Every year, the Luminarche government and the Adventurer’s Guild came together in a joint collaboration to create and release new maps of each region. By using a combination of eyewitness information, historical data, and approximate ambient mana readings, the cartographers were able to categorize sections of wildlands – the vast swathes of oft-unexplored land where dungeons spawned and monsters roamed – into tiers corresponding with the adventurer tiers. Some areas were categorized as silver-tier, others as platinum-tier, and so on.
Creating these maps was a costly effort requiring hundreds of hours of manpower. Over the course of months, scouts were sent out across the entire country to gather intelligence, identify new dungeons, and measure shifts in the natural leyline fluctuations. The information would then be processed by dozens of analysts to meticulously classify each area with the utmost accuracy.
While it wasn’t a perfect system by any means, the amount of casualties had plummeted by a significant amount ever since its introduction decades ago. So long as adventurers followed the markings and labels on the maps, then they’d be as safe as one could reasonably be.
Unless, of course, one was traveling with Qorbin Ravenbane.
Then things became much more dangerous.
“On your left!”
Without any hesitation, Liliya whirled to her left, already lashing out with her blade. Trails of silvery-violet light instantly materialized into tangible mana threads, creating a thin barrier that blocked the angry wasp’s stinger. Before the wasp could retreat, Liliya’s blade blurred with a silver flash, and it fell to the ground a split second later, neatly bisected into two pieces.
They were traveling through a forest that was classified as platinum-tier on the maps. The ambient mana levels felt to be around the same as the forest filled with giant spiders Levi had explored during the Ascension Trials. As always, there was a bustling ecosystem of creatures within: soldier ants with mandibles that could chew through solid stone, deer with gleaming sharp silver antlers, massive bears that shook the ground with every step.
The most dangerous one, however, was a horde of giant wasps. Each was around the size of a watermelon, and they flew around so quickly they practically whistled through the air. Their stingers dripped with an acidic venom that hissed and burned holes into the ground wherever it hit. Even a single wasp was already substantially dangerous; there were hundreds surrounding Liliya, with more and more joining the ranks with every passing minute.
Qorbin and Levi were off on the sidelines watching Liliya fight the horde. A concealment skill, courtesy of Qorbin, prevented the wasps from targeting and attacking them. It wasn’t a stealth ability, since Liliya could still see and hear them; rather, it was more of a presence-erasing skill that made it so that the wasps simply didn’t register them as breathing creatures.
Levi wagered it was the same skill that made Qorbin feel like a plant to even his honed senses. It had been a surprise, and even a little worrisome, to know that Qorbin could extend that skill to other people.
Not for the first time, Levi silently said a word of thanks that Qorbin was on his side. Because if he wasn’t, Levi wasn’t certain if he could rest easy knowing that someone as dangerous as him was out there. Levi might’ve had to take some… preemptive precautions.
Just for ease of mind, of course.
Even now, as Levi watched Liliya dance through the wasps, a small part of him was busy analyzing Qorbin’s magic draped over him, trying to decipher its internal workings and seeing if he could potentially identify any weak points. He became increasingly disturbed when he couldn’t determine anything.
“Your angle is off with the [Spiraling Slash], take two smaller steps instead of one,” Qorbin called out. He was lounging on a fallen log, holding his hip flask in one hand and a purple spiky fruit in the other. He was calling out pointers and constructive critiques as Liliya fought.
It was a testament to Liliya’s prodigious skill that she could parse and process Qorbin’s feedback while she actively fended off hundreds of wasps, much less instantly incorporate them into her moves. Levi watched her improve in realtime, her sword swings growing more effective and her footwork becoming swifter with every word Qorbin spoke.
The wasps weren’t exactly weak either; each was at least level 80. They both outnumbered and outleveled her. Under normal circumstances, she should’ve been immediately overwhelmed, her body pierced by hundreds of stingers and expeditiously ravaged by the injected venom – assuming she didn’t die from the blood loss first.
Fortunately, that was why Levi was there. Using careful manipulation of wind currents and lightning discharges, he was able to both divert and sufficiently weaken the wasps so that Liliya could finish them off. He made sure to keep his interference as light and minimal as possible so that she could make the most of this training exercise.
While Qorbin wasn’t a Sword Saint by any means, he’d still been partied with a Sword Sage enough years to pick up a few things. His own skills were also just cream of the crop; the assassin knew more than enough to impart valuable tips and knowledge to Liliya, far more than even Levi could provide. Then again, Levi wasn’t an expert with the blade by any means, being a mage and all.
Well, technically. Despite being a mage, Levi was still well-versed with physical combat – that was partly why he was so skilled at magical reinforcement. He wagered he could hold his own using most conventional weaponry and even a few unconventional ones. There was a reason why most mages in his previous world had looked down on him.
Consequently, being reborn in this new body felt like he was perpetually fighting with both hands tied behind his back. Plus two additional broken kneecaps thrown in for good measure. His combat style heavily relied on physical close-quarters combat, but even with magical reinforcement, he didn’t trust this new body well enough. Fortunately, he was already starting to develop some more muscles – or at least increase his muscle tone – but as it stood, progress was irritatingly slow.
Hmm… One of his earlier ideas drifted to mind. If Levi controlled the dosage and was really careful about it, perhaps magically synthesized testosterone could work after all.
Then again, considering the side effects…
Levi abruptly shook his head, hurriedly discarding those thoughts. That was a dark and dangerous path to go down toward, one that would likely result in unwanted alterations to a certain part of himself that he was rather attached to. He shuddered at the thought.
He supposed he just needed to be patient. That, or find some sort of magical elixir that would bolster and enhance his physical capabilities without the accompanying side effects.
But he digressed.
At any rate, this training exercise allowed Liliya to improve at a rapid rate, both in terms of skill and also level. Due to her apprenticeship link with Qorbin, Liliya’s experience gain was tremendously boosted. XP, as it was called in this world. Levi still didn’t know how the System was able to categorize and measure such a thing – he had a theory it had something to do with an individual’s innate life potential – but he really had no idea.
Furthermore, due to his System being locked, Levi received no XP whatsoever from any monster takedowns, kills or assists or otherwise. That meant that despite his aid in weakening and enervating the wasps, Liliya was receiving full solo XP from all the kills.
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Qorbin had called bullshit on that when he’d first learned about it. Apparently, splitting XP was one of the biggest causes for strife and contention within parties. The System didn’t care about percent contributions; it was a flat split no matter what. For example, if one adventurer landed ninety-nine cuts on a monster whereas another adventurer landed only one cut, the XP distribution would be the same as if they’d each landed fifty cuts.
Naturally, this led to plenty of arguments where one adventurer might feel they were getting unduly robbed of their XP. However, due to Levi’s XP bar being frozen, that meant that there was no risk of such arguments occurring.
Liliya had been a little worried at first; she’d seemed to think that he’d be mad that she was taking all the XP. It was honestly heartwarming to know that she’d cared enough to raise an issue instead of just silently taking advantage of the situation. Levi had quickly reassured her that he was perfectly fine with the arrangement. It wasn’t her fault – and besides, even without the System, he was strong enough already.
After around an hour, the last of the wasps finally fell to the ground. Sweat poured down Liliya’s face as she doubled over, panting for air. Her skin was flushed with exertion, strands of her light bluish-purple hair stuck to her face, and her entire body was trembling from exhaustion, but there was no denying her satisfied expression.
“Is that the last of them?” she asked.
“Seems so,” Qorbin grinned. “Well done, you’ve improved a lot.” Liliya began to smile – only for it to disappear as he then jumped to his feet and summoned his sword to his hand. “There were some issues I noticed with your form, though. Let’s get those fixed up.”
“... now?” she asked, a tinge of despair in her voice.
“Of course!” Qorbin sounded a little far too gleeful. “You know what they say, there’s no time like the present.”
Liliya shot him a pleading glance for help. Levi simply smiled and gave her a simple wave in response. “Have fun.”
Liliya barely had the time to shoot him a betrayed look before she had to duck to avoid a whiplike slice. She began engaging Qorbin in combat once more.
By the time night fell, they’d reached the other side of the forest. They decided to set up camp at the edge, where the trees met a grassy prairie. Qorbin had disappeared to forage for some edible plants and fungi, leaving behind Levi and Liliya sitting huddled around the fire. A deer carcass, hunted by Levi earlier, was mounted on a wooden pike slow-roasting over the merry fire. The rich aroma of meat filled the camp.
“I hate him,” Liliya said. Her voice was emotionless as usual, but this time, Levi had a feeling it was because she was too exhausted to muster up any emotions to begin with. For the first time since Levi had seen her, her perfect posture was gone; she leaned back against a tree trunk in a dead slump. “I hate him so much.”
“Qorbin? Why is that?”
Liliya pinned him with a flat, almost haunted look. “Five hours,” she said, her voice hollow. “After I finished off the wasps, we continued sparring for five whole hours. I think my bruises have bruises.”
Levi chuckled. “You did well. Here, may I?”
Liliya nodded, and Levi reached out and touched the center of her back. Magic sparked to life, flowing from his hand and zipping over the surface of her skin as it repaired and healed the hundreds of bruises and superficial injuries she’d attained throughout the course of the day.
She let out a breath of relief as her body unconsciously relaxed. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Qorbin returned with a pile of edible plants and mushrooms in his arms, though Levi waited until Liliya confirmed they were indeed safe to consume. The meat finished cooking a few minutes after, and soon they were enjoying a hearty meal.
“Mm, this is good,” Qorbin said as he ripped off a chunk of meat with his teeth. “There’s something about having a nice meal after a long day of hard work…” Across from him, Liliya’s glare was downright lethal. Qorbin ignored it, taking a long swig from his hip flask, the strong scent of alcohol making both Levi and Liliya’s nose wrinkle.
Levi noticed that Qorbin hadn’t drank at all during the earlier mission – or if he had, Levi hadn’t noticed it. It spoke well of his character; the mission had likely been urgent enough for him to take it seriously.
Now that it was over, however…
“You two want anything to drink?” Qorbin asked with a grin. “I have some emergency alcohol rations inside my [Inventory]. Not as high quality as my usual stuff, but it’s still pretty damn good.”
“Emergency alcohol rations?” Levi muttered in disbelief.
“Thank you, but I’ll pass,” Liliya said.
Qorbin shrugged. “Your loss–”
Levi and Qorbin both blinked in unison. They didn’t outwardly tense up, because reacting was for amateurs, but their eyes flickered toward each other and an unspoken agreement passed between them.
Liliya frowned as she sat up straighter. “What’s wrong–?”
An arrow rained down from the sky above, landing in the center of the camp. Qorbin and Levi looked at it curiously even as Liliya leaped to her feet in shock. The arrow had missed all three of them, but judging by the dense amount of magical energy that it contained…
The arrow exploded a moment later, but all three of them were already moving. Shrapnel blasted out everywhere as the shockwave sent the leaves on nearby trees rustling. Qorbin and Liliya ended up on the west side of the clearing while Levi stood on the east, the side further inside the forest…
Which was why he suddenly found himself surrounded by a group of people that emerged from the trees around him. There were around twelve in total, mostly men but some women, and–
Levi blinked.
Hold on a second. Were those animal ears?
Huh. So these must be the beastfolk Levi had read about.
“To what do we owe this pleasure?” Qorbin drawled from across the clearing. He still hadn’t drawn a weapon, and indeed he looked highly amused by what was happening.
The leader of the group stepped forward. She looked to be in her twenties: tall, lithe, wearing a brown pelt and shorts that left her toned abdominal muscles and legs exposed. More importantly, she had a pair of cat ears lying atop her head. She snapped her fingers, and immediately Levi felt two swords appear at his throat and two at his back, the beastfolk caging him in at her command.
“My name is Stella of the Lenida Tribe!” Stella shouted, her voice strong. She gave a ferocious grin. “I suggest you two surrender now, lest your friend here suffer the consequences.”
There was a long moment of silence as Qorbin, Levi, and Liliya processed the newcomer’s words.
Then, Qorbin snorted. Liliya, as always, maintained ironclad control over her expression and didn’t react outwardly, but her body began trembling slightly. Levi knew her well enough by now to see the sheer unadulterated mirth concealed in her eyes.
To Levi’s right, one of the beastfolk, a man with vaguely wolfish features, gave a cruel laugh as he apparently interpreted her trembling to mean something else. “Holy shit, boss, I think you’re going to make her cry.”
Stella’s lips curled with contempt. “How the standards have fallen for adventurers… well, better for us. The old man doesn’t seem like he’s worth much; probably some bum adventurer nearing retirement. He’s so weak I can’t even sense his presence–”
Old man? Qorbin mouthed, looking affronted.
“--but the girl and this boy are dressed pretty well. They should yield a hefty reward for us.”
She strolled up next to Levi. For his part, Levi hadn’t moved at all; his body remained entirely relaxed even with the weapons surrounding him as he lazily regarded her.
“Hey, what’s your name?” Stella asked him.
“I’m Levi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Stella barked a laugh. “How polite. It’s nice to meetcha too. So here’s how it goes, Levi. I’m sure you’re all very powerful adventurers and all, being in a platinum-tier region – but our lowest rank is mithril-tier.” She flashed him a cocky grin. “So why don’t you tell your friends over there to put down their weapons–” She paused when she realized that neither Qorbin nor Liliya had drawn their weapons yet. She looked somewhat confused by that, but forged on. “Well, just tell them to surrender, remove all their valuables from their [Inventories], and lie down on the ground with their hands laced behind their head. This way, no one will have to get hurt.”
Levi blinked, regarding her for a very long moment.
Across from them, Liliya had devolved into a violent coughing fit, while Qorbin was looking like he’d just been told he won the lottery.
Slowly, the edges of Levi’s lips began curling up.
“Just to be certain,” he said slowly, “is this a hostage situation?”
Stella looked at him like he was an imbecile. “What does it look like? You’ve got a brain in there somewhere, don’t ya?”
“Excellent,” Levi smiled. “Just wanted to make sure.”
6 chapters ahead!
