SSS Awakening: I am the First Legendary Mage

Alex noticed the notification immediately. He was glad the spell had leveled up after being pushed to its limits, but there were other important things to focus on.

He turned around and looked back toward the street. Where the Wild Orc’s corpse had been moments ago, there was now a massive crater nearly six feet deep and several times wider than the monster itself.

The remains of the Wild Orc were almost unrecognizable, with its flesh, muscles, and organs still melting away until only blackened bones remained.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, making even Alex feel nauseous. He adjusted the flow of mana within Battle Instinct Spell, and reduced his sense of smell, something he recently learned to do through constant practice. The overwhelming stench immediately became far more bearable.

Alex carefully stepped toward the crater. The world had returned to its muted state, indicating that the immediate danger had passed, but he still remained cautious.

Everything caught within the explosion had suffered the same fate. Nearby building walls had partially melted, while the traffic pole, roadside metal fence, and even pieces of crushed cars had warped under the intense heat.

Then Alex noticed something lying near the center of the crater. It was a spear.

The weapon was already melting, its shape collapsing before his eyes, but there was no mistaking what he had seen. Before long, it completely lost its form.

’Someone threw a spear to kill this monster? Or was it meant to kill whoever killed the monster?’ Alex wondered.

He slowly turned toward the direction the spear had come from, wondering how far it had traveled and how much power had been packed into a single attack.

Could he do something like that one day?

Before the spear completely disappeared, Alex sensed a trace of Origin Energy lingering within it. Just like the Wild Orc’s Origin Energy, it felt strangely similar to mana, making the attack look more like "magic" than anything else.

His heart continued pounding inside his chest. He had nearly died just moments ago, yet beneath the lingering fear was a faint sense of excitement. This was the greatest display of magic he had witnessed until now.

He knew the spear had been empowered by Origin Energy rather than mana, but the similarities between the two were impossible to ignore. That’s why the attacked looked like magic to him.

Someday, he wanted to wield power like that himself and bombard enemies from so far away that they would never have the chance to retaliate.

As for the monster that threw the spear, and nearly killed him and his cat, Alex was going to kill it brutally. Not now. He wasn’t strong enough to kill whoever could launch such a powerful attack from afar. But he would train, and grow stronger. As soon as he was strong, he would slit the monster’s throat that attacked him.

"W-What is this?" Sophia muttered, her voice trembling, as she approached the crater.

The others had recovered enough to stand, although most of them still looked battered from the explosion. They stared silently at the crater, struggling to comprehend the amount of destruction left behind.

The two restaurant staff members looked no different, and Ophelia stood frozen. Rae, however, wasn’t looking at the crater.

Her eyes remained fixed on Alex, and although she still wore her usual frown, it had softened somewhat.

"You should’ve run away instead of trying to protect me," she said in her usual blunt tone.

Alex simply shrugged before looking toward the direction the spear had come from one last time.

"We should leave. I don’t think that monster will launch another attack right away, but we shouldn’t take the chance. Besides, an explosion this loud will attract more monsters. This place isn’t safe anymore," he said.

"A monster did all this?" Kevin asked, disbelief filling his voice.

"Yes. I could sense Origin Energy coming from the spear that did this. So far, I’ve only seen monsters use Origin Energy," Alex replied.

"Was... was it trying to kill whoever defeated the Wild Orc? Was it taking revenge?" Sophia swallowed.

"Maybe. But I think its real goal was destroying the Gene Potential the Wild Orc dropped. If we absorb Gene Potentials, we become stronger, and whoever launched that spear probably sensed the Wild Orc’s death," Alex said.

He glanced toward the crater again as he continued. "The attack was concentrated around the corpse. If it wanted to kill us, the blast should’ve covered a much larger area, or it would’ve launched more than one attack. Since neither happened, I think destroying the Gene Potential was its priority."

There was a possibility that the attacker could only launch an attack this large, and only once. But Alex would rather overestimate his enemy, then underestimate them.

His friends’ expressions immediately became more serious. They realized the monster wasn’t just powerful but intelligent enough to eliminate potential threats before they had the chance to grow stronger.

Rae’s frown deepened, while Ophelia and the two restaurant staff members simply looked confused, unable to understand the significance of the discovery.

Nearby, Charlotte cried quietly as Sophia treated the cuts and bruises she had suffered when the shockwave threw everyone through the air.

Alex gave the ruined street one final glance before turning away. Without another word, the group avoided the road the Wild Orc had originally come from and headed through another narrow alley that led toward a different street.

Once they put some distance between themselves and the crater, the two restaurant staff members introduced themselves.

Isaac and the others did the same, while Alex briefly explained what was happening and everything they knew so far. By the time he finished, the two staff members looked thoroughly terrified.

Since there was nothing more to explain, Alex left Robert to answer their questions. He crouched beside Mia, gently patted her head, and took a small treat from his backpack.

The cat quickly swallowed it in one bite before lifting her chin proudly, as though demanding praise for saving everyone’s lives.

..

Author’s Note: If you’re enjoying the novel, consider leaving a vote. It helps the novel a lot. Thank you!