Ceaseless Horizons [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy]

Turns out, Lev had underestimated the monster once again. The moment his feet touched the ground, a blast of wind pushed him down, decimating a large portion of the slope as a result.

He quickly righted himself, unhurt due to his armor absorbing much of the force, and the impact suit saving him from the rest. Still whole and sharp, he dashed out of the monster's way, unable to retaliate as it burrowed into the ground with a burst of speed.

Before any preparations could take place, another large section of the slope underneath him exploded, pelting him with big clumps of stone and dirt. Shield upon shield shattered as Lev was forced to release a lightning wave from his armor, dispersing the aftermath and revealing the monster.

Seven walls were arrayed in front of him in a blink, just in time to block a wind beam that shattered five of them. The rest quickly broke down as the centipede reached them, each tap of its sharp legs effortlessly puncturing and corroding the constructs.

Ropes were blasted away without even looking at them, and he was forced to launch a fire slash at its face to create distance. Wind mana took offense to that, destabilizing the slash halfway through and negating the explosion by pushing it to the sides, opening a path straight to Lev, who was flying upwards.

A lightning bolt tore through it and landed on the centipede's head, and this time, his attack had almost no effect. Densely concentrated wind armor blocked it without wavering, making his eyes darken as a decision was made.

Fire and lightning mana were dumped into Stargazer without holding back. The matriarch immediately felt the change, screeching loud enough to overload his armor's absorption enchantments. Durability at its highest, he slowed down for the monster to come close, utilizing all of his remaining mana in the final attack.

Or at least, his final attack. Lev had little to no confidence in actually putting down the monster.

Mandibles rushed towards his form, both large enough to squish him to paste. He let them come closer until only a few dozen meters remained, and before long, the centipede's head jerked downward as a heavy, invisible bubble smashed on top of it.

As expected, it used a wave of air to blast the construct away, but this time, ropes brimming with lightning powered through the blunt attack. Many of them were deflected, but over a dozen still reached the monster. They targeted its segment gaps, wrapping around the centipede's body while it shattered them one by one.

Regardless, they had done their job. A slash composed of equal parts lightning and blue fire was already flying its way, not aimed at the head but at a gap that could be considered its neck. The matriarch jerked out of the way, only for a burst of lightning from his ropes to stun it for a precious moment.

That was enough for the slash to find its mark, half of it landing at the intended destination. Lev couldn't even observe the results as the titanic explosion blasted him away, sending him flying hundreds of meters higher as his body and armor were singed despite the layers of protection.

Channeling healing mana into his body, he watched with an exasperated smile as a landslide came into existence, only made worse by the monster still thrashing amidst the crackling blast.

****

That skill really is unexpected, Drakys thought to himself, hovering far above the hill on which Lev was currently fighting the matriarch. Willpower skills are rare even for the Exalted. How did he get it so early?

The answers were as surprising as they were straightforward. Not only was the boy constantly using his willpower to train it, but he was also consciously directing it in his attacks. Combined with a prime candidate for evolving into a willpower skill being pushed to the limits under the perfect circumstances, the mana slash had turned into something truly remarkable.

Not nearly enough, though.

Indeed, the matriarch was far from dead or even out of the battle. It burrowed the moment it shook off the stunning effects, escaping into the safer underground while preparing its next steps. The monster was smart, Drakys had to give it that.

From the start, it had been cautiously saving mana and observing the two hunters. Initially, Lev was dismissed as a real threat, but that had changed now. All of the current attacks were prepared to counter his speed and durability, something that still surprised Drakys. The additions to his armor were pretty generic and straightforward, yet their effectiveness was above average.

Within a few seconds, the centipede burst out of the ground again, looking around warily. Lev was nowhere to be seen, however. He hovered several hundred meters above in his concealed bubble, currently healing all the burns and damage from his own attack and mana poisoning.

Below them both, far in the distance, Sherron watched leisurely as Melvine approached the monster in an unhurried run, her sword constantly becoming colder and colder.

Both the Exalted shared a glance, the distance between them not a problem. Sherron's eyesight was the best in the plains, and it didn't come as a surprise when she found Drakys' location the moment he gazed at her. She nodded once before turning towards Lev's bubble, making sure there was nothing wrong with him, and then returned to observing Melvine.

The warrior was an anomaly, through and through. Similar to Hakim, Alec, Orianna, and even Drakys himself to some extent, Melvine's talents and power had little in terms of explanation. She was strong, fast, quick-witted, and unbelievably good with that greatsword.

In terms of manipulation, she also outclassed the average mage. Her element was also unique, requiring several evolutions of water mana to even notice it. If that were all, she wouldn't be as strong.

What truly separated her was her obvious affinity with it. The stronger a mana type was, the harder it was to control— that was common knowledge. It didn't seem to apply to Melvine, however.

Before becoming a Master, she was just another hybrid warrior who utilized water. Impressive by normal standards, but nothing extraordinary.

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That changed quickly when her element evolved. Chill, as her new element was called, immediately rocketed her strengths to unheard-of levels, comparable to the likes of Lev and Isabella.

Her power only grew explosively ever since. Attributes seemed to be more effective on her skills, her attacks packed more of a punch than they should, and it was almost as if the world simply liked her more than others.

The thought was further proven when she got close enough to be within the landslide's radius. Mist flooded her path in a straight line, slowing the incoming disaster wherever it went.

Boulders stiffened as the very air turned rigid, halting the landslide enough for Melvine to jump on top of the nearest boulder. Despite the natural calamity's raw power and danger, she skipped forward from one stone to another, sometimes jumping on tree branches to maintain her momentum.

Within seconds, ones that were too short for multiple such incredible stunts, she was past the danger and ascending the ruined slope at full speed, one likely a blur to Lev's senses. The matriarch turned to her too, giving up on finding him.

****

At least this is going to be fun, Lev thought with a grimace, feeling his pool dip below 10% as he gradually healed himself, kept the bubble afloat, and powered his concealment enchantments at half their strength.

So far, Melvine had continued to surpass his expectations. He turned around for a short moment and confirmed that she had, indeed, put down five third-threshold monsters by herself in just the time Lev had faced off the matriarch.

Whoever she is, she is at least level 400. I'm not willing to believe otherwise.

Because if she were lower than that, he would start feeling inadequate again. All his advantages should amount to enough strength to match someone in the 300s, though he wasn't sure how much a mid-Master's skill had leveled on average.

Melvine reached the monster that had avoided the landslide by moving horizontally, burrowing into a stable part of the hill. Her sword led the charge, blurring to even his Perception as it moved.

A wide icy gale followed, freezing everything it touched before colliding with the monster's counterattack. Wind and the mysterious cold battled for supremacy, neither giving out while constantly drilling into each other.

Chunks of wind were frozen solid before they were pulled into Melvine's attack, only fueling it further. The wind mana, on the other hand, was powerless against the gradual drain, but the centipede more than made up for it with raw power.

Melvine's wave was obliterated with a burst of wind, blowing the mist back towards her. It slowed down and rushed towards the warrior, swiftly vanishing inside her body to power up her body enhancement.

Three blurry lunges were enough for her to reach the monster, one that wasn't caught unprepared. The matriarch whirled onto her, positioning its legs to stomp the human. Wind bolts followed with each attempted stab, the projectiles slowing down inside the misty zone following Melvine.

Incredibly, the centipede was also affected. Melvine gracefully weaved between the assault, patiently waiting for an opening while deflecting and smashing wind blades. The monster possessed sharp instincts, not wasting mana on wide area attacks to push the warrior away.

Instead, it was fine being locked in a battle of attrition, except Melvine quickly changed that by overloading her body enhancement. The mist thickened until Lev's Perception and sight failed to track her, and a resounding screech announced that the monster had failed to do the same.

Blood spurted out of its multiple amputated limbs before freezing solid, doubling down on the pain the monster was feeling. By the time the warrior came to a stop, Lev could see the mist rushing into the wounded side of the monster, seeping into its flesh and slowing it down.

She's scary, he thought with a gulp. Faster than me, just as sharp as my glaive, and freezes presumably anything she wants near her. Other than lightning, I don't see how I would stand a chance against her. She might just freeze me through my two layers of protection.

All in all, he was glad that the human was facing a monster and not him. The poor matriarch was only starting to realize that now, and before too long, it was missing over a dozen more legs. Each wound was a new point for the mists to damage it through, and Lev could clearly see how it targeted the blood to travel into the monster's bloodstream.

He really didn't want to ever experience that.

Desperation slowly bled into the matriarch's actions. It tried to blast Melvine away with a wind beam, except the mist made the beam shrivel and die, only consuming the attack for its own growth. Lev was starting to question if Melvine was low on mana yet, but given how she carried herself, it didn't seem like she intended to stop even if she was.

The centipede noticed that too, and Lev's body suddenly became tense.

Something's wrong.

Up above, beyond his sight, a new aura revealed itself. Drakys's presence blanketed the area just as Sherron's also rolled out, both of them shielding Melvine and Lev.

"Guard the carts," Drakys sent through the communication tablet. "Make sure they don't get by any stray attacks."

Lev didn't wait for more, powering up his bubble to fly away with Stargazer's mana. Given how low his pool was, he could do without the painful manipulation by taking mana out of it.

Melvine also didn't linger, turning around as soon as the Exalted showed themselves. She understood better than anyone else that there was no place for a Master in the upcoming battle.

What is happening, though? Lev wondered, eyes constantly darting around. None of the weaker monsters were visible anymore, as if running away from whatever was coming.

Before something could happen, Sherron put down the wounded matriarch with a well-timed lightning bolt. It had just turned around to burrow deeper, and that cost it its life.

Seconds passed in tense silence. Lev was acutely aware of every meter that his bubble covered with its flight, as well as every drop of mana utilized to power it. Stargazer's low reserves also stood out in stark clarity, and it took him a moment to realize that time had slowed down.

Fuck.

Below him, the ground vanished, giving way to giant mandibles that sprang out like towering spires to his left and right. A few more instants passed before the swallowed ground vanished in the centipede's depthless maw, one approaching him with alarming speed despite the slowed Perception.

Halfway through, a lightning bolt as wide as a bus landed on its head. The attack packed enough power to momentarily blind Lev, and he felt more than saw Drakys kick the centipede to make it veer off-track.

Lev didn't waste a moment in tapping into his own pool, the pain not even registering. Ordering the bubble with his willpower to fly in a straight line towards the carts, he exited it and infused his armor with as much lightning as he could without damaging his soul.

A single push saw him flying up faster than ever before, devouring hundreds of meters in seconds. He didn't stop and turn to see how far the centipede was, knowing that despite its size, it couldn't fly after him.

Only when he had flown far enough to be reasonably certain of his safety did he stop and turned around, and he almost wished he hadn't.

The hills didn't seem massive anymore. Between them, a gargantuan shape slithered, chasing after what he assumed was Drakys. Both the human and the monster were incredibly fast, to the point that Lev forgot to breathe for a few moments.

This shouldn't be possible. He took a deep breath, suddenly noticing how dry his mouth was. That fucker is faster than my beams. How the hell am I supposed to ever survive against a fourth-threshold monster?

Reality was just that cruel. The monster was almost blurry in its passing, but given its bulk, Lev was reasonably certain that it moved way faster than he could fly. At that speed, even his beam cannon couldn't aim for shit, let alone wound the creature.

[Ripper King - ?????]