SSS Awakening: I am the First Legendary Mage

Alex stared at the notifications for a moment before smiling faintly. The Mana Thread Spell had jumped two levels, which meant the System considered his recent improvements to be substantial.

The increase in Battle Instinct Spell was also good news since he had pushed it to its limits throughout the experiment.

Curious about the changes, Alex activated both spells again. He recreated the Mana Thread, layered it onto the sword’s blade, and slowly extended it forward. The difference became obvious almost immediately.

Before leveling up, the Mana Thread had covered only fourteen inches of the blade.

Now it stretched nearly twenty inches, leaving only a small section of four inches uncovered near the tip.

Most of the sword was now reinforced, making it far more useful in actual combat.

Alex gave the sword a few controlled swings to get a feel for the longer cutting edge. The spell remained stable throughout the movement, but the mana consumption was still far too high.

After a few swings, he dismissed it, deciding it would remain a trump card for dangerous fights rather than something he used routinely. Until he increased his mana.

Even so, the improvement boosted his confidence. If they encountered stronger monsters deeper inside the dungeon, he finally had a weapon capable of dealing with them.

It wasn’t enough to make him careless, but it made the unknown ahead feel much less intimidating.

As soon as Alex stood up, the others noticed and walked over. Frank reached him first while the rest gathered behind him.

"We’ll come with you. If we’re going to get stronger, we can’t keep hiding here," Frank said.

Alex didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at each member of the group one by one, searching their expressions.

If even one of them looked reluctant or seemed to be forcing themselves to follow the others, he planned to leave that person behind because hesitation could endanger everyone.

To his surprise, every face held the same determined expression. Even Petra met his eyes without looking away, which he hadn’t expected.

Clearly, the monsters had frightened them badly, but that fear had also made them realize they couldn’t afford to remain weak.

Alex gave a small nod.

"Then let’s go."

The group started forward again, following the trail left on the damp ground. Human footprints mixed with the broad, uneven marks of Titan Reef Crabs, making the path easy enough to track despite the darkness.

One set of monster tracks immediately caught Alex’s attention because the impressions were almost twice as deep as the others.

He believed those tracks belonged to the Level 10+ monster.

The further they walked, the quieter everything became.

Not a single crab appeared anywhere in the tunnel, leaving only the sound of careful footsteps and steady breathing.

Instead of making them relax, the silence made everyone even more alert.

As they continued, the tunnel split more and more frequently. At first, the side passages had been noticeably smaller, but that gradually changed until every new branch looked almost identical to the one they were walking through. Alex was no longer sure whether they were still following the main tunnel.

"Keep watching behind us. With this many branches, something could circle around us," Alex said.

Everyone nodded and became even more cautious. They kept glancing behind them while continuing to follow the footprints, making sure they wouldn’t be caught from both directions.

Several minutes later, they reached another branching point. This time, something unexpected appeared on the ground. The human footprints divided into two separate trails.

One trail entered a side tunnel with only a handful of Titan Reef Crab tracks following it.

The other continued forward, accompanied by nearly every monster footprint they had been tracking. The deep impressions from the larger crab also followed that route.

Alex crouched for a brief look before standing again.

"Looks like Joseph and Yulia split up."

Sarah stared silently at the two trails. For a moment, her concern for the elderly couple pushed aside the fear she had been carrying ever since entering the dungeon. She bit her lip before speaking.

"Why would they separate after coming this far together?"

Emma looked at the footprints for another moment before answering. "Maybe one of them decided to distract the monsters so the other could escape. If they believed neither of them could survive together, I can understand making that choice."

Alex slowly nodded. The explanation made sense, but another possibility crossed his mind.

’Or maybe one of them abandoned the other.’

The thought disappeared almost immediately. From everything he had seen, Joseph and Yulia genuinely cared about each other. Yulia had even stayed behind to help Joseph earlier, so betrayal seemed highly unlikely.

"So... which trail do we follow?" Frank asked.

Before anyone could answer, a deafening boom echoed through the tunnels. The sound rolled through the passages before gradually fading away.

Everyone instinctively froze.

"It wasn’t far. It came from the tunnel with fewer monsters," Emma said after listening carefully.

Alex looked toward the passage before giving a short nod.

"We’re checking it."

The group immediately headed toward the source of the sound. As they advanced, more Titan Reef Crab footprints began appearing from smaller tunnels that connected to the one they were following.

The deeper they went, the more footprints covered the ground. Alex counted as many as eight or ten different Titan Reef Crabs at a glance, and there were probably even more. It was an unsettling discovery.

Another boom echoed ahead. It was slightly weaker than the first one they heard, but it still carried enough force to shake loose small pieces of mud from the ceiling.

A few moments later, they reached a large opening. Everyone stopped the instant they saw what lay ahead.

A sea of Titan Reef Crabs filled the cavern. Massive shells packed together so tightly that it was almost impossible to see the center of the chamber. Every few seconds, another loud impact echoed from somewhere beyond the monsters.

Nobody moved.

Except for Alex, everyone felt their hearts sink.

Defeating a single Titan Reef Crab had already required everything the group had, and every monster gathered here was at least Level 8. If the swarm noticed them, escaping would become their only hope.

..

Author’s Note: Add the novel to library, and send support if you like it!