Mai stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She had finally grown her hair long again, and a smile spread across her lips. Her body had slimmed down after gaining 14 kg due to schizophrenia medication. She had recently completed an 18-month treatment at District Psychiatry, successfully stepping away from it.

She slapped her pale cheeks lightly. "Finally, I'm slim again. The cheeks just need a bit more, and I'll be satisfied with myself."

She quickly got ready, thankfully only taking 5 minutes for her makeup. Mai had recently started working at Roedovre Library, a position that had been hard to secure as all libraries had cut book organizer roles. Nowadays, everyone was busy hunting Waves, leaving no one to maintain the books. It wasn't exactly Mai's dream job, but the workplace was peaceful, and no one was breathing down her neck like on previous jobs. For her, it was a non-stressful job, precisely what she needed right now.

*Woof*

In the doorway stood Kenta, her Shiba Inu, waiting for his morning snack, which she eagerly fetched.

She hurried away; the library was close by. She usually cycled, but today she would walk because the weather was beautiful, a rarity these days. It had been a dark autumn, and she feared the winter would be even darker. She was certain it was due to the frequent Waves.

Unfortunately, she didn't get far before spotting a large crowd that made her furrow her brows.

"What on earth is happening? Is a top guild visiting?"

As she rounded the supermarket, it happened.

*Crack. Crack. Crack*

A large, wide black crack suddenly formed in the sky several meters to her left. All her alarm bells rang.

"Fuck," she exclaimed and started running at full speed without looking back.

It was a damn Wave that she wasn't interested in. Her heart was racing, and she tasted a sour burp. She regretted having the muesli yogurt for breakfast now.

People cheered excitedly, a noise she couldn't comprehend. Not everyone was strong enough to defeat a Wave, and only rank A+ had a chance, but they were never interested in such a small town, usually staying in the capital.

Creatures with a red human body but a bull's head with a nose piercing crawled out of the crack, carrying large black clubs with sharp spikes.

"Yeah, man. Bulls. This is gonna be a nice harvest."

"Now, I can finally pay off my debt."

"Kieran, is that your wife coming after you?"

"She'd leave me if I didn't get rid of that debt."

Mai shook her head. The only valuable item that dropped after defeating a boss was the pearl, but unfortunately, it had to be handed over to the Spirit Temple, a rule unless a top 5 guild appeared.

*Vroom*

The road suddenly shook violently, echoing in the area.

"Look, Guild Avalanche is here."

Mai stopped, surprised, but it was her biggest mistake. A strong invisible force suddenly pulled her backward. She turned around and saw a massive army of Bulls crawling out of the crack, resembling a carpet of ants.

Across from them in the sky floated a small group of people clad in white hooded cloaks with a symbol of a snowflake on their cloaks – Guild Avalanche's logo.

Mai hurried to run again, but the invisible force refused to let go of her, pulling her back toward the Wave.

"Fuck. Leave me alone." She screamed in desperation.

Her legs lost balance, and she fell hard on her backside on the cold asphalt. She winced and cast an angry glance at the Wave now floating in the air in front of everyone.

*Vroom*

A large yellow dome covered the area, and everyone was locked inside with no way out.

Since Mai wasn't in a group, she wasn't obligated to heal anyone, so she sat and watched the Wave.

*Cling. Clang *

Weapons clashed, and sparks flew to the sides. Everyone was ecstatic now that they had the backup of Guild Avalanche.

"If we defeat them faster, we get better drops."

Mai facepalmed and lay on her back, staring at the beautiful sky, which was turning reddish from the sun's rays. She began counting down when the Wave would end and remembered her job.

"There's no connection here," she sighed.

She had been looking forward to going to work since Flint had promised to train her at the counter. He would stop in three weeks, so now she had missed it.

Suddenly, a face appeared in front of her, a young guy with blond hair. He blinked and stared down at her, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Why aren't you helping them? You're a Healer class."

Mai sat up and created a white smoke ball the size of a soccer ball, hovering over her right hand, showing it to him.

"As you can see, it makes no difference if I heal."

The man furrowed his brows again.

"Any help is welcome."

He quickly left her and joined his group, which was busy fighting a large army of Bulls.

Mai was rank C, the lowest, but that wasn't why she refused to heal. Suddenly, there was a strong smell of blood that made her nose itch. She spotted a man lying with a large open leg wound, and no one was healing him. She went to him immediately and apologized in advance.

"I don't know if my heal works."

"Anything is welcome. Everyone has ignored me." The man gritted his teeth, looking like he was in severe pain.

Mai placed her hand over his leg and shot out a white smoke beam that covered the entire leg. There was suddenly warmth spreading over his leg, but it was short-lived as the smoke disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Mai suddenly felt a sharp prick in her heart, and her head pounded. She held her forehead and gritted her teeth. That was why she didn't want to heal. Her heal was too weak, and afterward, she was in pain resembling a hangover. Initially, she thought it was a curse, but when she jokingly healed a piece of meat, she concluded it was a side effect that only applied to humans.

"Sorry." She looked away in embarrassment.

"Thank you for trying." the man said.

He lay down, stretched his arms, and closed his eyes. The wound grew larger, quickly spreading to his entire body. The skin began to fall off, revealing bones where visible flesh once was. It happened so fast that it didn't leave a dreadful odor.

Warm tears rolled down Mai's cheeks. This was another reason why she refused to join a Wave. If one got infected by a Beast, they would die on the spot, and only a strong healer could save them, requiring an A+.

"So, he was alone."

People always participated in groups during Waves as their abilities would be strengthened by a passive Group Buff, advantageous against the Beasts. Only an S+ could solo a Wave, but they stayed in the capital, and there were few of them.

Mai looked at her hands, feeling a stab in her heart.

"I've killed another."

"Nice job, Guild Avalanche," complimented a man suddenly.

Mai glanced at the Wave, now defeated in a short time. A large white pearl suddenly flew out of a massive Bull, the boss, lying under a pile of smaller Bulls. The pearl floated in the air, and the blond man Mai had met earlier took out a white cloth and carefully wrapped the pearl without touching it.

He turned to everyone who had participated. "Thank you so much for your help. If you visit the town hall, you'll be rewarded if you mention our name."

*Clap. Clap. Clap*

They were praised, and everyone was happy.

*Crack *

The crack slowly shrank and closed.

*Vroom*

The dome disappeared, and people began dissecting the bodies of the Beasts, which could be sold for a sum of money.

Mai shook her head and hurried toward the library. A Wave could last for an hour, but thanks to Avalanche, this one had only lasted a few minutes.