SSS Awakening: I am the First Legendary Mage

White-hot agony spread through Alex’s body. He was already compressing mana to strengthen his brain as much as he could, leaving no room to push his focus any further and suppress the pain.

Even so, he refused to slow down, forcing his battered body forward before the leader could prepare another attack.

The Titan Reef Crab raised a massive pincer and swung the moment Alex entered its range.

He dropped into a slide beneath the attack, passed underneath the monster’s body, and came out on the other side before it could react.

His sword remained in one hand, while his other gripped a wand that had already created a Fire Bullet.

The instant he emerged behind the monster, Alex fired.

The Fire Bullet exploded against the leader’s shell, blackening the armor without leaving a single crack behind.

It still achieved its purpose by forcing the monster to stumble several steps forward and interrupting its next attack for a precious few seconds.

Alex used that opening to rush to Joseph’s side. Up close, the old man’s condition looked even worse than before, and his breathing was so shallow that anyone else would have thought he was already dead.

Only Alex’s heightened focus let him notice the faint movement of Joseph’s chest.

He pulled the last remaining Energy Bar from his pocket and pushed it into Joseph’s mouth. Alex waited only until it began melting before looking around for the old man’s wand. He spotted it lying several dozen meters away, far beyond his reach.

There wasn’t enough time to retrieve it. Alex grabbed a small stone from the ground instead and placed it into Joseph’s trembling hand.

"Attack any monster with this. It doesn’t matter how weak the hit is. Just make sure it lands," he said quickly.

Joseph’s eyes flickered slightly. Alex believed he had heard him, but before he could repeat himself, a familiar sense of danger surged through his mind. He turned immediately and found two Water Spheres racing toward them at frightening speed.

One Water Sphere was aimed at Alex, while the other flew directly toward Joseph.

Fortunately, Alex had never stopped preparing another Fire Bullet while speaking, and he released it the moment the attacks entered range.

The Fire Bullet struck the first Water Sphere before curving sharply through the air, something only possible because it remained within the sixteen-inch range where Alex could still control his mana.

A heartbeat later, the same Fire Bullet crashed into the second Water Sphere.

Both attacks exploded into clouds of scorching steam that spread across the battlefield and hid Alex from the leader’s sight.

Alex immediately took advantage of the opening. He pulled an Asian Slipper from his feet and threw it through the steam with all his strength.

The unexpected object burst out of the white mist so suddenly that the leader instinctively raised the pincers to shield its eyes.

That brief distraction was all Alex needed.

He burst out of the steam a fraction of a second later, keeping his body low while driving his sword toward the monster’s open mouth.

With both pincers raised high, the leader had left its mouth exposed, giving Alex a chance to thrust directly toward its brain through the mouth.

The opportunity disappeared just as quickly.

The leader opened its mouth wider, and a torrent of compressed water erupted outward like a burst dam.

The blast struck Alex squarely in the shoulder before his sword reached its target, smashing him into the ground. Both enormous pincers immediately came crashing down after him with enough force to crush solid stone.

Alex rolled aside at the last possible moment. As he moved, he slashed at one of the monster’s legs, but his sword only cut about an inch into the shell before stopping. Unlike the ordinary Titan Reef Crabs, the leader had no exposed armor joints for him to exploit.

The leader followed with another pincer strike without giving him a moment to recover. Alex didn’t retreat or raise his sword to block.

Instead, every bit of his concentration shifted toward Mana Thread as he forced the mana inside it to vibrate even faster while pouring compressed mana into his legs, hips, back, and sword arm.

The movement resembled the Piercing Punch, except Alex transferred every bit of that explosive force into a single sword swing.

His blade cleaved completely through the leader’s leg, sending the severed limb crashing onto the cavern floor. A heartbeat later, the returning pincer slammed into Alex before he could escape.

His body flew across the cavern and smashed into the wall hard enough to crack the stone behind him. The impact shattered his concentration, causing Battle Instinct to collapse without him realizing it.

The pain of broken bones, melted skin and punctured organs smashed into his mind.

Alex nearly lost consciousness. He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached and activated Battle Instinct again with everything he had.

His mind calmed. The pain went away. His focus returned.

Alex pushed himself away from the wall and charged toward the leader again.

The leader Titan Reef Crab flinched, as if it couldn’t understand how the blood-covered human was still attacking after barely surviving so much punishment. Sword in one hand and wand in the other, Alex closed the distance swiftly.

Just then, something lightly struck the monster’s shell. The leader paused and turned toward the source of the attack, where Joseph was barely sitting upright while supporting himself with one trembling arm.

The old man’s body shook violently from exhaustion, but despite being closer to death than life, he had somehow found the strength to throw the small stone.

Perhaps that tiny throw had been born from nothing more than Joseph’s desperate desire to survive.

The leader Titan Reef Crab only spared Joseph a split-second glance before turning back toward Alex. That brief distraction was enough. Alex was already in front of it, and his sword met the giant pincer rushing toward him.

The pincer should have intercepted the attack, but Alex’s sword suddenly slipped away from its path.

The blade curved around the incoming strike in a smooth, deadly motion like a snake weaving around an obstacle.

..

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