Lev squinted at the prowler's corpse.

  To harvest or not to harvest.

  In the end, he just left it where it was. The core was pretty worthless to him, and it would be bloody. He didn't feel like washing it either.

  He summoned his status to check what else he needed to do.

  [

  Name: Lev

  Class: Arcane Sentinel - Level 90

  Titles: Reinforced Mind, Vast Soul, Youngest Prodigy, Goliath Slayer

  Attributes:

  Strength: 55

  Dexterity: 55

  Constitution: 155

  Intelligence: 205

  Wisdom: 200

  Perception: 155

  Class Skills:

  Arcane Barrier Manipulation - 2nd Level 1

  Incisive Edge - Level 9

  Whirling Rim - Level 9

  Barrier Armor - 2nd Level 2

  Opportunity - Level 9

  Nimble - Level 8

  Heavy Lifting - Level 7

  Needle Precision - 2nd Level 1

  General Skills:

  Mana Manipulation - 2nd Level 1

  Identify

  Arcane Brawling - 2nd Level 2

  Mana Perception - Level 1

  Arcane Archery - 2nd Level 1

  ]

  What a delightful amount of Wisdom, Lev mused with a smile. Looking at his skills, he had already summoned four disks to practice their respective skills. This time, he made two of them as thick as he feasibly could.

  They turned out to be two fingers wide and as wide as his arm. Not dissimilar to shields, Lev hoped they would be able to bear a lot of abuse given he repaired them instantly.

  Now that he had reached the first gap, he could use all skills in tandem without worrying about ever-increasing attributes. The goal was to make them all reach the second rank first before he would level them all simultaneously. Doing that before would have slowed down the rate of progress for each skill, which was undesirable.

  Blocking projectiles and attacks would be the next step. It would train both his Opportunity skill and Barrier Manipulation. Being the shape of disks, he could also fashion them into sharp weapons on the fly.

  He dispatched goblins with practiced ease before a lone orc presented itself.

  [Orc - Level 71]

  Perfect.

  Lev brought forth two of his shields, the new bulky disks, and prepared to engage the orc. It rushed him with a roar, its single-minded focus not even registering the two sharp disks above.

  Seeing the monster rush in and not attacking it was a challenge but Lev managed to stay still with more than a little turmoil. Crossing his arms in front of him, he readied himself to prepare the attacks with his shields, prepared for the worst.

  The orc didn't do anything unordinary, punching with all its might. Lev narrowed his eyes and sharpened his focus on the shield. The monster's fist connected with a dull thud, stopped in its tracks.

  While it couldn't break the shield, the feedback from blocking the attack was very uncomfortable. It felt like someone pressing a specific part of your mind, not painful but something entirely unfamiliar.

  Still, he couldn't hold back a grin. The orc wasn't deterred, or maybe it simply didn't feel anything besides anger and continued smacking the shield.

  Lev observed the impacts through his connection to the barrier. Dashing backward to keep the shield in front of the orc and avoid getting grabbed, he tried to feel how the barrier was damaged. Each hit cost him a small burst of mana to counteract the force, but the rapid punches from the orc barely took more than his natural regeneration.

  The impact from the punches also seemed to affect the entire thing. The area of impact was obviously the most damaged yet a small part of the force was transferred to the rest of the shield.

  For the first few punches, the shield held admirably. Then hair-thin cracks appeared in it before it slowly started to crumble. Lev started to fix the damage at that point.

  Following the guidance of his Barrier Manipulation, he pulled all the new cracks together and commanded them to rejoin. The barrier turned back to being whole seamlessly as if it had never been touched in the first place. Done with the testing, he killed the orc after a few minutes.

  …Why did I never do this before? Barriers are best at stopping stuff…

  Lev waved away the thought. He had wanted to rush his skills to second rank fast, and what he had done would've been impossible without high Intelligence. It showed just how far he had progressed in a short time.

  Next step, test it against a troll. Obviously.

  Lev chuckled to himself. Most people wouldn't dare challenge a troll alone at a similar level. Yet here he was, testing his skills on them for everything new.

  The next test subj- troll found him first, rounding a corner with hollow eyes. They went into rage-fueled focus the moment they landed on Lev.

  It was holding a large wooden club, which was not a good start for the testing. Or maybe the punches were just as strong, he was about to find out.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  He still hadn't forgotten his first encounter with a troll though. Lev immediately dashed back, charging four lightning arrows. The troll rushed him with its massive strides, swinging its club at the two barriers blocking its path.

  Lev positioned both of the shields to be hit at once, dividing the impact. It felt like someone had dropped an anvil on his brain as the club was stopped, only cracking shields at the point of contact.

  Lev shook his head, focusing back on the fight. It amazed him how the intense feedback still didn't cause any pain, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth either.

  He hastily repaired the two shields as the troll went to town on them. They cracked every time, yet by the time the troll was ready for another attack they were already whole.

  Lev's apprehension was slowly fading as he watched the troll smack the shields like an idiot. Roars of anger joined in, doing nothing to shatter them faster.

  He enjoyed the show for a full minute before he had to wonder, what was going on in the troll's head. Its focus never wavered, attacking relentlessly. It didn't seem to tire either though that made sense. Trolls were known for their regeneration which probably had a positive effect on their total stamina.

  Deciding he had enough, Lev fired a lightning arrow at its skull.

  [

  You have slain [Troll - Level 85]

  ]

  It's nice to see no class levels. I wonder if I can brute force all skill levels to the end of second rank before hitting level 100 by fighting lower level monsters.

  The idea had merit, and Lev would've gone for it if it wasn't for the approaching wave. He probably only had a few hours before he would be forced to stay inside The Pit, away from the rampaging hordes.

  As if summoned by the thought, the world changed. There was no visual indication but it felt like reality had just turned hostile. Gazing upon the puny survivors, bipedal nuisances that needed to be eradicated. Lev felt like he was standing in the eye of a storm, except there were no winds or rain. It was all just as silent as the moment before, yet it couldn't have been more different.

  What is happening?

  Lev didn't hesitate and started running towards the inner gate at full speed. He took a moment to appreciate how fast he could move now. The sprint lasted for all of two minutes before Lev was suddenly flying through the air.

  He didn't panic, familiar with travel through the Bubble. His mentor was piloting it as usual, yet he looked deep in thought, a frown on his face. Lev turned to where Alec was looking, finding himself facing the pit's entrance.

  "Did something go wrong?" Lev looked around, finding the rapidly passing grassland to be the same. There were more monsters than normal but that wouldn't warrant such a reaction.

  Alec's voice was carefully neutral as he replied. "Waves do not form this fast."

  Lev took a moment to digest that, no closer to an explanation afterward. The Pit approached rapidly at their speed. From above, Lev got to witness controlled chaos. Everyone was on the move, their purposes different yet they all moved with the same stable gait. They knew what was coming, and they were aware of how to do their part.

  They landed in front of Golden Basilisk. Lev was led inside without stopping, and before long they were in Alec's suite. His mentor summoned a long black bow and wordlessly tossed it to Lev.

  It looked much more modern than almost everything Lev had seen on Monarch. Like the type of compound bows that could be seen on earth. It was made of dark brown wood and was enchanted to the brim.

  [Dark Birch Bow - Common]

  [Created by a Master crafter for a Classer, this bow is of exceptional make and is designed to help hit enemies at range.

  Enchantments: Focus, Empower]

  Lev almost whistled but held himself back. Glancing at Alec, he waited for an explanation.

  "I would've asked you to buy an upgrade tonight but the schedule has to be moved forward," Alec focused his full attention on Lev. "Rest and recover your mana. Waves usually last for hours if not days. You need as much mana as you can get."

  "How much did it cost?" Lev interjected. Getting an answer, he tossed two gold coins to Alec who accepted them without a reaction.

  "So, I'm assuming things aren't exactly going as planned?"

  "Yes," his mentor sighed. "The wave formed both faster and stronger than expected, not that we know why they formed in the first place. You simply won't survive beyond the wall, and will have to focus on providing support from the on top of it."

  Lev looked down, not exactly mad or disheartened but somewhat disappointed. Both in himself for not evolving faster and at how fast the wave had formed. It wasn't reasonable, he knew, but he wasn't progressing fast enough for his liking.

  What am I rushing for?

  It was a question he had asked himself several times yet found no answer. There was simply the urge to grow stronger, almost unnatural in its persistence despite reassuring himself that the world wouldn't end even if he didn't progress at the blazing pace he was going.

  "Most Classers take at least two years to evolve," Alec's voice broke him out of his reverie. "They take their time, both with their skills and attributes and best familiarize themselves before challenging the First Gap."

  "I'm not most people I guess," Lev muttered, not completely convinced himself. He resolved to look into the desire to grow stronger later. It was leading his thoughts in a dangerous direction, one filled with constant battles.

  "Be as it may, you need to be prepared. How long till your mana recovers fully?"

  "Six or so hours."

  "Rest then, and stay here."

  Lev didn't have an issue with that and jumped onto his bed after getting out of the illusion armor. His mentor put up a barrier to separate them, probably crafting some last-minute things.

  The bed was just as cozy as he remembered, and sleep claimed him easily despite the tense situation.

  ****

  Each settlement of Monarch had a monster bell, regardless of size. The bell was simple in its purpose, to warn the residents of an approaching wave. It was rung based on how large and dangerous the imminent wave would be, simplified into ten chimes.

  One chime was for simple waves that low-level combatants along with a few higher-level people to watch over them could easily deal with. On the other end of the spectrum, seven and eight chimes signified a dangerous situation, urging the non-combatants to find shelter. Nine and ten chimes were reserved for a calamity, a wave so large that a breach was a likely outcome.

  Lev sat upright as the first chime spread throughout The Pit. It took a few moments for his bleary mind to decipher the ringing in his ears.

  Grogginess sleep vanished in record time when the second chime came through. Each chime was separated by ten seconds for the sake of clarity.

  Lev washed his face and summoned the illusion armor before jumping inside. His mentor entered the suite with the third chime and motioned for Lev to follow him.

  The fourth chime came and went, and so did the fifth. The bubble carried them up, and Lev stepped onto the wall of the city as the sixth chime sounded. Night was in full swing as two bright moons shone above, their light unhindered by the cloudless night. Waiting in tense silence, Lev prayed to whatever deity was watching over them consciously for the first time. It felt right for some reason.

  The distant yet nearby scaled god heard his prayer but only wished him good fortune.

  The seventh chime thundered in the ears of all the defenders. It was the threshold of every disastrous wave. Casualties were guaranteed.

  The morale faltered slightly as the eighth chime rolled through. Most of the defenders, Adept rank and above, had closed their eyes.

  Seconds passed with painful slowness. Everyone held their breath but the next chime never came. There was a collective sigh of relief, accompanied by both smiles and determination.

  Lev would be relieved too if it wasn't for Alec's deep frown. Somehow, he didn't seem to be happy that the wave wasn't any worse.

  Lev didn't get to question him before the Bubble wrapped around them. There was no visual indication, the only sign being the absence of sound from the surroundings.

  "Should I leave?" Lev asked bluntly.

  "No, not really. The wave should be manageable," Alec replied, still frowning.

  "What's wrong then?"

  Lev was starting to get worried now. His mentor never acted like this.

  "I told you before, waves don't form like this. Not only is it too quick, but the rating is also higher than the usual pattern," He glanced at Lev before continuing. "The rating only goes up if the pit isn't cleared regularly, which is not the case right now. In fact, there are more Masters than usual inside in preparation… for a future event."

  Lev was intrigued by the mysterious event but there was a far bigger issue at hand. He was starting to see it now as well, unsettling as it was. The wave was unordinary, somehow both stronger and quicker than the norm. That would require a catalyst for its increased strength but only the opposite was true.

  The pit was crowded with Masters right now yet that hadn't reduced the rating. It had only increased somehow. His mentor wouldn't bring it up with him if it wasn't bothering him so much. Which could only mean two things. Either the reason was completely unknown or it was known and no less worrying.

  It didn't seem like the former, or his mentor wouldn't be so worried. Unknown things were rather normal on Monarch. In the case of the latter, it had to be something extraordinary to cause it. Yet nothing had changed in The Pit in the last month. Except one thing…

  Me?