Lev could sense the movement of his bubble, quite a bit away from his manipulation range. It was made of his element and could be sensed in a very large area, similar to how he dissolved all of his remaining projectiles after every fight. That much was possible well outside his manipulation range.

The bubble landed close to him, and Lev formed a small opening for the passengers to step out. By now, his hair, face, and most of his skin had been healed considerably, no longer charred and blackened in places.

"Hey," Lev tilted his head back to look at his teammates, Kayla specifically. "Guess what."

She debated giving a snarky reply then thought better of it. With a sigh, she sat down next to him, not forgetting to give him a long look loaded with disappointment and concern.

Her healing mana was allowed to enter his body, noticeably stronger than before. She was slowly growing in levels and proficiency, and the skill levels ensured that the skills were both stronger and could be used for longer. Already, she was close to permanently utilizing the regeneration buff on herself for simple healing.

"I don't make a habit out of slowly killing myself to hurt monsters, you said," Amelia slowly said, giving his wrecked body a once-over, then staring into his eyes. "That doesn't seem to be the case."

Lev exhaled through his nose. "Remember when I talked about monsters becoming stronger than humans?" Jack and Amelia nodded, and even Kayla freed up some of her focus to listen. "This is one such case. Without a doubt, if I had to compare, the tiger was far more dangerous than the gecko I fought earlier. Can you guess its level?"

They shared a glance. Amelia answered, "480 or 490?"

"You would think so," Lev grinned. "But no. It was only level 428. If it were a third-threshold monster, I am pretty sure Sherron would've never let me get close to it."

"He's correct," the Exalted spoke up, understanding what he wanted her to say. "I've faced several second-threshold monsters that scare me to this day. Somehow, despite my evolution advantage, I struggled to kill those creatures. This tiger wasn't nearly as strong as the strongest of its threshold. You should never underestimate a random monster, no matter how weak it may seem at first."

… I was not aware of that, Lev thought to himself, not letting his doubts show. If the tiger wasn't as strong as it seemed, then what kind of abominations were the ones Sherron mentioned?

During the lull in conversation, he checked his notifications as Kayla continued healing with all her focus.

[

You have slain [Flameforged Tiger - Level 428]

Arcane Maelstrom has reached Level 260

Arcane Maelstrom has reached Level 261

Arcane Protection has reached 4th Level 2

Superior Senses has reached 4th Level 2

Expeditious Empowerment has reached 4th Level 2

Consistent Mana Channeling has reached 2nd Level 4

Consistent Mana Channeling has reached 2nd Level 5

Wanderer's Repository has reached 2nd Level 3

Self-Taught Beginner Glaive Mastery has reached 2nd Level 3

]

Oh? Another rune, Lev quickly checked his repository, finding the recent addition quickly enough. It screamed of fire and Constitution, combining both in a beautiful blend of unyielding strength.

Flameforged Constitution.

The rune was two-dimensional, its complexity on par with flame breath. Lev took only a single mental glance at the structure before closing his eyes. Tiredness was swiftly creeping in from all the healing, but he pushed past it when Sherron moved.

"Return to the city now," she said briefly before flying off. The reason became obvious after a few seconds when massive presences approached, just as strong as the Ebonwalker, if not stronger. Lev got up with a sigh.

"Alright, the show's over," he chuckled, the joke falling flat when he almost stumbled to the ground. Jack looked like he wanted to lend a hand, but a single look changed his mind.

Lev cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, straightening to full height before harvesting the tiger's core and walking inside the bubble. His teammates followed, though they still couldn't mask their worries completely. It stung a bit, but the largest part of him was just glad some people actually cared about him. He still remembered what it was like not to have any.

"Stop looking at me like that," he gave them all a flat glance and summoned his armor. "I can heal myself whenever. These wounds are nothing."

"They don't seem like nothing," said the healer, frowning at her inability to heal more than a few of them in the past few minutes.

"You know what I mean," Lev flicked her forehead lightly, making her lose focus. Kayla gave him a stern scowl, so he quickly looked away with a cough. "Anyways, what do you guys want to do now?"

"What?" Jack blurted out. "Are you serious. Dude, just look at yourself in a mirror-"

He wanted to say more but held his tongue, though not without some hesitation. Amelia didn't add anything, though her gaze kept jumping between the two. In the end, Lev looked down first and ran a hand through his hair.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Look, I know this looks bad," he said carefully.

"It is bad," Kayla added absently, not even looking up.

"… As I was saying, it is not as bad as it seems. You have to consider that, if I didn't have so much mana, I also never would've been able to face that tiger. Even with Stargazer, there's no way I would've had enough mana to even properly wound it, and neither would my regeneration be so high."

"What has that got to do with the wounds?" Amelia questioned, confused.

"Because," Lev answered slowly, knowing how absurd it sounded. "Most of the damage was dealt by the amount of mana I channel through my body."

…

"What?"

"Hold on," Jack overrode her. "How high is your Constitution?"

Lev brought up his attributes to check.

[

Attributes:

Strength: 270

Dexterity: 270

Constitution: 625

Intelligence: 735

Wisdom: 910

Perception: 625

]

"625," he answered, much to Jack's astonishment.

"No wonder I can't heal anything," Kayla huffed, giving him an annoyed glance. "And you didn't deem it worth telling me before?"

"What would that change?" Lev countered.

Kayla opened and closed her mouth a few times before returning to her healing, the mana operating a bit more aggressively than before.

"625?" Jack grabbed his attention with the question, tone disbelieving. "How do you have so much mana if you're putting that many points into Constitution?"

Ah, the dreaded questions about my titles. About time I explain why I'm considered special even beyond having a Manawell.

"Hmm," Lev smiled, oddly excited at finally talking about his ridiculous status with others. "This is a long talk. How about we let Kayla finish healing first?"

****

Half an hour later, Lev was refreshed and dressed in new, clean clothes after a cold shower. His teammates were ready a while ago, and food had already been ordered in Kayla and Jack's room.

They were all talking excitedly among themselves, and it was quite nice to see the conversation not stop as he sat down.

"She has to be above level 700," Kayla argued with Amelia, with Jack nodding along. "There's no way she isn't."

"That doesn't make sense. Hundreds of Masters have been constantly struggling to reach Exalted. Leveling won't magically become easier after that, would it? Even 600 sounds extremely difficult."

Lev stayed quiet, merrily eating the steak on the table as the girls argued. Several arguments were presented, ranging from the inherent difficulty of leveling to the sheer daunting task that was killing monsters that provided one level per kill. Even then, Sherron would've needed to kill two hundred of them to reach level 700.

Kayla argued that Sherron had been an Exalted for over three centuries, and fighting two hundred such monsters wasn't that far-fetched. Moreover, with the help of other Exalted, she could've just as easily taken down many fourth-threshold abominations, earning one or even multiple levels in a single go.

"What do you think, Lev?" Amelia turned to him abruptly.

Lev thought for a few seconds before answering. "Going by personal experience, I'm inclined to agree with Amelia on this one. I fought the gecko at level 255, and it was over double my level. Even then, I only got three levels from the kill. One can imagine just how much worse it gets if I only get that many from killing a third-threshold monster as a newly evolved Master."

The girls fell into thought after that, and he got a silent thumbs-up from Jack for so effectively ending the debate once and for all.

"So, what's the plan now?" Jack asked, pulling the girls out of their considerations. "We're free to move to Windkeep, right?"

"Yes, though that can wait. Right now, I'm going back to the wall and support them defenders until the wave ends."

"Again?" Kayla said, voice deadpan. "Stay here. Healer's orders."

Lev just raised the glass of water he was drinking from. "I'll stay in the backlines, don't worry. There's a title that has been eluding me all this time."

A few minutes later, he was back in his bubble and flying to the outer wall at full speed. His pool and Stargazer both had above-average regeneration, though the former was way higher than the latter. Combined, he still had about twenty percent of his total reserves, enough to fire a few potent lances.

The sound of clashes and explosions was audible in the city, and it only rose in intensity as he neared the outer wall. Passing over it, Lev beheld a decimated land, now completely devoid of any greenery. Even the forest's treeline was ruined, blackened by swirling ash.

Hot damn, he stopped and took in the unexpected scenery, finally understanding why so many adventurers were always present in Whitefall. Even Orianna stayed there most of the time.

Sherron immediately appeared close to him, descending from somewhere far above. Lev allowed her to enter and made sure that the concealment enchantments were running at full after that.

"Why're you here again?"

"To get the monarch damned title already," Lev replied. "I have participated in so many waves by now. How the hell am I supposed to get it even?"

Sherron didn't react to the rant and glanced around. She then pointed southeast. "Go there."

He did as he was told, finding himself a bit further away from the destroyed grassland. Hordes of weaker monsters were still streaming out of the forest, their numbers even higher than when the wave had first started.

Well, Lev prepared his arrows while forming and enchanting more of them, holding off the infusion. I guess this is what I asked for.

Sherron left after that, keeping an eye on the battlefield from the skies. A few lightning bolts announced her constant presence, scaring off a few weaker monsters towards Lev.

He didn't mind. All of them fell one after another, none strong enough to outlive his simple arrows. Lightning took care of the stronger harpies and bears, as well as the occasional feline. None even came close to the tiger he had battled earlier.

It was only after midnight that the influx of monsters stopped, letting peace return to the battlefield once again. A cheer rose from the wall and the defenders when Sherron downed the last third-threshold monster somewhere in the distance, the silence after the massive lightning lance particularly serene.

Lev returned to the wall as well, this time completely whole and still clean. Everyone was waiting for the Exalted before moving back to the city, so he did the same and occupied a corner for himself.

Unfortunately, a few could feel the presence of his bubbles, or perhaps the mana coursing through its enchantments, despite the cloaking.

He stepped out before a team could start poking the main bubble, the blocking stone already on his person.

"Do you guys need something?" Lev asked, keeping his voice neutral.

The leader of the Master team gave him a once-over, gauging his strength just as Lev did the same.

"No, just plain curiosity. It has been a while since I saw a new barrier mage fighting amongst us. Do you happen to be the last winner of the Exalted Trials?"

Lev nodded. "That would be me."

"Thank you. That was all."

Another nod was shared before they left. Lev tried to use Identify on all of them, finding the skill failing to provide any result. Their auras weren't that strong either, and he mentally placed them somewhere around level 300. Nothing exceptional, though nothing to scoff at either.

Sherron, Stella, and Stephan landed on the outer wall after a few seconds. All the Masters were gathered near the scout castle, awaiting their orders or dismissal. Lev also stepped out of his bubble, though still covered by his armor and running mana concealment at full power. No reason to attract calamities by not doing so.

Orianna and Alec were also next to the Exalted, purposefully a few steps behind them to not undermine their status. It was mostly for show, as Lev had yet to see anyone treat those two with anything less than friendly respect.

Some messages were shared before Stephan addressed the crowd.

"No losses were incurred today," his calm voice spread wide. "Well done. You may return now."

[

Congratulations! You have earned the title: Siegebreaker.

Siegebreaker I:

Against a dangerous wave of monsters, you alone have prevailed against a significant portion of the adversaries.

+20 to all attributes.

]

Hecking finally.

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