Lev returned to the scout castle under the bright morning sunlight, not wasting any time to report. Several different ideas about how to monitor large areas bounced around in his head by the time he landed. He took mental notes of all of them.

"Come in," the strategist called out after he knocked at her door. "Were there any complications, hunter Lev?"

Lev followed her lead. "Only one that I would count as a complication. Most of my time was spent killing…"

He explained the encounters to an attentive listener for the next few minutes. When it came to the dusk wraith, he summoned its core beforehand to put any of her doubts to rest.

"That is unusual," she frowned. "Wraiths that strong don't just wander around."

Yeah, I wonder why, Lev suppressed his smile and nodded along. "Either way, there were no unusual sightings or phenomena to report. It was a rather busy, normal night."

"Will you be patrolling regularly?"

"For the next month, yes."

"What about the core?" she asked, tone controlled not to seem eager.

Lev didn't mind even if she showed interest. The core was quite precious. "I'll keep it, since I'm a crafter too."

"Oh," her eyes widened slightly. "I wasn't aware of that."

Lev nodded once and made for the door. Once outside, he stepped into the bubble and thought of his next steps. Whitefall was right in front of him, only a few minutes of fast flight away, giving him ample time to let his mind wander.

My team still needs time to adjust, he idly noted, staring at the clear skies. There were probably clouds up there, far higher than his vision could see. I can't just waltz in and shove them into an entirely different life. Waiting a few weeks never hurt anyone, and Sherron said they can't leave right now, either. Wonder what that was about.

He scanned his repository skill, finding two new runes inside. One from the executioner beetle, and the other from the wraith he had killed recently.

Fortress of Resilience.

Shroud of Darkness.

The resilience rune was a major upgrade over the stone enhancement he had once found when training with Drakys. At the same power with which he used the durability rune though, it would be hard to say which one was more powerful.

What wasn't in doubt however, was that the resilience rune was going to absorb impacts much better. The whole rune was designed to maximize shock absorption, turning normal barrier walls into, well, a fortress.

Shroud of darkness was a stealth rune that was going to only work with shadow mana. He could feel that from its structure, despite not knowing why. It just worked that way. Lev suspected it was the rune being stored in his general skill that let him know more about them.

Shadow mana, he remembered Drakys having one of the few shadow converters ever made. Exchanging it for something was going to be a tall order, a task he was going to keep in the back of his mind in case he ever stumbled upon some precious treasure. His luck had been rather dull in that regard so far.

Not that long after, he entered the Orphanage, having felt Orianna and Sherron were still inside. They were lounging in the main hall with all the other kids, and Lev had just interrupted their story time.

"Don't mind me," he went past them to where his teammates were present. In the rooms at the back, one of the larger ones belonged to the trio. Giving himself a once-over, Lev knocked on the door.

Quick steps resounded from inside before Kayla opened it. Her eyes were slightly red as she stepped back to let him inside. The room was rather empty, enough so that Lev scanned every corner thoroughly. Everything beyond the furniture had been packed inside two large bags that were on the fourth bed, each arrayed against the walls.

Jack and Amelia sat on their own single beds, not in the mood to talk if their expressions were any indication.

"Do you guys plan to leave today?"

"Well," Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Since we need to leave the orphanage soon anyway, might as well be done with it sooner rather than later."

Left unsaid was that they didn't want to keep living there with the thought of the imminent departure hanging over their heads. Lev understood. He also hadn't booked any permanent residence since he needed to leave it behind every time.

"Alright, we can leave in a bit," Lev said and sat down on the empty bed with the bags. "What are your guys' plans going forward?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds, but it was different from the broody quiet dominating the room before. They all looked to be deep in thought as Kayla answered.

"I've already decided on what I want to do a while ago," she voiced thoughtfully. "Nothing has changed, as far as I can tell. Beyond delving dungeons and clearing waves, I'll apply for White Health's auxiliary staff. They are healers who come and go depending on their lifestyles and serve as a backup."

Lev nodded slowly, cataloging the new information in his head and considering the implications. Kayla was likely going to stay on the backlines more often than not, which was completely fine. He just hoped she wouldn't change her mind about becoming an adventurer.

"Nothing concrete," Jack mused, absently staring at the ground. "Becoming decent hunters takes priority right now."

"Lead raids," Amelia piped up unexpectedly, raising all of their brows. "Or whatever else requires such a force."

"You want a leading position?"

She deflated. "… No? I just want to participate in such battles."

Kayla outright sighed as Lev and Jack hid their amusement. That goal was as grand as it was naive. He respected it all the same.

"What about you?" Kayla turned to him. "What is our great Master teacher up to?" she asked, unable to mask her nervousness at the attempted joke.

The wraith's core appeared in Lev's waiting palm for all of them to see, his lips contentedly smiling. That was progress already. "I'm a crafter too, you know? Currently considering what to do with this bad boy."

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"Wraith core? The monsters from the forest?" Jack asked, leaning forward.

Lev nodded, "I was on patrol duty last night. Killed one during that."

"Isn't that quite… good? Like, shadow and stealth are a very strong combo, even if it's only minor properties."

"Perhaps," he grinned. "I'll keep it regardless. Money will never be a concern for our team. Which brings me to our next subject. Do you have free time today? I want to sort out our equipment first."

Now all of them were leaning forward, their thoughts no longer revolving around downer subjects.

"How so?" Kayla asked.

"The merchants guild," Lev plainly answered. "Just choose whatever you want."

Some time later, they left the room to find the hall already empty. Only Orianna was waiting for them, knowing Lev well enough to know that he wasn't going to stay put for long.

"I suppose this was bound to happen one day," she stood up, eyes roaming the bags Jack and Amelia were carrying as she spread her arms out. "Come here."

Lev stayed on the side as a group hug ensued. Kayla was in the middle, Jack and Amelia flanking her sides. When the sword user's shoulders started to shake a little, Lev quietly made his way outside to give them the privacy they deserved.

His team and Orianna exited after nearly ten minutes. Lev was working on his beam construct again, trying to add his fire coalescence rune into it. The new design was quite simple. A rod was going to be embedded on the closed end of the barrel, enchanting with coalescence and an expulsion rune. To charge a shot, it needed a small timeframe of uniformly expelling the fire mana into the barrel, where it was going to be shaped by the enchantments. The only issue was the limited amount of mana he could use, since his barriers would explode with too much of it.

Shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind, Lev stepped out of the bubble and beheld three much lighter hunters, their steps no longer dragging on the ground.

"You sure took your time," Lev joked as Orianna stood beside him. "I was waiting for my turn."

Four curious pairs of eyes turned to him. He let the silence linger for a moment to savor the moment before dramatically holding out his palm. One moment, it was empty, and the next, three black storage rings appeared atop it.

"One for each of you," he announced, pointedly looking at the bags they were carrying.

"We can't-" Kayla immediately protested, only to be interrupted by Lev.

"You definitely will," he took a quick few steps forward, his arm still outstretched. "Come on, just take one of them. We still need to go buy equipment, then explore White Grove."

Amelia didn't dally and quickly took the one closest to her. Kayla watched her with wide eyes, shoulders slumping when Jack did the same. The man just gave her a shrug, knowing they were going to take the rings one way or another.

"Fine," Kayla breathed out. "We will pay for our own equipment once we can."

"Does that mean you're fine by starting with some custom items I made for you all?"

"NO!"

Lev and Orianna shared a chuckle, expecting the outburst. She then stepped closer and hooked an arm around his waist for a side-hug in a burst of speed, making him yelp.

"Hey!" he complained, cheeks slightly red.

She giggled at his reaction, though he still knew why she did it. His team was very much enjoying watching the treatment, so he leaned in and put an arm on her shoulder.

"I forgot to ask this before," he asked, etching the feeling of her embrace into his mind. Monarch knew which one would be the last. "Is it possible for me to buy some means of telepathic communication?"

"Without a skill?" she asked for clarification, to which Lev nodded. "That'll be expensive and quite short-range."

"How short?"

"For even a few kilometers, you will be looking at a price in platinum," Orianna answered with feigned casualness, both of them greatly enjoying the blanching of his team's face.

"Platinum, huh?" Lev rubbed his chin. "How many do you think?"

She raised a brow, perhaps only now realizing he was entirely serious. "Pretty much one platinum for a few hundred meters range, up to a dozen for a few kilometers."

"Cheap enough," he muttered and glanced at his team. "I'll buy them after we return from White Grove. Come on, we've got some equipment to purchase."

Giving Orianna one last smile, he separated and boarded the bubble, his team following a moment later. They soundlessly rose in the air, leaving behind the home of his team towards a new, uncertain future.

****

"Alright, close your eyes now," Lev told his team as they sat on their cushioned barrier chairs in the bubble. He had finally remembered to buy those upgrades.

All of them were now decked out with complete equipment. Jack had opted to buy a longer and slightly larger hammer, as tall as his waist from the ground up. The copper shield he chose was of the same size, comfortably enough to cover his wide torso.

He and Amelia were both covered by a dark grey polished armor that bordered on full plate. The joints were expertly masked to seem completely connected, but they weren't actually. Small gaps remained, built to allow maximum flexibility while still providing some degree of protection.

The swordswoman had chosen a longsword once again, nearly as long as she was tall. Seeing her twirl it casually with one hand was quite the sight.

Kayla's choice of armor was a mix of treated leather and stainless steel. Plates were embedded on it to protect all vitals while reducing its overall weight considerably. Lev approved, though he was going to keep an eye out to get her something that enabled flight. No need to worry about weight, then.

Kinetic energy coursed through the bubble's structure as it accelerated. He kept an eye on his team, noting when they showed the first signs of discomfort and immediately slowed down. He was in no rush to make them get used to traveling in the bubble.

Half an hour later, they had traversed a distance that usually required eight hours and landed at the edges of White Grove. It was a small forest, which was to say it was still massive, and was the largest such region inside the outer walls. The levels of monsters were also some of the lowest on the whole plains, something nobody had an answer to.

Except for a select few, that is. Sherron had already warned him in very clear terms to never go deep inside the grove.

Lev's curiosity burned bright, but his team was also with him. He would set the region ablaze before letting any harm come to them, let alone do something to cause it.

"Alright!" he clapped once, loud enough that all three of them flinched. "Let's get this show on the road. Summon your things and start moving inside. I'll go do my own thing."

They could only gulp as Lev's armor appeared on his body. His team was left on the ground as he and his bubble rose higher separately, stopping a hundred meters in the air.

Can't believe I'm giving them the same treatment as the one I received, he chuckled to himself, remembering the days of running around in the pit like a chicken on the loose.

He idly wondered where Inna was and how she was doing as the hunters on the ground slowly moved inward. Their pace was slow and steps calculated, trying and failing to mask the noise of their movements.

Kayla was in the middle of the formation, with Amelia staying behind her while scouting with heat sense. In the middle of the day, it was likely to be difficult to detect the heat of living beings, though the exact result remained to be seen.

Amelia quietly called out something, the words lost to Lev and his slowed Perception. Three grey wolves were prowling the thicket to their right, oblivious to the presence of the humans.

[Gray Wolf - Level 29]

[Gray Wolf - Level 30]

[Gray Wolf - Level 30]

A mana bolt had just started to take form when they howled as one and charged. The humans couldn't have gotten close without alerting their high sensitivity, so giving Kayla the time to form her attack was the best outcome. It whizzed forward, her inexperience showing as it hit the monster in its front leg when it hadn't even tried to dodge.

Her physical buff enveloped Jack, whereas the swordswoman got the magical one. Aura mages usually couldn't empower multiple people with the same buff until the skill broke into the 2nd rank, which enabled the option. It seemed to be the case with Kayla, as well.

Lev kept his eyes peeled for any abrupt movements while keeping four invisible shields hovering above his teammates, not taking any chances. Jack and Amelia were oozing nervousness, their weapons not quite shaking but not very stable either.

The choice of retreat was taken out of their hands when the two wolves reached them in a 'blink,' jaws snapping shut on air as both of them leaped back instead of attacking. Sharing a glance, they kicked indecision to the back of their mind and charged ahead before the limping wolf could reach them.

Amelia's enhancement flared bright enough to be painful as she lunged, baiting the wolf focusing her to rush in. Stopping at the last moment, she kicked the ground to dart sideways while thrusting the sword at its face. She had to stabilize herself when it cut through bone and brain easier than expected. Turning to Jack, he had also similarly pulped his adversary.

Another bolt flew between them, this time accurately shearing through the crippled monster's face.

Lev, who was casually watching it all, only shook his head. He remembered how easily his disks had let him reach the threshold's cap. The warriors down below had an even bigger advantage.

Planning a simple strategy and evaluating the threat these monsters posed, they went deeper into the safe region.

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