The next day saw Lev and Beatrice leaving through the gates of Windkeep towards the farmland. It was a cloaked grassland region to the west of the city. Since it was on the way to Runespires, guarded travelers passed from nearby, and the monster patrols were also frequent, making it one of the safest spots possible outside the city.

Once they stepped through the gates, Lev's bubble scooped them both up before they shot off. With Beatrice's directions, getting there took all of two hours.

"Stay here," she said and stepped out of the bubble. Lev could feel faint traces of mana ahead but nothing beyond that. She took out a badge not dissimilar to the hunter badges and held it up. Silent seconds passed as the badge was scanned before it turned green, allowing them both to enter without setting off the alarms.

Walking through the invisible enchantments, Lev beheld… a normal farmland. He was expecting magical contraptions everywhere, but that didn't seem to be the case. Recreating his bubble and flying higher explained why.

Damn, this place is huge.

Going by his crude estimates, the farmland covered at least dozens of kilometers, which was quite a lot more than he was expecting. There were also twelve crops planted throughout, each neatly separated into massive sections.

Twenty-four pedestals could also be seen at the edges of the sections. They were connected to the entire enchantments in some way, though Lev couldn't deduce anything about them.

"Over there," Beatrice pointed to a group of four large buildings to their right. "We need to report first."

"What story are we going with?" Lev asked as the bubble moved.

"The raw truth," Beatrice rolled her eyes. "You're here to help workers, not infiltrate some secret organization."

"Hmm," Lev smiled a little. "Someone likes to read."

Beatrice nodded, unperturbed. "Reading is great."

That it is, Lev agreed mentally and dismissed the bubble. The towering three-story building in front of him radiated an official aura, telling him not to waltz in there willy-nilly. He waited for Beatrice to lead the way.

She casually sauntered in, making him doubt his earlier decision a little. The marbled interior was similar to what he had expected, but it also wasn't as cold and distant as imagined with how lively the occupants were.

"Beatrice," an excited voice called out to them. An attendant with… orange hair stood there, waving at the aura mage. Lev hadn't seen that hair color before, despite the variety on Monarch.

"Maria," Beatrice greeted back with a smile. Hugging ensued, so Lev took in his surroundings and ignored them. Less than two dozen people were present in the large reception hall, and half of them were farmers.

Each donned a bright sand-colored matching suit, both enchanted and covering their forms entirely except the head.

[Farmer - Level 98]

[Farmer - Level 50]

[Farmer - Level 46]

…

The lower-level folks seemed to be just barely older than Lev, which explained their levels. Without risking one's life, improvements were slow, which was why there were no Adept farmers in the area. He didn't doubt that those existed, but they were likely taken to Timberhold, the place where most of humanity's food was produced and processed.

"Yeah, I'll be staying for the next four days," Beatrice's voice reached Lev as she turned to him. "This is Lev, the hunter I'm delving with."

Maria gave him a big smile. "Hi! I'm Maria, a senior manager in this branch for the past twenty years. I have to say, I feel like I've heard that name before. Lev, hmm…"

[Merchant - Level 155]

The slow realization dawning on her face was comical. One moment, she was tapping her chin, and the next, her eyes were wide in shock and… admiration.

Oh boy.

"My goodness, how could I possibly forget those blue eyes of yours?" Her smile widened, now borderline crazed in its width. "Come on, you're here to help the folk, right?"

Remain calm and collected, Lev nodded, ignoring the discomfort.

"Perfect!" Maria clapped her hands and turned to one of the attendants passing by. "Leona, go inform the office that I'll be showing these hunters around."

The poor woman nodded hastily and scrambled off to wherever the office was, dropping whatever she was doing immediately.

"Let us be off," Maria hooked an arm around Beatrice's, who seemed to be used to the endless energy wafting off the senior manager. "What kind of jobs are you looking to aid with? This gal here says you're doing volunteer work, but I am willing to pay for it."

"There's no need for that," Lev politely declined. "I'm fine with just giving a hand here and there."

"As you wish," she dipped her head. "While we usually have enough manpower, some tasks are just more intensive than others. How about we start with…"

****

"Thank you, lad," said one of the farmers responsible for tilling when Lev handed him a barrier glass of cold water. "Managed to do triple the work today with yer barriers."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Lev nodded along with a smile as he gazed upon the result of his work. Much of the explanation went over his head, but apparently, the soil was softened for better yield and drainage before wheat was planted in the section they were in.

He also learned that farmer classes all saw benefits that improved mana and stamina regeneration. Their skills were both costly and used constantly, which caused the classes to slowly evolve in a certain direction eons ago.

Even more importantly, the pedestals throughout the farm relied on that. Farmers siphoned all excess mana into them to maintain the enchantments, and they were just barely cutting it even with the cost.

Helping the man was as simple as forming a barrier around the hilt of his enchanted rake and pulling it in accordance with the farmer's intentions. Several minutes of trial and error later, Lev became proficient enough in the task for the man to forgo his body enhancement entirely and squeeze in as much work as he could before his mana ran dry due to the other skills. The next tasks were apparently easier, so the farmer could take it slow after today.

"Will that be all?"

"You two have already done plenty around these parts," the man waved him off. "Do take a break."

Beatrice had joined him a few minutes before the tillage was done. The farmer knew of her regular visits and helping fill up the pedestals quicker, and was proportionately grateful as everyone could use their skills better and finish their work quicker without the supply requirement hanging over their heads. The enchantments also had big buffers, which filled faster the more people she buffed.

Seeing that there was nothing more for them to do any longer, they stepped into the bubble and landed in front of the management building.

"Hunter Lev," Maria greeted after Beatrice went in to look for her, returning a minute later. "You two had quite the productive day, I see."

"You can say that," Lev mused.

"We've had water supplied to every container for the next three weeks, several areas have been tilled ahead of schedule, and many farmers have subtly voiced their appreciation about seeing Beatrice's lovely face. Yours too, from the opposite gender."

Beatrice merely rolled her eyes at the antics. "When do we start tomorrow?"

Lev was glad she took over, because he was quite speechless.

"Dawn, as usual. Will you two be coming?"

She glanced at Lev, who showed he wasn't against it, and nodded. "We will. See you later."

Maria had a large smile on her face, which evoked a tired exhale from Beatrice. It wasn't hard to guess what dots the senior manager was connecting, but there was nothing like that between them.

"That was a nice side-quest," Lev said once they were flying in the bubble again.

"Side-quest?" Beatrice muttered to herself.

"Mhm," Lev nodded and thought of his next steps. "Where do I drop you?"

"The hospital, if you're willing."

"Alright. I'll be at the park if you need me."

****

Days passed in peace and quiet as, besides helping on the farm, Lev practiced carving in the park and did some minor patrols around the city. The ones he participated in lasted for twelve hours and circled a pre-determined route. Eleven hours were spent on traveling, and the last was for resting. He was easily the highest-level hunter taking part, which let the guild reduce the manpower in his group and allot them elsewhere.

Four days later, he and Beatrice were the first to reach the platinum dungeon. There was still an hour left before the delve.

"How many can you control by now?"

"Still four, but the skill hit the level cap not long ago," Beatrice replied, unable to hide how proud she was completely. "They should be as durable as yours now."

"Sure," Lev exhaled through his nose. "Better for us, I suppose."

Umbrina revealed herself after a few minutes, silencing their casual conversation. She and the Master guard, different from the previous time, were covered in a silencing ward for a few minutes to discuss something before Umbrina turned to them.

"Quite close to the second gap already," she remarked and gave them a once-over. "Were you on the frontlines during the wave?"

"No," Lev answered, unsure if explaining further would be considered breaking the promise they had made to Sherron. Umbrina likely knew of all the locations already, but he wasn't going to talk about them unless necessary.

"I see, so that explosion was caused by you," she easily deduced where they were stationed.

"Where is everyone?" Beatrice asked after seeing the conversation die down again.

"Only two teams are participating this time, including yours," Umbrina replied in her casual, firm tone. "Let's wait for them to arrive."

Half an hour before the scheduled time, Ronald and his team landed amidst the empty patch of grassland. They were already armed and prepared. No words were exchanged as Umbrina stepped into the dungeon. Ronald and the second warrior in his group entered next, and everyone else followed after a bit.

Nothing jumped out to eat Lev's face when he entered. Umbrina stood beside a zylith corpse while Ronald harvested its core. Seeing that they were attacked at the entrance, Lev immediately started scanning the ceilings and the surroundings, immediately finding two more of the stealthy monsters far into the distance.

The humans had yet to be detected, so he stayed his hand. The other team also seemed to have noticed the waiting monsters.

"We will progress the same as the last time," Umbrina spoke loudly to get their attention and continued in a normal voice. "Except, this time, we do not have to limit ourselves. Ronald, take the lead and only slow down when you feel necessary. Let's see how fast you both can clear the dungeon."

Glances were shared, and most of the were directed at Lev who had already formed the bubble around him and Beatrice.

"Is it a race?" Lev confirmed, just in case.

"No. You will support each other while pushing the boundaries of your classes. This is a rare opportunity that is made possible by your being here. Make good use of it."

So, in a nutshell, I can go crazy but not exactly nuclear like my solo delve. Fair enough.

Inside the bubble, stacks of arrows started taking shape as Ronald advanced. Beatrice and Lev followed as the concealment and invisibility enchantments came alive, shrouding them both from the monsters.

Umbrina nodded and vanished after seeing them take it seriously.

"Focus the buffs on them," Lev told Beatrice, who glanced at him in confusion. "I have a lot of mana, but they need to remain above at least half if something goes wrong. I already benefit a lot from your passive aura."

Both of the zyliths dropped from the ceiling at once, hoping to ambush the humans. Two massive blades of wind met their falling forms, digging deep into their necks and killing them instantly. Cores were harvested before they moved on.

None of the stealthy lizards survived more than a few seconds as the hunters rushed through the cave. Some were killed by Ronald's team, whereas the other were downed by Lev.

Without hesitation, they both exited the cave and stepped into the vision of three dozen harpies hovering above, attracting all of them. They backtracked into the cave because the monsters were well into the second threshold and waited for them to land.

The first two to touch the stone ground were immediately impaled by lethal arrows. Infused with lightning that they were, the monsters had no hope of dodging them.

Not to be outdone, the windmages tackled the next group of harpies by launching serrated wind slashes at them. Lev's brows rose at their composition, and even more so at the deep lacerations on the monsters. Only two of the five died, but the other three might as well be dead from the sheer damage.

I like this, Lev grinned, and formed four thick ropes. They sprang forward and wrapped around waists and wings, pretty much immobilizing the monsters. Mindful of the two warriors charging forward, he shot arrows at the wrapped harpies. Three were going to be hit directly, but one of them was about to dodge due to sheer luck.

Before Lev could plan for that inevitability, one of Beatrice's barriers smacked the harpy's head from the side and sent it back into the trajectory of the enchanted arrow, killing it the next moment.

Yeah, his grin widened. This is going to be fun.

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