SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will - Chapter 411 Lives accumulating at an alarming rate

Moon landed on the floor and charged forward without missing a beat. Lightning crackled in his left hand, sword in his right, and he cycled between ranged and melee so fast the five First Star Evolvers couldn’t coordinate properly against him. Every time two tried to flank, Mirage or the spirit intercepted one by Moon’s order. Every time they tried to create distance, Moon closed it with [Air Step] or [Heaviness].

The first one fell to three consecutive magma attacks after already being struck by a Raiju moments before. The molten rock burned through, his armor, and finally his body.

[You have gained 12,500 Lives]

The man respawned a moment later, gasping, disoriented, his hands reaching for weapons that were no longer there.

Moon was already standing over him. His sword was mid-swing before the man’s eyes had fully focused.

The mage tried to dodge. His body twisted sideways on instinct, but his agility couldn’t match Moon’s. The blade caught him across the neck and passed clean through.

Moon flicked the blood from his sword with a quick snap of the wrist. The blood coating his sword splattered on the floor.

[You have gained 11,400 Lives]

The headless body collapsed to the floor. It didn’t move again nor respawn.

The four remaining First Star Evolvers stared at the corpse. A mage had just slaughtered their companion with a sword strike that their friend had no chance of avoiding.

The terror on their faces was unconcealed.

Before they could regroup, Moon seized the opening in their formation. [Thunderclap Raiju] began to form in his hand, the blue wolf crackling to life between his fingers.

“D-Don’t let him cast it!” One of the mages immediately threw everything he had at Moon.

The other three snapped out of their shock and followed. Spells of every element and magnitude converged on Moon’s position from four directions, designed to overwhelm and disrupt the channeling of his spell.

Moon activated a defensive rune. The shield materialized around his body just as the first volley hit. At the same time, he raised a wall of magma from the ground in front of him, the molten rock hardening on contact with the incoming spells.

The magma wall held for another second before three spells punched through simultaneously, sending chunks of cooling rock flying. Then, the barrage broke through the rune shield as cracks spread across it.

The shield shattered into fragments of light. But it was too late. The violent wolf was ready.

Moon released it from his hand with a smile on his face.

~Flash~

The Thunderclap Raiju leapt from his hands in jagged, unpredictable lines, zigzagging through the air at a speed that made it nearly impossible to track. One of the Evolvers threw up a wall of earth in desperation.

The wolf struck him before the wall finished forming.

It hit him square in the chest and burned through. The man’s body seized, his eyes widening, and the light behind them died before he hit the ground. The half-formed earth wall crumbled to dust beside his corpse.

[You have gained 12,500 Lives]

The second mage re-spawned moments later, muttering in terror.

“W-What?! Why am I losing so many lives?!”

His face was beyond pale. He had caught the notifications flashing across his vision in the chaos, and the numbers had drained every drop of color from his skin.

Nobody heard him. The chamber was a storm of noise. Steel on steel. Explosions. Screams. Everyone was fighting their own battle, too consumed by survival to notice his moment of terror.

Moon moved toward the weakened mage immediately. The death debuff would be crippling him, and pressing the advantage now was critical.

Before Moon could close the distance, a white blur came from the side of the mage.

Mirage struck the man with a full-force kick to the skull. The impact launched him sideways, his body tumbling across the stone floor like a ragdoll.

Moon’s eyes glinted in surprise. He hadn’t commanded that. Mirage had acted on his own, reading the battle and seizing the opening before Moon even reached it.

Moon didn’t waste his companion’s gift. A bolt of lightning and a magma attack followed the tumbling body, striking it before it came to rest.

[You have gained 12,500 Lives]

The man respawned a second time. His face was beyond pale now. His hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t hold his staff.

His friends tried to help. They cast spell after spell at Moon, throwing everything they had to drive him away from their dying companion. Fire, wind, earth.

A relentless barrage from various directions.

Moon answered every one. A rune shield absorbed the first wave. A magma wall blocked the second. The rest he dodged using [Air step], the spells passing harmlessly under him.

They couldn’t hit him. No matter what they threw, no matter how they coordinated, he always had an answer. A counter for every attack, a dodge for every combination, a wall for every volley.

“What is this monster?!” The man screamed, his voice cracking in disbelief. “What kind of mage can do all of this?!”

The second First Star Evolver fell seconds later. The Fire and Nature spirit’s vines caught him mid-retreat, wrapping around his legs and torso. He thrashed against the binding, but the burning roots held firm. Moon’s lightning found him a heartbeat later.

[You have gained 1240 Lives]

The man no longer moved, his last portion of lives claimed by Moon.

The last three exchanged a glance. Moon saw it happen. The fear in their eyes turned into a single, unified decision — running.

So, they ran.

All three turned and sprinted toward the far corridor, and as they fled, they screamed at the regular Evolvers around them.

“Stop him! Kill him! Attack!” They shouted, amplifying their voices with mana.

The order rippled through the remaining fighters. Evolvers who had been retreating suddenly turned back toward Moon. Those who had been defending switched to offense. A wall of bodies and spells formed between Moon and the three fleeing First Star Evolvers.

Moon was immediately forced onto the defensive. He raised a magma wall as dozens spells converged on his position simultaneously. The impacts shook the ground beneath his feet. More Evolvers pressed forward, emboldened by the numbers, trying to overwhelm him through sheer volume.

The three First Star Evolvers disappeared into the far corridor.