SSS Awakening: I am the First Legendary Mage

The wounded monster collapsed onto its side.

Alex sprang back to his feet. Another attack came from behind almost immediately, but Mana Sense warned him just before it connected.

He sidestepped the strike and severed the attacking pincer in the same motion. He continued advancing through the swarm.

Alex slipped between the fourteenth and fifteenth Titan Reef Crabs before either could block his path.

Mana Sense detected every incoming attack, allowing him to dodge what he could and endure what he couldn’t with Body Reinforcement Spell.

With every passing second, his movements became smoother. His timing improved, and he wasted fewer motions than before. The battle itself was forcing him to become a better fighter.

Fifteenth Titan Reef Crab. Sixteenth. Seventeenth. Eighteenth. Nineteenth.

Twentieth.

After pushing through the last opening, Alex finally saw the person he had come to rescue.

She was a woman in her forties with blonde hair tied into a bun. Fine wrinkles surrounded her eyes, and despite the exhaustion on her face, she was still strikingly beautiful.

Her clothes were torn in dozens of places and soaked with blood, though Alex quickly realized most of it belonged to the Titan Reef Crabs surrounding her.

She wasn’t using a weapon.

Her fists alone had shattered chunks of crab shell, and pieces of broken armor remained embedded in her battered knuckles. Every time she threw another punch, her body flinched slightly, and a brief wince crossed her face. Alex could tell both of her fists were already broken.

Even so, she continued fighting as though she couldn’t feel the pain.

Her eyes carried the ferocity of a cornered predator, and every punch she threw produced a loud boom that cracked the shell of another Titan Reef Crab.

She was clearly exhausted, yet there wasn’t the slightest hint of hesitation in her movements.

Behind her was another sea of Titan Reef Crabs. Alex had fought his way through one swarm just to reach her, only to find another equally large group closing in from the opposite side. They were surrounded from every direction.

The woman looked like Yulia, described to him by Sarah.

Their eyes met for the first time. She stared at him for a split second before her expression changed to disbelief.

"You’re alone? Are you crazy? Why would you risk your life coming here by yourself?" she shouted angrily.

Even while speaking, she rushed toward him. Her broken fists blurred as she intercepted two Titan Reef Crabs attacking from the side, knocking both pincers away before they could reach Alex. It was as if she had completely forgotten the condition of her own hands.

Alex didn’t answer. His eyes swept across the battlefield instead, searching for any route they could escape through. There were several side tunnels, but every one of them was blocked by monsters.

Even the path Alex had carved through the swarm wasn’t truly open.

Many of the Titan Reef Crabs he had crippled were still alive, and others were already climbing over them to close the gap. His mana was also running dangerously low.

Fighting their way back the same way was no longer realistic.

Unless he took a gamble.

"Cover me!" Alex said as he pulled the wand from his pocket.

"What?" Yulia called back, unable to understand what he was planning.

Despite her confusion, she didn’t hesitate. She immediately stepped in front of him and unleashed another series of explosive punches, forcing several Titan Reef Crabs backward. Every strike made her body flinch slightly, but she ignored the pain and continued buying him time.

Alex focused entirely on the wand.

Mana flowed into it before changing into fire-element mana. The familiar warmth gathered at its tip as he continued pouring more mana into the wand without stopping. Then he began compressing it.

The last time he had tried something similar, he hadn’t possessed Battle Instinct Spell. His concentration had failed long before the mana reached this level of compression.

Now it was different. He compressed the fire-element mana further. Then further again.

A tiny spark suddenly appeared inside the compressed mana. The surrounding fire mana instantly ignited, forming a small fire bullet that burned with golden flames.

Alex didn’t stop there.

He continued compressing it again and again. The fire bullet trembled violently as though it wanted to explode, and maintaining control became increasingly difficult. Every bit of his concentration was devoted to forcing the unstable spell to remain intact.

Gradually, the golden flames changed.

They became blue.

The fire bullet felt as though it was slipping from his control. It was like trying to hold back a raging beast that grew stronger every passing second. Alex realized he couldn’t maintain it much longer.

He didn’t stop. He ordered the flames to listen to his commands. He compressed the flames to the limit of his concentration.

"Duck!" he shouted.

Yulia looked like she wanted to ask another question, but Alex had already moved.

He kicked the Titan Reef Crab in front of her, sending the monster crashing into several others, then hurled the wand toward the center of the swarm.

Without wasting another moment, he grabbed Yulia and threw both of them to the ground.

The explosion came an instant later.

Fire, shattered shell fragments, dust, and chunks of stone erupted through the cavern. Even lying flat against the ground, Alex felt as though he was being roasted alive, while the violent shockwave threatened to roll both of them across the floor.

The blast tore through the monsters.

Titan Reef Crabs closest to the explosion were thrown through the air, while those farther away staggered violently. Even the swarm behind Yulia was blown backward by the force.

For several long seconds, neither of them moved.

Alex slowly raised his head. His vision swam, and black spots drifted across his eyes, but what he saw still left him shocked.

Every Titan Reef Crab in the direction he had thrown the wand was dead.

A few bodies twitched weakly, but most had been burned black beyond recognition.

The smell of scorched shell and cooked flesh filled the tunnel, and a massive crater now occupied the center of the passage.

..

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