SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will-Chapter 102: The Source of Corruption

The vine beast’s enormous body trembled.

Its movements slowed.

Its structure collapsed inward.

"It’s over..." someone whispered.

Hope surged through the explorers.

Then..

The ground shook again. The dust cleared.

And what they saw crushed that hope instantly.

The vine beast had not died.

It had grown.

Its body expanded rapidly, thicker and taller than before. Dark energy pulsed violently within its core as fresh vines burst outward, stronger and more monstrous.

Its pressure multiplied.

The air itself screamed under its presence.

The captains froze in disbelief.

And the explorers felt their hearts sink.

What should have been the final blow had only made it stronger.

The monster towered over the battlefield, its shadow swallowing the defensive line as its power surged beyond anything they had faced so far.

The massive vine beast roared.

A deep, tearing sound that shook the ground and rattled the bones of everyone who heard it.

Its enormous body twisted violently, thick vines slamming into the earth again and again. Stone shattered. Walls collapsed. The remains of buildings were crushed into dust under its weight. The air trembled with every movement.

And then it attacked.

Its vines lashed out wildly toward the captains who had tried to kill it moments ago. Each strike carried overwhelming force, faster and heavier than before.

Boom!

A captain barely blocked one strike, the impact throwing him across the ground. Another dodged, yet the shockwave alone tore through the earth and sent debris flying.

The monster was furious.

More aggressive and dangerous.

But Arthur had been watching long before the roar.

From the moment the captains released their combined attack, he had remained alert. While everyone focused on whether the creature would die, his attention had shifted elsewhere.

Something had felt wrong.

Not the monster itself.

Something behind it.

He narrowed his eyes toward the forest beyond the battlefield.

There.

A distortion.

At first it had been faint, hidden beneath the chaos of mana and battle pressure. But in that brief moment of stillness after the captains’ attack, he noticed it clearly.

Tainted mana.

Flowing.

Feeding.

His perception sharpened as he focused deeper.

The massive vine beast was not simply regenerating. Something from the forest was supplying it, pouring tainted mana into its body like fuel feeding a fire.

Arthur’s gaze hardened.

That’s not natural.

The energy felt heavy, polluted, almost alive in a twisted way. It pulsed in waves, linking the creature to something deeper inside the forest.

Curiosity stirred in him.

And unease.

Nearby, the captains seemed to sense something as well. Their expressions changed as they continued fighting.

"Its growth is unnatural!" one of them shouted.

"It’s being sustained by something!"

They could feel it, though they could not see the source clearly.

But realization alone did not make the fight easier.

The strengthened vine beast attacked again.

Its vines shot forward like spears, smashing through defensive lines and tearing into the bronze explorers.

Crack!

A man screamed as a vine pierced through his shoulder and slammed him into the ground.

Another explorer tried to block but was thrown aside like a broken doll, armor shattered and body motionless.

Blood splashed across the ruined battlefield.

The defensive line wavered.

"Hold the formation!"

"Don’t break!"

"Protect the civilians!"

The leaders left in charge shouted desperately, their voices raw from strain.

But the pressure kept rising.

The ground split as heavy vines erupted from below, wrapping around anyone too slow to react. The snapping of bones, the tearing of flesh, the screams of the wounded mixed with the thunder of the battle.

Spider monsters crawled along the massive vines, their sharp legs stabbing downward into trapped explorers. Their shells clashed against weapons with harsh metallic sounds.

Clang!

Screech!

The battlefield became chaos.

The air smelled of blood and burning mana.

Some explorers cursed loudly, swinging their weapons in desperation.

Others froze.

A few simply stared at the approaching vines, fear locking their bodies in place as if accepting death.

"We can’t stop it..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"It’s over..."

Their voices trembled.

The vine beast continued spawning new vines at terrifying speed. Each time one was cut, two more replaced it. Regeneration far beyond what they had faced earlier.

The line began to collapse.

Then..

Everything stopped.

The attacking vines froze in midair.

Not slowed.

Stopped.

As if the world itself had pressed pause.

The explorers blinked in confusion.

The captains noticed it instantly.

An invisible force wrapped around the vines, binding them, locking their movements completely.

Arthur stood calmly at the front.

Intent Weave.

His will pressed down on the battlefield like invisible chains.

The vines trembled but could not move.

Shock spread across the defensive line.

Even the captains spared a glance toward him.

But Arthur did not wait.

Heat gathered in his palm, intense and controlled. His fire layered manifest intent erupted outward.

Boom!

Flames exploded across the frozen vines, spreading rapidly. The fire did not simply burn. It consumed, destroying the regenerative structure completely.

The spider monsters climbing the vines screeched as the flames swallowed them, their bodies cracking and bursting under the heat.

Arthur moved.

Intent Step.

His body blurred forward, appearing directly before a cluster of vines already too close to the explorers.

Slash.

His dagger cut through them.

But the blade carried fire.

The severed sections ignited instantly, burning from within so they could not regenerate.

Another step.

Another strike.

Every movement was clean, efficient, unstoppable.

To the surrounding explorers, it felt unreal.

A single figure walking calmly through chaos while everything around him burned.

A path opened wherever he passed.

Vines fell.

Monsters burned.

The pressure around the defensive line lifted instantly.

The battlefield roared with shock.

"That’s the new guy!"

"He’s holding them back alone!"

Even the captains were briefly stunned.

Captain Veylor let out a short laugh despite the danger. "Ryn... your squad hides a monster."

Ryn, still fighting nearby, gave a tired smile. "I noticed."

But there was no time for more.

The captains immediately moved, capitalizing on the opening Arthur created.