The royal booth was almost empty. Only Katarina was lazily lounging on her throne. Hakim, Sherron, and Duke Fabian were nowhere to be seen.
"Is it that bad?" Lev asked, massaging his arms. They had been healed in a long, painful minute, yet the phantom pain still persisted.
"That depends on what you consider bad," the princess answered. "How are your arms? Make sure to eat something."
"I mean, literally nobody is here. Hell, even the aura mage is absent. Don't I have another match in a few hours? They're fine, just itchy."
"He's waiting in another room, don't worry. Sherron is currently doing rounds around the outer walls, whereas Hakim is manning the ravine. Fabian is doing his own thing somewhere."
"That does sound bad. What about Drakys?"
"He's the one taking competitors out of the arena after every match."
Lev ahh'd. "Oh, it's him? I thought the bracelets had something to do with the losers vanishing."
Katarina nodded before continuing. "What do you know about the storm?"
"Lethal for everyone without exception."
"Yes, but with the storm comes a different type of calamity. Mana levels rise quite a bit, and strong monsters start spawning way more consistently."
"That's news to me," Lev scratched his chin. "How long till the storm approaches?"
"No clue," Katarina shrugged.
"Don't we have diviners for this sort of thing?"
"Yet, we still have no idea what the storm actually is," she countered. "It's not even close to natural and completely nullifies any attempts at divining its origins. If anything, doing so only makes it circle back quicker."
Only makes it circle back quicker… the words echoed in Lev's head, raising his hackles. The storm is actually alive?
Katarina was able to guess Lev's thoughts from his paling face. "Rumors always have a grain of truth hidden inside. We let the ones about the storm behaving like a living being spread so nobody in their right mind would ever take it lightly."
"But… why can't we predict the timing?" Lev asked incredulously. "Surely Mara can."
"Diviners are not all-powerful, Lev. By all metrics, Mara should have died instantly in the ship. But she didn't," she answered and stared directly into his eyes, letting him see how grave and resigned they were.
"Our most powerful diviner only saw what she was allowed to see, and that alone pushed her to Exalted."
****
Having only used a quarter of his mana against Viktor, Lev's mana pool reached 90% in a short time with the aura mage's skill. Down below, rounds passed one after another.
Predictably, Elias, Isabella, Aryan, and several other fan-favorites won without too much trouble. Daniel, Luke, and Nina were amongst them.
Nearly three hours later, Lev was once again making his way to the arena with a full pool. For whatever reason, he was the first to face someone in the ring again.
At the entrance, a familiar face was currently waiting for him. Ron's lips were pursed, and his eyes were resigned.
"Do you think fate is a thing?" the sad acid mage questioned.
Lev tilted his head, not expecting the random question. "I think so. Too many possibilities in the universe for something not to keep track of them."
"That was more thoughtful than I was expecting," Ron mused with a slow blink. "What happened to all these 'possibilities' when it came to choosing my opponent?"
"Don't know," Lev chuckled. "Luck is weird like that. Come on, the round is about to start."
Putting on their bracelets, the competitors were subjected to the commentator's boisterous voice. Just like before, he was hyping up the crowds like there would be no tomorrow.
"THESE CONTESTANTS NEED NO INTRODUCTION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. IN THE FIRST POSITION, WE HAVE RON! A MASTERFUL ACID CONJURER AND MANIPULATOR! NOT ONLY HAS HE CLAWED HIS WAY OUT OF THE LOSER'S BRACKET, HE NOW STANDS IN THE ARENA AS ONE OF THE BEST HUNTERS OF HIS GENERATION!"
Lev observed Ron's reaction, noting how calm the hunter seemed. None of the previous downer attitude or uneasiness was present on his face. Lev didn't say anything either, not intending to disrespect that resolve.
"FACING HIM IS LEV, THE BARRIER MAGE! THE BOY WHO HAS SURPRISED US AGAIN AND AGAIN WITH HIS DIVERSE SET OF ABILITIES AND SHEER MAGICAL PROWESS. PLEASE GIVE THEM BOTH A WARM HAND!"
I do have quite a few abilities compared to the average Adept, hmm.
That would change with the next evolution. Most classes saw a stark increase in the aspects they focused on, letting warriors and mages do more with the same number of skills.
Lev's evolution was probably going to be tame in comparison. If his class followed the usual barrier mage patterns, he would see bonuses to aspects like sharpness, which he had lost previously, and more resilience for his barriers. Even if it didn't sound like much, the results would be amazing when paired with his improved Class Benefits.
"3"
Lev raised Stargazer in a defensive stance.
"2"
"1"
"BEGIN!"
Immediately, barrier armor covered him, carrying him backward as fast as it could. Shields formed in front of him, poised to block the approaching dark green acid bolts.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Lev had to abort carving the enhancement formation temporarily when his shields were pierced as if they were made of paper, forcing him to desperately weave between the projectiles.
More shields formed and were hastily enchanted, blocking attacks at the cost of shattering. Enhancement formation finished and came alive just as a veritable tide of acid rose in front of Ron, launched at Lev instantly.
That thing will fucking disintegrate me, Lev noted just as time slowed down, surprising him immensely. His head snapped up, noticing too late the ball of acid about to splash on him, hidden expertly behind the barrage.
Lev stopped holding back as a huge chunk of his mana vanished at once, crippling both of his arms to channel it. Lightning roared out of the skinsuit, stressing its enchantments for the first time, and streamed into both his armor and Stargazer.
A huge chunk was immediately injected and imbued into his armor as Lev ran his enhancement at full power. Using all his mental might, he dragged himself to the right, just barely escaping the ball of acid that tried to follow him.
Lightning continued to infuse Stargazer all the while. When Lev determined he was safe, he transitioned the dash into an attack. Spinning mid-air to bring Stargazer around in a wide arc, his mind strained to shape all the destructive mana in its blade into a slash.
Lev's will and lightning battled for supremacy, and he was able to subjugate most of it in a blink. Just as the extremely slowed moment came to an end, more than a tenth of his pool was released in the strongest mana slash he had ever launched.
The approaching tide of acid was cleaved apart by the mere passing of the attack. Behind the wall of disintegrating fluid, Ron's eyes slowly widened in dreadful surprise as the overloaded attack flew directly at him.
Drakys didn't take any chances and pulled Ron out long before the attack could land, signifying the end of the round as the tide of acid collapsed immediately. The lightning slash landed on the ground with a giant shockwave as it sent tremors throughout the whole arena, exploding in brilliant red and orange with hints of blue deep inside.
Holy shit, Lev took some steadying breaths to calm his wildly beating heart. I could have potentially died if I didn't have Superior Senses.
The Perception of an Exalted likely matched or outclassed his slowed state, but thoughts tended to be irrational. His barrier armor would've been eaten through in a blink, and the acid would've melted through his skull.
The commentary went in one ear and out the other. Lev was quite rattled by the sudden triggering of his passive skill. The whole experience cut through his inflating ego like a bolt of lightning shearing through paper.
Ron was nowhere to be seen once he returned the bracelet and made his way to the gold waiting area. No attendant had asked him to go to the royal booth, so he took a spot in the corner of one of the rooms.
Notifications were waiting for him.
[
Self-Taught Beginner Glaive Mastery has reached Level 4
]
That one was from his duel with Viktor.
[
[
Mana Slash has evolved into Crescent Decimation.
Crescent Decimation - 2nd Level 1:
Channel destructive mana types into a devastating slash, capable of splitting apart both lakes and hills alike with its sturdy form and unrelenting sharpness.
2nd Rank: The speed of the projectile is further augmented, increasing its penetration power by 20%.
]
Crescent Decimation has reached 2nd Level 2
]
I wasn't even aiming for that, Lev chuckled and brought up his status.
[
Name: Lev
Class: Mana Tempest - Level 190
Titles: Reinforced Mind, Extraordinary Soul, Youngest Prodigy, Goliath Slayer II, Daunting Steps IV, Daring Delver, Hunter, Seen, Survivor I
Attributes:
Strength: 125
Dexterity: 125
Constitution: 350
Intelligence: 430
Wisdom: 525
Perception: 350
Class Skills:
Arcane Barrier Manipulation - 3rd Level 2
Unerring Volley - 3rd Level 3
Colorful Destruction - 3rd Level 3
Barrier Armor - 3rd Level 3
Superior Senses - 3rd Level 4
Rapid Infusion - 3rd Level 2
Heavier Lifting - 3rd Level 3
Mage Conduit - 3rd Level 4
General Skills:
Advanced Mana Manipulation - 2nd Level 10
Identify
Aerial Maneuvers - 2nd Level 10
Mana Perception - 2nd Level 10
Arcane Archery - 2nd Level 10
Barrier Carving - Level 8
Wanderer's Repository - Level 3
Crescent Decimation - 2nd Level 2
Self-Taught Beginner Glaive Mastery - Level 4
]
Befitting a combat class, the third-rank skills hadn't budged at all. The more one advanced on the path of combat, the harder it became for the skills to level outside of life or death situations.
His glaive mastery skill was also progressing nicely. Like Mana Manipulation and Mana Perception, it was meant to be evolved several times. However, unlike those, the effort required was exponentially greater. Lev estimated that he wouldn't see any evolutions for at least a decade.
Less if life forced him to improve quickly. The possibility was real.
Four other general skills had hit the cap, which he couldn't do anything about. Mana Manipulation was going to need some intense practice sessions he simply couldn't partake in before Master. Arcane Archery was just there; Lev had no clue what to do with it except force an evolution in a certain direction.
Aerial Maneuvers and Mana Perception were going to evolve naturally on their own as Lev accumulated combat experience and increased his familiarity.
"Hunter Lev," the same attendant entered after an hour and called out. Seeing him get up, she briskly marched to the royal booth before excusing herself.
Sherron was back inside, looking no different than before. Only she and Katarina were present.
"How'd it feel?" Sherron instantly decided to poke fun at him.
Lev sighed and sat down next to her. "If it were a real fight, I would've blown him to orbit from two kilometers away."
"But it wasn't," she countered. "You almost got knocked out by in should've been the easiest matchup."
"Yeah." Lev looked at her with narrowed eyes. "So what?"
"Oh, come on. You're supposed to be all hissy like a kitten."
"Since when have I acted like that?" Lev questioned incredulously. "I even consider myself a level-headed person."
"Usually, yes. But you looked pretty pissed off down there," Sherron pointed out.
"Pissed off?" Lev thought out loud. "I wasn't angry, though? More surprised and actually excited about the turn of events."
Katarina hmm'd. "Excited? I would call that expression extremely focused."
… How am I supposed to know what kind of face I was making?
"Surely I wasn't stone-faced like you both are implying."
Their silence was answer enough. Lev scratched the back of his head, resolving to keep track of his expression the next time. He would likely forget about it, anyway.
"Forget that; who remains?"
"Only seven that can also give you a challenge," Sherron replied. "Isabella, Elias, Maro, Aryan, Nina, Daniel, and Luke. Were you not watching?"
"I might've gotten lost in planning my future steps, which also involved whatever the hell is going on. How's the situation looking outside?"
He wasn't expecting her to chuckle. "Worried about returning to Windkeep?" Lev nodded at her question. "Don't worry, Drakys or I will drop you off."
"That doesn't answer my question," Lev frowned.
"What is there to answer?" Sherron questioned back. "There will be an increase in monster activity before we all retreat deep underground."
Lev had to settle for that, even if it rankled his spirit a little. That was a new level of helplessness if an entire race had to flee and hope for the best.
"Shouldn't you be empowered by the storm or something?" he changed the subject. "Your class feels like it would fit such criteria."
"I actually am," Lev perked up at the reply. "Too bad fleeing for my life was the only time I could test it."
They both fell silent after that.
"Sorry," Lev spoke in a low voice. Sherron didn't reply with words, only ruffling his hair to show that she didn't mind.
