Lev found a prowler lurking in the shadow of a huge boulder. It was larger than the ones he was used to seeing, probably around level 130.

  I need a new, more powerful bow.

  Lev noted the thought for later as he focused on the position of the prowler, its speed, and the direction it was walking in. With a bit of mental math, he launched one of the lances where the prowler should be in the time it took to reach the monster.

  The guess turned out to be slightly off, the lance landing a few inches away from its shoulder. Missing didn't matter when the lance exploded, the amount of mana packed into it and the shrapnel of the destroyed barrier lance easily killed it.

  That works too. I need to reduce the amount of mana in them and not miss, or all this mana would be of no use if I bottom out after only 50 attacks or so.

  [

  You have slain [Shade Prowler - Level 128]

  Mana Tempest has reached Level 102

  ]

  Lev put the five points into Wisdom. The warm feeling of increased mana coursed through him, letting him feel just how stupid his class was.

  It gave way too much mana.

  Lev wanted even more of it.

  To that end, he killed another four monsters with ease before finding something that looked challenging.

  It was an orc, a shaman by the looks of it. Even from afar, Lev could tell that it was a fair bit stronger than the brute he had fought.

  Time to test the durability of my barriers.

  Lev formed a simple arrow and almost fired it. Having an idea, he summoned his bow and filled the arrow to the brim with lightning mana.

  He wanted to compare an arrow fired from a bow to his own manipulation. He knew the arrow fired from a bow would be faster but not by how much.

  Lev formed and filled another before firing them both at the same time. Curiously enough, Lev was just now realizing that he had been underutilizing the bow. Quite badly, too.

  The draw strength of the bow was gargantuan, something he was only now starting to notice. His mind struggled to pull it back enough for the bow to start showing signs of strain, at which point he released both arrows.

  The result was not even close. The shot from his bow thoroughly outclassed the other, reaching the shaman in a split second. Not only that, but the arrows formed by his general skill were also boosted by his new active skill's speed bonus, further amplifying their lethality.

  To the monster's credit, it reacted in time to look at the approaching attack. That was all it had time to do, however, and its head was summarily popped.

  [

  You have slain [Orc Raider Shaman - Level 153]

  Mana Tempest has reached Level 103

  Mana Tempest has reached Level 104

  10 Free attribute points

  ]

  Lev wondered where the rest of the raider party was. Some Master had probably massacred them all on a casual stroll. Shamans rarely formed without a full horde, which was common knowledge.

  In the same vein, monsters like orc commanders, or Monarch forbid, orc generals were only ever seen with a large horde. The latter were menaces that nobody ever wanted to see. Despite being an early second-threshold monster or a late first-threshold monster, the general could easily out-muscle a team of physical fighters at the same level.

  How would he compare to such elite monsters at the same level? Would he have trouble ever hitting one? Or would he decimate them from afar?

  He didn't know but he also couldn't deny being excited at the prospect of finding out. The increasing personal strength was starting to get to his head, and his class wasn't even close to its full potential yet.

  I need something to humble me. Lev thought, sending one last glance toward the pit before descending. His magical might was top-notch, as he had just seen, but it remained to be seen how badly his physical side had been hit. He searched for a few minutes till he found a suitable adversary to test himself against.

  [Troll Warrior - Level 109]

  The troll noticed him from several dozen meters away while he was still flying, immediately launching its wooden club at him.

  Lev dodged, the trajectory of the club standing out like an open book.

  Uncaring about the loss of its weapon, the troll charged him with a mindless roar. Lev let the sound wash over him, noting the barrier armor blocked most of it for some reason. It didn't do that for normal sounds to this degree before.

  Shrugging off the thought, Lev stopped pondering about hidden gifts and focused on the monster. Two large shields formed in front of him, blocking a straight punch from the monster.

  The barriers cracked, both of them, but halted the attack in its tracks. Lev mentally nodded, backtracking to not let the troll too close.

  The troll wasn't deterred, smashing apart the shields with a few more attacks before leaping at the pesky human. Lev overloaded his manipulation skill, yanking himself to the left with all his mental might.

  That turned out to be overkill. The monster was left somewhere far behind as Lev shot through the air, spinning like an arrow gone awry.

  It took a few seconds to get himself under control, trying his best to not lose track of the monster out for blood. That turned out to be a wise decision, as Lev reacted just in time when the troll landed in front of him.

  The large, meaty yet oddly refined fist of the troll passed mere inches from his face. Lev quickly flew back to make distance. Just from the passage of the fist, he knew there was no hope for melee fighting anymore. His armor may have survived, but that was all.

  He could no longer battle things in melee range without constantly dodging like he had done with the Brute.

  Sighing in regret, and a little bit of relief, Lev formed two lances before filling them with lightning. The first took the monster in the chest, incapacitating it for the most part, and the other blew its head to smithereens.

  [

  You have slain [Troll Warrior - Level 109]

  Rapid Infusion has leveled up to Level 2

  ]

  That's that. No more fighting with Stargazer.

  The thought evoked mixed feelings. On one hand, he loved the feeling of holding Stargazer. She was just the best glaive.

  On the other hand, he was glad to be away from monsters. Few wrong moves and he would be squished to paste. Fighting up close was simply not for him.

  The loss of the Nimble skill was the largest factor in his sharp decline in physical capabilities. Fighting the troll had felt alien to him, as if he was fighting without a limb he was so used to.

  Tradeoffs, I guess. Can't do much about it without being able to enchant my armor.

  Just another thing on his to-do list.

  The last thing he wanted to test was utilizing projectiles in close range. Launching them full of mana was effective but he wanted to know how they performed against a monster up close. There were no disks to carry him either.

  Lev found another troll, slightly stronger than the previous, and formed five lances behind him. Without the lightning or fire mana infusion, they felt light in his senses. Ready to obey.

  Lev launched two at the troll, one a little slower. The monster batted away the first, unable to react to the second in time. The projectile pierced the troll's flesh with a sickening sound, burying itself halfway to its length.

  The lance, over a meter in length, started small from the pointy end and became thicker till it was large enough to barely fit in Lev's palm at the other end. The deeper it went, the more it opened the wound, which the troll seemed to ignore in favor of killing the human.

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  Lev narrowed his eyes, mentally grabbed the lodged lance still in his manipulation range, and yanked it out. The monster stumbled and roared in pain when the lance pierced the same wound, further enlarging it.

  Lev suppressed his disgust at the action. Willingly stabbing the same wound again felt wrong. But his opponent was a troll, one very willing to eat his face.

  He stabbed it again, then another time. On the last attack, he seemed to have something vital as the troll lost its strength, the blood loss now outpacing its regeneration. Lev didn't make it suffer for longer and ended its life by stabbing its brain.

  … Excellent penetration power and acceptable level of instant acceleration. Will need to keep my distance at all times but even half of my manipulation range should be enough for the lances to reach maximum speed.

  It was a good result, all things considered. That style of close-range fighting was simply a byproduct of his class.

  Lev checked his mana pool, finding it above 80% still. He let out a chuckle. His casual testing would have left him low on mana before, but now it merely cost him less than a fifth of his total.

  Flying up and away from the corpse, Lev considered his next steps. Inna was nowhere to be seen, and his mentor was also busy these days.

  Alec is probably leaving soon.

  His mentor had been hiding it from him, Lev knew. He just didn't know for how long before his teacher had made him aware. That was a week ago, so Alec was probably leaving today. He was supposed to have a few days ago.

  That was also why he was so silent and contemplative earlier. He would've normally given Lev some inordinately expensive gift along with heartfelt congratulations but the man was just subdued.

  Lev understood very well too. He had opted to test his class first to clear his mind. But he couldn't put it off any longer. With a deep, suffering sigh, he flew back to the gate. The distance that would've taken an hour of running at full speed was cleared in just fifteen minutes of flight.

  His mentor was already there at the gate. Seeing Lev approach, he simply turned around and started walking. Words were not needed as Lev fell in behind him, following him without hesitation.

  They slowly walked through The Pit. The destination turned out to be the Hunters Guild, where Lev was silently led to the second floor.

  The pair stopped in front of an elaborately yet ornately decorated door. The most prominent feature was a shield and sword delicately carved on the wooden door, somehow possessing a regal air.

  Alec knocked twice and waited. The doors parted, revealing the form of one of the most imposing men Lev had ever seen.

  The Guildmaster was nearly two meters in height, dwarfing both Lev and Alec equally. What made him so imposing, however, was his bulk. The man was not a mountain of muscle. Instead, he was almost slim.

  He stood ramrod straight, his shoulders tense as if he were a military sergeant. With his dark skin, dark brown eyes, and bald head, the man looked like he could force a wave to break simply by staring at it.

  That was without even his aura, and oh did the man have one hell of an aura. Lev had forgotten to breathe entirely as his vision was covered in silver light, both so destructive and fast that it boggled comprehension. Yet it was also more, a force of enhancement like nothing had ever been seen.

  The effect slowly abated, making him realize he was no longer breathing. Lev took a deep shuddering breath, no longer willing to look at the man in the eyes, and lowered his head.

  He was too scary. Lev didn't mind showing deference.

  "Enter," the Guildmaster's voice rang out, echoing with an intensity that made Lev's knees weak. Good thing he was walking with his mind.

  Alec was unconcerned, taking a seat after the Guildmaster sat down on his own behind the table. Lev followed behind after a few seconds, gingerly sitting down.

  Behind them, the doors slowly closed shut. Lev kept his eyes low, not looking up at the man who was intently staring at him. It was like a mountain had been lifted off his shoulders when the man turned to Lev's mentor instead.

  "Boy," the Guildmaster greeted.

  "Teacher," Alec greeted back, bowing his head respectfully.

  Lev wondered if he was supposed to do the same. It didn't seem like it, so he just stayed stock still and silent.

  "What do you see?" the man turned to him and asked abruptly.

  Lev swallowed, considered his answer, and replied truthfully. "Silver."

  "Go on."

  "It's like light, very fast but also destructive. It is also a fuel for body enhancement, or at least felt like it."

  The Guildmaster considered it silence before speaking up. "I am Hakim, the Guildmaster of all branches of the Hunters Guild."

  Hakim was still looking at him in contemplation. "Do you know why I'm in this branch?"

  Lev didn't, so he went with the first guess that popped into his mind. "The Giant?"

  The hint of a smile somehow found its way on Hakim's face. "No. It was because of my student. He wanted me to meet someone, so I replaced the guild master for a bit."

  Three months is a bit?

  Lev wasn't sure if he was supposed to speak so he kept silent until an unexpected order.

  "Store the armor."

  Lev gulped but did he as he was told. The armor vanished, revealing the young boy underneath.

  Hakim silently gazed at him as Lev met his stare this time. He didn't know why the staring was taking place but it seemed important.

  In the end, Hakim smirked a little. The air seemed to morph, turning far colder and more suffocating. "Do I scare you?"

  Lev's hackles rose at the question, his instincts telling him to just run as the man's aura suddenly became sharper, almost cutting him just by being in its vicinity. "Suddenly a lot more than before."

  The coherent answer seemed to surprise Hakim, and he did something Lev would've considered impossible for the man.

  Hakim chuckled. "That was an intimidation skill. You held up surprisingly well if we ignore how badly you're shaking."

  Lev was indeed shaking badly. It took all his willpower to keep the tears at bay. This was, hands down, the worst experience of his short life.

  He took a deep, shaky breath as annoyance wormed its way through his terrified mind. "That is great but uh, I need to find an escort quest to Runespires. Can we get along with it?"

  Hakim raised a brow. "You will not go anywhere till I let you."

  The casual remark struck something deep inside him, his bottled hate for all sorts of authority over him. Lev unconsciously balled his hands into fists, the sound of knuckles cracking pulling him back to his senses.

  Lev didn't retort and just leaned back into his chair and waited for Hakim to continue.

  It was Alec who spoke first. "That is enough. He's not here to become a knight."

  Hakim tsked. "Testing one's mental fortitude hardly qualifies. The boy needs to know how to cooperate properly."

  "He will, in time." Alec simply replied.

  "That is not-"

  "He will also be strong enough to pick up the slack. I will not let you change his ways. They're more than good enough already if you haven't noticed."

  "You wish for him to stay independent?" Hakim frowned.

  "Yes," Alec replied without missing a beat.

  Teacher and student stared into each other's eyes, having a conversation through their gazes that Lev couldn't hope to understand. Their bond was too deep. Even if they seemed to be arguing, they were simply discussing what they thought best for the boy without opposing each other at all.

  Lev was confused too. He was rooting for his mentor of course, but still.

  What the fuck. Why are you talking back to the scary Exalted for me?

  … It gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling.

  Hakim eventually turned to Lev, whose opinion of the guild master was swiftly deteriorating. "My disciple wasn't ever this stubborn. Did you taint his mind with your ideas?"

  Lev scowled, about to retort when he saw Alec shaking his head. His mentor was smiling for some reason. Lev squinted his eyes at Hakim, who chuckled after a few seconds.

  "Your title does work, it seems. No child could've clung to their views for so long in these conditions."

  "This was a test?" Lev asked, the tension slowly draining.

  "Not really," Hakim grinned. "I am in favor of having you go through my training program."

  "Let me guess, it's something similar to military training?"

  "You're aware of those?" Hakim asked. It took Lev a moment to remember there was no military or police force on Monarch, so it was not supposed to be common knowledge.

  "Yes," Lev simply answered.

  "You're correct. It will put you through extensive physical and magical training. Team-building exercises will be the main focus, preparing you to eventually guard lethal zones."

  "And you have teams that can match my output?"

  "Well, no. You have more mana than anyone expected you to have. Your class should be similarly potent."

  Lev shook his head. "Even if you had a team for me, I still do not want to go through such a program. There's plenty on my plate already."

  "You seem to have made up your mind already."

  "I have," Lev agreed.

  They both stared at each other before Hakim sighed. His bearing changed, the guild master now appearing almost… amiable.

  "I knew already, of course. This whole thing was meant to test how easily you would be angered. Disregard is where you draw the line."

  Lev listened in silence, not refuting.

  "You have a class that seems to be designed for growth. It is a sign of your desire for progress. I would be wary of interfering with that. Mana, you see, has many secrets. Chief among them is that it wants to keep things from humanity, which is why they're secrets to begin with."

  Now he was listening with his full attention.

  "Essence gains are the maximum not when you face something beyond you, or when you go past your limits. No, you progress the most when you are doing what you want to do. When your class resonates with your desires, you are most in tune with mana. That is also the reason children are allowed to choose their own path, to be presented with demonstrations if they cannot find it."

  Lev nodded to show he understood, not getting the point of this explanation.

  "It is also the reason I only asked you to train under me. The whole thing would be pointless if you didn't want to be there."

  "So you wanted to change my mind instead of forcing me?" Lev questioned, now seeing the point. "Could've said so from the start."

  Hakim smiled. "I heard you dislike being lorded over. I needed to see for myself. Disputes over command and orders are simply something I cannot allow in lethal zones."

  Lev swallowed, nervous again. "So, what do you think?"

  "Oh, you'll definitely be a troublemaker," Hakim grinned. "Luckily, your dislike for authority will be easily dismissed once you prove your usefulness to anyone in command. I will just need to send a word to let you roam freely under loose orders."

  Lev suppressed the desire to argue for more. "That is fine by me."

  "Good, because nobody has ever been allowed this much concession. You best prove yourself."

  Lev almost rolled his eyes. "Yes, grandteacher. I will do my best to not be a disappointment."

  Alec and Hakim both stared at him in silence, both for different reasons.

  I knew calling him that would be effective, Lev thought, smug at finally silencing the scary man for the first time.