It took a few minutes for the lightning-infused mist to settle down and disperse. Lev sped through the remnants and flew inside the centipede's body, able to detect traces of gathering of mana deeper inside.

Fortunately, the core wasn't that deep, situated rather high in the upper half of the monster. With thick and enchanted barrier threads, Lev eventually pried it out and threw it into a barrier bowl, after which he filled it with water from his refillable canteen.

"That went better than I expected," Melvine commented, casually walking up to him. "Good job, boss."

"You too," Lev nodded and washed the core. It was as large as his head, a bit bigger even. "You could've taken the kill for yourself, too."

"It's not gonna do much for me," the woman shrugged. "Besides, I needed to know where you stand in terms of strength."

And a single mana slash is enough to know that? He mused, giving her an amused glance.

Wordlessly, they both made their way back to the carts that had avoided the short battle. Lev was still digesting that they had felled a relatively strong monster so quickly, but it all made sense when he considered that the centipede didn't even get the chance to use its magic. The wind mana gathering in its body didn't get to shine before the warrior froze its brain solid.

Does it even have a brain? He wondered, forgetting about the matter after a moment.

"Jared, anything unusual?" Lev asked after landing on the second cart.

The archer from his team answered instead. "Nothing, sir. A few centipedes were taken out from afar before they could reach us because, well, you guys were too distracting to take any chances."

He held back a grin, somehow not able to blame him. "I see. Is everyone else alright?"

"All good, sir."

With a nod, he returned to the front of the first cart and sat down behind Melvine. She had taken her spot as a driver without a care in the world, continuing on the crude path Drakys had carved for them.

What is her element? Lev thought to himself, keeping an eye out for any bigger monsters. It's like a higher version of ice. Did she evolve to make her class use it for all of her skills? What is it called? How much mana does it use in comparison to water or ice? Was that attack her strongest? Or was she holding back to let me kill the monster?

Plenty of such questions revolved in his mind as he brought up the notifications.

[

Your Group has slain [Gray Ripper - Level 503]

Arcane Maelstrom has reached Level 265

Arcane Maelstrom has reached Level 266

Consistent Mana Channeling has reached 2nd Level 7

Self-Taught Beginner Glaive Mastery has reached 2nd Level 7

Crescent Decimation has evolved into Fracturing Wave

Fracturing Wave 2nd Level 1:

Shape mana into a herald of destruction. Like a wave, unleash a customizable attack, one possessing a high range due to its stability, as well as varying properties like sharpness and durability, dependent on the caster.

2nd Rank: Funneling willpower into the attack amplifies its potency by a significant margin, making it more effective against defensive skills and mana-based constructs.

]

Uh…. Was I supposed to get that?

Lev read the description, then read it again. It remained the same each time, telling him in no uncertain terms that he now had a skill that utilized willpower directly.

How had he gotten his hands on that?

Hold on, let's backtrack a little.

Against the centipede, Lev had used willpower. He always did after the first third-threshold monster battle, as it was a precious resource that had a noticeable effect on his manipulation.

Keyword: manipulation. He wasn't aware that it did more than that, for he was only using willpower to cast his skills faster and better. Apparently, it had other effects, such as the one listed by his new general skill.

The rest wasn't hard to guess, though. His last mana slash had been directly opposed by the centipede's durable wind armor and enhancement, and he had shaped the slash to be as sharp as possible. Willpower was most certainly utilized for that, resulting in the unexpected evolution.

Wait. What was I even stuck on, then? I thought I just needed to fire blue fire and lightning in a stable slash, and not use willpower in the mix.

Thinking about it netted him no clear answer, so he put the matter to the back of his mind. The new skill was bound to be an extremely strong boon, one he couldn't wait to test out against the next big threat.

For now, though, he took a look at his lengthy status again.

[

Name: Lev

Class: Arcane Maelstrom - Level 266

Titles: Reinforced Mind, Extraordinary Soul, Youngest Prodigy, Goliath Slayer III, Daunting Steps VI, Champion Delver, Hunter, Seen, Survivor I, Titan Slayer, Master Pioneer, Seigebreaker I

Attributes:

Strength: 300

Dexterity: 300

Constitution: 655

Intelligence: 775

Wisdom: 955

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Perception: 655

Class Skills:

Arcane Barrier Authority - 4th Level 3

Unerring Volley - 4th Level 2

Wrath of the Arcane - 4th Level 4

Arcane Protection - 4th Level 3

Superior Senses - 4th Level 4

Expeditious Empowerment - 4th Level 4

Arcane Passage - 4th Level 1

Mage Conduit - 4th Level 4

General Skills:

Consistent Mana Channeling - 2nd Level 7

Identify

Aerial Maneuvers - 2nd Level 10

Advanced Mana Perception - 2nd Level 5

Arcane Archery - 2nd Level 10

Advanced Barrier Carving - 2nd Level 3

Wanderer's Repository - 2nd Level 3

Fracturing Wave - 2nd Level 1

Self-Taught Beginner Glaive Mastery - 2nd Level 7

]

Getting close to a thousand Wisdom, he noted idly, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Closing the screen, he returned to staring at the distant hills, again finding nothing unexpected. Maybe running into the Gray Ripper this early was a coincidence, but even Drakys wasn't putting much hope in that theory. His words of caution were proof of that.

Since his aura was also hidden, he sat on the cart, more relaxed than he expected to be. It was nice to know that he wasn't willingly attracting calamities anymore, though that would change if nothing attacked him for three hours.

"When are we going to stop for rest?" he asked Melvnie.

"Not tonight," she answered curtly.

Still so cold, Lev thought, not reacting outwardly. He supposed it wasn't his place to ask questions. There could be many reasons behind her keeping a distance.

About three hours later, he let out half of his aura again. They had been attacked, but only by a few second-threshold centipedes. But since only less than a dozen of them had attacked, Lev decided that there was no point in holding back his aura. All of the hunters, except perhaps Melvine, were there to gain levels. Allowing the Platinum teams to evolve quickly would be a great boon for the stronghold.

"We defeated the third-threshold centipede," Lev sent to Drakys after a few minutes. "It went down surprisingly quickly."

"Melvine's skills are very effective against wind, so that isn't surprising. Anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, sir. I am going to take a risk and use a decent chunk of my mana for the next centipede, however. One of my general skills is on the cusp of evolving, and one just evolved in the previous fight."

"Which ones?"

"Crescent Decimation, my Mana Slash, is now called Fracturing Wave-"

"That sounds like a willpower skill," Drakys interrupted, strangely eager.

"Uh, because it is. The skill now directly utilizes Willpower."

"Well done," the Exalted praised, not offering anything else. "Continue."

"Right… The second skill is Arcane Archery. From what I can feel, it will morph into Long-range Mastery of some kind. Nothing major there."

"And how do you plan to accomplish that?"

"Have you ever fought Flamebreather Geckos?" Lev asked, receiving a positive answer. "I made a cannon by using the Flamebreath rune as a base, and it can reach much, much further than my manipulation range. I was thinking firing two of them from two or so kilometers away will do the job."

"That's almost certainly going to result in a generic skill. Have you not thought of anything unique augmentations for the attack?"

"I have," Lev hesitantly replied. "Thing is, I can't use the cannons for anything below the third threshold, because it costs me like a third of my pool to power and fire. And above that, I can't risk any external manipulation, because the beam is already condensed and stabilized."

"And messing with it after it is fired will disrupt that balance," Drakys finished for him, thoughtful. "Are you fine with that skill, though?"

"Easily," Lev replied without hesitation. "My barriers already have insane bonuses for speed and sharpness. With enchanting, what I need is more reliability. I don't doubt that defending the stronghold will mostly be left up to me."

"That is, unfortunately, correct. The moment hunters and adventurers start gathering there, monsters will start coming from all of the plains."

Lev paused, contemplating while scouting with a small portion of his mind. What Drakys had just said was contradicting so many "norms" of the world that he couldn't really understand the words.

"H-hold on," he sent back, breathing slightly uneven. "Are you saying that the more humans that are present in an area, the more monsters target them? As in, the great cities and Haven are prime targets for all the monsters in the plains?"

"It doesn't work like that," Drakys patiently explained. His voice was a touch softer than before. "Only when people gather by the dozens or hundreds outside of the walls are they targeted, just like you are everywhere. To this day, no one has been able to figure out why."

"Okay…," he breathed out. "Okay, thanks for clearing that up. I was already considering picking up my team."

"No need to worry," the man chuckled. "I'm keeping an eye on them. They're progressing well already, clearing the weaker gold dungeons by themselves."

Why would you tell me that? Goddamit.

"I… see…" Lev sighed, now in possession of another reason to needlessly worry. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"For now? Nothing. Just don't be surprised if you suddenly get an alert from the scouts. Fourth-threshold monsters have a nasty habit of showing up in pairs."

… What the fuck? Do I have to face one of those things already?

That sounded like a death sentence. He sure hoped the other teams would be able to stay alive, because fighting a fourth-threshold monster was nigh impossible for Masters. No matter how many paired up, killing one would remain a dream.

Forget killing, how the hell are we supposed to stay alive?

There were so many factors working against the human Masters in such a confrontation. To begin with, the monsters were two evolutions higher. If that alone wasn't enough to crush the opposition, then the sheer gap in Perception would render them a blur to the human senses.

Was it even possible to beat something that you could barely, if not at all, track?

Lev, being the reasonable and careful hunter that he was, ignored that line of thought and brought his mind back to the present. His team could handle itself— about that, there was no doubt.

Drakys telling him that they were stupidly fighting above their level like he once had, probably to push themselves to join him quicker, was not going to do his mind any favors. Just like them, he also wanted to be strong enough to be able to roam the plains without worrying about some monster gobbling up both him and his team.

That was going to take time, except his teammates were already clearing dungeons a rank higher than them.

Man… I could live without knowing this, he sighed to himself and tried his best to ignore the anxiety.

What he could also live without was the Arcane Archery skill. It was a drop of a hat away from evolving, yet somehow, Lev hadn't been able to manage it. The answer was in front of him, for which he descended and addressed Melvine.

"How long do you think until we run into another one of those big centipedes?" Lev asked, filling up a few fire arrows and launching them at a distant clump of smaller monsters. He hadn't used that attack in a while, and it was just as fun as he remembered.

"At this pace, not that long?" she answered questioningly, both unsure and curious about the reason behind his random question.

"I want to evolve a general skill, and I need your help for that," Lev explained. "Like the previous fight, I just need you to slow it down so I can fire two of my cannons at it at once."

Melvine tilted her head slightly. "Long-range Mastery?"

How the fuck do you know that? Lev thought with a blink, then shook his head. "Yep."

It was a scary reminder about how little he knew about the warrior in front of him. Her strength was no longer in doubt, and given her element, neither was her talent. Lev couldn't even hope to glean her level because of how little she had shown, nor where she stood in the power structure of humanity.

Now that I think about it, he looked away without showing a reaction. I don't know who the last Exalted of humanity is. There's almost no information about them.

That was an interesting line of thought, one he filed away for later. Idle musings could come when he was unoccupied, but a swarm of centipedes and another horde of monsters was grouping up on them from both sides. He had to deal with those first.

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