To test the waters, Lev formed a small lance and launched it at the boss monster. The projectile dissolved in the monster's body just as an opening formed in the slime, not unlike a barrel, and launched a beam of fire.
Lev darted to the right, just barely dodging the extremely fast attack. It landed on the ground behind him, carving out a long, charred tear amidst an explosion. He gulped at the close call and turned around only to find the boss missing.
Instincts kicked into overdrive as Lev overloaded everything in his arsenal and flew to the left, not a moment too soon. The slime boss landed where he used to be with a thunderous crash, telling him in no uncertain terms that he would've perished underneath.
Before he could even turn around, a wave of fire sent him spinning through the air. The temperature inside the armors increased sharply, making Lev feel like he was being fried inside an oven. The other four slimes also reached him before he could balance himself, each of them nearly three meters in height.
From over two dozen meters away, they launched thin and sharp spikes that reached him in an instant. Lev barely controlled his flight in time and dodged them all by overloading his empowering formation.
His flight was wobbly at best, but he improved with every passing second. The threats to his life turned out to be a great reason to push himself.
While Lev made some distance between them, the boss slime was already charging another attack. Four shields enchanted with durability formed in a second and were positioned in front of him to block the next beam.
It came after a few instants, shattering the first enchanted shield after a few moments before stopping on the second. Lev channeled even more mana into the durability rune without holding back.
Shield won against beam as the fire attack failed to shatter the barrier construct constantly repaired by the creator. Before the beam could even finish scattering in a last explosion, Lev had already summoned his bow and nocked a fully infused lightning arrow.
Flames parted from the passing of the arrow as it reached one of the smaller slimes in a blink. The small explosion from the arrow scattered a large portion of its body into the air, but the monster lived yet.
A barrage of slime bolts forced him to abort any further attacks and block them with his shields. None of the projectiles were strong enough to damage them beyond small surface cracks. Lev repaired the damage in an instant and tracked the boss monster that was aiming to crush him again.
With visual on the airborne monster, its fall was easier to dodge. Stargazer appeared in his hands, its enchantments fully charged with mana and blade infused with lightning, cutting through scores of spikes that sought to impale him.
Lev flew back in the moment the boss landed and fired an overloaded slash its way. Lightning dug nearly a meter deep before exploding, blowing apart a tenth of its body.
Two more shields formed behind him as they blocked the wave of fire originating from the monster. Lev decided to keep the boss alive for last.
The smaller slimes all coordinated their attacks, but with four shields hovering in front of him and Stargazer constantly flashing, none of the spikes or bolts reached him. Two of the slimes glowed like the boss and released a concentrated jet of fire.
Lev simply powered through after enhancing the resilience of his armor, ignoring the searing heat. It was bearable and only resulted in first-degree burns. Those would heal.
Lighting split the first slime in two, disintegrating its crystal. Not paying the collapsing slime another glance, Lev focused on the remaining three.
Two more jets of fire sought to cook him alive. Both of them were blocked by his hovering shields as Lev himself dashed directly at the monsters. Finding the right angle, an overloaded slash cut through another slime crystal before landing on the slime behind it.
Two more notifications rang in his mind as Lev hastily dashed backward. The boss landed in front of him with a loud boom. Before he could press the attack, a tendril of slime extended from the boss and stabbed into the last slime.
In a blink, the other slime vanished into the boss. Lev let out an annoyed breath as the boss healed to its prime, but that also meant he could use his lances freely now to end the fight.
His shields blocked another beam as Lev flew in melee range, Stargazer raised to hack it to bits. The slime morphed as a thick tentacle emerged from its body. The appendage produced a small shockwave from its speed and weight as the slime sought to pulp him.
It collided with the haft of Stargazer, the weapon's durability enhancement flooded with mana, and sent him flying. His empowerment formation running at full power let him dodge as another tentacle appeared. Two of the shields shattered to block their assault as Lev powered through another wave of fire and got into close range again.
His glaive cut deep into the slimy body before he released an overcharged lightning slash inside. Unlike what he had hoped for, the monster reduced the density of its body to let the lightning slash exit from the other side, losing a bunch of body mass in the process but stopping the attack from exploding.
Lev tsked and veered to the right to dodge a fire beam and charged again. The boss slime was halfway to leaping in the air again, which forced Lev to release the charging fire slash earlier than expected.
It collided with the midair monster, blowing up another tenth of its body and disrupting its flight. Seeing the monster struggling to stay upright, Lev formed three lances and filled them with a combination of fire and lightning.
With a steadying breath to focus, he launched them at the reforming slime, carefully keeping them away from the thick crystal in the middle of its body.
Three bright explosions rang out in unison, blocking Lev's vision of the monster but the notifications told him they had done their job.
[
You have slain [Red Slime - Level 152]
You have slain [Red Slime - Level 150]
You have slain [Red Slime - Level 152]
You have slain [Red Slime Commander - Level 182]
Mana Tempest has reached Level 145
Mana Tempest has reached Level 146
Mana Tempest has reached Level 147
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Colorful Destruction has reached 2nd Level 10
Rapid Infusion has reached 2nd Level 9
Rapid Infusion has reached 2nd Level 10
]
Lev couldn't hold back a snort after reading that. Did it really absorb the poor slime to increase its own level? Also damn, not a single level in the 3rd tier skills.
He quickly collected all the remaining crystals. Turns out the boss had left the last slime's crystal on the ground and only absorbed its body mass. The boss slime's crystal was big, nearly as large as his palm.
[
Mana Crystal - Condensed
Whole and undamaged. This crystal can be refined greatly and can be used in crafting.
]
With a shrug, he tossed it into his storage ring. The crystal seemed pretty valuable. Lev appeared outside the dungeon after a minute of waiting, getting a nod from the guard for solo clearing.
He was in no hurry to leave, though. Lev leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Hey, how often do red commanders show up in the dungeon?"
The guard's head snapped in his direction as she answered in a low tone, too. "Did you encounter one?"
Why is it always me?
Lev slowly nodded and summoned the crystal drop. "It dropped this. The boss was level 178."
She Identified the crystal, her face hardening in the process. Lev overrode her. "I can go report it for you. I was going to the guild anyway."
"That would be really helpful, thank you," she said and dipped her head.
"Can I get your name?"
"Shana."
Lev returned to windkeep in half an hour, not caring about saving mana any longer. Flight only cost a tiny bit more than his regeneration, anyway. He still had around 20% of his total remaining despite the intense fight.
On second thought, I should go look for Sherron. Why did I have to offer to help? Lev sighed. If I go report it in front of everyone, they will know it was related to me.
Showing the guards his hunter badge, Lev was allowed entry without any questions.
Where do I even begin looking for her?
Hunters Guild sounded promising, so that was where he began. Lev kept his mind peeled for any auras that stood out. Luckily, Sherron seemed to be present in the guild.
Lev passed through the hall and went upstairs to where Sherron seemed to be. His tracking led him to the guildmaster's room, which he was rightfully nervous to knock on.
Mustering his courage, he did anyway. It took several seconds before the doors opened by themselves, revealing Sherron talking to Hakim.
Right, I forgot he was here, too.
"Come on in," Hakim stared at him intently. "What is it this time?"
"It doesn't have to be something bad," Lev muttered, unhappy with how they both seemed to be expecting something negative.
Sherron didn't say anything and just gently patted him on the shoulder as he took a seat in front of Hakim. Lev played along, sniffling like a tormented housewife.
"That's enough," Hakim snapped. "You ought to be more serious during reports."
"Yes, sir," Lev said, summoning the crystal that dropped from a commander slime. "The guard in front of the dungeon seemed to be losing her marbles that a commander spawned in the slime dungeon. I offered to report in her stead."
"The silver dungeon to the west?"
"Yes."
Hakim went silent for a few seconds, his expression contemplative. "She's correct about commanders not showing up. Why did you tell her about this?"
"I didn't know if this was normal," Lev explained. "Before entering, she reminded me that the dungeon is meant to be easy for silver teams. That commander would easily kill most teams, so I had to ask."
"Did anyone else hear you?"
"I don't think so, no. We talked in a low voice, and she didn't seem like she would tell anyone."
"Good," Hakim nodded. "Is that all?"
"Yes sir," Lev replied and got up to leave. It took some self-control not to run out of the room and quickly get away from the imposing man.
****
Watching Lev almost stumble out of the office would never not be amusing, Sherron decided. He tried to mask it, but the sheer discomfort radiating off of him was obvious without even reading his aura.
"That's new," Hakim broke the silence. "We haven't had any instances of dungeon monsters becoming stronger just because of one person."
Sherron nodded. "If only his entering an instance makes them stronger, then it's not an issue. Or maybe he was just teleported to an instance with a commander already present, in which case it could be a boon. Less strong monsters during a break if he clears them."
Hakim let out a slow breath. "I see why my student is always worried about this boy. Merely eleven years of age, yet he's changing how we view the world already."
"I feel like you have gotten your worries mixed up," Sherron remarked. "One worries for Lev, and the other worries about the troubles he will cause."
"I worry for the boy too, of course."
"But can't ever treat him nicer," she tsked. "How hard can it be?"
"… I've forgotten how."
****
Next stop, whichever rich crafter's shop I can find. Never got to sell the spider cores either.
Getting directions from several people all pointed him in a single direction. Windkeep's market square was separated because of the sheer number of hunters present.
Lev passed hundreds of shops focusing on everything imaginable before getting to a store that looked high-end but was not a place that would require a membership.
He passed through the large door to see a kid manning the counter. Their eyes met, and the little boy ran off screaming before Lev could say anything.
… Is my mask that scary? I even washed my armor before returning to windkeep, so it can't be the smell.
"WHO GOES TH- oh, hello there."
The voice belonged to an old woman, one of the select few Lev had ever seen. Streaks of grey were visible on her head, a rare sight.
[Crafter - Level 212]
"Greetings," Lev dipped his head. "I am looking to commission a converter built into something to wear under armor."
"Sure, sure, the order can be dealt with later. Come, sit," she waved Lev to a padded bench present on the right. Lev gingerly sat down, not wanting to damage it because of his armor's weight.
"My, that is a piece of work. Which talented young man created something so beautiful?" she inquired about his armor.
"Alec," Lev replied, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.
"Oh, that sweetheart?" Now, he was trying really hard not to cough. "I received some lessons from him a few centuries ago. How is he doing these days?"
"Busy, but well."
Lev didn't know why she expected him to know about Alec's condition, but he didn't see any harm in answering.
"That is good to hear," she smiled. "I'm sorry about little Kai. KAI! Come apologize to the lad."
The kid peeked from behind the door at the back. "Don't wanna."
"Don't be like that. Come."
Kai slowly shuffled forward, little fists clenched at his sides but eyes fixed on Lev's mask. Slowly, he mustered the courage to speak again.
"I… I'm sorry…"
The urge to hug the kid was strong, but that might've given him a heart attack.
"It's fine. I didn't mind."
"Good boy," the woman ruffled Kai's hair. "Now, hush. The adults are talking."
"So, what are you thinking of?"
"Your name," Lev sheepishly voiced.
She giggled. "I'm Dory, dear."
"I'm Lev. I was thinking of anything close to my skin so it can be worn under barrier armor. Gauntles over the armor have worked pretty well so far."
"Hmm," Elara rubbed her chin. "How do bracers sound? They will not be very durable, though the converter will be pretty good."
Lev thought about it. They would cover his wrist and arms and he couldn't see them disrupting his archery or fighting.
"If you can show me how they will look like beforehand, sure. I want to try a normal version on first."
