The suite remained silent as Alec sat on his bed, lost in thoughts. He had already sent a runner to the Hunters Guild, now waiting for a visitor.

Three months at most before Lev will be on his own again. He thought with a sigh.

Why it was so hard to break the news to Lev, he didn't know. His 'student' was understandably attached and dependent on his company, which made it all the more difficult.

The team Orianna thinks has potential is still too young to unlock their class. Lev might just be a Master by then.

Alec was… reluctant to leave Lev so abruptly. From the first day, the boy had only wanted a teacher who would teach, not a master who would have any authority over him. It was crystal clear that he would've backed off had Alec put forth any of his suggestions as orders. That led to their relationship becoming strange, almost as lax as friends.

Still, duty called. He was one of the few who could hope to contribute towards spatial travel, an ability seen in third-threshold monsters or above only. It would be extremely convenient to replicate it for long-range travel but that remained a pipe dream despite centuries of tinkering.

Trace amounts of space mana, which required an extremely strong Mana Manipulation skill to even move, could be produced by several methods. It was nowhere near enough, which was why he had taken some time off to begin with. Many had, to reset their mental states and try to come up with something new. That break had led him to Lev, now his source of reluctance to return.

Can't dilly-dally. It's the single most resource-intensive yet prioritized project. Even a minor step of progress will be monumental.

Steeling his mind, he waited for the visitor to arrive and discuss his next moves.

I should also bring up the possibility of Lev getting the Goliath Slayer title.

Alec only had to wait a few more minutes before he felt a ripple in the air as a presence made itself known. The vast and almost ancient aura had been revealed to him on purpose to announce the arrival of his teacher yet still it kicked his battle-hardened instincts into overdrive.

It took several seconds of deep, focused breathing to calm his racing heart and open the door. The visitor was none other than the man largely considered the strongest Exalted, a ridiculously tall yet lithe dark-skinned man. Alec had to crane his neck to look into the man's eyes to greet him.

"Teacher."

Hakim, the Exalted's eyes creased in a smile even if there were no outward changes in his posture. They both sat down on the empty bed.

"You outgrew my tutelage long ago, boy," Hakim said with a small smile, the largest one would usually see on his face. "But I don't mind being called that. How is my prodigious barrier mage doing?"

"Better," Alec answered resolutely. "Much better."

Hakim raised a single eyebrow. "That's good. I'm assuming it's because of him?"

He waved toward the boy sleeping like a log, destined to remain oblivious because of the sound-blocking wards around him. Alec just nodded, waiting for the questions.

"Did the boy get it?"

"He did."

"What does it do?"

"15 to each attribute, doubled every evolution."

There was a deep intake of breath before the Exalted let it out slowly. Alec saw the exact moment his bearing changed, knowing now he was talking to a guardian of humanity, not his teacher.

"What do you think of the boy?" Hakim asked in a formal, clipped tone.

"Good. Great even. Definitely a person I would want to have the title."

Hakim nodded. "Do you think he has what it takes to achieve excellence?"

"Yes," Alec replied simply.

"His intentions?"

"To save lives, as many as he can."

Hakim blinked at the unexpected answer, now returning to his casual demeanor. "That's it?" He asked but the conflicted emotions in Alec's eyes were answer enough.

"The boy is… a mess. I don't know how else to put it."

"I'm assuming this isn't related to his combat capabilities given your opinion of him."

"Lev. Lev is… capable, no doubt. He has the ambition to match the potential power he can acquire down the line. He is also fairly talented by most standards, which means he won't be hindered much in that regard. It's just that he has no desires," Alec finished with a frown.

"Didn't you say he wanted to save lives?" Hakim questioned, now looking at his student intently.

"He does, and he wants to do far more than that. But if you ask him what he wants for himself? Nothing. He hasn't made a single friend in the years I have taught him, and neither has he voiced any form of desire for his entertainment."

"So, he probably doesn't have any goal in life either?" Hakim guessed, slightly confused at where Alec was going with this.

"Quite the opposite. He has very grand goals that make sure humanity benefits," Alec replied, his reasoning now making sense.

"But still nothing that benefits him personally…" Hakim muttered, rubbing his chin. "Where does it leave the boy?"

"He wants to remain detached, to accomplish everything in his cozy little shell that only ever cracked for me, Orianna, and Sherron. For everyone else, he just converses politely without making any promises. The one time I ever heard him talk about a personal desire was just to berate himself."

"That's not as uncommon as you might think," Hakim began, surprising Alec. "I've seen a few people who don't want anything to do with others. What you need to be doing is to slowly introduce Lev to other teams, and show him that everyone works in a team. He should be aware that one can't be an adventurer without a team, and I remember you telling me he is adamant about becoming one. Getting him reliable teammates and letting him open up to them would be the best thing you can do in this case."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Alec nodded slowly, not finding any flaws in the reasoning. "Orianna said she has one in the making, taught by Helena, The Earthen Wardens, and Julia. Must've pulled some favors which shows a lot of promise about the kids."

"Quite balanced composition too," Hakim nodded in approval. "If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much. The boy obviously hasn't had a taste for most potential carriers or desires yet, which leaves plenty of possibilities still. Besides, I doubt he has hit puberty yet,"

Alec couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Oh, he is dreading that period. Lev has already pieced together that a healthier body means healthier consequences."

Hakim smiled slightly too, happy to see Alec laugh for something other than his passion. "What about you? You've been with him for what, three years now?"

"Longer but yeah. I will need to leave soon anyways…"

He explained his schedule to the Exalted for a few more minutes to the Guildmaster of The Pit's Hunters before they lapsed into a comfortable silence, all unbeknownst to Lev.

"I know you said the boy will be very strong, but I don't see how pure attributes will help with that. What else does he have?" Hakim asked, his hope and desires for strong future prospects not letting him ignore the question any longer.

"Right now, he has a class benefit that increases mana capacity by 50% and regen by 20%," Hakim nodded along, already seeing how immensely the title would benefit Lev. "He should also soon get a Wisdom boost."

Hakim's head snapped toward Alec instantly, disbelief apparent on his face. "Already?"

Alec gave his teacher an odd look, wondering what caused such a reaction. "Yeah?"

He wasn't expecting Hakim to burst out laughing. That was an occasion so rare that Alec didn't dare interrupt, letting his teacher laugh freely after what was probably a long time.

"You know, Martha wasn't anywhere near the strongest before she became a Master. It was only after that did she acquire a Wisdom boost, later becoming who she is known as."

Alec took that in with muted shock. Specialty skills, like Lev's Needle Precision which was also going to get him a Wisdom Boost, always improved during an evolution. Even if they didn't outright evolve, the linear improvements would still be massive.

Two chances…

Two chances that Lev would have an absurdly strong start as a Master compared to even Queen Martha. Two evolutions, both increasing his potential strength exponentially if the skill evolves. Little chance of that happening twice in a row, but even a single evolution for the Specialty Skill would put him head and shoulders above every other Master.

This changes things… Alec thought, his mind spinning a mile a minute. It changes far too many things.

****

This was hands down the best rest of my life. Lev thought with a huge yawn while stretching. The bed was still calling to him, its exquisite softness barely letting him get up.

"Good evening, sleepyhead."

His mentor was just seated on his own bed, observing Lev lazily rouse.

"Good evening to you too, I guess," Lev muttered. "How long did I sleep, exactly?"

"Like five hours. Missed a bed that much?" Alec quipped with a grin.

Lev groaned. "Ugh, please. Don't even get me started on the cart padding. Sure, it's pretty good for seating but to sleep on? Hell nah."

His mentor shrugged. "Either way, my teacher came to visit at my request."

Lev blinked dumbly before looking down. He was outside his illusion armor, which meant his secret was out.

Wasn't it supposed to be a top secret or what? He thought with a small frown before shrugging. He didn't care much for it either way if his mentor didn't.

"Don't worry, if there's someone that should know, it's him. If you do survive and become an Exalted, he will probably still be stronger than you."

Lev considered the comment in fascination. "That strong?"

"Insanely so," Alec nodded with a tinge of pride. "He was the first to cross the threshold of Exalted after our beloved emperor and queen."

Yeah, that does sound like one hell of an achievement.

"So… what now?" Lev asked plainly, having wasted the daylight sleeping.

"Well, we can still go out if you're up for it. Will probably train your perception skill faster as well." His mentor replied, not caring for a wasted day or two.

"Sure, sounds good. Is there nothing else I should be looking into before that?"

Lev thought he saw Alec frown for a bit but the expression went away so fast it might've been his imagination.

"The market, for starters. You need to look into upgrading your bow into something lightly enchanted. The armor will be fine for a while. Other than that, look for mana converters. They will most likely be required for your class."

Lev nodded along, having already planned on doing all that.

"Nothing else?"

"Trainers maybe, but that's for when you reach the first gap. Normally, I would've wanted you to get Runic General Skill before everything else but you needed those combat skills. So yes, that should be everything. Other than that, see if something captures your fancy."

Alec added the last part with a rather stern look, which confused Lev. He didn't think there would be anything of the sort but he would keep an eye out anyway. Maybe look into different crafts and check if his class could accomplish anything of the sort.

The Pit was just as busy as ever, which made sense considering everyone at Adept rank or above needed little sleep. He didn't identify people left and right, only a few times which were all an evolution above him.

Turning west from the one main road saw them entering the Market District, thoroughly lit up and busy. The shops here were all larger than the ones in the Outpost, some even several stories tall.

His mentor already seemed to have a location in mind, and to none of Lev's surprise, it looked very high-class. The shop they were entering made use of glass quite liberally, showcasing all manners of equipment.

'Barrett's Hunter Equipment'

Chainmail, plate, heavy plate… what even is that monstrosity?

The armor on display ranged from nimble hunting armor that restricted little to no movements, to towering behemoths of metal that shouldn't have been possible for a human to don. Yet it was, and Lev had already seen someone walk around in something similar without trouble.

The weapons are more interesting, at least for me. I can already see plenty of enchanted swords that seem to be made for Classers. Lev thought, not enthused about the reason for his interest. The chances of my Brawling skill evolving are… low from what I've heard, which means I need to force the second rank to allow for weapons.

"You feel like someone squished a lemon in your mouth," Alec commented, looking at him with an amused smile.

"I need to fight in melee range against pit monsters," Lev replied in a tone as flat as a board.

His mentor's smile faltered. "You should take care of that sooner than later while your armor still has an overwhelming advantage."

"Yeah, yeah," Lev brushed it off, already mentally prepared to tackle the problem. "The armor blocks the gore, right?" He asked for confirmation again, for like the fiftieth time. Just in case.

Alec just looked at him in exasperation, entering the shop without replying. The interior was just as spacious as Lev expected, and the clerk seemed to be on cloud nine after seeing them enter.

"Welcome back, Sir Alec," The woman behind the counter did a curtsy, all smiles. Her gaze landed on Lev's mask and her smile got even wider. "I assume you are here to shop this time?"

"Indeed," Alec replied with a small, polite smile. "Is Barry in today?"

"He's upstairs. Should I call for him, sir?" The woman was already moving but Alec stopped her with a gesture.

"No need, I'll go see him."

Lev watched as his mentor just left, leaving him without even sparing a glance. Shrugging, he started browsing the different weapons on display.

He had just turned around when he felt a prickle on his neck. He whirled back and came face to face with a very pretty woman that seemed to be in her late twenties. She grinned at his discomfort, obviously enjoying the teasing.

I didn't even sense her move… Lev thought, slightly tense.

"Well, hello there. I'm Susaine, the full-time shopkeeper who tends to this place."

Lev didn't answer right away and Identified the woman.

[Shopkeeper - ??]

Shopkeeper? Her class is specialized enough for my Identify to not just call her a Merchant or Worker. Lev noted.

He bowed his head slightly. "Lev. Pleased to meet you."

Susaine's eyes grew a little wider. "No need to be so formal, I won't hurt you."

Says the person who snuck up on me. Lev thought but didn't voice it. He shrugged before returning to browsing.

"Sure. What do you think will fit me best?" Lev replied, changing the topic.

"That depends on a million different factors. What do you specialize in and what type of weapon are you looking for." She asked, now all business.

"High strength and relatively low speed. Not the nimble kind. No swords. What fits?"

"Hmm.. any large axe would be a good general-purpose weapon. Hammer for special cases where a blunt weapon is required. Enchantments are also a big factor. What do you have in mind?"

Lev hummed, now bummed out at the number of choices.

Let's see. I can bring about a lot of strength with my mind but intricate wrist-play is beyond me right now. So, sharpness and raw power remain my best shot. Maybe a halberd? It gives a lot of reach and I can jump around for swift movement. Or maybe a simple Battle axe?

Susaine didn't rush him, content to let him wait. Patience became far more common as someone evolved, at least according to what Lev had observed.

Wait, can I get something that can utilize my class skills?

"Do you have something like a halberd focused on durability and light-weight?" Lev asked as a plan formed in his mind.

"We do," Susaine nodded. "Can you explain the specifics of what you're looking for?"

Lev showed her instead. He formed a two-sided axe head before sharpening both edges. Susaine watched silently, seeing where this was going but she still shook her head.

"While that is pretty good, enchanted metals will be far more effective."

"I know. This is only the third of what I had in mind."

Susaine's brow furrowed but she waited for him to continue. Lev created a sharp disk before spinning it at maximum speed. The shopkeeper's eyebrows rose and the obvious increase in sharpness.

"The third?" She asked.

"I can reform it whenever bypassing the need for maintenance. Since it's a barrier, I can also affect it with my mind, changing its direction or accelerating it."

"It will also train your class skills while increasing the chances of getting integrated into the class after evolving…" She trailed off before her eyes became firm. "Great thinking. I will need to contact father to see if he's up for a quick commission."

I'm assuming her father is the owner of the shop, Barrett. Lev approved mentally, liking how simply this was going where he wanted.

Upstairs, Alec smiled slightly as he felt Lev discover an obvious use for his class skills on his own.