"What do you think?"

  Sherron hmm'd thoughtfully, not speaking immediately. "Elias shines the brightest in his team, no doubt, but the rest are also pretty damn strong. They would probably not be able to match your own teammates at the same level.

  "None of them compares to Isabella now. She's the strongest in any duel behind you, even against the rogue. Surprisingly, only Jared can give her a tough time, simply because of how effectively his element can douse the flames. Given the recent boosts to his capacity, I can't predict the outcome in advance if they both go all out."

  Gravity trumping fire makes sense, I suppose.

  She continued. "As for teams, Elias's is way too balanced. In a brawl, they would easily trounce everyone else."

  "Fits with what I was expecting," Lev commented and stood up. She just waved him off after he looked at her, so he flew towards the approaching teams in his armor.

  They paused, hushed into silence when he landed in front of them. Turning his armor intangible, he hesitated, uncertain about why they weren't saying anything.

  "Uhm," Lev coughed, squinting at them. "Hey."

  Isabella broke into giggles, which shattered the strange tension in the air. Everyone smiled, and Lev slowly realized that they had planned that to make him uncomfortable.

  "You should've looked at your face," the princess laughed, marching up to him with quick steps and putting her arm on his shoulders. "It's okay, nobody has forgotten about you. Not like they can, anyway."

  "Shitheads," Lev muttered, leveling a mock glare at all of them.

  Elias walked up to him with a shit-eating grin, offering a hand. Lev clasped it with a snort, moving past the harmless prank quickly.

  "Look who's all grown up," the swordsman said loudly, his grin only becoming wider. "It's good to see you again, especially in such a great state."

  "Likewise," Lev commented, identifying the man and his team.

  [Warrior - Level 258]

  [Warrior - Level 257]

  [Mage - Level 257]

  [Healer - Level 258]

  "I see you guys also evolved not that long ago," Lev raised a brow. "Congratulations."

  "Less than a month, actually," Viktor commented, walking up to him for a hug. "We barely even got to test the new classes."

  Lev returned the gesture, appreciating it. "Don't worry, we're going to do a lot of that soon."

  Lisa waved at him, smiling slyly. A discreet glance was sent towards the princess talking to her team, though Lev quickly banished any delusions with a flat stare.

  "Lev," Rena began, dipping her head slightly in a greeting. "You're pretty different than before."

  "Things… happened," he answered with a tired smile. "Besides, I couldn't be a brat forever."

  "You really were a brat," Elias remarked needlessly with a nod. Viktor chuckled silently by his side.

  "… As I was saying, you guys probably heard rumors about something happening in front of Windkeep. I was in the center of that, and well, staying inside the walls wasn't really an option anymore. Especially not close to the Dreadwoods."

  "What even happened?" Lisa asked, but Lev just shook his head. "I see. Must have been quite shocking for everyone else if there are literally no concrete details in the rumors."

  "You can say that," Lev deflected, changing the topic. "So, who wants to fight?"

  "ME!" shouted Isabella, obviously waiting for things to turn to that.

  "Later," Elias shut everyone down. "We will first go see the strategist in charge. Heard he's some big shot."

  "Grand Strategist Wayne," Lev supplied, and it was quite funny to watch their faces pale slightly. "The biggest of shots."

  "Uhm, let's make haste then."

  In blinks, the team was rushing off to the new buildings in the fort walls. Isabella and Lev giggled at their expense, though he doubted they had anything to worry about. The strategist was quite considerate and understanding, not rushing any Masters about their jobs.

  He suspected that letting things play out naturally had some sort of effect on the strategist's skills, which was an interesting thing to consider. Just what could those skills do, especially above level 400? Given how frequently the man probably used them, it wouldn't be surprising if all of them were well into the 5th rank.

  "Are you guys ready?" he asked Isabella.

  Zack smirked lightly, a smile playing on his lips. "You can say that."

  Shaking his head, Lev summoned the Sunkissed Demolishers and handed them to Zack on two barrier plates. The man watched them fly towards him with wide eyes, gingerly grabbing them and putting them on his hands.

  "Can you try moving your fingers? I'll adjust the size right now," Lev spoke, and the warrior acquiesced. Zack's hand was hugged comfortably by the gauntlet, though it was slightly loose.

  That problem was solved rather easily. So close to him, Lev simply made the barriers extend according to the mental feedback. Within seconds, Zack's hand fit inside the gauntlets perfectly, and a few tweaks to the enchantments ensured that any damage to the insides of the item would be repaired.

  "T-thank you," Zack stammered out. He looked like he wanted to bow or do something along those lines, and a stern look from Lev stopped that, making the brawler grin. "Can I at least get an estimate of how much these would cost normally?"

  "I'm a newbie crafter, all things considered," Lev began, thinking things over. "The total probably comes out to like a hundred platinum, mostly because my skills and rune collection aren't good enough to make these with less."

  Zack absently mouthed "hundred," shocked and distraught. This time, he looked at the gauntlets with undisguised dread, already terrified of breaking them.

  "They have self-repair, don't worry."

  "How good is that enchantment?"

  "If you limit the damage to the surface, they will repair themselves endlessly."

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  The brawler's eyes lit up, the previous reaction already forgotten. "Thank you!"

  "That's enough of that," Lev interrupted. "Anything else?"

  "Where's my Epic item?" Isabella pouted. "Surely you have some great secret runes prepared for-"

  "I can make something good for you rather easily, actually. Do you have any strong cores that show properties of flames?"

  "Depends," she answered thoughtfully, raising a brow. "Mainly on what the item will be."

  "A fire storage. I have a few runes that can make it simple to dump a lot of fire mana into an orb to use later."

  She tilted her head slightly, silent for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Nah, we've already got that covered. Thank you for the offer, though."

  Lev merely nodded, already expecting that. Sherron approached them once they were done talking, still looking all serious and slightly scary in her attire.

  "Something the matter?" he asked casually.

  "Nope, just enjoy the show."

  He didn't ask her to elaborate. Alec was well-known across the plains for both his strength and equipment. The crafter's uncanny ability to combine both of them in a deadly arsenal made him perfect for a defensive situation, exactly what the fort was intended for.

  Above the stone building, which was currently undergoing some restructuring, two tall barrier pillars took shape. They served no purpose except as a reminder that Alec was going to set up his base on top of the pillars, making its location easier to find.

  Several dozen meters above the fort, his mentor's bubble landed on top of the pillars. It expanded visibly, the enchantments temporarily shut off, becoming nearly as large as the fort in length and width. The ceiling also rose, though much less in comparison.

  Then the weapons were deployed.

  Each side saw several barrels protruding out of it, radiating mana as they were rapidly enchanted. Lightning, fire, gravity, arcane barriers, and a few other undecipherable things were used in their creation, though Lev was thunderstruck by something he just barely understood.

  Alec has access to light mana?

  While he wasn't certain, the impression certainly fit. The enchantment was related to vision and its expansion, exactly how a scope would function.

  Lev really wanted something like that for himself. How cool was that?

  Over the next half an hour, he had to revise the extent of his mentor's strength several times. The amount of mana on display was impressive, nearly enough to rival his own pool, but the sheer expertise was what had him slightly shaken.

  Each enchantment fit perfectly with the rest. That was to say, there was no mana loss, no efficiency loss, and no wasted space. Everything was meticulously prepared and deployed, creating a fortress above the fortress.

  Activity had also paused for the most part. Below, all hunters gazed at the marvel taking place with dropped jaws, acutely aware of how much mana was being used. Lev also took a few notes, the enchantments not concealed enough to hide their functions, probably on purpose. Even if Alec refused to share his runes and knowledge, spreading ideas was still fine by him.

  "This is just the start," Sherron commented once the mana usage died down. The bubble turned invisible not long after. "He's going to set up a lot of arrays and alarms inside, all of them connected to the means of long-range observation."

  "How does his eyesight compare to mine, by the way?" Lev asked. "It's boosted by plenty of things."

  "In terms of sight, yours is better. For other types of perceptions? He's leagues ahead of you."

  That made sense to him. There was nothing else for him to do except wait for Elias and his team to return, so they did just that.

  A few minutes later, something stood out in his Perception. Lev resisted the smile threatening to creep up on his face, not moving at all.

  Emboldened, Aryan took another few steps closer, already crouched. Seeing he was in the clear, he lunged, only for the wooden knife to clink against a barrier armor. Caught, he took a step back to retreat. His back slammed into a barrier, and walls suddenly became visible around him, trapping him in a cube without any hope of escape.

  This time, Lev turned around with a shit-eating grin, savoring the half-frown, half-smile on the rogue's face.

  "Hey."

  "Sup."

  They both looked at each other for a second before they burst out laughing. Lev removed his barriers and switched his armor into its passive state before moving in for a hug.

  Aryan reciprocated with a smile, his exhale very similar to Lev's own earlier reaction.

  "Look at you," Aryan said, taking in his height and visage. "Taller than me, even. Finally all grown up, eh?"

  "You're one to talk," Lev countered, turning up his nose. "Don't think I have forgotten how we first interacted."

  The rogue coughed. "That… we don't talk about that."

  Lev nodded along, mostly sarcastically. His own reaction to Aryan's scathing tone hadn't been anything spectacular, either.

  "Indeed," he chuckled. "How's… uh…"

  "Seris," Aryan reminded flatly.

  "How's Seris doing?" Lev asked, slightly ashamed.

  "She's doing pretty well. She asked about you a few times, wondering where you went or if it would be possible to meet again. You left an impression."

  "That's nice," Lev smiled. "And sure, once we're done here, I'll visit you guys. Still in the Haven?"

  "For now," Aryan nodded. "The guild and guards both came together to fund a small establishment for her. I asked about it, though the only answer I got was some rewards you forgot to claim? Something along those lines. How many corpses did you leave on the mountain?"

  "… Hundreds?" Lev shrugged. "I didn't keep count."

  "Yeah, there are always scouts on the mountain due to the vantage point, and your hunting spree didn't go unnoticed. Combined, the harvested materials after the guild's cut were apparently enough for that."

  Must have been Hakim's doing.

  Lev nodded once. "Glad the money went to her, then. I wasn't even aware of it."

  "Mhm," the rogue nodded, then sent a short glance towards him. Lev tilted his head, curious.

  "Out with it."

  "Are you alright?"

  "Everyone's asking that," Lev couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I am alright and still mostly sane and whole. Since I'm not allowed to go into detail, things came uncomfortably close, but I survived."

  "How close?"

  He paused, caught unprepared by Sherron's question.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Exactly what I said," she replied. "We know how badly you were injured, but just how close did you come to dying?"

  "I…" Lev gulped, pushing down the memories and dread with an effort of will. "I could feel my soul slowly slipping away. The only reason I even woke up was because I realized what was happening… somehow."

  "That bad?" Aryan muttered, more resigned than anything. "Was the… cause dealt with?"

  "Not even close," Lev answered, and left it at that.

  Together, they waited in silence, watching as occasional pulses of mana were sent out of Alec's bubble. They were distinctly curious in nature, as if trying to peer through stealth skills and other forms of concealment, including wards.

  A bit later, Elias and his team returned from their meeting with the strategist. Lev left them to catch up with Aryan while he and Sherron made their way to the building, ready to deal with the last task on the agenda before he could leave.

  From his bubble, four large boxes floated to the ground. Both taller and wider than him, he easily carried them inside the building, their passage uninterrupted in the wide hallways.

  At the very end, the main hallway ended on double doors, befitting Grand Strategist Wayne's actual position. Sherron casually sauntered inside, and the man behind the table straightened to receive them.

  "Ah, the disks," Grand Strategist Wayne voiced with a smile. "A bunch of them, too."

  "Indeed," Lev nodded. "Four boxes with two hundred in each. The first two boxes contain pure disks with a primary focus on sharpness, durability, and kinetic enchantments. All Rare. The third box has half lightning, half wind disks, and the final box has the training disks with repair runes. I also went ahead and created another thirty disks that you can distribute to those who show enough promise with them."

  He summoned a neat stack on the table, picking up one of the disks. This variant was slightly stylish, containing simple yet beautiful patterns along the edges. Their purpose was to light up, as a Master without sensitivity to arcane barriers could easily lose track of them in hectic situations. The brightness would make them stand out.

  [

  Arcane Disk - Rare

  Enchantments: Advanced Sharpness, Elemental Sharpness, Minor Self-Repair, Kinetic Empowerment, Graceful Flight.

  ]

  "Graceful Flight is… intriguing," Wayne remarked, pleasantly surprised. "Have you tested its effects?"

  "Negation of air resistance."

  "A marvelous addition," the strategist nodded. "I will make sure these are put to good use. Anything else, Hunter Lev?"

  "No, sir," Lev answered, about to stand up.

  "May I inquire about that ring of yours?" Grand Strategist Wayne abruptly asked.

  Lev looked at him straight in the eyes. "You may not."

  The double doors shut behind him a few seconds later as he and Sherron left the office, the latter shaking her head in amusement.