[

[Crafter - ???]

[Fire Mage - ???]

[Monster Nemesis - ????]

]

Identify simply returned question marks for levels too high. Lev could tell that the first mark came from being a Classer, while one more was added with every evolution.

Two for an adept, three for a Master, four for an Exalted, and so on.

Badass title though.

"What am I going to fight?" Lev asked, slightly nervous but mostly determined.

"Goblins. Obviously," Sherron said. "They are the easiest to handle and most abundant in your level range."

"Now that we are discussing this topic, where do you want to be stationed?" Orianna asked, looking into his eyes.

The question was a serious one so Lev gave it the attention it deserved. "What are my options?"

"Three of them. The first option is Windkeep with its abundance of dungeons and The Dreadwoods near it. It provides the most convenient straightforward path of progression by training and leveling in dungeons while getting chaotic battle experience by defending huge waves of lower-level enemies.

"The second option is either Runespires or Timberhold. They are both the safest options after staying inside The Haven. Most crafters choose this option, to practice their skills in peace and train in the few dungeons near them. Runespires especially has a huge market of materials, so it's the most lucrative for them.

"The last option is… The Pit," Orianna finished with a sigh. Lev's face probably gave it away, but this was the option he always wanted. "It's an extremely deep hole in the world, nearly three kilometers in radius."

"Wait, hold on. Three kilometers??" Lev asked incredulously. That was far beyond the hundred-meter wide cavity he had pictured in his mind.

"Mhm. It's huge." Sherron unhelpfully added.

"Huge is a huge understatement. Three kilometers is… can I even see the other end from one side?" Lev muttered, lost in thought.

"Easily." His mentor supplied.

"The Pit is not for the weak of heart, Lev," Orianna sternly warned him, a frown on her face. "The monsters that emerge from there are often twisted and terrifying, with strange abilities that affect the mind."

"Which means my title should make me extra effective against them?" Lev countered, though internally he felt horrible. Orianna had always been a warm ray of sunshine, only ever treating him nicely. Seeing her frown at his decision was more painful than he expected.

"Sort of," she relented. "Just know that The Pit is extremely unpredictable. Fortunately, a third threshold monster emerging from there is very unlikely. Unfortunately, the delvers can encounter them relatively easily. You are forbidden from delving below the tenth layer before you become a Master."

"Naturally. I'm not suicidal," Lev murmured. "Why can't I change stations anyway?"

"You can. It's just a waste of time. Once you get used to fighting the monsters of The Pit, moving somewhere else would require you to once again adapt to the monsters of that area. That isn't a bad thing, but the first two evolutions will pass very quickly. Do you know how essence gain works?"

Essence was the fuel for leveling up one's class. It could be earned by killing monsters, crafting, and doing anything in tune with the class.

"Circumstances, effort, and achievement." Lev summarized.

"Pretty much," Orianna agreed. "Humans arriving on Monarch and actually surviving is nothing short of a miracle. Not only do we begin with stronger classes now, but the essence gain is also much higher. What would usually take decades or a century can be done in a scant few years."

"I see…" Lev was starting to understand the greater picture. "The same goes for skills?" To which she nodded.

"How many Masters are there?" Lev finally asked.

"Over five thousand."

"That is… less than I expected. Aren't there nearly 5 million humans by now?"

"Not many can survive outside the walls. Even a small horde is a horrible sight, and weak-willed people are not willing to fight against that." Orianna finished with a far-away look.

"Which is fine," Sherron spoke up. "We will do the fighting for them. Don't you agree?"

Lev nodded in assent. That was always the plan.

****

Ten… Twenty… Twenty-seven. Lev counted the goblins underneath immobilized by Alec's barriers.

"Let me face them one by one at first," Lev said before he summoned his armor.

His teacher snorted while Sherron scoffed. "We aren't going to drop you amidst the horde as a level 1, Lev. Regardless of how absurd your attributes are."

He nodded but his attention was focused on the closest goblin. It was an ugly thing, taller than Lev's short frame. Yet its body was thin and fragile, befitting the weakest monsters of Monarch.

Despite that, no one could mistake it for a child. The permanent snarl on its face dissuaded everyone from ever thinking that.

The goblin started at him with raw hatred, showing no signs of intelligence, only insanity.

[Goblin - Level 17]

Alec's shimmering blue barriers boxing it vanished, and it dashed at him. Lev didn't even notice his teacher and his friends had vanished as he backpedaled. Its small yet sharp claws sailed harmlessly in front of his armor.

Undeterred, the monster swung its arm at him. Lev held up an arm to block the attack with a dull thud. He barely even felt the impact. The goblin screeched and attacked with wild abandon, all of its attacks blocked or dodged.

The monster was… pathetic.

Now comes the hard part. Lev thought with a mental sigh.

Concentrating on the monster's movements, which to him were like an open book, Lev stepped forward when it overswung its claws. Just like he had done earlier today, Lev threw a punch with all his might.

With his newly empowered physical strength, further enhanced by his mind, the arm shot forward in a flash and hit the monster's face dead center.

With a crack, the goblin flew back for a few feet before it plopped down on the ground, dead. Its face caved in and its neck shattered.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Lev forced himself to look at the corpse and the blood pooling beneath its face as he examined his emotions.

Disgust was the most obvious one. Disgust at how he had to fight a monster to death in a bloody and gory affair.

There were several other emotions. Concern for his well-being at the killing he would partake in. Fear for when his life would inevitably be in danger. Terror at the off-chance he might turn insensitive to the value of life.

No remorse.

Good.

Remorse had no place on this apocalyptic planet. Billions of humans in recent history had almost been completely eradicated by monsters, only surviving due to a stroke of luck which was the arrival of refugees on Monarch.

When it came to him or them, Lev didn't want to hesitate in choosing their demise. He wanted to stand tall against the never-ending threat, without an ounce of hesitation and fear.

****

"This is unnerving," Orianna commented. Her two greatest friends watched silently as the young boy in front of them tested the limits of his skill and attributes without any trouble.

Having seen enough, his fist smoothly sailed forward, killing the monster in one hit.

"No hesitation," Sherron remarked. Her usual aloofness was nowhere to be seen.

Alec nodded. "I told you, he only acts like a child because his young body is affecting his thought process. At the core, he is just as stubborn and determined as he says. The title only increases that drive and determination."

"Still…" Orianna began. "It hurts to see someone so young fighting monsters."

Neither had something to say to that. The reality was indeed unpleasant. To them, Lev still seemed like an extra mature kid despite the irrefutable proof.

His past was incredibly detailed to not believe, and neither did Lev have any reason to lie. Lev's maturity alone was proof enough. He was also aware of things that he had never been exposed to, especially sexual.

To Orianna and Sherron's high perception, Lev very obviously refused to look at them anywhere but their face. Alec said he just didn't want to force his body to go through puberty earlier than necessary.

Still… Orianna's mind went over all the kids she couldn't save when the ship crash-landed, the five times the walls had been breached in front of her, and the several other incidents she would never be able to forget.

Yet here she was, overseeing the first steps of a 10-year-old kid utilizing his class. It was as impossible as it was bitter, and she had to face both realities.

"He'll be fine," Alec cut through her thoughts. "None of us could have persuaded him otherwise. He wants this and only this."

She could only nod in understanding as the boy brawled with another goblin, his movements suddenly becoming much sharper and more precise.

Lev was pretty tall for his age and would grow past six feet after his growth spurt for sure.

His long limbs let him tussle with the small monsters without much trouble, and his bright blue eyes shone with excitement not at the fight but the increasing familiarity with his skills and the new General Skill he had no doubt just acquired.

Even Orianna couldn't help but feel a little bit of hope. Lev was already monstrously strong for a Level 1, casually slapping around goblins without even the stupidly sharp disks. The advantage was only going to grow as his skills started gaining levels and then going through the auxiliary ranks.

Maybe, just maybe, he would become strong enough to make Monarch a much safer place for humanity.

The potential was there, far greater than any other she had ever seen.

****

[

You have slain [Goblin - Level 17]

You have slain [Goblin - Level 18]

You have slain [Goblin - Level 17]

You have slain [Goblin - Level 17]

You have slain [Goblin - Level 16]

You have slain [Goblin - Level 15]

Arcane Sentinel has reached Level 2

Arcane Sentinel has reached Level 3

…

Arcane Sentinel has reached Level 9

Opportunity has reached Level 2

Nimble has reached Level 2

40 Free attribute points

]

Levels. Give me more Levels. Lev thought with a goofy grin, marveling at the ease at which he could deal with the stupid monsters.

So far he had only utilized his armor skill to punch them to death, and he had done so with minimal effort.

That was always a good sign.

Especially the new general skill.

[

You have learned the General Skill: Arcane Brawling

Arcane Brawling:

This skill aids with manipulating your armor when fighting in melee combat. Your strikes are more precise, and your footing, more stable. Extension of the class skills Barrier Armor and Nimble, this skill takes up 3 General Skill Slots.

Highest effectiveness when fighting with bare hands.

Reduced effectiveness when fighting with weapons.

]

General skills were only given as an option when someone wanted them, which meant that Lev had been refusing all other melee fighting options for this moment.

Now, he just needed to evolve it with extensive usage into encompassing all forms of armored combat. The cost of extra general skill slots stung slightly, but he had some to spare. The skill pretty much just used one skill slot and the two extra from his title. Five open slots remained.

The next goblin was about to be released from its cage. Lev formed two round disks above him. Bringing them in front of him, he gazed at them with satisfaction. They felt stable and durable to his senses, much more so than yesterday.

Commanding them to be sharp, the edges thinned and sharpened in an instant. The lethality of these disks was comparable to a high-quality sword. For the last touch, he made them start spinning with a thought.

The spinning speed quickly accelerated past what he would've been able to manage before. Lev was left with two deadly spinning disks thrumming with packed potential.

The first goblin was released not soon after, and a second followed after exactly two seconds.

I see how it is.

Lev readied himself for a stream of enemies. The first reached him with a wild swing of its crude stone dagger. Lev reacted by overloading his armor with mana, increasing its overall toughness. Slapping away the dagger with his left hand, he punched it in the neck.

The goblin crumpled on the spot, dead with its spine shattered.

One of the disks behind him shot forward as a blur, with Lev carefully keeping it in his newly enhanced manipulation range of 12 meters. The circular herald of death whistled through the air, aimed for the monster's neck.

The monster tried to block it, but the disk twisted at the last moment, going parallel to its dagger and through its neck.

Two down. Nineteen remain.

One by one, the monsters fell. Some with their heads separated neatly, others with their faces caved in. The result was all the same.

For the last three, Lev dismissed the disks hovering behind him. He wanted to test how well he would fare facing three of them in melee.

He dodged the frantic swinging and random leaps while running circles around the goblin before the second joined the fray. They both seemed so slow with his vastly improved perception and him settling into his new capabilities, it was trivial to avoid their attacks.

When the third joined in, Lev stopped messing around.

Let's see, what is the skill telling me? Do not let them circle me, keep track of their feet and pay attention to twitches and their limb muscles. Their eyes too, while avoiding unexpected tackles. Simple enough.

In an unexpected show of coordination, the three goblins moved at once. The first ran straight at him, dagger poised to impale. The other two circled his left and right.

Keeping half an eye on the other two, Lev grabbed the wrist of the first, stopping it dead in its tracks. The other two jumped at him at the same moment.

The new skill guided his next actions as Lev sidestepped to the left, leveling a straight kick at the left goblin while pushing the first into the right goblin.

Like the previous monsters, the left goblin crumpled on the ground. Before the last two could recover from the collision, a disk beheaded both of them.

[

You have slain [Goblin - Level 20]

…

You have slain [Goblin - Level 18]

Arcane Sentinel has reached Level 10

…

Arcane Sentinel has reached Level 13

Arcane Brawling has reached Level 2

Arcane Brawling has reached Level 3

Arcane Barrier Manipulation has reached Level 2

Incisive Edge has reached Level 2

Whirling Rim has reached Level 2

Barrier Armor has reached Level 2

Opportunity has reached Level 3

Heavy Lifting has reached Level 2

Needle Precision has reached Level 2

60 Free attribute points

]

Lev remained rooted to the spot, taking in the huge amount of levels.

Holy shit. How are they so fast? They warned me that early levels will go by extremely quickly but so many in just ten minutes? That's insane.

"The first five to ten levels are much faster because they are just catching up with your experience in utilizing the skill while training for your class." His teacher's voice cut through his dazed amazement, as usual knowing what Lev was thinking about.

"How many levels did you get?" Sherron asked, all smiles but there was something different about her. About the way she looked at him now.

Lev did not dwell on that and counted the level-ups. "11 skill levels and 12 class levels. You can't identify me?" He asked with a smirk. The blocking stone was apparently too potent for even these three to identify him.

Sherron just snorted lightly but didn't say anything else. Lev turned to Orianna who seemed to be struggling to come to a decision. Eventually, she just sighed before picking him up.

"Hey!" Lev exclaimed, more out of confusion than anything. His next words died as soon as he saw how she was looking at him.

"I don't think I will ever be able to think of you as a child after that display, so I'm just picking you up one last time. Besides, you're too big for that now." She said, a bit of moisture in her eyes. "I remember when Alec first introduced us to a little kid desperately trying to maintain eye contact to avoid looking elsewhere."

Lev coughed into his hand with embarrassment. "That is uh…"

Orianna chuckled and kissed him on the forehead before putting him back down. "I know, I know. You were too young for your body to affect you so your mind was free to wander. I for one am glad you don't have to go through that again."

Lev's face was now red from embarrassment. "Just get on with it, please."

She giggled. "There's not much I can say now. You're a grown man who can take care of himself." Lev just groaned at the poor joke. "Fine, you spoilsport."

"Since you have triumphed over these goblins so easily, don't you dare get a big head. There are monsters out there that can kill even me and Sherron without breaking a sweat." Orianna warned him sternly while maintaining eye contact.

Lev scratched the back of his head. "I know what you mean but give me some credit too. Do you know what I have learned today? That similar to how I have handled these goblins, there will always be something out there that can handle me like that."

He stared back, trying to show how serious he was. "I may be arrogant in how I speak of my future, but I'm definitely not stupid enough to let any of this get to my head."