“I’m sure you have questions for me.”

  “Just a couple, yes.”

  The two of them were sitting against the cavern wall, gazing out at the scene of destruction in front of them. Liliya had slumped down into a sitting position at some point, the combination of exertion and shock overtaking her, and after ensuring that there were no surviving Greater Wyverns left waiting in surprise, Levi had taken a seat next to her.

  He noticed that she had tensed up for a second when he did. He didn’t blame her; his power tended to have that effect on people. Especially in his previous world, where he had been marked as one of the most dangerous and wanted criminals alive for his usage of forbidden soul magick. The fourth category, and all that. Still, he would be lying if he said that seeing her flinch slightly didn’t sting at least a little.

  Thankfully, Liliya had relaxed a moment later. Either she knew that he wasn’t dangerous to her, or she had accepted that he was so powerful, it didn’t matter what she did.

  Levi was pretty sure it was the former. He hoped it was the former.

  But he knew she had questions. Of course she did; she’d just witnessed the seeming dead last failure of the Institute completely annihilate an entire horde of Greater Wyverns in a single effortless attack.

  After what she had done, nearly sacrificing herself in a heroic attempt to save his life, he figured he owed her some answers.

  The hard part was figuring out how to answer her.

  “Who are you?” Liliya asked.

  “I’m Levi,” he said simply. “Just Levi.”

  She honed in on the underlying implications immediately. “Not Levi Ironwood?”

  Briefly, Levi debated telling her the truth. That he was an interdimensional reincarnated former archmage servant of Death who had been tossed into this world for the sake of finding and eliminating an unknown cataclysmic threat. For a moment, he almost did.

  However, he couldn’t risk it. At the rate events were unfolding, he had a feeling he was going to be making a lot of powerful enemies soon. He didn’t want Liliya to become targeted, or worse, tortured for having critical information on him – not to mention he was fairly certain she had no mental defenses yet of any kind, making her highly susceptible to mind magic.

  Besides, his former experiences had taught him the importance of upholding the principles of operations security. A memory of him lying vivisected on a cold lab table flashed across his mind. He shuddered. Now that had been a uniquely unpleasant experience that he wasn’t looking to repeat anytime soon.

  Perhaps later, once she became strong enough to properly hold her own, he would be able to tell her the truth. But as she was currently, he couldn’t risk her safety like that.

  As such, he decided on telling her a half-truth for now.

  “Levi Ironwood was a… deep cover persona of sorts, you could say,” Levi said. “I put on a facade to lull my enemies into a sense of false confidence while I worked from within the shadows to take them down.”

  “Your enemies?” Liliya narrowed her eyes. “Who?”

  Levi chuckled. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I think you’ve earned the right.” He looked at her with a mixture of admiration and pride – and here he didn’t have to fake any of it. “Laying down your life to save mine with no gain or benefit to yourself…” He gave her a genuine smile. “You’re strong.”

  At this, Liliya looked taken aback. Then she smiled. “Thank you.” Her smile turned a little self-deprecating. “You won’t call me foolish or stupid for my choice?”

  “Never.” Levi’s reply was immediate, and Liliya blinked at the sheer vehemence in his voice. He softened his tone. “The Age of Heroes may be long gone by now, but I will never denigrate someone who follows the ideals it embodied. Besides, I suspected something like this might happen.”

  “You did?”

  Levi nodded. “The other night when you asked me if I fancied myself becoming a Hero… You sounded disappointed when I answered no, didn’t you?”

  Liliya stared at him. “You heard that-?” She coughed. “Well. Maybe.”

  Levi smiled. “That’s what I thought. But I digress. At any rate, you asked about who my enemies were…” His expression turned grim. “They’re the Organization.”

  “The Organization?”

  Levi nodded gravely. “Not much is known about them. The Organization is a secret consortium of agents who seek to plunge Koxus into mayhem and chaos.” Okay, that might have been a little too melodramatic. He resisted the urge to wince even as he continued. “I am not certain how many of them there are, or if they’re even human. But it is certain that they pose an immense danger to this world.”

  He wasn’t even lying there, just twisting the truth a little. Of course, in reality neither he nor Death knew who or what was actually behind the threat – it could be a group of agents, or some ancient being powerful enough to evade the sight of Death, or even some extradimensional eldritch horror that dwelled in the incongruous gap between worlds. But a secret organization was the easiest explanation, so that was what he went with.

  “I see,” Liliya said slowly, her eyes sharpening as she processed the new information. “But why you? Why are you the one fighting against them?”

  “If not me, then who else?”

  “I see,” Liliya said. She stared at him for a long moment, and Levi had a feeling she could tell he wasn’t telling her the whole truth. However, she must’ve trusted him enough to not push it, because she nodded a moment later. “Fair enough.”

  Levi gave a nod that might’ve been grateful. A silence fell over them.

  “What level are you then, truly?” Liliya then asked. “And how did you fool the Institute’s detection enchantments? I thought [Institute Registry] was infallible. And does your family know?”

  Levi froze. “Those are some very good questions.”

  There was a moment of silence as he scrambled to come up with an answer.

  “My family does not know,” Levi said. “It’s for the sake of their protection, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell them. Or anyone, for that matter. As for fooling the Institute’s enchantments…” He gave a cryptic chuckle, trying his best to channel all the wise, wizened wizards he’d met before. “All spells have a weakness. It’s just a matter of looking in the right place.” He paused as a sudden idea occurred to him. “That being said though… I don’t know what level I am.”

  Liliya blinked. “What?”

  “I don’t know how or why,” Levi said, “but my System access is completely locked. I can’t level up, I can’t gain new skills, I can’t even use default System skills like [Loot] or [Inventory]. For all intents and purposes, I really am only level 14.”

  Liliya stared at him. “But… What? How are you so strong then?”

  Levi gave a lopsided grin. “Magic?”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Fascinating,” Liliya breathed. “I’ve never heard of such a phenomenon before, or even knew it was possible.”

  “It’s been a conundrum, to say the least. I’ve been researching it during my own time, but haven’t had much success so far. I was hoping to ask for your help in that regard, actually. I… am not much of an academic, I admit.”

  Liliya snorted. “At least that part still holds true…” She nodded. “Of course. I cannot promise that I will find anything, but I will do my best to help. It’s the least I can do. I assume I should keep all of this a secret?”

  Levi nodded. “Yes, please. I’d rather no one else finds out.”

  “Heh. I don’t blame you. If the Royal Sentinels ever found out about your situation…” Liliya trailed off meaningfully before pausing. “Or even the Church of the Goddess, for that matter.”

  Huh? Church of the Goddess? Shit, had Levi unknowingly been right the other day when he’d thought that some priestess would try to exorcise him if it was found out that he was some interdimensional transmigrator?

  “Indeed,” he said outwardly. “I’m sure you understand why I’ve been lying low so far.”

  “What Class are you, then?” Liliya asked. “Do you even have a Class? Or a Concept?”

  “Concept, no. Class… technically no, but unofficially…” Levi hummed. “I suppose ‘archmage’ would fit the best.”

  Liliya’s eyes widened slightly. “The legendary [Archmage] class?” She hesitated. “Normally, I’d call you out on your lie, but after what I just saw…” She chuckled. “That does explain a lot. Is that why you concealed your abilities during the Ascension Trials?”

  “Huh? No, not really. That was more because I didn’t want to steal any of your thunder. You worked hard to prepare for taking the Ascension Trials solo, didn’t you? I didn’t want to step in and invalidate any of your efforts.”

  Liliya looked surprised for a moment before realization dawned in her eyes. “You were telling the truth back in the library when you offered to withdraw from our arrangement, weren’t you?”

  Levi nodded.

  “I see,” Liliya looked slightly ashamed. “I… I apologize for my reaction. I thought you were just taunting me.”

  “Nah, it’s fine,” Levi said, waving her off. “Please don’t apologize. I don’t blame you for reacting the way you did – I probably would’ve done the exact same were I in your position. I would say that I’m still sorry for tagging along, but…” He gestured at the corpses of the Greater Wyverns. “I think it turned out for the best that I’d come along.”

  Liliya laughed. “That’s an understatement. I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but… thank you for saving me, Levi.”

  Levi smiled. “It was my pleasure.” Then he hesitated. “If you don’t mind me asking, though… I’ve been curious for a while. Why do you push yourself so hard anyway? Why go through the risk of taking the Ascension Trials solo?”

  The question seemed to physically strike Liliya. Her expression tightened, a myriad of emotions flickering across her face. She was silent for a long moment.

  Then, she let out a heavy sigh.

  “At this point, I might as well tell you,” she said quietly. “The news isn’t officially out yet, but I’m getting engaged to Theodore Montague. It’s an arranged marriage. My father is forcing me into it to increase our family’s status and power, and my brother can’t do anything about it.” She paused. “Won’t do anything about it.”

  Levi didn’t turn to look at her, but his body language showed he was listening intently.

  “That is why I pushed myself to take the Ascension Trials by myself despite how dangerous it was. I wanted to grow my power and reputation fast before it was too late. After I marry Montague, I doubt that he’d let me take any truly dangerous missions, even as a party. I wanted to prove my worth beyond just marriage material. Demonstrate my prowess as an adventurer with the time I still have left.”

  Ahh. That made a disturbing amount of sense. Of course Montague wouldn’t want to risk his wife dying on some mission, instead keeping her at home to birth him heirs and take care of his children.

  Levi’s lips thinned in contempt. To do this to one of the most promising adventurers of their age… Levi almost couldn’t believe Liliya’s father would do this to her – but then again, Marquis Volkov was a noble. Levi imagined her father thought the increased political capital was worth the tradeoff of sacrificing his daughter’s career as an adventurer.

  It was disgusting. Levi didn’t have a very high regard for nobles to begin with, but somehow they kept on finding new ways to outdo themselves.

  “That was also why I got so mad the other night when you left on your own,” Liliya continued, the words practically spilling out by now. It was clear that she had been holding this in for a long time. “I didn’t want you to die, of course, but… If I failed to keep you alive, then my father might have used that as an excuse to wrest even more control and freedom away from me. I don’t have much left as it stands. It’s also why I’ve been forbidden from graduating early – my father didn’t want to risk me dying on a mission before I could fulfill his objectives.”

  “I see,” Levi said quietly. “If you don’t want to marry Montague, then why don’t you just say no?”

  Liliya laughed humorlessly. “How? I am a daughter of House Volkov. It is my duty to carry out my obligations. Even if those duties are the very chains that bind me.”

  “Then break them,” he said. As if the answer was that obvious.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I…” Liliya shook her head. “I just can’t.”

  Levi regarded her for a long moment. “Fair enough, then.”

  He wouldn’t push her for now. But he sure as hell wasn’t letting this be the end of it. He’d bring it up again later.

  “But yeah,” Liliya said, sighing again as she leaned back against the wall. “That’s about the gist of it. I’ve never told anyone else this before. I don’t even know why I’m telling it to you now.”

  Levi shrugged. “Because of my charming wit and winning personality?”

  Liliya snorted. “You can tell yourself that if you want.”

  “Thank you, I will.”

  She shook her head. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Five syllables. I’m afraid I don’t know what that means.”

  Liliya looked amused. “Right.” Then she hesitated. “But anyway, about this Organization… So they’re a secret consortium of agents? What’s their main objective? How did you even find out about them?”

  “Yeah,” said the man crouched in a squat next to them. “How did you find out about us?”

  Levi reacted immediately. He blurred, leaping to the side and slashing across the air. Multiple Sever and Cleaves blasted forward from his hand – and splashed against the man harmlessly. It was as though he’d absorbed the magic. Liliya too jumped to her feet, her eyes wide as Levi hurriedly pushed her behind him, his magic surging wildly as his mind and instincts screamed at him in alarm.

  He hadn’t sensed the man at all. One moment, Levi and Liliya had been alone in the cavern. The next, the man had just appeared. There had been no signs of warning, not even a small flare of magic that typically accompanied teleportation techniques.

  “Well now, that’s just rude,” the man said conversationally, as if he had just stumbled across them in a park. He stood up, brushing off some nonexistent specks of dust from his robes. “Not even a hello?”

  “Who are you?” Levi demanded. He examined the man. The man was fit, wearing spotless robes of white and grey. Levi tried to look at his face, but even doing so hurt his eyes; there was some active enchantment messing with his perception. Straining himself, Levi forced through it with sheer force of will, activating his True Sight and–

  “Ah, ah, ah, none of that,” the man said. Suddenly, a mask materialized over his face. It was a smooth blank porcelain mask with no holes cut out, covering his features entirely. “I’m a little shy, you see. As for who I am… Well. Who am I? What even is self? Can anyone definitively say who they are, or are we all just the combined jagged reflections of the people around us?”

  “Cut the philosophical ramblings,” Levi snapped. “How did you get in here?” He paused, suddenly wary. “Were you the one who set up the runic scripts?”

  “Guilty,” the man shrugged. “I was sitting outside watching the town of Farband, wondering what was taking the wyverns so long to come out. Imagine my surprise when I came in to investigate and found them all dead. Was that your doing, Levi Ironwood? It had to be. I don’t think Liliya Volkov could’ve accomplished it.”

  “How much did you hear?” Levi asked, his blood going cold. Had this man heard everything he had told Liliya earlier?

  “Not much,” the man admitted. “Only the last part, about this ‘Organization’ that you mentioned. That was pretty shocking to hear, though. Care to enlighten me how you found out about the Crucible? I was so certain we’d been covering our tracks…”

  There was no fucking way. Levi had been bullshitting out of his ass when he came up with the ‘Organization’. How the fuck had he actually been right? What sort of ungodly coincidence was this?

  And the ‘Crucible’... Levi swore he had heard that name somewhere before. But where? He pushed that to the back of his mind.

  “I’ll tell you how I found out if you tell me what your purpose is,” Levi said, bluffing. “Why did you set up the runic scripts? What was the purpose behind all of this? Quid pro quo, exchange of information.”

  “Hmm,” the man said. He considered it for a moment, rubbing his chin through the mask thoughtfully. Then he shrugged. “Nah, I’m good. I think I’d rather just kill you both.”

  Levi’s eyes widened as the man suddenly appeared in front of him, not even a flicker denoting the teleportation. He twisted to the side and was barely able to avoid the hand coated in some unknown white magic that pierced toward his heart. Instantly, Levi stomped on the ground and the earth beneath him responded, spearing upward in reinforced spikes and forcing the man backward.

  So physical attacks definitely worked, then. Magical attacks, on the other hand… Levi needed to figure out the scope of the man’s magic absorption.

  This could prove to be a tricky fight.

  6 advanced chapters now!

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