The bubble hovered a few hundred meters above the outer wall, only a few kilometers away from Whitefall. Lev gazed ahead, his back facing the city, and took in the gorgeous sight in front of him.

No more than a few dozen kilometers away, the treeline of the Grand Forest began. Unlike the Dreadwoods, it was all a refreshing shade of light green, vibrant with flourishing life.

And of course, there were monsters already streaming out of it. Nothing concerning— only goblins and other weak creatures. He would still keep an eye out for anything too dangerous.

"Now that we're here," he turned the bubble around and flew to the gates of the city. "Do you think I should start working towards Mythril quests right now or after registering with my team?"

"You don't need to do those quests," Sherron reminded him.

Lev shrugged. "I think I've bypassed normalcy long enough. About time I start doing things properly."

"Hmm," she only gave him a calculating glance but didn't say anything else.

Minutes later, they landed in front of the large black gates as the bubble turned visible. Walking out of it, he turned it invisible again and walked through the gates, a step behind Sherron. Many scrutinizing looks were sent directed towards his new face, which he handled with far more grace than he once would've. Being remembered by people was inevitable now, since he had no plans to stay away from humanity anymore.

Whitefall's road were, surprisingly, forged out of pale white stone. It was a material that he hadn't seen anywhere else before. Sherron and Lev walked passed the vacant land next to the wall without any hurry, before she started moving to the left.

Going by the quality and shape of the buildings, Lev could tell that they were entering the residential district, and the hustle and bustle further cemented that. The homes were, on average, slightly larger than the ones he was used to seeing on Earth. Lev didn't know if it was the ease of building or the excess of free space that was responsible, but it was likely both.

White was once again the most prominent color. It was matched with many more shades of blue, golden, and other bright colors. Rarely were there designs and decorations that used darker colors, such as dark gray, dark brown, or purple.

Unlike Earth however, the roads were considerably wider still. Multiple carriages could pass side by side at once, leaving plenty for people to walk on the sidewalks.

"Where are we going?" Lev asked, ignoring the wide-eyed admiration of everyone who laid their eyes on them.

"To see Orianna," came the reply, causing Lev to straighten with a smile. He raised a brow when Sherron looked back with a small frown.

"Try not to conceal your emotions too hard around her," she advised, looking into his eyes to show how serious she was. "Orianna will not take it well to see you change and mature so quickly."

Mature? Lev repeated in his head and nodded. He could easily see the fire mage being distraught at him finally giving up his childish attitude. Lev supposed that counted as maturing.

Not that long after, a large orphanage came into view. Sherron strode straight inside, scaring some kids who were running around in the hall behind the main doors. Lev followed behind her, taking in the well-fed and clean visages of the kids ranging from ages 5-11 by his estimates.

Sherron gave them a little wave, that a few of them returned after getting over their discomfort. Most of them however, were staring at him. Lev also flashed them a gentle smile and followed the lightning mage through the hall and throw the corridor in the back. Two turns later, they stopped in front of an office.

Several people were present inside, increasing his nervousness a notch. Sherron didn't care for it and sauntered inside. Orianna was sitting in front of a large wooden table, reading something from a stack of documents. To the side, a large sofa was occupied by three people he was seeing for the first time.

One was a girl with long silver hair going down to her waist, her golden eyes staring back into his own. To her left was another girl with black hair and brown eyes, the smallest of the three in stature. The last one was a boy who, even seated, was obviously considerably taller than Lev. With dusty brown hair and eyebrows, as well as matching eyes, he looked like the very definition of a handsome law-enforcer.

Not breaking his stride, he took in their forms with his massively heightened Perception before letting it return to normal. Orianna was getting up from her seat with a smile, which he returned.

"Oh you look so much better than before," she crossed the table and hugged him tightly. Lev wrapped his arms around her, letting himself sink into her embrace.

"There goes my first impression," he said with a small laugh. Orianna grinned, an expression he didn't remember ever seeing before, and ruffled his hair to prove a point.

"Ok, fine, fine," he pulled back with a mock pout, causing her to burst out laughing. Lev could also feel the gazes of his future teammates boring into his back, trying to discern everything about him.

"I had hoped that Trailblazer's aura would be a good thing for you," Orianna began as she sat down on her chair. Sherron was already seated in front of Orianna, and Lev took a seat next to her.

"It was," Lev agreed. "Much more so than I expected. Monarch knows I needed that time to think."

"How long did you spend in the ponds?"

"More than forty days," Sherron replied, shaking her head.

"Forty!?" Orianna echoed. "What were you doing in there for so long?"

Lev blinked. "I had a lot of questions without answers, and time passed too quickly. It really only felt like a few days for me."

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Her shoulders slumped, and Lev had to actively suppress the urge to be next to her and comfort her in some way.

"Well," she sighed. "I'm glad you went there, then. Drakys was right."

"He suggested it?" Lev questioned, while also noting how it seemed the most likely. The Exalted had let through a sliver of his trauma when retelling Lev about how he got the Arcane Supremacy rune, which let him know that they weren't beyond permanent mental scars.

"Yeah," Sherron nodded and looked back to the three silent kids in the room, not daring to interrupt the very strong hunters conversing.

Lev turned around too, holding back a smile. Three bright, curious eyes stared back, way more interested in him than Sherron.

"Let me introduce you all," Orianna said and got up, motioning Lev to bring his chair with him. Now seated in front of them, he waited for Orianna.

"You three have already seen him at the tournament," she looked at the kids with a smile. "This is Lev, pretty much my little brother and student."

Three pair of eyes widened simultaneously at the announcement, turning to him with matching disbelief. Yet, Lev was hit the hardest of them all. Despite keeping his aura completely inside, his burning face gave away his embarrassment and joy all the same.

He coughed into his hand. "As she said, I'm Lev, a barrier mage and recently evolved Master."

Orianna encouragingly glanced at the other three, letting them take the lead. The boy moved first and extended a hand over the table between them and Lev.

"Jack. Shield and a mere Classer," he said with a small smirk. Lev grinned back, already liking him.

[Warrior - Level 31]

"I'm Kayla," the girl with black hair introduced herself next. "Aura mage and healer."

[Mage - Level 10]

"Amelia. Fire enhancer and sword user," said the final girl with silver hair. "How are you so strong?"

[Warrior - Level 33]

"…What?" Lev voiced, not understanding what she meant.

She hesitated, but went through after seeing Orianna's gentle smile. "I asked your teacher how you're so physically strong for a mage, but he just said it's because of your armor. That doesn't make sense."

Here goes nothing, Lev sighed in his head before explaining truthfully.

"Can I ask what encounter made you ask that?"

"When you kicked that shade prowler. I couldn't even see you move before the screens slowed it down."

Lev nodded, remembering he had used a lot of lightning mana back then for a quick burst of movement with a nostalgic smile.

"Right, the armor is what played the primary role," Lev said, and formed a blunt shortsword. "Imagine this weapon in the hands of a strong, skilled warrior. It would be quite deadly. Their bodies are honed to wield them with lethal grace, backed by the gifts of mana."

Then he dismissed the sword and summoned his armor into its active state. "For me, it's the mind that does the work. Like that barrier sword, I can move my armor around however I wish with my mental strength."

He proved the point by stretching it straight out to the side and mechanically moving it up and down, something that wouldn't seem nearly as… robotic when done with his own arm alone.

"With a lot of training and skills backing it up, I got proficient enough in manipulating the armor that it now serves as a second body, but that alone is far from the only reason behind the physical strength."

Seeing that he had their undivided attention, Lev smirked. "I have a Wisdom Boost."

"… Really?" Jack asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yep," his smirk turned into a grin. "My class also increases my mana capacity by 250%. With all of that mana, I can constantly overload my skills and power-intensive enchantments at full power. They're the reason why I can match warriors of my level."

"But…" Kayla hesitantly voiced. "That lance you used on the field boss? Where did that come from?"

"Oh, that? Such attacks are the main focus of my class. Physical strength is a byproduct of my own efforts and the resulting general skills."

The words weren't registering for them, not truly. That became even more obvious when Jack laughed incredulously. Kayla was also blinking slowly, her face impassive. Amelia was staring at the table absently, similarly shocked.

"You broke them already," Sherron quipped from the side, shaking her head with a mock frown. "In the first few minutes, no more."

"Bah, they'll be fine. It just takes a while to get used to my existence."

"Oh, forgive me for the impudence, Lord Lev. This one got ahead of herself."

"Make sure it doesn't happen again," Lev haughtily exclaimed, nose pointing to the sky.

They both dropped the act with a chuckle after the moment passed. Shaking his head, Lev looked at the trio to find them staring at him with a mix of admiration and nervousness. It didn't take long to deduce that he was messing around with an Exalted known for her temper.

"She's not that scary," Lev said, earning a warning look from Sherron. Seeing he was limited in what he could say, he settled for what worked for him. "Just don't treat her like she's some ball of compressed anger and you'll be fine."

Kayla nodded dumbly, and the other two followed suit. Lev tried not to laugh at their faces and turned to Orianna.

"When can we start?"

"They were waiting for you," she replied with a smile, visibly holding back from saying more about the 'wait.' "If they're fine with it, then you can start right now."

Lev looked at the three of them. Amelia was ready, but the other two seemed unsure.

"We won't be going outside the city or fighting monsters anytime soon, by the way. I just wanted to chat and spar."

"Let's go then," Jack stood up first, making the other two follow suit.

"You guys go ahead, I'll be outside in a moment," Lev said and watched them leave. When their small auras were far enough, he exhaled and looked at Orianna, who looked so proud of him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, some color on his cheeks. "And little brother? That came out of nowhere."

"Are you not?"

"Of course I am," Lev immediately answered with a scowl. "You can't escape that brand now, no matter what."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," she smiled.

Lev exhaled through his nose and asked the real question. "Did I do well?"

"Much better than I was expecting," Sherron stressed the word. "Honestly, well done. You even told them about your class from the very start."

"I had no plans to hide my advantages from the start," Lev remarked. "The last thing we want is a bond built on lies."

Orianna's smile turned rueful as Lev spoke. Sherron noticed, and he did as well.

"You've changed."

"Circumstances demanded it," he waved off her concern. "Besides, I had my fun prancing around like a child. My actions will have serious consequences from now on. Being immature is no longer an option."

****

Outside, his teammates were observing the bubble from various angles. Since his barriers were transparent, they could see the stacks of lances and arrows inside.

"They're all enchanted," Lev said, garnering their attention. "Keeping a stock ensures that I will always have the means to go all out whenever I want."

"Why not use them in the monster hunt, then?"

"Because," Lev opened a door in the bubble and waved them inside. Three new chairs formed for them. "Preparations in advance were not allowed, and my barriers weren't permanent back then either. It would be easier to just form them from scratch rather than keeping a stock like this."

Curiously peering around, they sat down. Lev wasn't surprised by the degree of trust they were showing in a random stranger. He had just been vouched for by two extremely strong people, after all.

"Where are we going?" Kayla asked.

"Somewhere quiet," Lev made the bubble rise higher, eliciting a short scream from the unprepared healer. The warriors also tensed. Suppressing a smile, he led them to the vacant land between the wall and the population, ending their fascinating flight trip too early if the expressions were any indication.

Standing on the dirt ground, Lev wondered what to broach next. Sparring was an option, but that could wait. Instead, he formed a large table with four chairs and summoned some light food on it, ranging from juice to snacks.

"How about we get to know each other better before anything else?" he signaled them to take a seat. "We can all fight each other later."

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