SSS Rank Sword Mage: Awakening Starts with Weakest Mana Affinity

Morad was right in front of me, unleashing a Piercing Shot. The attack struck true, but the residual sonic waves still slammed into us. I was flung backward, hitting my head hard. Pain seared through me.

But then… something changed. Morad's massive body began to grow, shimmering scales now tinged with a deep red. He'd evolved—instantly, right before my eyes.

"Morad, your scales!" I exclaimed. Every scale on his body looked like jagged blades, resembling obsidian armor. "Did you just evolve?"

Morad, unaware of this, checked himself, looking shocked at his new form—a bigger body shaped like scale blades. What could have triggered his evolution now? I noticed something different: my thumb glowed red instead of its usual blue, as some blood from my head injury touched the skin. Blood? Was that what made him evolve?

We didn't have time to dwell on it. With Anna unconscious, the Spider was already preparing to attack again.

"Brother, what are we going to do? Come on, I can't beat its attacks; I'm not fast enough!" Morad urgently pleaded.

With this new form, how fast could he go? But from what I saw, this was more of a damage-focused fish.

"I've got a plan," I said, gritting my teeth. "Just follow my lead, okay?"

Morad, unaware of what had happened, stared down at himself—stunned. His body had grown larger, his scales reshaping into sharp, blade-like plates that shimmered with a crimson tint.

"What… what happened to me?" he whispered.

I saw it immediately—my thumb, usually glowing blue when using bond sense, now pulsed a bright red. Blood from my head injury had smeared across the skin.

Blood…?

Was that what triggered his evolution?

No time to think. Anna was unconscious, and the Spider was already charging another sonic blast.

"Brother, what are we going to do? I—I can't beat its attacks! I'm still not fast enough!" Morad pleaded, voice tight with panic.

He was stronger now, that was clear—but faster? No. His new form screamed power, not speed.

A memory hit me.

The one thing that could defeat a creature like this.

A spider-like monstrosity that hadn't moved from its spot. Something was anchoring it underground.

"Morad, I've got a plan," I said, forcing the pain down. "But I need time. Buy me some—move its attention away from here!"

"Okay, Brother!"

Morad shot forward, firing blast after blast, weaving between sonic waves. His movements were sharper, heavier, each strike forcing the Spider to redirect its aim. Its precision was terrifying—how could it be this accurate with no eyes? Still, Morad held it back, dodging everything aimed but as well avoiding at its abdomen.

And yet…

The Spider still didn't move.

It felt like it was chained to something below. Bound. Rooted.

My plan snapped into place.

I had forgotten something crucial:

An Adjudicator is never truly alone.

I may not have mastered summoning yet… but I sure as hell knew how to activate seals.

As Morad kept the Spider busy, I muttered under my breath, voice trembling but steady:

"Foul beast… I stand here not as your victim anymore… but as one granted blessings by higher power."

"I, an Adjudicator of Derrick Ashborn, shall fear no more. This ends now."

I felt it—deep in my abdomen.

The blessing of Ashborn igniting, burning hot.

The feather relic under my clothes vibrated, glowing with a faint, holy light.

There was only one casting I needed.

A seal designed to unveil, to expose, to drag hidden truths into the light.

"Khetemu… of Revelation."

The words rolled from me like a decree.

Its purpose was simple—reveal the unseen. The concealed. The truth beneath the soil.

But revelation alone wasn't enough. If I wanted to manipulate what I found… I needed more.

If there was one Khetemu I understood—truly, instinctively—

the one that allowed me to merge mana with my body, channel it, multiply it…

It was the Khetemu of Channeling.

"This… might kill me," I whispered.

"But it's the only way."

I forced my shaking hand forward.

"Khetemu… of Channeling!"

My body erupted in heat—burning, blistering. Mana pathways flared open like molten veins beneath my skin. Sweat poured down my face; every breath seared my lungs. It felt like forcing a raging river through pipes made for trickling rainwater.

But the power kept rising.

And rising.

And rising.

I could feel it—yes, it was working.

With Channeling amplifying my mana and Revelation sharpening my understanding, something clicked inside me. My low affinity for each element didn't matter anymore; I could now combine multiple elements instantly, using them at their highest efficiency. Complex synergies, once impossible, unfolded in my mind like second nature.

My body screamed in protest, but this wasn't the time to care. Morad was fighting desperately—dodging sonic blasts, firing counterattacks, barely keeping the beast's attention. We had no time to strategize properly.

Think, Astraga.

Think.

What can Morad follow instantly? What tactic can he understand in the middle of this chaos?

Then it hit me—

Astraya's move.

Yes. That was it.

I slammed my palms together, and spheres of shimmering water burst into existence—each one infused with two elements at once. Water for propulsion. Wind for compression. A long, arcing pathway formed through the battlefield, a chain of orbs stretching like luminous stepping-stones through the air.

But these weren't simple water orbs.

These were accelerators.

"Morad—follow the orbs become the arrow!"

It worked instantly. Dodging another sonic blast, Morad broke away from the Spider and returned to my side, trusting me completely.

"Go!" I shouted.

Morad dove into the first sphere—

WHOOOOM!

The compressed water detonated behind him, hurling him forward like a living cannonball. Before the Spider could realign its aim, he crashed into the second sphere—

WHOOOSH—FASTER.

Then the third—

WHOOOM—EVEN FASTER.

The fourth, fifth, sixth—

My eyes couldn't track him anymore. He was accelerating beyond anything I had ever seen, each orb leaving behind a delayed burst of sound. Those delayed shockwaves completely disrupted the Spider's ability to pinpoint us. Its accuracy faltered for the first time. As it appeared the creature replied on sound to track its spray.

Perfect.

At the final sphere, Morad's tail gleamed—a bright, iron-silver flash. He wasn't just preparing a Piercing Shot.

He was stacking it.

A double combo—something he could never do in his old form.

The Spider reeled back, sensing danger far too late.

Morad's cheeks puffed—far wider than before.

"Brother…" he growled, voice rumbling with power,

"…watch this."His entire body vibrated with pressure, wind and water spiraling tightly around him.

His evolved Piercing Shot—no, Piercing Drill Shot—was about to fire.

He fired.

Morad became a streak of silver and roaring water, shooting through the final sphere like a missile. He slammed into the Spider's grotesque mouth-like head with explosive force. The impact sent a geyser of water and shattered chitin into the air.

Cracks spiderwebbed across its carapace.

Several legs curled inward.

The monster shuddered—and collapsed.

I exhaled hard, my chest heaving.

"It's… over?"

"We did it, Brother! We defeated it!" Morad cheered, excitement shining through our bond.

"Yes, Morad… we did." A grin fought its way onto my face.

Then—

"AHHHHHH!"

A white-hot lance of pain tore through my abdomen. I staggered, gripping my stomach as the burning intensified, rising into my chest like molten fire.

"Brother!" Morad rushed to me. "Your body—what's wrong?!"

Channeling.

Revelation.

Elemental fusion.

All at once.

This was the side effect.

My knees buckled. The world tilted. I clutched both my stomach and my chest, unable to breathe. It felt like my organs were melting and my heart was trying to burst from the inside.

"Brother, what do we do now?" Morad looked around helplessly. "Strange… shouldn't the night fade now that the Spider is defeated? Wait—was it defeated?"

His words froze as a soft glow ignited overhead.

The cocoons.

Each one lit up like a lantern, and the light traveled down the webbing—streams of pale luminescence carrying the faint, heartbreaking voices of children crying, pleading, asking to be saved.

Those lights flowed toward the fallen beast.

"No… no, no, no…" My breath caught.

The glow pierced into the Spider's body. Its severed leg twitched—

then knit back together.

Seamless.

Instant.

Crap.

Morad shrank back to his normal form, the iron-scaled spikes dissolving. My thumb—red minutes ago—faded back to its usual blue.

He had exhausted everything.

"Brother," Morad said, voice low, "should I finish it off? Let me—just let me end this thing."

I pressed a hand to my ribs, nearly choking on the pain. "Morad… I don't—I don't have enough mana left. That last spell drained everything." My vision blurred, darkening at the edges.

I clutched my attire , trying to stand.

Trying to think.

Trying not to collapse.

The Spider's body finished regenerating, and its hideous head lifted slowly—horrifically—toward us.

It wasn't dying. It was waking up.

And we had nothing left. Morad had completely depleted his mana, and the last, desperate Piercing Shot had drained me of all but a small, negligible amount.

What would I do? Think… I got it. "Summoning." I hadn't known much about using it, but it was the only option left.