Lev and the woman found themselves in a small room built inside the wall. It was only a few meters underneath the top, serving as a shelter for both usual and emergency use.

"Thank you," she smiled. "I wanted to go to the Haven and see it for myself but the threat of the storm was too much to ignore. Sucks that I missed what was probably the greatest tournament to date."

Lev returned an understanding smile. "Your duty is a noble one."

"Precisely," she grinned at him. "I'm Opal, by the way. A carrier is waiting for you above."

With a nod, Lev ascended the small stairs present in the corner of the room, leading him to the top of the wall. Runespires extended below him as far as he could see, all the way to the distant opposite end of the wall.

"Hunter Lev," a tall, slim man with brown hair and matching eyes called out to him. "Do you still have any business to attend to on the wall?"

[Wind Mage - Level 171]

"No, let's go."

"Very well," the man replied. Wind mana streamed out of his palms, enveloping them both in tranquil gales. The spell easily lifted them into the air before they shot off to the huge central spire.

More than half my top speed, Lev observed, slightly impressed. Their passing was entirely soundless and exceptionally smooth, something made trivial by possessing a proper wind flight skill. He could've just flown there by himself in less time, but going through the official channel would save him any potential headache that might've arisen otherwise.

Landing on top of the spire, several hunters scanned the newcomers before ignoring them. None of them were aware of who Lev was, beyond the few who remembered him being approached by Drakys in the lecture.

Without pause, the wind mage continued to a lower floor. Lev quietly followed, taking note of the high number of defenders present in the spire. Most of them were high Adept, ranging from levels 180 to 225. A formidable force.

None of them loitered close to a single room, however. The carrier knocked on its doors twice… and then left. Lev was left alone, surprised, and fairly amused.

"Enter," a rather young voice commanded from inside. A young-looking man, someone Lev would expect to be in their mid-twenties, looked at him with a frown. "Yes? Do you need something?"

The Master strategist's aura also tried to scare him off but Lev resisted it with laughable ease. "I'm Lev, a gold hunter. I was dropped off here like a bad habit by one of your carriers. It should be me asking that."

"I have been expecting you. Come, take a seat."

Lev quickly did so, trying his best to not show his excitement at the beautiful table the strategist was sitting at. On top of it, a wide map of the human settlements was visible. It was updated in semi-realtime, a marvel that Lev had yet to see anywhere.

"Is it your first time seeing a war table?" the strategist questioned. His grin showed exactly what he was doing.

"Yep," Lev replied, eyes fixed on all the different landmarks surrounding the outer wall.

The haven was in the middle of the squarish outer wall. Using it as a reference point, Windkeep was to the northwest corner, bordering the dreadwoods. The woods themselves were far larger than his initial estimates. Just the visible region was more than half the size of the human lands claimed by the outer wall.

Runespires, Lev's current location, was to the Northeast. Bordering it was only grassland for a long while before the signs of a distant mountain range became visible. The table only covered that much.

The pit was present to the West of the haven, halfway between the great city and the outer wall. It was represented as a huge skull on the map, along with a question mark. Curious, but nothing that concerned him at the moment.

Downwards, to the Southwest, was Whitefall. It was present at the edge of a huge green boundary, the treeline of The Great Forest. Whitegrove, the big forest near it inside the wall, was also visible. While it wasn't comparable to the dreadwoods, it was still fairly large.

Finally, timberhold was present in the Southeast. It was the largest city in scale, and around it was only grassland for as far as the map covered. Not only that, from what Lev knew, that part of the plains was also much safer than anywhere else. Mana density was way lower in general, giving birth to weak monsters like goblins and orcs, allowing the humans to relax while only contending with small waves.

Most of humanity's food production was also located there. With the second-highest population, its safety was of paramount importance.

Lev's gaze remained on the pit's skull for a long while before he looked up. The Master didn't interrupt, only observing him silently.

The man extended a hand. "Senior Strategist Noah, Hunter Commander and Resource Manager for over 200 years."

… Wow, okay. Definitely not young.

"Gold Hunter Lev," Lev flatly introduced himself and shook the proffered hand. "Hunter for less than a year."

The Master paused, still holding Lev's hand. "Less than a year?"

"Yep."

"Color me surprised," the man leaned back. "From what I have heard, you can match even Isabella in output and magery. Very impressive for such little experience."

Lev didn't take offense to the last bit. He knew he was still wet behind the ears when it came to being a hunter. Seeing him not reply, Noah straightened and waved to the map.

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"I have not received any clear orders. Were you sent here with any messages to deliver?"

"No, but I was told where to be stationed."

"By whom?" Noah immediately questioned.

"Duke Fabian."

The strategist blinked. "The Grand Strategist? Didn't know you were acquainted. What were the orders?"

"Stay on top of the central spire and shoot outside the walls and below."

…

"… I see. No wonder they sent you to me directly. Look here," Noah pointed at the position of the central spire on the huge table. "Can you point out the limits of your range?"

Lev stared blankly at the map for a few seconds before looking up. "Honestly, I have no idea. One of the reasons I was dropped off here so quickly was to practice and identify the limits of my class with an aura mage."

"Elaborate?"

Elaborate what?

Having no other hint, he simply explained what he meant by the last sentence. "The reward ceremony finished a few hours ago. Since I had to partake in that, I was there a few hours ago, and now I'm here."

"Oh," Noah smiled. "You qualified for some of the rewards?"

Lev nodded. "I won both the Monster Hunt and the Solo Combat events."

The strategist went silent again, contemplating something seriously. With a small nod to himself, Noah made up his mind and gave Lev an intense look.

"How many points were you able to score?" the Master grinned.

With a short laugh, Lev prepared himself to answer another set of questions about the whole event.

****

"I am Beatrice. Pleased to meet you," said the aura mage, tone as frigid as a glacier. Lev, currently sitting on the edge of the central spire's roof, gave her an incredulous glance.

[Mage - Level 204]

"… Pleased to meet you as well. Will you be the one accompanying me?"

"That is correct, Hunter Lev."

"Can I ask about your skills?"

"You may, though they are all listed in my file."

Lev hmm'd. "Not happy about that?"

"That doesn't concern you," she curtly replied. With her rich black hair and pale skin, the reply sounded extra cold.

"Oh okay," Lev laughed. "I would just evolve and refuse to disclose them next time."

"One cannot just go and evolve."

"Not with that attitude."

Her already neutral face became even more reserved. Lev sighed in his head. He had pressed a bit too many of her buttons perhaps, even if it was fun.

"What abilities do I need to know about?" Lev asked seriously, no longer messing around.

"A direct increase to mana regeneration, a similar passive effect, and an enhancement for Intelligence and Perception."

"How long can you keep up the active ones?"

"The regeneration for four hours and the enhancement for six hours. Two hours for both of them, though I will need to rest in between constant use."

"That's pretty damn good," Lev remarked, eyes on the horizon. Strategist Noah had arranged a target practice course for him, though it was going to take some time to set up. The effectiveness of it remained to be seen.

To test the aura mage's skills, Lev first needed to waste mana. Barrier armor appeared around him before he aimed a hand upwards. Fire mana rushed out of his hands, released above the palm in a wild, uncontrolled jet of flames. It was a massive thing, much bigger than Lev was expecting, and he quickly cut off the input.

"Use the regeneration skill on me now."

Beatrice acquiesced, letting the skill empower him. Lev inhaled once the potent effect became obvious, taking a deep breath to get used to it.

Nearly half as powerful as the bald man's skill. Not bad. The total regeneration period is cut to five or six hours with this, instead of the normal eighteen.

From where Lev was currently standing, the walls of Runespires were nearly forty meters lower, allowing him to observe the plains clearly. Far in the distance, a column of black smoke was rising, easily noticeable for his Perception.

"Now use the enhancement."

Immediately, his vision became sharper, amplifying the clarity with which he could see the smoke. The effects of increased Intelligence, however, were more subdued. He could feel that it was enhanced, but no benefit stood out immediately.

A grin found its way to his face. Mana left his arms in a small stream, forming a long, sharp lance above them. It was nearly three meters long, firm, and ready to his senses.

For the first time, Lev used a formation from Drakys' collection. It was simply called "Acceleration Formation," the simplest of its kind. Despite that, it was extremely efficient, perfect for his purposes.

The main purpose of the formation was to enhance a projectile to the point of stressing its structure. Lev's barriers were robust enough to handle the strain, which left only the other downside.

Once accelerated, any attempts at guiding the projectiles would be severely hampered. He made use of that tactic quite frequently, always adjusting his arrows and lances to enhance his accuracy against moving targets. The formation took away that option.

It wasn't all bad, though. By virtue of being much faster, Lev would be able to hit moving targets with reliability similar to before. The speed would ensure that the lances became much harder to dodge in the first place.

The formation itself was laughably uncomplicated. Most of its efficiency came from the runes used in its building, as new and more suitable versions were always waiting to be found out there.

To enchant the lance, Lev simply carved the accelerate rune near the tip. Then, with connector runes and a few others to scan the whole shape of the projectile, the formation was carved in a small area within seconds. Because of the easiness, Lev also managed over 95% efficiency on the first try.

Truly, Drakys had gifted him an entire treasury of top-tier runes.

Beyond the wall, the black smoke was only getting thicker. Lev's task was to pierce the smoke with his arrows and lances, which was quite daunting considering the kilometers of distance.

With a deep breath, and a bit of lightning infused into the lance for even more speed, Lev channeled a puff of mana into the acceleration formation. It filled up to the point of overloading almost instantly. Shaking his head slightly at the ridiculous formation, he loosed.

The lance accelerated beyond the speed of sound immediately, going past the walls in a blink with a loud shockwave. Beatrice took a step back to fix her tousled hair. Lev's increased Perception let him observe the lance, albeit for only an instant, as it missed the mark and landed a few dozen meters away from the smoke.

Several hundred meters in the air, a carrier shone a bright red light, proving that the lance had indeed missed. Not that Lev needed to be told.

Four more lances took shape and were enchanted in less than ten seconds. One by one, they each announced their launch with deafening booms, proudly missing the smoke point.

Undeterred, Lev asked Beatrice to use the regeneration skill on him and formed another ten lances, starting his practice in earnest.

He also summoned a cushioned chair for Beatrice to sit down on and enjoy the show.

On his twenty-third lance, Lev finally got the hang of it. There was little need to account for gravity for the speed at which his projectiles could fly, meaning it was entirely up to his aim to guide the lances.

The trick, or lack of it, was simply getting used to it. Firing from so far away was an entirely new experience. Lev had yet to develop a gut feeling for if the projectiles were going to miss or not, which was what he aimed for once he understood how to aim.

Minutes passed in peaceful shooting before Beatrice finally couldn't take it anymore.

"How do you have so much mana? I put most of my points into Wisdom as well, but you still have way more."

Lev settled on half-truths, like he usually did for this topic. "My class has a really high mana capacity benefit, and I also have a ton of titles. The points from dungeoneer title also went into Wisdom only."

"Still," she continued in a low voice. "That much of a difference? Even your regeneration is magnitudes higher than mine."

He stayed quiet, letting the aura mage form her own conjectures. The knowledge about his Wisdom Boost was going to come out eventually, but he would rather not speak of it before reaching the Master rank. Whatever trouble it would cause, Lev wanted to be able to face it on his own.

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