Ceaseless Horizons [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy]

Three days passed in surprising peace. No calamity descended on his half-released aura, nor did any third-threshold centipedes show themselves. It seemed that his full aura did attract monsters regardless of his low rank, a concerning detail by all metrics.

He ignored that information as usual. There was nothing to be done about it except keeping a low profile, and he would much rather do that by using concealment enchantments instead of letting out only a portion of his aura instead of all.

"I see another one of the big centipedes," Lev sent through the communication tablet. Better off informing Drakys about the battle in case something went wrong.

"Are you about to engage?" came the curt reply.

"Yes."

"Be careful," Drakys said and cut the connection.

Don't think I'm the one needing the warning this time, Lev thought and prepared his bubble. On top of it were two large cannons, both of them brimming with mana.

For over an hour now, he had been funneling his regeneration into the enchantments and barrier constructs themselves, keeping it as topped up as possible to not use too much mana. By his estimates, a third of the enchantment costs were already stored in the cannons.

"Ready, boss?" asked a calm Melvine, not at all worried about the monster turning towards the approaching carts.

"Just waiting for you," Lev answered, giving her a long look. "I can join-"

"Stop worrying so much, boss," the woman interrupted with a grin. So caught up was Lev by surprise that he had to blink himself back to reality when she dashed away, mist already following her like a storm.

Without wasting another moment, he started converting mana into fire. All of it was channeled into Stargazer's blade before being teleported into the base of the cannons, where enchantments came alive immediately.

A ball of raw fire mana was condensed inside both as the cannons did their jobs in tandem. The mana was hammered repeatedly to turn it stable and more malleable, slowly molded into a powerful fuel.

In the distance, Melvine had already reached the centipede. Her body enhancement, whatever it was, flared so strongly that he could feel the mana usage from so far away. The effects were also immediate as she dashed to the side, leaving a frozen crater where she had kicked the ground.

Even the third-threshold monster couldn't react to the movement as she dashed repeatedly, and before long, her sword cut into the back of the centipede before it could turn.

Lev unconsciously slowed down his preparations to watch for a tad longer. Melvine's mist was alive in a way he couldn't decipher, swirling along her sword as she accurately cut through the gap between the chitin segments while running along the monster's length.

Wind blades immediately faltered in her vicinity, dispersing harmlessly. Even the armor coating the centipede's body was powerless against that element, condensing into ice whenever she faced any resistance. After that, the ice evaporated into mist, only fueling her onslaught.

Ridiculous, he chuckled and sped up the mana conversion. He could do better, sure, but most certainly not with the casual ease the warrior was displaying. Not a single shred of tension could be seen in her actions as the centipede slowed down to its inevitable doom.

Guess it's my turn now.

Shaking his head, Lev waited. Melvine's assault was leading to the perfect opportunity, one that arose not even a few seconds later.

Cold and hurt, the monster screeched and turned around as fast as it could manage. Unfortunately for it, the beam that landed on the side of its head was impossible to dodge at that pace.

Lev's mind strained to keep the fire mana controlled, channeling it over a few seconds. The recoil from the insane output felt as if something was flaying the top of his brain, and he ignored the drops of blood flowing from his nose.

Instead, he aimed the second cannon and leaned into his Perception. The world stood out in unmatched clarity, awash in colors and shades of mana. Distance mattered less as he observed the result of his first attack, peering deep into the aftermath to deduce the location of the monster.

Behind that curtain of flames, something clicked. A threshold was reached in his Mana Perception, letting him see the vague outline of the centipede as it thrashed in pain. The next part was guesswork on Lev's part, and he fired where he expected the first beam to have hit the hardest.

By both luck and skill, the second beam dug straight into the impact point of the first. It sheared through the monster's head completely, drilling out of the other side before blowing it up in a shower of blood and gore.

[

Your Group has slain [Gray Ripper - Level 510]

Arcane Maelstrom has reached Level 267

Unerring Volley has reached 4th Level 3

Mage Conduit has reached 4th Level 5

Consistent Mana Channeling has reached 2nd Level 8

Advanced Mana Perception has reached 2nd Level 6

Advanced Mana Perception has reached 2nd Level 7

Advanced Mana Perception has reached 2nd Level 8

Arcane Archery has evolved into Gaze of the Marksman

Gaze of the Marksman 2nd Level 1:

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Precise and Lethal. Aim at faraway enemies with heightened clarity and peer through minor obstructions. The ability to target moving enemies is further improved, and all projectiles are further stabilized for maximum range.

The speed of all projectiles is improved by 31%.

2nd Rank: Further enhanced effectiveness when gazing past mana-based obstacles. The effect scales with Perception.

]

… Again, what the hell is that?

This was the second time his skill evolution had defied expectations. Not only was the new skill something he had never heard about before, but it was also undoubtedly better than Long-range Mastery.

The second rank, especially, was something he hadn't expected at all. His new skill was designed to let him see through the aftermath of his own attacks, which, honestly, was becoming a problem. The System recognized that and fixed it in advance.

Lev took a moment to bask in the mana capacity increase from his Mage Conduit skill. No matter how small the number increase may seem, the amount of mana it brought with it was nothing to scoff at.

Flying down, he waited for Melvine to return with the harvested core and channeled restoration mana into his body. Both of the cannons combined had used half of his pool for just two shots, and only because he had been supplying the constructs with his regeneration beforehand. They would've used even more otherwise.

As a result, his entire body felt sore. The mana that had been pushed out of it was no joke, and healing it consequently took several long minutes.

"Is everything alright, boss?" Jared asked, unable to hold back the question after seeing Lev heal himself for minutes straight. It didn't help that the Master mage was sitting on the front cart with his legs dangling and armor retracted.

"Yep," Lev replied and jumped to his feet. "It just takes a lot out of me to channel that much mana quickly."

Jared nodded slowly, trying to be understanding. "I suppose that makes sense with… what you have."

It's almost as if saying Wisdom Boost aloud is weirder than the indirect implication, Lev laughed internally, deciding not to push the man. It would've been so easy to capitalize on the discomfort for some harmless entertainment.

"Well, I got what I wanted," he said instead. "Next is all up to you guys. If one of the big guys shows up again, Melvine and I are not going to be the main combatants."

"… Huh? How are we supposed to fight something like that!?" the man exclaimed, losing his composure for a second before gathering himself. "Forgive me, but I don't understand how we could possibly kill something like that."

Hmm, that is true. Should I make some specialized cannons for them?

"Fair enough," Lev muttered. "We'll talk about this more later."

He jumped into his bubble after that and made it invisible. The first order of business was updating Drakys about his recent jump in power. Two combat general skill evolutions were a major milestone, regardless of the rank.

"Testing."

"Report."

"We took it down rather easily," Lev racked his mind for anything else to say. "Yeah, that's about it. I fired twice at its head, and that was that. My general skill evolved into Gaze of the Marksman, and it seems like a pretty good addition."

"Gaze of the Marksman?" Drakys echoed. "We usually see skills like that for non-combatants. What does it do, and what are the numerical bonuses?"

Eh?

"Um… it lets me aim at range and helps in targeting moving targets. The uniqueness comes from the fact that it lets me peer past mana-based obstructions much better than before, which I'm assuming is because I kept losing my line of sight due to my own explosions. As for the numerical bonus, it has a 20% base buff to projectile speed. Nothing amazing there."

"20% is the norm for such skills, anyway," Drakys commented off-handedly. "Fortunately, the skill is much better than I initially assumed. Still not as good as something like Farsight Barrage or Mark of the Sniper, but it will serve you well. Good job."

Farsight Barrage…. wonder if I can evolve this one into that eventually. Sounds right up my alley.

"Is it even possible for me to get those, considering my class skills? I already have a really good projectile buff."

"That is true…" Drakys' contemplative answer reached him. "Either way, there are always more branches to explore. Now that you have a sufficiently fitting base skill, it will evolve on its own as you polish your other powers. Such skills usually don't need direct improvements, as they are always acting in the background."

"Mhm," Lev agreed, more interested in the present than the distant future. "What now?"

"How far is Jared's team from evolving?"

"About seven or eight levels for all of them," Lev answered. "In other words, if it were possible, they're two third-threshold centipedes away from evolving."

He wasn't expecting Drakys to laugh at that. "Are you seriously considering that?"

Lev scratched his head out of habit. "For the mages, it's pretty easy if Melvine and I assist them. For the warriors, though… I'm afraid it isn't possible, or I would be planning for that already."

"I'm afraid, he says," the man chuckled again. "Lev, try not to traumatize them."

"Hey, if they come out stronger for it, then it's for the best," he answered with a snort. "It worked for me, didn't it?"

"Only because you evolved after the encounter with the warg," Drakys replied, suddenly turning serious. "One of the greatest benefits of evolving is the effects on your psyche. I've explained it to you before, and you are no exception. The only reason you could even think straight after such an encounter is because of how much stronger your mind became from the evolution. Otherwise, I doubt you would continue being a hunter, or at least, not one that would ever join a team of his own volition."

"… I had guessed as much," Lev replied with a sigh.

"It's not a weakness to be aware of your weaknesses," Drakys advised. "Take care, and inform me immediately if something unexpected happens."

"Will do."

The connection cut off after that, leaving Lev alone to stew in his thoughts. He often wondered why he was still sane and whole after facing the warg, vulture, and the hound. By all means, he should be huddled in a corner, too afraid to ever venture out in the world again.

Yet here he was, leading a group of hunters into the untamed plains, spearheading the second phase of the giant operation that was claiming the region for humanity. It was out of character for him, or at least it felt that way.

Why, then?

A few answers stood out immediately. The need for strength, one needed for both his dreams of exploring Monarch and the cosmos, and also keeping himself and those he cared about alive, was the major reason behind his actions. Charting the plains was the prime opportunity to face strong monsters and even larger hordes. The levels would help greatly.

Another unsurprising reason was the threat to human life. Hunters were going to die, and they were going to die by the dozens.

He could change that.

As ridiculous as it sounded, he had the power to minimize the loss of life and also accelerate their advancements by weeks, and all of that could be done by simply existing in the right place at the right time.

That was why he had never questioned his role. Drakys also understood his mindset, which was one of the reasons why he had always favored Lev. They were more similar than anyone expected.

Hakim, too, was supportive because Lev wasn't one to give up on innocent lives. Already, a few safety measures for if he needed to self-destruct were taking shape in his mind, though he would do everything in his power to avoid that fate.

The only real scenario in which he would resort to that was if even Drakys and Sherron failed to take down a fourth-threshold monster, at which point he would rather keep them alive than save himself.

Speaking of which, she should be here soon, he realized, his mood becoming brighter immediately. Wonder how that will change the flow of things?

He was looking forward to her reassuring presence.