Lucen stepped sideways. His boots skidded on broken asphalt. Smoke curled around his ankles from the blast radius.
Mana ticked.
'Two seconds. Maybe three if I stall.'
The first of the new monsters had bulked shoulders and stone-gray plating. Its feet cracked the pavement just walking.
The other one, taller, leaner, with ribs like vertical knives, moved low and fast, weaving through the smoke like it'd been trained.
Lucen kept his left hand low, angled toward the road. Right hand up, two fingers pointed forward.
He whispered, "Ignition Burst."
[Ignition Burst]
Mana: [4 / 112]
The firebolt launched fast, it was fast enough to leave a scorch line in the air. It slammed into the ground just ahead of the second creature. Missed the core.
Didn't matter.
The explosion triggered under its feet.
It stumbled. One leg bent wrong. Bones cracked.
Lucen exhaled once. Fast. Pivoted and ran two steps forward.
[Mana: 6 / 112]
