SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will

Chapter 129: First Claim II

The captain noticed these moments.

Arthur wasn’t just supporting. He was shaping the battlefield.

The captain had led many missions before, and he knew what chaos looked like. He also knew what control felt like.

With Arthur there, fights didn’t spiral.

They flowed easily.

At one point, they encountered a group with a single second class ogre among four first class.

Arthur engaged it immediately.

The others focused on the first class, trusting him.

The captain kept half an eye on Arthur while fighting.

He saw the way Arthur didn’t rush. He didn’t try to overpower the second class ogre immediately. Instead he circled it, baited swings, and cut the ogre causing shallow wounds.

Each strike wasn’t meant to kill directly.

But it drained the monster slowly.

The ogre roared and tried to activate its skill twice. Both times Arthur disrupted the mana flow before it could stabilize.

Minutes passed.

The rest of the squad was locked in their own battles, and no one paid much attention to Arthur.

The second class ogre grew slower. Its swings heavier. Its breathing rough.

Arthur stepped back, wiped sweat from his brow with his forearm, then exhaled slowly.

"Almost there," he muttered.

The ogre charged again in frustration.

Arthur didn’t dodge away this time.

He stepped in.

Intent Step carried him inside the ogre’s guard. His blade drove upward beneath its ribs where he had striked so many times now, as he angled toward the heart.

The strike was clean.

The ogre froze. And then collapsed.

Arthur stood there for a second, chest rising and falling as he pulled his blade free.

He had done it.

His first ogre kill.

And not just any ogre.

A second class.

He let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Across the cavern, the captain had just finished splitting the skull of the last first class ogre. He turned instinctively, scanning for threats.

That was when he saw it.

Arthur standing over the fallen second class.

Alone.

The captain’s eyes narrowed slightly, not in suspicion but in recognition.

He handled it himself.

The boy wasn’t normal. Calm under pressure. Adaptive. Patient enough to wear down a stronger opponent instead of forcing the outcome.

Now he understood better why the commander had taken interest in him.

Arthur, meanwhile, barely noticed the captain watching.

His vision shifted slightly.

The familiar interface appeared before his eyes.

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

❂ SOVEREIGN INTENT SYSTEM ❂

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

⟦ Intent Point Evaluation ⟧

• Source: Second-Class Ogre

• Rank: C

• Base Intent Points: 5

⟬ Modifiers Applied ⟭

→ Solo Engagement Bonus: +20%

━━━ CALCULATION ━━━

5 × 1.2

━━━ INTENT POINTS GAINED ━━━

✦ +6 IP ✦

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

Arthur’s lips curved faintly.

Six.

He took mental note of it.

A C rank monster gave five base intent points. With a small modifier, it became six.

He didn’t celebrate outwardly. He just absorbed the information.

So that’s the scale.

It was just as he expected.

He soon dismissed the interface as the captain approached.

"Good work," the captain said simply.

Arthur shrugged lightly. "Took a while."

"You handled it alone."

Arthur wiped his blade clean. "You were busy."

The captain let out a short breath that could have been a laugh.

"Still. Don’t get reckless."

"I won’t," Arthur replied. And he meant it.

He wasn’t chasing glory. He just wanted growth.

The squad gathered the loot quickly again. Cores extracted. Weapons collected. Potions checked.

The captain’s voice rang out once more.

"Check your gear. Count your potions. We don’t know what’s next."

The group obeyed without complaint.

Arthur adjusted his grip and glanced ahead into the dungeon.

The air was thicker now.

He could feel it pressing against his skin. The faint taint in the mana around them wasn’t imagination anymore.

It was growing.

Ryn stepped beside him and nudged his shoulder lightly.

"First ogre kill, huh?"

Arthur smiled in response.

"Feels different?"

He thought for a second.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Because I earned it."

Ryn grinned. "Then earn more."

Arthur smirked back. "That’s the plan."

The captain finished distributing the shares and looked toward the dark path ahead.

"Formation," he ordered.

They moved into place.

The deeper they went, the heavier the air became.

But no one hesitated.

The deeper they went, the worse the mana felt.

It wasn’t just heavy anymore. It clung to the skin and slipped into the lungs with every breath. Even the stronger members of the squad felt it more now.

"Feels dirty," one of the casters muttered, rubbing his arm as if something invisible had brushed against him.

Arthur didn’t respond. He felt it too.

The taint was spreading, but they still hadn’t found the source. No seal. No visible core. Nothing that screamed this is it.

The scouts moved ahead again, quick and careful. Every time they disappeared into the tunnel, the squad waited in silence. And every time they returned, it was the same report.

"No seal. Group of ogres ahead."

Clear them.

Move forward.

Repeat.

Arthur activated Sovereign’s Perception as they walked, letting his awareness stretch outward. The skill brushed against walls, cracks, distant movements. He caught distortions where ogres clustered, small ripples in the mana where life gathered in numbers.

But nothing deeper.

Nothing that felt like a seal.

He exhaled slowly. "Still out of range".

But they didn’t slow down.

If anything, they moved faster. Confidence carried them forward. They had handled everything the dungeon threw at them so far. As long as they stayed sharp, they believed they would clear it soon.

The ogres’ attempts to adapt no longer shook them. Their formations held. Their reactions were faster now. The second class ogres barely had time to gather mana before Arthur disrupted them.

Inside this dungeon, they felt close to untouchable.

And that feeling grew after each fight.

Soon the scout returned again.

"No seal yet," he reported. "Another group ahead."

Arthur nodded to himself. "Thought so."

He had already sensed the distortion. Just another cluster of ogres waiting to be cleared.

The captain raised his hand. "Form up."

The explorers did, as the mood had shifted.