SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will

Chapter 169: Fire Mountain Spirit Core

Moon instantly channeled the earth element, creating a temporary barrier wall to prevent the orb from rolling down the mountain slope.

The orb’s momentum was stopped by the wall. Moon approached it before using water to rapidly cool the residual magma coating still clinging to the orb’s surface, carefully removing the layer without damaging the core itself.

Selene, Yara, and Gratis rushed toward Moon’s position with expressions mixing curiosity, relief, and profound exhaustion from the intensity of battle.

“Moon, you actually killed the Magma K… Queen,” Yara couldn’t help but exclaim in genuine shock, her tongue still automatically used to the old fearsome title her people had used before catching herself mid-word.

Moon carefully picked up the now-accessible core, cradling it gently in both hands. The orb felt pleasantly warm against his skin despite the immense elemental power clearly radiating from within—not burning or painful at all. The sensation was comparable to holding a smooth stone that had been heated by direct sunlight on a nice summer day.

System information appeared automatically as Moon focused his attention on the mysterious object.

[Fire Mountain Spirit Core]

[Order: First]

[Rank: S]

[Details: The pure, condensed core of a mountain spirit. Contains intense fire elemental concentration, formed through decades of continuous bathing within concentrated fire essence and volcanic energy.]

Moon stared at the detailed description and deep satisfaction started to spread in his chest.

Deliberately holding back against the Magma Queen during the latter portion of their battle, carefully ensuring this invaluable core remained intact and undamaged throughout the killing blow, had absolutely been worth the additional risk and extended combat duration.

“You actually did it,” Selene said, her voice carrying genuine disbelief mixed with impressed admiration. A sheepish grin spread across her face as the reality fully sank in. “You killed an S-rank elemental beast in solo combat. On its own home territory. Inside a volcanic crater where it controlled the entire battlefield environment.”

Yara finally found her voice among the group’s reactions. “The Magma Queen that terrorized our people for countless generations… you defeated her completely alone, without any assistance.” Her voice carried profound emotion. “The legends will absolutely speak of this day, Moon. Our children’s children will tell epic stories of the warrior who slew the mountain’s living heart. The village chief can finally send people to gather valuable materials from the volcanic slopes without fearing they would never return alive.”

Selene’s analytical eyes flickered with intense interest as she stared at the glowing orb cradled in Moon’s hands, her expression shifting to pure curiosity. “What is that artifact exactly? I can physically feel the concentrated power radiating from it even from this distance. That’s clearly not just a standard monster core drop.”

Moon held up the Fire Mountain Spirit Core so everyone present could examine it properly, the artifact casting dancing orange-red light across their faces.

“Here, look at it yourself,” Moon said, carefully placing the warm orb into Selene’s outstretched palm.

Upon directly inspecting the artifact and reading its system-provided details, Selene’s eyes widened dramatically with pure disbelief and barely contained excitement.

“This item… a genuine spirit’s core at S-rank classification,” she uttered breathlessly, her hands trembling slightly from the excitement of holding something so extraordinarily valuable. Her gaze snapped back to meet Moon’s after she’d finished reading the complete details.

“Moon… do you have any interest in selling this core? I will buy it from you immediately for five million… no, actually ten million dollars! That’s a serious offer!”

Her eyes sparkled with desire.

Moon immediately shook his head in refusal. “I’m keeping this particular artifact. I have no plans whatsoever to sell it, because as you’re well aware, I still need to slay dozens more S-rank beasts for my evolution requirements. That won’t be remotely easy even under ideal circumstances. This core will allow me to commission or create an extremely powerful weapon that will significantly help with future hunts.”

As if suddenly remembering something important he’d temporarily forgotten, Moon’s eyes widened briefly. “Wait, did you successfully level up?.”

Realizing that Moon had no intention of selling the invaluable artifact regardless of price offered, Selene sighed with obvious disappointment but carefully returned the glowing orb to Moon’s possession.

Then her expression brightened considerably. “Yes, I finally reached level twenty-five during the Magma Spirit fights! I’ve also already selected my class evolution pathway from the options presented. Fortunately, one of my three required tasks was automatically completed just from my existing progress.”

She continued explaining, “I have two remaining requirements: first, I need to slay one hundred level twenty-five creatures of any rank. Second, I must defeat one S-rank beast in combat.”

Moon’s eyes flickered with complicated emotion for a brief moment before he hid it well. “Are you planning to attempt hunting an S-rank target soon?” he asked, his tone carefully neutral while his eyes narrowed with obvious interest in her answer.

Selene immediately shook her head firmly. “Absolutely not, it’s far too early for that level of challenge. I’ll complete the easier requirement first by hunting standard level twenty-five beasts. I also need to evolve both of my primary skills before I’d even consider attempting an S-rank solo kill.”

Moon nodded understanding, his expression carefully controlled and neutral.

Internally, however, he sighed with profound relief that he worked hard to keep completely hidden from his facial expression.

When Selene had initially stated her evolution task requirements, Moon had felt an unexplainable, uncomfortable feeling rising in his chest—something he didn’t want to examine too closely or dive into emotionally.

Ever since their partnership began, Selene and Moon’s individual goals had generally remained parallel and complementary, never directly intertwining or creating any sort of conflicts. Their objectives had supported each other rather than competing.

This represented the first potential conflict of interest between them. They both explicitly needed to slay S-rank beasts for their respective advancement. And the uncomfortable truth was that allowing Selene to claim an S-rank kill also meant Moon was directly depriving himself of one critical completion toward his own fifty-kill requirement.

S-rank beasts weren’t common resources like cabbages growing abundantly everywhere. They were extraordinarily rare, difficult to locate, and incredibly dangerous to engage even under optimal conditions. Moon wasn’t remotely certain he could reliably find fifty such creatures even with extensive searching across the entire First Sanctuary.

Which meant that giving away even a single S-rank opportunity to someone else—even an ally—could potentially translate to wasting months desperately searching for a replacement target to maintain his progression timeline.

The reason was brutally clear: every S-rank beast Selene killed was one fewer Moon could claim for himself.

Fortunately, Selene currently had absolutely no intention of attempting S-rank hunts in the immediate future.

The mountain began to shake immensely, and heat began to spread faster than they expected.

“Oh…shit! Run!” Moon shouted, as he realised the mountain was about to erupt.