"We will be in your care," Director Welsh spoke as he departed. Lev jumped into his cart as the horse started moving, trained to travel without a driver.
I wish I could step out of this armor. Lev thought with a small sigh. It was comfortable, somehow not at all scratchy despite being metal, but it was getting tiring.
The horse kept accelerating, to a point that Lev had to identify it.
[Horse - Level 98]
Quite a bit higher than the previous horses. Does this also count as a show of wealth? Lev noted with amusement. Director Welsh seemed like a person who cared about profits and image.
Traveling was the same old boring affair. The carts would be safe for a day or two, the monsters near The Pit eradicated by the occasional patrols. Lev made himself comfortable, not knowing if they would even stop to rest every night. Everyone in the caravan was an Adept, after all.
****
Two days passed in silence, Lev finding himself considerably less bored than he expected. He curiously examined his mind, finding it more… stable, if that was even the right word.
The effect of evolution, huh? Even the first is more impactful than I thought.
Each evolution was, to Lev's knowledge, a great boon to a person's mind. Emotions became more stable, focus became sharper, brainpower got an upgrade, and things like annoyance had less of a hold on emotions than before. It was one of the reasons everyone was so kind. It was both harder to feel negative and there were fewer reasons to feel negative.
Unless the person was evil or a downer by nature. Then those feelings were similarly amplified.
The effects were barely noticeable for him for the most part. His high perception and lack of deep thoughts were not enough to push his mind. Overall, he just felt like a better person.
Lev climbed up the small ladder on the side of the cart leading to an opening meant for scouting safely. He peeked out, taking a moment to appreciate the improvements to his vision, and searched for any monsters.
The past dozens of searches had led to nothing but this time, there was a change.
They're still too far… Lev thought with squinted eyes. The monsters in the distance seemed like orcs, a few dozen of them.
"Hey," Lev shouted at the cart next to his. Ron's head peeked out of the opening. "Do you see those monsters?"
The warrior looked where Lev was pointing, squinting his eyes before shaking his head.
"Nothing," Ron half-shouted.
"I think orcs are chasing us. We will probably outrun them," Lev shouted back. Ron nodded once before climbing down.
Lev did the same, sitting at the edge of the cart to keep an eye on the horizon. Hours passed before Lev noticed their speed slowing down, the horses showing signs of strain after running at full speed for half a day.
The monsters unsurprisingly fell behind. The suns had nearly set before they appeared again, unrelenting in their chase. Their horses were still marching at a slow pace, which was why they could catch up to begin with.
"Orcs," Lev shouted at the other team when he could make out the shape of the monsters with certainty. Claire popped out of the opening this time.
"Think you can handle them before they reach us?" she asked.
"I think so," Lev replied. "It would cost a bit of mana, though."
In truth, it wouldn't, not for him. His arrows were still costly but he had far more mana now. Firing hundreds of enhanced and infused arrows was not out of the question for him if he held back on the infusion quantity per arrow.
"That's fine. We will cover for you if you are low on mana."
That was what Lev wanted to hear. With a nod, he summoned his bow and waited till they were closer. When the monsters were still a kilometer away, Lev formed an arrow, getting a surprised look from Claire.
The lightning converter in his gauntlet readily accepted his mana, the output connected to his barrier armor. Rapid infusion transferred the converted mana to the arrow in an instant.
The arrow filled up, crackling with a little bit of stray lightning. For testing purposes, he resorted to filling it to the brim.
Peering into the knowledge from his archery skill, Lev gradually raised the bow higher and higher before he let it loose. The arrow flew like a bullet, releasing a small shockwave because of its sheer speed, before landing on one of the unsuspecting orcs.
The explosion from the releasing mana was observable despite the distance, the consequence of using so much lightning mana at once.
[
You have slain [Orc - Level 70]
You have slain [Orc - Level 68]
]
Dismissing the notifications, Lev observed his mana pool.
Two percent of my total for that single shot. Pretty good. Lev concluded with a grin. Even if only two orcs had died, plenty more had been injured by the blast.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"How many times can you do that?" Claire shouted, bringing Lev back to the present.
"Only a few more times," Lev lied, not wanting to show how little it had cost him. Firing dozens of conjured barrier arrows was nowhere near surprising enough as opposed to being able to fire fifty of the explosive ones. Lev wanted to stick to the former.
"That is still a great backup option. Make sure to keep some mana for those for the future."
Lev gave her an armored thumbs-up. After waiting for a few more minutes, the orcs eventually got close enough for him to kill them all with ease.
****
More days passed in relative peace before trouble came knocking. Lev formed four shields, reinforcing them as much as he could, and observed the small troll horde drawing closer.
The three dozen monsters were too cohesive for trolls, which signified the presence of a shaman. Those monsters were elusive, preferring to hide and launch sneak attacks on unsuspecting humans.
The only reason Lev was able to kill a shaman so quickly before was due to the surprise factor. He would've probably won in a fight anyway, but not nearly as fast.
"What's the plan?" Welsh's question reached them with surprising clarity, only slightly distorted by the passage of wind from their high speed.
"I will support from range and cover the warriors with my shields as long as they remain close," Lev spoke up first.
"How close?" Claire questioned.
"Fifty meters just to be safe."
The simple answer confirmed that Lev had a range-boosting benefit or skill. That was a part of his class he had no qualms revealing.
"Do you have any buffs?" Jalen, the bulky warrior asked Lev.
"No, I'm a combatant, not a support."
"Just making sure," the man shrugged.
"We will support the warriors and remain ready to expend large amounts of mana whenever necessary," Claire announced. "The warriors will make sure to stay within range and be prepared to disengage if anything goes wrong."
"Simple enough," Welsh remarked. "I will remain ready to intervene in case something goes south. Don't hesitate to call on me."
The hunters all nodded, knowing the merchant was also a warrior. The trolls, still a few kilometers away, were slowly catching up to the dormant horses. The horses almost outpaced them despite being an evolution lower, which was quite surprising for Lev. He would've loved to see their attributes.
"I think you should shoot a few lightning bolts to see if we can find the shaman," Claire called out.
"I can't fire lightning bolts but something else should suffice."
Lev nocked an arrow and poured mana into the fire converter gauntlet when the monsters were less than a kilometer away. The fire mana, wild as always, took some effort to keep inside the arrow. With what little Willpower he had, Lev reinforced the arrow to its limit before letting it loose.
Guided by his archery skill, it once again exploded in the middle of the horde. The blast was much more potent than the last, burning and singing more than a few of them.
Two of his shields blocked the retaliating icicle, one of them pierced cleanly before the second stopped the attack in its tracks.
Lev intently observed the cold emanating from the icicle, passively damaging his shields. The ice aura wasn't anything special but it would be a pain in the butt if the icicle was lodged inside someone. The lethargy induced by it alone could be lethal in intense battles.
"Did you notice the shaman?" Lev asked. He had opted to block the attack instead of tracking it.
"In the back, left side."
Lev formed three lances, each a meter long. Filling them with fire mana, he spent a few seconds tracking the shaman with his improved eyesight. The monster was slightly smaller than the other orcs, skinnier and faster too.
"Found you," Lev muttered and launched all three lances at once.
The projectiles flew with immense speed, crossing the kilometer distance in less than two seconds. Only one hit the shaman head-on but that was fine.
The lance pierced the shaman's leg before detonating and the explosion was amplified by the other lances detonating nearby.
[
You have slain [Troll Shaman - Level 157]
You have slain [Troll Warrior - Level 114]
]
"Shaman down," Lev announced, waving off Claire's stare. "What? That was the focus of my class."
"What were the arrows, then?" she questioned back, impressed.
"General Skill. Focus on the monsters."
She snorted at the poor attempt at deflection but didn't ask any more questions. The carts slowed as the three warriors jumped off, adopting a simple formation with Jalen in front.
Claire's mana rushed into the ground under them, fortifying it to prevent missteps. Lev noted with interest that even the dirt felt more durable to his senses, imbued with trace amounts of mana.
[
Mana Perception has reached Level 8
]
Lev dismissed the notification and formed an arrow, only infusing it with a little bit of lightning mana. Enough to increase its speed and damage the monsters but not enough to explode.
No more words or suggestions were exchanged as the first few trolls reached the warriors. The ground turned into a puddle underneath the monsters, the warriors not wasting the opportunity and deftly piercing their skulls.
The distance between the trolls was little, and another five reached the warriors in the same second. Lev pierced the skull of one while an earth wall rose to block the kick of another.
The erected defense cracked but held. The troll had to reposition, which gave Lev enough time to finish it off. More trolls descended on the warriors in the meantime.
Lev observed how Claire supported her teammates as he formed two more lances and filled them with fire mana.
Before the remaining trolls could pounce on the warriors, Lev shouted, "Jalen, brace!"
The shield activated some defensive skills just as Lev's fire lances landed amidst the trolls. The lances were aimed to cover a large area, catching most of the monsters in the blast radius.
The experienced team did not let the opportunity go to waste, pouncing on the stunned monsters without mercy. The monsters on the ground were pierced by earth spikes suddenly rising from the ground while Lev targeted the least affected.
The battle concluded quickly after that. The remaining monsters were put down with brutal efficiency, the trolls no match for the high-level silver team warriors.
[
Your Group has slain [Troll Warrior - Level 121]
…
Your Group has slain [Troll Warrior - Level 110]
Mana Tempest has reached Level 105
Mana Tempest has reached Level 106
Rapid Infusion has reached Level 3
Rapid Infusion has reached Level 4
Colorful Destruction has reached Level 2
Colorful Destruction has reached Level 3
]
The attribute points went into Constitution. The distribution plan remained the same, the need for a higher Constitution not yet apparent but something he was sure to notice later.
The only reason Lev could reasonably channel mana right now was because he only used it in small amounts. The moment he used more than 20% of his pool at once, Lev knew his arms would be in a world of pain.
Mana pool could be accessed from anywhere in the torso, the quality remaining unchanged even after evolving. Consequently, it needed to be channeled through his arms or legs to reach weapons or equipment.
I sincerely hope there's equipment to deal with that. Lev thought.
That would be a huge help.
