Lev thought about his options for a moment. He still had hundreds of constructs ready, and devising a viable plan would’ve only taken a few seconds.
Then he looked at Hakim’s face. All thoughts of planning went out immediately, for the Exalted represented everything Lev was on track to be.
But worse.
He was a Favored, not a Chosen. He didn’t have a divine element at his disposal, only his own pool. He didn’t have the man’s responsibilities and demons pushing him forward, only conviction and desire for eventual freedom. He also lacked any concrete goals beyond progressing, which limited his passion for advancement somewhat.
Despite all of that, he respected the man a great deal and didn’t hold it against him at all. If anything, Hakim was one of his role models. Queen Martha and Emperor Blaine had overridden the old history, painting it in a light of sacrifice that Lev couldn’t help but find admirable.
They had paved the path for the younger generations, giving them a chance to thrive, by giving up their lives. Perhaps some humans were still out there, away from the horrors of Monarch and rebuilding their forces.
The survivors of Monarch, however, were only alive because of Hakim. As humanity’s third Exalted, it was an open secret that no one had any hopes of matching his strength, nor did anyone want to challenge him. The Silver Night was their shield against the worst, the very wall that let humanity persist.
And now, that wall was taunting him. It was subtle, barely an uptick of Hakim’s lips. Lev had never been moved so effectively.
He wasn’t mad, though, or angry even. No, he just had a point to prove now.
I’m not exactly insignificant anymore.
Lev’s grin conveyed that perfectly. He might not have the ridiculousness that someone like Hakim possessed, but he did have a lot of mana. It was time to put it to good use.
Stargazer shone like a sun at first, then a star when all the infused fire turned blue. Lightning followed second, forcing him to focus entirely on the blade holding it all.
Hakim gave him time. Harmony’s nuances were further revealed as he brought the raw destructive potential under control. Lightning took a backseat, letting blue fire dominate most of the glaive. That calmed down the element significantly, reaching a balance he wouldn’t have been able to create previously.
In the same way, the two types were teleported into his armor. Fire immediately sought to sear him, only held back by Flameforged Constitution. The enchantment was even more effective due to the subdued lightning, taming blue fire just enough to let him control it like a normal, albeit slightly more stubborn element.
Seeing that he was ready, the Silver Night took a relaxed stance, the greatsword held up as easily as a katana.
One last time, Lev let his eyes roam over the battlefield. Then the time for thought was over. Letting his skills and instincts guide him, he charged straight ahead.
Stargazer was parried with casual ease, so he released a wave of blue fire to slow the counter. It erupted intensely enough to push Hakim back a step. The Exalted brought his sword back in a semi-circle, cutting through several big ropes that sought to trap him.
A lightning bolt was dodged with a sidestep, and while Hakim’s coated free hand easily slapped away several lances, he allowed the orbs to explode behind him.
Lightning failed to stun him, though he remained still for a moment for the barrier mage to capitalize on.
Instead, Lev released another, bigger wave of blue flames, lifting the Exalted off his feet and launching him into a clump of shieldwalls.
This time, kinetic energy acted. Shieldwalls were bisected with casual ease, though Lev melded them back in the same instant. A second lightning bolt tore straight ahead through the dispersing blue flames, only empowering the explosion further.
Vision thoroughly impaired, Hakim attempted to get out of the blast. Spikes expanded from underground plates in a split second, forcing him to bat them aside with his greatsword. The opening was utilized by a beam. He ducked just enough to let it pass overhead, readying his weapon as Lev flew straight ahead like a comet.
Stargazer was thrown first. Weight pushed to the absolute maximum, even Hakim couldn’t block all of the force behind the projectile. He crashed into replaced shieldwalls, wide open for Lev to close in.
On his sides, however, were more orbs. Twin payloads of lightning were released right next to his ears, further hiding the noise of an actual comet descending.
Lev sped up, pushing his armor for all it was worth. Hakim seemed surprised for the first time at the rapid acceleration, just barely bringing his sword up in time.
The greatsword that was directly in the path of Lev’s kick jerked up, launching a mana slash at the bubble that had been falling for many long seconds. They collided loudly enough to shatter all the surrounding sound wards.
Hakim still wasn’t overwhelmed enough, though Lev changed that with his first-ever overloaded blue fireball from his left arm.
The attack was too close and not even aimed directly. The Exalted moved to dodge it first, only realizing the plan when the blast was already expanding.
Thrown into an overloaded shieldwall by the vicinity and sheer amount of flames, there was no way to stop the armored leg that was melting and cracking from Lev’s own attack.
His blazing foot landed directly on Hakim’s forehead, the first clean hit. Lightning and flames erupted with the impact. It probably still failed to hurt the Exalted, but the satisfaction of actually doing something in an impossible spar was unmatched. One day, the hound was going to be on the receiving end. He was going to make sure of that.
Three different shieldwalls shattered as the human barreled through them, still clutching the greatsword tightly. Lev didn’t spare the Exalted any quarter, converting lightning as fast as possible.
It rushed into just two lances. Overloaded to the limit, the first flew forward like a collapsing star, almost exploding before it could reach the destination.
Hakim reacted in time, letting it land on the flat of his sword. Lev was prepared for that, and so were his absorption pillars and bubble that were already in position.
Reabsorbed lightning was channeled into his right arm for the most potent lightning bolt he had ever launched. Perception skills guided it through the cracking explosion, catching Hakim in the leg mid-evasion.
The second lance almost hit him in the face. A timely tilt of his head almost dodged it, but Lev made it disintegrate right next to the man.
Thrown like a ragdoll again, Lev was already descending from above, not dissimilar to his bubble. Stargazer was infused with a metric ton of both fire and lightning, leading the charge with its weight raised to the maximum he could handle.
Hakim’s intimidation skill shot out. It would’ve been lethal had Lev not been prepared, for all of his converted mana would’ve found violent release if he lost control for even a moment.
Willpower was already arrayed like a shield around his being and Stargazer. His soul trembled at the viciousness of the Exalted’s skill, one that dug into the weakness of his defenses.
Reinforced Mind pulled its weight there. The sheer bulk of his total willpower was enough to resist the intimidation attempt for a blink, and that was enough.
A perfectly executed thrust was all Lev saw. The stored kinetic energy, the momentum from his flight, and the willpower keeping the destructive mana types in control. Harmony was the final key, guiding his Glaive Mastery for the best possible outcome.
Unfortunately for Lev, his own ambitions were too much for his recent upgrades. Halfway through the motion, blue fire tore out of his tight control, the amount far too great.
Vision dominated by blue and the rest of the world by heat, he had no way to know what Stargazer impacted, only that the strike connected.
Too far in to abort the move, he commanded his willpower to dig deeper into the glaive. The prepared Fracturing Wave crumbled regardless before it could be fully launched, and all of the remaining was also released towards Hakim with a herculean effort.
He wasn’t sure if it would count for anything. All he knew was that he had covered a lot of distance in the attack, and the ground probably had a new, massive groove carved into it.
****
“You killed the Ripper Matriarch. Do you think he can bring it down by himself now?”
Sherron didn’t react outwardly to the message from Drakys, thinking it over and observing Lev’s spar. Melvine was about to and could’ve easily killed that worm, but Lev was a different matter. The monster was far too durable for what its level suggested, and while the two Masters weren’t aware of it back then, Sherron knew that the matriarch was hiding its true reserves of mana.
Monsters specializing in Wisdom were rare, but they existed. Most of them died due to lower strength early on. The matriarch was a survivor, and survivors were never weak. Monarch just didn’t allow that.
As it stood, the monster had about as much mana as Lev did now, Stargazer excluded. The battle would be hard fought, for the human did not possess any obvious counters like Melvine’s element.
“Yeah,” Sherron answered after a heartbeat. “The glaive would’ve made the difference.”
“Hmm,” Drakys sent, distracted. “Do you think he can get lucky against a Giant-”
“Don’t even think about it.”
****
The moment he came to a stop, Lev knew that he had failed. Gathering pure mana in his armor, he imbued it with willpower to make it more stable and let it out in a wave, clearing a small portion of the explosion and revealing a rather depressing scene.
Stargazer’s blade, with all of its Superior sharpness, was casually resting in Hakim’s palm. Lev’s entire strike had faltered against it, not even scratching the skin, let alone cutting deep enough to draw blood.
Pure mana was overpowered an instant later, reducing his vision to nil. Destructive elements tore off chunks of his armor from all sides, so he rushed out of the zone and repaired it.
Hakim walked out a moment later. His clothes were still whole, not even singed.
Lev was expecting to be allowed a moment of rest. Instead, the Exalted adopted a proper stance this time. The silver greatsword’s tip was angled directly towards his heart, and then Hakim moved.
All of Lev’s senses were overwhelmed. Moonlight screamed into his ears, nose, Perception, and even his armor. He was forced to resort to just overall physical strength and eyesight, bringing Stargazer in time to slap away the sword.
More than the greatsword, the rebound pushed him out of the way. Hakim was relentless, descending on him like a storm of blades.
The greatsword blurred as moonlight’s assault intensified, forcing him to rely on his newly evolved skill as much as possible. It flailed against the assault, too weak to stop the man as he pushed aside Stargazer easily despite her extreme weight in a few exchanges.
Somehow, a single deflection was enough to unbalance Lev completely. He hastily reduced the glaive’s weight and tried to dodge, crying out in pain when the greatsword passed through his armor, side, and a rib.
Still, he healed it and tried to focus through the strange moonlight assault. All he got for his troubles was a kick to the chest, followed by a swing that smoothly cut Stargazer’s blade in two, almost doing the same to his neck.
It paused at the last moment, less than a hair’s breadth away from the armor. Hakim pulled his sword back and retreated, giving Lev time to gather himself.
… Damn.
His melee really needed work. It had been dismantled in less than thirty seconds, and he knew that Hakim had held himself to an almost insulting degree.
Hell, had Lev been able to use infusion, he would’ve overpowered the Exalted. But moonlight had disoriented him to the point of blindness for all senses except sight.
“Not bad,” Hakim broke the silence. “You’ve got the usage of your mana practiced to an adequate level. The glaive, however, will falter against enemies that like to get close and personal. You know how to best improve on that front.”
“You didn’t actually use more power in the last melee, did you?” Lev asked, suspecting the answer already.
“I didn’t use any mana. What you faced was barely half the strength I used while defending myself earlier.”
Ouch.
“And?”
“The skill has potential, of course. There wasn’t much doubt about that. Your control over combinations of different tools has increased remarkably, and while you’re far from weak in melee range, the weaknesses should be obvious. Sheer strength rarely trumps technique when it actually comes down to it.”
“So I need to practice against other humans?” Lev guessed. “That’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
“Maybe, but you will have more than enough opportunities not that far into the future.”
That brought a smile to Lev’s face. His team was also making progress as he constantly risked his life. In time, he would oversee their journey to the Master rank once they joined him on the frontlines.****Author's notes: Hakim did use a bit of body enhancement, because if Lev saw him bleed, it would've 101% gotten to his head. So him saying that he didn't use mana was only for the final clash.