"Stop the skills," Lev spoke after a few minutes, not seeing anything that needed his attention immediately, neither beyond the walls nor below.

Beatrice ceased buffing him, still contemplating what she had just seen. Lev had casually demolished a small group of second-threshold monsters, after all. For a gold hunter, that was an impossible achievement, even if direbears were weak. Their durability still matched their levels.

"It doesn't make sense," she eventually said, expression downtrodden. "Why is the difference so huge? I've never slacked off either."

"Luck," Lev replied, trying to keep his tone neutral so she might not think the words derisive. "I don't think anyone wants the downside of the power I have, nor the past I had to go through. So, it's mainly luck and secondarily persistence."

"Downsides?" she scoffed but controlled her expression quickly. "Such as?"

"There is much I can't reveal, but can you imagine the responsibility that comes with 'so much mana?'"

She couldn't, not immediately at least, if her lost expression was any indication.

"Just to give you a hint, I've already personally met most of humanity's Exalted as an Adept. Not just anybody can say that."

Some of the scope of Lev's future started to dawn on her. Perhaps because she had faced monsters on her own, or maybe she had heard enough tales, but Beatrice dipped her head in an apologetic nod, understanding that she was speaking out of line.

Not much thinking was required to deduce that, if things went well, Lev would have no choice but to be at the forefront. Be it battling monsters or explorations, his class was suitable for everything.

Sure, he would have teammates and other allies supporting him, but the expectations were mostly going to land on his shoulders. Many would fold under them, and Lev might too, but he would be damned if he didn't give it his all.

The option to just refuse was there, but his mind immediately recoiled from the notion. What else was he supposed to do? Let the world burn around him when he had the tools for change and safety? The ridiculous thought could never get a hold on him, let alone sink in its claws. That, Lev could claim confidently.

"Again with all the downer talk," Lev clicked his tongue. "Direct combatants are always rewarded more too, so that's that. Doesn't mean your class or presence are any less significant. With you here by my side, I can do far more than I could normally, and that is something you should never discard."

"Thank you," she smiled faintly, "but I am quite confident in my class already. It's the sheer gap between us that makes me forget that I'm one of the best aura mages out there."

"That's more like it," Lev laughed. "And hell yeah you are. Those skills are quite nuts, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"I know," she replied casually, eyes visibly smug.

Hey, I'm progressing in the social department as well.

Smiling to himself, he fired arrows down below, skewering unsuspecting spiders, trolls, snakes, centipedes, thornlings, and many more.

Different variations of slimes were also showing up. Most of them straight up died after falling into the pitfalls, but others were quite deadly with their ranged attacks. Lev didn't take any chances and put them down quickly with lightning arrows.

Bats, salamanders, and lizards were dealt with in a similar fashion. Rarely were any of the monsters above level 100, meaning they died from a single arrow.

That changed when a huge, light-brown stingray floated out of one of the caves. The hunters all immediately retreated inside the spires and closed the gates, letting the ranged attackers deal with the earthen glider.

[Earthen Glider - ???]

Well above level 300, Lev observed from the creature's vast aura, preparing lances and arrows. I should stick to lightning for speed and penetration.

Others had the same idea. Four lightning bolts were fired at the monster, all blocked by walls that rose out of the ground. Lances rained down, three of them stopped by large flying boulders, whereas the last was dodged.

It landed on the ground, exploding in a crackling blast that did minimal damage. Lev had to adjust his strategy based on that and glanced at Beatrice.

"Use both of the skills."

Arrows formed by the dozens as her buffs enveloped him. Lightning and fire streamed into all of them, filling them to the brink. Someone down below must have felt all his mana and decided to go all out as well.

Thick, slithering roots tore out of the ground, most of them failing to pierce the monster but a few found their mark. They dug in deep, slowing down the glider for the briefest of moments.

A warrior took advantage, throwing their spear with admirable accuracy. It carved a long, wide gouge along the monster's length, eliciting a screech of pain. More skills joined in before Lev's volley reached the half-erected defenses of the glider.

Walls were shattered, pillars were destroyed, and wind blades were neutralized, but despite all of the power packed into Lev's barrage, it was the monster that won out.

Shields came into being right in front of him, blocking the remnants of the glider's attacks. Enchanted as they were, only three of them shattered and were reformed quickly.

Well, shit, Lev gulped and immediately stepped out of the bubble, depositing Beatrice on the ground while flying away. The glider didn't even acknowledge her and charged Lev, its speed multiplied by the wind mana surrounding its form.

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An earth slash was fired, allowing him to dodge the momentarily slowed down monster by imbuing his armor with lightning. Enhancement formation was already running on full throttle, giving him ample time to note that the slash had done absolutely nothing.

This is bad, Lev looked around, calm and thinking clearly. Evacuation wasn't supposed to happen that day, but seeing the huge monster above the spire changed that. Time to act like a barrier mage for once.

Ten shields appeared in front of him, each enchanted with the standard durability rune. The monster charged heedless, creating and firing shards of stone at the constructs. Each shattered one of them, but the shields reformed faster than the monster could create stone out of thin air.

Lev kept it circling close to the central spire, remaining in range of his bubble to keep Beatrice cloaked and avoiding any people rushing to the evacuation shelters. Bereft of intelligence as it was, the glider never stopped giving chase, wasting wind mana to empower its flight and create sharp blades along its body, and throwing away earth mana in the form of conjured projectiles.

In comparison, the barrier mage could keep up the game of cat and mouse for hours, especially when he lowered himself further to stay in range of Beatrice's buffs. Even with that working out in his favor, there was one issue.

I don't think I can kill it quickly, Lev allowed himself an amused smile, never letting his guard down against the monster that shattered all his defenses casually. Only the number of shields and the insane amounts of mana in his pool allowed him to go toe to toe like that. A normal barrier mage would've lost quickly, even if their class would've afforded them more robust constructs.

As it stood, Lev simply glided around, keeping his mana usage to a minimum and waited for backup. If that didn't arrive, he wanted the streets to be empty before going on the offensive to avoid any accidents.

Less than a minute into the 'fight,' a small group of mages arrived on top of the central spire, presumably to support him. All three of them radiated a faint aura of lightning, letting him know they were probably at the base of the spire not long ago.

"LET THEM EVACUATE," Lev shouted and pointed at the swiftly emptying buildings and roads. The lead mage nodded and stood on alert, spells primed to be launched instantly.

Their presence was reassuring, mainly because they knew Beatrice was there and they could protect her. That was Lev's main worry, as he could go nuclear the moment something threatened his life. Her life needed to be protected more delicately.

More minutes passed in the chase that was quickly losing its novelty. Lev remained on high alert for the entire duration, but he was getting quite good at reading the monster's movements and its mana.

Before earth shards could start forming, his shields were already poised to block them. The mana leaving the glider was substantial enough that Lev's mana perception could notice it, which told him just how strong the monster was.

Barely any gold or platinum hunters would have the firepower to put this thing down, and even if they did, it was going to cost them every last bit of mana or stamina. That was quite the feat for an early second-threshold monster, for they tended to die quickly despite being strong.

Lev, however, was determined to take it down by himself. He had seen most of what the gilder had to offer, and now that they were fighting mid-air instead of underground, away from its home territory, he actually had a chance to win.

An overloaded lightning slash cut its flight path, impacting before the monster could dodge out of the way. It stumbled out of the searing and jolting explosion before righting itself, damaged but far from deterred. Lev wasn't banking on the slash either, though the huge yet shallow charred wound was a good start.

Arrows followed next, each filled with lightning. Each did negligible damage, and half of them were immediately destroyed by boulders smashing into them, but they were all aimed at the injured side of its body. The ones that found their mark blackened its right side even further, increasing the damage ever so slightly.

The monster didn't take it lying down. Huge stone pillars formed above them, and Lev created lances of his own to counter them. As he dodged another one of its dives, the projectiles were launched simultaneously. Lances slammed into the pillars, failing to damage them with any reliability, but all of them did their job without fail. The pillars were pushed aside, each positioned to fall on empty ground below or impact the sides of the spires.

Time to go all out again, Lev grinned as a large amount of mana rushed out of him. He barely restrained himself in time, only forming ten lances far above instead of the dozens he had planned because people were watching him. The current amount of mana could be explained with an arcane class.

Lightning and fire filled them up in a blink, and Lev prepared himself to rush in melee. Just as the glider lunged at him, he advanced too, streaming earth mana into Stargazer. Halfway into the mad dash, he released it all in an overloaded earth slash.

Perhaps not expecting the sheer power packed into the attack, the glider rammed straight into it and was stopped dead in its tracks with a squeal. Its wind blades shattered without any meaningful accomplishment, but despite that, there was little damage visible on its body except some surface-level cracks.

Lev remedied that quickly by launching two lances along with the earth slash, both of them landing on its already-damaged side. The monster fell, immobilized by the sheer amount of lightning coursing through it.

From the top of the spire, the lightning mages were about to open fire. Lev debated stopping them but there was no point. They had already shot spells at it, which meant that the essence was going to be shared anyway.

Two more thick bolts of lightning slammed into it, at which point Lev just commanded all but one of his lances to join in. One by one, they pierced through hastily created walls and boulders and hit the monster head-on, enlarging the huge web of cracks on its body.

Amidst a shower of stone splinters, it fell, unable to control its flight as the lightning mages continued attacking without pause. By the time it hit the ground, an overloaded lance was already on its way, disintegrating half of its body in one final explosion.

[

Your Group has slain [Earthen Glider - Level 321]

Mana Tempest has reached Level 193

Mage Conduit has reached 3rd Level 5

Colorful Destruction has reached 3rd Level 4

Crescent Decimation has reached 2nd Level 3

]

Finally some skill levels again.

While he descended to the top of the spire, barrier arrows blinked into existence and flew downwards, percing one monster after another. Lev had never stopped scanning the situation below, after all. The perks of his Perception made the task manageable.

"Hunter Lev?" the lead lightning mage questioned. Lev identified them all.

[Mage - Level 202]

[Mage - Level 200]

[Mage - Level 200]

"That would be me," Lev replied, creating an opening in the bubble for Beatrice to walk out of.

"Do you need some time to rest and recuperate?" the man asked bluntly, opting for quick conversation.

Lev pretended to think for a bit. "No, but if something like that comes up again, I will need help."

The man nodded. "Of course. Just give us a signal if you ever need to switch out. Having an aura mage by your side doesn't solve the strain of fighting for so long."

"Will do," Lev nodded and watched them leave. He then turned back to Beatrice trying to put on a calm face, failing to hide her faintly trembling hands.

"Once again, you're free to leave," Lev kept his voice natural, neither patronizing nor judgemental so she wouldn't get the wrong message. "As long as you're up here, monsters like that are going to continue showing up for me."

"I…" Beatrice took a deep breath with closed eyes. "I think… I'll stay. That fight alone gave me two levels. The opportunity is too good to pass up."

Lev gave her a respectful nod. "Buckle up, then. Things are only going to escalate from here."

She gave him a confused glance. "Buckle up?"

"Uh… I mean, steel yourself," Lev coughed into his hand. "You know what I mean."

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