It took all of ten minutes for Lev to come to terms with the new exercise. Weird or not, it was at least going to be great for learning. Unorthodox methods usually were.
The moment he stood up without summoning Stargazer, Drakys immediately understood his intentions. A message arrived out of thin air, signifying the Exalted’s role purely as a spectator.
“You get one move. Do not use any mana.”
Of course, the ball had to be moved once for it to start generating anything. Lev didn’t have to think for long. Rearing back his leg, he kicked it straight up to let gravity maximize the output.
He made sure only to hit it hard enough to reach the edge of his manipulation range. While the force was adequate, he forgot to account for the insane drag caused by the absorption.
Not even fifty meters above him, the ball came to a stop and started its descent. Throughout that, he got a continuous stream of kinetic mana, and he took that as a signal to release some of his aura.
On the way back, the ball moved as if through honey. Any downwards momentum was absorbed, causing it to accelerate at a snail’s pace.
That suited Lev just fine. A small reserve was building up in his armor, the start to a very long session of kinetic manipulation.
In the thirty seconds it took for the ball to touch the ground again, there were several monsters in his sight already. He didn’t wait for them. Jumping slightly, careful not to use his body, Lev kicked the ball towards a group of orcs with half his stored kinetic mana.
It wasn’t nearly enough, so he carefully absorbed all that was outputted by the ball and kicked it again.
On the seventh such kick, the ball landed right in front of an orc warrior, its level barely above one hundred. The poor creature tried to bat away the ball with its meaty fist, only serving to push it slightly.
Lev landed in front of the ball a second later and put his first theory to the test. Kicking it with as much force as he could muster, the ball hit the orc squarely in the chest, caving in the ribs and exploding the heart.
Inside it, a decent amount of kinetic energy was absorbed by the collision. That proved that killing monsters with the ball was perfectly viable. His earlier suspicions about relying on gravity were unfounded.
Though try as he might, the current opposition didn’t pose any threat. Even limiting himself to one slap to the ball was enough to kill or cripple the orcs.
“Say,” he sent to the connection Drakys maintained to him. “Why, exactly, is this entire thing happening?”
“What do you mean?”
Lev took a step back, tilted sideways, and kicked the ball upwards with all his limited might. “I mean, why are we moving to the center now of all times? Wouldn’t it have been better to start here with the refugees when you guys first landed? Regardless of whether the middle of the plains was proven to be safer or not, staying away from the Crimson Ravine and the Dreadwoods was probably a good idea, no?”
The ball momentarily left his range of manipulation, raising the difficulty of absorbing and teleporting kinetic energy exponentially. It returned to range not long after, steadily filling up the runes on his armor.
“Hmm,” the Exalted considered his words before sighing lightly. “It didn’t seem that way when we first arrived. What do you know about the mana density of the continent?”
“It… exists? Some places have a higher density than others. Shouldn’t it be going down slightly since we use so much for passive enchantments?”
“No,” Drakys chuckled. “It’s not even close, actually. The density on the continent constantly rises, specifically in our region of the landmass. Should I explain why that is bad?”
“Nope,” Lev sent back, already lost in thought. Converting a bit of kinetic energy into pure mana, and most of that into lightning mana, he formed claws on a hand and brained a weak troll. It still spasmed as the brain continued to regenerate, going down for good after a brief lightning discharge.
Mana density was directly related to both the number and strength of monsters. The higher it was, the worse it was for humanity. And for Drakys to admit that the density kept rising all the time?
“Will we face more waves?”
“That’s only a part of it,” the Exalted replied carefully. “Tell me, what will you do if nowhere is safe?”
“Nowhere?” Lev questioned, seeing the number of monsters rise exponentially on the horizon. It was almost like an army of ants crawling his way, except it was just a huge wave of weak monsters. A true test of endurance and control.
“Indeed,” Drakys added solemnly. “There’s a reason why the Earthen Wardens were sent to the Pit in advance, and dungeons were cleared rapidly. If things go to plan, a lot of us will die.”
… How is that a plan?
“That’s a price too inevitable to avoid. The Pit, the forest, the mountains, and the Dreadwoods will all become active soon, perhaps in less than a year. There’s just no way to prevent that, not at any meaningful scale.”
“But why?” Lev interjected. “Does anyone know the source of this rising density?”
“The skies.”
“The skies? Really?”
“Something’s off about the plains,” the Exalted explained, pausing when a harpy dove towards Lev.
Annoyed at the interruption, Lev took a big chunk of his stored kinetic mana, converted it into pure mana, and dumped it into the fire converter. Willpower infusion turned the resulting element blue, and he channeled it into his right arm.
Waiting for the monster to reach him, he prepared his foot. A kick launched the ball at its face, too fast for the monster to avoid it entirely.
That distraction utterly ruined the dive, and for Lev’s Perception, it was no problem to punch off the harpy’s face in a bright blue explosion.
Absorbing energy from the shockwave, he signalled for Drakys to continue.
“From the start, mana has behaved oddly. Alina has already told you about how long-range communication is not possible. That is because something underground keeps absorbing mana, and the higher one goes, the more the density rises. So yes, the skies are responsible for our plight.”
Lev didn’t answer immediately, facing stronger and stronger monsters now. A few treants and panthers jumped him at once, somehow present far away from their natural forest habitat.
Fire and lightning were converted conservatively, empowering only the most decisive moves. Stargazer also appeared in his hands when fists and claws stopped cutting it.
“So we’re quite literally caught in the crossfire?” Lev sent after thinking it over.
“Sandwiched in a way. The mana absorbed from the skies reaches a hurdle that is the surface, and gathers there faster than it is absorbed, until more and more monsters spawn and hell breaks loose every few decades. After that, the timer starts anew. Fortunately, as far as I am aware, the time between each such eruption has not decreased. The current one is going to be three whole years later than expected, partially because of our preparations. And every such event, the mana density also goes down to the initial levels.”
That was a lot to digest. Fighting helped on that front, keeping his thoughts grounded without jumping to doomsday. With each swing of his glaive, Lev forced himself to remain calm and attentive, thinking over each piece critically.
“Where do I fit in all of this?” he eventually asked, discarding the question about why it wasn’t public knowledge. The less panic, the better.
“That depends entirely on what happens in the next few days.”
“Meaning?”
“It means that even I can’t predict what kind of monster we are about to face,” Drakys stated calmly, as if talking about the weather. “Perhaps you will be able to take it down in one move, depending on the matchup. Maybe we will both fight it together, even if your contribution will be reduced as a result. Or maybe we will need to retreat and send out a call for all of the Exalted to take it down.”
“Hold on,” Lev said, wasting a bit of kinetic energy to escape a group of trolls and focus on the conversation. “You don’t know what we’re about to face?”
“A Goliath is heading towards our lands. The level will likely be somewhere around 800 to 900, which still leaves far too many variables on the table. No way to predict something like that in advance.”
Like the damned hound that appeared out of nowhere, Lev realized with a sigh, understanding the Exalted’s words better. A monster in that level range could be easy work for an Exalted if it were weak.
On the other hand, it could be a calamity if it were as strong as the hound. There was just no way to know before actually confronting it, except that the man was also dragging Lev along for the first impact.
Well damn, he chuckled to himself, amused. Perhaps that was why the Stormfury appeared in my life, to teach me how to escape from a whole ass Goliath.
It really wasn’t funny, but he found it so. An unhealthy way to cope if there ever was one; he just didn’t want to be bogged down by the past when the future promised better times. Eventually. After a whole lot of bloodshed, sweat, and tears.
Hopefully.
Once again, as was becoming the norm in the past few days, Lev was bound to learn a lot by just being present. Perhaps even fight it by himself if it were a good match.
“Is the Goliath appearing also due to the rising mana density?”
“Yes,” Drakys agreed easily. “This is the eighty-seventh recorded Goliath, the fifth I will face directly. The task usually falls to Hakim due to the involved danger. This time around, the diviners didn’t lose their collective minds, so it’s probably manageable for us.”
“Probably,” Lev snickered. “Or we will learn a lesson in humility.”
Drakys just waved off his concern. “I’ll handle it if things go wrong. You still have that item from Alec around your heart. Kind of surprising that it is still intact.”
Lev smiled involuntarily, stopping himself from caressing the barrier item over his heart. It still pulsed with his mana, slowly transformed entirely into a creation of his own barriers, waiting to absorb that one deadly blow that would threaten to physically kill him.
“I did try to keep it intact as much as possible, so,” he shrugged, leaning back to avoid a thick, supercharged root that almost pierced his brain. It returned to the second threshold treant that wasted no time in empowering all roots like so.
Seeing that the monster was actually a threat to his life, Lev cut off the telepathic connection and prepared Stargazer. A small amount of fire and lightning infused his armor, and the timer was on.
Grabbing the ball with a barrier rope, he dragged it with him while engaging the other monsters. Arcane Intuition tracked traces of mana underground, warning him mere instants before a root shot out of it.
Jumping to the side, he yanked himself backwards, then leaned further back down to avoid more roots. The chance presented itself, and with blue fire coating his foot, he kicked the ball towards the main treant.
Like a comet backed by an explosion, it tore through all wooden obstructions, reaching the second threshold monster. Right before it could be swatted away, all the lightning packed inside its barrier shell exploded outwards, targeting the creature’s eyes.
Barrier ropes tied its body to the ground, and a few weak lances also found their mark, revealing bright yellow sap flowing inside. Fires almost spread to its insides before bark covered up the injuries.
Lev nearly reached it after a few seconds, only to halt when the treant opened its mouth. A deluge of golden, corrosive sap flew towards him, forcing his hand. Grabbing the ball, he transferred all of his evolved flames into its shell before throwing it towards the sap.
Right before impact, a large explosion scattered the fluid, also killing many monsters nearby. Lev barreled through the flames, continuously absorbing and channeling kinetic energy, and slashed at the treant’s face.
Leaves grew upon its bark and then flew at him, peppering him with weak, sharp attacks. Roots also tried to impale him at every turn, buying it just enough time to open its mouth for another spray of sap.
That was the chance he was waiting for. All of Lev’s converted lightning was stored in a small orb, and he chucked it inside the monster’s mouth.
[
You have slain [Sprayer Treant - Level 331]
]
Avoiding the spray of blood and other unknown fluids erupting out of the hole in the treant’s face, Lev waited for the notification before diving in. With a mental nudge, the whole corpse vanished into his ring, fitting snuggly into a corner of the massive space.
Higher quality sap acquired, he grinned to himself, purposefully getting hit by a few trolls to store kinetic energy. With a sharp twist, he lopped off the head of two before jumping up and kicking the ball downwards.
Fire followed, wild and chaotic. He had seen all there was to know about the ball. Now it was time to truly let loose and test the limits of kinetic energy and his grasp over it.