SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will - Chapter 196 Sneak Attack

Chapter 196  Sneak Attack

The Rotten Pine Forest was different. Unnatural in ways that transcended mere danger. No amount of personal strength had saved the previous expeditions that had entered those cursed boundaries.

‘Please… stay safe. You two,’ she thought, her hands pausing in their work.

Then her eyes caught something in the distance. A trail of smoke, thin at first, rising above the tree line far to the north.

Yara’s attention fixed on it immediately, watching as the trail thickened, grew, expanded into a massive column of smoke that climbed toward the sky. Within mere minutes, it had transformed from a thin wisp into a dark, ominous cloud, visible from kilometers away.

Gratis noticed it too. He stood from his position beside her, his expression shifting from calm to concerned as he tracked the smoke’s origin.

<Yara… Do you think it’s them?> His mental voice carried worry that his stoic face barely showed.

<Yes,> Yara replied without hesitation, her eyes never leaving the distant smoke cloud. <Only they could do something like that.>

A fire of that magnitude—large enough to create smoke visible across the entire island—couldn’t be natural. It had to be magical in origin. And the only people powerful enough to create such an inferno were the two who had entered the Rotten Pine Forest a few hours earlier.

But was the smoke a sign of victory… or loss?

<We need to save them,> Yara said after a moment of tense silence, turning to look at Gratis directly. <They might be in trouble.>

Gratis met her gaze, and she saw her own concern reflected in his eyes. Despite everything Moon and Selene had done for their people—despite the power they’d demonstrated—neither Savi could shake the feeling that something terrible was happening in that cursed forest.

<Alright,> Gratis spoke, his eyes and expression reflecting the seriousness in his words. <Let’s tell our brothers and sisters. We can’t just leave without informing them, we are all they have left.>

They both knew it might be suicide. The Rotten Pine Forest had killed Savi warriors far more experienced than them. But Moon and Selene had saved their people, had given them hope when there was none.

Both Yara and Gratis had learnt that their old ways were not the right path. To stay defensive, waiting for others to strike was a mistake they wished they could rectify. This mistake had lost them their family, and most of their clan members.

After internally reflecting on their losses, they knew that they needed to act. They needed to help their friends whom they were indebted to.

<Let’s go.>

They immediately got up, leaving everything behind as they informed the very little clan members they had left of their plan to depart.

♢♢♢♢  Fighting the overwhelming number of beasts had been going well for Moon and Selene up till this point.

“We’re almost there! Keep fighting!” Moon shouted, casting a glance toward Selene whose breath came in ragged gasps from the effort she was putting in.

“Alrigh—ugh!”

Selene’s words were cut off abruptly as a massive branch suddenly whipped through the air, raking across her body. Her eyes dilated from pain as the impact sent her flying, her body slamming into the ground with a sickening thud that made Moon’s heart skip a beat.

Moon’s eyes widened in shock as he watched Selene crumple, blood already staining her clothing from the vicious strike that had come from seemingly nowhere.

BOOM!

Moon’s [Ignite] detonated against an incoming group of trees that tried to capitalize on the opening. He was moving before the fireball had even finished exploding, his feet carrying him toward Selene’s bloodied figure as she struggled to rise.

WHOOSH!

A powerful gust of wind struck another cluster of Tree Clones that had been converging on Selene’s vulnerable body. Some toppled to the forest floor, others were blown back several meters, their advance momentarily halted.

Moon reached Selene’s side, his hand gripping her arm to help steady her. “Hey, are you alright?!”

Cough! Cough!

“I-I’m alright,” Selene managed, though blood flecked her lips. “We need to keep movin—Gack!”

Another mouthful of blood escaped her mouth, cutting off her words. The strike had hit her severely—far worse than she wanted to admit. As a mage, her body wasn’t built to withstand powerful close range attacks. It was her fundamental weakness, one that no amount of spell-casting skill could compensate for.

Unlike Moon, whose class allowed him to strengthen his body—enabling him to take attacks from beasts even at close range—Selene had no such advantage. Her power lay entirely in her magic, and when something bypassed her defenses to land a direct hit, the consequences were devastating.

“It’s okay, we’ll make it out,” Moon said, his voice steady despite the chaos around them. He pulled a health-replenishing potion from his inventory and pressed it into her hand. “Here, drink this.”

Selene gulped it down without hesitation, the healing liquid working to close wounds and restore damaged tissue.

BOOM!

Moon didn’t stop fighting. Even as he helped support Selene’s weight, his free hand conjured spell after spell—fireballs and wind blades cutting down any tree that dared approach their position. His mana expenditure was becoming unsustainable, but stopping wasn’t an option.

Selene’s condition was slowly improving, the potion doing its work, color returning to her face as the injuries mended.

Whoosh!

Moon’s eyes caught a sudden movement half a second before it struck.

Another branch, massive, moving with terrifying speed, appeared in his peripheral vision, whipping toward them with the same force that had severely injured Selene.

CLANG!

Moon’s staff came up in a blur of motion, intercepting the strike. The impact was tremendous, driving his feet deep into the soft forest floor, his legs buckling slightly under the force. But he held. The branch rebounded off his defensive block, denied its target.

Moon’s eyes immediately tracked the retreating limb, following its path back through the burning forest. This wasn’t a random attack. This wasn’t just another Tree Clone mindlessly following commands.