Bringing Drakys up to speed and returning to the stag’s location took a while. The Exalted promised to reach them as soon as possible, so Lev decided to take it slow.
Making the bubble land close to his friends, for once, he dismissed the armor while keeping aura concealments active in its passive state, and just relaxed. No rapid battle plans, no thoughts about how close his glaive mastery skill was to evolving and how he could push it, nor any rush to prepare more to face the Night Hunter.
“I had almost forgotten you looked normal under that armor,” Elias quipped, summoning a chair for himself and sitting down close to him.
Lev just shook his head slightly and also created a barrier chair. Getting an idea, he constructed an imitation of a campfire with barriers and enchanted it. Streaming some fire mana into it, the creation came alive gently, a touch brighter than wood would normally burn.
“That’s nice,” Lisa said with a smile, bringing out a chair of her own.
One by one, everyone was seated around them. Aryan and Lev sat on one side, whereas Melvine sat in front of them. To his left and right were the two teams, huddled close together and lost in thought.
There were many thoughts to sort through, but at the same time, it was only a few days. Lev couldn’t quite decide if that was fortunate or unfortunate. So much pressure in so little time usually led to disaster, except they had somehow returned to the surface… visibly fine.
Some time later, the Hunter also joined them, having decided to explore their immediate vicinity. It saw them sitting around a fire in confusion, unsure what to do next.
Lev solved that problem by creating a chair befitting the being’s size. It looked like a transparent throne. Taking its cue, the hunter sat down and somehow seemed to understand the mood as well, leaning back to just relax and let the tension flow out.
“How does a dungeon even form?” asked Viktor randomly, glancing at the Hunter. “If you’re alright with talking about it.”
“The process is a mystery to me, young warrior. All I know is that the System only plays a part, and that it doesn’t have absolute control in rifts.”
“We got to see that, I suppose,” Lev mused. “Why is it called a rift now?”
“That is merely the higher form of dungeons, a completely closed-off place instead of something connected to our reality through a permanent portal.”
“So we have to… clear it entirely to leave?” Isabella questioned.
“To my knowledge, yes.”
Tricky, Lev thought to himself. What if the next tier of dungeons has actual missions that need to be carried out to leave? What if the participants fail?
That line of thought was best left unexplored. There was plenty to be scared of already; no need to add more phobias to his life.
The knowledge about rifts was also useful, though he suspected that all of the Masters who wished to explore mythril and higher dungeons were already aware. They had to be, since Sherron had told him about higher-tier dungeons a while ago.
“Hmm, now that we’re out and free, what is the plan?” Lev began, steering the conversation towards a more casual direction. “It wouldn’t even be wrong to say that we have already made more progress than we were supposed to in three months of fighting hordes. Oh, and leave the Night Hunter to me when it emerges. I have a feeling that it’s still in the dungeon.”
“Do you plan to fight the abhorrent alone, Blessed Lev?”
“I mean,” Lev shrugged. “There’s probably a really strong title in store if I manage to defeat it by myself. All skill and class levels are also welcome.”
“Even when we all failed?” Melvine asked.
“We were caught unprepared, and I was low on mana back then. I’ll be ready this time.”
“What did the Runic Warlord say?” Isabella asked, crossing one leg over another. “Did he give any directions?”
“No, he just told me to stay put and not do anything reckless. As if I, of all people, am going to do something stupid.”
No one seemed to be in agreement, which was odd. Lev definitely hadn’t just willingly jumped into a titanium dungeon, which was probably why he had not gotten a different title than the rest.
They will come around soon enough. At least my team is going to be just as wild as me for the most part.
He was looking forward to the debates between Kayla and Amelia. One of them loved danger just as much as him, and the other was not a fan of that.
Jack, meanwhile, was just going to enjoy that show with Lev.
With a quiet sigh, he continued, “Since our little operation is going to be cut short once I’m done with the Night Hunter, what are you guys going to do next?”
“Return to the citadel?” Elias answered, confused. “Or am I missing something?”
“Hmm, I doubt that’s the only option. Drakys did say that there will be many thousands of Adepts and hundreds of Masters marching to the other locations in a few months. Will you join the defensive forces to keep the fortresses standing or join the exploration teams?”
“We’re going to join the exploration teams,” Isabella spoke up while Elias and his team fell into thought, discussing privately. “It doesn’t only involve fighting monsters. I think the scouts have already discovered three mines and a few other dangerous locations. Mapping them will take a long time.”
“What does that entail?” Aryan piped up, interested. “Do those people need to accompany mappers and escort them back?”
“More or less? They aren’t non-combatants, by the way. With the help of the new communication relays, anyone can map the regions after learning the controls. So you will be fighting alongside the technicians.”
“So it’s more about escorting Adepts and a Master or two? Interesting. Would they not be enough by themselves?”
“Nope.”
“What about the defensive forces?” Elias eventually asked. “How many responsibilities will fall on the shoulders of a Master team?”
“Not more than you’re expecting,” Isabella patiently explained. “I think you will need to participate in a few patrols. They have the rotations set up already. Other than that, you will be deployed in the monster-infested field in fixed cycles and during waves. For the Masters, that routine will be quite rigorous, but nothing quite like the dungeon we were in.”
Lev wondered where she had learned all of that from. Isabella and her team had accompanied Drakys at the start. Perhaps he had revealed all of those details?
Does that mean I’ll be accompanying him next?
That sounded pretty neat. Lev wasn’t one to say no to free training under an Exalted.
“What about you?” Lev asked Melvine.
She didn’t even think for a moment before replying. “I’ll let Sherron decide.”
Well, that’s that.
“And you?” came the question. Unexpectedly, it was from the Hunter.
“I will wait for Drakys and see what he has to say about the stag and, well, everything else. After that, I’ll stay at the fort for a while, then move out with Drakys when the next phase begins. There are still four more stronghold locations to secure.”
“Who is Drakys?” the being asked.
“Uh, he’s a third-threshold human. Very strong and also in command of our little group.”
“An Exalted human…”
“Mhm. Pretty much the one person you want to make a good impression in front of, but at the same time, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Lev waited for more, but that was enough to sate the Hunter’s curiosity. Their conversations petered off after that, so he retreated into his mind and took stock of his… stocks.
Inside his bubble, shieldwalls, normal walls, and shields were forming rapidly. They were arrayed neatly in a corner, and he had to expand the bubble once again to accommodate them.
Enchanting could wait, though. First, he looked at the disk that he had just barely stopped from getting lost at a great cost. It was still whole and functional, which was saying something about its ridiculousness.
That was only fair, for he had spent all of his remaining miraculous sap on increasing its conductivity. He could no longer create Epic items reliably anymore. The amount of runes required for that would make his barriers explode without the expensive treatment.
Fixing all the nicks and scratches on its edges, he sent a pulse of mana through the pure mana enchantments. All of them lit up in an instant, unblemished from the previous usage.
Now, what do I do about you?
He could hand it over to Drakys and be done with it. More likely than not, the Exalted could use it to great effect. Even if Lev’s passive skills were no longer going to empower the construct, the Exalted’s own skills would probably easily make up for the loss.
That wasn’t even considering all the modifications the man could do on the disk.
Or, I can keep it for rainy days? It did save our hides more than once in the dungeon.
Lev didn’t know what to feel about the disk, so he arranged it horizontally underneath the bubble floor. That would at least let it act as an improvised shield.
Putting it out of his mind, he felt for all of the training orbs. By now, he easily sent puffs of lightning into three of them. The first two layers were cleared immediately, and the next two only required half a minute before the lightning mana was teleported to the base layer with minimal loss.
The exercise had become too easy, but his Mana Manipulation skill felt no closer to evolving.
Going by the name alone, it will probably require me to manipulate large amounts of mana constantly instead of using them in bursts as I do.
That… was going to require a lot more levels and Wisdom under his belt. Or, he could fight weaker monsters to train the skill, which would take a long time due to the lack of a threat to his life.
Safe to say, he could ignore the skill for now. It would follow along eventually. There were other priorities to deal with first.
The pillars in his bubble demanded attention. They had been sitting there too long, and Lev was almost tempted to bring them out during the final battles in the dungeon.
All of them were filled to the brim with runes, except that the formations were few. Absorbing lightning was the primary focus of the constructs, and Lev was hopeful that, since it was his own mana that was going to be reabsorbed, the efficiency would be quite high.
The outer layer of the pillar focused on stealth. He wanted to scatter the pillars discreetly when the Night Hunter showed its face. Once the stage was prepared, he would push for either evolving lightning or aim for something else entirely. That still remained to be seen.
What else is there? He wondered and brought up his status.
[
Name: Lev
Class: Arcane Maelstrom - Level 300
Titles: Reinforced Mind, Extraordinary Soul, Youngest Prodigy, Goliath Slayer III, Daunting Steps VI, Rift Explorer, Hunter, Seen, Survivor I, Titan Slayer, Master Pioneer, Seigebreaker I, Favored of Kassavin, Wisdom Specialist, Epic Crafter
Attributes:
Strength: 300
Dexterity: 300
Constitution: 705
Intelligence: 805
Wisdom: 1060
Perception: 705
Class Skills:
Arcane Barrier Authority - 4th Level 6
Unerring Volley - 4th Level 6
Wrath of the Arcane - 4th Level 7
Arcane Protection - 4th Level 6
Superior Senses - 4th Level 6
Expeditious Empowerment - 4th Level 4
Arcane Passage - 4th Level 4
Mage Conduit - 4th Level 6
General Skills:
Consistent Mana Channeling - 2nd Level 10
Identify
Aerial Maneuvers - 2nd Level 10
Advanced Mana Perception - 2nd Level 10
Gaze of the Marskman - 2nd Level 10
Advanced Barrier Carving - 2nd Level 6
Wanderer's Repository - 2nd Level 4
Fracturing Wave - 2nd Level 4
Self-Taught Beginner Glaive Mastery - 2nd Level 9
Trapping - Level 9
]
Trapping is unexpectedly strong.
The General Skill was strange, to say the least. Lev hadn’t used it too much, but he had figured out a few things regardless.
First, the effectiveness of the same trap was only diminished as long as it was expected. Taking his orbs as an example, if an Ebonwalker lost one of its eyes to it, the monster would be wary of more orbs.
That wasn’t quite enough, however.
If the creature had no way to perceive the orb the second time, the construct would be empowered just as much as the first. That was usually how base skills operated, a clean slate to evolve from.
Secondly, the bonus, while small, would add up. The increase in the effectiveness of traps was quite comprehensive. Not only was the infused mana made deadlier, but the barriers themselves became sharper. Lev didn’t even know such an indirect method could sharpen their edges further.
All in all, it was a great find.
There’s also the rune from the Dreamforger Butterfly.
Grinning, he looked inside the repository general skill. A single marvelous new addition made itself known, though his grin slowly dimmed, and then vanished.
Minor Illusion Formation.
That was all. The rune might as well be useless to him. Not only did it not allow him to control the formed illusions, which would result in them being two-dimensional and stationary, but he also didn’t have access to light mana.
And if the rarity of such a converter had something to say, he would not get his hands on that mana type for a long, long time.
Exhaling through his nose, he pushed back his annoyance and focused on the rune’s structure. Unsurprisingly, it outclassed even Flameforged Constitution in complexity, so after a brief look, he shoved the rune to the back of his mind.
At least I can sell it for a fortune.