They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World-Chapter 135: Oakmere [3]

[EMERGENCY QUEST ACTIVATED]

[QUEST: Clear the Beast Wave]

[Objective: Survive and eliminate the monster assault on Oakmere]

[Rewards: ???]

[Penalty on Failure: All stats and levels reset to 1]

[Difficulty: EXTREME] [Time Limit: Until Dawn]

I stared at the notification, blinking.

A quest. Now?

I hadn’t seen one of these in months. The system had been so quiet lately.

My eyes narrowed as I read the penalty again.

All stats and levels reset to 1.

That wasn’t just a setback. That was death. Being level 1 meant I wouldn’t survive a single encounter.

I looked up from the notification, taking in the scene around me.

The scared civilians huddled together in the dim lamplight, their faces pale with terror. The creaking of wooden beams overhead that groaned and shuddered with each impact from above.

Agnes’s face had gone deathly pale, all color draining from her cheeks. Her hands were clenched so tightly in her lap that her knuckles had gone white.

Sira moved closer to her daughter, her trembling hand reaching out but stopping just short of touching.

Scarlet had gone completely still beside me. Her ears were flat against her head beneath her hood, and I could see her nostrils flaring as she tried to identify threats by scent alone.

Agnes turned to look at her mother, her voice shaking.

"It wasn’t like this before," she said desperately. "The village was safe. What happened? When did this start?"

Sira shook her head slowly.

"We don’t know exactly," she said, her hoarse voice barely audible over the sounds from above. "It started maybe... I don’t know, few weeks ago? The beasts began coming out of Thornwood Forest. At first they stayed on the outskirts, watching but not attacking. We thought maybe they were just migrating, or displaced by something deeper in the forest."

She paused to catch her breath, the effort of speaking clearly taxing her.

"But then they started coming closer. Testing the palisade. And then they began attacking properly." Her voice dropped lower. "Every week it gets worse..."

A thunderous crash from above cut her off mid-sentence.

The entire shelter shook, dust and small fragments of stone raining down from the ceiling. One of the support beams groaned ominously, the wood creaking under strain.

Screams erupted throughout the shelter. Children wailed. Adults clutched each other, some praying, others just frozen in terror. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

I looked up at the ceiling, at the beams that were all that stood between us and tons of earth and stone.

Could this place even hold out?

The shelter was solid, built well for what it was. But it wasn’t designed to withstand a prolonged assault from above. If the monsters broke through the village defenses, if they started digging or found another way down...

We’d be trapped. Buried alive or slaughtered like livestock in a pen.

I closed my eyes and took a slow, deliberate breath.

Then I focused inward, feeling the flow of mana through my body. The familiar sensation of energy returning, filling the depleted spaces.

Full.

I opened my eyes.

The notification was still floating there, pulsing gently, waiting for my decision.

[Accept? Y/N]

I mentally selected Yes.

[QUEST ACCEPTED]

[Objective: Survive and eliminate the monster assault on Oakmere]

[Good luck, Host]

The notification faded, replaced by a small counter in the corner of my vision:

[Monsters Remaining: ???]

[Time Until Dawn: 8 hours, 23 minutes]

Eight hours.

I turned to scan the crowd, looking past the terrified families and elderly, searching for anyone who looked like they could hold a weapon without fainting.

My eyes landed on a group of younger adults, men and women in their twenties and thirties, some with the hardened look of farmhands or laborers, others softer but with determination in their eyes despite the fear.

"You," I called out, my voice cutting through the panicked murmurs. "You there, and you, and the group by the east wall."

Several heads turned toward me, confusion mixing with their terror.

I gestured for them to come closer.

"Do any of you have anything sharp?" I asked directly. "Knives, farm tools, anything that can cut or stab?"

A young man with a farmer’s build stepped forward hesitantly, his weathered face uncertain.

"I... I have a belt knife, Young Master. For cutting rope and such."

"Good. What else?"

An older woman with callused hands spoke up. "There’s tools stored in the back corner. Shovels, pickaxes, a few wood axes. We keep them here in case... in case we need to dig our way out if the entrance collapses."

Her voice wavered on the last part.

"Show me," I said.

She led me to the back corner where indeed a collection of tools leaned against the wall. Not weapons, but they’d have to do.

I turned back to the group of younger villagers who’d gathered, maybe fifteen or twenty of them total.

"Here’s the situation," I said, keeping my voice steady and clear. "Those guards up there won’t last the night. When the defenses fall, and they will fall, those things will find their way down here eventually."

Faces paled further, but I pressed on.

"So we have two choices. Stay down here and hope the stone holds. Or we go up there and we fight."

Silence greeted my words.

Then a young woman with her dark hair tied back spoke up, her voice shaking but determined.

"Fight with what? Most of us have never held a real weapon. We’re farmers and craftsmen, not soldiers."

"I know," I said. "But you’re also not corpses yet. And I’d prefer to keep it that way."

I grabbed one of the wood axes, testing its weight. The balance wasn’t great, it was designed for splitting logs, not for combat, but the edge was sharp enough and the handle solid.

"I’m going up there. Anyone who wants to help, grab something sharp and follow me. Anyone who doesn’t, stay here with the others and pray we’re enough."

I turned to Scarlet, catching her eyes beneath her hood, and mouthed words I knew only she could see clearly with her enhanced senses... ’Come, or I’ll reveal who you are.’

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, but she gave the slightest nod.

I turned and started walking toward the stairs, my footsteps echoing on the stone floor.

Honestly, I had no idea how to make dramatic speeches that inspired people to follow me into certain death.

Whether they came or not, I didn’t care that much. They weren’t going to be much help anyway, untrained civilians with farm tools.

Sigh!

But as I moved through the crowd toward the exit, I heard rustling noises behind me.

Footsteps. Multiple sets.

I turned, surprised.

Several of them had stood up. Maybe ten or twelve, their faces a mixture of determination, panic, and raw fear, but they were standing. Ready. Holding whatever they could grab, axes, shovels, pickaxes, even a rusted scythe that looked like it hadn’t been used in years.

Then an old man, probably in his sixties, grey-bearded and weathered, grabbed the arm of a younger one, maybe his son or grandson based on the similar features.

"Don’t be stupid, boy," the old man hissed urgently. "You’ll die up there. Stay down here where it’s safe—"

"Safe?" The younger man pulled his arm free. "You want me to stay here and cower while that kid goes up there and fights for us? While we hide like rabbits in a hole?"

He grabbed a shovel, the metal scraping loudly against the stone floor as he hefted it.

"Hell no!"

He walked forward to join the group.

Others followed his lead.

I looked at them all, genuinely surprised, and blinked.

It worked?

Though I assessed them more carefully, and closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, then opened them again.

"Alright then," I said.

"Let’s get this over with."

I turned back toward the stairs and started climbing, the wood axe gripped firmly in my hand.

Behind me, I heard the shuffling footsteps of people.

Scarlet moved silently at my side.

Agnes stayed below with her mother, her face pale and frightened as she watched us go.

I reached the top and pressed my hand against the heavy wooden door.

Locked from the outside, just as I’d heard.

I activated my debug vision, focusing on the lock mechanism.

[Lock Status: Engaged → Disengaged]

The lock clicked open with a soft sound that was almost lost beneath the roaring from outside.

I pushed the door open slowly, carefully, peering out into the village hall above.

The building was empty, abandoned in the rush to get everyone into the shelter.

But through the windows, I could see chaos.

Fires burning. Shadows moving against the palisade walls. The flicker of torches as guards fought desperately to hold their positions.

And the beasts.

Even from here, I could see them. Their roars and howls filled the night air, a cacophony of hunger and violence.

I stepped out into the hall, the villagers filing out behind me with their makeshift weapons clutched tight.