Lev’s testing didn’t last long. In just the few minutes he had spent tussling with the Headless Revenant, a lot of things stood out about the white element.
First, the lightning was wild. It refused any external influences with vengeance, just barely accommodating Lev’s control. That was a great thing, for he wouldn’t need to worry about skills overtaking or redirecting his lightning easily.
Said lightning was also not a fan of barriers or mediums in general. Similar to the Lightning Surge lances, one of Lev’s strongest projectiles, all constructs required extensive durability formations to house the white element.
His past experiences had also greatly affected the evolution. Lev had always been awed by Melvine’s element and its ability to seep into wounds and blood. A property just as insidious as it was mighty. His own lightning replicated that, albeit to a lesser extent. It sought out weak points and wounds and drilled into the body without regard for efficiency.
That was just one of many examples, and by now, it was obvious that the element had also given up a lot. For all its strength, Lev could only use it for fighting and destroying things. But in exchange for its lost flexibility, the lightning was damn good at its job.
Overall, it was one hell of an element. It was going to shred through monsters en masse, and that was all he ultimately cared about. Control would grow with time, and all that time was going to be spent fighting and practicing.
Now, as the wave was ending under moonlit skies, Lev floated above the spread-out battles and considered the revenant corpse in his ring. It was highly resistant to all mana-based attacks, which could make it serve well for a certain purpose he had been delaying all this time.
The Dissonance rune in his repository was just sitting there. Had been for a while now. It required materials with exceptional resistance to mana, and the monster just happened to be a weak embodiment of that.
Lev wasn’t exactly great at harvesting bodies and using the parts to craft trinkets. He could at best carve runes inside the skin, but that would be a huge waste without the proper treatments.
So he refrained from doing anything for now. The wave was about to end, and with Beatrice constantly buffing the regeneration of hunters wherever he took the bubble, they had contributed a decent bit. It was reflected in the new title an hour later.
Siegebreaker I had been upgraded to Siegebreaker II. Now it gave +40 to every attribute, an additional twenty. The title was good, though the effect was only significant when it came to Wisdom. Every single point in that attribute was worth dozens.
And also, there’s this shiny new thing.
[
Wrath of the Arcane - 5th Level 1:
Imbuement and Infusion. Your barriers readily accept mana of all types as their conductivity is engineered to handle large amounts. Teleport your elements into any barriers within your manipulation range as long as they remain under your supervision.
Control over different mana types stored in your barriers is significantly enhanced.
2nd Rank: Your destructive attacks absorb ambient mana to increase their potency by a static maximum of 75%.
3rd Rank: The effects of Perception are further improved for mana types inside your barriers.
5th Rank: Control over elements outside of your barriers is moderately enhanced.
]
A fifth-rank effect when he wasn’t expecting one. It was a nice reminder of how he had stupidly tried to shape white lightning without the help of barriers. While Lev was sure that the new effect was going to help quite a bit, he also couldn’t help but wonder if he could’ve gotten something better out of the rank-up.
Such what-ifs were usually a recipe for disaster, so he shunned that line of thought and made his way back to the fort. Dropping off Beatrice to her quarters took priority; then he was going to see what this Mila person had to show him.
He was sort of excited to work on combat equipment for different hunters.
****
[
Name: Lev
Class: Arcane Maelstrom - Level 340
Titles: Reinforced Mind, Extraordinary Soul, Youngest Prodigy, Goliath Slayer III, Daunting Steps VII, Rift Explorer, Hunter, Seen, Survivor I, Titan Slayer, Master Pioneer, Seigebreaker II, Favored of Kassavin, Wisdom Specialist, Epic Crafter, Abhorrent Slayer I, Spiritual Harmony
Attributes:
Strength: 375
Dexterity: 375
Constitution: 820
Intelligence: 920
Wisdom: 1215
Perception: 820
Class Skills:
Arcane Barrier Authority - 4th Level 9
Unerring Volley - 4th Level 8
Wrath of the Arcane - 5th Level 1
Arcane Protection - 4th Level 9
Superior Senses - 4th Level 9
Expeditious Empowerment - 4th Level 9
Arcane Passage - 4th Level 7
Mage Conduit - 4th Level 9
General Skills:
Consistent Mana Channeling - 2nd Level 10
Identify
Aerial Maneuvers - 2nd Level 10
Arcane Intuition - 2nd Level 5
Gaze of the Marksman - 2nd Level 10
Augmented Carving - 2nd Level 4
Wanderer's Repository - 2nd Level 6
Fracturing Wave - 2nd Level 7
Dance of the Elements - 2nd Level 6
Overpowering Tempo - 2nd Level 1
Mana Regulation - Level 3
]
****
Aurora found Lev first. She was waiting in the fort’s reception hall with a gaggle of nobles in tow, and Lev immediately wanted to be anywhere but there. As smoothly as he could, he veered towards the waiting area opposite the nobles, and Aurora spared him the pointless chats by not calling out to him.
Ten minutes later, she left with a few people without a word. Lev wondered if he should follow or wait, though the answer presented itself in the form of a brown-haired woman, covered in protective clothing and wearing thick gloves.
“Hunter Lev?” she asked, her voice smooth and quite nice to the ears.
“That would be me.”
“Follow me, please.”
Wordlessly, he rose, and they began walking. The woman guiding him seemed to be rather well-known in the fort, for plenty of people glanced at them. It helped that no one knew that Lev was the same person facing the wave, or else he would be getting even more looks.
It took some time before they passed all the crowds and admirers. The woman apparently had those, too.
“Man,” she breathed out a long sigh. “They really don’t leave you alone, do they?”
She asked that while looking at Lev. A bit surprised, he nodded, running some mental calculations. It seemed safe enough to return the casualness.
“That’s why I either remain hidden or invisible,” he replied with a slight shrug. “It wouldn’t be you in the center of attention, otherwise.”
“Oh?” Her eyes brightened. “Why? Are you famous? An aspiring hunter aiming for the stars? Or perhaps a crafter of great renown?”
Lev blinked, considered her words, then decided that she really was out of the loop. “Mm, you can say that. I might’ve left an impression during the recent wave. You will probably hear about it, though I’ll appreciate it if you don’t let the word get out.”
She grinned at him. “Bold words, but alright. I was too cooped up with all the urgent repairs to go out. Now, then. You’re our latest coworker? What do you specialize in?”
“Barriers.”
“Ooh, neat. What flavor of barriers?”
“Durability, mana conductivity, and capacity.”
“Hmm,” she mused idly, lost in her thoughts. “That’s a very strong combination. Are you a supportive fighter? Or straight up a mage? Crafters don’t usually have barriers like that.”
“Mage.”
“How very interesting,” she clapped once, all smiles. “I’m Mila, one of the three Epic crafters in the fort.”
“Lev, Mythril Hunter and solo for now,” he stated. “Also a good enough crafter to be employed, I guess.”
“Oh hush,” she waved him off. “Lady Aurora wouldn’t have employed you if you weren’t worth the money. It’s not like you’re not going to improve during the contract, either.”
While they passed empty hallways into cleaner and more robust parts of the fort, Lev paid attention to the path. It was rather convoluted, and the hidden enchantments were also getting denser. He could likely force his way past the concealments, though that would just alert the whole fort’s management. The embarrassment alone would kill him.
A few minutes of walking later, they arrived at their destination. Crafting Labs were heavily shrouded by runes, and by Lev’s estimate, they were below the basement now. It made sense, for certain equipment could be quite explosive.
“Our workshops are in the corner,” Mila explained, passing by the smaller labs without sparing a glance. Lev was the opposite, taking in every detail. The few he could look inside were dedicated to painting runes onto hides, metals, and other similar things. The pieces felt like Adept equipment to his senses.
“What rank are we going to operate on?” Lev questioned.
“Usually Adept,” Mila tossed out, her longing evident. “The Master orders are picking up now, though. Those are the fun ones. Adepts rarely need any tricky items, you see. Always so straightforward. Which reminds me, we try to spread out the workload according to our strengths. What type of equipment are you best at?”
“Blades,” Lev replied immediately. “Also shields or anything with big surface areas. My barriers work great with absorption and durability, though I’ve also crafted gauntlets before. They turned out well.”
Mila was looking at him with the amusement of someone who couldn’t decide what to feel. She opted to just nod and smile. They reached their workshop after that, and Lev had to say, it was quite amazing from just the cursory scan.
All white, lit up like a stadium, and huge. Barriers sectioned off different labs, whereas some were entire chambers of metal. Close to the entrance was a space akin to a living room, spacious and cozy, especially due to the fireplace to their left. It was embedded in the wall and had a great vibe.
“Good morning, boys and girls,” Mila announced, marching into the place as if she owned it. “Yeah, it’s night outside already.”
A chorus of returned greetings echoed around them. Lev followed Mila, observing the five couches arrayed in front of the fireplace. Between them was a wooden table, holding up enough sweets to last a few weeks.
Four of the couches were occupied, and Lev took a moment to observe the crafters.
[Crafter - Level 211]
[Crafter - Level 190]
[Smith - Level 241]
[Enchanter - Level 291]
[Runesmith - Level 301]
Mila was the Runesmith, and Lev liked the name. It sounded weighty, befitting a profession in a fantasy world. He wondered if he qualified as a Barrierbound Enchanter or something.
“This here is Lev,” Mila announced. “He’s the new addition Lady Aurora war—, erm, told us about.”
“Greetings,” Lev voiced, resisting the urge to look at Mila questioningly. She was about to say something rather suspicious.
Once again, returned greetings reached his ears. The crafters regarded him with open curiosity, though there was also something that felt awfully grating.
Unease. Specifically due to the gap in strength.
Whatever, Lev huffed in his head. They will come around when they see I don’t bite.
He didn’t get to think about that for long. Mila gave him a mischievous glance, then motioned for him to sit down on the couch closest to the hearth.
“I heard the wave just ended outside,” Mila began, slumping into the soft goodness of her seat. “It was rated at nine, yeah?”
Trying to see if I was all hot air, hmm?
“It was!” began another girl, visibly younger than the rest, excluding Lev. She was also the lowest leveled. “Did you know that Lady Aurora and The Runic Warlord were watching over the whole thing? I heard they even took part in some way.”
“No, they didn’t,” said the Master enchanter. “There were just a lot of third-threshold monsters this time, and one of them even fought close to the wall. Like, real close. I was watching from the second floor, and man. It felt like the fort was going to crack.”
“Oh?” Mila straightened.
“Yeah, the guy even evolved lightning,” said the third woman who was already present. She was the smith close to evolving. “It was some really fucky element. Made my hackles rise from just looking at it. Absolutely dogshit for a crafter, unfortunately.”
Mila sent Lev a discreet glance, who just kept a polite smile on his face.
“He did take down a third-threshold Nure with it,” the enchanted mused. “Like, how insane is that? Nures are notorious for being at least level 550 at that rank, if the reports are to be believed. How does a Master survive against those?”
By now, Mila’s smile was becoming a bit strained.
“I wasn’t close to the fort during the battle,” Lev added, leaning forward to feign interest. “Did it not reach the wall from there?”
“Were you stationed elsewhere?” the smith called out.
Lev nodded. “Not near the fort because of my long-range support. Kind of my specialty.” Except he was keeping back a large chunk of the wave by himself.
“That would do it. No, the Exalted just, I don’t know, existed. Everything stopped dead a few dozen meters away, even the big explosions. It was a bit terrifying.”
“Wait, wait, circle back to the lightning,” the first girl began, getting a nod from the last person, a blonde man who looked to be in his late thirties. Some of the oldest Lev had seen. “You mean to say he evolved it during combat?”
“That’s how hunters usually do things,” Mila commented with a sigh. She huffed, crossing her legs and leaning forward. With an elbow on her thigh, she rested her head on her palm. “It would’ve been nice to be able to see the lightning from up close.”
She was met with lukewarm approval, primarily because hunters didn’t belong to crafter workshops. Lev, however, knew exactly what Mila was doing. She was allowing him to smoothly break the ice.
He didn’t have to think for long. In the back of the fort, away from people, these people just wanted to advance their craft. The chances of them outing Lev as the mysterious and strong Master were low. He didn’t care that much, anyway. The privacy was nice, not essential.
Summoning Stargazer’s pole from his ring, he made sure that all of her concealments were active. The appearance attracted odd glances, though all of them shifted to the barrier orb that suddenly hovered above the table. One moment, it was empty, and the next, there were carved runes holding back white lightning inside the construct.
That was all the cue Mila needed. Her skills activated, and with glowing eyes, she was on the orb with the fervor of a starving lion stumbling upon fresh meat.
****A/N: Hello again, and sorry for the back-to-back notes. On the bright side, I got a really cool new laptop! So that's nice.Today, I have another friend and great author of mine to shill. He wrote Arcane Chef, which you like have read, and I would really appreciate it if you guys can support his launch. Regardless, thanks for reading!Arcane Chef: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHZQFB1H