The next day, Lev woke up well before sunrise. His team was still sound asleep despite their improved Constitution, so he just stared at the ceiling.

Nobody has asked me when I want to leave, he realized. They were giving him both time and space, and since he was old enough to take care of himself, not trying to be pushy either.

That was a good thing, too. Lev really needed some time to himself. The recent experience refused to leave his mind, and by now, he had replayed it dozens of times. All of the emotions were just as raw and potent as the day he had felt them, greatly diminishing his ability to focus and think about the future.

One thing, however, nagged at the back of his mind. How come the glimpse of Chaos was much, much more terrifying than the whole warg and hound encounters? Was there something else at play? It would make sense for his instincts and soul to recognize something vastly more dangerous and unfathomable, so the reaction also made sense from that angle.

Or maybe Chaos just attacks one's mind?

Emotions were starting to become way bigger a deal than he was initially expecting. They affected one's behavior, a person's aura, and now something much deeper than humanity could ever hope to glimpse. Were there more invisible ways in which they affected daily life?

Hours passed as his thoughts spun in a circle. Before the first rays of sunlight breached the horizon, Amelia left her room and knocked on Kayla and Jack's door.

Lev also chose that moment to leave his own.

"Good morning," Amelia smiled at him, noting how he seemed to be awake for some time now. "Were you able to sleep well?"

"A few hours," Lev answered and leaned against the wall. "You?"

"I slept like a log," she replied casually, mimicking his behavior. "The beds are way too comfortable. Monarch knows they made the training with Hakim harder than it should've been."

"How was it?" Lev questioned. "The last time Hakim showed off a bit of his capabilities, I had to heal minor mind damage."

The way blood drained from her face was comical, most certainly worth the exaggeration. Lev had only felt his mind being impacted greatly, but not that it was damaged in any way. That may or may not have happened.

"What…? No, he only fought with us in melee without using any weapons or skills. Jack benefited the most from the sparring, and Kayla had to heal a few broken bones," she remembered with a wince, rubbing her right elbow with her other hand. "That was not fun."

Lev nodded slowly. "He can be… intense. Still, it's a good thing he took over. You wouldn't have found a teacher better than him anywhere else."

"That is true," she agreed easily as the door opened. Kayla looked at them with bleary eyes, took a moment to process what time it was, and then closed the door again.

Amelia and Lev shared an amused glance and settled in to wait. A sound suspiciously like a pillow hitting something hard became audible despite the sound-dampening wards. Jack was likely the target.

Ten minutes later, they were all in his room and eating a hearty breakfast. All the meals in his ring were still fresh and hot, like the minute they had been prepared. Fortunately, neither he nor his team cared about an exquisite diet, happy with the rather simple stuff he provided.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Lev asked, storing all the used plates, spoons, and the like to clean later.

"We're on break," Kayla announced. "So someone else would decide the same and not rush off immediately."

"I'm not going anywhere," he rolled his eyes. "If anything, I wanted to spend most of my day in the park. I've never used my barriers for any casual entertainment before."

"Entertainment?" Jack raised a brow. "What kind?"

Half an hour later, he had an answer. Lev and his team stood in a giant invisible bubble, one that was half the height of Windkeep's walls and covered a large area.

In front of them was a slide. It was massive by Earth's standards, and Lev made it even more ridiculous by enchanting the whole thing. The surface was enchanted to reduce friction and increase speed, and a large net was placed around it to make sure that nobody tumbled out of it. Granted, nobody other than Lev and his team was going to use it, but keeping safety in mind never hurt anyone.

"Right… entertainment," Amelia mused, already looking forward to it. "Is it ready?"

Lev just formed a barrier platform. When they all stepped on it, it flew to the top of the slide on the small, wide space connected to the slide. His team didn't need to be told to go ahead, as Amelia immediately sat down at the edge. With a single push, she was off, gliding down the slide at high speed. Lev's Perception was pushed to the maximum as two invisible barrier hands remained prepared to grab her at any moment.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened as she slid down. Near the end, the friction runes became weaker and weaker until none remained. Amelia slowed down by herself during the last mostly straight stretch and quickly stood up with a big grin on her face.

"AGAIN!"

Chuckling, he made another platform for her to fly back up with. Kayla went next, quickly adjusting her clothes. Her sliding went much the same, and Lev made his barrier hands visible when it was Jack's turn. Given the big guy's mass, he didn't want to take any risks. Any accidents would hurt a lot at that speed.

"Really?" Jack asked.

Lev shrugged. "Better safe than sorry."

The warrior shrugged back and pushed himself off. He picked up speed faster due to the drastically reduced friction, and before long, the barrier hands were pulling him back just enough to not let him get any faster than Kayla's speed. Since he could feel feedback from their sliding, that wasn't difficult to measure.

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Jack reached the end of the slide safely, too, all smiles from the experience. A platform brought him and Kayla back to the top.

"Where did you get this idea?" Amelia asked, leaning over the edge to look at the whole construct. "And why is it so fun?"

"Wait, we don't have slides on Monarch?" Lev questioned back, confused.

"Slides?" she echoed. "No, this is my first time seeing these. Maybe they exist in Haven?"

"I didn't see any," Lev muttered. "Anyways, thoughts? Anything I should change?"

"How big can you make it?" Kayla asked.

"As big as I want," he replied with a laugh. "I can literally take it from the city's gates to our rooms, though that would be problematic for dozens of reasons."

"Can you make it taller?" she immediately requested, ignoring his previous comment.

Lev stared at her for a moment before measuring the current height of his bubble.

"You want it to be even bigger?"

"Yep."

"I don't think I can do that here," he shook his head. "The park is a public space, and I'm already taking up like a twentieth of it."

"Oh come on," she pleaded. "Look around, it's mostly empty."

Jack and he shared a glance, neither really against the idea. Amelia was more than happy to let Kayla take the lead, having similar thoughts.

"Alright, fine," Lev said. A barrier platform took them higher as he further increased the slide's size, his regeneration now feeling the stress from keeping the whole area invisible.

****

Five days passed in peace. It was the most refreshing time Lev had experienced so far in his short life. No training, no fighting, no life-threatening monsters. Just him and his team, and a world that left them alone and gave him time to recover.

His original experiment morphed quite a bit. The slide was still there, in a corner of the park, except it now let them fly into a pool of chill water, a temperature that was decided to be the best. With their high Constitution, it was barely noticeable.

"What did Lady Sherron want to talk about?" Kayla broke the silence as they all leisurely floated in the pool. "She didn't seem to be worried."

"Remember the shadow snake I fought?" Lev asked.

"Don't think I'm ever going to forget about it," she replied with a shudder. Amelia nodded slowly by her side, her mind wandering in the past.

"Well, I traded its core for a new bodysuit that can help absorb impacts, filter out harmful gases, and also help with temperature while acting as a last line of defense. It's probably an Epic piece."

"Woah," Jack commented, eyes wide. "Epic piece for a single core? Was it that valuable?"

"Nope, but combined with me being me, and also giving the guild all those monster parts and cores for free, Hakim decided that rewarding me wasn't far-fetched. Besides, I'm going to need it soon."

"About that," Amelia spoke up hesitantly. Kayla was suddenly nervous too, and Jack's encouraging gaze was the only reason Amelia continued. "Is it possible for us to come with you?"

The question shot a pang of regret down Lev's spine. "I'm sorry, but I don't want you to accompany me right now. Don't get me wrong, it would be fucking amazing to have you guys. The first push is just going to be the most dangerous, and you know how the world targets me."

She nodded, expecting the answer even if it visibly saddened her.

"When can we come?" she asked instead, clumsily moving on.

"Not that long by my estimates," Lev replied, grateful for the change. "The operation is not going to end in a few years. If what I've heard is correct, the initial exploration is just the first phase. It's still going to take a while, so you should be able to join me when you become platinum hunters."

"Platinum," she echoed, getting lost in thought.

"What about you?" Jack asked, not a shred of joviality on his face. "Do you still want to go?"

"Someone would have to hold me back at this point," Lev replied before he could catch himself, his tone frigid like a glacier. "Never again will something humiliate me like that."

Silence reigned in the pool. His teammates gulped, unsure of what to say next.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, that came out harsher than intended. What I mean to say is, it's not an option any longer. It never was, to be fair. It's just truly sinking in now."

Jack nodded in understanding. "None of us disagrees or blames you, Lev. If anything, please keep an eye out for whenever we may be able to join you. It shouldn't take long until we reach the gold rank."

Lev gave him a thankful look and stepped out of the pool. Fully clothed as he was, they were completely drenched, so he dried himself with a simple warm air flow formation on a barrier plate. It merely shaped air and increased its temperature before blowing it towards him.

"I still want to see how far you guys have come before I go," he said before straightening his clothes. They were high-quality, somehow lacking wrinkles despite just being dried. "Wait for me to return."

Amelia seemed to be waiting for that. Her smile was a little terrifying, he had to admit, but her drive and obvious excitement were also reassuring. The team would go far, of that he had no doubt.

With a last nod, he summoned his armor. Invisible and concealed, he flew to the hunters guild. None except a few Masters even noticed his presence, at which point he dropped the invisibility.

Things were different now. Everyone was aware of the boy with blue eyes and black hair, and he got plenty of looks. Lev kept his face impassive and eyes focused on the stairs, and that was enough for no one to disturb him.

Knocking on the guildmaster's office doors, he waited. They swung open after a moment, revealing Sherron and Hakim observing a stand on the side. The displayed suit was obviously designed for him if the blue streaks and crystals were any indication.

After bowing for a respectful amount of time, he straightened at Hakim's signal and went inside. Sherron observed him with a small smile, so he sat down next to her and put her hand on his head.

Her chuckle was all he wanted to hear, so he looked at the suit on the side. On the surface, it seemed like a simple jacket and pants combo if the presence exuding from the item was ignored.

Enchantments ran along its length in a dense web, invisible yet noticeable all the same. They were brimming with mana at all times, and the smooth, long crystals on the jacket and pants really made it shine.

The crystals were present on the side of his arms, not getting in the way of flexibility. Above his thighs were the crystals on the pants, and Lev could feel that they all held mana.

[

Mana-Wrought Impact Resistance Suit - Epic

Enchantments: Shock Absorption, Body Shielding, Minor Self-Repair, Mana Storage, Air Filtration, Extreme Temperature Resistance, Elemental Resistance, Comforting.

]

"I was not expecting it to be so… stylish," Lev mused with a smile, really liking the look, even if he never was into such outfits. "Who made this?"

"A combination of our best crafters," Hakim replied with a nod, happy with how the suit had turned out. "Self-repair was possible to add because the enchantments were relatively simple. The rest are all defense-oriented, and the last one is just a staple."

"That one feels like something from a class rune," Lev mused and ran his hand over the suit. "Why does it have so much mana, and where is it coming from?"

"The crystals," Sherron spoke up. "They are like cores except way more durable and almost permanent. We haven't ever had one shatter due to repeated use, but we also rarely have spare crystals to really test their lifespan. Usually, the stress wears them down eventually."

"Hoh," Lev said, impressed. Mana crystals weren't exactly a secret. He had just never seen any, so it was good to confirm. "What's body shielding?"

"It's a kinetic field that ensures that your momentum is both aided and not disrupted by attacks and shocks. Very useful against vibrations and other such moves."

Vibrations like that troll? He wondered, realizing how much trouble that monster had given him initially. The enchantment would ensure he wouldn't be caught off-guard, which was a massive boon.

"I will make good use of this," he dipped his head, already excited to see how far he could push his armor with the new addition.

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