Two suns hung in the skies, bathing the endless grassland in their usual fashion. A pulse of disruption mana spread out from the Goliath’s smelly corpse. It also didn’t do anything it had already not done thousands of times before.
Arrayed in a line at an equal distance from the equalizer core, shieldwalls were hit by the pulse. Like everything else, they also revealed nothing new. Each resisted the disruption just as Lev expected them to, teaching him no more about improving the barrier structure.
The days had become monotonous beyond belief.
A month had passed since the battle with the Goliath. During that time, he had done naught but focus on his barrier structure and learning from disruption. Thousands upon thousands of pulses had tried to ravage his barrier armor and constructs. None of the disruption waves found any purchase on them anymore.
Two things were the major contributors. For starters, he had simply multiplied the density of packed mana on the surface of his constructs. If he formed an orb, there would be a very dense yet thin film of mana covering the whole sphere. Same for arrows, lances, shields, and everything else
It was a simple solution, especially when considering the lack of enchantments. Yet it did its job rather flawlessly. Of course, the closer he got to the core, the stronger the disruption became. Even then, the increased surface density allowed him to keep his barriers from shattering.
The second main contributor, however, was something he still didn’t really understand. Rearranging the barrier’s structure made sense on paper. He had to solidify the mana a bit differently, and that made all the difference.
Peering deeper wasn’t something he could do, though. That would be similar to observing things under a microscope. Lev didn’t have nearly enough Perception or levels to notice things in so much detail. All he could tell was that, by now, his barriers were a lot more resistant to outside influences, especially disruption. Even when some of them dug deeper, his element would continue fighting harder than ever before.
Those thoughts swirled in his mind as he lazily gazed around. No matter how far he looked, flat land and grass greeted him. His boredom had reached a point where the grass blades had started to look stupid. He didn’t know why, nor did he ever try to come up with a reason. Grass was just stupid— and there was too much of it.
“How much longer?” he drawled out the words.
“Just a few more hours,” Drakys replied. “You’ll live.”
Hours? Lev straightened. Days passed quicker than expected, huh.
He was under the impression that there was still a week left. Drakys wanted him to stay until another party arrived and took stock of the situation. Who those mysterious people were, Lev didn’t know. They had caused him terrible boredom, however.
His trust in the Exalted was the only reason he decided to stay put. Drakys wouldn’t introduce Lev to someone who would harm him. Besides, he was pretty curious as well.
Since he had time to burn, Lev jumped out of his bubble. Watching pulses wasn’t going to teach him anything substantial now. Training Kinetic Energy sounded like a perfect solution.
Creating a hole in the bubble, he waited until a pulse went through the area. The moment it passed, he pushed the kinetic absorption ball out of the construct and kicked it as far as possible.
Two pulses later, he returned to the usual training area. In a circle, ten monoliths encapsulated a ten-by-ten-meter arena. Quite small for a Master, though perfect for him.
Lev’s goal was simple. Without using anything but his physical strength, he was going to kick and punch the balls into the monoliths. Those constructs would absorb kinetic energy from impacts, requiring Lev to really push himself to not let the ball fall.
In doing so, he would test the limits of his body, further his understanding of it, and try to gain a body enhancement skill. Simple in theory, ridiculously tiring in practice.
As if that’s a bad thing. He hummed a tune to himself, flexing his muscles to see if there was any soreness or bruise he had missed. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t start with a body enhancement skill as a Classer. Didn’t need it back then, and especially not in the Adept rank.
Stargazer’s addition was the main reason Lev could fight so well in melee range. Her Superior variant was incomparably better than almost every weapon in The Plains. Not doing everything he could to best utilize the potential in that weapon would be a dire insult to her.
So began the exercise. Mana rushed into his body. Flesh, bones, tendons, and everything else he could perceive were given a healthy dose. Willpower also joined in, commanding the infused mana to empower his body.
The result was immediate. Lev felt slightly stronger and faster, signifying a decent level of success. What he didn’t feel, though, was any impact on his Constitution. For a while now, he could’ve accepted a generic, weak general skill.
That wasn’t enough. He was more than happy to give up Dexterity bonuses, as his speed was born of his mental manipulation. Strength, Constitution, and anything related to mana flow were the main goals.
He had a plan for that, too. After confirming that the enhancement was the same as ever, he changed his approach. Withdrawing all the infused mana, he waited until the ball rebounded. The impacted monolith nearly drained all of its kinetic energy, forcing Lev to move.
In that same motion, which he would’ve made by infusing different mana types into his armor, he instead infused pure mana into his legs. Willpower once again joined in, commanding the mana to enhance them.
The result was far less noticeable than the whole-body enhancement, which was fine. Lev was killing multiple birds with one stone, and progress was bound to take time.
Just to test it again, he grabbed a bit of kinetic mana sent to him by the ball. A trickle of infusion into flesh predictably resulted in a small shower of blood. With a wince, he healed his arm and focused on pure mana instead.
Another kick, and the ball almost stopped dead against a monolith. Lev arrived before it could fall to the ground, tossed it up a bit, then kicked it again. Pure mana empowered each move, but he made sure to use a fixed amount every time.
Precise empowerment was bound to turn into something relatively exotic. It didn’t matter if it was weird. He only needed the skill to be useful.
Time passed in a blink. Minutes turned into hours, and night was in full swing when Lev slowed down. A notification chimed in his head, signaling that one of his goals had been accomplished.
Pleasantly surprised, he read the name of the offered skill. A bit of back and forth in his head later, he accepted it.
[
You have learned the General Skill: Mana Regulation
Mana Regulation - Level 1:
Deepen your control over mana. You may handle tiny amounts with much higher precision, improving efficiency.
The skill further improves your instincts regarding precise manipulation. Calculations for the amount of mana needed for a task are heightened.
]
Lev sat down, storing the ball in his ring. Dismissing his armor and clothes, he covered himself in opaque barriers, just in case. He created a showerhead over himself. The refillable canteen was slotted inside, producing a steady stream of water.
While the sweat was washed away, he considered the new skill. It was, frankly, quite a bit stronger than what a Classer would end up with. That made sense, for Mana Regulation was definitely on the higher end of what a base skill could do. One needed to be at least an Adept to qualify for it. Perhaps even a Master. Lev’s own manipulation wasn’t exactly normal to base his assumptions on it.
A great new addition, nonetheless.
Satisfied, he continued for a bit longer. As he expected, the initial difference wasn’t much. His control over mana was good enough not to mess up simple body infusion in any way. Intense combat was where the skill would show its worth.
When he got bored with the exercise, for it lost its charm after nothing changed, Lev returned to the Goliath corpse. It gleamed under the light of the three moons, some part of the flesh still reflecting all the moonlight mana. That got him thinking. Just how ridiculous would corpses of fourth-threshold beings be?
The only reference point he had was the feather that dropped on the way to the fort. He needed to exert himself even to get close to it, let alone pick it up. And when he did pick it up, a fourth-threshold creature had casually yoinked it from him.
Granted, it had left him two of its own feathers. Those were swiftly handed over to the guild. Lev had no clue how to even begin using them and didn’t want them to lose potency by keeping them in his bubble.
Merely the interest of the Leafweaver Eagle hinted at how precious such loot could become after level one thousand. If even other fourth-threshold monsters wanted it, then humanity had their work cut out for them to obtain such treasures.
“Right on time,” Drakys greeted him, appearing out of nowhere as usual. “Try to be respectful.”
Respectful?
Lev didn’t get the chance to ask questions. A pulsing star in the sky caught his eye. Then it got his undivided attention as it rapidly became larger. Right before it could crash, the star slowed down, revealing a… vehicle, of sorts. Sleek, long, and still too wide to be considered a rocket. It reminded him of a bus, except tailored for flight.
Unable to help himself, Lev peered deeper. He respected the concealment enchantments, though the hints of aura he could detect told him enough. Gravity mana, weight reduction, air mana, kinetic mana, and several other major enchantments formed one robust engine. He had seen the seamless flight already, leaving no delusions about just how expensive such a thing was.
Lev didn’t even want one for himself. His barriers were enough to create something similar yet vastly better-looking. He already had a few designs in mind, particularly the deadliest jets from Earth that he could never even glimpse.
Black doors, matching the rest of the vehicle in color, opened soundlessly. Out came a woman with bright red hair, borderline blazing like searing hot flames. Her dress matched the curtain of hair, accentuating the fair skin and crimson eyes.
In short, she was breathtaking, and not just in terms of beauty, either. One look, and Lev felt his hackles rise. It was his first time seeing a Master so strong other than Melvine. The reaction all but confirmed that, if it came to a bout, he would have to cheat with his massive pools to win. Otherwise, she would handily make him eat dust.
Hah, I don’t even know who she is, Lev thought to himself, holding back a smile. How come sparring is the first thought that comes to mind?
There were plenty of reasons, but he wanted to be mesmerized by her looks, too. At some point, he’d lost interest in such things, too thoroughly engrossed in merely staying alive. He planned to change that eventually, though not anytime soon. The Goliath had rid him of any notions of stability. One bad day, and he was as good as dead.
He couldn’t even predict such days in advance. Living with the constant dread was the only choice.
The noble— because Lev was quite certain of her identity now— walked forward with the grace of a panther, calm yet ready to explode into motion. Each step fell exactly where she wanted it to, for they provided her the maximum stability.
Lev also realized shortly after that some sort of charisma skill was at play. Her aura was affecting his own in a subtle way, convincing it of her higher position. The effect was quite difficult to identify. He likely would’ve failed to do so if her, uh, form wasn’t distracting him so much.
“Not bad,” the Marchioness commented, her eyes still trained on Lev’s like a hawk. For a moment, her aura turned slightly suggestive. The intentions were impossible to miss.
That had the opposite effect. Lev was a stubborn man. Despite the many chances he had at humoring such things, he had stayed away. Anything temporary held no appeal for him, even if he had to die single for it.
“Thank you for the offer.” He offered a polite smile and pointedly, manually brushed off her influence.
Aurora Flynn stared at Lev for a long moment, then turned to Drakys almost accusingly. The Exalted had a full-blown smirk on his face, though Lev couldn’t identify why. Was it related to him, in some way?
“Introductions are done,” Drakys said, motioning Lev to go into the tunnel holding the goliath core. “Forge a new armor before you go.”
Lev bowed his head slightly and took his leave. Whatever they were about to discuss, it was apparently above his pay grade.
****
“You tricked me,” Aurora immediately complained when the boy left.
“Regardless of what you believe, the world does revolve around things other than your existence. I didn’t call you here just to mess with your lustful brain.”
“Oh yeah,” the Marchioness commented sarcastically. “There just happens to be an extremely strong boy who also reeks of inexperience in everything but combat. He didn’t even pretend to bow or show me, a high-ranking noble, any respect. Where the fuck did you find someone that wet behind the ears?”
“Alec’s disciple, Sherron and Orianna’s proclaimed little brother.”
“… Oh, it’s him. Huh.”
“Yes, and his name is Lev. What do you think of him?”
Aurora’s eye twitched. She took a deep breath and mulled over her answer. “Why is he so… flat, in a way?”
“You mean his emotions?” Drakys asked.
“I think so? It’s hard to believe that, with an aura so strong, he can obscure it so effectively.”
“Lev doesn’t realize that he’s doing it. His subconscious is taking all his concealment to the next level to remain hidden,” Drakys explained, then reached a decision. “Do you remember Project Wanderer?”
The marchioness blinked twice, then blankly stared at the massive corpse. Project Wanderer was supposed to research an aura skill that could act as a monster magnet. The inspiration was a secret to all. Aurora had figured out a few things on her own, though this helped connect the dots. “The boy can attract goliaths?”
“Plausible,” Drakys said, then nodded reluctantly. “Or most likely, I suppose. The goliath was almost tailor-made to kill him.”
For a moment, there was silence. Both sides were lost in thought, though Drakys was already anticipating the inevitable question.
“You’re being awfully forthcoming,” Aurora stated with a raised brow.
“Offer him a crafter contract.”
“Not happening,” she immediately refused. “I’m not about to coddle him just because he’s unfortunate.”
“He has already created four Epic items.”
Aurora’s face went through several different emotions, most of them bordering on disbelief. “How?”
“Resources,” Drakys explained. “He has the material and runes. Cores and treatments are what hold him back at this stage. After his training with the Equalizer core? Lev might be able to create mid-Epic items.”
“Might be. Just how much will I need to throw at him before that?”
“He has something to give, too. And no, don’t get your hopes up. His answer right now was final. Lev found a core with the strongest properties of Light we currently have in the Plains.”
“This is getting ridiculous,” Aurora remarked, then sighed lightly. “How long have you been planning our meeting for?”
“A while,” Drakys replied easily. “Lev is Alec’s disciple. You can already deduce what kind of person he is. Like his mentor, he would never willingly seek out someone who could help him advance in his field. Not like Lev lacks the means or power to fight for his own resources, but he has less time than we expected.”
Both looked at the massive corpse in front of them. Lev was somewhere in the creature’s abdomen, subjecting his armor to wave after wave of disruption. Each let him empower the barrier structure to new heights, also improving its mana conductivity as a byproduct.
“I’ll think about it,” Aurora eventually allowed.
Drakys merely nodded. House Flynn had a total of four employed crafters, and all of them could potentially create Epic items. Only one had ever consistently managed so. The girl was responsible for seven of the current two hundred or so recorded Epic items.
Of course, those were official records for the public. Overall, in death zones like the Ravine and Dreadwoods, several Epic items were lost every year. The total count was way higher when all the random trinkets created by Jimmy and Hakim were considered.
Furthermore, Epic items needed to meet a minimum standard to be considered a success. Unlike the lower rarities, that classification was very difficult to earn. After all, while passive properties like mana conductivity and willpower receptivity could push items into the Epic rank, the items themselves needed to hold up in high-intensity combat.
To that end, Drakys already knew Aurora would offer Lev an official, direct contract. She would be a fool not to. He just hoped the woman’s behavior wouldn’t make Lev reconsider.