This monster was far more dangerous than anything he encountered before. It didn’t simply possess overwhelming strength. It also seemed capable of using Origin Energy in a way that resembled magic.
Keeping Battle Instinct Spell running at full power, Alex glanced behind him. Nobody else had recovered.
Kevin remained frozen in place, Sophia was still gripping Miss Rae’s wheelchair, Ophelia held Charlotta tightly while both quietly cried, and even Miss Rae couldn’t force her body to move.
Alex turned back toward the giant foot outside the window.
Surprisingly, his first thought wasn’t about escaping alone. It also wasn’t about fighting the monster to protect everyone. Instead, his curiosity took over.
’How is something this large even moving?’ he wondered.
A body that size should consume an unbelievable amount of energy. The apocalypse started around four and a half hours ago, so the monster should’ve become hungry even if it had come with a full stomach.
Had it been constantly eating monsters and humans?
Alex considered that possibility before slowly shaking his head. It didn’t feel right for some reason. His instincts told him the answer was different, and he was starting to realize his instincts were usually correct when it came to things related to magic.
’The monster must have another way to sustain itself,’ he thought.
His thoughts immediately returned to Origin Energy. If humans could use mana or aura to strengthen themselves, perhaps monsters could use Origin Energy to sustain their enormous bodies instead of relying entirely on food.
The idea made far too much sense to ignore. Another possibility followed almost immediately.
The Titan Reef Crab Leader had possessed an Elemental Stone. The System said that Elemental Stone could be used to make items with water property.
If the monster in front of him carried an Elemental Stone, then obtaining it could allow him to make an item to ’sustain’ himself.
Whenever Alex enhanced his body and brain with mana, he burned through an enormous amount of stamina. That weakness had become more obvious with every battle. If he didn’t solve it soon, he would end up exhausted after every serious fight.
’A monster with this much strength must have an Elemental Stone. It’s Origin Energy also felt like mana, just like the blue-patterned Titan Reef Crab.’
’I need its Elemental Stone. After I gain the Runesmith Class, I should be able to make something useful from it, he thought.
Determination slowly replaced the fear inside him. Taking a deep breath, Alex stepped toward the restaurant’s back door.
"Alex..."
He turned around when he heard Sophia’s voice. His friends were all looking at him with frightened expressions, silently telling him to stay hidden. The monster hadn’t discovered them yet, so there was still a chance it would leave.
"Didn’t you ask me how strong Mages are? I’ll show you how strong they are," he said with a faint, confident grin to assure them.
Without waiting for anyone to answer, Alex slipped through the restaurant’s back door into the narrow alley behind the building. He knew they wanted to stop him, but none of them could move properly under the monster’s terrifying pressure.
Truthfully, Alex might have been afraid like them if Battle Instinct Spell hadn’t been calming his emotions. But even without the Spell, he knew he would’ve fought. Hell difficulty taught him that taking risks was the only way to survive.
Besides, part of him was excited.
He wanted to test his new spells in a real battle and become stronger through the fight. Alex wouldn’t admit it aloud, but even if he had known firing the Fire Bullet into the sky would attract this monster, he still would have done it.
’Why would I refuse a bag of EXP that delivered itself to me?’ he tried to joke, even as sweat rolled down the side of his face.
Alex stopped at the corner of the alley and carefully peeked outside. The monster stood in the middle of the road, easily four stories tall. Its green skin was rough and covered in deep cracks, while its massive body leaned forward slightly like a chimpanzee.
Its long arms nearly reached its knees, ending in three thick claws. It had no lips, two tusks curved upward from its lower jaw, while the rest of its teeth were crooked, uneven, and pointed in random directions. It was one of the ugliest creatures Alex had ever seen.
Then he noticed something interesting.
There weren’t any pieces of flesh or torn clothing caught between the monster’s teeth. If it had been constantly eating people or monsters, there should have been at least some evidence left behind. Instead, its mouth was strangely clean.
That supported Alex’s earlier theory. A creature this large should have been starving by now if it relied only on food. It was probably sustaining itself through Origin Energy instead.
Another detail caught his attention. The monster wore a crude loincloth sized for its enormous body.
’Is it intelligent?Did it make it’s clothes by itself... or did someone else did for it?’ Alex wondered.
He quickly pushed the thought aside. The monster was slowly scanning the rooftops, searching for the source of the blue explosion. If it found him, it would kill him. The monster was an enemy.
It didn’t seem to have particularly sharp senses, giving Alex the chance he needed.
Keeping himself hidden behind the corner, Alex began preparing his attack. He first created several fire-element mana threads before weaving them into a Mana Cable. At the same time, his other hand condensed ordinary mana into the shape of a bullet.
Using the knowledge from Mana Bullet Spell, he compressed the casing until it became much harder than before. Then he sharpened its tip and carefully placed the fire mana cable inside it.
He flooded him brain with obscene amount of compressed mana, increasing his focus to the limit, and used it to harden and sharpen the mana bullet casing further.
The completed bullet looked much sturdier than any Fire Bullet he created previously.
Alex wasn’t trying to create another explosive Fire Bullet. An explosion powerful enough to kill the monster would damage nearby buildings greatly as well, and there might be survivors hiding inside them. They would die in the aftermath. Instead, he wanted the bullet to pierce as deeply as possible.
He hoped the first attack would deal good damage. Then, he would immediately run toward the nearby square. There would be enough open space there to use a full power Fire Bullet without putting other people in danger.
Alex formed an Elastic Thread between his fingers before resting the Fire Bullet against it. His heartbeat pounded loudly inside his chest, but Battle Instinct Spell kept his thoughts calm and focused. Slowly, he pulled the bullet backward until the thread reached its limit.
Sweat dripped from his forehead as he struggled to maintain the tension. After taking one slow breath, Alex released the thread.
The mana bullet shot forward, leaving behind a blue-and-white streak. It crossed the street almost instantly before punching straight through the monster’s head and continuing into the sky beyond it. The payload emptied before the bullet casing could shatter, so there was no explosion this time.
Alex froze. For a brief moment, he couldn’t believe what had happened. Then blood burst from the hole in the monster’s head, and the enormous body swayed before collapsing onto the road with a deafening crash.
Fortunately, it fell across the street instead of onto one of the nearby buildings. The ground shook from the impact, but the surrounding structures remained standing.
Alex’s surprise was slowly replaced by a faint smile. He had grown. The efforts he put into learning Spells, and optimizing his combat style were showing results already.
Several notifications immediately appeared before Alex.
[Level 16 Wild Orc killed.]
[Mana Cable Spell has leveled up. Level 2 → Level 3]
[Fire Bullet Spell has leveled up. Level 8 → Level 9]
[Mana Bullet Spell has leveled up. Level 1 → Level 2]
..
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