Pain exploded through Moon's torso as blood began flowing freely from deep gashes. He killed the wolf with a point-blank elemental strike, but three more beasts immediately replaced it.

The Mountain Bear was fifteen meters away now, its eyes locked on Moon with murderous intent.

Moon raised his staff to cast again, but his mana reserves were nearly depleted. The lightning flickered weakly in his palm before dissipating entirely.

'I have little mana left.'

A massive boulder, launched by the Mountain Bear, crashed into the defensive formation. The impact sent awakeners flying in all directions. Moon was thrown backward, slamming into a partially collapsed wall with bone-breaking force.

His vision blurred. Blood poured from the wounds in his side, mixing with dirt and ash. His breathing came in ragged gasps as his broken ribs protested every inhalation of air.

The Mountain Bear closed the distance, raising all three arms for a killing blow that would reduce Moon to paste against the stone.

At that moment, with death imminent and mana exhausted, Moon felt it. The same inexplicable feeling he'd felt during his first acquirement of a skill.

Enlightenment. At death's door, Moon had managed to enter a state of enlightenment from his very being.

Time seemed to slow as the Bear closed in on him with the intent of shredding him to pieces. The bear's descending arms moved through the air like they were underwater.

Moon's awareness expanded, hyper-focused by his adrenaline and survival instinct.

Moon had been struggling to comprehend the Explosive Flame skill since the battle had started, but in this moment of absolute crisis, with death measured in heartbeats, something clicked in his brain.

'Compression isn't the only factor…Heat is too.'

Moon's bloodied hand moved instinctively, channeling what microscopic amount of mana remained in his reserves. He formed the smallest possible Explosive Flame, but this time the construction was flawless. Every thread of mana lined up, every compression ratio optimized and most importantly, the heat was beyond anything he'd manage before..

The fireball that appeared in his palm was tiny, barely the size of a marble, but it burned with an intensity that defied its size.

[Explosive Flame proficiency increased to 100%]

[Explosive Flame]

[Rank: Rare]

[Level: 1] [Evolve]

[Details: You can conjure flames that detonate on impact. The size of the explosion scales with mana invested. Detonation radius: 2 meters. Explosions affect all targets within the radius, including the caster. Those hit are inflicted with burning, taking 1% of total damage every second for 5 seconds. 200% Damage]

Moon didn't waste a single moment celebrating the achievement. The bear was almost directly before him.

BOOM!

An explosive lit up his eyes as Kael sent a powerful attack that made the bear stumble, buying Moon the precious seconds he needed to evolve his skill.

"Get out of there!"

Moon however couldn't hear him. His mind was purely focused on the beast before him, and the status screen flashing across his vision.

He began spending lives with incedible speed.

[Explosive Flame level 1 → 2] [8 lives consumed]

[Explosive Flame level 2 → 3] [16 lives consumed]

…

[Explosive Flame level 8 → 9] [1024 lives consumed]

[Explosive Flame level 9 → 10] [2048 lives consumed]

[Total Lives Consumed: 4088]

[Explosive Flame has evolved to Ignite!]

[Ignite]

[Rank: Epic]

[Level: MAX]

[Details: You can conjure semi-blue flames that detonate on impact. The size of the explosion scales with mana invested. Detonation radius: 5 meters. Explosions affect all targets within the radius, including the caster. Those hit are inflicted with burning, taking 5% of total damage every second for 5 seconds. 250% Damage]

The skill had evolved into something incredibly powerful, far beyond what Moon had expected. The damage increase alone was staggering, but the expanded radius and devastating burn effect transformed it from a strong attack into a weapon of mass destruction.

Moon channeled the last dregs of his mana reserves into the newly evolved skill.

Three fireballs formed simultaneously in his bloodied hands, each one compressed to absolute perfection with the mastery he'd just achieved. They blazed with semi-blue light that seemed to warp the air around them.

The Mountain Bear's arms were inches away.

Moon released all three at point-blank range, knowing very well, that he would be injured alongside the bear.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The triple detonation consumed everything within five meters. The explosions merged into a single apocalyptic blast that engulfed the Mountain Bear completely, along with a few beasts that had been following behind it.

The shockwave threw Moon backward again, his already battered body ragdolling through the air. But he was smiling through the blood and pain.

Because the bear's roar of agony told him everything he needed to know.

He'd hurt it…Badly.

The casting had drained Moon's remaining mana completely. His vision darkened at the edges as exhaustion and blood loss caught up with him.

At that moment, the entire battlefield fell silent.

Every awakener—defender and attacker alike—stopped mid-action to stare at the scene in pure disbelief, shock, and reverence.

Where the Mountain Bear had stood seconds earlier, a five meter crater now existed. Molten stone glowed at its edges, still radiating intense heat. Burnt corpses of beasts littered the perimeter.

And at the crater's center, the Three-Armed Mountain Bear remained standing, but barely.

One of its eyes had been completely destroyed, burned away by the concentrated thermal assault. Its left shoulder arm hung limp, the muscle and sinew connecting it to the body severed by explosive force. Massive burns covered its entire torso where fur and flesh had been incinerated. The creature swayed unsteadily, its breathing labored and ragged.

But it was still a threat despite the catastrophic damage.

The beast's remaining eye locked onto Moon with pure hatred, but the killer instinct that had driven its charge was gone.

Rather, survival instinct had replaced it. The Mountain Bear took one stumbling step backward, then another, beginning a slow retreat toward the breach in the western wall.

No one moved to stop it. The awakeners were paralyzed by what they'd just witnessed.

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