A few more days passed, and they encountered a total of 2 apex level monsters and survived!
This was amazing. In the past, a territory encountering a single apex level monsters guaranteed major deaths!
After all, there were only so many apex-level fighters and prime-level mages in the world and they would definitely focus on protecting their own homes and families.
No one would know where the apex-level monsters—and their tens of thousands of followers—would appear, so people could not preemptively place apex level masters in the territories that'd be attacked by the peak-level monsters.
Still, the battle did not end even when the apex-level monsters were dealt with. There were still tens of thousands of beasts trying to eat them!
Days later, many people got super tired and Pang had to drag a few (who fell down before they could wholly enter the barrier) further in. Some were even about to be pulled back by monsters and only their hands were able to touch the barrier. In these cases, it was Pang who would appear to rescue them.
Marcus was a famous fluff lover. "Oh, Pangggg!!" he sobbed, acting cute, wanting a hug.
The panda looked at him in annoyance. "Shut it!"
Then he toddled around, watching the war like a supervisor ready to rescue people as needed.
Pang might act arrogant and cold in most days, but he protected his source of food very well.
They soon neared the two-week mark, and people were already spent.
People were tired, injured, and there had been a lot of close calls especially among the close ranged fighters. One simply could not handle fortified level monsters just by barraging them from a distance.
Their defenses were usually too strong, so most of the killing shots were close-range, with long-ranged and magic techniques serving to either control their movements or to weaken them. Unless the mage of similar level used high-level high-consumption skills, it would be too difficult to deal with fortified-level monsters and above solely with long-distance magic.
Only a handful, including Syl, were at this level, and their energies were limited. Still, it was impressive. In the span of a few days, the number of fortified-level monsters Syl handled alone and killed must be in the hundreds, not including her assists.
Speaking of Syl, her runes also helped out a lot. The favorites were those that could cause damage to monsters within area, as well as her control runes that could slow monsters down. They placed the runes strategically in areas the humans would not be fighting in, but would only be passed over by monsters.
And because the runes were rechargeable, the runes worked non-stop for the entirety of the war. These certainly reduced the number of injuries.
They had a number of major injuries and critically injured people now in the clinic. Fortunately, people always monitored those who went outside, and timely rescue was provided if they got captured by beasts outside.
In fact, at some point, they had ropes tied around their waists. These were ropes created by advanced tailor Ranran, and when the fighter found himself in trouble, he'd be pulled back by teammates.
Pang himself had a number of rope ends near him, and he could pull them most efficiently.
About a dozen people died, and a few scores of people had lost one or two appendages. This was extremely tragic, but if one compared it to the number of deaths a normal territory would suffer, this was already very, very few.
Granted, all of them in the inn and the extension were fighters—mostly toughened and above—which were proper powerhouses if placed in the safe zone.
This was in contrast to the safe zones, which had a lot of civilians, so naturally, the proportion of deaths in the latter was much higher.
However, it was still amazing, and the news coming from them continued to inspire those in the safe zones, allowing them to fight harder on their own turf.
Another great thing here was the continuous flow of food. Even after a week, the food was still good, and no one went fighting with an empty stomach. This was primarily thanks to the gardens, which, thanks to the garden upgrades and growth potions, continuously churned out raw materials.
The past two weeks, in spite of doubts, the food quality remained consistent. So, the fighters, despite their injuries, had smiles on their faces.
Finn also started cooking again. He made a lot of Essence food before the war, but those ran out days ago, so now he was making new batches.
One of the things he realized was that his cooking had entered another tier after upgrading to fortified level!
He could not only cook more quality meals, but his chances of creating high-level food increased by at least a hundred percent!
Whenever his stats were low from fighting, Finn would take a short nap and then make essence food in the kitchen. To maximize the time, people helped him prepare ingredients, and this time it wasn't just Ranran or Micc.
One of the helpers was Jonathan, the steward from the Lotus Town Palace. He was also the Lotus Town Lord's representative, and he brought 20 top mercenaries with him.
"I always thought you were familiar…" he said, looking at Syl, who no longer wore a disguise. Back when the Lord was here, he did not recognize her. Jonathan did.
When he studied Finn, he also realized he was a bit familiar as well. Seeing the redhead cook so gracefully enlightened him.
Finn smiled, no longer hiding.
…
The fight continued on for days after that, and the beasts continued to pour out. However, the portal barrier slowly recovered its strength, reinforcing itself, and soon fewer and fewer monsters emerged.
Fewer did not mean fewer, however. There were still tens of thousands, especially around the extension.
Finn observed the state of his people. They were already quite tired, and everyone had some degree of injury that made it painful to move. It was no longer practical to keep pushing them.
He signalled to Syl that it was time to give everything this time, because they were about to activate the [Complete Isolation] Function for the first time.
This function which would allow the barriered places to be completely hidden for a few days.
With no apex-level monster in sight, the safe zone fighters should be able to handle them. They made rough calculations and determined that the mob would last about two to three more days. Considering this was an unnatural activation, though, it was better to assume it'd last a bit longer.
The function could last a maximum of three days at a time. The gardens should be ready for another harvest by then.
That said, Finn would probably deactivate the isolation in a day or two. He doubted people would be comfortable hiding for 3 days, anyway. A day break should be enough for people to mostly recover and avoid any permanent damage to their bodies.
He didn't forget to send out warnings to the towns behind them, of course.
/In 30 hours, the inn will be invisible for 2 days. We have already reduced the number of monsters significantly. Please be prepared on your side./
So the next day, everyone was allowed to completely consume themselves, whether it was their skills, mana, stamina, and the like. There was no need to hold back. For this batch of beasts, they would give it their literal all.
More and more magical elements were thrown down, magnificent techniques, elemental spikes, storms, small meteor showers, and so on, barraging the mobs. They had never seen so much damage compressed in a short time.
Syl also released her remaining runes, which were small bombs. Speaking of bombs, those who needed to rest also helped gather lard, and they used it as oil to add damage to the dense monsters outside by placing them on fire.
That afternoon, after sending another batch of origami letters to those in the safe zone, he finally activated the function.
They all took turns sleeping in the main rooms, taking about two to three hours each. Those who were still not completely healed could queue up again.
The alchemists, blacksmiths, and chefs also took this chance to replenish their goods.
The barrier was reopened a little over a day later, and a mob of energetic and fully-rested fighters entered the fray, completely wiping out the monsters in the area.
Soon, they caught news that the monsters in the safe zone had also been neutralized. For towns south of the Inn, blocked by them, the casualties were still thousands, but they had been reduced by more than half!
They knew for sure that the Inn contributed to this because the other areas still suffered similar damage compared to the past.
Rather, there were areas that received more damage because many were unprepared for the sudden Aphelion Phase. They were still recovering from the previous one and knew that the next one should still have been a year or two away.
Another revelation was the effectiveness of the Nutrition Bar! It could literally sate hunger for an entire day! How many lives it saved was already innumerable, and to think there couldn't be so many produced due to time constraints.
Given time, it could become a staple food, and people wouldn't go hungry in wars, in adventures, and so on. This was guaranteed to be another major source of income for Finn.
This was something for later, of course.
Right now, people were still celebrating! The Inn successfully overcame its first Aphelion Phase, and it was a great sign for the entire world!
…
____
END OF BOOK (ONE)!
Thank you, thank you thank you for sticking around this somewhat experimental story of mine. I couldn't have pushed through without you guys!
Here's a sneak peek of the next books!
Book Two - Gourmet Innkeeper: Cooking for the World
-More worldbuilding and Finn's neglected Alchemy job should be explored here more. We'll also explore the Eastern (Elven) territory more and maybe get involved with the politics there.
Book Three (Final) - Gourmet Innkeeper: Beyond the Portals
-I'm considering traveling to the other worlds where the beasts come from in order to gain some important things, perhaps find ways to permanently close the portals forever.
I hope you enjoyed this short story!! Thanks again for your support, Adventurers!