87 The Wall (2/2)
”@ladyrat asks, who am I most excited to interview. The true answer to that is still a secret. We are still making some arrangements to see if it will work out. But among the ones I can tell you about, it would be Iron Heart. It is so rare for him to agree to interviews. I can't wait to get to know him better.”
Hera kept watching Becca. Her eyes seemed to shine when she answered the questions. She couldn't help but notice that the reporter seemed very comfortable with what she was doing. She would play with the camera, joke with the questions. It all felt very natural and fun to watch.
”@loney_narwhal_72 asks, why only 200 will be part of the attack? Shouldn't the guild send everyone?” Becca tapped on her tablet once more, and a picture of a different wall appeared. This one seemed to be in a beach area, ”We had another 50 questions like this one. I will do my best to explain why we limit the number of people. Each wall has different attributes. They can vary from magic or physical resistance. Those attributes will also increase depending on the number of people that are attacking it at once. Not only that, but there is a threshold for when those attributes increase even more.”
Becca made a pause, looking beyond the camera, ” Well, if my crew's expression is anything to go by. This made no sense,” she laughed, ”Lets put it in numbers. Let's say that each member of the attack group would increase the wall strength by 10. If the number of people attacking goes over the limit, the increase would turn into 100 per person,” she looked back at the crew, ”Is that better, guys?”
Some laughs came out of the crew and the people in the bar. Becca kept explaining about how they figured out the limit for this particular wall, and that in some cases, they could only have a little over 20 people attacking at once.
Becca continued to answer various questions while the bar returned to normal. People went back to order food and drinks. Some were still paying attention to the television, but not nearly as invested as before.
”Do you guys think anyone we know is going to be there?” Blue asked.
”Yeah, sure we, who are explorer for less than a month, already know the strongest people in the entire world,” Bonnie rolled her eyes.
”Well, who knows, we saw a bunch of people in the guild. Nothing stops them from being strong. But this is the first time I hear about that wall. When did they find it?” Hera asked.
”It was around 50 years ago. For a while, they tried once a year, but when it became clear, they didn't have enough people, they sent a message for everyone to level up. I heard they got the required numbers to try just last week.”
The group turned around to the voice. A familiar face met them, wearing one of the waiters' uniforms and picking up the empty glasses from the table.
”Kenji? What are you doing here?” Hera asked.
”Working, I had some issues to find a party. And I'm not about to group up with Anaya after what she did. I mean, it's one thing to go for the gold, another to toss your party to the wolves while you do it,” Kenjiro finished picking up the dirty dished from the table, ”I'm sorry for what happened. I thought she had found a lever or something. When I realized it was too late. I should have waited or something, but I messed up. Your next round is on me. It is the least I can do.”
”Oh... thanks,” Leo wasn't expecting that type of apology. He never gave too much thought about Kenji or Tiffany, for that matter. He was sure it was all Anaya's fault.
”Why couldn't you find a party?” Blue asked.
”Nothing much. I didn't want to be in a group with Anaya, and no low-level parties were recruiting. I'm going to wait for Tiffany so we can at least be a duo. I tried to hunt alone, but it takes too much time to find a frog alone. Anyway, I'll be right back with your orders and another round,” Kenjiro said as he left the table.
”I guess he wasn't to blame in the end,” Leo mumbled.
”I'm not sure. I mean, if you commit a crime by accident, it is still a crime,” Alex said.
”That's a bit harsh considering what he did. It wasn't a crime,” Hera said.
”It still was wrong, and I'm with Alex on this,” Blue huffed as she bit the last piece bacon left on the table.
Kenji came back with their orders and a round of beer. He apologized once more and kept working. Hera and her friends kept drinking and eating until late at night. Near the closing time of the bar, they returned to the hotel.
”So, what are we doing tomorrow?” Bonnie asked.
”Drinking some more!” Blue shouted, raising an invisible glass.
”I'm guessing she's going to nurse another hangover,” Leo was strolling with his head tilted back, feeling the breeze on his face.
”Probably, and you want to find the thing, right?” Hera asked.
”Yep, and you two?” Leo turned to Bonnie and Alex.
”I wanted to go back to the lookout, but I think I should look for a new spell first. I have some ideas. Either way, I hoped we could make some money this week. I'm just 4 000 gold away from the 10 000 I need for the first installment of my debt,” Bonnie said.
”I want to deal with a role quest in the morning. But I'm free in the afternoon if you guys want to hunt,” Alex stretched, raising her arms to the sky.
”Stop being a buzzkill, we think about what to do tomorrow,” Blue jumped on Hera's back, almost making the explorer fall.
”Fine, fine. You are so gonna regret drinking this much,” Hera said, laughing.