When his mana tipped over 95%, Lev was already looking for the next golem. Only centiquus golems had shown themselves so far but Lev was expecting several more variants.
Head on a swivel and Perception stretched to the limit, he slowly glided forward. Crossing the bend had just revealed another long cave without an end in sight.
For half an hour, Lev just kept moving forward. The cave looked natural, and there were no signs or scars of battle to warn him. Only a very slight rumbling saved his hide as he yanked himself back as hard as he could.
Something exited the ceiling just above where he was a second before. Lev was able to observe a large maw filled with several rows of serrated teeth for a split second. There was no time to attack as it burrowed into the stone ground, the dozen-meter-long thick body following behind, leaving a gaping hole in the wall.
[Burrower Golem - Level 200]
Lev didn't have to think of his strategy for long. A ball the size of his head formed in front of him as he dumped a large stream of mana into the fire converter gauntlet.
The ball slowly turned red and orange as the fire mana infused it. It became brighter and brighter as Lev waited patiently for the golem to attack again. The signs were more obvious this time, starting with a nearly imperceptible rumbling. Knowing it was coming, he overloaded his armor and empowerment formation for one decisive movement.
The moment the burrower broke through the wall to his left, Lev darted back and threw the vibrating ball into its maw. Due to the innate durability of his barriers, the ball didn't instantly explode after falling out of his control inside the monster's mouth. The burrower dug into the right wall due to all its momentum and vanished out of sight.
Several seconds passed before the cave shook. The tremors were distinctly different, more all-encompassing, and intense.
[
You have slain [Burrower Golem - Level 200]
Mana Tempest has reached Level 150
You have earned the title: Hunter
Hunter:
Through unique circumstances, you have become a gold hunter of the guild. It is proof of your dedication and drive to advance even further.
+5 to all attributes.
]
Why, thank you. I was wondering why I haven't gotten the title yet.
[
Name: Lev
Class: Mana Tempest - Level 150
Titles: Reinforced Mind, Extraordinary Soul, Youngest Prodigy, Goliath Slayer II, Daunting Steps II, Solo Dungeoneer, Hunter
Attributes:
Strength: 95
Dexterity: 95
Constitution: 275
Intelligence: 340
Wisdom: 400
Perception: 275
Class Skills:
Arcane Barrier Manipulation - 3rd Level 1
Unerring Volley - 3rd Level 2
Colorful Destruction - 2nd Level 10
Barrier Armor - 3rd Level 3
Superior Senses - 3rd Level 3
Rapid Infusion - 2nd Level 10
Heavier Lifting - 3rd Level 1
Mage Conduit - 3rd Level 2
General Skills:
Advanced Mana Manipulation - 2nd Level 8
Identify
Arcane Brawling - 2nd Level 10
Mana Perception - 2nd Level 10
Arcane Archery - 2nd Level 10
Barrier Carving - Level 2
Wanderer's Repository - Level 2
Mana Slash - 2nd Level 10
]
Sweet, sweet Wisdom, Lev smiled. He could do almost double what he had done against that orc general on his way to runespires with the amount of mana he had now. That was before even his improved skills came into play.
The core from the burrower was mostly likely reduced to bits, so he backtracked and waited for his mana to regenerate again. 15% of it had been infused into the ball, and the final amount was reduced significantly because of the converter's efficiency.
With the burrower added into the mix, I need to keep an eye on even more things now, Lev thought, ready to move again. With his Perception held back, time passed way too quickly. It was slightly unnerving but Lev was trying his best to get used to it. It was the new norm.
Lev advanced much the same, killing two more Centiquus golems without much trouble, netting him another level, before something new showed up.
[Clay Gargoyle - Level 198]
[Clay Gargoyle - Level 198]
Lev paused. Seeing two flying humanoids would do that to most people, but he was more taken aback by their faces. Four horizontal eyes adorned their monstrous skulls, their red color matching the two horns atop their heads. Both those features stood out on its winged, light brown body, giving it a menacing look that made Lev hesitate to tackle two at once.
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Still, there was little chance of separating them. Lev summoned Stargazer and filled her blade with lightning mana. The gargoyles noticed the mana usage instantly, and Lev opened fire with a barrage of ten fire arrows.
Most of them were dodged, only three finding their mark. One of the stone beings was halted by two explosions from overcharged arrows, while Lev met the other in melee.
Claws met barrier blade, neither giving way. The clash produced a loud shockwave as Lev battled for physical supremacy. He might as well be pushing against a wall with how much it budged.
Same for the gargoyle, Lev noted and grinned, ignoring the large stream of mana overloading his armor, powering the formation, mentally manipulating the barrier blade to make it faster, and the physical strength added on top.
He had to back off when the second gargoyle reached him. Lev had ignored it in favor of testing his physical strength against both of the monster's claws at once. Darting back, more arrows formed behind him as the monsters charged as one.
Lev prioritized dealing with one of them, launching all his arrows rapidly at the left monster. A series of explosions and impacts held it back while Lev advanced on the lone monster in front of him. Leaning back to avoid its slashing claws, Stargazer sought to pierce its body. One of the wings blocked it as the monster sacrificed its flight to prevent a fatal wound.
Lev didn't let the chance go, firing an overloaded lightning slash at the wobbling monster. The effects were disappointingly weak but the element still locked up the monster for a precious second. Lev aimed at the long, charred scar from the lightning slash as Stargazer flew down in an arc.
With mana flooding all its enchantment, stone eventually gave way. The blade bit several inches deep, eliciting a roar of pain from the monster. The sound, just like the centiquus golems, tried to damage his armor but it was noticeably weaker.
While Lev trained his budding melee skills against the gargoyle, he kept half an eye on the second bombarded monster. It was cracked in several places, meaning blunt explosive damage was quite effective, and was struggling to stay afloat with pieces of clay or stone flaking off.
For over a minute, the monster mindlessly met Stargazer after every exchange. With his high Perception, Lev was starting to notice how the monster's body twitched before making a move. It was supremely difficult to focus on those details mid-fight, but he had his enhanced senses to manage it.
When it charged again, Stargazer was already infused with fire mana and imbued with earth mana. Lev swung the glaive with all his might, hitting the gargoyle's neck with a deafening crack, before the fire mana was released in a point-blank slash.
Ignoring the notification, he charged Stargazer in the same way again before ending the barely surviving second monster. Poor thing had been constantly hit with arrow after arrow.
Lev had even reduced the amount of fire mana in his barrage to keep it alive for later.
[
You have slain [Clay Gargoyle - Level 198]
You have slain [Clay Gargoyle - Level 198]
Mana Tempest has reached Level 152
]
Only 25% mana used in one fight despite the wasteful training. Not bad, Lev nodded to himself, noting the increased requirement for leveling. Granted, the fight was easy and straightforward, but the monsters were both nearly 50 levels higher than him.
Guess getting to Master will take a long time.
That didn't bother him, though. Even if increasing his skill levels was not as important as evolving, it would still improve his evolution slightly.
The cores of the monsters were in their chests, which he was grateful for. Their heads had been decimated in the last explosive attacks. Lev identified them after digging them out of the corpses.
[
Clay Gargoyle Core - Weakened
Exhibits minor properties of body enhancement. Useful in crafting
]
Weakened? Like the spider matriarch? This kind of confirms that it was the monster that was weakened and not the cores.
However mighty the monsters were in their prime state, Lev didn't want to know. That was a task for future Lev, who was also strong enough to deal with them.
He sat down to wait again. Since he now knew that they were weak to blunt damage, he would fight them with a mace instead. The only reason he had started with Stargazer was to have the option of Mana Slash in case the gargoyles ended up too strong.
Several hours passed before his mana was topped off. Lev recreated his mace and enchanted it with stone enhancement before advancing.
His caution was once again rewarded when he felt three different auras up ahead. Lev was still over a kilometer away, unable to pierce through the darkness in the distance. The best he could deduce from so far away was that there were two gargoyles and another centiquus golem.
Tricky, especially with the sound attack added into the mix. Seems like fighting only in melee is not an option anymore.
With a full pool, he stalked forward to confirm his earlier guesses. In the distance were two gargoyles standing on two stone pillars with a centiquus golem in between.
The latter was noticeably larger than the previous such golems he had fought before, but he couldn't Identify it from so far away.
Welp, no choice but to use my class skills for this one.
Four lances formed behind him, instantly drawing the attention of the monsters with high sensitivity to mana. Fire mana streamed into the projectiles as they shot forward one by one. The Centiquus golem was enveloped by flames and momentarily stunned as the gargoyles shot forward, ready to pulp him to paste.
Lev met them head-on. His mace smashed away the first gargoyle's outstretched arm while two arrows exploded in the second's face. Not giving them any quarter, Lev dashed in and swung his mace sideways, striking it into the cave wall hard enough for large cracks to spread on it.
He glanced at the Centiquus golem to note its position only to find it mere meters away from him.
Fast-
Only yanking himself away with all his might saved him from a sure death. Now that the golem was closer, Lev could feel just how much stronger it was compared to the previous one.
No thoughts of saving mana remained in his head. Stargazer appeared in his hand as four fire lances formed around him. Two of them hit the turning Centiquus' face as Lev himself advanced on the gargoyle he had engaged first.
The remaining two lances impacted the second gargoyle, blowing it apart.
The first met the same fate after a few seconds as a fire slash shattered its damaged neck.
Lev squared off against the final adversary charging him again. Despite landing four lances on its head, he only had surface level cracks to show for his efforts.
[Centiquus Guard - Level 222]
No wonder, Lev thought, eyes grave. Just throwing mana at it might not be enough. Let's see what I can do.
Flying backward in a straight line, Lev waited till the charging golem was close enough before launching an overloaded fire slash at its face. The golem barreled through, ignoring the flames and additional damage to its head.
Lev's heavy gauntlet was waiting for it. The fist landed with a thunderous crack before a large amount of lightning mana was released at point blank, stunning the monster for a precious second.
He didn't press his advantage and backed off. The monster instantly tried to eat him alive after finding its bearings. Instead of Lev, it found a ball filled to the brim with fire mana.
Lev commanded it to explode just when the monster was about to close its mouth around the ball, maximizing the damage without losing control over it and risking the ball being spat out. The cavern shone bright as bits and chunks of stone flew in every direction, yet there was no notification.
Lev wasn't betting on that attack to kill it either. With earth mana imbuing Stargazer, he dashed in before the fire cleared. The golem was thrashing around in pain and anger, the former from the rows of fangs missing in its half-intact mouth.
He couldn't find it in himself to feel bad about it. Flying up close, Lev swung Stargazer in an overhead chop. More bits and pieces of stone flew into the air but the fire slash coming out from the same attack finally put the golem down for good.
[
You have slain [Clay Gargoyle - Level 199]
You have slain [Clay Gargoyle - Level 198]
You have slain [Centiquus Guard - Level 222]
Mana Tempest has reached Level 153
Mana Tempest has reached Level 154
]
Still no levels in the third rank? Lev thought with a frown. His current fighting style used all of his passive skills constantly. It made him wonder how people could ever reach the fifth rank with such slow leveling.
He harvested the cores while his mind wandered. The last golem had not used its sound attack for some reason. Either guards didn't have one, or Lev hadn't given it the chance to use it.
Whichever the case, he put it out of his mind and backtracked. When he felt he was far enough, Lev settled down to meditate and regenerate his half depleted mana pool.
