Inna appeared quietly before Lev, looking at him without any particular expression.

  "You sure you want to stay here?"

  "For as long as I reasonably can, yes," Lev replied calmly. "I need to get several skills to second rank before the wave."

  She tilted her head slightly. "You've been running around killing everything with first-rank skills?"

  Whoops.

  "Some," Lev deflected, though he could tell she didn't believe him.

  Inna shrugged. "Fine, keep your secrets. How long are you going to stay for today? Don't forget, if a wave forms I will carry you back whether you like it or not."

  "I'm not suicidal," Lev said curtly.

  Not paying the guardian any more attention, he started looking for new targets. Preferably dormant monsters, not trolls that moved too fast for him to track, let alone fight back.

  He picked up his bow that had been dropped during the collision, slotting four new arrows into the converter on his back. The previous disks and arrows had disintegrated, which was new. The lightning mana stored inside cracked the barrier constructs if Lev didn't keep them in check.

  60% or so mana left. Enough for a few prowlers after the Wisdom Boost.

  He didn't let his mind linger on how close he had come to death. If Inna was a few seconds late he would've been pulped inside the tough armor. His power was far from enough to kill something so strong and known for its regeneration, so all his mana pool wouldn't have made a difference.

  The points in Constitution would've mattered little. The troll surely had a bunch of passives and actives increasing its strength versus Lev's simple attribute points. His frail body wouldn't have stood a chance.

  The sight of a fist the size of his head blurring at his chest kept replaying in Lev's mind. He tried to ignore it, to focus on gathering more strength to prevent the same from happening again. Yet it wouldn't go away.

  He didn't realize when his breathing turned ragged or how he had stopped moving. His little limbs inside the illusion armor were shaking, and it took all his willpower to not give in to the terror.

  I always knew death was the inevitable outcome. Lev thought with a mental chuckle, the sound strained even in his mind. This is what everyone has to go through, and why being a part of a team is not just recommended but mandatory. The numbers might've let them escape.

  He gulped, noting how dry his throat was. The prospect of staying solo was losing more and more of its luster, especially now after seeing how strong a First-threshold monster was.

  There was no foolproof way to prevent accidents, so they could only be best mitigated by a team having your back.

  Lev balled his small hands into fists inside the illusion armor. He had entertained his delusions of a one-man army and glorious deeds long enough. In a little over half a decade, he would meet his team. Before that, he would make sure to learn and observe. Ensure that when they became a team, they would be the strongest to have ever existed.

  The first step was to ensure that he became as strong as he possibly could. He would earn the trust of the Hunters Guild, guide new hunters, and see how everyone trained. Only by learning the basics would he be able to teach them.

  His class and the remaining time would ensure that he would be far higher in level than his new team. As Classers, they would most likely look up to him. Lev might just be a Master by then, or at least he would do his best to be, which would only make him even more of a role model to follow.

  He had to be prepared.

  ****

  "How are you feeling?" Orianna asked, leaning against the outer wall border next to a little girl. They both gazed silently at the distant forest, a weekly routine they had developed last year.

  "Better," the girl replied, her tone betraying no emotion.

  Orianna glanced at Amelia, faster than the girl could notice, and sighed imperceptibly. She was one of the oldest kids in the Orphanage, eleven years of age. With silver hair and golden eyes, her status as the daughter of a famous Master team, and the sheer talent that ran in their bloodline, Amelia should've been destined for greatness.

  The world hadn't agreed, taking away her parents and their friends in one fell swoop. Four years ago, one of the most dangerous hordes ever seen had formed inside The Grand Forest, close to its edges.

  Diviners and Scouts had almost lost their collective minds, reporting a huge wave of only second and third-threshold monsters. Three Exalted and nearly two hundred Masters had been mobilized, a significant portion of all the Masters, yet they still lost over two dozen people. Amelia's parents, aunts, and, uncles were sadly among the fallen. That had seen the girl admitted to Orianna's orphanage.

  Who should've been a bright kid with an ever brighter future ahead of her, she now creeped out even most adults with her silver hair and dead, hollow golden eyes. Not Orianna though. She only felt her heart bleed at the girl's misfortune. Just as it did for every other orphan.

  "Amelia," Orianna began, steeling herself. "Are you sure of your decision?" She was referring to her unyielding desire to become an adventurer, to go beyond the plains and uncover the secrets of Monarch.

  The girl didn't reply for several seconds before she nodded slightly. Orianna waited for her to say something else but no words were forthcoming.

  I hope she agrees with this, Orianna sighed again in her mind.

  "You, Jack, and Kayla will need another person on your team," This time the girl reacted, turning to her with a glint of anger in her cold eyes. "I know you don't want someone else to join your friend group but it's required. I will not allow you to go out without a full team either." Orianna stated, her tone final.

  The girl held her stare for several seconds before looking away. "I doubt anyone would be able to keep up with me," She said with a frown.

  Got her. Orianna thought, hiding her smile.

  "You don't have to worry about that," Orianna replied. "If anything, it will be you having a hard time keeping up."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Amelia frowned, but she didn't question her. She knew Orianna only wanted the best for her, nothing else. "How can you be so sure?"

  "Hmm, well, I oversaw some of his early light training," Orianna said, smiling at the memories. "Wait here, I'll bring Jack and Kayla."

  Ten minutes later, they all silently observed the scenery. WhiteFall for all its dangers and status as a frontier Great City, was surrounded by some breathtaking vistas.

  "Do you guys also not want a fourth member?" Orianna questioned Jack and Kayla.

  "Nah, I am completely fine with it. Have known for a long time that we will need another person to reach the minimum requirement to form a team," Jack said, subtly glancing at Amelia.

  Orianna could tell despite his young age that Jack would grow up to be tall and muscular, someone you could rely on in the time of need.

  "What about you?" Orianna looked at Kayla. The girl was perhaps the most normal in terms of looks, with black hair and brown eyes.

  "I do not mind," Kayla shrugged. "Only because I trust you to find someone who will not hold us back or be a bad fit."

  Orianna raised a brow. "Why do you think I'll be finding a member for you?" She had only talked about that with Amelia.

  Kayla grinned. "You wouldn't be asking us otherwise."

  Clever girl.

  "He's currently living with Alec Zar, who I'm sure you are aware of. The boy has the drive and dreams larger than Monarch, but he does not want to work under anyone," Orianna held their gazes. "Just like you guys."

  Jack slowly nodded. "I see, but will he even fit in our team?"

  "Quite nicely," Orianna replied. "He plans on becoming an offensive barrier mage, providing both damage at range and support."

  "Why are you so sure?" Amelia asked, continuing when Orianna didn't say anything. "That he will be strong enough to keep up?"

  Orianna raised a brow. "Tell me, Amelia, do you feel a connection to fire?"

  The girl nodded once, slowly.

  "I believe he also has a similar connection with pure mana. Many call it an affinity, found in those who are exceptionally well-suited for a single element. The System ensures anyone can wield any element, but some are just born more talented. Like the two of you.

  "I'm not here to hype up your future teammate," Orianna chuckled. "I simply wanted to inform you that he has agreed to join you guys when everyone has their class. Besides, it would do you well to know about the scale of his ambitions already. You wouldn't want to be outdone now would you?" She finished with a light smirk, the expression turning into a grin when she saw the determination in their eyes.

  ****

  Lev took steadying breaths as he aimed at the distant troll's head. He was testing arrows imbued with fire mana.

  The result was interesting, to say the least.

  The second rank of his archery skill made it easier to handle different mana types, letting him aim with little trouble. The magic happened at impact. Fire mana remained somewhat stable till something roused it, which in the case of an arrow was finding the target.

  Lev had watched with childish excitement as each of his arrows exploded, their force enough to kill an orc with a single hit to any vital area.

  The next obvious test was attempting to kill a troll in one hit. Their regeneration wouldn't let him kill them with a body shot, so he was forced to aim for the head.

  Hidden behind a tall ivory boulder, Lev waited till the troll wasn't looking in his direction, slowly shambling away. When it turned its back to him fully, Lev loosed.

  He could feel the effect of his 2nd rank archery skill, small as it was. It felt like the arrow grabbed his mental focus, guiding it to further enhance its own speed. The effect wasn't groundbreaking, only increasing the speed by a small amount.

  The troll didn't even get a chance to react to the now too-fast arrow as it pierced the monster's skull. It stayed whole for an instant after penetrating before exploding, showering the area in bone and brain bits.

  [

  You have slain [Troll - Level 88]

  ]

  Neat.

  All in all, Lev was happy with the skill. There was a lot of power packed into the first rank already, and he was hoping it would be integrated into his class skills at first evolution, freeing up four slots.

  Talk about wishful thinking. He snickered, mostly at himself.

  The possibility was there but it would require him to choose an entirely new path that changed the general skill enough to fit into his class.

  The evolutions were a mystery. The system didn't allow humans to remember what happened during it, but some people came back with tidbits of knowledge. Nothing revolutionary but they confirmed some theories.

  Lev had his questions already planned. Two of them, both simple and concise.

  'How do I increase the chances of survival for Humanity as a whole' and 'Is continued survival on Monarch possible?'.

  Everything else would come with time, but those two questions were what mattered the most.

  Let's not get lost in what-ifs. I need to get my last two active skills and three passive skills to second rank.

  The active skills would be easy enough, both currently at level 9. Heavy Lifting would be an issue, requiring Lev to do some acrobatics and dash around. Nimble would follow suit, only requiring him to move around faster and better.

  Right now, his "dashes" were limited to him grabbing his armor and throwing himself in a direction. He was getting rather proficient in it, too. But the skill demanded him to empower his jumps and leaps instead. Only then would he be able to bring out his full potential.

  Lev glanced around him, looking for Inna. She was scouting for once, keeping an eye out on the distant horizons.

  Seeing she was still close by, he summoned four disks and slotted them in the lightning converter slots. Fire mana would do nothing for the disks, for he needed them to stay whole and be faster. Lightning mana gave them an innate speed boost, and also did more damage upon contact. Fire mana would just explode on impact, not letting the disks properly cut with their spinning power.

  The number of monsters was surely increasing. In the next ten minutes, he went through the lightning mana and killed many more goblins and orcs with just regular disks. He seemed to find something at every turn, the boulders hiding far more adversaries than before.

  It didn't come as a surprise when he heard a feline growl behind him. Lev had noticed the prowler only a minute ago when it was already stalking him. He waited for it to reveal itself as a plan formed in his mind.

  Heavy Lifting doesn't specify how I need to handle weight. Opportunity should level from this too.

  Lev turned around, already waiting with four lightning-infused disks. The prowler showed no signs of intelligence, pouncing on him just as the previous prowlers did. He jumped back, avoiding getting pinned and observing the speed of the monster.

  It was weaker than the last prowler but not by much. Lev nodded to himself, ready to act. When the prowler dashed to claw off his face, Lev was waiting for it with a crouched stance. He sprung forward, feeling the monster's putrid breath warming his armor as the jaws missed by a few centimeters, and wrapped his hands around its neck.

  Lev locked the fingers of his hands as the monster thrashed around, inadvertently helping him get on its back. With four disks floating beside him, Lev stabilized himself before he pulled at the neck with all his might in a jerky motion.

  The bones of its neck didn't break, and neither did he tear its head off. The monster paused, its thrashing halted for a full second. Its roar of anger washed over Lev, the first time he'd heard the sound from a prowler. Yet the same action turned out to be its undoing.

  Its roar was disrupted halfway as two disks cut into its neck. The lightning mana caused the aborted roar to turn into a yelp, the monster now redoubling its effort to thrash around. It didn't seem to be impaired by the blood gushing out of its slit throat as Lev shook from all the frantic flailing.

  He held on with his mind and physical arms strained as the Prowler rolled on the ground, not quite damaging Lev as the impact was absorbed by the barrier armor.

  Seeing the human stubborn holding on, the insanity-addled monster acted upon the first idea that came to mind.

  OH SHI-

  Lev hastily tried to release his hold, the interlocked fingers requiring more time than he had. He couldn't manage it in time, slamming face-first into a boulder with the prowler.

  The barrier armor absorbed the impact, but Lev was still rattled inside. The impact seemed to travel through his entire body, stunning him a little.

  The prowler had it much worse. Its already damaged neck was barely attached to its torso, almost torn off by the impact. Its head was also twisted, and Lev stood up and watched as the light left its eyes.

  [

  You have slain [Shade Prowler - Level 110]

  Arcane Sentinel has reached Level 90

  Arcane Brawling has reached 2nd Level 2

  Opportunity has reached Level 9

  Heavy Lifting has reached Level 6

  Heavy Lifting has reached Level 7

  Nimble has reached Level 8

  Barrier Armor has reached 2nd Level 2

  5 Free attribute points

  ]

  He read the notifications in mute satisfaction, happy with how the plan had turned out. It had been derailed the moment the monster started thrashing around, making him realize that it was too strong to wrestle. The original plan was to pin it to the ground, which was swiftly adapted into providing an opportunity for his disks.

  Now at Level 90, it would be the final period of getting class levels before they stopped entirely. He would only grow stronger through skill levels, which he disliked. Improving only one aspect of his class at a time sucked, but he couldn't do anything about it.

  Skills worked off of base attributes, which came from leveling. He wanted to be done with grinding skills as fast as he could, to evolve and start gaining more power.

  Already he had to face a wave without evolving, which was both ideal and undesirable. His skills would grow rapidly because of the danger, which meant the chances of accidents would also be sky-high.

  Similar thoughts occupied his mind as Lev solemnly looked at the sky, wondering if he would ever be strong enough. Not for anything specific, but to be free of these endless hordes and do anything he desired without giving up his morals. The sky didn't answer, of course, so he turned his attention to the next monster to hunt.

  Nobody was forcing him to stay there. Lev just couldn't bring himself to sit idly when humanity could end at any given moment. The public was kept in the dark about the exact circumstance but it wasn't difficult to guess why.

  Most of the Exalted were rarely ever seen in public, and majority of the Masters were always busy out of sight. That was enough to know they simply didn't have the time to be elsewhere, busy with whatever Monarch was constantly throwing at humanity.