A hint of understanding crossed Kael’s otherwise aloof expression as he glanced sideways at Moon joining the northern rampart’s defense.
"...So this is what you ant when you said we’d et again soon," Kael said in a low voice, barely audible amid the chaos of the battlefield.
Moon simply smiled, not breaking his casting rhythm as he prepared another spell. He’d told Kael in the forest that they would et very soon, and here they were—fighting side by side on Ironpeak’s walls as the base struggled to survive an unprecedented assault.
Kael returned his attention to the battlefield, no longer paying heed to Moon’s arrival. There was work to be done, and distractions were luxuries neither could afford.
Moon positioned himself several ters away from Kael—close enough to observe the prodigy’s techniques clearly but far enough to avoid interfering with each other’s casting arcs or creating dangerous overlaps in their explosive radii. He began his analysis imdiately, watching intently as Kael ford and released spell after devastating spell.
The difference was apparent within minutes of observation.
His fire gathers faster than mine. The compression happens in a single fluid motion rather than my staged approach.
Moon’s eyes narrowed as Kael released another massive fireball. He tracked its formation from the initial mana gathering through compression, launch, and finally detonation with absolute concentration. The way the explosive force distributed on impact, the efficiency of energy release, it was truly an art.
Moon began casting his own Explosive Fla, this ti attempting to mimic what he’d observed. He tried to let the mana threads flow into position naturally rather than forcing them into arrangent.
His first attempt was clumsy. The threads tangled before he could establish proper formation, creating weakness throughout the entire spell.
The fireball ford but felt dangerously unstable in his palm. He released it anyway toward a distant target, and it detonated prematurely mid-flight with disappointing results.
Too complex to replicate imdiately,but I can work toward it increntally. Small improvents compound over ti.
Moon kept trying, deliberately experinting with variations despite the battlefield’s demands. So attempts worked reasonably well. Many failed spectacularly, his spells detonating mid-air or fizzling out entirely.
Awakeners around him grew visibly confused. They didn’t understand why this powerful mage who’d been devastating enemy forces was suddenly wasting mana on failed castings, detonating his own spells halfway to their targets like a complete amateur.
So exchanged worried glances, wondering if he was exhausted or injured. Others assud he was testing sothing but couldn’t comprehend why he’d choose a battlefield for experintation.
Moon ignored their confusion entirely. His focus remained absolute.
An hour passed in this intense cycle. Moon’s success rate gradually improved from twenty percent functional casts to nearly forty percent.
As he ford another Explosive Fla, Moon felt sothing click into place. The mana threads flowed into arrangent with significantly less resistance than before, settling into a configuration that felt... right.
This is it!
He launched it toward a charging level nineteen boar that had broken through the frontline. The fireball streaked across the distance with terrifying speed, catching the boar of guard. The resulting detonation was noticeably more powerful than his previous explosions.
BOOM!
The explosion radius expanded beyond the standard two ters, catching two additional beasts in the blast and sending them tumbling backward with severe burns.
[You have killed a level 19 Tri-Tusk Boar.][You have gained 40 Lives.]
[You have killed a level 17 Wolf.][You have gained 5 Lives.]
–
[Explosive Fla]
[Rank: Rare]
[Proficiency: 70%]
[Details: You can conjure flas that detonate on impact. The size of the explosion scales with mana invested. Detonation radius: 2 ters. Explosions affect all targets within the radius, including the caster. 140% Damage.]
–
Moon felt the skill comprehension deepen. That single successful cast had pushed him to another level of understanding..
He imdiately began another cast, trying to replicate that sa feeling of natural flow. This ti it ca easier. It was certainly not perfect, but it was reliable. The fireball launched and detonated with force.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
His success rate was climbing rapidly now that he’d grasped another fundantal principle behind his skill.
As he rained spells on the beasts below, Moon couldn’t help but think back to the ti he’d spent in the hidden realm. Although it had been a terrible experience, especially for a newcor like him, he’d been fortunate to remain in Selene’s vicinity for an extended period.
Unlike his current situation, he’d had ti to copy her Elental Mage class for multiple days, allowing his proficiency over those skills to rise through constant practice. The luxury of ti had made mastering those abilities significantly easier.
Now he was racing against the tir, trying to compress days of natural skill developnt into a single day.
On the northern rampart, the combat pressure was noticeably higher than the eastern section where Lyra was stationed, but it still wasn’t overwhelmingly dangerous. Moon could see many powerful awakeners concentrated in this area, including Kael’s entire team and several other veteran squads. The northern wall defended one of the main approaches to Ironpeak’s core districts, making it a priority position.
"Capture him! Don’t let him escape!" one of the awakeners at the frontline suddenly shouted to his colleagues.
The commotion grabbed Moon’s attention.
Several defenders had managed to isolate and grab an enemy awakener—one of the human attackers coordinating with the beasts.
The captured man tried desperately to escape, thrashing and channeling what mana he could access. But he was quickly overwheld by the sheer number of restrictions placed on him. The defending awakeners were clearly experienced in prisoner capture, imdiately inflicting serious injuries to prevent any escape attempt through the respawn chanism.
If the enemy awakener killed himself to buy even a single second of freedom, he would erge so weakened by the sanctuary’s debuff that recapture would be easier than it was now. The defenders understood this chanic and acted accordingly.
’That’s an impressive way of dealing with war prisoners.’ Moon thought to himself, learning from the veterans.
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