"That was quite something to watch."

Lev's heart leapt into his throat at the voice. He turned to see a smirking Alec, very much anticipating the reaction. Lev almost retorted with something snarky but decided against it.

His mentor, perceptive as he was, instantly picked up on his hesitation. "What's wrong?"

Lev let out a breath at the concern evident in his voice. "Nothing, just learned that Inna isn't really as friendly as she seemed."

Alec grimaced. "Most Masters are like that. You need to risk your life repeatedly to evolve beyond Adept, and that changes people. But it's not all bad, I'm sure you will find plenty of high-level people that don't mind the casual treatment."

Lev shrugged, showing he didn't want to talk more about it. "Forget that. Why was this prowler so much stronger?"

"Skill levels. Or so we assume. Since there's no way to know for sure they are the most plausible explanation. The longer a monster lives the higher its skill levels are, which means it's much stronger overall. It had been stalking you for a few minutes already, without you noticing."

So, that usually happens at the First Gap for Dormant monsters, above level 90, but for First-Threshold monsters, it's how long they have lived. What about the ancient Second-Threshold monsters and above that have been alive for centuries?

Lev decided to ignore that line of thought. Thinking of scary monsters as a Classer would do him no favors. He glanced at his mentor.

"Do you think this one has a core?"

He only got a raised eyebrow in response. Lev groaned before cutting open the prowler's chest with a disk. Blood and innards spilled out with a foul smell, almost making him puke then and there. Moving away, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths to calm his heaving stomach, barely keeping his breakfast down.

His suffering was rewarded with a small dark grey orb inside the gore, which he gingerly dragged out with his disk. His mentor, ever the nice guy, picked it with his barriers and washed it with summoned water before handing it to Lev.

I need to get some form of a water generator for myself as well. Thirst has been a little problem with my increased constitution but I refuse to get my hands bloody.

Lev couldn't feel the texture or temperature of the core through his barrier armor so he just examined how it looked. The beady little thing was half the size of a tennis ball, dark grey with no other notable features. It contained a decent amount of mana, less than his total, but still more than he would've expected from a monster that didn't use any spells.

Or maybe it did? Is the stealth an active skill that costs mana? Or maybe the dash was.

"How much would this go for?" Lev asked, curious about the core market.

"That core is borderline useless. It can be grounded into core dust for different pastes but that's about it. Someone could make a nice stealthy cloak for a Classer with it but people don't use cores for making Classer equipment. Not worth the mana expenditure and physical effort, sometimes both depending on the crafter."

Lev blinked at the depressing answer and identified the core.

[

Shade Prowler Core - Common

The core of a juvenile Shade Prowler. Can be used in various crafting professions.

]

It really is useless. Lev thought with a snort. "So, it won't sell?"

Alec grinned. "Someone would probably buy it for 5 Silver out of pity. People don't shy away from helping Classers along."

Lev chortled at that, storing the core anyway. It was his first drop, and that had much more value than a few silver coins.

"Did you get it?" Alec asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I did," Lev exclaimed, the core entirely forgotten. "It feels so good. Every single point of Wisdom gives so much mana, I'm half tempted to put all my points in it."

His mentor let out a breath. Lev realized he was probably worried about not finding the requirement for the boost. Lev getting it proved what they were missing, a soul robust enough to handle it. He didn't doubt that everyone would be scrambling to find resources and treasures that strengthened the soul if something like that even existed.

I wonder if they would work on me. Lev mused, thinking of additional General Skill slots or perhaps something new that no human had ever seen before.

"What percent?"

"20%, same as the first rank passive. Thank Monarch the second rank counts the first rank levels as well." Lev said with a grin. "Free 10% more Wisdom."

His mentor shook his head lightly with a smile. "That is little compared to what you will have later on. Specialty skills always improve during an evolution in some way. Make sure to not let Constitution lag behind, otherwise casting will become very painful very quickly."

Lev nodded seriously at that. He could feel the small streams of mana that left through his arms when he charged the barriers with lightning. It wouldn't be long before the amount of mana would overwhelm his constitution and make the endeavor painful.

"So, what brings you here today?" Lev asked casually, now moving on to find more monsters to level his skills.

"To warn you," Alec began, no hint of humor left in his voice. "There will be a huge wave soon, better work on your archery skill and focus on increasing your range."

"I won't be allowed on the ground?" Lev frowned. His disks were great for clearing out hordes.

"You will be if you request it, but you still classify as a mage for good reason. By now, most warriors at your level easily outperform you in close combat, so it will be wiser to support them using your disks and arrows from the backline."

"I see… and how do we know a wave is coming?"

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

"The mana levels are rising," Alec stated with a frown. "It's not noticeable because of how spread out the phenomenon is but most of it coalesces inside the pit. The majority of the monsters will be above the first threshold, so I needed to warn you first. I doubt you are close to the evolution."

Lev was starting to get a bad feeling now. "How long do I have?"

"Few days at most."

Well… time to do what I was already doing.

His mentor vanished after that. Lev looked for the tallest spot he could find. That turned out to be a really large boulder. Two jumps took him to the top of the ten-meter-tall piece of jagged stone. Squinting his eyes, Lev took a moment to marvel at the improvements to his eyesight.

Perception let him decipher feedback from light more clearly, letting him see much further. He could see for hundreds of meters like it was closer, and much further beyond where details were blurry.

Summoning his bow, he located the closest monsters. They turned out to be unlucky goblins, the monsters he had killed by the thousands now.

Lev estimated the closest group was nearly fifty meters away, barely visible through a cluster of boulders. Taking aim, he predictably missed. The arrow impacted several meters to the left, and Lev was reminded that wind was a factor at longer distances.

The monsters thankfully remained clueless, letting him try several times. It took a few more shots to properly account for the wind, and he finally hit a headshot after twelve tries. The death of their fellow monster alerted the rest instantly, and Lev dealt with them quickly, more interested in his skill rank up.

[

Arcane Archery has reached 2nd Level 1

]

[

Arcane Archery - 2nd Level 1:

Time and time again, you missed the target without ever giving up. Now, you have achieved an adequate level of skill to qualify for this General Skill.

This skill makes your aim steadier, stance firmer, and bow deadlier. Extension of the class skills Arcane Barrier Manipulation, Incisive Edge, and Whirling Rim, this skill takes up 4 General Skill slots.

The arrows formed from this skill retain the resilience bonus from the class skill.

The arrows formed from this skill retain the speed bonus from the class skill and receive an extra static 25% speed.

The arrows formed from this skill retain the penetration bonus from the class skill.

The arrows formed from this skill may retain the spinning speed of their arrowheads for 3 seconds after firing for extra mana cost.

2nd Rank: The arrows formed by this skill are easier to manipulate with your mind, letting you further enhance their speed. Different mana types are stored more stably inside.

]

Really? That is quite lackluster compared to the original skill. Lev thought with pursed lips. The skill was really good already, so the rank-up wasn't too disappointing. Still, a man could dream.

The benefit left unsaid was increased proficiency that came with leveling the skill, now a step beyond what he could do before. He looked for new knowledge, now knowing how to aim higher for longer shots and track moving targets better.

Finding a troll only took a few minutes, the head of the huge monster visible above most of the boulders. He didn't notice it looked larger than the usual trolls, most of its body hidden behind an ivory stone. Out of sight nearly 50 meters away, Lev filled an arrow with lightning mana before shooting it.

The troll, somehow, sensed the incoming threat and ducked just in time. Lev had to do a double-take when the troll jumped atop a boulder to look for the hidden assailant. Its eyes found Lev the same instant his Identify went off.

That was the furthest away it had ever happened.

[Troll Warrior - ??]

Fuck.

He quickly slotted four disks and arrows into the converter slots, dumping mana into them as fast as his skill allowed. The troll jumped, covering a fourth of the distance in a single leap. Lev was now very much regretting shooting carelessly as he darted backward but it was all in vain.

The troll devoured the remaining distance with brutish grace. Lev saw its fist blurring forward and hitting him squarely in the chest in the time it took to reinforce his barrier armor with the 2nd rank skill effect.

The barrier armor shattered like glass without providing any resistance as Lev was sent flying. The much tougher Illusion armor held, stopping the punch with a small dent.

Lev could barely notice the ground passing beneath him before he slammed into a boulder. The impact shook him to the core as the taste of blood overwhelmed his senses. His dizzy brain registered how little the illusion armor had done to protect him from the physical impact, only stopping the punch but not the force behind it.

Colliding with a boulder at high velocity didn't help his bearings either. He reformed his barrier armor as fast as he could, which cost him several precious seconds. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, adrenaline keeping the pain at bay.

Where is it? I can't feel or hear its footsteps.

Getting up, Lev stared at the confusing scene before him with wide, disbelieving eyes. He couldn't track its movements because there were no movements. The troll's head was resting a few meters away from him, cleanly separated from its body.

Behind it, Inna was looking at the corpse with a frown. She glanced at Lev, who could only stand upright because his movements depended on his mind and not his body.

"This wasn't supposed to be here," Inna explained, her frown deepening. "First-threshold monsters spawning here is not a good sign. Do you know what that means?"

"The incoming wave?"

She nodded. "It's gonna be worse than we expected. Stay here, I'll round up all the Classers to prevent any accidents."

She vanished before Lev could even think of saying anything. Doing as told, he sat down and inspected his body.

No broken bones or limbs. Thank Monarch for the Illusion armor or I would've probably died.

As the adrenaline died down, pain wracked his entire body. It felt like, well, colliding with a boulder. He couldn't suppress a chuckle as the panic and fear fully dissipated.

The sound of footsteps announced the presence of two Classer teams. One with the healer he had met before, and another team that he hadn't seen before. The healer, a young boy, nodded toward Lev.

Lev nodded back, like the hidden rulebook of men dictated, before the healer frowned. It took longer than Lev expected for the boy to realize he was probably injured under that armor. The thin cracks on the boulder from the flying impact also painted a clearer picture.

"You okay?" The boy asked. Lev tried really hard to not laugh.

Yeah, I just got hit by a train. No biggie.

"Sort of. Just bruised all over." Lev motioned to the troll's corpse. He could almost see the gear turning in the boy's head before the healer's eyes widened.

"What level was that?" He breathed out, eyes wide and a tinge of fear apparent in his voice.

"Don't know," Lev answered. "It was above the first threshold."

The healer nodded dumbly, casting a spell at Lev. He blinked when the skill was blocked by Lev's barrier armor.

Lev dismissed it. "Try again,"

The skill worked this time. Lev observed in fascination as a distinctly sweet mana type entered his body, autonomously searching for all the damaged areas. Like a balm, it soothed all the bruises and little injuries.

It was surprisingly painful.

Lev grunted at the unexpected sting, bearing with it for a few more seconds. He let out a sigh of relief when it finally passed. Summoning his armor and getting up, he moved around to look for any lingering aches but found none.

That worked pretty well. How does my Constitution come into play with healing?

Keeping the question to himself, Lev held out his hand. "Thanks, that saved me a lot of discomfort."

The boy beamed. "No problem! It only cost me a bit of mana. My name's Ben," He said, shaking Lev's hand.

"Lev."

"Thanks for the help the other day. We weren't overwhelmed but it definitely made the whole ordeal more manageable." Ben smiled.

"No worries," Lev replied. He was starting to notice his lack of social skills as nothing else came to mind. Lev simply went with, "Have you guys been here long?"

Ben waved his team over. "Not that long. We came here three months ago. Below level 20, we only fought a few groups per day. The essence gain was pretty good but we didn't want our skills to fall behind."

Must be nice to be so patient. Lev thought with a mental scoff. I can't wait to evolve.

"I see. Will you not introduce the rest of your team?" Lev quipped, throwing the ball into Ben's court again.

How to deflect interactions 101.

"Oh, of course. The warriors are Elmer and Dylan and the mage is Tessia."

Elmer and Dylan were very obviously brothers, both trying not to look at his mask. Tessia, the blonde fire mage, was openly staring.

Feast your eyes on Alec's creation. Made even more ferocious by me wearing it. Definitely. Thank Monarch they can't see the ten-year-old under the armors.

"Lev, Iron rank and currently solo."

"We saw," Tessia remarked. "Running around with those constructs of yours. Are you a crafter?"

"No, I just use barriers to fight," Lev ignored the slightly entitled tone. "Has worked pretty well for me."

Dylan gave the fire mage a look before stepping up. "Thanks for the assistance back then. Orcs were still a bit much for us," He said with a smile. "Given how easily you dealt with them, are you waiting to evolve?"

Lev thought for a moment before replying. "I'm at the First Gap right now, so no, not yet." That was close to the truth, with Lev being one level away.

"That's pretty grand," Elmer interjected, "but do you know why we're here?"

Elmer was the least enthused to be here, away from the action.

"Something about a wave forming," Lev waved a hand, announcing that casually.

They all paled at once. Several hasty and nervous looks were shared as Lev tried to keep himself in check.

Do not laugh.

"We should leave," Tessia suggested, eyes wide.

The rest of the team hastily nodded like chickens. "Yeah, we are not ready to stand against a wave," Ben nodded, glancing at Lev.

"Why are you still here then?" Elmer asked, the previous attitude forgotten.

"I still need to level a few skills," Lev replied in an amused tone. That reaction was not unexpected, but it still told him how different he was.

The other Classer team heard his explanation too, and their reaction was similar. Where they wanted to leave as fast as they could, Lev wanted to become as strong as he could to stand against waves in the future.

Inna showed up after a few minutes. She smirked lightly at the antsy Classers pacing around and smiled when she saw Lev just leaning against a boulder.

"Seems like someone already explained the situation," She said looking at Lev. "That makes it easier. If you wish to leave, I'll clear a path for you."

The Classer teams didn't miss a beat in agreeing, leaving a lone Lev behind to wait for Inna's return. He wasn't going to risk running into another first-threshold monster by himself.