disappeared under the swarm.

"Hold the line!" Captain Wells' voice cut through the chaos, distant but fierce.

Wade couldn't even tell where the man was. The horde had split the camp into fragments of isolated, desperate fighting.

He blocked a talon strike with Basic Ward, the glowing barrier flickering weakly under the impact.

Cracks spread through the translucent shield.

The next blow shattered it entirely, and Wade barely managed to duck as a wolf's claws slashed across his shoulder.

Pain flared. He lashed out, bringing Toothpick down in a vertical swing.

The hammer crunched through bone and muscle, and the creature went limp.

A drake slammed down a few feet away from him, and by the time Wade turned to it, it was already too late.

The giant cone of fire slammed into him, and he flinched, expecting his skin to begin burning.

Fortunately, the flame resistance granted to him by the gears he'd gotten from the Catacombs of a Thousand Kings activated, lessening the power of the flames.

However, it wasn't a 100% flame resistance.

His skin burned, a notification flashing red before him.

[Critical Hit!]

He activated Fire Conversion, immediately siphoning the fire away, boosting his speed.

By the time the cone stopped and he could see once more, he saw that the drake had been piled upon by adventurers and soldiers, and they'd managed to kill it.

He turned to the other attacking beasts.

"Fireburst!"

Another wave of fire spread through the battlefield, but his mana was thinning.

The spell was weaker, the flames shorter-lived. He gritted his teeth, raising a trembling hand.

"Bone Spike!"

Nothing happened.

The air crackled weakly, a faint shimmer of bone essence forming at his fingertips before fading away.

He'd drained himself dry. Even his breathing felt labored, his chest tightening with exhaustion.

"Come on," he hissed, clenching his fists. "Not now…"

He turned to his Mana Siphon, focusing on the faint threads of mana in the air.

Normally, the spell would currently be drawing the ambient energy into him, replenishing what he'd spent, but there was almost nothing left.

The battlefield was empty of any usable mana, and was saturated with corrupted energy, black and sluggish.

He could feel it trying to seep into him, cold and vile. He cut the spell off immediately.

Another boar rammed through the front line, tusks gouging through the chest of a soldier beside him.

Wade stumbled back, barely keeping his footing.

He swung Toothpick one-handed, smashing it into the beast's snout.

The blow turned its charge, but not enough.

It slammed into him with its shoulder, and he went flying.

The ground hit him hard. His head cracked against a broken plank, vision blurring.

The sounds of battle grew muffled and distant.

Through the haze, he saw flashes of light.

Fire spells, lightning strikes, and the flicker of blades in the dark. And everywhere, bodies. The stench of death filled the air.

He tried to push himself up. His arms trembled, refusing to obey.

The boar he'd struck stumbled nearby, blood pouring from its head wound. It turned toward him, snorting thick plumes of steam.

"Come on," Wade muttered, reaching for his weapon.

His fingers brushed the handle of Toothpick, but his grip failed. The weapon slipped from his hand.

The boar pawed the ground, muscles tensing.

He could hear shouting somewhere, maybe orders, or more likely desperate cries, but the world had narrowed to the creature before him and the pounding of his own heart.

He forced his shaking hands together, trying to activate another skill.

Nothing came. His mana pool was empty. Completely.

A cold dread settled in his chest.

He'd burned every last drop of mana that he had. Even Mana Siphon couldn't save him now.

The boar snorted again, lowering its head.

He exhaled slowly. His entire body ached, his lungs burned, and his limbs felt heavy.

The adrenaline that had carried him through the battle was fading fast, leaving only fatigue and the creeping certainty of death.

"Well," he rasped, a bitter smile tugging at his lips, "I guess this is it."

The boar charged.

Time slowed.

He could see every detail. The way the creature's hooves tore through the mud and the blood dripping from its mouth.

Wade's fingers twitched uselessly. His mana well was bone dry. His body wouldn't move.

A strange calm washed over him.

He thought of Rowan, probably still unconscious in the healer's tent.

He thought of Ingrid, of Sebastian, of all the faces he'd met in the guild cafeteria.

He even thought of Fairchild, with that infuriatingly smug grin on his face.

He'd survived dungeons alone and grew stronger at a rate most people could only dream of.

But in the end, it wasn't fire or magic or that would take him. It was exhaustion.

The boar's shadow fell over him, the world narrowing to the gleam of those tusks.

"Not…" he whispered, voice barely a breath.

He stared up at the charging beast, unable to do anything but wait.

"…today."

He didn't even know if he said the words aloud.

The boar lunged.

And Wade, drained and broken, closed his eyes.

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