SSS Awakening: I am the First Legendary Mage

The distance between him and the Wild Orc widened instantly. Alex had already estimated the monster’s speed, and at his current pace he should have been able to stay ahead until they reached the area Stefan’s group had cleared—

Battle Instinct exploded with warning.

The entire world sharpened as every instinct screamed at once. Alex heard something enormous tearing through the air behind him and instantly understood what it meant.

He needed to stop or change direction immediately, but he was moving far too fast to do either.

Alex made his decision in an instant. He let himself fall backward while two Mana Daggers formed in his hands, then spun on his heel as his momentum continued carrying him forward, burning through the soles of his shoes.

He drove both daggers into the concrete, carving long trenches through the road as they rapidly bled away his speed. The violent deceleration made every bone and muscle in his body protest.

A car shot over his head only inches away, close enough that the wind from it whipped his hair and clothes wildly. A moment later, it slammed into a building farther down the street, and an explosion echoed through the area.

Alex had barely come to a stop before another van was already hurtling toward him. He shifted his weight, ready to dash sideways, but someone suddenly stepped into his path.

Stefan planted himself between Alex and the incoming van with his shield already in hand. With a roar, he raised it, and the shield erupted with a brilliant glow just as the van crashed into it.

Shockingly, Stefan stopped the van’s momentum.

Only half of it, anyway. The remaining force still shoved him backward across the road, his boots scraping through the concrete as he struggled to stay on his feet. If he lost his balance now, he would be crushed between the burning wreck behind him and the van still forcing its way forward.

Alex reacted on instinct. He doubled the amount of lightning-element Mana flowing through his nervous system. In the next instant, he shot forward like a blur and wrapped one arm around Stefan just as the man was being dragged backward.

Alex knew he wasn’t fast enough to completely avoid the impact of a van that had already struck Stefan. Even so, he twisted his body and hurled both of them sideways with everything Advanced Body Reinforcement and lightning-element Mana could produce.

The van clipped them instead of crushing them head-on, changing their trajectory just enough to keep them from being trapped between the two vehicles.

Another explosion erupted behind them as the van slammed into the burning wreck. Alex and Stefan rolled violently across broken pavement and scattered rubble, their bodies collecting cuts and bruises before finally sliding to a stop. Dust filled the air, but Alex was already forcing himself back onto his feet.

Without thinking, he grabbed Stefan by the collar.

"Are you crazy? Why did you jump in front of me? If I hadn’t moved when I did, you would’ve died," Alex snapped.

Stefan shoved Alex’s hand away, or at least tried and failed, and glared back at him. "You’re the crazy one. That Wild Orc is obviously stronger than you, but you’re still trying to fight it head-on. I wasn’t going to stand there and watch someone throw their life away, even if they’re being as stubborn as you."

Alex was about to argue again. Honestly, it was almost impressive that Stefan had managed to make him angry even while Battle Instinct was suppressing most of his emotions. Before either of them could say another word, however, Battle Instinct screamed with overwhelming urgency.

A giant shadow swallowed both of them.

The Wild Orc had already reached them, and one enormous foot hung directly overhead, ready to crush them into the ground. Alex compressed even more unstable Mana before forcing it into his brain, pushing Battle Instinct beyond its previous limit.

The last traces of emotion disappeared, leaving only absolute focus.

At the same time, Alex released a pulse of Mana. There wasn’t enough time to look around normally, so the pulse swept through the surroundings instead, instantly feeding the information back to him. Thanks to the earlier collision, they had rolled into the exact area Stefan’s group had cleared.

That was all Alex needed to know.

A Mana Short Sword appeared in his hand as he stepped lightly to one side and swung upward. At exactly the same moment, Stefan acted as well. His shield had somehow returned to his hand, even though it should’ve fallen in the earlier tumble, and he thrust it overhead.

The shield blazed with an even brighter light than before. It shone like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm just as the Wild Orc’s enormous foot came crashing down. Everything happened within the span of a heartbeat.

Stefan’s knees immediately buckled beneath the impossible weight. Blood vessels burst across his face, and several muscles visibly tore under the strain, yet he somehow held on for a fraction of a second. That tiny opening was all Alex needed.

His Mana Short Sword sliced cleanly through two massive toes before carving deep into a third. Dark green blood sprayed across the street as the Wild Orc roared in pain, and the sudden shift in its balance slightly reduced the pressure bearing down on Stefan.

Alex immediately slipped around the monster’s planted leg, his movements flowing like water.

Reaching the supporting foot, he slashed through the thick tendon behind its heel. The Wild Orc lurched as its balance faltered, reducing the burden on Stefan further, and Alex instantly drove the Mana Short Sword deep into its calf. Before the blade could slice completely through, he stopped its vibration so it remained firmly embedded inside the monster’s flesh.

The sword became his anchor.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, Alex pulled himself upward as though climbing a ladder. Advanced Body Reinforcement exploded through his muscles, launching him toward the Wild Orc’s other leg with tremendous force.

His eyes remained locked on the leg still pressing down on Stefan as two Mana Daggers formed in his hands.

Without slowing down, Alex slashed through the thick muscle fibers beneath the Wild Orc’s thigh. The giant’s leg trembled from the damage, but Alex had already moved before it could react.

He drove one dagger deep into the monster’s flesh and immediately stopped vibrating its edge. The tip reshaped itself into a hook, giving him something to hold onto. Using the embedded dagger as a pivot, Alex spun his body around it and landed on top of the Wild Orc’s thigh.

The monster’s enormous palm was already descending to crush him. Alex ignored it and continued sprinting across the giant’s leg with ruthless efficiency, his daggers flashing repeatedly as they carved through the muscles along the upper thigh.

With each cut, the Wild Orc lost more strength in that leg and could no longer keep enough force on Stefan.

Alex retreated toward the monster’s knee just as the gigantic palm came crashing down. He stepped aside at the last possible moment and slashed upward, severing two more fingers before the hand smashed into the Wild Orc’s own thigh. The collision sent violent shockwaves through the street, nearly throwing Alex off the monster’s body.

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