Free Web NovelChapter 22: Meeting Humans
It turned out to be a terrible idea.
The moment he triggered the reaction, the compressed mana destabilized. The fire bullet suddenly expanded and swelled in size. Alex’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
The thing was about to explode directly in front of him. In the best-case scenario, half of his body would be burnt, but he would survive. In the worst-case scenario, he would die.
His survival instincts reacted before his mind could fully process the situation. Alex flooded his arm with mana and reinforced every muscle he could.
Then he threw the wand away with all his strength.
The wand spun through the air. Since the unstable fire bullet was still connected to it, the mass of fire traveled together with the wand.
A fraction of a second later, the wand slammed into a distant tree.
Then the explosion happened.
A deafening boom echoed through the forest. The tree shook violently as a crater appeared in its trunk. Chunks of bark and wood exploded outward while a large section of the trunk turned black from the heat.
’Never mind half my body burning. I would have died instantly if that exploded in front of me.’
The realization left a cold feeling in his stomach. He possessed an SSS-Rank Physique that supposedly improved his ability to learn spells. If spell experimentation was this dangerous for him, he didn’t even want to imagine what ordinary mages would experience.
A notification appeared before his eyes.
[Mind: 11 → 12]
Alex blinked. At least something good had come from almost blowing himself up.
"What was that?" Emma asked.
She was staring at the damaged tree with obvious shock. The explosion had happened so suddenly that she had barely reacted before it was over.
"I’m just trying a few things." Alex kept a straight face.
There was no way he was admitting that he had nearly killed himself through reckless experimentation. Emma looked doubtful but didn’t press further. She had already seen enough strange things from Alex that this barely ranked among the weirdest.
Alex walked over to inspect the tree. The crater was larger than he had expected. The destructive power was impressive.
More importantly, the wand itself seemed fine. Its surface was slightly blackened, but there were no cracks or signs of damage. Whatever material it was made from was far sturdier than ordinary wood.
"Did you get the wand from the Reward Box?" Emma asked as he returned.
"Yes," Alex replied. He slid the wand into his pocket for now. He still needed a great deal of practice before he could safely use it in combat.
Despite the failed experiment, he felt excited. The unstable fire bullet had produced tremendous destructive force. If he could learn how to control and launch it properly, his combat strength would increase dramatically.
In this world, greater strength meant greater chances of survival.
After resting for a little longer, the two continued moving through the forest. Alex occasionally glanced toward Emma. He had not seen any new equipment on her, nor had she mentioned obtaining an item.
Perhaps she had received a skill instead. The thought crossed his mind briefly before he pushed it aside. Everyone was entitled to some privacy regarding their rewards.
The two had only walked for a short while when Alex noticed a thin trail of smoke rising into the sky. Emma saw it at almost the same time.
The two exchanged a glance. Then they both nodded. There was a high chance the smoke had been created by another human.
Without wasting time, they increased their pace and headed toward its source. If other survivors were nearby, gathering information would be worth the risk.
They reached the area roughly ten minutes later. Before they emerged from the trees, Alex heard the sound of metal striking metal. The repeated clangs echoed through the forest, accompanied by occasional crashes.
The two crouched low and moved forward carefully. Eventually, they reached the edge of a clearing. Alex parted a few branches and looked ahead.
Two women were fighting against a pair of giant crabs.
One of the women appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She had short curly brown hair, freckles, and carried a spear. The other was much younger, likely around fifteen years old, with black hair and blue eyes.
The sight immediately tightened Alex’s stomach. He had hoped that young children and elderly people had been spared from the summoning. It was one of the few hopes he still held regarding his family.
Seeing a teenager here weakened that hope considerably. Alex forced those thoughts aside. This was neither the time nor the place for them.
He focused on the battle. The older girl was doing all of the fighting. Her spear darted forward repeatedly as she kept both crab monsters occupied at the same time.
The creatures were not particularly fast. Their large bodies made sudden movements difficult, allowing her to avoid most of their attacks. However, every strike from the monsters carried frightening power.
Even from a distance, Alex could hear the air groan whenever a claw swung. If one of those attacks landed directly, bones would likely shatter.
Their exoskeletons were equally troublesome. Every time the spear struck one of the crabs, a loud metallic clang rang through the clearing. The sound was less like a weapon hitting flesh and more like steel striking steel.
The woman was holding her ground. But Alex could already see the problem. She was barely leaving any marks on them. At this rate, she would run out of stamina long before the monsters ran out of durability.
’Strange.’
A frown appeared on Alex’s face as he studied the clearing. This location was supposed to be Hell Difficulty.
When someone selected Hell Difficulty, they would naturally expect to face monsters alone. Yet there were already several people here. That left only two possibilities.
Either the System was far more generous than he had expected, or this place was so dangerous that gathering together would barely improve anyone’s chances of survival. Alex considered the second option more likely.
Beside him, Emma shifted forward. She was clearly preparing to help.
Before she could leave the bushes, Alex grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"What are you doing? We need to help them," she said.
Alex remained silent. His eyes stayed fixed on the clearing.
Those people had created a fire despite knowing it would produce smoke. Anyone with common sense should understand that smoke attracted attention of monsters and humans alike. So why had they done it anyway?
"Alex, if you don’t want to help, that’s okay, but I’m going to help them. I’m only alive because someone helped me once. I can’t leave people behind when they’re in the same situation," Emma said.
Alex still didn’t release her wrist.
At that moment, a bush near the clearing burst open. A large man rushed out.
"I’m here to help!" he shouted.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a slight belly and thick, barrel-like arms that looked powerful even at a distance. Metal knuckles covered his fists as he charged directly toward one of the giant crabs.
The impact echoed through the clearing. The crab barely moved.
A second later, the monster swung a massive pincer toward him. The spear-wielding woman immediately stepped in and intercepted the attack, redirecting it enough for the man to retreat safely.
"Thanks!" the man shouted.
The woman simply nodded and continued fighting.
"Did you sense that man already? Is that why you stopped me?" Emma looked toward Alex.
Her expression contained obvious admiration.
..
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