SSS Awakening: I am the First Legendary Mage

Alex was happy to see that killing the Grim Ape had given him enough experience to level up, but he was still surprised by one thing. He hadn’t expected the monster to be a Mid Rank species.

Alex turned toward Joseph and the others before asking, "What were the monsters you killed while they were coming downhill?"

"Two were giant hippos, and the other was an ape. All three were Low Rank species," Joseph answered.

"These apes are Mid Rank species," Alex said as he passed the Gene Potentials he had obtained to the others. He didn’t know whether the Grim Apes were Mage-type, Priest-type, or Warrior-type, so until he found out, he had no intention of absorbing their Gene Potential.

Absorbing the Gene Potential of a Warrior-type or Priest-type species could negatively affect his future development, since it changed the direction of his evolution. Besides, Alex had already decided that from now on, he would only absorb the Gene Potential of High Rank species unless there was a very good reason to make an exception.

"If these apes are Mid Rank while the other monsters here are Low Rank, then this area must be dominated by them along them the other few monster species’ like the badgers," Joseph said.

Before anyone could respond, a huge bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from the sky and struck the top of the hill. Two more lightning bolts followed almost immediately, and Alex stared toward the summit as the flashes disappeared.

’Those were monster attacks. I’m sure of it.’

The attacks didn’t feel like ordinary magic to him, which left him wondering whether they were created from Aura-attuned Origin Energy or Faith-attuned Origin Energy.

Alex was extremely sensitive to magic, probably because of his SSS Rank physique, so he was confident in his judgment.

’The adult Basilisk is definitely a Mage-type monster, which means these lightning attacks were probably created by whatever the Basilisk went to attack.’

That meant the two High Rank monsters were fighting each other.

"We need to move. It looks like something big is happening," Joseph said.

The group immediately started moving, but after taking a few steps, Alex stopped and looked toward the summit. "You guys go ahead. We’ll meet at the Titan Crab Dungeon after the water goes back down completely."

Everyone froze and turned toward him in surprise. They seemed to understand what Alex was planning, but Yulia still asked, "Where are you going?"

"I’m going to the top of the hill. If the monster the Basilisk is fighting is also High Rank, then both of them might be injured after the battle. If I’m lucky, I might be able to finish one of them," Alex explained.

Alex knew exactly how dangerous his plan was. An unborn High Rank monster had nearly killed him simply by looking at him, so fighting an adult High Rank species was obviously far beyond what he could normally handle.

However, he wasn’t planning to fight either monster recklessly. This was a rare opportunity to observe how High Rank monsters fought, and if they were injured badly enough after fighting each other, Alex might even have a chance to kill one.

The danger was enormous, but Alex had already decided that he couldn’t afford to run away from every opportunity to become stronger.

The others seemed to realize how serious he was because nobody tried to convince him otherwise. After a brief silence, Joseph finally sighed and said, "Fine. Let’s go together."

Alex looked at him with some surprise. "You’re coming along? It’s dangerous."

"When have we ever been safe in this place?" Joseph replied. "Now, let’s move quickly. If we want to arrive before the battle ends, we should get going."

Alex didn’t argue because he knew Joseph was right. More importantly, they couldn’t afford to waste time if they wanted to reach the battlefield before the fight ended.

The group immediately rushed toward the top of the hill. While they moved, Alex explained the method he had come up with to deal with the Basilisk’s petrification gaze because knowing how the ability worked could mean the difference between surviving and dying if they encountered the creature directly.

The petrification ability was extremely dangerous and appeared to be almost an instant-kill attack. Once the Origin Energy infected a target, it would continue spreading until the target died or the Origin Energy was completely exhausted.

Pushing the Origin Energy out would also be much harder when dealing with an adult Basilisk. The unborn monster had possessed only a weak Will, but the Will supporting the petrification of an adult High Rank species would probably be much stronger.

Still, Alex hadn’t wasted his time studying the statues. He had already thought of several ways to block or interfere with the petrification gaze and explained them to the others while they climbed.

To be honest, Alex wasn’t certain that the others would actually be able to use those methods. They required precise control over mana and Will, and even Alex wasn’t confident that they would work perfectly against an adult Basilisk.

The group continued climbing the hill at high speed. The trek would have been exhausting for ordinary humans, but none of them were ordinary anymore, and their enhanced physical abilities allowed them to move much faster than before.

There were no monsters along the way, only broken statues scattered across the slope. Several more lightning bolts fell from the sky as they approached the summit, and the increasing frequency of the attacks made it clear that the battle was becoming more intense.

Finally, the group reached the top of the hill and saw a huge clearing ahead of them. Two enormous monsters were fighting in the center, with a giant black snake coiled across the ground while facing a massive ape that stood nearly one and a half floors tall.

The ape had a completely black body covered with glowing blue markings, and several parts of its body had already been turned into stone. Despite that, it continued fighting without hesitation, and almost every attack it made was accompanied by another bolt of lightning.

The Basilisk suddenly lunged forward and bit into the ape’s arm. Its jaws tore through a large portion of the ape’s flesh and nearly ripped the entire arm off, but the ape immediately summoned several bolts of lightning and forced the Basilisk to retreat.

The Basilisk glared at the ape while keeping its body low to the ground. The ape responded by beating its chest before repeatedly summoning lightning rods around itself.

Alex watched closely as the Basilisk’s gaze swept across the battlefield. The lightning rods immediately began turning into stone whenever the Basilisk looked at them, and Alex understood that the ape had deliberately created them to intercept the petrification gaze.

Seeing lightning itself being turned into stone was already terrifying, yet Alex found it beautiful for some reason, but what surprised Alex even more was the ape’s ability to think of such a method to defend itself. It was using its own lightning as a shield, forcing the Basilisk’s gaze to petrify the lightning rods instead of its actual body.

Alex stared at the two monsters fighting in the clearing, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

Then, he noticed something strange.

’Is that—?’

..

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