"UNBELIEVABLE! Not only has a second-threshold monster been downed by a single hunter, but it was taken down in mere MINUTES. Just what is this unknown hunter capable of if this is how the first fight goes down!?"
Lev simply exhaled at the commentary. There was no longer any doubt about how popular he was going to be. Thank Monarch for Hakim's presence, or he could only imagine what kind of a shitshow would follow to try and win the unaffiliated hunter over.
Not wasting any time, Lev flew to the next monster. The brown bear was of a similar level to the spider and used earth mana to great extents. Unfortunately, it had met someone who could easily kill it from range.
Fifteen percent of my mana for two monsters, Lev thought, annoyed. Granted, he had earned a hundred points in less than half an hour, and the announcer was losing his marbles, but the event was still young.
Gotta tone it down a little, I guess.
Minutes passed before Lev ran into one of the other combatants. It was a girl with long sky blue hair, and she seemed to be in her early twenties. Just from a single glance, Lev could tell she was pretty strong.
He simply nodded her way before changing directions. The girl had only looked at him with curiosity, which boded well. Lev didn't want everyone to become his enemy in the tournament simply because he was winning.
How fucking huge is this arena? He frowned a little. Immediately after, Lev found a cave opening in the ground. It was dark and damp, sporting nothing out of the ordinary.
Erm… Is this supposed to be here?
He doubted the Exalted would miss something like this, so he went inside. The cave was spacious. He could easily swing Stargazer in its confines, and there was still plenty of space for other maneuvers.
Gliding forward to not produce any sounds, Lev paused as a hiss resounded from deeper inside. A silent drone was also following behind him, and Lev glanced at it.
Whoever was controlling it took the hint and halted the drone in place. With a small nod, Lev held up Stargazer in a crude stance and advanced slowly.
Vibrations from the stone around him announced the adversary a split second before it showed itself. Lev whirled around, releasing a lightning slash as a… giant fish swam out of the stone.
The attack landed on the stingray's left wing, doing little in terms of damage. Lev identified it just before it dove into the floor.
[Earthen Glider - Level ???]
Tricky. I don't have earth mana to make use of a mace for this type of monster.
Stargazer would have to do. Imbuing lightning into her, Lev kept his skills read to overload the barrier armor at a moment's notice.
The moment came abruptly as the glider dove down from the ceiling, showing no signs of its movements as opposed to the first time. Two blades of wind shot forward from its wings, aiming to bisect him.
Taking a single overcharged step, Lev crashed into the cave wall in a blink. The blades missed, and Lev shrugged off the impact and rushed back in.
Swinging Stargazer from above, the glider crashed onto the ground from the direct hit. Before it could merge with the stone, Lev thrust Stargazer downward with all his might.
Cracks formed on one of the wings before lightning followed, shearing off a large portion of it. There was no roar or cry from the monster as it quickly swam into the ground.
When the cave itself started to vibrate, Lev didn't hesitate to bolt. Thunderous crashes behind him announced just how close he was to getting turned to paste as he exited in the nick of time.
… Lesson learnt.
Not every early second-threshold monster could be faced with his class. The glider was a good reminder to not become overconfident.
****
Leaderboards:
1) Lev - 402 points
2) Isabella - 277 points
3) Aryan - 275 points
4) Elias - 267 points
5) Daniel - 255 points
6) Viktor - 253 points
7) Sabrina - 245 points
…
The shock had worn off quickly after the fight against the spider. By now, the kids and everyone else near Sherron were just idly observing Lev meandering in the arena.
Other screens showed hunters fighting tooth and nail for every point, conserving mana and plotting schemes against groups of monsters. Then there was the lone hunter casually outdoing them all.
That wasn't to say others weren't impressive. The top fifteen hunters were all exceptional in their own right, given how they earned their place amongst nearly three hundred strong combatants. Only those vetted by several teams to possess a minimum level of strength were allowed to compete, a requirement she doubted Lev was even aware of. He didn't need to be, either.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Most of them were bogged down by points being divided based on contribution in case of being backed by a team. Lev's status as a solo hunter was a massive advantage in the ongoing event.
"Three hours have passed. You know what that means, that's right. BOSSES WORTH 100 POINTS HAVE BEEN RELEASED INTO THE ARENA. All hunters are advised to find teammates as soon as possible. Each of the field bosses is over level 300, a foe that simply cannot be taken down by a single team. Three of them now roam freely. Be wary."
The commentator's voice made all the participants not engaged in combat pause. Most of them immediately started looking for other people, while some of them opted out. They had seen what they were capable of and knew the bosses were beyond them.
Lev hovered mid-air, silently gazing at the nearest field boss. Despite being kilometers away, he could most likely see it clearly, evident by his stony face.
The brute was huge, much larger than the one he had fought by himself before, and it returned the stare. If Lev was unnerved by the calculating yet insane gaze of a monster, he didn't show it.
Standing nearly five meters tall, the brute simply couldn't be compared to its first-threshold counterparts. Where they were inflated and unsightly, this monster had dense, corded muscles and bulky limbs designed for carnage. No part of it looked or felt out of place, which only made it all the more intimidating.
"He's not going to face that alone, is he?" Jack chuckled, slightly unsure.
He most certainly will, knowing how his mind worked, Sherron was about to shake her head when Lev moved away instead, deciding to find another team.
****
[Shade Brute - ???]
The notification boomed in his mind, demanding that Lev take action. Through an effort of will, he turned around to look for Elias and his team instead. No matter how much he wanted to bombard that brute out of existence, it simply was not feasible.
Defeating it was nowhere near impossible— that much was certain. Yet there were still three hours left in the event, and killing it without emptying his pool was definitely not possible.
Still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, Lev sighed. Some part of him questioned if that was all his desire and advantages amounted to, but the reasonable side mercilessly crushed that line of thought. He was already exceptional as he was— no need to risk death every encounter.
He was not going to leave it alone, though. With the first team he could find, it would die. Nothing would change that.
Lev ascended for a few hundred meters, making full use of his enhanced eyesight. Elias and his team were nowhere to be seen, which sent him on a small tour. Before he could find them, Lev instead found a small gathering of hunters getting ready to take on the brute.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give them a hand. There are three of these things, after all, and each is more than 100 levels higher than me.
****
"Oy," Luke's voice reached Daniel, making him turn to look at the mage. Instead of speaking, Luke simply nodded upwards, making his gaze follow the gesture.
Who is that? Daniel gazed at the sky with narrowed eyes, finding an armored hunter hovering a few hundred meters away.
"That the guy the commentator keeps talking about?" Daniel questioned, ignoring the floating guy for now. Creating trouble for fellow participants was not allowed during the hunt, which left little reason to worry.
"Yep. Guess there's not many points to be had any longer," Luke grinned, not nearly as bothered as his words suggested. "Besides, the fire princess and the rogue are already here. This should be a breeze."
"What about the radiant team?" Daniel asked, taking stock of the situation.
"Out there, somewhere," Elana answered, double-checking their potions and equipment. The cores were in place, and enchantments were charged.
Daniel nodded at her before clapping once. Something about that crisp sound never failed to capture everyone's attention.
"Is anyone here against our team taking the lead?"
He specifically gazed at Isabella, who looked unconcerned, and the shadow mage. Neither had any problems, so Daniel proceeded with the planning.
"I'll be blunt, fighting that thing in melee range is purely suicidal. Our only real chance is to reduce its mobility as much as possible and kill it from range."
No complaints were forthcoming, making him nod internally. Variables were the last thing he wanted.
"Wykes, your team should circle around and prepare a concentrated lightning spell…"
Ten minutes later, the hunters were all in position. Seven warriors, all equipped with large shields and buffed by two support mages, took the lead.
"REMEMBER, NO BLOCKING! ONLY DODGE AND DEFLECT IF YOU'RE OUT OF OPTIONS!" Daniel roared one last time before charging.
The brute's gaze instantly zeroed in on him as it shrugged off the lingering effects of whatever drug it had been affected by to keep it stationary. It roared, making the warriors grit their teeth.
They all pressed on, holding back their fears as the monster moved. It was slow for its level, meaning it was still extremely fast.
"NOW!"
Two thick bolts of lightning impacted the brute's rear, making its hind legs lock up for an instant. Not missing the chance, a whip of blue fire wrapped around the jolted limbs. Fire mana rushed through them, engulfing the monsters back in a searing explosion.
Unlike normal fire, the blue fire was hot enough to inflict deep burns on a monster nearly a hundred levels higher than the mage. It was also prohibitively expensive, and nobody was willing to let the costly opportunity go.
Before the warriors could reach the temporarily stunned monster, a bright projectile became visible for a brief instant. Packing the force of a meteor, it descended in a blink.
Daniel shielded his eyes, unwilling to close them against such a strong monster. Lightning singed the very air, forking out of the explosion to find another victim. The warriors all stumbled back, not about to test their toughness against an obviously overcharged attack.
The monster stumbled out of the explosion, injured but far from dead. If anything, it felt more alive than before with how its murderous gaze roamed the warriors arrayed in front of it.
Wherever its eyes landed, the air seemed to press on the humans' shoulders more than before. It was the aura of a pit monster on full display, and even aware, Daniel struggled to break out of it.
Before the brute could reach the frozen hunters, a shadowy blur darted in, deftly landing another devastating on a back leg joint. Three whips of blue fire wrapped around its legs and torso again, and just as the rogue scrambled away, dozens of arrows wreathed in lightning rained down on the monster's wide back.
Each explosive impact fueled the last, cascading into a bright, crackling shroom of fire.
Daniel didn't get a chance to give any further orders when something massive moved fast enough to clear all the flames, scattering them into nothingness. The brute moved, uprooting a large patch of ground and hurtling at the distant barrier mage before rushing the fire mage to its side.
Bulky roots tore out of the ground, slithering higher on the monster's burned and damaged legs. It roared, this time in pain, before falling face-first as the shadow mage severed half its leg in a blur before rushing away.
More whips wrapped around the other leg, weaker in their making. The fire mage was swiftly running out of mana, and they needed to act quickly.
Words weren't needed as all the warriors charged. The weakened monster would be much more manageable with its greatly impeded mobility-
The world suddenly turned white as Daniel was thrown back from the sheer power of the explosion. From the few dozen meters between them and the point of impact, they were spared from any burns and only pushed back, letting the warriors recover quickly.
Seconds passed in silence, accompanied by the backdrop of roaring flames and lightning, before Sabrina chuckled next to him.
"This is the second time he has done this," she sighed, smiling. "Why were we here, anyway? Those three easily manhandled the brute."
Daniel shook his head, unable to hold back a grin. "Moral support?"
[
Your Group has slain [Shade Brute - Level 302]
]
