Lev was allowed entry into Kamala's resort without a problem, and he received more than a few looks of admiration. He had several reasons for his visit, chief among them saying goodbye to the radiant team. He also wanted to cancel his remaining days for the booked room.

  He knocked twice on the door to the team's suite and waited. Nobody answered for a while, so he knocked again. Finally, there was movement from within, before the door opened slowly.

  Rena's bleary eyes stared at him, practically shouting a tale of intense tiredness and lethargy.

  "You alright?" Lev asked with a grin.

  She rubbed her eyes, taking a few seconds to process the simple question. "No I fucking ain't. Drank too much after returning, and now we're all half-dead. Some fuck said the wine isn't that strong, and I believed that idiot of a waiter."

  "Want me to try healing you guys?" Lev chuckled. "Or is the room not safe to enter right now?"

  Rena turned back, taking in the messy room that wasn't currently visible to Lev. "Surprisingly, it's safe. A miracle that I didn't tie up that dumbass sword licker and take out all my anger on him."

  I did not need to know that…

  Lev just went with the safest option and didn't react at all. Shaking her head, Rena winced at the movement and waved him inside. Following her, Lev witnessed subdued chaos.

  The sheets, blankets, and furniture were a mess, haphazardly thrown everywhere in the large room. Lisa was tucked in a bed, hidden under a bundle of blankets. Elias was sleeping on the ground, probably in punishment. Viktor was leaning against a couch, his head resting on the armrest while sitting on the floor.

  Rena first took Lev to Lisa and gently pulled the blankets back, exposing her face. Taking the hint, Lev sent mana into his healing converter and guided it to Lisa's head.

  No effects were visible for a few moments before Lisa stirred. Rena thrust a glass of water into her face before she could say anything.

  Fixing her messed up clothes underneath the blankets first, she moved out of the cover and gulped down the water. Rena refilled it for her. Lev kept up the healing.

  "That feels nice," Lisa mumbled, on the verge of falling asleep again. Five minutes of healing later, the hangover was completely gone. He repeated the process for everyone, curing Rena last. One by one, they bathed and cleaned themselves up in the meantime.

  "Never buying alcohol from a fancy place again," Elias muttered, avoiding looking at the girls.

  "It wasn't that bad," Viktor grinned at him. "You just need more points in Constitution."

  Rena cut through the bickering before it could begin. "We weren't expecting you today, Lev. Is everything alright?"

  "Yeah, I am going to leave soon," he answered.

  "That's awfully quick," Lisa frowned.

  "Probably because of the storm," Elias guessed, to which Lev nodded.

  "Runespries is where they want me to be stationed. Something about supporting the entire city from the central spire," Lev grinned, enjoying their reactions.

  Viktor shook his head, eyebrows raised. "Well, damn. Can you even do that?"

  Lev tilted his head slightly. "I have the range but not the training. With a bit of enchanting and practice, it is possible for sure."

  The goodbyes happened quickly after that. Lev shared a hug with all of them, grateful that nobody brought up his embarrassing act of crying on stage during the ceremony. It was a big moment for him, and they understood that.

  Outside, Lev took a deep breath and centered his thoughts.

  The Aryan issue has been solved, and I've said my goodbyes to the radiant team. Was there anything else I needed to do?

  While walking back to the royal booth, he considered everything he may have missed. As much as he would have loved to stay on the mountain for a few days and simply laze around, it wasn't a priority and could be done in the future.

  In the same vein, there were probably a lot of sightseeing spots that he was going to ignore. Those could be explored later as well.

  That's about it, I guess. I do like the ability to just jump cities without having to worry about lodging. Gives me a sense of freedom like no other.

  Lev smiled to himself. Not that long ago, he was questioning why Sherron followed orders without even batting an eye. Yet here he was, more ready than ever to go and defend runespires from what was shaping up to be a constant low-rated wave.

  Granted, it was the first time he was about to be stationed somewhere. Not only that, he also had to be there to make up for the lacking manpower in that huge city. Still, Lev couldn't find it in himself to care that someone else had put him up to it and that he was not going to defend runespires of his own accord.

  When did I change my mind about this?

  Lev dove deeper, examining his thoughts on the matter. The greatest reason turned out to be the company he had found himself in.

  In the royal booth, it became increasingly obvious that even the Exalted were never allowed much free time. They were constantly on the move, managing one thing or another. It opened his eyes to just how daunting their roles were. Even Sherron was more absent than not, which told Lev a lot.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Interestingly enough, the second greatest reason was Duke Fabian. From what Lev had learned about the strong noble, he was both the owner of a lot of business firms and also managed several groups that operated solely outside the outer walls.

  On top of all of that, the Duke was also a key figure in planning and distributing humanity's strongest forces; the Masters. Safe to say, Lev was more than a little inspired.

  The princesses, despite their easygoing nature, were also always present with purpose. Whenever Lara was needed, she left without hesitation, leaving Katarina to remain present as a face to be shown to the public.

  Lev didn't doubt that she would also leave if the need arose. Both the sisters were part of a radiant Master team, and those were the most impressive of them all.

  Reaching the royal booth, he entered to find it almost empty. Only Katarina was there, apparently waiting for him.

  "Ready to leave?" she questioned, getting up. Lev nodded, so they both left the arena together. The princess led him to the Hunters Guild, where Sherron was already present in the guildmaster's office.

  Many had stared at the princess casually walking down the road. Lev, by extension, was also given far too many looks, but neither of them cared.

  "Hunter Lev," the guildmaster of that branch, the same imposing man Lev had met when he first arrived at the haven, looked at him. "That was an unmatched showing. Congratulations on the first place."

  "Thank you," Lev dipped his head a little.

  The guildmaster nodded with a grunt. "While I would've asked for you to stay near our dungeons, runespires is strategically a better decision, even if only marginally. Good luck."

  Sherron, seeing that he was done, spoke up. "Anything that needs doing, Jerry?"

  "Nothing that requires your might, Lady Sherron," Jerry curtly replied.

  "Let's go," Sherron addressed Lev and turned to leave. Before following after her, Lev looked at Katarina instead, not sure how to say goodbye while being respectful.

  Katarina, being the teasing woman she was, immediately pulled him in for a hug.

  "Why was I even worried?" Lev sighed and immediately moved out of her embrace. "See you."

  "Go make a name for yourself there as well, goldie."

  ****

  "Do you also have a bubble like Alec?" Lev questioned once they were near the gates of the haven.

  "Something like that," the Exalted replied. Once they were outside the city, she gave Lev a ring. "Put mana into the input rune and keep providing it the required upkeep no matter what, okay?"

  Lev nodded seriously and did as he was told without hesitation. Immediately, a sphere of mana formed and solidified around him, leaving him trapped in tight, dark confines.

  The sphere was opaque, not letting him see anything outside, not even mana. With all his senses cut off, Lev sat down in the small space he was afforded and reduced the mana he was sending into the ring. It was starting to show signs of strain.

  A single jerk was the only indication that they had started moving. If Sherron required him to close off all his senses to such a degree, then he guessed that they were moving even faster than Drakys had once carried him.

  ****

  Less than an hour later, Sherron casually shattered the sphere construct with a flick of her finger. A finger wreathed in dense lightning.

  "This is as far as I'll go," she looked at him with a gentle smile. Lev blinked repeatedly to get used to the light and looked around. They were way off from the wall, which meant that she didn't have to worry about anyone seeing them.

  "I see." Lev silently embraced her, forgetting about all his worries for a moment. She hugged him back before they separated.

  "Don't try to be a hero," she advised. "Don't try to deny that either."

  Lev clicked his mouth shut and pouted. "No promises except I'll give it my all."

  She giggled, a rare occurrence. "You better do. The position you've been assigned is not dissimilar to my own, only on a smaller scale."

  "Hoh, that's something. Me, a nobody for now, being assigned important jobs. Swiftly moving up in the world."

  "Nobody my ass," she rolled her eyes. "Watch everyone try to lick your feet now that your name is going to spread uncontrollably."

  Lev grimaced. "Right…"

  "Good luck," she smiled at him and slowly floated away. "Run if you can't win. I'll come find you."

  Sherron vanished with a loud boom, leaving Lev and his slowly fading smile. Her words were reassuring, but his mind couldn't help but imagine how many times she had to run. How many times she had met unbeatable foes that forced her to abandon everyone left behind.

  Happy thoughts, brain. We are going to defend one of the greatest human bastions. Happy thoughts.

  Forming his armor, Lev ascended high up and started flying towards the distant walls. They were still hours away, which let him observe how quickly the situation was deteriorating.

  Barrier arrows formed above him by the dozens before Lev launched them downward. Several groups of monsters, each a few hundred meters away, were pierced accurately through their heads.

  [

  You have slain [Goblin - Level 33]

  …

  You have slain [Gray Wolf - Level 24]

  …

  You have slain [Troll - Level 66]

  ]

  So many monsters close to the city was never a good omen. Lev continued making his way to the walls, using normal, non-infused arrows on the way to kill all the weak monsters.

  While the Duke's request to shoot beyond the walls was odd at first, Lev was now starting to understand. His elevated position and vastly improved eyesight would allow him to notice any abnormal monsters long before it reached the wall. Only, he had to constantly scan the horizons while defending the base of the spires.

  Nearly two hours later, Lev had circled around and reached the gates of runespires. The two towering gates were closed, and he landed in front of them. Archers and mages on the wall quickly took note of him, and a guard reached him not long after.

  "Who are you?" the Master mage, a woman with short white hair questioned.

  Lev summoned his gold badge and handed it to her. "Hunter Lev, the winner of the recent tournament if the news has reached you yet."

  She gave the badge a small glance and scanned Lev from head to toe. "Can you show us your barrier armor and black glaive?"

  Barrier armor appeared around him as Stargazer was summoned from the ring. Both of them were scanned with a critical eye before the Master nodded.

  "Follow me."

  Guess they were expecting me, Lev thought, storing Stargazer again. First time I've had to prove my identity and not be flagged as an imposter.

  It was a good thing, Lev decided. Proving his identity would only become easier with time as he gained more levels. The safety measure to stop someone from misusing his name was only a positive.

  The Master didn't pass through the gates. Instead, she put mana into a hidden formation under their hinges. A slab of stone soundlessly slid back to reveal a set of stairs. Both of them started ascending without pause.

  "Strategist Noah instructed us to take you to the wall immediately, where you will be ferried to the central spire," the guard broke the silence. "While we walk, can I ask questions about the tournament?"

  "Sure thing."

  "What was the leaderboard like for the Monster Hunt?"

  "That's more detailed than expected. Was there no way to see the results from here?"

  She shook her head. "It will take some time for the batch of viewing crystals to arrive still. Before that, news about the event will remain scarce. We just know that it was sped up."

  "Huh, I see. I secured the first place with 831 points…"

  For several minutes, Lev informed her about the happenings of the Monster Hunt. He didn't comment on her slowing down their ascent, rather enjoying the retelling as well.

  It also reminded him about the existence of viewing crystals. Similar to TV screens, those prohibitively expensive crystals could store visual input and record it for later. Their existence was made possible with the help of class runes— runes that only worked with a specific class.