"Um, whoops? Do you think she will cause any trouble?"

  "Hmm?" Drakys glanced at him. "Why will she?"

  "I mean, Monarch knows what she deduced from our last interaction," Lev thought out loud. "Hopefully nothing that points to the effects of my presence on monsters."

  "Even if it did, she will not do anything. I'm already following you around while training you, and that is already enough to counteract your presence. Don't worry."

  "If you say so," Lev shrugged. "Where to now? Given how many third-threshold monsters came up because of me, the pit should be out of the question now."

  "Not necessarily," Drakys said, moving calmly through the caves. They were now returning to the surface, done with the short training period. It was obvious that staying so close to strong monsters was not viable in the long run. Several monsters that could challenge even Drakys had shown themselves. It was only a matter of time before Lev's presence attracted something too strong.

  That was a risk neither wanted to take.

  "That means I won't be alone," Lev mused. "Windkeep sounds like the more promising option still. You will also be enjoy your vacation that way."

  Drakys chuckled. "It's surprising you care about that instead of being trained by an Exalted for longer."

  "I definitely care about that as well," Lev answered with a smile. "But figuring things out by myself is just as rewarding. Haven't gone wrong with that approach so far."

  Interactions died down as both of them made their way to the surface. Lev only flew fast enough that his mana could slowly regenerate despite the expenditure.

  The small town at the base of the central spire was just as crowded as before. Monster parts and cores were abundant and sold left and right. Lev's attention was peaked by a jar of infused treant sap. It felt potent to his much improved mana senses but the sap itself was of little use to him.

  Several minutes later, Lev was back in his previous inn. Since his room booking had run out, he paid ten bronze for a room for the day.

  The first order of business he took care of was thoroughly scrubbing the illusion armor. The enchantments and the armor itself were too well-made to be damaged by water, allowing him to clean out all the little bits of dried blood and gore on it with ease.

  He took a bath himself after that. Now feeling clean and renewed, Lev waited for Drakys to return with whatever business he needed to take care of in his room.

  I have all the necessary skills now, Lev thought, considering his next steps. There are still three more empty general skill slots, but they will remain empty. Everyone says to keep aiming for a general skill that 'works on any aspect of your class' so that you may get it instantly when you qualify for it. Getting general skills after Master also becomes way harder, so it makes sense. Better off filling the slots with something that makes you stronger instead of improving your chosen profession.

  The System only presented general skills that one was aiming for. Just like Lev's class. He could've gotten several options earlier if he simply stopped aiming for the class he wanted. But he was offered none before one that fit his requirements was unlocked.

  Drakys returned after half an hour and tossed him a gold badge. It looked the same as the silver badge without the color. Lev stored it after a few seconds of observing it.

  "So?"

  "Windkeep is fine. The amount of hunters and adventurers present there is enough to make up for my absence. Besides, as long as you don't go beyond the edges of the dreadwoods, nothing too strong should show up. That forest is gigantic."

  "I see."

  They both lapsed into silence. Lev patiently waited for Drakys to speak again, knowing he wasn't done.

  "About your mana channeling issue… I'm afraid there is no permanent solution before Exalted. No matter how much I tried to permanently alter my body to accept enchantments before that, nothing ever showed up. It got to the point that I had to make formations to constantly cut regenerating skin to not mess with the carved formations."

  Lev was not expecting that. It took a long few seconds to move past the gruesome picture painted by the Exalted's words.

  "… What changed after evolving?"

  "I got a new physique. It is a part of the class I got after evolving. My title is also the name of the class and physique."

  "But what even is a physique?" Lev asked, confused.

  Drakys hummed. "To simplify it, a physique is a permanent change to the physical body. Mine, for example, allows me to retain enchantments carved on my body without any trouble now. Before, my regeneration kept messing with them."

  "Oh, so you're saying that if I … torture myself enough, my body will adapt permanently after evolving to Exalted?"

  Drakys didn't refute his claim of self-mutilation. "Frankly, I will advise you against it. Looking back now, the pain was a means to ignore everything else in front of me. Nobody should have to go through something like that. Out of all the Exalted, only I ended with a special physique."

  "Not even Hakim?" Lev asked, brows raised. The silver light he had felt from the man's aura was incredibly potent, and he had yet to see anything nearly as dangerous.

  Drakys blinked. "Why would he have one?"

  "The silver light… was scary," Lev gulped. "Surely something so extraordinary would force a matching physique?"

  Drakys smiled. "It is definitely extraordinary but at the same time, that property held him back from getting a physique."

  Lev would be lying if he said he understood because he didn't. Regardless, he wouldn't question it further if Drakys didn't explain.

  "I have a final request," Lev began, feeling nervous for whatever reason. Drakys just waited for him to go on. "Can you carry me to windkeep like you took me to the pit?"

  ****

  Several hours and many thousands of kilometers later, Lev was lying face-first on the ground, heaving great breaths.

  Why couldn't you wait for a few more minutes? Lev thought with a chuckle. Drakys had just dumped him an hour away from windkeep and vanished without a trace. Lev hoped entry would go smoothly.

  His mana had regenerated enough that Lev could fly to the walls in a few minutes at full speed, which was what he did.

  "HALT!"

  Lev landed a few kilometers away from the gate as a Master hunter approached to intercept him. He was an imposing man, built like a mountain with even thicker armor covering everything. Only the lack of a helmet told Lev that the person was indeed human and not some giant creature.

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  [Warrior - ???]

  "Who are you, and why are you here?"

  Remembering his brush with Kana, Lev put on a subdued persona. "Greetings, sir. I'm a solo gold hunter, and I came here alone from runespires."

  Lev summoned the gold badge and handed it to the man who inspected it briefly.

  "Are you stupid? What if you met something like a commander or a general out there?"

  "I can fly pretty fast, sir, so it wasn't an issue to outrun anything too dangerous. My class provides a lot of mana and regeneration too, you see."

  The man was shaking his head before Lev even finished speaking. "Still, that is an extremely dumb move on your part. We will keep an eye on you in the future. You will not be allowed to leave alone again."

  … Thank you? What am I supposed to feel about that?

  Lev decided the interaction was positive. The man was looking out for him, and his approach was also easy to understand. Nobody wanted to see suicidal hunters leave on their own.

  "It will not happen again," Lev bowed his head slightly, keeping his tone respectful.

  "Make sure it doesn't," the man nodded. "Welcome to windkeep."

  He was allowed entry easily after that interaction. Lev passed through the gates to gaze upon a city that was far more organized than runespires.

  White, golden, blue, and other generally bright colors dominated the buildings that stood in neat rows. Quickly flying through the empty space between the walls and the populated area, Lev noted that all the buildings were packed closely together as well. Wide roads allowed easy travel similar to runespires but the houses and shops had minimum empty land surrounding them.

  The reason for that was constantly flowing through the city. Windkeep got its name from a refreshing breeze that never stopped, which was also the reason for closely built construction.

  Lev slowly trotted forward on the main road, attracting gazes left and right because of the illusion armor. He ignored them just like before till he realized there were a lot more kids than before. Somehow, that made him more self-conscious.

  Kids can be downright demonic in their comments, Lev tried to justify himself. It is only normal to be scared of them.

  Nobody approached him, though. The kids were too intimidated to come close, and Lev was pretty sure most people were starting to feel his aura now too. Most of the time, auras only became obvious after evolving to Master but it existed before that too.

  It was common knowledge that stronger auras became noticeable earlier. With the amount of mana he had, it wouldn't be surprising if his aura was already showing.

  Several factors contributed to the potency of one's aura. The size of a manapool was one of the major factors. Lev however, couldn't be too sure without asking anyone, something he had no plans to do. There were no downsides to his aura showing if nobody could check his level.

  For an hour, Lev just wandered aimlessly. While keeping his Perception low, time passed in the blink of an eye. He didn't even realize that the sun had moved quite a bit before he took a moment to check how much time had passed.

  The mental effects of evolution are becoming more and more prominent. How did hours pass while feeling like only one had passed?

  It was not a bad thing either. Lev was just having trouble believing his lifespan was already in centuries. With the amount of points he was putting into Constitution, it was only increasing further. The quick passage of time was only reflecting his slowly growing acceptance of the facts.

  He took a moment to observe his mental state. In terms of worries, there were little. Lev always knew that evolving would make him outlast most people who only ever naturally progressed to Adept from leveling their skills. That is, if he lived long enough to do so.

  Excitement over all the potential achievements afforded by his lifespan on the other hand, was more obvious. He had always dreamed of going to space. Every child did before reality caused those delusions to come crashing down. But not for him. He had all the tools and time to accomplish that.

  Now, if only the skies of Monarch were not utterly inhospitable…

  Lev shrugged off that line of thought quickly. The only rumors of beings of the sky were stormriders. The storm itself was an event that lasted for weeks or months, and everyone without exception took shelter deep underground.

  Because, if some drunkards were to be believed, the storm itself could change directions to hunt you down.

  Lev didn't know how that was even possible, or if it was even supposed to make sense given the origin of the rumors, but he was happy not thinking about it any further.

  The hunters guild of windkeep was surprisingly smaller in size compared to the hall in runespires. Similarly, it was far busier too. Windkeep was, after all, known as the City of Hunters.

  ****

  The rest of the day passed in peaceful silence as Lev sat by himself in a park to meditate. He chose a corner devoid of people and leaned against a tree trunk.

  Remembering his experience from the previous meditation session, it was easier to replicate this time. His thoughts cleared completely in a few minutes. His mana pool now stood out in stark clarity, only a few facets of it observable.

  Lev didn't mind. He stayed in that state for hours, just silently observing his mana pool slowly fill up. It still boggled his mind how mana wasn't like a liquid or a gas. Instead of increasing in volume, it became denser as time went on. Lev could still tell how much mana that translated to, but the way it was stored was fascinating.

  He was jerked out of his trance when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Lev opened his eyes to see Sherron looking at him with a smile.

  "Did you change your ways?" she quipped and sat beside him. "Wouldn't be the first time people decided to forgo killing entirely."

  Lev was having none of that and held his arms out. "I demand a hug."

  "What are you, a kid?" she mockingly jabbed but hugged him nonetheless. Lev couldn't care less about being perceived as childish. Hugs were hugs, and they saved lives.

  "Glad to see you too," Lev replied with an audible smile. "Did Drakys tell you about me coming here?"

  "He only said you were going to, most probably, hunt at the edges of the dreadwoods. Are you stupid?"

  Lev sighed. "This is the second time someone has asked me that today," Sherron nodded along as if it made sense. "Stop agreeing. No, I was not going there right away. Most monsters there are above level 200. Even I'm not that overconfident. It takes most of my pool to kill a single second-threshold monster."

  Sherron gave him a flat look. "Explain."

  "There's not much to explain. Drakys let me fight against a level 256 stone snake. Barely managed to put it down."

  "What was your level during that?"

  "141."

  "It's just like him to do that. Why did you ask to be separated early, though?"

  "He didn't tell you?" Lev saw Sherron shake her head, so he gave her a meaningful glance. "Being down there was just too dangerous."

  She instantly understood. There was no silencing ward blocking off their conversation. Revealing his feat was not risky anymore since many people knew that he was pretty strong. The effects of his presence on monsters however, could not be revealed.

  "We should move somewhere else," Lev suggested. Even if nobody came close to them, many had noticed an Exalted sitting down with a random hunter.

  "Didn't think you would be scared of public attention."

  "I just don't want anyone to start rumors about you," Lev explained.

  "Relax," Sherron chuckled. "People are better than that. Besides, let them try. I want to see who dares."

  "If you say so," he shrugged. "What are your plans here?"

  Sherron laid back on the grass, letting out an entirely theatrical sigh of suffering. "To pry classified information out of a defenseless Exalted, how utterly ruthless."

  "… Someone's definitely gonna start rumors."

  She giggled. "Let me mess around for once. Everyone expects me to be prim and straight. Free time to myself is rare these days."

  "These days? Is something wrong?"

  "No, just the guild being busier than normal. Someone should've informed you by now."

  "Oh, right. Orianna explained it to me."

  "By the way," Sherron interrupted. "Did you get any new runes so far?"

  Lev jolted on the spot as if electrocuted. How the heck did I forget about that?

  Hastily, he checked his general skill and found two new runes in there.

  Stone enhancement and a basic lightning rune. The latter probably came from utilizing my converter.

  "Stone enhancement. What is that?"

  "Pretty much just durability with a larger focus on weathering impacts. It divides the force of the attack throughout the surface equally given enough mana," Sherron explained. "Highly compatible with your barriers. It is a good drop as opposed to the components of the snake's body enhancement."

  "It had a body enhancement?" Lev questioned. He hadn't felt any mana cycling through its body.

  "Passive."

  Right. It was quite tough, even compared to the threader. Just stone enough wouldn't be enough for that.