"You!" Lev jabbed a finger into Alec's face, who had finally found the time to show up after another day.

His mentor paused in the doorway and gulped, knowing he definitely didn't want to speak right now. Especially because his student's face was going through a great range of emotions.

Lev himself was facing a conundrum. On one hand, he knew that words could be more dangerous than even the worst of monsters. The last thing he wanted was to make Alec think he had actually done something wrong by just being a busy researcher.

On the other hand, Lev's dying regret was not spending enough time with his mentor. But that thought was rather childish, because not only was his mentor and a group of researchers working on something that would improve life for humanity in countless different ways, but the time they had spent apart wasn't even long by Monarch's standards.

Still…

In the end, he just let out a heavy sigh and embraced his teacher. All other emotions were swiftly washed away by the joy and relief from seeing Alec again.

Strong arms hugged him back, but they were considerably smaller than he remembered. Alec, too, looked small next to him, and Lev couldn't help but look down at him with a slightly smug smile.

Jokes would have to wait, though. His mentor was visibly gathering himself, and Lev gave him time and a gentle smile, silently conveying that Lev didn't blame him at all.

"I'm glad that you're okay…" Alec exhaled and trailed off. "You've grown."

"Quite well, too," Lev agreed with a nod. Then he grinned cheekily. "Come on in. Why're you still standing in the door?"

His mentor shook his head lightly and followed him inside. Sherron and Orianna were watching it all, the latter while wiping the corner of her eyes.

Explaining the events and answering the questions took all of ten minutes. There wasn't much to say.

"What is it?" Alec glanced at Sherron, who smirked back. Lev raised a brow, wondering what was happening while his teacher continued. "You're jittery. Did you find something?"

"Perhaps," Sherron deflected. "But first. Are you ready now, Lev?"

It's time, Lev took a deep breath and finally brought up his notifications. They had kept him awake the entire night, and his hands twitched in anticipation by now.

[

Your title has evolved.

Daring Delver has evolved into Champion Delver.

Champion Delver:

Foregoing external assistance and equipment, you have challenged dungeons well above your level all by yourself. Despite that, you've also helped along fellow hunters, providing invaluable aid and allowing them to grow.

This title has been awarded for clearing 50 dangerous dungeons and contributing to the safety of your kind.

+10 to an attribute of your choice (Wisdom)

+15 to an attribute of your choice (Wisdom)

+25 Free Attribute Points.

]

"First off, the dungeoneer title," Lev explained to a very attentive audience. "It's now called Champion Delver, and beyond the first 25 assigned points, it now gives another 25 free points. Is this common?"

"Hakim and I have the same title," Sherron replied. "It gave us only 40 attributes because of our weaker first and second title evolutions."

[

You have slain [Mutated Infected Windstrider Warg - Level 637]

]

Lev gulped involuntarily as the monster's visage flashed into his vision. He firmly shook his head and focused back on the present.

"… Level 637. I should not be alive right now. If it wasn't mutating, I wouldn't even know how I died."

Nobody spoke, because they knew Lev's words held far more truth than the speaker expected. Third-threshold monsters were competely incomparable to second-threshold ones, and humans in general were weaker than them. Sentience gave humans a big advantage in the first two thresholds, but the instincts of third-threshold monsters were just as sharp as their natural weapons.

[

You have earned a new title: Titan Slayer

]

"… I got a title."

Sherron pumped her fist into the air with a quiet 'yes!' Lev chuckled at her enthusiasm, though he was mostly scared of what he was about to see. No doubt, The System was going to once again reward him far more than he deserved.

[

Titan Slayer:

You have shattered all perceived notions of impossibilities. Defying both the wildest dreams of your kind and the natural hierarchy in the realm of mana, you have carved out a piece of Significance for yourself by slaying a monster two thresholds above your own. The title will greatly aid in your evolutions.

+50 to all attributes.

]

Lev read it again. Then another time. Then once more, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't.

Sherron wanted to open her mouth, but decided against it when she noticed the sweat rolling down Lev's forehead. She glanced at the other two, who looked back without interfering.

Eventually, Lev closed his eyes and lay back down on the huge bed. With a deep breath, he accepted the title and prepared himself.

Raw, unadultered power rushed through his veins, empowering his entire being in a massive surge of attributes. 300 of them were added to his status in a single moment, leaving him drooling with his eyes rolled up.

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Seconds passed as his heavy breathing echoed in the bedroom before he finally controlled himself. Mercifully, no one mentioned him panting like a dog and only waited for the juicy information.

"Right," Lev swallowed. "So, yeah. A title. It gave me… 300 attributes."

"… What?" Sherron was the first to voice her incredulity and break the ensuing silence. Alec was entirely quiet, and Orianna only looked proud.

"50 to all. It also improves my evolutions a bunch, apparently."

Sherron just shook her head, mouth still hanging open. She looked at Alec, who just shrugged helplessly. Whatever she wanted to know, Lev's mentor was clueless about it as well.

[

Mana Tempest has reached Level 247

Mana Tempest has reached Level 248

Mana Tempest has reached Level 249

Mana Tempest has reached Level 250

Arcane Barrier Manipulation has reached 3rd Level 9

Heavier Lifting has reached 3rd Level 9

]

"250. All of my skills are at either level nine of the third rank or at the start of the fourth."

"That's… higher than I expected," Sherron remarked, eyebrows raised a little. "What were you doing in that dungeon?"

Lev answered bluntly. "Clearing the whole thing took less than a day. The rest I just spent on practicing everything I could while regenerating mana."

"And how much Wisdom do you have now?" Orianna asked.

"… 700."

"What about your other attributes?" Alec asked with a slight frown. Lev put his teacher's worries about him neglecting them to rest by reading out his total attributes.

[

Attributes:

Strength: 175

Dexterity: 175

Constitution: 470

Intelligence: 550

Wisdom: 700

Perception: 460

]

"This is ridiculous," Alec remarked with an astounded and delighted smile as his concerns melted away. "Master is where everyone starts to earn different titles, but you've already outdone most of them."

"That just means it will be harder for me to earn more of them, no?"

"The System does not work like that," Orianna clarified. "Titles primarily depend on what humans consider impressive. If you take on an entire nine-rated wave by yourself in a few centuries, it will still qualify for a very strong title regardless of how much effort it took."

"More power for me then," Lev quipped, liking where this was going. "Did anyone inform Beatrice, by the way?"

Sherron nodded. "She'll be waiting for you in the park tomorrow."

It's gonna be difficult to explain things to her, Lev mused, but that was fine. Beatrice rarely pushed for more information unless it invovled sweets.

They lapsed into silence after that. No more notifications awaited him, and his mentors also had a lot to think about.

"Your turn now," Lev said and glanced at Sherron after a few minutes. "I have yet to see the core or the remains of Stargazer."

She waved them to a large dining table and summoned an enchanted cover on top of it. Twisted and broken chunks of metal appeared, clearly belonging to his precious glaive.

Lev gently picked them up. The enchantments were completely unusable, and much of the glaive was missing. Sweeping a hand over the rugged pieces, he let out a quiet sigh and stored them in his ring, one that Sherron had returned to him. His severed arm had survived the fight, and the ring remained whole, if only slightly blackened. It was made of stern stuff.

"Your weapon didn't go without one final priceless gift," Sherron winked at him, excitement visible on her pretty face. "Look."

She summoned a core on the table. It rolled on the uniform surface for a brief moment before stopping under the wide, unbelieving gazes of all four of them. Even Sherron, who was holding onto it, was staring like the rest.

Lev's mind scrambled to come up with the possibilities, and Orianna looked to be in a similar boat as him. Alec however, was the most affected.

Heavily enchanted leather gloves covered his shaking hands as he leaned forward. Carefully, as if picking up a newborn, he scooped up the core and brought it closer to both him and Lev.

"Can you see the full description, Lev?" he asked, voice trembling.

"No. It says the core regenerates and possesses Extraordinary properties."

Alec nodded at the expected answer. "The rarity above epic is superior. It is where the equipment starts giving bonuses to the wielders. With that core, it is possible to create something of that rarity."

A million thoughts exploded in Lev's head, but a single one empowered them all. He looked down at the remains of Stargazer and imagined time reversing. The pieces flew back together as the gaps were refilled, but instead of being merely rebuilt, the mutated core joined the fray.

Instead of being a normal Rare weapon, a Superior Glaive now hovered in front of him, drowning the world in its vast presence. Lev imagined his hand shooting forward and grabbing Stargazer's hilt, one built to perfectly accommodate his grip.

The delusions continued for a few blissful moments before he shook himself out of the reverie. Gulping, he took the core from Alec's hands to bring it closer to himself.

A jolt of fear cut through all of his excitement when his fingers made contact. There was so much mana in the core that it stole his breath. His own pool looked mild and tiny in comparison.

Yet his brain was stuck on a different detail. The warg had so much mana, but it didn't even use a fraction of it. It was locked out of its own pool due to the terrifying mutation, which was the only reason he hadn't disintegrated on the spot. If it wasn't so severely restricted…

Beads of sweat flowed down his neck as Lev imagined the consequences. His hair stood on end at the visualization overwhelming his rational mind. A single blade of wind would've passed through where he exited the dungeon, eviscerating him into a fine bloody mist and carving a huge gouge in the dirt ground.

That would've been all.

No hope, no chance of fighting back, not even a moment of realization. That single instant would've put an end to his short life, taking with it all the hopes and dreams of his precious ones.

Lev jolted again when a hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked at who it belonged to. Alec gazed back at him with eyes both regretful and understanding. Lev slapped his cheeks and threw away the morbid thoughts far away from the front of his mind.

"I'm fine," he said and blinked a few times. Mustering his resolve, he grabbed the core in his palm and observed it with a deep scowl. "How likely is it that I'll be allowed to keep this core?"

Sherron frowned. "A hundred and one percent. I'll fight whoever tries to take it from you."

The other two were of the same opinion, which put Lev's worries to rest. Given how much of a marvel the round treasure in his palm was, he didn't doubt for a moment that all of the Exalted would want it for themselves.

He didn't let the thought of giving it to them for a greater cause cross his mind. Lev had earned that core at the cost of his life, and he was going to keep it regardless of what anyone thought would be best for it.

"This is it, huh?" Lev exhaled and looked around. "None of the experiments for mana conductivity I performed netted me anything usable, and all the expensive treatments only made the armor worse because of its structure. Which leaves… nothing? I can just evolve now."

Stargazer was the only thing he sorely felt the lack of at that moment. But with the new core, he was going to make sure she was reconstructed with the best possible skills and materials.

The overwhelming strength was also going to stop mattering after Master. Evolving past Adept was, to put it mildly, not the hardest for Lev. It was only made more difficult by the world trying to kill him over and over again. Regardless, he hadn't resorted to any external aids or tools to help him level faster, and neither had he asked anyone for help. Those things were known to lower the quality of the Master evolution.

After that, though? None of that mattered. Lev could take all the handouts he wanted without a care in the world. Such measures would temporarily slow his glacial level progression even further, sure, but once the tools matched his increased level, the essence gains would return to normal again.

Throughout all of that, it wouldn't affect the quality of his evolution. Simply because it was such a monstrous task for even the brightest of humanity that most people never truly dreamed of crossing that threshold. Only a few genuinely wanted to evolve past Master and reach the ranks of the mightiest.

Which was to say, even the best tools of humanity weren't quite up to par. Rarities stopped mattering when one reached the second half of the threshold, at which point all level gains slowed down to a crawl. Every possible drop of power mattered as monsters overtook humans in general strength, and no equipment was ever 'too strong.'

Things got even worse in the last fifty levels, or the third gap. Orianna was likely in that stage, though Lev couldn't be certain without asking. He could only imagine just how many thousands of kills were required to gain even a fraction of a level. It wasn't like humans could reliably kill second and third-threshold monsters while ensuring their safety. Each battle at that point could very easily be the last.

The choice was left in his hands, and he would be damned if he didn't secure the best for Stargazer. She would return in a form designed to empower his very being, and Superior rarity was the least he was expecting with that core slotted into her body.

Lev got up from his seat and gave everyone a casual salute, one they all failed to recognize.

"See you all as a Master."

Jumping on the bed and making himself comfortable, he brought up the single notification hovering in his mind.

[

You have qualified for an Evolution. Initiate?

It is recommended to do this in a safe place and outside of combat.

]

Initiate.

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