The Mana Tide Is About to Begin

"..."

When Lan Qingyou saw the food Gu Xiaobei had sent over, she fell silent.

This time, the food was about forty centimeters long. From the strands of muscle, it was clear that it had come from some kind of monster that got a lot of exercise.

So she quietly used her Small Screen to appraise it and got her answer.

It was Water Arrow Frog thigh meat.

Put more simply, it was the thigh meat of a very large magical frog that could use the Water Arrow Spell.

Well, at least it was edible. What's more, it added two points of Strength.

So Lan Qingyou reached out and, without taking any utensils, tore off a piece with her bare hands and popped it into her mouth.

She had to admit, it was roasted to perfection.

The outside was crisp, while the inside was tender and chewy, with a faint fragrance.

It had probably been marinated with some kind of mint-like herb.

She just had no idea where Gu Xiaobei had gotten so much cumin, chili powder, and pepper. Lan Qingyou had even spotted scallions.

The food Gu Xiaobei made was getting better and better.

Lan Qingyou was eating frog meat, and Steel Wool was naturally eating frog meat too.

Only, today's portion was a bit too big for it. It tilted its little head to the left, then to the right, but still couldn't manage to take a bite.

So after finishing her own food, Lan Qingyou wiped her hands on a rag and began tearing Steel Wool's plain frog meat into smaller pieces.

As she tore it apart, Lan Qingyou fed the pieces into Steel Wool's mouth.

Watching its little head bob as it swallowed the frog meat, Lan Qingyou couldn't help laughing.

[Ping! Attention, everyone on Blue Star. The first Mana Tide is about to begin. This tide will last three full days. Please stay inside your shelters and do not go out. You will be responsible for the consequences.]

Just as Lan Qingyou was leisurely feeding Steel Wool for her own amusement, the World Will's voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

A Mana Tide?

Three days?

By her count, it had been about twenty-seven days since they'd been forcibly transported here. Three more days would make a full month.

Was this a month-end exam?!

As the thought crossed her mind, Lan Qingyou's expression changed slightly. She switched the desk panel to the World Channel to see what was happening.

But before the World Channel could respond, Steel Wool did.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp—"

Steel Wool, which had been happily eating frog meat, began chirping frantically. It flapped its way over to Lan Qingyou and burrowed into her arms, begging to be held.

Lan Qingyou stared in surprise, then frowned and shielded it with her hand.

How strange. Was this Mana Tide even more dangerous than the Mana Turbulence?

Dangerous enough to frighten even the Aurora Snowy Owl inside the shelter?

Remembering that some animals were far more sensitive to natural disasters than humans, Lan Qingyou's expression shifted again.

But then she remembered she had a Level 3 Shelter, and felt a little more at ease.

Level 3 shelters weren't something just anyone could have, no matter how easy the basic materials were to find. No need to panic.

So, while soothing the chirping Steel Wool in her arms, she absentmindedly scrolled through the World Channel.

"Good grief, I thought there weren't going to be any more extreme weather events."

"What are you even thinking? Did you forget what the Will of Karim World said at the beginning? How could there not be extreme weather?"

"I'm in a Level 3 Shelter. I'm not worried at all."

"Jealous. How'd you get it to Level 3?"

"Is there some necessary connection between the Mana Tide and the Mana Turbulence?"

"Probably. Don't forget, this is a planet where even the rivers and the air contain Magic Power."

"I think this Mana Tide might be worse than the Mana Turbulence. I suggest everyone stay inside."

"Great suggestion. My suggestion is that you don't make suggestions next time."

"The World Will made it perfectly clear. Do you think we're idiots? Quit pretending to be an expert, you damn moron."

"Why does the sky outside look so weirdly red?"

"Is that red? If you hadn't said anything, I'd have thought it was purple. Am I color-blind?"

"The wind's picking up."

"I can see the ocean from here. The waves are huge. I wonder if this'll turn into a tsunami."

"Holy crap, a waterspout!"

"I'm done for. If a tsunami comes, my shelter's definitely going to flood."

Lan Qingyou turned toward the window. The night sky, which should have been pitch-black, had turned an eerie purple.

Purple lightning flashed outside, accompanied by howling winds.

Compared with the Mana Tide, the earlier Mana Turbulence had been nothing but a gentle breeze.

"Shit! The Runes in my shelter are lighting up!"

"Mine too!"

"How come mine aren't?"

"What do I do? What do I do? The flashing Runes are terrifying!"

Runes?

Lan Qingyou looked up at the Runes in her shelter and saw that they weren't glowing.

But only for the moment.

The next second, the Runes lit up green and began to flash nonstop.

Lan Qingyou froze.

That was the sign that the Magic Protective Shield had activated. Someone had mentioned it during the Mana Turbulence.

Could even a Level 3 Shelter fail to stop the Mana Tide?

With Steel Wool trembling in her arms, Lan Qingyou was overcome with doubt.

"What do I do?! I feel like the light from the Runes in my shelter is getting dimmer!"

"You're not imagining it. The Runes in my shelter are dimming too."

"Even a Level 3 Shelter can't hold it off?"

"All the Level 3 Shelters are lit up. Everyone's panicking."

"Someone, please save me! I still haven't found my daughter! I can't die!"

"Heh. Blue Star People won't get any help. Let's all die together!"

"Dad, Mom, I don't think I'm going to make it. You two have to stay safe."

The World Channel was suddenly overcome by despair.

Many people sounded as if they were leaving their last words.

That showed just how desperate they were.

"There's a Rune in your room that's reversed compared to the others. Find it quickly! Once you do, throw the materials you've collected onto it. The Reverse Rune will absorb the Magic Power from the materials and use it to replenish the Magic Protective Shield!"

Just as everyone was at a loss, a message like this appeared on the World Channel.

More and more people began reposting it.

It soon flooded the channel.

Whether it was true or not, now that there was a glimmer of hope, almost everyone began searching the Runes in their shelters.

Lan Qingyou was no exception.

After all, she didn't want to die.

But since hers was a Level 3 Shelter and she lived alone, it took her a while to search through it.

This was a race against time.

Though it was a hassle, Lan Qingyou didn't complain. She just kept her head down and searched frantically.

To avoid having to search everything again, she examined every Rune very carefully.

Of course, she kept Steel Wool in her arms the whole time.

She searched the eighty-square-meter first floor, then the forty-square-meter second floor, and finally the twenty-square-meter third floor. It took her more than three hours to find the Rune in a corner of the third floor.

Just as the message had said, it was the opposite of all the other Runes.

At first, Lan Qingyou wasn't sure.

After all, even staring at a single character for too long could cause eye strain and perceptual collapse, let alone looking at so many symbols.

She rubbed her eyes. It was reversed.

She closed her eyes, then opened them again. Still reversed.

That settled it. You're the one.

Lan Qingyou finally found the Rune and let out a sigh of relief. Since the Rune was real, the rest of what those people had said should be true too, right?

With that thought, Lan Qingyou took her Appraisal Glasses from her pocket and had a look.