At the entrance to the buffer zone.
"What a rip-off. I barely got a few cores, and my blade's already chipped..."
A rugged-looking man muttered under his breath, rubbing the damaged edge of the knife in his hand.
Should've known better than to go for the cheap one...
He looked at the line ahead. It was packed tight with people who had just pulled back.
This had originally been a wide-open space, but stalls had now been set up, turning it into a "temporary collection area."
The tide below was rising too fiercely for many people to stay down there. Most Awakened who hadn't reached Third-tier had already withdrawn.
Still, they'd all brought back more or less something to show for it.
For the authorities, those cores were all valuable "ammunition."
To gather and process the resources quickly, the buffer zone's administrators had come up with this arrangement.
"Give it a rest. With your skills, you're lucky you made it back in one piece."
The companion beside the rugged man mercilessly mocked him.
"There were plenty of Third-tier Calamities coming ashore just now, and plenty of badly wounded Third-tiers too. Better to trade these in and head back early. I've got a bad feeling..."
They'd come for the money, but there was no denying they'd also eased the pressure on the defensive line.
So the prices at this temporary collection area were pretty decent.
"You—hey, look over there."
The man was about to shoot back, but his eyes landed on a petite figure approaching in the distance.
His companion followed his gaze.
They were already at the end of the line, so one more person wasn't unusual. It was just...
The girl was exceptionally small and looked young, but her eyes were vacant, devoid of any light.
She wore plain,