Each arrow landed with thunderous shockwaves, alerting all the residents of the skeleton of Lev's presence. Calmly, he waited until the extent of the monster density revealed itself before making a move.

Hmm, Lev tilted his head slightly as the amount switly exceeded his expectations. No choice but to go all out, I suppose.

It was a fitting end for his last delve.

Instead of descending, Lev hovered above and waited for the monsters to swarm him. Harpies reached him first and dove en masse, numbering dozens. Arrows fluidly left his bubble to match them and were arranged in multiple rows as their enchantments were powered up.

Multiple burrowers were making their way up to him as well, if the rumbling in the ground was any indication, but the boss remained asleep still.

Like a military assault, the arrows were fired in calculated waves, each aimed at a single harpy. The monsters and projectile collided several hundred meters above him. Lev created a few barrier walls to block the blood and gore while swinging Stargazer downward.

A burrower parted the ground, only for a lightning slash to enter and explode inside its mouth, not killing it but gruesomely decimating all its insides and putting it out of the fight. Several more of them met the same fate before all the harpies that had dodged or survived reached him. Outstretched talons and wings were blocked by enchanted shields that absorbed their attacks with minimal trouble, opening them for another round of arrows.

Amidst the rain of corpses, several ravager swarms made themselves known and started coordinating their attacks. Lev didn't even bat an eye and simply demolished their numbers with overloaded fire arrows.

Dozens of burrowers swam out of the ground in the next few moments, and Lev finally decided to take things seriously. For all the ease he could clear the dungeon, the second-threshold monsters could easily make the first mistake his last.

Lightning surged into his stacks of enchanted arrows, amplifying their speed and sharpness as a consequence even further. Instead of planning, Lev launched them the moment they left the bubble.

Each flew at the monster as a blue blur, far too fast for the bulky monsters to dodge. The arrows pierced their bodies in small showers of blood, easily bursting out of the other side and continuing into the ground or other burrowers.

Lev didn't stay still either. Lowering himself further, he lured all the burrowers until his arrows were best utilized and hitting multiple enemies at once. The pincushioning barrage continued for several minutes as more harpies joined the fray, but the mindless creatures fell all the same.

Finally, after a long period of carnage, the boss finally took notice of the pest in its domain. Lev watched with his arms crossed as the diver roused from its slumber and immediately locked onto his position.

You sure took your time, Lev tried not to roll his eyes at the monster. No other creature remained alive in the dungeon, yet the boss still took nearly half an hour to wake the fuck up.

The mix of offense and amusement Lev was feeling stopped him from making a move, just to see how long it would take for the boss to finally acknowledge his presence. Somehow, the lazy monster had slept through his massacre.

Mana levels… still over 90%. I love this class.

Rolling his shoulders, Lev charged the monster at the same time as the diver flew at him with its large wings. Four ropes, formed of intertwined barrier threads, followed him. Spikes gradually grew along their length to allow for a better grip before he launched them at the approaching monster, along with a single normally infused lance.

The resulting explosion washed away all of the stones and boulders hovering around the monster and blinding its vision. All of his ropes burst through the flames and coiled around the monster, which immediately dove back down to reach the safety of the underground.

Lev could've easily killed the boss then and there, but where would've been the fun in that? Instead, he descended with it as four massive barrier nails took form around him.

Estimating where the diver was going to burrow from, Lev buried the nails deep in the ground around the entrance point. The free ends of his four ropes immediately jostled and tied themselves around the nails just before the monster broke through the stone surface.

When half of its body was submerged, the ropes grew taut, instantly stopping it in its tracks. Muffled roars sounded through the stone ground as the diver's momentum was completely arrested, and its insides were probably shaken by the abrupt halt.

They won't last long, Lev idly noted, but the test was a success regardless. The giant boss had been stopped entirely, which was worthy of a title in his opinion. Too bad The System didn't share his sentiments.

Cracking sounds denoted the end of his ropes as they shattered. As the first of them broke, the other three followed in the same instant, unable to hold back the sheer strength of the boss.

Knowing what was coming next, Lev started ascending before the diver could charge him again. Predictably, it rose out of the ground with another stone barrage, but he didn't disrupt it this time. Instead, he matched its speed to take it as high as he could.

When they were several kilometers above ground, even higher than the top of the stone pit, he turned around and finally answered its annoyed and insane roars. Twelve enchanted shields blocked and deflected the smallest of attacks, throwing them way from him hard enough for the boss to lose control over them.

Arrows infused with lightning answered the largest of its barrage, shearing them into multiple parts with their speed. Lev remained still all the while as its attacks were dismantled with laughable ease, working on the four new ropes forming around him.

Uncaring of the consequences, all thoughts of diving back into the ground vanished as the boss flew at Lev with its fanged mouth wide open. Lev didn't move, only charging his armor with lightning and bringing the ropes closer.

When it was merely a few dozen meters away, which was dangerously close at its speed, Lev yanked himself to the side at full strength. He almost teleported from the insane manipulation and almost vomited inside the armor due to the instant movement.

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With deep breaths and a big smile, he watched as the boss was seamlessly tied to the four ropes, dragging them along. The real test of strength started when Lev mentally grabbed the dangling ends of the four ropes… and then pulled back with all his mind's might.

A shudder ran through the boss's body, but without the support of the nails, it was far from enough to stop its flight. Lev's mind felt like it had been hit by a lightning bolt as the backlash hit him. His flight wobbled, yet his control over the ropes didn't falter.

Lev was dragged along the boss's crazed flight as it tried to get the ropes off its body. He kept them tightly coiled around its bulk and never stopped his efforts to arrest its charge. Slowly, his efforts bore fruit as the boss's momentum dissipated. Once a threshold was reached, and when his brain felt like someone was cooking it on a stove, the boss halted entirely despite its best efforts to get further away from the ropes.

The only reason they didn't shatter was because Lev actively repaired them while overloading all aspects of the barriers to their limits, constantly throwing a torrent of mana at the constructs. In that short time, nearly 10% of his mana had been utilized just to stop the boss, but he couldn't have been happier.

With a sigh, he launched the two improved lances stored in his bubble at the monster. One perforated the back of its head, whereas the other passed through its stomach with enough force to bend the diver in half, leaving a huge gaping hole behind.

[

You have slain [Earthen Diver - Level 350]

Mana Tempest has reached Level 246

Arcane Barrier Manipulation has reached 3rd Level 8

]

Sweet, unexpected levels, Lev held the diver's corpse afloat with considerable effort and dug out its core with two large barrier swords. Once it was out of the body, he dropped the corpse, letting gravity do its work as he trickled healing mana into his body to fix all the aches and soothe the mental exertion.

Less than a fifth of his mana had been used throughout, and more was going to be regenerated in the half hour before he was teleported out. All in all, the delve was his best one yet, both in terms of how little mana he had used and how fast it had been cleared. Lev hadn't made any mistakes either, which was another cherry on top. Hopefully, the title upgrade from the 50th delve was going to reflect that.

His mana regenerated at its usual absurd pace, bringing the massive pool to nearly full in the next half hour. Given just how big his pool was from all the points in Wisdom and the levels in the Mana Well, every second of regeneration counted.

Before he was teleported out, he gave his status a once-over.

[

Name: Lev

Class: Mana Tempest - Level 246

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: 410

Intelligence: 480

Wisdom: 645

Perception: 400

Class Skills:

Arcane Barrier Manipulation - 3rd Level 8

Unerring Volley - 3rd Level 9

Colorful Destruction - 3rd Level 9

Barrier Armor - 4th Level 1

Superior Senses - 4th Level 1

Rapid Infusion - 3rd Level 9

Heavier Lifting - 3rd Level 8

Mage Conduit - 4th Level 1

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 2nd Level 10

Wanderer's Repository - Level 4

Crescent Decimation - 2nd Level 10

Self-Taught Beginner Glaive Mastery - 2nd Level 2

]

For whatever reason, Lev didn't get the title from fighting against waves. That was fine by him. His status was still absurd for someone only fourteen years old, and there were probably some great titles in store for him. The current ones, especially Youngest Prodigy, couldn't be ignored either.

Seconds later, he was teleported outside the dungeon. His habit of keeping the armor on at all times saved him from stepping into the blood pooling on the ground-

Lev jolted and immediately summoned his glaive. The Master guard's mutilated corpse was resting a few dozen meters away, gruesomely torn to shreds. His eyes had barely scanned the poor man's body when time slowed down to a crawl, signifying the activation of his Perception skill.

Caught completely unprepared, Lev bet it all on luck and dove to the left. Only, the attacker was far faster than expected, and he acutely felt giant claws parting his flesh and bones, lopping off his left arm in a blur of dark gray.

Agony exploded in his mind and body as his armor shattered from the single blow. Lev was sent spinning through the air from the sheer force of the attack despite mostly dodging it, but his terrified mind couldn't take its eyes off the monster even after smashing against the ground.

It looked like an abomination straight out of a nightmare. Twice as tall as him, the warg was light gray in color, with stripes of black coursing around its body. Those stripes were harshly interrupted by a long, gaping gash going from its shoulder to its spine.

A single injury wouldn't have rattled his brain to this degree if not for the glaring infection almost corrupting its entirety. Fungal growth along the massive cut made it seem more like a zombie than a living being, but the pus dripping off the long cut painted it in a much more harrowing light.

Lev's body went weak at the sight of it. The monster was clearly far, far beyond him in level. Its aura surged out in terrifying waves, rivaling Duke Fabian's in strength even in its injured state, and utterly demolishing any hopes Lev might have had of escaping.

It didn't matter that the monster was injured or that Lev could observe several obvious weaknesses. No matter what he did, there was no one around him to help, and the Master's fate only reminded him of what awaited him.

Really, Monarch? Lev resummoned his barrier armor and clutched Stargazer tightly as the sped-up moment came to an end. Now, of all times?

Tears streamed down his face as the warg straightened. Its legs wobbled, and its bulk tilted precariously to the side from its grave injuries, but the monster's frightening slitted eyes never left Lev's visage. No signs of sentience were present in them, only endless rage and madness.

Pain took a backseat as the monster took a single step. It was a small thing, faulty in its execution and barely covering a foot despite the warg's massive size. Yet that was the last thing Lev saw as claws cut cleanly through the side of his chest, just barely missing his heart and passing through where his arm used to be.

Hope left his limbs as Lev was sent rolling, eventually crumpling in a heap of pain and hopelessness. Identify had revealed his worst fears, and there was nothing he could do.

[Mutated Infected Windstrider Warg - ????]

His vision blurred as silent sobs wracked his body. All of his efforts and dream were crashing down in front of him, and he couldn't possibly defend himself. Just a single stumbling step from the monster was enough to nearly kill him.

Please… the thought echoed quietly in his head. The situation seemed completely unsalvageable when words came back to him, once spoken by Sherron when no one else was watching.

"Good luck," Sherron smiled at him and floated away. "Run if you can't win. I'll come find you."

Run if you can't win, her words gave him the strength to grip Stargazer tighter and channel healing mana into his body. The reassurance wasn't meant for the current event, but he grasped the straw of hope with all the desperation of a drowning man. A weak, fragile smile somehow found its way to his face even in the moment of despair.

Don't let me down now, Sherron. Lev shakily stood up and turned to the monster writhing on the ground as Stargazer flew to the edge of his manipulation range. His own pain was nothing compared to the warg's excruciating injuries, which was the only reason he was still alive.

Because I'm gonna straight up perish if you do.

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