SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will

Chapter 375  Frey and Moon

As they made their way back, they encountered several beasts along the route. Moon killed each one without slowing down, but none were strong enough to provide any meaningful increase in spiritual energy or lives. They were mostly small fry.

During the journey, Moon’s mind was elsewhere.

He had lured Frey outside for several reasons. The first was to gauge his strength. Even if Frey was careful about what he revealed, watching him fight in real combat would still give Moon a baseline estimate of his capabilities. And it had. Frey was skilled, tactical, and experienced. He was not someone to underestimate.

The other reasons were based on his own observation, some of which were practical whilst others were more tactical.

Currently, Moon was weighing which approach to take next. Frey was powerful, but Moon was confident he would win if a fight broke out between them. The Runesmith’s reliance on prepared runes and his lack of close-range options made him vulnerable once his resources were spent. Moon had seen that clearly during their hunt.

There was still one nagging issue: Frey wasn’t the real problem, it was whoever had sent him.

Frey didn’t carry himself like a lone wolf. His demeanor, the way he spoke about the hideout, the way with which he approached Moon, all of it pointed to someone who operated within a structure. Someone who reported to someone else that Moon had yet to identify.

‘I’ll decide within the next few encounters.’ Moon thought, glancing at Frey from his peripheral vision.

The man walked beside him with a relaxed posture, humming softly under his breath, completely unaware of the thoughts running through Moon’s head.

Ten minutes passed quickly. The trees began to thin out, and the rocky terrain beyond the forest came into view. ROAR

A sudden shrill cry erupted through the forest from just a few hundred meters ahead, it cut through the canopy and echoed between the trees.

Moon assessed the sound instantly. The roar wasn’t that powerful. Whatever produced it was strong, but not overwhelmingly so. It didn’t strike Moon as something that would have caused alarm for the two of them. But when Moon glanced at Frey, the man’s face had gone pale.

His jaw was tightly clenched, his eyes quivering in real time. The relaxed demeanor he had carried throughout the entire hunt had vanished, replaced by something Moon hadn’t seen in his eyes before.

Fear.

“Is something wrong? You seem worried.” Moon asked.

“We need to head back. Now.” Frey whispered, his voice urgent. He swallowed hard, a visible lump moving down his throat.

Moon’s brows furrowed. The reaction didn’t match the seeming threat. Frey had fought beasts that reached level 28 without flinching today, but a single roar from just outside the forest where the bunker was rattled him to his core.

Whatever made that sound, it seemed like Frey knew exactly what it was. And he wanted no part of it.

Moon recognized the truth behind the reaction. Frey wasn’t putting on an act. The fear in his eyes was real. Whatever had made that sound, the man knew it, and his body was screaming at him to run.

So, Moon followed.

The two of them broke into a sprint through the forest, weaving between trunks and ducking under low branches at high speed. Frey moved faster than he had shown at any point during their hunt. Every ounce of energy in his body was being poured into his legs, his rune-inscribed boots flickering faintly with each stride as he pushed himself to the limit.

Their bodies weaved between the trees like blurred silhouettes, covering hundreds of meters in a few minutes. The forest whipped past them, dark and shapeless at the edges of Moon’s vision.

Eventually, Frey’s breathing started to break as his strides shortened, his pace slowing and his rhythm faltering. The low stamina of a Runesmith, a class built for crafting rather than endurance, was exposing one of its obvious weaknesses. His chest heaved with every breath, and sweat ran down his face in drops.

Moon, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly spent. He could have maintained this pace for several times the distance without issue. His physical conditioning that came from using his physical skills, his stats, all of it had built a body that could outlast most new Evolvers in a run.

Frey didn’t seem to notice the gap between them. Whether he was too focused on running to care or simply couldn’t spare the attention, Moon didn’t know.

“Here!” Frey whispered between ragged breaths, pointing ahead. “Let’s get into this one!”

A massive tree stood before them. Its trunk spanned tens of meters in width, gnarled, its roots digging deep into the earth like the fingers of a buried giant. A large crevice split the base of the trunk open, wide enough for two people to fit inside.

Frey ducked in without hesitation. Moon followed a second later, pressing his back against the inner wall of the hollow trunk. The space was tight, dark, and smelled of damp wood and…life.

Both of them went silent…but it was too late.

Something lunged from the darkness inside the crevice. Frey was hit before he could even settle, a massive force slamming into his chest and shoving him backward into Moon, carving a deep gash in his chest.

A loud cry escaped Frey’s mouth, as he held the injury with his right hand.

Moon braced himself and held his ground. He activated a lightning rune he had, and the darkness inside the hollow trunk was consumed by an illuminating light.

The flash revealed what had been hiding inside.

It was a massive bear. Its body filled most of the crevice.

The bear had a compact, muscular body suited for climbing, it had large paws, long curved claws, and hairless soles for grip..

Across its chest, a crescent-shaped marking glowed a deep, vivid blue, the only color on its otherwise jet-black body.

“A Sun bear.” Frey muttered, scrambling to his feet in pain. His left hand was already inside his pouch, pulling out offensive runes.

~ROAR~

The bear opened its jaws wide. The mouth stretched far wider as in greeting for its meal, revealing rows of thick teeth and a bite force that could take a head clean off without resistance.

The sound was more maddening inside the tree. The bear’s eyes locked onto them. Small, dark, and furious. They had just crawled into its home.

Author’s Note:

Sorry for the late update, felt a little unwell today. Luckily, i managed to not miss today’s upload.

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