"What kind of fights are we talking about?" Sherron spoke up, cutting through the ensuing silence. "Do we need to be worried about random fourth-threshold monsters walking up to our cities?"

  "Unlikely," Lev answered thoughtfully. "The moose did mention that others may take offense at his abrupt arrival, so I'm assuming more fifth-threshold beings were watching. They obviously won't be interested in me, and so far, no other being has taken specific notice. It's probably reasonable to assume that fourth-threshold beings either can't notice me or they just don't care, most likely the former."

  "The ring," Alec began. "Was it showing any signs of destabilization before?"

  "Not even close," Lev grinned. "And now, it's many times more stable."

  "Which means you can shove as many cores inside as you want," his mentor noted, rubbing his chin. It was good to see them not panicking as much as he expected, and even Orianna was coming to terms with the reveal faster than he hoped. "I'm assuming you will do just that."

  "Yep. We're going to have fun, I think," Lev replied, sharing a glance with Isabella. She was certainly excited, though he wasn't sure how the trip itself would go. The levels were going to be great, at least. Rarely did one get to participate in something as dangerous and large-scale as spearheading into a largely unexplored region.

  "How's my team doing?" he asked after a short pause.

  "They're probably sulking right now," Alec replied, sending a glance towards Sherron. "Someone told them to try asking to be taken along, and the unnecessary refusal stung."

  Lev didn't even bother trying to find a fault in her thought process. He understood why Sherron wanted them to reunite, and he was all for it.

  "As for their levels," the crafter continued. "Amelia was only four levels away from reaching gold rank, and they will probably be platinum hunters by the time you return from the mountains. Hakim is personally overseeing that they don't try anything dumb, though that also means he's going to put them through a lot of risks with their consent."

  Lev was not happy with that, but he didn't say anything either. Isabella's earlier words came to mind. They had made their choice, and he would never disrespect it.

  "How are they doing?" he asked again, now with a different meaning.

  Alec understood the question immediately. "They're holding up pretty well. The pressure is slowly getting to them, but it will not break them either. Once they evolve, the upgrade to their minds will solve any lingering negativity from the rough years."

  And also prepare them for far worse, which might break them instead.

  Going by his own mental state, Lev was hopeful that they would survive, too. That wasn't even including the fact that his company would make things better for all of them and vice versa.

  Then he waited. No one said a single word about what kind of fights they were currently going through, which indirectly told him that some of them must have come close.

  Or so his brain concluded. It easily went into overdrive when thinking about his team, and Lev was starting to realize that he might have some manner of attachment issues.

  Either way, being overprotective wasn't a bad trait to have, especially on their current god-forsak— err, monster-tainted planet.

  My subconscious still doesn't really accept the concept of divinities. So beyond my imagination and distant, though that's gonna change quickly.

  He had a unique title now, after all.

  He also wasn't going to let it change him too much, however. If the god wanted to contact him, then that was that. If not, he wasn't going to put much importance on the title. Better off continuing like normal instead of festering needless paranoia and conjectures.

  "Alright, fine, keep your secrets," Lev breathed out, annoyed. "What did the grand strategist say?"

  "I'm going to be stationed here in your absence, and Sherron will be doing patrols after Orianna returns. He mostly wanted us to ask about your plans and what we should expect in your wake."

  "Before that, who else can potentially join us?"

  "Aryan will likely accompany you. He's close to evolving, and once he does, having someone like him keeping watch over the group will be priceless. Elias and his team are still uncertain, though he might join just because it's you two we're talking about. Melvine will also agree with whatever we ask of her, so it's on you."

  Lev squinted his eyes, wondering why they would send someone so strong with him. Granted, he and Isabella's team weren't yet veterans, but Melvine was far stronger than anyone in that group. Would it not be a drain on their essence?

  Twisting that line of thought, he also had to wonder just how much harder they could push themselves in her presence. If she were there as a backup, dealing with only the strongest monsters to level up, it would be a major weight off their shoulders.

  The reduced danger seemed negative at first. Then he considered how difficult it would be for a monster to overwhelm everyone leaving with him, and changed his mind. If even Elias's team, Lev, Isabella and her team, and Aryan were pressured into needing backup, then Melvine herself might not be enough to kill such a monster alone.

  Her presence would still do wonders, though. It would be a good idea to have her tag along.

  "I don't see any downside in having her with us," he said out loud. "And I think that's already enough people. So, two teams, two solo hunters, and Melvine. What rank is she even?"

  "Titanium," Sherron replied casually. "Or she would be if she ever applied for a promotion. Her idea is that Exalted are automatically considered that, and since there are no higher ranks to attain for now, why bother with advancing? She'll get it one day anyway."

  "Fits with what I've seen of her so far," Lev chuckled, not disagreeing either. That did make sense. The benefits of such a rank were quite muddled, and he doubted the lack of advancements saw her getting any less recognition from the guild.

  "Anything else you want to share or talk about?" Orianna probed.

  Lev gave her a gentle smile and shook his head. "Jared has already filed for more cores, and since there aren't more of the spider core harvester thingies available, that's about it."

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "Why do you want one?" Alec questioned. "It should be pretty easy for you to detect the cores and pull them out."

  "I don't know," he shrugged. "They're cool, I guess."

  Sherron's approving grin showed that she shared the sentiment.

  Further conversation was cut off when an informant came to fetch the trio. They followed after excusing themselves, leaving Lev and Isabella behind.

  "You didn't show him the sword," she pointed out.

  "I will talk to him in private later. It's not like we're about to leave soon."

  "Fair," Isabella said, getting up to leave. "I'll be in the basement if you want to talk, okay?"

  Lev resisted snorting, acknowledging her words with a nod. Her offer to lend an ear was nice, and he appreciated it quite a bit, too. He just didn't need it. Nothing could help his mental state better than meeting the trio that had left a moment before, and Lev already found himself getting excited for the upcoming adventure.

  First, training.

  Even while he talked with everyone, three different orbs hovered behind him. The exercises hadn't yet changed, though he planned to spice them up once he felt himself reaching the limits of his training. Given the nature of the layers, he could scale up the exercise exponentially.

  Lightning bolts swirled in the orbs, and he only formed six in all three orbs for a total of eighteen. With his mind split so many ways, there was little room for distractions, which he used to plan.

  I remember Isabella talking about Zack's preferred weapon not being fixed. His class works best with hand-to-hand combat, but the movement, strength, and speed buffs cover just about everything, including gloves. I can make gauntlets for him to go over his armor.

  Isabella's equipment is top-notch. Nothing I can do for her. The other two don't really need anything, so I can focus on the gauntlets for now.

  That done, he wondered how good to make the gauntlets. The mountains were going to be dangerous, extremely so. Things were going to go wrong, and when that happened, he would much rather have the best possible backup.

  Whatever little reservations he had about creating another Epic item vanished immediately. Bringing out a mundane pair of gauntlets from his ring, one of the many he had kept there to learn from, Lev began dissecting how they worked after the orb exercises came to an end.

  It took over half an hour before he could reliably imitate the joints and knuckles, though he also had solutions to make them even better. Unlike metals, his barriers weren't limited in rigidity. He could make them soft in places, which allowed him to recreate the fingers more easily than expected.

  Several models were present in front of him, though there was another issue. Getting up from his seat, he made his way to the basement and looked for Isabella. She was lounging in one of the rooms, casually watching a recording in a memory crystal.

  I forgot these things existed, he thought to himself, not even bothering to remember how much they cost.

  She turned to him before he could knock on the door, her expression asking a question clearly.

  "Who stores all the equipment in your team?" Lev asked.

  She raised a brow. "I'm assuming you want something of Zack's?"

  "Were you expecting this?"

  "Yep."

  "Yeah, I was thinking of making some gauntlets for him," he answered with a short sigh. Was he that predictable? "I can also push them to Epic rarity with reasonable certainty. Can he use them?"

  "Easily," came the reply. "He actually prefers them, too. Here or on the roof?"

  They both returned to the bubble after a moment, taking their seats. Isabella summoned two dark silver gauntlets from her ring, casually throwing them towards Lev.

  Casually catching them, he used Identify.

  [

  Sunkissed Gauntlets - Rare

  Enchantments: Fire Burst, Weight Manipulation, Durability, Fire Storage

  ]

  "Not… bad?" Lev remarked, a bit confused. That was not a very strong pair of gauntlets.

  "He used them back when we were still Adepts," Isabella said flatly. "Not everyone was spoiled with peerless equipment."

  "I'll have you know, my barriers were the only thing that accompanied me."

  "Yeah, the same barriers enchanted with runes straight from an Exalted. Seems very fair to me."

  He didn't have an answer for that. With a shrug, he moved on.

  "So? Why does he not have new gauntlets?"

  "Because none can really fit his output and strength. His physical strength is high enough that most affordable options simply aren't enough, and neither were there any Epic Gauntlets for sale. You're an outlier in how quickly you can potentially make them."

  "My mentor is, too."

  "No, he isn't," she refuted without hesitation. "His barriers aren't nearly as unique as yours. Sure, they are always used in any Epic items he creates, but he works with metals just as much as barriers. By now, he has some of the strongest smithing general skills in the plains."

  … That is news to me.

  "I see," he nodded slowly. "Does Zack have any requirements? What is he looking for?"

  "Anything that can handle his physical strength and channeling, and has fire-related abilities."

  "That's pretty vague," Lev voiced thoughtfully. "Do you think he will appreciate firing fireballs from his hand, or should I make it a short beam instead?"

  "Beam? Like your cannons? He would love that."

  Well, there goes my plan of making a simple set of gauntlets.

  "Noted. Anything else?"

  "Can you change the colors?"

  "Yeah."

  "Good, make them the same color as these," Isabella said, waving at the old gauntlets Lev was currently holding. "He likes the combination."

  That was all he needed to know, and Isabella left shortly after.

  ****

  Another two weeks passed quickly. Lev stayed on the roof while he wasn't away on culling hordes or dangerous second-threshold monsters, occasionally fired his lasers to help Alec with particularly resilient monsters, and focused on his crafting skills.

  Twice, Isabella had offered him her shoulder if he wanted to vent or simply talk. It stung, but far less than he expected to. She, the daughter of the duke and one of the most promising hunters of their generation, was looking out for him as a friend. Lev wasn't ashamed to admit that it felt nice to have a friend like her, especially one who rarely relied on her social status.

  In the same vein, he had accepted the invitation both times. They merrily chatted away in his bubble, talking about random things, and even more random things when he revealed his life on Earth.

  A bit of back and forth led to her asking about what future he had envisioned for his team.

  "We're going to be adventurers," he said resolutely. They had never openly talked about it, and yet, he was sure that his team would never settle for anything less. "As for the reason, well, two of them have a grudge against two regions. I don't know about Jack, but we as a team are definitely going to turn the Grand Forest and Dreadwoods upside down."

  "That's a grand goal," Isabella quipped, grinning like a loon. "That's a goal, though. Like, a life goal, and not a more lifestyle goal. What about that?"

  "That's still up in the air," Lev shrugged. "I know I'm gonna be busy smashing past hordes. More likely than not, Amelia will follow. Kayla already planned to work as a healer, but at this point, she will likely change her mind to assist in large operations like this one and continue adventuring in the meantime. She's not the type to sit still for too long."

  "And Jack?"

  "No idea. The big guy has an uncanny knack for reading minds, and with his growing strength, he might resort to training the younger generations. Of course, that's just theories. Who knows how much they have changed by now?"

  "Hmm," Isabella fell into thought as they both moved to the edge of his bubble. "You might need to start worrying about yourself more now."

  Lev nodded slowly, watching the 'backup' forces steadily move closer to the fort. There were twenty-three carts total, compared to the one he had assisted with, and even from so far away, he could see hundreds of hunters manning them.

  "It's not like I'll have a choice," he mused, not looking at her. "Is everything ready?"

  "Excluding one pair of gauntlets? Yes."

  Lev grinned. He was just about to get to that, too.