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– STORY –

The blacksmith Anvil created weapons alone in a ruined

world.

He came across a community, a hero universe, where there

are heroes of every dimension.

All the heroes wanted his weapons,

All the monsters hated him,

All the world blessed his existence

however nobody prevented his death.

Decades later, a dimensional invasion started on earth.

Kang Shin-hyuk, a boy who can’t use mana inherited

Anvil’s VIP ID and memories.

– GENRE –

Action Comedy Fantasy Harem Martial Arts

School Life Shounen Supernatural
Mankind was terribly defeated. It was awful and so natural as if it was supposed to be
like that from the start.

The dimensional invaders were strong, many, vicious, and cruel. The first gate opened
in Merva, the home of mankind. For the first time in 500 years after the Great World
War, they faced just a disaster and downfall.

Merva’s remaining humans crawled into the underground bunkers, just waiting in
silence for the death to come to them. To them, the word hope was unacceptable,
profane, and humiliating.

Klang! Klang! Klang!

Despite that, why is he knocking on the ground?

In a world where no hope is left, why does he try to create something new?

One of the last blacksmiths on the planet Merva, though he was puzzled by it himself,
held his hammer without ever stopping his hand.

Klang! Klang! Klang!

Five years ago, when he was 50 years old, he was lucky to escape the moving monsters
under the command of the invaders and enter an underground bunker with a lot of
preserved food.

There was a blacksmith in the bunker and nothing else to do except to wait for death
while forgetting about the food.

When I made a weapon, I knew there were no warriors to hold them and fight against
the invaders. It was a method of escaping the eventual death.

“With this, it is complete.”

For the second time today, I made an unworkable piece. Even when I was just living
with a long sword that I owed to myself.

[Sucess in making a masterpiece that will remain in history! Achieved the conditions
for connecting to Hero Universe.]

[Welcome, New User! Please name your ID!]

A miracle came to him that he could not dare to call it hope.

“This…?”

The blacksmith was astonished when he saw the words written in the translucent
window in front of him.

I heard it faintly. Those who are capable of blowing fire from their hands or wearing
swords as their weapons are capable of contacting a mysterious system that the
general public cannot see.

But it appeared to him without an ability? How so? When I thought about it, a new text
was recorded in the window as if it has read my thoughts.

Hero Universe is a system at the top of the Gaia system! Martial arts, magic, other
superpowers, and production, it’s a space-class community where access is only given
to those with the greatest potential in the universe in the field!

“I am the best in the universe? I’m trapped in this unsightly place while forging and
making a sword…?”

Yes. You are the hope of a new blacksmith in the universe. It is a blessing in the
universe to have a blacksmith who deals with spiritual power like you, as countless
other worlds forget about the art of the soul and cling to artifacts that utilize magic.

The blacksmith could not understand anything about Lee’s identity. Spirituality? He
was just knocking on a lump because he had nothing else to do.

[Spirit power is the power to understand the source of the soul and deal with it. It is
by no means the power given by anyone. You deserve to be proud. So, go ahead and
create an ID.]
“Oh, ID.”

Do you want to id ‘Aidirani’?

“No! Now, wait a minute. Who are you? So… would ID mean something like an
identification card?”

[I am the system message of Hero Universe. You can also call me an Administrator. You
can think of ID as a name to represent you in the Hero Universe.]

“Huh, it represents me. Few people have survived in this world.”

The world he lives in is just a speck of dust in a myriad of universes. The Hero Universe
has heroes of all its choice in the myriad universes.

The situation was so chaotic I still couldn’t understand anything. Finally, I wondered
if I was going crazy and hallucinating.

Moreover, even if this phenomenon is real, it would not have any effect on the future
of mankind that was scheduled to be destroyed.

But, nevertheless.

“Anvil… Anvil is good.”

[Do you want to use the ID “Anvil”?]

“Yes.”

If nothing changes, so what. The blacksmith had been fleeing since the start and the
new “Hero Universe” in front of him was exactly what he wanted.

Anvil, Welcome to the Hero Universe. In the midst of numerous interactions with heroes,
I hope your soul shines more brightly. You’ll get 100HP (Hero Point) as your first login
bonus! Collect more HP and buy information and goods through community activities!

“I am also pleased.”

[10HP as a bonus to you who is kind to the Administrator! You’ve had some social life!]
“Ha ha ha ha ha.”

The blacksmith found a new refuge and the refuge welcomed him with open arms. The
blacksmith was immersed in a refuge that would make him forget the reality of hell
for a moment.

Twenty years later, the blacksmith became a celebrity in the Hero Universe.

***

– Janus: Anvil Grandpa, Anvil Grandpa.

– Anvil: What’s going on?

The blacksmith, “Anvil” was whispering to a friend who had come to know him through
the Hero Universe. Whispering was a messaging feature that allowed you to send and
receive messages with people registered as friends in the Hero Universe.

– Anvil: So, what kind of sword do you want?

– Janus: Tell me if you can make it.

– Anvil: I’m taking a rest for now, so I won’t be making it right away.

– Janus: Shinsal sword. Any kind is fine, but if you’re a king, you use a long sword. [1]

– Anvil: go away.

When I first connected to Hero Universe 20 years ago.

I registered a weapon on the bulletin board, one of Hero Universe’s systems, and a lot
of people were interested in his weapons. The system was right about his talents.

– Janus: Don’t do that and make one.

How do I make something which I can’t make? I told him to go away.

When he arrived there, he sold the weapon without any hesitation, and in return, he
was able to acquire HP.
This was surprisingly amazing. The food in the bunker would have only lasted for two
to three years but if you had HP then you could buy groceries that others put on the
billboard.

So, he was able to survive in the bunker much longer than he thought.

– Janus: I have the method. Do you think I’m going to let you go without you making
one? It’s just like swimming in the ground and making a sword out of the dirt.

Not only that. Countless heroes of the world who were curious about Anvil, who could
create weapons with spiritual power. They wanted to talk with him and wanted to be
friends. Anvil, of course, did not refuse them.

– Janus: I’ll send you the ingredients! If you make it, the rewards will be really astounding!

– Anvil: I have an overflowing amount of money.

– Janus: I know that! Please!

– Anvil: I can’t guarantee I can make it.

– Janus: Wow, thank you Anvil! I love you! I really love you!

– Anvil: Wait quietly.

– Janus: Okay! I’ll just sit here until the sword is done!

– Anvil:… Still, eat your food.

Actually, this was not the first time. In the beginning, there were not many metallurgical
materials in the underground bunker, and the quality was not so good. Other members
of Hero Universe who grasped his situation at once, sent materials from other worlds,
and asked him to build the weapons they wanted.

Using the materials of the other worlds to create something was completely new,
extremely stimulating, and fun for Anvil. He did not refuse the requests, and those who
were satisfied with the finished products gave him a large amount of remuneration
(HP) which he did not ask for.

It was his first request to make a weapon that could kill God anyway.
Is this fate, too? In the end, you’ll get a huge commission.

[Janus sent a gift. Do you want to check?]

– Anvil: Oh, thank you as always.

[10HP bonus from the Administrator who is impressed by your kind and friendly words.]

“You’re kind every time.”

His relationship with the Administrator, who only revealed his presence in the message
every time, was very good.

Now, it wasn’t for the 10 HP. Anvil wasn’t respectful to the Administrator in the first
place. He was just grateful to the Administrator who led me to Hero Universe.

“Huh. It’s the ingredients of a new sword, and it’s full of things I haven’t seen in my
life. Janus, what is he really doing?”

[Janus is a man who has the talent to play in the Hero universe. He was lead to the
Hero Universe because his world became uninhabited.]

The Administrator replied to Anvil’s words. Even so, the mentions about Janus on the
board increase every day, each one like a bluff more ridiculous than the last. He ripped
through a typhoon, prevented a volcano from erupting and killed a dragon or bear…,

[It’s all true.]

“Huh, I want to see his face once.”

[You can if you increase your membership level. It’s clear you will become a VIP with
this delivery. You are the only one who will reach that membership level in 20 years.]

“…Glory.”

It’s probably because he’s active on the Trading board and earns a lot of HP but he
wasn’t very happy being a VIP. Maybe… Surely I will die before I become a VIP.

In fact, he was feeling death slowly approached him these days. He had a feeling he
wouldn’t last long.
[You can purchase the elixir sold on the bulletin board. You will be young again. As
long as you invest all of the collected HP, you can live for as long as you want.]

“Thank you for your concern, Administrator. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to live like that.”

[…]

The Administrator was silent. Probably reading the Anvil’s feelings.

…Ok. Although the escape was longer than he expected, Anvil had no intention of
escaping from his impending death. Now he was exhausted.

[Aren’t you enjoying Hero Universe?]

After a moment of silence, such a message came to his eyes again. Anvil shook his head
with a smile.

“It’s fun. It’s so much fun. I’m going to forget that I’m living in a destroyed world. That’s
why it’s a problem.”

[…]

If he did not feel responsible for this abandoned world then it will be a lie. If his talent
had bloomed a little earlier, he would have had no regrets. He felt guilty when he made
a mistake.

Even if he used the elixir and got his youth back then moved to another world with the
power of Hero Universe. His life would be enjoyable but at the same time, it would be
an unforgivable escape for Anvil.

It was enough. He wanted to stay with this world.

[If thats what you want then I will respect you.]

“Thank you for everything.”

[10HP bonus from the Administrator who is impressed by your gentleness and moved
to tears.]

“Hahahaha, you always give me a bonus.”

But as the Anvil smiled and he whispers flew from his youngest friend headed to him.

-Eunah’s: Grandpa, Grandpa.

-Anvil: Yes? What’s going on, Eunah.

-Eunah: Actually, I am now 7 years old!

The first genius in history to have access to the Hero Universe and recognized for his
genius at a young age of only five. His talent is certainly brilliant, but the child is so
young that everyone treats her carefully.

– Anvil: What is it? My Eunah is already seven years old. Then this grandpa should give
a wonderful gift.

– Eunah: Really? Really? Will you make something?

– Anvil: Sure, of course.

She may be a child living in another world with her family. The only thing that Anvil
knows about her is the gender and the name which he assumes to be real.

However, when Anvil was talking with this child, his little daughter, who left a long
time ago, couldn’t be remembered.

– Eunah’s: I’m very excited, I must boast that my grandfather made it to my friends!

– Anvil: You can’t talk about Hero Universe, you know?

– Eunah: Wroong! I’m going to say my favorite piece in the world has been created!

– Anvil: Huh, what a girl.

The Anvil was pouring out great affection on the child without his knowledge, and the
child also loved and followed Anvil. One of the most disappointing things about this
world is probably that he will be unable to see this child again.

‘Naughty, she’s not your daughter.’

Shortly thereafter, Anvil took over. I’m willing to accept death and am going to embrace
it.

But it worked out rather well. Let’s make a birthday present for Eunah. Give your
whole heart and let yourself go. That would be right.

“Where is it? Yes, I can take it apart.”

After checking Janus’s recipe, Anvil removed the glittering yellow gemstone from his
sack of ingredients and even purchased additional things from the trading board.

– Anvil: Wait a minute, Eunah.

– Eunah: I’ll be a good girl!

– Anvil: Oh, good.

That’s how Anvil set off.

There were two works: Janus’ Sword and Eunah’s hairpin.

– Janus: Grandpa! Quickly!

– Anvil: Noisy, didn’t I tell you to wait quietly? Oh, and there are some gems that you
gave me, so I took them and used them for something else.

– Janus: What!? It’s not actually a gem but it’s really precious, but who’ll you give it to?

The process of working was not boring at all. As always, when he’s pounding the iron
on the Anvil, his friends who have come to know him through the Hero Universe have
been whispering.

– Anvil: I’ll give it to Eunah.

– Janus: Ah, Eunah… Do you need anything else?

– Anvil: That’s enough.

He was half-naked, regularly knocking down the iron, breathing with it. He didn’t care
about anything else except to respond to the whispers he received.
– Halo: Anvil is inspired?

– Halo. It’s been a long time.

– Halo: Request, is it possible? I need shackles to hold a giant.

– Anvil: I’m sorry. I’m holding onto something now.

– Halo:… Then I’ll ask you next time. I need inspiration.

Perhaps this will be the last task, and it’s hard to listen to another friend’s request.
Anvil was sorry, but he didn’t wish to tell the story of his own death. It was unpleasant
to tell a friend about his death.

– Tsukuyo: Anvil, I heard that you’re not too far away from the VIP status. It’s been a
thousand years since I’ve had a day off. I want to see you a little sooner.

– Why do you want to see this the old man’s face?

– Tsukuyo: Your soul is so bright and brilliant, who dares to call you old!

– Anvil: Huh, such a peculiar one.

Looking back, I have made a lot of bonds in the past 20 years. Among them, there were
pleasant relationships, a somewhat unpleasant relationship, and a strange relationship
that was difficult to explain.

But all of them remained as pleasant memories to Anvil. I just hope they don’t get too
sad when I disappear.

– Eunah: Grandpa, Grandpa it’s my birthday today! I’ve been a really good kid for a
while! I’ve been a really, really good kid!

– Anvil: Oh, I don’t know but at the end of the day, I would have made all of your gifts.

– Eunah: Wow! I love you, Grandpa!

– Anvil: I love you; I love you a lot. I’ll send you a present now.

How much time has passed… Thank heavens, the work was done before it was too late…
The sword was made of a black metal with a yellow gem immbedded in the hilt.

The hairpin was beautifully finished with a yellow gem in the center of a silver cross.

It was an achievement that could be called the masterpiece of his life.

“It’s ok. Then send the gift. Uh-huh!!”

After a successful work, The Anvil sent two items as gifts to the owners. Strangely,
exactly at that time, all the power that remained in his body was lost.

No, it would be a more accurate expression to say his body had endured until the work
was finished.

You, do you think so?

“Administrator… Will you be with me until the last minute? Thank you.”

[…10HP, bonus.]

What would HP mean when he was dead, but Anvil laughed at it. His mind became a
little more relaxed.

“In the meantime, I enjoyed it. Thank you.”

[The same is true for me.]

The time has come. His whole body was exhausted, and his eyes closed. Feeling the
lack of consciousness, Anvil still looked at the message left by the Administrator.

At the last moment, a new message seemed to rise, but he could not read it.

[VIP level. My room function opens, login bonus function opens. ID information is
engraved on the soul.]

[We look forward to the day we will meet again in a new place.]

***

Eighteen years later, the world is different from Merva.

Kang Shin-hyuk, a freshman at the Superhuman Training School in South Korea, that
17-year-old boy, accessed Hero Universe.

[Checking ID. Existing ID exists. Connecting to the Hero Universe with ID [Anvil]. VIP
members are welcomed to reconnect!]

[You are logged in from another world! Get 10,000HP as a login bonus for another
world! First achievement, 10,000 HP added!]

[Loading ID information. Be prepared to be shocked!]

“…I beg your pardon? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

It was the resurrection of the ID Anvil.

Kang Shin-Hyuk was an orphan. He was one of the countless children who have lost
their parents to monsters and were taken to orphanages after the catastrophe of the
Third Gate Cataclysm.

Like the many other children who lost their parents to the monsters, Kang Shin-hyuk
cursed the monsters. He wanted to tear them apart with his hands. Maybe that’s why
he was happier than anyone else when he woke up at the age of 12 as a man of power.

[Kang Shin-hyuk – G-Rank]

[Trait]

[The Serpent without its Pearl][A-] Instead of dealing with mana, you can quickly and
easily master all kinds of martial arts. Strengthen the effect of self-mastered martial arts.

[Physical ability]

Strength – F

Agility – F

Health – F

[Special ability]

-None

[Skill]

Eighteen Techniques (A) – F [1]

However, the moment he laid eyes on his status window (which the adults called the
Gaia system), his mind went blank. The reason was because of his Trait.
“It’s an A-Ranked trait, so if you just look at the rank, then it’s a top trait. Your special
skill is also A-Rank as well.”

“Quickly master all kinds of martial arts. If martial arts includes weapon arts, does it
apply to guns as well? Although we’ll have to see the speed of training… but still.”

“Isn’t the penalty too fatal? Having a Trait without being able to handle mana, this is…”

“You could be a skilled mercenary… but still, a mercenary…”

“You could’ve been a top superhuman. It’s a pity, you’re like a dragon that has lost its
pearl.”

The Fake Gold. It was an expression used by all those who came to know about his trait.

Kang Shin-Hyuk understood it. He knew how important mana was to those who fight
monsters.

Mana or magic power. The mysterious energy that appeared with the gate throughout
the world. Everyone with strong abilities had strong magical powers, and monsters
were also stronger the more mana they possessed.

Artifacts with special powers could also be only activated with mana, and the price of
the mana stones found inside the special monsters increased with the amount of mana
they possessed as well.

‘The world after the opening of the gate is dominated by mana.’

That statement was indeed right. Mana is the power to rule the world.

And ironically, Kang Shin-Hyuk realized this when he awakened his Trait.

You can’t deal with mana.

You can’t be the hero of the world.

***

Five years later, Kang Shin-Hyuk turned 17. There were many other options, but he
chose to go to a Supernatural Training Academy.
Of course, there were countless restrictions on him because of his body that couldn’t
handle mana, but his trait helped him to quickly master all martial arts and enter the
world’s best Supernatural Training Academy despite having those fatal limitations.

In other words, that was it.

“Huh, it’s Kang Shin-Hyuk.”

“That guy failed the beginner mana mid-term exams.”

“Can he advance like that?”

“I wish I get him in the next spar training. I also nearly failed…”

“You know, even if you beat him, you probably won’t get many points.”

At the end of the class, he could hear the voices of the people around him while quietly
walking down the school corridor. Kang Shin-Hyuk clicked his tongue quietly.

Even if he couldn’t handle the magic, he was confident that he could always win no
matter how many times he fought. However, he had to endure it as it is not good to
cause a commotion.

“Because I always get all the hate.”

Korea’s supernatural training institution, the Shinyoung Academy.

Boasting a whopping 60% international student rate, Shinyoung was one of the world’s
top three elite institutions among super-power facilities and everyone from students
to faculty members possessed a strong pride. The pride of being responsible for the
future of this generation.

However, there was a student in Shinyoung who couldn’t even deal with Mana. A
phenomenon where, as a superhuman with a Trait, he couldn’t control mana. There
were even those who considered Kang Shin-Hyuk to be a hindrance just by being in
the same room as them.

He was initially able to get through the year with his superb writing and martial arts
skills for a while but he didn’t know when he would get kicked out for a minor
accident. With the amount of effort he put into entering, he couldn’t afford to be kicked
out now.

“It’s a place where free dormitories, free food, and free training facilities are given, and
no school fees are required. There’s even a ‘dignity-maintenance fee’ where you get
free pocket money.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk tried extremely hard to enter Shinyoung, one of Korea’s best and the
world’s top five super-institutes. There was not even a satisfactory training environment
for an orphan, but he tried. He really tried.

Passing the entrance exam gave him the opportunity to train in the best environment
for three years. He had no time to waste on those who talked behind his back.

‘Suck up everything I can in the school. Take advantage of everything. I have to succeed
as a Trait user… ’

The body could be trained even without mana. Of course, there were limits, but whining
was better left for when he reached those limits.

As he clenched his fist, pledging to himself, a palm quietly rose over his shoulder. A
voice that seemed to suck up the tense atmosphere flew in.

“Hey, Shin-Hyuk-ah, let’s go play!”

“…Baek In Ha.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk looked back and sighed. The name of the boy who crept up so quickly
that even his trained eye couldn’t notice, Baek In-Ha. He was also a freshman, like him.

Unlike Kang Shin-Hyuk, he possessed a high level of mana, and his S-Rank Trait was
also a monster among other S-Rank monsters. Even among the freshmen of the year
at Shinyoung, which was renowned for gathering monsters with excellent potential,
he was still considered a once-in-a-hundred-years genius.

“Nothing good will come from playing with me.”

“Wow, so edgy! It was just like a line from a novel. Hey, say it again. I’ll record it this
time.”

“This little bastard…”

Kang Shin-Hyuk sighed as he watched the appearance of Baek In Ha who turned on
the recording function of the popular “Stick”, a high-performance portable terminal
similar to a smartphone that was given to all students of Shinyoung. He was in the same
class as him, and he was also the first person who approached him during a sparring
session.

Kang Shin-Hyuk had been hitting it off with him, and when he tried to distance himself
after finding out his Trait, he had stubbornly kept approaching him.

‘You’re ignoring a real genius’ or whatever; his Trait was the only good thing about
him. Apart from that, he was just an asshole to him.

However… he was thankful that he got to know him. He would get picked on less just
by staying next to him, and his school life would also be a lot smoother.

‘I hate that I’m only calculating benefits like this.’

Even though he knew that it was good to stay close to Baek In-Ha, the reason he acted
like this was of this kind of guilt unconsciously appearing in his mind.

“Why do you keep trying to play with me and chase off the other guys that want to
hang out with you?”

“I told you, I fell in love with your skills. Kyahh! You ace everything whether it’s with a
sword, a spear or even a mace!”

“But I have no mana. You know what people call me? Trash Can. It even sounds so…
trash.”

“Wouldn’t something happen when your Trait grow more? Besides, isn’t it natural to
have fallen for a guy who works hard rather than people just recklessly believing in
his abilities? Ah, and.”

This is actually important, he said and continued while pushing his face closer to him.

“Your face is really good. You know, to hook up with a girl, you have to be close to a
good-looking guy.”

“…”
Kang Shin-Hyuk looked at his face at those words.

Although he didn’t think his face was bad, it had been a while since he had been told
that. It was because everyone had only looked at his Trait since entering Shinyoung.

“You’re convinced, signor? So, let’s play! Let’s hook up with some gorgeous and
wonderful noonas and enjoy the night together!”

“…Okay, stop talking that way first.”

He would’ve been a great guy if not for his embarrassing personality. Kang Shin-Hyuk
sighed and followed him while telling himself to stop after 2 hours to make space for
training.

However, the place where he dragged him to was not a nightlife bar but a shopping
street full of battle equipment shops, consumable shops, restaurants and taverns…
aka the Seoul superhuman shopping center. A place that required a Superhuman
Academy Student ID to enter.

“Weren’t you going to flirt with college students or social worker noonas?”

“No, that was a joke and it’s your birthday today. I was thinking of buying you a birthday
present.”

“…What?”

Baek In Ha spoke like it was nothing, but Kang Shin-Hyuk was slightly moved by his
words.

Birthday, Who has cared about his birthday? It’s early May, so it’s only been two months
since he got to know him!

“Hey, I’ll buy you what you want. Shall we go over there?”

“Are you crazy? That’s the brand. I’m done. Bye.”

There are grades for superhuman weapons. The shop which In Ha was pointing to was
the brand known to the entire world, the superhuman-use weapon brand [Mystic].

Aside from the rare natural products that can be obtained beyond the gate, the place
where only the luxury goods of the highest grade are sold!

“It’s not as expensive as you think it to be. And with your ability, I have to at least buy
you this much.”

“Say that again, I’ll beat you up.”

He had heard the gossip. Talent and looks, the boy who had everything, Baek In Ha,
his family was also loaded.

At school, he had just been eating the same meals and the same clothes, so he had just
heard of it recently, but it didn’t seem to be unfounded.

“Hey, it’s really not a big deal.”

“I’m the one that’s bothered. Go there, to that shop.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk lead the bewildered Beak In Ha to a shabby shop at the entrance to a
nearby alleyway. There was a sign calling it a second-hand shop, so it was much cheaper
than the Mystic.

“Second-hand!?”

“I know that superhuman weapons are expensive, even used ones. I’m not receiving
anything more expensive than that.”

“But the guy who is going to make it big shouldn’t start cheap…”

“Give me something more expensive later. I can do with that for now.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk led In Ha, who sounded like some big conglomerate’s successor and
forced him to enter a second-hand store.

Baek In Ha grumbled till the end but gave in in the end at Kang Shin-Hyuk’s endless
nagging.

***

It was a coincidence that he found a sword covered all in black.

“Over there’s 1.5 million won per piece.”

The shopkeeper said bluntly without any intention to move from the counter. Kang
Shin-Hyuk heard his words and stared at the sword again.

The ebony black sword was mixed randomly with other weapons in a large container,
which meant that they were the weapons that even the second-hand shop was eager
to get rid of.

“There are a lot of things to do, so even if you complain later, you can’t get a refund.
It’s useless to use the school’s name, so remember that.”

“Ah, yes, We won’t do that.”

The owner’s gaze was fixed on Shinyoung’s emblem on the left shoulder of the uniform
jacket worn by Kang Shin-Hyuk.

Maybe the shopkeeper had been bullied by a senior using Shinyoung’s name in the
past. If so, then it was understandable that he was irritated at them. Meanwhile, Kang
Shin-Hyuk’s gaze was still focused on the black sword.

‘Now that I think about it, I have a lot of money.’

How long had it gone without being properly managed? Not only was the black blade
completely exposed, but there were also fine cracks. Moreover, there was a large hole
in the guard-piece. It seemed that the original ornament went missing.

‘It’s definitely a failed product. No matter how well you manage it, you may not be able
to use it many times. Though it’s strange that there’s no rust. ‘

But why was he so attracted to this sword?

He wanted to hold this sword. If he wiped the dust and changed the blade of the sword,
it seemed like it would shine brilliantly again.

He impulsively reached out to the sword. The shopkeeper then added without faltering,

“If you touch it, you buy it. No refunds.”

“Ah, he’s being so fussy~ Shin-Hyuk, you go with what you want, I’ll pay for it.”
1.5 million won. Although he was quite embarrassed at such an expensive gift, it wasn’t
something he couldn’t pay off through the ‘dignity-maintenance fee. A day will come
when he would get to pay off Baek In Ha.

Baek In Ha approached the shopkeeper proudly showed his card. When the shopkeeper
saw the Sakaman card, he flinched briefly, before politely accepting the card.

“W-we can accept refunds. But that sword is really damaged so we don’t know when
it’ll break…”

“Shin-Hyuk, are you okay with that?”

“I’m okay.”

As expected, money and power were great. The owner of the store became so polite!
Kang Shin-Hyuk took the sword, thanking Baek In Ha for letting him feel this sense of
superiority.

At that very moment, a stream of violent pain ran down Kang Shin-Hyuk’s whole body.

‘Kek!?’

He tried to remove his hand from the sword straight away, but just before that, an
image entered Kang Shin-Hyuk’s head then into his mind.

The image of the man hammering on a lone piece of iron in a destroyed world that had
no more life, where hope was nonexistent.

‘Cramped workshop… An old man? He’s pounding the iron. For a long time, extremely
long… ’

He had never seen this man before, but he felt a deep sense of sympathy and empathy
towards the lonely figure. Then he was even more surprised at that fact.

Why, what is this man to him, that the feelings conveyed by this man are so vivid to
him?

“Shin-Hyuk? What is it? Is there too much damage?”

“No, hey just wait a moment…”

Confused by the sudden rush of images, he tried to back off with his sword, but his
body was acting the opposite way of his will. He held the sword tightly as if he would
never let it go till his death.

As if he had recovered a treasure that had been lost for a long time.

– Confirmed attempt to connect to the Hero Universe.

It was that moment that a message appeared on his retina. A message that feels a little
different from the message of the Gaia system which anyone who awakens an ability
can access.

Kang Shin-Hyuk’s jaws dropped at the phenomenon that had never been seen before.
What surprised him, even more, was that he was confident that he had missed it
somewhere in his heart.

-Checking your identity. An existing ID exists. Connecting to the Hero Universe with
the ID [Anvil]. VIP guests are welcome to reconnect!

“Hero Universe? Anvil…?”

The messages continued. Kang Shin-Hyuk thought out loud but of course, no one was
there to answer his questions.

-You’ve logged in from a different world! Earn 10,000 HP as other world login bonuses!
This is a first- time achievement, 10,000 HP will be added!

It’s because of his mood that the plain sentences in his mind seemed so full of emotion…

-Loading ID information. Be prepared as it may be shocking!

“…Come again? Euaaaaaaaaaaaaack!”

“What is it, Shin-Hyuk!? Shin-Hyuk! Hey man! Shin-Hyuk!”

The shock, skewering his brain struck Kang Shin-Hyuk before he even read the messages.

The record of a world he knew nothing about, the memory of a man who had been left
alone in the world and knocked on the iron, was flooded to him. It was a much more
terrible pain than when he first awakened his Trait.
Kang Shin-Hyuk struggled with the fragments of sharp memories that repeatedly
assaulted his brain, trying to resist with his tough mentality, but finally, when the name
“Eunah” came to his mind, he finally let go of his consciousness.

-I’m honored to see you again, dear member.

Of course, he couldn’t read the Administrator’s message in front of him.

Translator and Editor Notes:

[1] This is a Korean martial arts. I couldn’t find any english articles on it but here’s a
japanese wiki page that you’ll need to google translate if you’re curious about the
martial arts. I didn’t put the Korean one because the japanese one makes more sense
on MTL. ~Magifishcat
-Eunah: What does Eunah have to do to meet her grandpa?

-Anvil: If Eun-ah is a good girl, I will come and see you.

-Eunah: Really? You will meet me, Grandpa is way better than Mom and Dad! My mom
and dad always bully me; they don’t let me play with dolls or let me see movies!

-Anvil: Oh my, looks like Grandpa will have to teach a lesson to those kids! Then we’re
going to play with the dolls and watch movies together.

-Eunah: Really?

-Anvil: Yes, really.

-Eunah’s: I love you so much! I’m going to be a good kid every day, so you have to come
to see me quickly!

There were countless memories in his head. All were memories of different times, but
the place and people remained unchanged.

Kang Shin-Hyuk became a blacksmith who was all alone in the perished world. He was
pounding the lump of metal without any rest. He was constantly quenching metal,
exchanging messages with a child who didn’t know his face or voice.

-Welcome VIP [Anvil]. All your ID information has loaded, but the difference in ability
is large so it will take a while to fully synchronize. The HP that you have earned is locked,
and it will be unlocked as the synchronization rate increases.

-Though you are a VIP, the assimilation rate is too low, so it is not possible to properly
utilize membership rights. Limited activation of the Login Bonus Feature. VIP benefits,
500HP as a login bonus of the day! Increase your assimilation rate to enhance your
login bonus and unlock the My Room function!
How much time had passed since he had fainted after receiving the strange message
from the Hero Universe? It was only after the sky was dotted with the peaceful shine
of the distant stars, that Kang Shin-Hyuk managed to slowly regain consciousness.

He was in his room. Baek In Ha seemed to have carried him to his room. He thanked
him in his mind.

“Hey, uh… why does my head hurt so much?”

His head was spinning from dizziness. He felt similar to the morning when he drank
with the orphanage kids after the Shinyoung results were announced. He was currently
in a situation where he didn’t even know himself and what he was living for.

However, there was a certain thing left in his head and that was the memory of a young
girl named [Eunah].

No, there was one more thing. He was a blacksmith and had made a birthday present
for her in the past.

“What former life… Is it like that?”

He himself couldn’t believe it but the memory felt too fresh and real for it to be a simple
dream. That strange sense of unity was hard to accept in a different sense.

An old, shabby blacksmith who hid underground and quietly waited for his death in a
world where there was no one left to lean on. And the miracle that came to him…

‘I can’t remember any more. The memories are too random and chaotic.’

He also seemed to have heard something similar to synchronization and VIP when he
was unconscious. There was a need to check.

‘The Gaia System’s log function should work… ’ he thought. But when he activated the
log function, he became even paler.

– The Synchronization operation is in progress. Current sync rate 0.3%… 1301 days
17 hours 32 minutes, 55 seconds 18…

– Special abilities and Spirit Power are unlocked.

-Under the influence of Spirit Power, your existing Trait [The Serpent without its
Pearl] has evolved into [Awakened Fledgling Dragon](A -)! All stats grow drastically!

“No, what is it talking about?”

The talk about VIP and Synchronization was probably related to this Hero Universe.
Say he ignored those parts for now, what would he do in the future?

Trait evolution? Metallurgy? Moreover, special ability!? Wasn’t that only for the use of
magic?!

“No. Calm down, calm down Kang Shin-Hyuk. This entire thing could be a trap. Maybe
it’s a terrible nightmare or hallucination since I wanted mana so much. Let’s check
calmly. Okay, calm down.”

Every person who awakens a trait encountered the Gaia system and gained the right
to check his or her abilities.

Yes, that was the status window. He was able to see his objective abilities in real-time
just as he could see the abilities of the characters in the game. So the moment he said
‘Status window’, a translucent window appeared in front of him.

[Kang Shin-Hyuk – E+ Rank → D- Rank] [1]

[Trait]

Awakened Fledgling Dragon (A- → A+) – Instead of dealing with mana, you can easily
and quickly master all kinds of martial arts. It greatly amplifies the effect of self-
mastered martial arts and enhances the performance of the weapons in hand.

[Physical Ability]

Strength – E+ → D

Agility – D → C-

Health – E → D-

[Special Ability]
Spirit Power – F (Unlocked)

[Skills]

Eighteen Techniques (A) → Fanged Dragon Dance (S-)

Metallurgy – F

“Haa…”

Kang Shin-Hyuk sighed helplessly as he looked at his status window. His state window
couldn’t be false. His status has changed greatly since the morning training.

His stats that he had tried to recklessly grow had all grown significantly, and his previous
rank of E+ had grown to D. Skipping The D- Rank entirely becoming a pure D Rank.

But compared to other changes in this arrangement, it was nothing worth being
surprised about…

Originally, his trait, the Serpent without its Pearl, was that of A-Rank. However, it had
become the Awakened Fledgling Dragon and became an A+ Rank, it grew by two stages
at once.

Of course, the inability to deal with mana was still a major limitation, but he was now
able to greatly amplify the effectiveness of his martial arts and enhance the performance
of a weapon he held. If it was this much, then he could become a respectable
superhuman even without any mana.

“Even the special ability is S-class now… I got a negative mark, but still, I have my foot
in the S-grade class.”

There were remarkable changes to his talent of training with weapons and his
Eighteen Techniques had changed to a higher rank Fanged Dragon Dance.

Evolving to a higher rank meant his proficiency would rise by one level, and he was
still strong without much proficiency. An S-Rank was even more special. Since it was
almost exclusive to Rankers or the Ranker Reserve force.

He almost couldn’t believe it, so he pinched his cheek and it hurt like hell. It was not a
dream. He also felt that his strength and stamina had really grown.
‘But what’s even more amazing than that.’

[Special ability]

Spirit Power – F (Open)

It was a special ability. It was a special ability which he never heard about, called Spirit
Power.

No, there had been one before. Spirit Power was what superhumans used to call mana.
No special abilities other than mana had been known at that time. At least for the
general superhumans, including him.

Mana was the power to strengthen all things and must only be used by the superhumans
who faced monsters. Kang Shin-Hyuk was treated as trash because he had no magic.
However, there was now another power in place of mana!

“I need to be calm… No, I can’t accept the situation just like that.”

There had to be only one or two surprises like this but since massive changes full of
multiple surprises had suddenly arrived in his life, he just couldn’t calm down. His
head felt like exploding.

But he found out that everything had happened because of something called the Hero
Universe. What had been the prologue to all this? Yes, it was the black sword from the
second-hand store…

“Ha ha.”

He glanced at his right hand holding the sword. He laughed at himself for holding it so
tightly as if he never planned to let it go.

I only realized later on that he could barely release his hand from the sword and lay it
down.

“Just what is this sword?…”

-This is the sword that you made in your past life.

At that moment, a message appeared in front of him. It wasn’t the stiff, emotionless
message of the Gaia system but a message that radiated with familiar human warmth.
Inside the fragmented memories in his head, Kang Shin-Hyuk managed to recall the
source of the message.

“Administrator…?”

-That’s the answer! 10HP as a bonus to our dear member who has just remembered
the Administrator!

“The bonuses are still as generous as ever… ah.”

His eyes snapped open as he swallowed back the words which he had unwittingly
uttered. Words that he couldn’t make sense of. Then as if it had guessed his feelings,
another message followed right after

-No need to be confused. It’s your memory. More exactly, it is the memory of your past
life.

“That sort of thing… is real?”

-You’re going through it now.

“Maybe this sword forcibly instilled other people’s memories and experiences in me…”

-We were able to load memories of your previous life because the souls matched. The
evidence is that even with a large amount of information injected in you, no rejection
occurred at all. And more than anything.

-You may feel yourself. The fact that you are “Anvil”

“…”

Kang Shin-Hyuk sighed. Because deep inside, he was already nodding to the
Administrator.

ID [Anvil]. A man who hid alone in a destroyed world and hammered on the iron till
the moment he died.

Although there were only fragmented memories lefts, the Administrator’s words were
not wrong. He had already accepted that Anvil was the same as him deep in his mind.
He was curious about it himself, but it felt so… right that Anvil was him, he didn’t even
think about resisting the thought.

“Yes, I can.”

-As the synchronization progresses, the more you will assimilate with Anvil, the more
you may feel confused.

Kang Shin-Hyuk listened and re-examined the message. There were 1,300 days left
until the synchronization was completed.

The moment he saw it, his fear of the changes that would come in the future, and his
desire to quickly reclaim what had been lost, soared up like a dragon. It was a strange
feeling.

Kang Shin-Hyuk shook his head as if trying to shake off his doubts and changed the
subject.

“Then, What’s Spirit Power?”

-That is the power that your past life dealt with. Of course, you can also deal with it
since you’re the same soul. It was just that the process was sped up because you
managed to reclaim your memories by connecting to the Hero Universe.

“What about my Trait and General rank?”

-The influence of the Spirit Power. It is the power to touch the origin of all things and
evolve it. When you awakened your spirit power, the first thing it evolved was your
origin.

“…Uh, that’s similar to mana.”

-Yes. Spirit Power is a force that is different from mana and belongs to the higher
dimension. If mana is a force that acts from the outside to activate the inside, then
Spirit Power is a force that activates the outside from the inside.

“Is it because of that that I can’t control mana?”

-That’s just a penalty of your Talent. Some people can deal with both mana and spirit
power.
He thought that there was a special reason why he still couldn’t control mana after his
awakening, but in the end, it was just his Talent. He was let down a bit.

But his joy was not completely gone.

Spirit Power. A higher form of energy similar to mana. What that meant was simple. It
meant that Kang Shin-Hyuk was not a trash can now. He could grow, become stronger.
Forge his own path,

“Spirit Power…”

Kang Shin-Hyuk clenched his fist, muttering the name of his new power. Then he faintly
felt something.

He didn’t know how to control it yet, but he could clearly feel the energy inside him.

“Administrator-nim.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk, after clearing his mind, calmly asked the Administrator. There were
so many things he wanted to ask, but there was one thing that was the most urgent
right now.

“What should I do to properly grow and control my spirit power?”

-That’s something you have to find out yourself.

The Administrator replied immediately.

-Because you were a blacksmith spirit user.

As a result, the topic reverted back to his origins but compared to the first time, he
was able to accept it with a calm mind.

“I got it.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk replied with a sigh.

He was determined to face himself in his previous life.

“Then let’s try to find out what this Metallurgy Skill is.”
Translator and Editor Notes:

[1] this means that his rank is D-Rank, not between E+ and D or anything like that
~Magifishcat.
Although he said Metallurgy, it was midnight right now. There weren’t any blacksmiths
whom he knew and he wouldn’t be able to get an appointment with one at this hour.
[1]

However, he could try a task that fell under metallurgy, and that was sharpening the
sword.

“Baek In-ha this bastard, he has some sense.”

A large envelope stood at an angle in one corner of his room, in which there was a
large whetstone along with all kinds of medicine, including headache medicine. Maybe
he had ripped it off the second-hand weapon store from before. [2]

Kang Shin-hyuk, who had been caressing the whetstone with his fingers, was surprised
to find himself thinking that the whetstone was good enough sharpen his new sword.
Perhaps this was also the effect of his past memories of the war. A bitter smile came
out. Maybe to a bystander, it would look like a beginner was using a veteran’s jokes.

“But… is this really a Godslayer sword?”

-That’s right. The last sword you made in your past life, the Godslayer Sword.

“But it looks so plain…”

Kang Shin-hyuk shot back, saying that he didn’t believe the administrator’s words.

The Godslayer Sword. Yes, in his messy mind, he remembered making the sword. The
memories just before Anvil’s death remained vivid. Yes, he had made it for a man
named Janus. He had also removed some of the materials and made it into a small gift
to give to a child named Eunah.

But in his memories, the blade wasn’t this worn or cracked.

-As a result of falling through a storm of time and space as well as crossing through
numerous dimensions, even the Dragon Heart, the core of the sword, was lost.
However, since it has returned to the owner’s hand, maybe it will be able to regain it’s
original strength someday by reforging it with your Spirit Power.

“A storm of time and space… So, I have to forge it again.”

His skill level of Metallurgy was only F-Rank. It was only natural considering that he
had never held a hammer before in his life. But to reforge the sword, which had the
words ‘Godslayer’ in its name, would such a day ever come?

-You don’t have to worry. The soul remembers the technique, so if you start training in
Metallurgy, your synchronization will accelerate and it won’t take long until you
recover your past life’s state. Your ability to deal with spirit power should also grow
together.

“Well, I’m looking forward to it.”

Now his priority of action was to develop his new strength, Spirit Power. He had no
strong desire to increase the assimilation rate or to restore the memories of the past
life. He just thought that he couldn’t turn away from it.

The administrator continued explaining as if he had read his mind. Also, it could be
just his current mood, but the administrator sounded as if he was tempting him.

-That’s not all. Once fully synced, you’ll be able to restore your Hero Universe
membership status, upgrade your login bonus and reclaim the massive amount of HP
you have stored at the same time. HP is a commodity that can be obtained through
outreach and heroic activities in the Hero Universe, so it will have a massive impact
on your growth…

“That’s… I’m sorry, I want to forget about the hero universe right now.”

-I understand.

Of course, he had some memories of my previous life, so he roughly knew how amazing
the Hero Universe was. But right now, he was too confused to even evaluate himself,
so he couldn’t properly think about anything else.

In particular, the community he stayed in during the life that he didn’t know about, to
rush straight into this topic was like jumping into fire with a bomb for his mind.

“So, I want to start by being able to sense myself to some extent. Connecting to the
exterior can come after.”

-10HP Bonus for member who is realizing the essence of spirit power!

“Is that so?”

Laughing at the administrator’s message, Kang Shin Hyuk started the work to grasp
himself, which is sharpening the blade.

Although he never learnt how to properly sharpen a blade, he didn’t have the thought
of learning how to. Because he already knew the way in his instincts.

He laid a piece of towel on the floor, then set the whetstone down and whetted it with
water. Sitting on his knees in front of the whetstone, he raised the Godslayer Sword
that had lost its edge. [4]

“……Hoo.”

Why was he trembling at this little stone? Taking deep breaths, he held the blade and
set it an angle on a whetstone. There were no errors in his posture even though it was
his first time. The movement that had been carved into the soul, after being repeated
for many years came out naturally.

In the blink of an eye, Kang Shin Hyuk was not a student at Shinyoung, but a blacksmith.
The transition was so natural that even he laughed.

Shiing. Shiing. Shiing.

Slowly without rushing, with precise movements, making sure there are no faults. He
began to sharpen the blade of the sword.

At first, he felt a little awkward, but after mindlessly sharpening a few times, the
awkwardness disappeared without a trace.

‘Focus on the sword.’

Sharpening the sword is conversing with the sword. That mindset was naturally
instilled in his mind as he continued to grind on the whetstone.

That was also probably a memory from his past life. But it still belonged to him. At this
moment, the feeling of discomfort about the memories of the previous life disappeared
a tiny bit.

Shiing. Shiing. Shiing.

Without stopping, he continued to sharpen his blade. The repetition of such simple
movements was infinitely comfortable. The sudden memories about his past life, his
discomfort about his new Special Ability, the Hero Universe, disappeared as he
sharpened the blade.

His mind calmed down. The other unnecessary thoughts disappeared, and only one
sword remained with him in the world.

It resembled the figure of a lone blacksmith who hammered on a lump of metal in a

destroyed world.

-Halo : Anvil…? Anvil, right?

At that moment, a message appeared and hindered his concentration. Kang Shin-hyuk
cocked his head. What’s this?

His body wiped the whetstone and poured water again but suddenly realized while
trying to interpret this phenomenon. Among the members of Hero Universe, there was
a function to share messages.

‘Let’s ignore it for now.’

But, unfortunately, it was just the beginning.

-Eunah: Grandpa!?

-Eunah: It’s Grandpa! Grandpa, Grandpa!

-Tsukuyo: Anvil, I’m greatly saddened by the fact that you have neglected your wife.
But your wife, after finding out that you’re alive and well, has shaken off all my sorrow
and hate, so please calm your anger and reply.
-Eunah : Grandpa! Where is Grandpa!? Are you well? Are you alive? Please answer me,
Grandpa!

-Janus: Anvil old maaaaaan! I thought you were really deaaaaaad!

Janus: Oh, please make me a godslayer sword again! I lost it. Make it red again! Anvil
old maaaaaan!

-Eunah: Grandpa, right?…? Please, Grandpa. Please give me an answer……!

-Mirang: What a surprise. Are you alive? No, wait… Is it reincarnation? What a success
you’ve had to connect to Hero Universe in both of your life! No, did you… hmm, is it
too unlikely? Please answer as soon as possible. I’ll wait.

-Super Ultra Galactic Fist No.1 Best-nim: Wow, it’s been a long time old man! How can
you not make my gloves and go under for 18 years!

-Eunah: Heuk, Grandpaa… Answer me…

“Ah really!”

In the end, Kang Shin-hyuk stood up screaming. He couldn’t work at all. In particular,
this girl, Eunah, was very burdensome!

“Administrator, please do something about this!”

-You can use the whisper blocking function and the offline camouflage function.

If such things existed, then he should’ve told them first! Kang Shin-hyuk immediately
activated the two functions. The manager did what he asked, adding a word.

-It was processed. However, if you are thinking about future hero universe activities,
it is a good idea to read the messages slowly and answer them one by one. The
relationship you have made will be a great power.

“……I know. I just thought it would be ruder for me to respond to them without
thinking.”

Truthfully, he didn’t want to connect to the Hero Universe until the synchronization
was completed, but now that this happened, he felt like he had to face the Hero
Universe, and the people from Anvil’s past properly.

Honestly, it was a burden. Relationships that he built up but didn’t know! He couldn’t
help but sigh when he thought of all the explaining he would have to go through about
himself. Kang Shin-Hyuk turned his eyes to the sword that lay in front of his eyes.

“I don’t know, let’s just keep sharpening.”

-As expected, your personality didn’t change.

“That’s an insult.”

-10HP bonus!

“What do you mean? Excuse me? What does that mean?”

After blocking the whispers, he created an environment where he could concentrate.

The current condition of the Godslayer Sword was so messed up that he had to not
only sharpen the blade but also shake off the dirt embedded between the chips and
dents. And so, after one hour of work, his sword resembled a proper sword somewhat.

-Woo Woo

How quietly he was sharpening his sword? At one point, the sword vibrated. Kang
Shin-hyuk’s hands stopped. Was he mistaken? No, he wasn’t. In addition to the sword
vibrating, he was able to detect the distinct will contained within it.

Gladness, longing, joy, sadness. Such complex emotions were flowing from the sword.
Kang Shin-hyuk shivered and realized instinctively.

Perhaps this was spirit power. The Spirit Power inherent in him stimulated the Spirit
Power in the sword, intertwining their origins into one.

Kang Shin-hyuk felt as if he could communicate to the sword with just his will, just like
how it mesmerized him in the weapon store. He chose to go along with his instincts.

‘Did I make you?’

-Woo-woong
The moment Kang Shin-hyuk carefully asked a question while sharpening his blade,
the sword glowed as if it were positive. It was definitely a spirit power. The anxiety
and faint light shook his heart. He wanted to help this sword.

At that moment, the light that naturally escaped from his body permeated into his
sword. The sword seemed to be happy again and made a slight cry.

After seeing it, Shin Hyuk Kang lost his composure very briefly, but he soon realized
that his spirit power was absorbed by the sword.

‘Indeed, it is true. Is this the power to deal with it.’

He felt pure joy in his heart. Was it because he figured out a way to control spirit power,
a higher form of mana? No, that wasn’t the reason. Of course, that was also a good
thing, but now he was just happy to be able to help his sword struggle and regain all
its strength. It was strange though the past him wouldn’t be able to understand.

Shiing. Shiing Shiing.

Kang Shin-hyuk continued to sharpen and talk to the sword. The sword didn’t respond
as if it was out of energy, but he could still feel that the sword was feeling joy.

At this moment, he was convinced that they were communicating from their origins.
Then.

-The GodSlayer Sword’s power is restored very slightly by spirit power.

The sword emitted a dazzling light as the message of the Gaia system appeared in his
mind. It has recovered its lost origin power very slightly and regained some of its
former authority!

-The GodSlayer Sword regains power equal to D-Rank.

-Metallurgy grows to F+ Rank.

-Spirit Power grows to F+ Rank.

-Unlock a portion of the sword’s memories.

“……Eh?”
Kang Shin-Hyuk, who was sharpened the blade stopped his hands, as a feeling of deja
vu came over him.

The flood of memory again hit Kang Shin-hyuk.

This time it was a memory of another person.

Translator and Editor Notes:

[1] Although I’m not a master of metallurgy, the Metallurgy mentioned here is more on
the blacksmithing side, but bit more than just blacksmithing to be called blacksmithing.

[4] Whetstone need to be wet with water before sharpening for those who didn’t know.
-VIP benefits, 500HP as a login bonus of the day! On the third day, you’ll get a special
sign-in bonus, so look forward to it!

After the onslaught of surprises yesterday, Kang Shin-Hyuk was so tired in the morning
that he couldn’t even train in the morning, and sleepily walked to school. As soon as
the morning roll call was over, Baek In-Ha laughed as he looked down at the figure
slumped on desk.

“Is little Shin-Hyuk okay now?”

“Ah… Uh… Yeah. Are you the one who brought me to my room? Thank you.”

“Was that sword really okay? No curse or anything like that?”

“It’s not that; it’s my Trait. Something happened with the sword because of that.”

“Oh oh.”

Baek In-Ha’s eyes twinkled.

“Is your Trait growing or something like that?”

“It’s something similar, I’ll explain later. Anyway, thank you very much. I’ll definitely
pay you back for this.”

“But the more I think about it, the more I wonder, did the 1.5 million won second-hand
sword have some sort of ability that stimulated your Trait? Or is it because your Trait
affects weapons in general?”

“Both.”

“Hmm really… but you know… There’s more important news than that. You actually
lost out a lot yesterday.”
“Huh?”

Baek In-Ha pulled a chair from the desk in front and sat down. The chair originally had
a separate owner, but he couldn’t complain outright to Baek InHa, so he had to find
another friend to sit with.

“Look at this. I found it while carrying you back.”

“Huh?… What.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk was astonished to see the figures in the photo, which appear to have
been taken by Baek In-Ha himself. He gestured not to make a loud noise, but he was
too surprised to stop himself in time…

“This… This is that.”

“The Thunder Empress and the Alchemist.”

“Crazy.”

There were two people captured in the photo, and they were both breathtakingly
beautiful women.

With striking golden eyes and beautiful black hair, the Thunder Empress Shin Eun-Ah.

Crimson hair and fiery eyes, and a mole on her lazy smile all excluding a self-indulgent
charm with her glamorous body, the Alchemist Claire Boyle.

Both of them were eye-catching beauties, but more importantly, they were ridiculous
figures of the current generation who ranked among the top 500 on the international
rankings.

“Why are they going to the superhuman commercial street?”

“I have some information that I have obtained from a reliable source.”

“That’s a really suspicious intro.”

“In fact, there’s something they’re looking for in a store. It seems to be some sort of
hidden weapon, so they appeared yesterday for that reason. So…”
“They’re going to appear there again today, is that right?”

“Our little Shin-Hyuk is going to come right? We’re going to go hunting for sexy noonas,
right?”

Baek Inha faced Kang Shin-Hyuk with a face full of anticipation. I even bought him a
birthday present. He won’t reject me! However, Kang Shin-Hyuk responded politely.

“I’m sorry, I’m not going.”

“Ah, come one!”

“I don’t have time to play for a while.”

“The midterms are already over, so why!?”

“For the time being, I have to hold onto the sword you’ve given me.”

“Ahh…”

Beak In-ha’s expression crumbled at Kang Shin-Hyuk’s serious voice. However, what
could he do, when it was because his gift was too liked. He had dug his own grave.

“So find another handsome guy and try your hunting together. I’ll watch you deflate in
the distance.”

“Did you just say deflate?”

“I need to sleep for a bit.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk then rammed his head on his desk after kicking out Baek In-Ha. Of
course, he was also interest in the high rankers who visited Seoul’s commercial street
yesterday, but there was currently something more important than that.

‘Spirit power, Godslayer Sword, Hero Universe… and the sword dance.’

Last night, the moment he succeeded drawing the power of his sword with spirit
power, Kang Shin-Hyuk was once again forcefully pulled into another memory.

It was the memory of an unrecognizable human shadow, endlessly dancing under the
moon’s shadow, whilst beautifully wielding a sword.

It was just a memory, but the short but crystal-clear dance refused to leave his mind.

‘It was advanced to the point where I couldn’t even understand it… ’

It was a memory that could not be shaken out of his head. Just thinking about the
possibility of recreating that sword dance made his body shake with excitement.

He knew very well, since he also possessed a relatively advanced sword dance. The
fact that the sword dance in the memory was in a realm that was out of his reach.

However, the memory was so real, that just comprehending a little part of the dance
helped him immensely. If he could just see more, then it just might be possible to fully
recreate the dance.

‘Touching the sword’s origin with your spirit and accepting everything in the sword,
also means accepting everything that the sword has experienced. Spirit power is such
a ridiculous ability. Now I just feel stupid for trying to compare it with mana…”

Spirit power. That was the strength that had allowed for him to move through frustration
in the past.

After sharpening the Godslayer’s blade and stimulating his spirit, he realised that
there were countless other ways to use spirit power. That what happened yesterday
was only a small part of what spirit power was capable of.

He wanted to delve deeper into spirit power to the point where it was almost unbearable.
Just like how the memories within the Godslayer Sword were awakened, could he also
awaken something buried deep within him?

…But the opportunity came to him sooner than later, in a way that Kang Shin-Hyuk
never would’ve imagined.

“Today, we will conduct student-to-student duels. You will only use training weapons,
but you could be seriously injured if you aren’t careful. Keep your mind straight. Do
you understand?”

“”Yep!””
Class 3 [Weapon Training 2]. As one the basic subjects in the Shinyoung Knight
Department, it was a necessary and dangerous subject that covered mastery with
weapons and even real combat with monsters.

“Then, first is… Do Woo-Jin.”

“Yes.”

Dowoojin, an outstanding student in the C-class boasting mana comparable to Baek

In-ha. His status window has not been disclosed to others so although they couldn’t
be sure, there was a rumour that his mana reached C+ Rank. C+ Rank was higher than
the some of the superhumans who had already graduated and was currently active in
the field.

“Then, Kang Shin-Hyuk, come out.”

“…Yep.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk responded calmly to the call of the teacher in charge, Gong Jun-Pyo,
and walked out. In fact, he expected to some extent that his name would be called.
That’s because this teacher didn’t like Kang Shin-Hyuk so much.

In fact, most of the people in Shinyoung didn’t like Kang Shin-Hyuk. It was because
they felt that the value of Shinyoung was diminished if a manaless person was one of
its students.

However, among them, Gong Jun-Pyo’s hate towards him was particularly strong. He
always tried to trample him whenever a chance arose, and a dueling session where he
could just pair him an outstanding student and watch him be trampled was a very
good chance.

“Do Woo-jin, what weapon?”

“I will use a one-handed sword and shield.”

“Kang Shin-Hyuk.”

“Sword… No, I’d like a spear.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk almost unconsciously answered sword as he recalled the sword

dance thoroughly engraved on his mind, however, he soon changed his answer.

The sword dance’s power was not yet reproducible in his hands. He couldn’t even
strengthen his body with mana, so having a close-quarters match with Dowoojin, who
has C+ Rank mana, was a pointless effort.

‘No, wait a minute… Isn’t it not like that anymore?’

Only after his hands were gripping a spear did he have this thought. Didn’t he awaken
the new power of spirit yesterday? Although it was different from mana, he was
convinced that it was a power that didn’t lose to mana. He gained that conviction after
yesterday night’s ordeal.

‘I haven’t tried it yet, but… ’

Yesterday, he figured out how to breath spirit power into other objects while sharpening
the sword. Although he never tried to strengthen himself with spirit power, it didn’t
seem that impossible. He even had the thought that it would be easier than touching
the origin of another object.

He might be able to win. In the first place, Do Woo-jin wasn’t even a worthy opponent
in terms of their techniques. But now that his physical abilities had risen, now that his
martial art skills grew dramatically, now that he had gained a new ability called spirit
power…!

“Both of you go inside the duelling arena. The fight continues until either side
surrenders or is stunned. Just make sure you know that if you surrender too quickly,
I’ll have no choice but to deduct your score.”

“Yep.”

He felt strands of ill will pointed towards him as he replied. Kang Shin-Hyuk ended up
bursting into laughter as he watched Gong Joon-Pyo and Do-jin quickly exchange
gazes.

They really hate him that much, it was really a mystery as to what he did that made
the duo hate him with all their might.

“And this guy is somehow a teacher… it hurts my eyes just by watching their unsightly
figures.”
Behind him, his only ally, Baek In-ha, was mumbling something with an eerie
expression, but as there was no way to prevent an official class duel from happening,
he could only grit his teeth and watch the duel.

‘What a good guy.’

Kang Shin-Hyuk bid Baek In-ha farewell, who was outraged for him and entered the
specially-crafted sparring arena. The state-of-the-art facilities developed from the
peak of magic engineering would absorb all the impact produced from the duel.

“I’ll warn you in advance. You should surrender. I won’t go easy on you.”

Dowoojin, armed with a one-handed sword and shield, declared coldly. He had more
pride in Shinyoung than anyone else, so consequently, his hate for the ‘Incompetent’
Kang Shin-Hyuk was also greater than anyone else.

In response, Kang Shin-Hyuk raised his spear and smiled widely, not backing down.

“Hmm? You’ve never went easy on me so far, are you perhaps talking to someone else?”

“Impudent. There’s no way you’ll be able to beat anyone in Shinyoung without any
mana.

“Wow, your speech so far has been a real gem among gems. Kind of like a vicious chub?”

“Watch your mouth…!”

But those kinds of expression will run dry really fast. Does he make them up on the spot?

He wasn’t certain about this match. Even if he had awakened spirit power, his rank
was only F+ Rank and the opponent was estimated to be C+ Rank.

‘But I have no choice but to try.’

However, thanks the long session of sharpening the night before, his heart was serene
without ripples even before the duel.

Maybe it was the influence of a faint memory of his past life? It was like before the
rush of hot blood in battle, an old man’s relaxed touch approached him, and calmed
his rough breath.
Kang Shin-Hyuk gripped his spear, breathed in deeply, then carefully awakened the
spirit power that had been sleeping inside him. He looked upon himself, not the spear,
and focused on the himself. At that moment, the teacher exclaimed,

“Duel start!”

“Ha!”

As soon as the teacher’s signal dropped, Do Woo-jin rushed in. His body was wrapped
in a brilliant blue light, as if proving that his whole body was overflowing with power.

Fast. Overwhelmingly fast. He was rushing in to crush him with all of his power,
regardless of whether Kang Shin-Hyuk could handle mana or not.

However, it wasn’t a bluff to say that he possessed C+ Rank mana. No matter how
strong Shin-Hyuk was in martial arts, there was no way Kang Shin-Hyuk could react
to a speed beyond human recognition.

This would’ve been the case, if it was yesterday.

“Ugh…!”

“He avoided it!?”

Do Woo-Jin, who missed him by a hair’s breadth, turned his head and spat out in
dismay. Meanwhile Kang Shin-Hyuk, who avoided his rush without much difficulty by
only moving one step, was also amazed.

‘I could see it. I could react!’

Despite the fact that it was only the first attempt, he had succeeded. He had succeeded
in controlling spirit power, stimulating the origin, and temporarily awakening his
flesh!

Physical performance was amplified explosively in an instant, and it became possible

to read the enemy’s movements as well as avoid them quickly. Only.

‘Crazy, the speed my spirit power decreases at also exploded!’

His spirit power was still F+ Rank, with its quantity and quality still on the level of a
toddler!

What’s more, unlike the time when he was calmly controlling his spirit power by
slowly sharpening his sword last night, this time, he was ignorantly pouring it into his
body without any knowledge on how to control spirit power efficiently!

‘It’s dangerous, I have to finish this quickly!’

Kang Shin-Hyuk, who knew he would not be able to hold on for more than a few
seconds, went straight to the next step. It was of course, to attack.

Only a short time had passed since Do Woo-jin froze in surprise after Kang Shin-Hyuk
dodged his attack. If he didn’t take advantage of the gaps that were revealed now, the
battle would again instantly shift in Do Woo-jin’s favor.

‘Help me!’

Kang Shin-Hyuk, who could not be satisfied with only strengthening his body, squeezed
out the last drop of spirit power in his body and focused all of the divine energy on the
training spear in his hands.

In an instant, the image of the spear was engraved on his mind. The spirit power that
flowed into the spear had sensed the origin of the spear and was strengthening it. Only.

‘It’s a lot different from the Godslayer Sword. It is easy to understand the source… but
I don’t think there’s much power to amplify. The will of the weapon itself is too weak.’

Compared to the Godslaying Sword, which currently resided in his own origin, the
origin of the spear was too weak, but it was definitely not a failure.

The training spear, with a weak enough will for one to almost believe that it didn’t
exist, had started to vibrate as it resonated with Kang Sin-Hyuk’s own will.

‘Good, now I ask of you… ’

The tiny amount of spirit that still remained in his body was concentrated in the spear,
and wave of exhaustion came crashing down upon him.

He endured it and took a quick step forward. The target was Do Woo-jin’s stupidly
hard abs!
“Hup!”

The spear was thrown forward in a straight line. Within it, contained the might of the
S- Rank martial art with a proficiency of C-Rank, the Fanged Dragon Dance.

However, the moment Kang Shin-Hyuk launched an attack; he realized something

new. His new S-Rank skill, had a distinctively different feel than the martial arts he
was already accustomed to, the Eighteen Techniques (A).

‘It’ has a same motions, but contains more power in the move. As expected, skills are
decided by ranks!’

Furthermore, as soon as he struck, he wanted the spear to shine a faint light, and a
faint picture was engraved there according to his wish. A picture of a squirming little
dragon!

Kang Shin-Hyuk did not realize it himself, but this was the power of his Trait, Awakened
Fledgling Dragon. This is the first time that the power of Trait which strengthens the
power of weapons in his hands was manifested.

-Bang!

“Kuk!”

The training spears tip squarely landed on Do Woo-jin’s stomach. With his body
unbalanced after his charge, Do Woo-jin couldn’t withstand the impact and bounced
off like a cartoon character, spewing blood from his mouth, and crashed into the
opposite wall of the arena.

He then fainted and didn’t move from his spot.

“…”

“What!?”

“Why did Do Woo-jin suddenly fly off?”

“Kang Shin-Hyuk won? For real?”

Only a few seconds. That was the length of the duel from start to finish. Most of the
jaws of those watching ended up dropping to the ground in shock.

“What, did he use magic? Did he have a double awakening?”

“Do Woo-jin definitely rushed in, but he also went flying off by himself as well?”

“What, that’s crazy! Why did Do Woo-jin lose!”

“I knew Kang Shin-Hyuk was good at martial arts, but still, winning against Do Woo-
jin?”

“Do you think Do Woo-jin was anemic?”

The exchange was so fast that no one knew what happened. Except for a few students,
the rest were confused to the point where they almost believed that Do Woo-jin had
fallen over by himself.

Kang Shin-Hyuk lightly ignored the downpour of questions coming from his classmates
and calmly looked at Gong Jun-Pyo. He was hoping for the announcement of the
results, but Gong Joon-Pyo instead narrowed his eyes and asked him.

“…Did you use auxiliary magic or any artifacts Kang Shin-Hyuk?”

“If I had done that, the alarm in the arena would’ve been set off. I didn’t use them.”

Gong Jun-Pyo, who grasped both the movements of Do Woo-jin and Kang Shin-Hyuk,
was also unable to believe the results.

He could understand why Gong Jun-Pyo was suspicious of the results of the duel, but
to ask him these kind of questions… Kang Shin-Hyuk could only smile bitterly.

“But it’s impossible for you to beat Do Woo-Jin without any magic.”

“Then did you make a duel while you were convinced that it was an unfair match? But
fortunately, my talents and skills have improved recently, so I’ve been able to win. You
know how I got into Shinyoung.”

He didn’t lie. It was true that his Trait had evolved, as well as his skills.

However, although spirit power was added to the equation, there was no need to tell
this person. It would be different if he was able to sense spirit power, but it seemed as
though he hadn’t, so that was even more of a reason to keep his spirit power hidden.

“I won. Fair and square.”

Kang Shin-Hyuk calmly received the intense gaze of Gong Jun-Pyo. There was no
reason to be not calm. Because without his permission, other people had no way of
reading his status window.

Eventually, Gong Jun-Pyo nodded. Even if he wanted to nitpick, he couldn’t. He knew

best that Kang Shin-Hyuk had won fairly.

“…Yes. You won.”

“Sir, I’m exhausted right now, so can I go to the infirmary?”

“Oh, yes. That must have been tiring. Do whatever you want.”

Gong Joon-Pyo, who realized that he would not be able to properly conduct other duels
with Kang Shin-Hyuk here, did not reject his request. No, it was probably because he
was shaking from head to toe.

Kang Shin-Hyuk returned the training spear to its original spot and exited the arena.

He ignored his classmates who were still slandering him, and after gesturing to Baek
In-Ha, who was looking at him worriedly, stumbled out of Gym No.1.

“I’m going crazy, so hungry…”

He then grabbed his rumbling stomach and headed straight to the bathroom.

He needed the help of the Administrator.

-Growl…

Thunder rumbled inside his stomach. And not just that, his mouth was as dry as a
raisin, and a splitting headache was running rampant inside his skull. It felt like the
skin on his body was shriveling up. It terrible sense of hunger that he had never felt
while growing up in the orphanage.

“This is… Why is this doing this? Administrator, a little explanation… please…”

Kang Shin-Hyuk threw himself in an empty cubicle, then huddled on top of the toilet,
muttering like a madman. Fortunately, the Administrator answered right away.

[This is due to the exhaustion of both stamina and spirit power in a short period of
time. There is a need to consume nutritious food full of rich spirit power to recover
your stamina and spirit power.]

“I-I see…”

[Hero Universe’s trading board sells a large quantity of energy-rich emergency food.
The 20,000 HP other world sign-in bonus can be used without worry, so I recommend
that you use it to make a purchase.]

Again, the Hero Universe. Kang Shin-hyuk, who wanted to avoid the unfamiliar world
for the time being, instinctively made a frown.

“I can just eat Earth food, can’t I?”

-Earth’s food, of course, contains some spirit power, but they only contain a small
amount, and they’re also not very pure. You will reach your physical limits before
absorbing enough spiritual power. Also, if you eat foods with ample spirit power, your
spiritual power will grow faster.

The Administrator was probably talking about the permanent growth of spirit power.
However, there was no time to discuss calmly about the efficiency of such a method.
He was going crazy with hunger, so it didn’t take long to make his decision.

Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t die from hunger just to save his HP, which he didn’t even
know how to use. So he hurriedly connected to the Hero Universe. No one would’ve
expected his decisions yesterday would lead to this situation.

[A recommended item is Item #141,787, Eiren Jelly on the trading board. It has the
highest spirit power to nutrient ratio and its pure spirit enables quicker spirit power
regeneration, as well as its growth. However, the seller is notified of the buyer’s ID.]

“Okay, please just buy it…”

Sooner or later, the Hero Universe had to be challenged again. And if he were to operate
there, then he wouldn’t be able to ignore those who had been his friends in his past
life.

This wasn’t the time to nitpick over the temperature of the water. After all, this was
the first time in his life where death by starvation was a serious possibility.

[VIP benefits! Commission fees are exempt! 10% discount due to bulk purchases.
Would you like to buy 200 Eiren Jellies for 18,000HP?]

“Just do it!”

Kang Shin-hyuk could not use the HP originally possessed by Anvil’s ID, but he was
able to purchase the goods with the ‘another world bonus’ obtained from accessing
the Hero Universe on Earth. Of course, most of the HP he had gotten had just been
blown away!

[Completed the purchase of 200 Eiren Jellies. You will receive one Eiren Jelly directly.
The remaining 199 Eiren Jelly has been sent to the shop inventory. The Shop Inventory
is a spatial inventory that allows you to keep items purchased from the Hero Universe’s
trading board, and you can take goods out from it whenever you want.]

The messages appeared one after another in succession, however, his blurred vision
from severe hunger meant that he couldn’t spare the attention to read them. However,
the sudden appearance of a small stick-shaped object in his hands made him wake up
from surprise.
“Heuk.”

Even unwrapping the packaging was painful. He hastily ripped up the packaging, then
took a huge bite of out of the purple jelly that revealed itself.

But as soon as the purple jelly entered his mouth, the fresh aroma of grapes spilled
into his mouth, and the pain mysteriously evaporated away. Kang Shin-hyuk widened
his eyes to the limit as he returned to the land of the living. He could see a faint plume
of smoke rising from the cross-section of the mysterious jelly.

“This, what…”

[Eiren Jelly is a great emergency food that contains an abundance of compressed spirit
and nutrients. Not only does it contain all the calories you need per day, but it also
completely refills your spirit power and stores the excess amount in your body for
later use. In addition, the taste is excellent.]

“Whoa, crazy. Thanks for the recommendation!”

[10HP bonus for a wonderful member who never forgets to express his gratitude even
in a hurry!]

Kang Shin-hyuk originally didn’t like jelly very much. But this was an exception. He felt
as if he was biting into a freshly picked plum.

He then devoured the remaining amount in a flash and savored the aftertaste. He was
still not as full as his well-trained body required more energy than the average person,
but at least his hunger was completely sated.

The crisis of his life was over. He sincerely thought so.

“The Hero Universe really is amazing…”

[Of course. If you also actively push your synchronization, you can acquire top-tier
items incomparable to this jelly. A more direct approach can be taken once you unlock
your My Room function as well.]

It was only one jelly, but it contained an absurd miracle within its small form. A single
portion could replenish an enormous amount of calories, restore spirit power, and
also be very filling. If there was a version for mana, the entire world would’ve been
turned upside down.

“By the way…”

Kang Shin-hyuk, finally relaxing after the crisis, looked through the logs and realized
that he had purchased 200 Eiren Jellies instead of one. Thanks to that, a 10% discount
was applied, but…

“Why did you recommend mass purchases?”

[Of course. Your current spirit power is very small. In the future, you’ll be in a similar
situation whenever you use your spiritual power, so it’s essential to have lots of Eiren
Jelly at hand.]

“Kng.”

He couldn’t refute that reasoning. This didn’t mean that he wouldn’t use this power in
the future, but rather, if he were to train intensely with spirit power, then Eiren Jelly
was “essential” in the words of the Administrator.

[Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, the more you consume quality food, the faster
your spirit power can grow. By the time you’ve consumed all 200 jellies, you’ll be able
to gain a D-Rank’s power without any difficulty.]

“D-Rank…!”

He didn’t know exactly how powerful D-Rank spirit power was. This was because, in
the 1st Grade Knights Department, there weren’t many who had reached D-Rank in
mana. It was a rank which even a top institute like Shinyoung couldn’t dismiss easily.

And just as he experienced before, Kang Shin-hyuk had instantly overpowered Do-
Woo-jin, who possessed a C+ Rank mana, with his pitiful F+ Rank spirit power. He
couldn’t even begin to imagine how powerful he would become if his spirit power was
raised to D-Rank.

[Only.]

But the moment Kang Shin-hyuk was about to burst into excited fanfare, the
Administrator emphasized another point with an overly bright message.
[Continuous exhaustion of spirit power will have a negative effect on your growth.
Your current weak body will be in danger after exhausting your spirit power 10 times
per day, and there should also be an ample gap between them]

‘Then you’re telling me to eat these jellies over the course of 20 days.’

[You will reach a point where just one jelly won’t be enough to fully replenish your
spirit. I estimate that it’ll take around a fortnight for you to consume all the jellies.]

The excited Kang Shin-hyuk calmed down at the Administrator’s words after realizing
that the growth rate of spirit power would slow down the higher its rank was. But
after thinking about it calmly, the fact that he could grow his spirit power to D-Rank
in 2 weeks was still plenty amazing.

‘It’s an opportunity. No rushing, let’s take it nice and slow. ‘

It took some time to completely calm down. However, when he imagined sharpening
the blade of the Godslayer Sword, his mind wondrously started to calm down little by
little. His budding blacksmithing skills were supporting his adolescent mind little by
little.

[Excellent. You’ve completely calmed down.]

“Thank you.”

[Now, are you ready to talk to your friends in the Hero Universe?]

“…”

That’s right. He had fully consolidated his abilities, planned his growth, and made up
his mind to explore the Hero Universe more.

Then the next step would be, of course, a response to his past friends who were
beautifully ignored yesterday. However, Anvil’s friends’ list that the Administrator had
so kindly brought over was so large that his will deflated at the sight of it. Frankly, he
was afraid.

[First of all, it would be better to send a reply to the friends who contacted you yesterday.]

“Yes, that would be better, right…?”

Halo, Eunah, Janus, Tsukuyo, Mirang, Super Ultra Galactic Fist, and so on. It looked like
a spy was possibly mixed among them, but it was definite that they were his past friends.

“Especially, this person named Eunah… Um, I think she had a deep relationship with
my past life.”

[Probably.]

The Administrator casually affirmed. Also, in the 100+ messages, he received yesterday
in that short time, more than half were from Eunah. Moreover, she had also appeared
in Anvil’s memories.

“Once they find out that I’m not Anvil… They would be very disappointed.”

[You are right. It was just a reincarnation.]

“But… it’s still different…”

[Yes.]

The Administrator answered honestly.

[If we judged based on the feelings communicated with Eunah-nim, it wouldn’t be

exactly the same.]

“Exactly.”

[Nevertheless, you are Anvil. Surely Eunah-nim will be very happy. Moreover…]

“Moreover?”

[…I think it’s better to realize this for yourself.]

It was only a day since he met him, but the Administrator who always coolly answered
his questions evaded the answer. Kang Shin-hyuk was worried about the Administrator’s
words, but he believed he would find out soon as he was about to talk to Eunah anyway.

“Please release… the message function…”

[Unblocking messages.]
Was it because he had blocked all messages for the day, an overflow of notifications
like yesterday didn’t happen this time?

But if he would just repeat yesterday’s incidents if he dilly-dallied here. Kang Shin-
hyuk firmly prepared himself and wrote a message to send to the person named
Eunah.

-Anvil: This is Anvil. It may sound very outlandish, but I was reborn in another world.
The memories of my past life aren’t complete, so I only have hazy memories of you.
I’m really sorry.

Even for him, it looked like such a cheap message, but he couldn’t think of a good
message in a short amount of time. He could imagine the Administrator’s pitiful gaze
towards him, but he still tightly shut his eyes and sent the message anyway.

The reply came quickly.

-Eunah: Grandpa!

-Anvil: So I’m not grandpa. The person you know is my past life. I’m now a 17-year-old
man, and I only acquired my past life’s memories after connecting to the Hero
Universe.

-Eunah: Then you’ll completely remember one day!?

-Anvil: That’s…

Instead of writing a reply, he checked with the Administrator, who affirmed without
hesitation. Kang Shin-hyuk replied again.

-Anvil: Yes, but I don’t know how long it will take. What’s more, even if I recover all my
memories, I’m still a different person from my past life…

-Eunah: The soul is the same, right? You’re getting your memories back, right? Then
you’re grandpa!

-Anvil: Excuse-no, that’s not what I mean-

-Eunah: Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa!Grandpa! I missed you! I missed you so

much!
Kang Shin-Hyuk fearfully raised his head.

“Hey, I think this person is a bit…”

[I agree. 10HP bonus will be given to you who are in the same mind as your
Administrator.]

The Administrator, who he thought would defend Eunah, surprisingly agreed with him
and gave him 10 HP.

Kang Shin-hyuk wanted to block the messages from Eunah at that point, but at the
same time, he couldn’t ignore someone who regarded his past self as someone so
important in their life.

And more than anything, if this crazy girl was also a member of the Hero Universe, it
meant that she wielded an ability comparable to his spirit power. He couldn’t treat her
lightly. He replied carefully.f

-Anvil: I’m very sorry anyway. My memory is still very messy and unclear, so I don’t
know how to talk with Eunah-nim. Can you understand what I mean?

-Eunah: I understand! Then when will you call me Eunah again?

I don’t think she understands what I mean… Kang Shin-hyuk pondered for a long time
on how to answer her but eventually decided to reply.

-Anvil: Can we start as friends first?

On that day, Kang Shin-hyuk missed the entire afternoon classes greeting his past
friends of Hero Universe while squatting on a toilet.

It was the moment when the inexperienced veteran returned to the Hero Universe.
The last lecture had already begun when Kang Shin-hyuk left the bathroom. He quickly
went to the staffroom and requested permission for early sick leave.

As if they have heard about his ‘barbarism’ during his training period, the teachers
looked at him with suspicious eyes, but the permission was granted with ease.

[Baek In-ha]: “You are sure there’s no problem, right?”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “It’s just that my muscles are a bit tangled after moving around too
abruptly. It’ll get better if I take a break.”

[Bake In-ha]: Well, I guess you’d know best about your own conditions. But I gotta say,
you were really cool earlier. I’m pretty sure the bald dude and I were the only
witnesses. Throwing your spear with perfect timing while dodging all the attacks with
concise movements… Kya! As expected of my best friend.”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: Anyway, since I got my permission for early leave, you should just
hang out with yourself today.

After he walked out of the staffroom and texted Baek In-ha, Kang Shin-hyuk began
walking back to his dorm room.

For your information: “the bald dude” was referring to the supervising teacher of
session 2 of the martial arts techniques training, Gong Joon-Pyo. There was a saying
that even one could hate a human, one must not hair a bald head. Yet, Baek In-ha had
been so harsh.

-Tsukuyo: The Anvil that I once loved is already gone. That is my final conclusion. So
I’ll cut to the chase; I want you to delete his ID.

-Mirang: An inheritance of the memories and knowledge gained from your time in
Hero Universe, very interesting. I’ve never heard of such a case because I’ve never died
before. How’s your new life going, Anvil?
-Halo: How is that world?… Is it very dangerous?

“Ah… There is no end to this. No end.”

In fact, at this very minute, he was receiving whispers from countless friends, Eunah
among them.

If there was Eunah, a person who rather frighteningly accepts all aspects of him, there
was also someone who could not come to terms with the existence of a revival system,
as well as an adventurous type who was inspired by Anvil’s revival to explore the Hero
Universe.

“I’ve had enough for today.”

He sent a message to his friends explaining how he was tired by having just regained
his memories and subsequently blocked all of them.

By circling the message around to his friends, he extinguished the fire that needed
immediate attention. There were still a couple of problems remaining, but none of
them were serious enough to deter him from participating in his community activities.

Even though he eagerly wanted to learn more about the Hero Universe, he wanted to
focus on a single issue more than anything.

“Spirit Power.”

He tightly clenched his fists while thinking back to his training earlier. He could still
feel the exhilaration he felt after beating down Do Woo-jin.

Even though trait [Awakened Fledgling Dragon] and skill [Fanged Dragon Dance] were
already useful enough, the most surprising change was the physical enhancement of
his body. Awaken the hidden strength of the weapon, and extract away your hidden
potential. With that alone, you could unveil infinite possibilities!

“I instantly became stronger. If I grow my spirit power, I can grow even stronger!”

He was now able to defeat those who wielded mana. The same people who thought
little of him and looked down on him!

For someone like Kang Shin-hyuk, who spent his entire life suppressing himself, the
experience he had today was equivalent to an upheaval that turned his life upside
down. At this point, it would be difficult to suppress his excitement.

[Please don’t exhaust yourself.]

“I know. Thank you for worrying about me.”

After hearing the Administrator’s message, Kang Shin-hyuk tried to relax. He countlessly
murmured to himself that nothing good comes from acting hastily and comforted his
ever-growing impatience. And before he knew it, he arrived at his dormitory.

[What will you do about metallurgy?]

“Of course, I would have to train myself. But physical training is also important. I first
want to completely master what I learned today and then think about the next step. I
want to try the sword dance as soon as possible as well.”

He had instinctively learned from today’s battle with Do Woo-jin that the spirit power
wielded by blacksmiths is a bit different from the spirit power wielded by warriors.

As the Administrator advised him, while it is important to pursue what you used to
be, you must not let go of the current you.

“All right, let’s go to the training room.”

The male dormitory of knight majors contained a large training facility of enormous
scale. While the individual training facilities are available as long as you sign up for
them every day, since Kang shin-hyuk was diligently training each morning and
signing up ahead of time, he was practically living at the training facility.

“Actually–let’s get changed and bring the Godslayer sword.”

As he learned during today’s sparring session while infusing spirit power into his
training-purpose long spear. If the weapon’s level is low and its origin is insignificant,
the effect of spirit power will also be diminished.

While that may change if his abilities are enhanced, now wasn’t the time to figure that
out. In order to effectively train his spirit power, it would be most effective to use the
Godslayer sword, the weapon with the greatest hidden strength, despite his level
being a mere D-rank.
“You’re early, student Kang Shin-hyuk.”

“Hello, Mr. Bolten. I went on sick leave since I wasn’t feeling well after the sparring
session.”

“Hm, All right. Since you aren’t the type to skip classes.”

As he changed to comfortable clothes in his room and brought the Godslayer sword
with him, Kang Shin-hyuk bumped into the housemaster and bowed his head politely.

Since the housemaster of Shinyoung academy was responsible for resolving conflicts
happening between students, the selected person was often incredibly strong. This
was especially the case for Emil Bolten, the British housemaster of the knight majors’
male dormitory –the largest dorm of the academy– who, during his prime days, was a
superhuman who ranked within the top 300.

Putting that aside, because his looks are that of a good-looking middle-aged Westerner,
I always felt something is out of place seeing him speak Korean fluently. Though I
would have to eventually get used to that now that I’m attending Shinyoung.

“Hm? That sword… Do you mind if I take a look at it?”

“Of course.”

On top of his superhuman ranking, Emil Bolten was famous for possessing a
supernatural prowess of martial arts. Since Bolten was one of the few people who
treated Kang Shin-hyuk on equal terms with others despite his deficiency in mana,
Kang Shin-hyuk gladly handed over his sword to him.

“Wow.”

Emil Bolten let out an exclamation after carefully studying the sword.

“It certainly is not an artifact containing any special type of capacity, but it certainly
was crafted by a skillful blacksmith using quality materials. And if my guess is
correct… Did student Kang Shin-hyuk sharpen the edge himself?

“Yes. I’m still clumsy, but…”

“I don’t think you’re clumsy at all.”

Bolten was noticeably impressed as he was feeling the sword’s deftly sharpened edge
on his hands.

“This is the work of a hand that understands weapons deeply well. People who have
gone through serious training are surely different.”

“Thank you very much.”

“A good weapon has gone into the hands of the right person. I look forward to seeing
your development.”

Emil Bolten politely handed back his sword and waved him goodbye.

Kang Shin-hyuk headed to the training room while trying to refrain from feeling full
of himself for receiving praise by Emil Bolten, a figure revered by most of the students
wielding some type of a weapon. But then suddenly, a thought came to his mind.

“Wait, so even someone as strong as Emil Bolten can’t recognize the true worth of this
sword?”

[The true form of the Godslayer sword will make its appearance when the user’s spirit
power is released. Those who are not able to properly wield their spirit power will not
be able to properly recognize the Godslayer sword.]

“I see…”

After walking while murmuring “spirit power” to himself, he arrived at the training
facility without noticing. He entered the individual training room he had reserved for
himself and sat comfortably at the center.

“First, let me try to raise my physical stats.”

Although he gained a rather unseemly appearance for rapidly consuming mana, its
temporary explosiveness required no mentioning. To avoid showing such an indecent
look, he had to grow adept at enhancing his physical stats through spiritual power.

“Still, I have to do better than how I did in my sparring match with Do Woo-jin.”

Back then, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t have any spare time to think things over. He was so
thoroughly captured by his thought to dodge Doo Woo-jin’s mana-powered attack that
he forcefully extracted half of his spirit power to enhance his physical abilities. Kang
Shin-hyuk well understood that that is not the right way to go.

“Slowly, and calmly. Let me also take out an Eiren Jelly…”

With the help of the Administrator, he opened his inventory and brought one of the
199 Eiren Jellies into the real world. He placed the wrapped jelly besides him so he
can reach it at any time, and quietly closed his eyes.

He then focused on his origin.

“Spirit power is the power to help understand one’s own origin. The power to help
you perceive every aspect of yourself.”

He learned from his sparring match with Do Woo-jin. The essence of spirit power lay
in setting up a deep connection with the wielder and understanding it. The physical
enhancement was merely a by-product rather than the primary goal.

Perhaps as the aftermath of training with various kinds of objects, he was luckily able
to perceive that fact from the very beginning. Which prevented an endless array of
possible trial-and-error developments and instead led him straight to the right path.
It was the overwhelming advantage of possessing memories from a past life.

“To be able to see myself as I am. To merely affirm and nothing else… let’s start by first
discovering myself.”

Of course, it was not easy. Meditation was an unfamiliar task for someone who
normally enjoyed physical training.

After a long time had passed, however, he was able to concentrate on his inner self so
intently that he completely blocked out the squawking of crows coming from the
training room’s window. It was at that moment:

“Ah.”

The part of himself that was completely hidden in darkness up until that moment was
finally emitting some light while he was consuming spirit power.

During his sparring match with Do Woo-jin, the situation was so urgent that he ended
up pouring his spirit power into enhancing his physical body, but he was now able to
observe his ego without going overboard.

“…I found it.”

His inner self was like a dark, narrow cave.

It was as if he was seeing the exact manifestation of the unstable heart within him that
was the product of constantly ignoring the contemptible stares from others and
enduring it all by himself.

But at the center of it, Kang Shin-hyuk was able to find something that was faintly
emitting light in its solitude. Weak, but a firmly determined ego of himself.

“HaHa. That looks really shabby compared to the Godslayer sword.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at his faint ego that was shaking in all directions.

It was weak. Too weak. It felt different from when he was looking at his status. It was
as if he was standing face-to-face with the true form of the concept of nakedness.

But more than embarrassed, he was satisfied. When you acknowledge the insignificance
of yourself, all that’s left to do is to move forward.

As he thought that, the faint light surprisingly grew in brightness in response to

him…… At least that’s what he felt.

[Synchronization is slightly accelerating. Assimilation rate is 0.4%.]

[Your spirit power has been upgraded to an E- Rank.]

A message popped up in front of him. Not only has his synchronization accelerated,
but his spirit power has entered an E- Rank as well!

The sudden brightening of his ego was probably due to that change. At that very
moment, he felt that he had made a distinct step forward.

[Eat your jelly!]

“Ah, yes!”
Since he had been in such an enlightened state of mind he hadn’t noticed that his spirit
power had plummeted. Kang Shin-hyuk thanked the administrator’s timely message
and swallowed the jelly. As he was engrossed in the unwavering, marvelous scent and
taste of the jelly no matter how many times he had eaten it, he felt his spirit power
steadily increasing.

Kang Shin-hyuk: “Having upgraded to E- Rank, I can now feel my spirit power more
directly.”

[Congratulations.]

Ordinarily, one had to devote a superhuman-level of concentration to extract and

wield spiritual power, but even at the lowest level, the upgrade to an E rank allowed
him to feel and extract his spirit power more naturally than before.

Surely he will be able to wield spirit power even more naturally as he grows further
and further. Kang Shin-hyuk let out a bright smile as he physically felt his growth in
his body.

“All right, what’s next.”

After he confirmed the recovery of his spirit power, he gripped the sword and stood.
He felt a little nervous. After all, he was about to witness the sword dance through
Godslayer sword once again.

“I hope I don’t faint this time.”

He was afraid of a headache, but could no longer hold back. He tightly clenched his
teeth and released his spiritual power with the hand firmly gripping the sword. Kang
Shin-hyuk intended to more deeply understand and connect to the Godslayer sword
by gently infusing his spirit power.

Although the task was not easy since the Godslayer sword wasn’t in the same league
as a training-purpose long spear. He remembered back to the moments of sharpening
its edge and the sword opened its heart to him in response.

Just like before, the sword dance completely took control of his mind.

“Ah…… Ah ah.”
There was no sound. No change. Only a shadow performing a sword dance with the
Godslayer sword gripped in its hand was present in a world covered in white.

Just watching its movements gave him a headache and his body broke out in cold
sweat. He felt nauseous, but he endured it all.

“Whooo, Whoooooo…”

Tightly clenching his teeth to sustain the headache that was on the verge of knocking
him out, he slowly moved his body. He began to dance very, very slowly in rhythm to
the image that was flowing out of the Godslayer sword.

“Whook, Whoo, Whoooo…”

The spirit power released from Kang Shin-hyuk completely filled the Godslayer sword.
In response, the Godslayer sword emitted a stream of light by faintly vibrating.

But no one could describe his movements as beautiful, even as empty words. Unable
to obtain knowledge that was beyond his scope, he could not infuse significant
meaning in his movements and the tip of the sword began to mellow.

It was at that moment.

[Due to your trait Awakened Fledgling Dragon(A+), you will now be able to more easily
accept sword techniques of superhuman territory.]

Kang Shin-hyuk’s trait, ‘Awakened Fledgling Dragon’, was a trait that allowed him to
rapidly learn all kinds of martial arts techniques.

Although the difficulty of those martial arts was on a different level from those found
on earth, the sword dance infused in the Godslayer sword was also part of the trait’s
eligible targets!

“Knggggggg.”

But the consequence of carving that knowledge into his body had to be endured by his
mind. Because he was absorbing martial arts techniques that were unmatched to his
current level.

If he went too overboard, there was a possibility of his mind collapsing, so he paused
the process of understanding the martial arts techniques on the verge of leaving
permanent damages on his brain. As if to shake off the headache, he frantically
continued his sword dance.

At a certain moment, a mark resembling a worm crawling upwards to the tip appeared
on the Godslayer sword, but he was so absorbed in the sword dance that it went
unnoticed.

“Huk, Huk!”

How much longer did it last? A message appeared in front of Kan Shin-hyuk as he
sensed his spiritual power diminish and completely cut off his connection with the
Godslayer sword.

[Skill Fanged Dragon Dance(S-)’s level has been upgraded to a C+ Rank.]

The result was splendid, the skill ‘Fanged Dragon Dance’ had leveled up, it had
previously been at C Rank, but now it had been upgraded to C+ Rank!

For your information, ‘Fanged Dragon Dance’ was an S- rank skill that evolved from
‘Eighteen Techniques’, a skill Kang Shin-hyuk previously had. The S- rank referred to
the skill’s rarity and its hidden strength, while the C+ referred to the skill’s current
proficiency level.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH”

After he completely stopped his movements, Kang Shin-hyuk used his free hand to
grasp his head as if to tear it apart. He had never felt such an extent of pain before
while learning martial arts through his trait.

But that also proved that the sword dance, infused in the Godslayer sword was that
exceptional. Despite having only gained a glimpse of it, his understanding of the
martial arts allowed him to naturally know its greatness. But it hurt! His head felt so
entangled that it seemed as if it were going to explode!

“I can’t do any more of this.”

He felt that to resume understanding of sword dance, he first had to completely master
the understanding he already attained. Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively came to that
conclusion.
He even felt that by successfully using this opportunity at hand, he might be able to
upgrade Fanged Dragon Dance one level further.

[Dear member, if you’re under pain due to a headache, I want to make a suggestion.]

“Is there an effective headache pill listed on the trade board or something?”

[The suggestion is to sharpen the sword’s edge with a whetstone.]

“…”

He didn’t know how to respond to the administrator’s rather odd message, but after
realizing that any attempt to continue training that day would be in vain, he nodded
his head.

“I guess I’ll sharpen the edge, then.”

[A 10HP bonus to our dear member for humbly accepting the administrator’s
suggestion!]

He returned to his room and began sharpening the Godslayer sword’s edge as
instructed. Now relaxed, he was now able to objectively review himself during the day
and learn from his mistakes, while having improved on his ability to wield spiritual
power.

The warrior who was excited by his new power had now become a blacksmith again.

The days where the current life and the past life would overlap harmoniously still
seemed far into the future.
The sun shone brightly, the breeze was cool. On top of that, there was no gate
occurrence in that morning, so she could leisurely enjoy her tea time. She felt happy.

Actually… Even if there was an overcast sky without wind, and an S class gate appeared
where she’d have to be dispatched, she would still be happy.

“Hm, Hmmm…”

A genius, who was distinguished among the superhumans across the world. One that
appeared once every few hundred years, and the pride of all young Korean superhumans
who stood at rank 317 in the Worlds Superhuman Ranking.

Renowned not just in Korea, but across the whole world, the Thunder Empress Shin
Eunah felt cheerful for the entire day. People who heard her humming coming out of
her office were surprised.

“Did something good happen to our Thunder Empress”

“She never scolded me today.”

“She’s had that smile on her face earlier. My heart almost dropped as I passed her
during lunchtime seeing how beautiful it was.”

“Don’t talk about her looks in front of her. She hates it.”

“I’m not crazy.”

Shin Eunah had the world’s attention from a young age for possessing an SS rank trait
[Conqueror of Thunder]. Of course, her beauty resembling that of a bisque stone
contributed to her popularity, but compared to her gleaming talent, it was a trivial
factor.

Since she was a child, Shin Eunah received the best education to match the expectations
of having parents who were among the top 10,000 in the World Superhuman Ranking.
When she graduated from elementary school, her skill levels were to the extent that
she could easily place within top 1,000 in the World Superhuman Ranking.

But in the end, she rejected every sweet deal coming from various large well-known
guilds from all around the world and chose to settle at the Association of Korean
Superhumans instead.

It was a prestigious position, for sure–but many people were confused by her decision.
Even in Korea, you could easily find guilds that were willing to pay two to three times
the amount the Korean government could pay her.

“Excuse me, captain.”

“Come in.”

The Special Mission Force of the Association of Korean Superhumans was a unit that
specialized in tackling missions that were beyond the capability of ordinary
superhumans of the association.

It was a unit that only a select few possessing remarkable combat skills were assigned
to; Shin Eunah was the captain of the 1st Division.

“This is the record of the ‘A-Gate K-SEn4017’ incident that happened three days ago.
The 7th Division of the Special Mission Force was dispatched to the scene, and they
have successfully apprehended all the suspects before any more victims could arise.
The case was resolved.”

“Ah, yes. Mm. Mm-Mm.”

As if her thoughts were at some happy faraway place, Shin Eunah flipped through the
pages of the report, blatantly unengaged in the conversation with her secretary.

It was an incident involving complications having to do with violating various kinds of

rights, but the only details she paid attention to were the number of dispatched special
force members and the method they employed to suppress the targets.

Most of the time, an incident would be resolved without having to dispatch the 1st
Division, but as preparation for a possible joint operation in the future, Shin Eunah
kept track of every single incident report through her secretary.
“What’s the status of the gate forecast for the evening?”

She asked while tossing away the report which she barely read. The secretary replied
while withholding her sigh.

“No case of irregulars. All 8 gates of C Rank or above have been acquired successfully.”

“There shouldn’t be a problem then. I’ll get going.”

“Will you be spending time today with the Alchemist lady again?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

Anybody informed on issues surrounding superhumans knew that the Thunder

Empress was friends with the American High Ranker (rank 479) Alchemist Claire Boyle.

But no one knew where that friendship had been formed. Although they were similar
in age, their areas of activity were completely different.

“No, sorry, it’s nothing. I was just wondering if there’s a scouting intention behind that
person’s approach to you…”

“Her?”

“No, it’s nothing! Have a great day, then!”

Just as Shin Eunah was about to respond with a slight frown on her face, her secretary,
whose mind had now become completely frozen, spat out her words like a rapid-firing
gun and quickly ran out of the office.

Shin Eunah stared at the door for a few seconds with a weirded-out expression, but
then stood up after emitting a short sigh.

“I wasn’t going to eat you alive or anything…”

Dark clouds were temporarily cast in her mind which had been fully bright during the
day. But she was able to shake it off easily as that sort of thing was a common occurrence.

She no longer cared about what people who didn’t matter to her thought about her.
Sometimes there were thoughts that made her depressed and often made her cry, but
now she was completely unaffected.

Because Grandpa was back.

Because he spoke to her once again.

“He’s a fraud. I’m sure of it.”

As they met at the Superhuman Market after work, Claire Boyle pouted her lips as if
she wasn’t satisfied with something. Her red hair, which was stylishly tied down,
bounced around in various directions as if to express her feelings.

“Do you really believe resurrection is possible? There hasn’t been a single case like it
in the Hero Universe which is overflowing with absolute geniuses.”

“If souls exist, resurrection should definitely be possible…… And grandpa is a genius.
An unmatched genius who built all those artifacts in a world consisting of nothing.”

Though nobody else knew about this, the Thunder Empress and the Alchemist shared
one common thing. That was their membership in a secret community in the Hero
Universe.

Claire Boyle entered the Hero Universe when she awakened her skills in high school
and met Shin Eunah there.

They quickly became close after learning of the coincidence that they shared their
homeworld, and with the freedom gained in adulthood, they have been maintaining a
solid friendship by occasionally meeting up, disregarding the boundaries between
their countries.

“You’re being scammed. It’s just a new user with the same ID.”

“That can’t be it. Grandpa explained it all. Also even though he’s lost his memories, his
personality was the same. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize grandpa.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know that. So? If he’s connected to the Hero Universe, has he
awakened a certain skill?”

“I didn’t ask him that. But since it’s grandpa it would probably just be another artifact
crafting skill like before.”
Shin Eunah spoke with a bright smile while fiddling with her hairpin in her bangs.

For someone who’d never smile in her life emitting such an innocent smile… If someone
were to see her, they’d mistake her for a girl who’s in love. Claire Boyle let out a deep
sigh.

“It’s just a scammer no matter how I think about it. Like I said before, why don’t you
just get a boyfriend if you have time to care about some old man? You know that I’ll
have to return to New York after this commission is finished. Should we enjoy the
nightlife of Seoul before then, hmmm?”

“I hate places like that.”

“Just why? There’s even a superhuman-exclusive club, why won’t you wanna go?”

Superhuman-exclusive club. Just as the words imply, it’s a club where only superhumans
can enter. A VIP establishment for superhumans that could only be located inat a city
like Seoul, a world center of superhumans ever since gates started appearing.

Shin Eunah responded to her friend, who was eager to take her to the club, without
hesitation.

“I promised grandpa to stay as a good girl.”

“That geezer again! Kng, forget about it. Let’s just quickly wrap up Janus’ commission.
Finding that… Godslayer sword or something.”

Having realized once again that the conversation would not come to a resolution with
an issue surrounding “grandpa,” Claire Boyle shifted the topic while letting out a deep
sigh. But unfortunately, the matter here was also related to “grandpa.”

“I definitely felt it around here, but the presence is gone today.”

“Did someone take it already?”

The girls were in an alley that was quite secluded in the Superhuman Market. Having
accepted a commission from Janus, a strong associate of theirs in the Hero Universe,
they were looking for his Aegean sword that was said to have fallen on earth.

“That’s not possible. Because its presence is tightly sealed, if it can’t be detected by
grandpa’s hairpin, you won’t be able to find it.”

“Looking at its picture and how it’s completely covered in black down to the sword’s
edge, the sword seemed to contain some sort of meaning behind it…… Ah, let’s try
there. It looks like a store that contains lots of weapons with a meaning behind.”

Shin Eunah, who was constantly fiddling with her hairpin, turned towards where her
friend was pointing at. It was a small pawnshop located at the mouth of the alley. As it
was a place that took security deposits and loans from superhumans, there was an
eerie feeling surrounding it.

“All right, let’s check it out.”

“Okay. Mmm, I hope Janus gives us plenty of HP as promised after we find it. There’s
this cocktail ingredient that I’ve really wanted to buy, and each root costs over 3
million! Can you believe it? 3 freakin million!”

“Yeah, Yeah.”

“But what does Janus do to have that much HP? What the hell is he?”

“He’s a bit eccentric but incredibly strong. I heard he’s among the top 3 in Hero
Universe.”

“Holy crap…… What the hell is up with Anvil then, making a weapon for such a
superstar?”

“Our grandpa.”

“Yeah, Yeah.”

Even though Shin Eunah was heading towards the pawnshop while talking to her
friend, her thoughts were somewhere else. She wanted to quickly finish the commission
and talk to grandpa again as soon as possible.

Grandpa would be so surprised if he knew what I’m currently looking for…… She let
out an innocent laugh while thinking that.

Countless people who peeped at her experienced difficulty in breathing, but she was
completely unaware of that fact.
[Janus]: “I’m literally gonna go insane. Anvil geezer, do you really not remember me?”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “I do…… actually faintly remember having a conversation with you.”

Meanwhile, Kang Shin-hyuk–Shin; Eunah’s “grandpa”–was speaking to Janus with the

Godslayer sword gripped in a hand, which the girls were desperately looking for.

Given the size of the message log with Janus, he seemed to have been the closest friend
of Anvil just after “Eunah.” Kang Shin-hyuk sent him a message in the evening as well,
but Janus didn’t reply until late at night.

[Janus]: “I told you, stop using honorifics with meeee!”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “Ah, uhm…… Sorry. I’ll take it easy.”

[Janus]: “Whoo. So you’re telling me the Godslayer sword is in your hands right now?”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “Yes sir–I mean yes. It’s all thanks to this that I was able to reconnect
to the Hero Universe. But it has significantly weakened. Currently it’s at D rank by the
Gaia system’s standards.

[Janus]: “D rank is less than garbage…… Sigh, I don’t even need to look at it to know
the Dragon Heart is missing. Am I right?”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “So the Dragon Heart was originally embedded……”

A D rank weapon is a standard weapon in modern monster hunting. A new product

would easily surpass 20 million, and even a used product can be sold at 10 million as
long as it has been managed carefully.

And he’s expressing that as garbage. No, I already recognized the fact when he
mentioned a legendary treasure like the Dragon Heart as if it was no big deal, but he
was undeniably an inexplicably strong person.

[Janus]: “Forget about it, I don’t even know how to repair a dying sword, so you can
have it. Instead, make me a new Godslayer sword. There are still a couple left that I
need to kill. It’d be nice if it’s fire-friendly.

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “I’m really sorry but my metallurgy level has been reset as well,
so……”
[Janus]: “For real–then just quickly restore it. You’re still doing a job involving knocking
on metals, aren’t you?”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “Actually I’m not yet.”

[Janus]: “Yet?”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “No, not yet.”

Kang Shin-hyuk laughed while making that response. It was as if everyone related to
the Hero Universe, including the Administrator itself, was expecting him to perform
metallurgy.

Even though there was no way that the same results would be produced by the current
him picking up a hammer……

“I’d have to do it anyway, though.”

To train his spirit power.

To increase his assimilation rate and receive the whole of Hero Universe’s VIP benefits.

……No, those weren’t the only reasons.

They were of course included, but separate from the “necessity” seen in those reasons,
there was an image of that pursued metallurgy purely for the sake of it.

“I want to knock on metals.

I could not shake off this impulse ever since I saw the back of that lonely man.”

Ever since he received the memories from a past life, and perhaps even more so since
sharpening the Godslayer’s sword, he could not help his urge but to uncontrollably
want to grab a hammer.

Perhaps the reason he prioritized martials training that day out of all days was an
attempt to resist that incredible urge.

[Kang Shin-hyuk] “But I will do it now.”

Having realized his spiritual power, observed his ego and confronted the Godslayer
sword, he was finally ready.

Not that it was possible to delay in the first place. He didn’t want to delay, nor was
there a reason to.

[Janus]: Yes, of course you will. Anyways if you’re going to make me another Godslayer
sword, I’ll bring whatever ingredients are necessary. So I’ll leave it all to you, geezer.”

[Kang Shin-hyuk]: “All right, thanks.”

Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head after finishing the conversation with Janus.

Now firmly determined on what to do, his eyes brightly radiating light like stars.

“I’ll thoroughly search for ways to train blacksmithing.

[A bonus of 100HP from a deeply moved administrator!]

“Wait, why now?!”

The next day at dawn, Kang Shin-hyuk was greeted with a rather special message
when he woke up early.

[For today’s login bonus, you will receive a growth rate buff! For two days, the growth
rate of your status and skills will increase by 30%!]

“There was something like this, too?”

He knew of course that VIP had the benefit of receiving login bonuses. But until
yesterday, he had only received an additional 500HP as a bonus, while the reward he
received today was unbelievable in comparison!

He felt a mysterious power wrapping around his entire body. Yesterday, he had been
told that the third day would be different, but to think it would be this special!

To think his status and skills would grow faster–such an effect couldn’t happen even
from a super rare potion found inside a gate.

[The login bonus for a VIP member is special in the Hero Universe. It can provide
abilities and effects that are beyond comprehension, you will receive whatever you
need most depending on your situation. If you improve your assimilation rate, you will
receive login bonuses of a wider variety.]

“You should have told me earlier!”

Kang Shin-hyuk stood up, heading for the training facility. He was finally taking a break
after intensely training both his Martial Arts and Spirit Power for two hours.

“Come to think of it, the added growth rate should apply to metallurgy as well. All
right, I’ll definitely grab a hammer today!”

So he wouldn’t waste the growth buff, Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t just doze off for the day.
After taking a shower and eating breakfast with Eiren Jelly as dessert, he left the
dormitory, heading to the Wyvern Hall located beside Shinyoung’s gymnasium of
knight majors.

“It’s my first time here, and it’s… Super big. An ordinary school could easily fit in here.”

The Wyvern Hall was a facility that provided appropriate amenities for the students’
individual activities and self-development programs. To put it simply, it was a building
that contained various student clubs including the student government and volunteer
groups.

Since a student club at a prestigious school like Shinyoung possessed a lot of power, a
student could climb a few levels higher in authority simply by being accepted to a
renowned student club.

Among the renowned clubs, three–the Student Government, the Wyvern Knights and
the Shinyoung Magic Academy–possessed an overwhelming degree of authority.
Simply put, if you were a member of these clubs, you had nothing to worry about for
your future.

“I have no interest in any of them, though.”

The student government was responsible for several important events like the student
festival, annual school trip, and exchange meeting with a sibling school. Because the
positions were usually monopolized by the students who came from renowned families,
ordinary students couldn’t dream of joining the organization.

A bloody warzone where rich students with authority, wealth, as well as physical
power try to bite each other off to obtain their seats in the organization.

Baek In-ha criticized them for smelling like a pile of blood-soaked rags, but Kang Shin-
hyuk could estimate his wealth just by that one audacious statement.

“The Wyvern Knights club is a group of the knight majors’ top elites and the Shinyoung
Magic Academy is the equivalent for the magic majors. If I were to join either of them,
it would certainly be the Wyvern Knights club……”

Not only would someone without mana like Kang Shin-hyuk be rejected by a bunch of
students who were drunk with privilege, but now Kang Shin-hyuk himself opposed
the idea of being a part of them.
Though he had paid a little respect for them when he had first arrived. That wasn’t the
case anymore, because he clearly understood what he had to do to grow stronger.

“Metallurgy. Isn’t there a student club where I can practice metallurgy?”

He smacked his lips and skimmed through the various pamphlets placed at the entrance
of the Wyvern Hall.

He hadn’t thought much when he had decided to train his metallurgy, but calmly
thinking about metallurgy he realized it wasn’t something he could just train in a
dormitory.

“Not that I can just go and hire a blacksmith in downtown either.”

It was a mystery if there was a workshop nearby that had the right materials and
conditions he could use. It was also an issue if he was going to constantly be going in
and out of the school; though, most importantly, he lacked money. Although he had
plenty of HP, not only was it unable to be converted into gold, but it couldn’t even be
used freely due to member restrictions.

“That’s why I came to the conclusion of joining a student club……”

Shinyoung Academy, an organization that was willing to use any amount of money to
nurture each student as an elite. As part of that commitment, they poured countless
resources into establishing and maintaining various types of student clubs, but……

“Tseup.”

The problem was that no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t find any club that
was related to metallurgy. But that was to be expected. Even if someone had awakened
a trait related to metallurgy, that person would have attended an academy other than
Shinyoung.

A significant number of clubs were merely places intended for socializing with fancy
names. The majority of knight majors’ clubs were under the physical activity category
(a pretext for sparring sessions), and the majority of magic majors were under the
category of culture (a pretext for magical research).

Occasionally there were a couple of clubs run by people who wished to pursue their
respective subjects for their own sake to temporarily escape the harsh academic
environment at Shinyoung, but unsurprisingly none of them dealt with metallurgy.

“Then the only remaining solution is……”

Kang Shin-hyuk thought of one last solution: to establish a new student club. As
proven by the hundred-or-so existing student clubs, one did not require complicated
qualifications to make a new club.

But still, there were three essential conditions that had to be fulfilled: prospective
members, high grades, and lastly a supervising teacher. Three conditions which Kang
Shin-hyuk couldn’t fulfill at the present moment

“My grades for the entrance exam were already at the bottom due to the written
exam…… The midterm was no different. Do I have no choice but to ask for Baek In-ha’s
help?”

Everything could be resolved if Baek In-ha were to come for help. Who in their right
mind would object to a student club being founded by a student possessing an S rank
trait of all people?

Countless students would flock toward the club in hopes of joining. He had excellent
scores in his written exams, and he could probably amass about a dozen interested
teachers. However, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t feel like it, there was a limit to what one
could ask from a friend.

“But if there is no other way, I have no choice but to ask for his help. Tseup, I keep
owing him more and more.”

“Move out of the way.”

“Heu-uh!”

Surprised by a sudden female voice from behind, Kang Shin-hyuk frantically turned
around. Out of instinct Kang Shin-hyuk reached for his waist, but he was unarmed at
the moment.

Fortunately, the person didn’t show any hostile intention towards him. She was only
gesturing for him to move out of her way with a slightly irritated look on her face.
Looking at it now, he had been blocking the path to the Wyvern Hall’s front entrance.
“I’m sorry, Sunbae-nim.”(1)

“It’s ok.”

She was absentmindedly nodding her head as if she didn’t care in the first place. Kang
Shin-hyuk was able to recognize her as his senior due to her tie.

‘The magic majors’ uniform along with a blue tie–she’s a sophomore.’

Shinyoung academy operates 8 Knight and 2 Magic classes, totaling to 10 classes for
each year. Since an average class consists of about thirty students, each year consisted
of about 300 students, adding up to a total of 900 students.

As an academy that assembled only the elites-among-the-elites while disregarding

their country of origin. The total student body of Shinyoung was small compared to
that of a typical high school (2). But having attended Shinyoung for only two months,
Kang Shin-hyuk still had difficulty recognizing all the faces. But there was still a way
to figure out their major and year–through their uniform design and tie.

The Knight majors’ uniform exhibited more of active-type design and the Magic
majors’ uniform was more of a scholarly one. A 1st year’s tie was red, a 2nd year’s tie
was blue, and a 3rd year’s tie was black.

‘But…… Is she an international student? She’s really pretty; even if our majors are
different, it’s odd that word about her hasn’t spread among the 1st-year students.’

More than her uniform, what caught Kang Shin-hyuk’s attention was her nicely tanned,
brown skin.

As he thought she might have spent some time at a beach in the South, the riddle was
solved by her exotic features, starting from a sharp nose too deep eyes.

Attractively tall with long, straight legs and sizable breasts, she had a distinctively
Western body. To add to that, the silver hair that slopped around the rim of her neck
and her dimly burning eyes, attracted him.

Though her unrealistically sleek hair and the color of her iris should be the effect of
her awakening…… Overall, she gave Kang Shin-hyuk a very deep impression.

“I’m not a foreign student. My dad’s Korean.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Kang Shin-hyuk bowed his head again to his senior who responded before he could
ask the question as if she could read his mind.

“Don’t worry, I get asked pretty often. Excuse me, then.”

She passed Kang Shin-hyuk entering the Wyvern Hall.

But just as Kang Shin-hyuk tried to calm himself to survey the student club pamphlets
again, the senior student, before walking up the staircase, told him in a soft voice:

“It’s a good thing to pay a debt as soon as possible…… Though, it’s best not to owe one
in the first place.”

“Ah, yes.”

He was confused at first, then realized; she had overheard him talking to himself.

As if that was all she wanted to say, she quickly climbed up the stairs and disappeared
out of sight.

Thinking that she might be a nicer person than she looked, Kang Shin-hyuk turned
back from where he was standing. When he did, a certain object entered his field of
vision as if it was destiny.

“Hm?”

A single page of paper was on the floor.

There was a rather bleak headline of “List of student organizations to be disbanded

next semester” written at the top. Under it, there were several rows mentioning the
different club names; one of them caught Kang Shin-hyuk’s attention.

“Artifact Production Club.”

“Could this be……?”

His heart skipped a beat. There was definitely a possibility.

The problem was the club was scheduled to be disbanded in the next semester…… But
he decided there was no need to worry about that for now.

“All right.”

Let’s visit them after school.

Kang Shin-hyuk left the Wyvern Wall with a bright look in his eyes.

***

Eager to commence his metallurgy training as soon as possible, Kang Shin-hyuk felt
that time passed by unnoticeably during the lectures.

Strangely, as if they were wary of him since the previous day’s sparring session,
nobody had picked on him during the whole day. Kang Shin-hyuk’s presence was
gradually building up tension for those around him, which Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t give
much thought about.

“A student club? At this time?”

“Yup, so I’ll get going first.”

After the last class ended, Baek In-ha quickly approached Kang Shin-hyuk’s seat to
chatter about his experience at the Superhuman Market the day before, but Kang Shin-
hyuk took the initiative as he was about to speak. Baek In-ha’s eyes narrowed in
response to form a look of suspicion.

“……Is our Shinyok-yi hiding something from me?”

“Yup.”

“Yesterday you absolutely dominated in the sparring match and now…… You’re hiding
something? Hm?”

“Yup. I’ll tell you all later.”

“I sense a girl involved…… Shinyok, there’s a girl you like at the club, right?!”

It was a hopelessly wrong answer. Kang Shin-hyuk flung a fierce finger flick toward
Baek In-ha’s forehead which was gradually approaching closer to question him and
subsequently headed to the Wyvern Hall.

He located the Artifact Production club’s clubroom in a corner of a 3rd-floor hallway

after searching for a long time. To be designated a clubroom at such a remote corner,
the club had to be very unpopular from the beginning.

“Excuse me…… Ohhh!”

Kang Shin-hyuk was totally captured by the unexpected sight as he opened the door.
Unlike its appearance, the clubroom was massive! As expected of an academy that
unhesitantly pours an incredible sum of money to fund the physical spaces students
need.

But Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t pay much attention to the desks standing in a row, the
drawings of magic circles placed on the desks, or the props that seemed to be used for
a certain craft.

“It’s there! It’s really there!”

A soundproof wall was segregating the clubroom into two. Beyond that translucent
wall, Kang Shin-hyuk could see a room that was equipped to train metallurgy!

To think that they’d have a Blacksmith workshop in a clubroom–this is the quality of

the best Superhuman Academy in the nation!

“Hm? Who is it?”

He rejoiced and stepped into the clubroom after confirming the workshop’s existence.
Soon after he stepped inside, someone called out to him.

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk flinched and stopped moving, he spotted a person sitting on
the floor with his back against the wall. At first, Kang Shin-hyuk mistook him for a
statue, but that was not the case.

Those wide-open eyes that gazed at him definitely belonged to a human.

‘…… An old man?’

There was an old man, who was well over 70 in age with white hair in front of him.
Struggling to look unflustered, Kang Shin-hyuk asked him.

“……Are you a teacher? The supervising teacher of the Artifact Production Club?”

“That’s right.”

“Hi! I’m Kang Shin-hyuk, a 1st-year student of Knight major from Class C. I came here
today in hopes of enlisting in the Artifact Production Club.”

“There’s no work available for you.”

The old man–or rather, the teacher–flapped his hand back and forth while giving a
firm response to Kang Shin-hyuk, who was pulling off a perfect performance of a
cheerful freshman.

“The Artifact Production Club is over as of today. I sent the last remaining student
earlier. So look for somewhere else.”

“But I need to hammer metals.”

Kang Shin-hyuk’s glare was blatantly pointed towards the workshop. The teacher
raised his eyebrow as if to signify his interest in the student’s rather unusual reaction,
but his answer hadn’t changed:

“A student club scheduled to be disbanded can’t accept new members. Not that it can
be sustained with only one member either. So just leave.”

“But, sir……”

“Tsk.”

The teacher stood up in annoyance as Kang Shin-hyuk was about to say something as
if to indicate that if he doesn’t leave, then he will leave himself.

“This conversation is over. If you’re still here when I return, expect to receive a penalty.”

“Ah……!”

As the teacher looked around the clubroom while passing Kang Shin-hyuk, he gave a
soft glare to the workshop.
But then he shrugged his shoulders and left the room. Only Kang Shin-hyuk remained
in the spacious clubroom.

Not knowing what to do, Kang Shin-hyuk shifted his gaze towards the workshop that
was left alone in the room like him.

“I put a lot of effort into finding this place……”

[Dear member, you have to hammer a heated metal at just the right time.]

He knew he shouldn’t do what he thought of doing.

But his violent impulse, his firm desire, and his fierce origin were pushing his hesitation
back.

“If it’s just taking a look, won’t it be okay……?”

[A whole-hearted 10HP bonus from the Administrator!]

He didn’t think for long.

Kang Shin-hyuk acted as instinct told him to.

Everyone was waiting for him.

Translator and Editor Notes:

(1) Sunbae-nim” is the equivalent of “senpai”, “senior” or an upperclassman. ~Meg

(2) The average Korean Highschool holds around 2000 students on average. So 900 is
a small number unless compared to the American schools which usually hold 1000 or
less. ~Sotheno
“I shouldn’t be in trouble if I leave before he returns……”

Though hesitant at first, Kang Shin-hyuk acted decisively, ‘thinking’ he was merely
looking around. More than anything, though, his fiercely beating heart wasn’t letting
him walk away from the facility.

Kang Shin-hyuk resolutely turned the doorknob and went past the soundproof wall.
The facility that was flawlessly equipped with blacksmithing equipment. A huge
brazier, a pair of bellows to nourish the fire, a massive anvil, and a hammer so big that
he may have trouble properly holding it……

Weren’t there.

“What the hell.”

There was a small brazier with a fancy magical diagram engraved. State-of-the-art
equipment to freely control the fire to any extent with a single press of a button. If you
wanted to create a special fire with unique properties, all you had to do was put in the
right materials!

“But the bellows……”

Were nowhere to be found. The anvil wasn’t that big, either. Since it was crafted out of
memory alloy, it had a feature of controlling the shape of the constructed product
depending on its usage. If you preset the wanted shape of the intended weapon or
armor, it would automatically guide the hammer‘s movement to turn the desired
shape into a physical form.

A circular tube nearby also had a magical diagram engraved at the bottom, which had
the feature of cooling an inserted metal to an optimal temperature by spraying water
on it. Even a stack of ingots had already been cast.

“This is a lot different from what I imagined……”

A faint memory of an old blacksmith inside Kang Shin-hyuk roared out of rage. This
isn’t what I wanted! I wanted a more traditional blacksmith workshop than this high-
tech crap!

A practice where you squeeze the handles of the bellows with all your might and solely
confront the metal as its shape slowly comes to life……!

“Of course, I can’t pull off something like that without practicing in the first place.”

Kang Shin-hyuk slowly calmed himself. Even though the spirit was there, he wasn’t the
Anvil, he was the clueless amateur named Kang Shin-hyuk, who’s never grabbed a
hammer in his life.

Trying to carry out his vaguely stored memory would just be fruitless labor; he should
be thankful for having a cutting-edge facility before him where he can nourish his
dormant skills.

“Excuse me, then.”

Breathing slowly to calm himself once again, he slowly approached the hammer
placed on top of the anvil and gripped it in his hand.

It was surely different from the hammer that was owned by Anvil. The modern design
that was optimized for comfort ironically made Kang Shin-hyuk uncomfortable.

Still, the very fact that he was holding a hammer naturally left a smile on his face.

[Synchronization rate is slightly increasing. Your assimilation rate is now at 0.6%.]

Kang Shin-hyuk did not doubt that he was the reincarnation of Anvil. He naturally
accepted it. But until this moment, Kang Shin-hyuk had never fully consciously
experienced that fact as reality, something more than an abstract thought stored in his
head.

“I am Anvil…… I‘m a blacksmith, I might have felt this way even if I weren’t aware of
the reincarnation.“

A deeply embedded instinct guided him forward. He could feel his soul satisfied by the
simple act of heating up and pounding the metal.
“I’m almost regretting not looking for a hammer earlier.”

Now there was no need to enter a deep meditative state to confront his origin by
squeezing out his spiritual power. The ego that was faintly emitting light at the end of
a dark cave was now blazingly lighting up to assert his existence.

[Synchronization rate is slightly increasing. Your assimilation rate is now at 0.65%.]

“Ha, haha……”

Kang Shin-hyuk had an eerie feeling as he felt an unknown emotion filling up inside of
him.

But that wasn’t a bad thing. It’s a part of the process of understanding himself as part
of his spiritual power training. Rather than an addition of something that was
previously absent, it was a revelation that had been kept hidden.

[Dear member, Is grabbing the hammer all you’re planning to do?]

A message suddenly popped up in front of his retina. Looking at it now, he has been
sinking in his sentiment without even putting the hammer to use!

“Well, I didn’t even get permission from the teacher…… After all, he told me to leave
before he returns.“

[The Administrator would like to recommend performing as many practices as

possible while your growth buff is still in effect.]

“That’s true……”

He told the Administrator that it was already inappropriate to be holding equipment,

much less walking into the workshop without permission. The Administrator gave a
firm response to such an obvious statement.

[While I can’t estimate how much points you‘ll be deducted, the results you gain from
metallurgical training are much more important. Besides, if the teacher has a pair of
functioning eyes, he won’t be able to penalize you after seeing what you‘re capable of.
He might even be inspired by your performance to prevent the Artifact Production
Club from being disbanded.“
“That wouldn’t be……”

[Your talent is capable of making that possible.]

If Kang Shin-hyuk was in the right senses, he would’ve denied the Administrator’s
claims all he wanted. How would someone like him, who has never once grabbed a
hammer in his life, go through all those troubles as if he could make anything? Rather
than taking those risks, it would’ve been much wiser to go back to his dorm and train
on his own.

But since Kang Shin-hyuk was in an uncontrollable state after having laid his eyes on
the anvil and the hammer, Kang Shin-hyuk was shaken by the Administrators’ obviously
perforated logic, like a field of reeds being rushed by the wind.

“Th, then…… Maybe just a little? Just hammering a bit and nothing else……”

[A 100HP bonus!]

The Administrator eagerly pushed Kang Shin-hyuk. Powered up by the Administrator’s

encouragement, he grabbed the metal tong located on the other side of the workshop
with a slightly more dexterous movement than when he grabbed the hammer.

With it, he grabbed an ingot that was piled within from the side.

With his lacking intuition, he couldn’t firmly grasp the identity of the object at first
sight. But as he grabbed the ingot, a stream of spiritual power escaped Kang Shin-
hyuk‘s body as naturally as a breadth of air and enveloped the object in whole; the
object subtly vibrated in response and subsequently imbued Kang Shin-hyuk with the
knowledge relating to itself.

“Hm…… This feeling. I see it’s steel. Of course, even if Shinyoung was flooding in money,
they wouldn’t just hand out magical metals to students.”

Although a little bit of him wished for that to be true, having access to magical metals
as someone with an F+ Blacksmithing rank was a little too much to expect.

Shaking his head to ward off those unnecessary thoughts, Kang Shin-hyuk began to
study the ingot. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed that he could make a long sword with
that one ingot alone. Not an ounce more nor less was needed.
“……Wait a minute. First I infused my spiritual power into the ingot, and now I know
this? How did I know to do all that?“

Kang Shin-hyuk had spent the morning surfing the popular video-sharing website
MeTube studying dozens of how-to videos on blacksmithing or a production-related
skill of the sort, but that wasn’t enough to provide him with the competence he
currently seemed to exhibit. At least, it shouldn’t have been enough……

[Synchronization rate is slightly increasing. Your assimilation rate is now at 0.7%.]

“Ha.”

Instinct had taken control of his body at this point. The awkwardness he felt when he
first stepped into the forge, was now nowhere to be seen.

They may be differently shaped from his imagination, but all the necessary equipment
was there: a pair of bellows, a hammer, a whetstone, everything. The ingredients were
all there as well. There was no more need to hesitate.

Kang Shin-hyuk was receiving the guidance of Anvil. The dim connection between him
and his past life was gradually transmitting more and more of the knowledge and
experience that had hitherto been hidden behind a mist. He felt, once again, that this
is what synchronization feels like.

“……All right. Let‘s do this.“

Kang Shin-hyuk thought of seeking someone’s advice or having a MeTube video

playing by his side as his aide at first, but standing directly before the brazier, he didn’t
want to divide his attention to anywhere else.

If he spent all his time assessing every option, he wouldn’t have trespassed into the
workshop in the first place.

Even if he was ridiculed for acting recklessly like an ignorant child, it didn’t matter to
him.

“Whoo.”

He tightly gripped the ingot with the tong and placed it inside the brazier. A burning
flame burst into existence, instantly heating the steel ingot to a bright red color.
Surprisingly, the brazier contained a special function that prevented heat from
escaping from its interior, so even though Kang Shin-hyuk was standing in front of it,
he didn’t feel the heat!

“I keep getting disappointed by the strange parts.”

But the heat coming from the tong that was extracted from the brazier was greatly
satisfying. He heated the metal to soften it just enough and placed it on top of the anvil.
Then, he hammered it.

Kang Shin-hyuk‘s E rank strength far surpassed that of an ordinary human being. He
had to be careful not to exert a force that the metal couldn’t endure. Though he wouldn’t
have to worry about that if he just let instinct guide his movements.

Clank!

A satisfying sound came from where the hammer and the metal made contact. A
brightly heated metal gradually smoothed out and started to increase in length. A look
of delight formed on Kang Shin-hyuk’s face.

Bits of embers spattered to his clothes. He only then realized that forging metals in a
student uniform is an incredibly stupid idea, but it was too late to realize that now.

“This is a reserve uniform anyway.”

Returning to his dorm and changing clothes was definitely an option, but Kang Shin-
hyuk didn’t want to postpone his practice out of the fear that the teacher may come
back at any time. Instead, he merely took off the jacket, threw it on the floor, and
continued hammering on the ingot.

Activating Anvil’s option would provide him with helpful guidance, but he didn’t. All
he wanted at this moment was to hammer on the ingot with an empty mind.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The facility was different, but the sound of a hammer pounding on metal was the same.
Actually, it seemed weird to nostalgically reminisce about a faint memory from a past
life.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The hammering sound filled the entire space. With every smack, his awkward stance
was getting slightly corrected, and the rather unstable rhythm was steadily gaining its
stability.

His stance wasn’t the only thing that was changing. With every extraction from the
brazier, the metal was also morphing into a different shape, and before he knew it, it
was approaching the shape of a longsword.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The periodic sound of the hammers fall spread across the room. The sound of blazing
fire. The sweat coming from the intense heat; everything around him stimulated his
spirit.

“……Good, very good.“

It felt as if only he and the metal that slowly became a sword existed in the whole
world. In fact, he hadn’t even noticed he was releasing his spirit power.

But that was not a problem. Without draining its supply, the released spiritual power
was traveling back and forth between the metal and Kang Shin-hyuk, strengthening
their connection further and further.

Unlike when he performed the sword dance and meditation, his blacksmithing
technique made use of his spiritual power in a more fine-tuned, gentle way.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

During this endless process of hammering, the memories of a blacksmith slowly

flowed into Kang Shin-hyuk. The memories of hammering, tempering, and grinding a
countless variety of metals, to craft the best possible artifact those metals were
capable of.

Kang Shin-hyuk hammered the metal according to his new memories. Striking his final
strike and entering into the tempering stage, the blacksmith‘s memories continued.

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk was tempering the metal, Anvil was tempering the metal with
him. At some point, he had lost his sense of who he really was; or rather…… It no longer
mattered to him whether he was Kang Shin-hyuk or Anvil.
“Whooo……”

An adequately tempered metal becomes sturdy but fragile due to heightened internal
stress. Through the process of repeatedly heating and cooling the metal at precise
temperatures, a skillful blacksmith can attain the right balance between hardness and
resilience to create a solid but tenacious sword.

But even though “heating and cooling at precise temperatures” is impossible for an
amateur, Kang Shin-hyuk fiercely yet effortlessly carried out this process. As the sword
was adequately tempered, the process entered the grinding stage.

Swish, swish, swish.

A typical person might have trouble without the help of machinery, but Kang Shin-
hyuk was a superhuman. He intently concentrated on his task, nearly forgetting to
breathe. It was at this point that he noticed his spiritual power flowing into the sword.

[It might be a good idea to consume a jelly at this point.]

“You’re right.”

The Administrator broke its silence, giving timely advice, which Kang Shin-hyuk
accepted while nodding his head.

There would be a possibility of draining his supply of spiritual power if he went

overboard, but driven by his will to craft the best possible artifact, he decided to feed
as much spiritual power as the sword wanted.

“Whew…… Now I can have a breather. I hadn’t even noticed I was hungry.“

Not only was he totally absorbed in his task, but he also couldn’t tell how much time
had passed since the workshop didn’t contain any windows. He threw a jelly in his
mouth and looked around the room to find a clock……

“……”

“You……”

Kang Shin-hyuk‘s eyes met the teachers which were gazing at the exhausted student
from the door.
No, actually, the teacher‘s gaze was subtly pointed lower. He was looking at the sword
that Kang Shin-hyuk had crafted.

“That…… You just made that? Here? From scratch?“

“Sir, please, let me explain.”

Kang Shin-hyuk swung his arms around in panic. But the teacher cut him off, got closer
and asked him again while looking down at the sword.

“I’m asking you if you crafted this here.”

“Pardon me? Uhm, yes…… I did. I will reimburse you for the materials I used later……”

“They were going to be scrapped anyway. But this thing……”

He was going to penalize him! While blaming the Administrator for pushing him and
pushing his brain to work through every possible escape plan, the teacher gave an
unexpected response:

“Finish it.”

“Pardon me?”

“I said to finish it. You’re not quite done yet.“

“Ah, yes, of course!”

[See? I told you. It turned out just as the Administrator said. A 20HP bonus of joy!]

‘Good job!‘

Kang Shin-hyuk could sense hope. As the teacher instructed, he began the grinding
phase. He was going to prove himself before the teacher‘s mind could change!

Swish, swish, swish.

“His use of machinery is clumsy. But those hand movements……”

Kang Shin-hyuk peeped at the teacher who was murmuring something to himself as
he studied his movements but then forgot about his existence as he concentrated on
polishing the object to its final form.

“Whew. All right, then.“

As he finished the task using a grinding machine, Kang Shin-hyuk refined the sword‘s
edge to perfection by polishing it with a whetstone.

The teacher somewhat tilted his head while watching Kang Shin-hyuk use a grinding
machine, but watching Kang Shin-hyuk apply the whetstone on the sword‘s edge, he
sewed his mouth shut and intently watched him perform the rest of his work.

A look of a hard-to-identify expression formed on the teacher‘s face.

How long has he been spewing his spiritual power into the sword? Just as he consumed
about half of the spirit power, he recovered through eating the jelly, the task came to a
conclusion.

‘I‘m at my limit. At my current state, I‘ve done the best that I could possibly do.‘

The sword was complete. It had an incomparably sharp edge, and its sides had no
curve or distortion that was out of place. Kang Shin-hyuk let out a bright smile.

Kang Shin-hyuk thought that he did a decent job for an amateur, but a real amateur
would have strained his neck to death upon hearing him. Objectively speaking, the
sword he made could even be classified as a masterpiece!

[Synchronization rate is increasing. Your assimilation rate is now at 1.1%.]

[You have successfully crafted a sword faintly infused with energy, the ‘Bizarre’ Long
Steel Sword (E+). Your blacksmithing proficiency level will greatly rise!]

[Your blacksmithing proficiency level has instantly risen to E Rank! Due to the increase
in your skill‘s rank, your physical strength’s rank will increase to D Rank.]

As he declared the completion of the sword by attaching the prepared handle and
polishing the sword‘s edge one last time, Kang Shin-hyuk was flooded with messages
from the Gaia system. Perhaps due to the buff attained as a login bonus, he was awarded
incredible rewards.
Kang Shin-hyuk silently watched the messages. Each one of them was surprising
enough to leave him shocked, but the most notable message was the one referring to
his growth in physical strength.

‘It takes about 2 years to raise your physical strength from E- Rank to E Rank by
physical training alone…… ‘

But its rank had risen up by two notches with the level up of a different trait, and now
with his blacksmithing proficiency level improved, it had improved by another level
to D Rank.

Not knowing that blacksmithing proficiency came with the bonus of stat growth, he
felt like he received a surprise gift from someone. But at the same time, he felt empty
thinking back to all the effort he put in before awakening his trait. Even the A-Rank
skill [Eighteen Techniques] didn’t come with a status growth attached as a bonus!

‘…… No, I decided not to think too deeply. Let‘s just be thankful for having the ability
to become stronger faster. Instead of using my time to look back, I should be stepping
forward.‘

As he thought, Kang Shin-hyuk chuckled while looking at the delicately sharpened

sword.

Stepping forward instead of looking back? There’s a limit to how much of a sentimental
statement one could make–he was cringing at his own thoughts.

“All right. It looks to be finished.“

“……Oh.“

As Kang Shin-hyuk turned his head towards the person whose existence he had
completely forgotten, he was met with a gaze of intense interest that couldn’t be
compared to the dull look he witnessed when they first met.

“Shall we continue our conversation, then?”

Contrary to appearances, the supervising teacher of the Artifact Production Club, Lee
Manwoo had a deep interest in Kang Shin-hyuk before leaving the room.

‘Everyone interested in the club so far was interested in the rice given to them more
than the prayer.‘ (1)

But Kang Shin-hyuk was different. He was jubilated upon entering the clubroom.

Struck by the unprecedented sight, Lee Manwoo had left the room to test the sincerity
of his will.

‘But to think that it’d turn out like this.‘

At most, he was expecting decent handling of the equipment and basic knowledge of
metallurgy.

If he seemed promising, he was going to connect Kang Shin-hyuk to an acquaintance

and if he didn’t, he was going to let him go with a light penalty. But instead, he had
crafted a brand-new sword from scratch.

It was a hard task even for an experienced blacksmith. What’s more, the completed
sword was emitting a presence of an infused skill.

‘He’s a wielder of metallurgy.‘

Of course, one could still make swords without possessing metallurgical skills.
Blacksmiths before the advent of the Gaia system were still capable of producing quality
weapons and armor.

But one could not fight monsters with those weapons and armors. Only the artifacts
crafted by those possessing metallurgical or a related sort of production-based skill
were able to land a critical hit on monsters or block an attack from them.
If you didn’t have access to those weapons, the only option you had would be to fight
with the artifacts earned from a monster drop or by clearing a gate. That was a natural
law!

Looking at it from that perspective, the weapon Kang Shin-hyuk crafted was, without
a doubt, a ‘monster hunting’ type of a weapon.

It was not a weapon of the highest caliber, for sure, but Lee Manwoo still had trouble
dismantling the true nature of the skill that was infused in the sword.

‘Maybe this guy is…… No, it’s naive to form a conclusion too soon. A premature
expectation always ends up in disappointment, but still……”

Lee Manwoo narrowed his eyes. Countless thoughts cleared from the old man‘s head,
and a single term of “reserve judgment” remained.

‘In any case, it wouldn’t hurt to observe him for a while.‘

Kang Shin-hyuk, having no idea what the old man was thinking, was blankly waiting
for him to say something.

“It seems you don’t even notice what’s happening around you while you‘re working.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“No no, an ability to concentrate to that extent is a God-given talent. It’s not something
to apologize for…… Though it is wrong to use a workshop without permission.“

“I give you my sincere apologies again. I couldn’t resist the urge…… But sir, I genuinely
wish to enroll in the Artifact Production Club.“

Lee Manwoo‘s expression turned stiff. Kang Shin-hyuk bowed his head to earnestly
request without succumbing to his authority and just going along with whatever
decision he made.

Perhaps he would’ve backed off if he hadn’t touched the hammer, but having made a
weapon using it, he was going to hold his stance no matter what.

“Huh……”
The old man kept looking at him with an expressionless face.

He finally broke the silence while emitting a deep sigh.“

“Like I told you before. This club is scheduled to be disbanded.“

“Yes, I know. But there should still be things we can do to prevent……”

“I recognize your smithing skills. But producing an artifact is a different matter.“

“I may be clumsy since this was my first attempt, but I‘m still growing.”

Lee Manwoo’s stiff expression relaxed at the unexpected response and asked back.

“This was your first attempt?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s not possible. A total novice can’t craft a sword of this quality. Even if you‘ve
never grabbed a hammer before, you still should have been educated as an apprentice
for at least 3 years, no?“

“I have not experienced an apprenticeship…… Yet”

Kang Shin-hyuk, to tell the truth, was taken aback by the man‘s astonishing claim.

It wasn’t wrong to say that Kang Shin-hyuk was an apprentice after gaining Anvil‘s
memories instead of training on his own.

But he had no choice to deny the man‘s statement, as he couldn’t outright talk about
reincarnation or the Hero Universe.

“Are you telling me that you awakened your ability yesterday or something?”

“Not an awakening, but I did acquire a blacksmithing skill.”

“Hey, hey…… I know that you have a metallurgy skill by sensing the presence infused
in the sword. I’m talking about the experience, not the skill. Whoo…… Can I see the
sword again?“
“You know about swords too?”

Lee Manwoo, who took the sword without answering Kang Shin-hyuk‘s trivial
questions, combed through every part of the sword, from the handle to edge.

With the old mans sharp eyes wide open, Kang Shin-hyuk feared that every part of
him was being read.

“Ha…… This is more than I expected. I can’t tell whether this is a masterpiece made by
a beginner or a toothpick made by God.“

How long had he been looking at the sword? Lee Manwoo giggled as he held it out to
Kang Shin-hyuk.

“Yes, it‘s a mixture of delicacy, violence, impatience, affection, and anger, so it‘s like a
master wearing a spacesuit while forging a sword.”

“What?!”

Kang Shin-hyuk shuddered. It was a perfect insight into Kang Shin-hyuk‘s current
situation.

There’s no way he‘d know about Kang Shin-hyuk‘s reincarnation, but to think that he
would say such a thing just by looking at the sword…… What kind of an individual was
he?

“Okay, I’ve changed my mind.”

Suddenly, Lee Man-woo said with a big smile while Kang Shin-hyuk was at a loss for
words.

“I’ll be watching you for a little bit. I’m admitting you to the club, in other words.“

Kang Shin-hyuk would never have known that he had decided to make this offer to
him from the moment he saw Kang Shin-hyuk forging the sword.

However, it was a fact that he had more expectations for Kang Shin-hyuk right after
looking at the sword.

“Thank you very much, sir!”

“I’m Lee Manwoo, a teacher for supplemental majors.”

“Supplemental majors……?”

Only Knight majors and Magic majors should have existed at Shinyoung. What did he
mean by the supplemental majors??

To Kang Shin-hyuk, who was tilting his head, Lee Manwoo just said that such a thing
existed. He felt bitter that Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t know his name or the existence of a
supplementary department, but it was only for a short while.

“Anyway, you don’t have to be so happy. If you don’t make any progress, the club will
be closing down this semester without a doubt.“

“Progress……”

“I’ll let you know about it later. You should go for today. Right…… I will tell you the
clubroom’s password, so you can come and practice whenever you want to. Use the
ingots as much as you want.“

“Sir!”

Kang Shin-hyuk was thrilled and tried to ask for a handshake from Lee Manwoo, but
he cold-heartedly refused Kang Shin-hyuk‘s hand.

Kan Shin-hyuk thought Lee Manwoo might be a tsundere that he had only heard in
legends, but he just needed time to think alone because of the complicated situation.

“Just get going.”

“Yes, excuse me!”

Now that he‘s achieved what he wanted, it was time to go!

But as he turned to close the door, he saw Lee Manwoo picking up one of the ingots
piled up on the side by the still-open door of the workshop.

‘Hm…… ‘

Why did he sense misery at the sight of Lee Manwoo staring at it?
He felt an urge to talk to the old man, but Kang Shin-hyuk suppressed it to gently shut
the club room’s door.

‘Well…… I lied a lot today without meaning to.’

Lee Manwoo, who was left alone, stood in the workshop for a while, constantly
thinking about something.

About the boy who created an ‘Artifact’ wielding an option on his first attempt.

About the whims of fate that gave him a new relationship on the very day, he decided
to abandon everything and leave.

***

Coming out of the Wyvern Hall, Kang headed for the dormitory with a smile in the
night breeze that pleasantly cooled his hot, red cheeks he got while working, but sadly,
dinner time was already over.

“You should have come by eight.”

“Is there really no way, ma’am?”

“Even if you drop on the floor and beg while clinging onto me, what’s gone is gone,
young man.”

Kang Shin-hyuk pleaded with the restaurant lady, but the bus was already gone. He
was yearning for food after working for several hours and couldn’t just eat another
Eiren Jelly.

The only answer was to buy dinner outside of school. He put his long sword in his
room, took a shower, and came out with only his wallet in his tracksuit.

The dormitory and the main gate of the school were connected by a long hill road. He
was definitely happy with the night breeze before, but now he just felt hot and humid.
He was glad he was walking on downhill.

‘Crap, I’m gonna have to pay with my dignity maintenance expense.“

He wanted to reserve his dignity maintenance expenses as much as he could and didn’t
expect to use it on this occasion. Kang Shin-hyuk was so upset that he was about to cry.

[It’s a small price compared to being able to practice blacksmithing]

“That’s true, but from now on, I’ll have dinner before going to the clubroom. I’ll need
to know the closing time of the Wyvern Hall in advance.“

After talking with the Administrator, he left school and was about to enter a nearby
convenience store, when he bumped into a woman who was coming out of the store.

“Ah.”

“I’m sorry.”

He might have been so hungry that he couldn’t see her coming. Kang Shin-hyuk
stepped back gently, quickly apologizing, and the woman who bumped into him stared
at him without coming out of the door.

“……Hello?“

“……Sigh.“

No, don’t make weird exclamations and just move out of the way. Kang Shin-hyuk faced
the woman with such thoughts.

At the same time, he was shocked.

The Alchemist! It was Claire Boyle, the Alchemist who was in Baek In-ha’s photograph!

Why was she here? Is the Thunder Empress nearby? Is the red hair and eyes natural?
At that moment, countless thoughts passed through his mind, but the first thought
that appeared was.

‘She’s so beautiful.’

He clenched his teeth to gather his spirit that seemed to be sucked into Claire Boyle’s
beauty. But still, he couldn’t help but unconsciously direct his attention to her
unbelievable beauty that was leaving a tingling sensation in his spine.

“Ha, so a person can be this beautiful……”

Her white skin, white as porcelain, and her beauty, which was giving a drowsy
impression under bright light, gave off a decadent charm.

If Baek In-ha finds out that he ran into the Alchemist at such a close distance, he would
be furiously jealous, Kang Shin-hyuk suddenly thought and laughed.

‘I thought the sunbae I met at the Wyvern Hall had a mature beauty but, I‘d have to
revise that assessment. The true charm of an adult was here……!”

But it’d be foolish to stand in a daze enchanted by her beauty, so Kang Shin-hyuk
gathered himself with a superhuman mentality and tried to walk past her to enter the
convenience store.

But at that moment, the Alchemist reached out to Kang Shin-hyuk‘s shoulder, and as
soon as he sensed it, he quickly stepped forward, turned his head around, and
confronted her.

He was surprised at how fast his body reacted. He felt in his skin that his status and
skills have substantially grown.

“H-how can I help you?”

“Oh, you’re pretty fast.”

The Alchemist was speaking in Korean as naturally as a native speaker. Fortunately,

his surprise wasn’t great because he had seen others speak fluently before.

“I don’t dare offer the Alchemist a business card, but I‘m a student at the superhuman
training school.” (2)

“You know me. Good, that’ll make this quick.”

The Alchemist said while smiling. It was a dizzying smile.

“And those gym clothes…… You attend Shinyoung, right? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m
probably weaker in physical combat than you anyway.”

“Excuse me. I‘m just sensitive about someone grabbing me from behind.“

“I know Shinyoung is the best superhuman training school, but I didn’t know they
were sticking to a killer‘s style. Oh, by the way.“

The Alchemist brought her face close to him just after he had widened their distance.
Her red eyes filled his vision. The subtle smell of perfume tickled the tip of his nose.

“Do you have a minute?”

“……Excuse me?“

Is she asking me out? Kang Shin-hyuk was shocked. He knew his looks weren’t bad,
but they weren’t good enough to make someone like the Alchemist fall in love at a
glance!

“Oh, no, no, I’m not doing anything suspicious; I just smell something good from you.“

“!!!”

Kang instinctively wrapped himself up and stepped back. The Alchemist added, feeling
even more embarrassed when she realized her slip of the tongue.

“I’ll buy you something delicious!”

The Alchemist shouted. It was the most suspicious remark someone’s ever said to him,
but at that moment, Kang Shin-hyuk‘s tremors stopped.

“Thank you.”

“Uh, uh, uh? Are you sure you‘re okay? Do kids these days get tricked by this?“

“But I like chicken if you can buy it for me, and may I have three of them……”

He was still a growing teenager who was weaker on food than on beauty.

In addition, he was a teenager with a light wallet.

Translator/Editors Notes:

1: This is a reference to Buddhist practice. Means they were interested in an extrinsic

more than an intrinsic reason

2: In some of the eastern countries things such as giving someone a business card, is
usually for starting a relationship in business settings, Meet and Greets, Social
Functions, and similar things. So when he says he dares not giver her his business card,
then he is essentially saying, he dares not introduce himself to her.
“It’s quite large.”

“Sit where you’re comfortable. I’m going to take off my jacket for a second.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kang Shin-hyuk took off his coat and watched as Claire Boyle hung her jacket on the
hanger, thinking to himself. How did this happen? It was Kang Shin-hyuk himself who
said he liked chicken, but still……

‘Really? Then go to my room. The chicken from the hotel room service that I’m staying
in now is delicious.’

‘A hotel room service serves chicken?’

‘There’s nothing you can’t have with money.’

So he was taken to the hotel where she was staying. It was an ultra-high-class hotel
that rose to 30 stories in the city center.

He remembered it was obviously the hotel that was set up 10 years ago by Cheonwol
corporation, a global company, in commemoration of the monumental 10th World
Superhuman Summit in Seoul.

He was brought to the top-floor suite without a hitch, and it was an incredibly spacious
and comfortable place. He could see the night view of the city through the window,
and the people below it, as if they were little ants.

‘No, wait a minute.’

Kang Shin-hyuk, who was escaping reality, regained his sanity at that moment. Isn’t
this a very dangerous situation? Coming into the hotel room with an adult woman!
Wasn’t it still at the point where the Alchemist could be arrested if he reported to the
police?

“Then I’ll order room service~ Are you really eating three?”

“Ah, yes, I’ll really eat that much.”

Kang Shin-hyuk responded quickly to the sound of chicken, which came after agonizing
about his situation. Right after that, he despaired that he had crossed the river by
himself, which he could not return to. What a fool!

“Young boys sure do eat a lot…… ‘Ah yes, here–three chickens please. No actually, four.
Alcohol too. What do you mean by beer–chicken and soju is the hot combo!'”

While Kang Shin-hyuk cursed her impersonation, Claire Boyle finished the phone call
and sat across from the sofa where he was sitting.

When she took off her coat and dressed lighter, her provocative figure was clearly
revealed. Her eyes glistened as Kang Shin-hyuk turned his gaze away with a cough.

“Holy crap, that’s so cute.”

“I’m sorry for being cute. I’m still young.”

“No, cherish yourself now. This is the only time you can be so naive and cute. You’ll
grow quickly into a more explicit and shallow adult. They don’t even get shamed while
looking.”

Claire Boyle said with a slightly embarrassed smile. Looking at the expression, Kang
Shin-hyuk felt a little relieved from his senseless agitation.

“That…… Must be distressful. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay because it’s fun in its own way. You can hide it when you don’t want to
reveal it. To distinguish between one’s opponent, time and place. It’s basic, isn’t it? Ah,
but the ones who are trying to expose me when I’m trying to hide, are taken care of
without mercy. You should be careful with women like that, too.”

According to the words, she wanted to reveal something right now, but Kang Shin-
hyuk stopped his thoughts there. He didn’t want to think too deeply for now. The
Alchemist must have a reason for bringing him to this place. No, rather, he felt at ease
thinking there would be.

– Ding-dong

Then, the bell rang. Claire Boyle stood up and went to retrieve the food after telling
Kang Shin-hyuk to stay sitting. When he saw her carrying two large silver trays with
her slender arms, he thought, ‘a superhuman was a superhuman, after all.’

“Let’s just eat and talk.”

“Ah, yes!”

Perhaps it was funny to say this himself, but Kang Shin-hyuk really thought he was a
fool. Because he was so focused on eating as soon as he saw the chicken in front of a
beautiful woman like Claire Boyle.

“You really eat well.”

“I was a little hungry.”

“You’re a Knight major, aren’t you? You seem to like it.”

The Alchemist would have experienced fighting with countless superhumans. She had
reacted that way after seeing Kang Shin-hyuk’s well-built body. Kang Shin-hyuk
nodded and gave a supplementary explanation.

“Yes, but not because of training, but because of the student club.”

“A club?”

“Yes, blacksmithing.”

As Kang Shin-hyuk said that, he put the whole chicken leg into his mouth. At the
mention of the word “blacksmithing,” Claire Boyle became slightly stiff while pouring
soju into her glass.

“Blacksmithing?”

“Yes, pounding metals to create a sword and stuff like that.”

“So it’s production-based. Even production-based superhumans attend Shinyoung,
huh.”

“Well,…… Yeah. Though it’s not like I don’t have combat capability.”

“I’m sure. I saw the movement earlier.”

Even though he was eating chicken for free, he didn’t need to explain in detail to
someone who won’t see him again. Kang Shin-hyuk gave a cursory response himself
with such an idea, and the alchemist’s eyes deepened.

“It’s a production type, so maybe what I felt earlier was something common among
that class……”

“I’m sorry?”

“No, nothing. Help yourself.”

He was told to eat as much as he wanted, so he decided to do as he was told. Kang

Shin-hyuk, who finished two of the chickens in an instant, lightly wiped his hands and
mouth, and began the third one with less ferocity, enjoying the taste. It was as delicious
as she had promised.

“Do all the knight majors eat as well as you?”

“It depends on their traits, but I do because my trait is very physical.”

Moreover, consuming one’s spirit power leads to hunger, so the amount of food he eats
would only increase rather than decrease. As he calmly explained while tearing the
breast and putting in his mouth, the Alchemist who had emptied her bottle of soju
clapped her hands once to commence the business.

“Then I’d like you to start paying for the chicken. Come to think of it, what’s your
name?”

“……I am Kang Shin-hyuk, a 1st-year student of Knight majors at Shinyoung Superhuman

Academy.”

Finally–he thought. His heart was palpitating, half suspicious but half excited about
what was about to happen. His reason was his instincts telling him something. Kang
Shin-hyuk tried hard to calm himself down, recalling the memory of the blacksmith
Anvil.

“Well, Kang Shin-hyuk. Okay. You know my name, right? You knew my nickname.”

“Yes, Alchemist. Your name is Claire Boyle.”

“That’s right. Just call me Claire. I’ll also call you Shin-hyuk.”

The distance was quickly narrowed. Kang Shin-hyuk faced the Alchemist…… Or rather
Claire with more tension. However, the words that followed confused him.

“I awakened on my way to high school. To combine or process countless things that

overflow in the world and create stuff that has never existed. That’s my knack.”

“Well, yes……”

He didn’t know why she suddenly talked about her past, but one thing was for sure.
What Kang Shin-hyuk was worried about–or rather, excited about–to happen wasn’t
going to happen.

Frankly, to say he wasn’t disappointed would be a lie, but wouldn’t it have proved that
he’s still a young innocent boy if he was more relieved than disappointed?

“A magic bomb, a simplified trap, a potion…… I quickly became famous for making so
many things. My abilities got stronger in the process too. I also have the ability to handle
things that I make more efficiently.”

“That’s incredible.”

No wonder she’s amazing. The Alchemist is a monster among the top 500 in the
superhuman ranking.

“Her problem was that she lacked in pure physical strength. If you only considered the
things she was able to do with her skills, based on their importance alone, she’d have
easily placed among Top 100 of the World Superhuman Ranking.”

Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t believe he was sitting face to face with her in this hotel room.

“Shin-hyuk, do you know what I like most of all?”

“Uhm…… I heard it’s a potion.”

“That’s right. It’s fun to combine different materials in different ways and eventually
make them into a single, mixed liquid. I wanted to be a bartender until I awakened.”

Claire said that and pulled out her bag that lay below. It was full of cocktail tools like
shakers, jiggers, bar spoons and muddlers.

“Even now, all the potions are made with this. The taste and aroma vary depending on
how you mix the same potion. Making the potion as delicious as possible, that’s my
ground goal.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Right? It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

It was a moment when the emotions of an Alchemist and a male high school student
were united.

“Cough, I’m sorry I got excited. I’ll get to the point now. I mean, there are times when
I feel strange when I make a potion these days.”

“Strange feeling?”

“Yeah. Feels like something’s being sucked from me into the potion. Something
separate from magical power.”

Until then, Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes, which had been listening quietly, narrowed.

Come to think of it, he’s heard something like this before.

“There’s definitely something, but I can’t figure it out. But the potion that I made with
that feeling definitely turns out better. It smells good, too. It’s been upgraded by more
than one level. But I don’t know how I did it.”

Kang Shin-hyuk was convinced at this point.

This woman was dealing with spiritual power without even knowing it. Though he
wasn’t sure why she hadn’t awakened it yet.
“Sometimes I feel that way in the ingredients. There’s…… A black market that sells rare
materials and the materials that are made there have a strangely good fragrance. A
relaxing scent. If I can get more of them, I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out for sure……”

“Then just buy all those. Oh, is the supply limited?”

“No, I’m short of money.”

“Money?”

But didn’t countless superhumans pay hundreds of millions for her potions? As Kang
Shin-hyuk put on a puzzled look, Claire shook her head with an awkward expression.

“The dollar and the won aren’t widely accepted in the market, so…… Anyway, there is
something like that, and while wandering around, I met you.”

“Me……”

“Yeah.”

“Yes. You smell like that scent.”

Kang Shin-hyuk picked up his sleeve and smelled it, but there was no scent because
he came out of the shower earlier.

Can the Alchemist really smell spirit power? He wanted to ask the Administrator, but
he couldn’t make a mistake in front of this woman. Just then, the Administrator, who
noticed what was in his mind, sent a message.

[Spiritual power is the rarest and most unique ability in the whole universe, and it is
also a force that depends on perspective. So everyone has a different way of feeling
and handling spiritual power. Their effects are also different.]

Two people in this small space dealt with such rare energy; wasn’t that a little strange?

No, it was not so strange to say the Alchemist was attracted to him in the first place
due to his spirit power.

[You feel spiritual power is an energy with a distinct heat, and you have the ability to
handle it skillfully and reach the origin easily, but in fact, that’s an exceptional capability.
She still can’t feel or handle the spiritual power properly, and can only distinguish
them by scent.

In the ensuing explanation, Kang Shin-hyuk thanked the Administrator in his heart. In
other words, Kang Shin-hyuk had a talent no one could imagine when it came to his
spirit power.

[A 10HP bonus from the Administrator that sensed your appreciation!]

Now it was ready to give him a bonus even if he didn’t say anything.

“That’s why I caught hold of you. I couldn’t let go of a clue. So…… If possible, please tell
me. I’ll pay as much as you want.”

Meanwhile, Claire, unaware of the skit that took place between Kang Shin-hyuk and
the Administrator, looked at him with a serious gaze, taking a small glass bottle of red
liquid out of her arms and shoving it to him.

Kang Shin-hyuk admired the deep spirit power and magical power felt in it. It was an
unimaginable treasure for a school student.

If this is the artillery piece made by an Alchemist, its value cannot be measured. He
could see how serious she was.

“It’s a small token of appreciation. Will you tell me? Do you know about that power,
this scent?”

“I……”

The anguish didn’t last long. If you’re not a stranger to spirit power, and you’re already
half aware of it, you’ll find your way sooner or later, whether I tell you or not.

Then again, the overwhelming benefit is to make a connection with her in return for a
little help in finding the way. She’s a person who offers such a valuable potion, saying
it as a token of gratitude. There was no harm in becoming closer to her.

– Burrrrr

However, at that very moment, Claire’s phone rang. No, right after that, the whole
building vibrated and the sharp sound of sirens filled the city.
“This is……”

“Yeah, probably…”

Kang Shin-hyuk’s pager in his pocket was also ringing wildly. As soon as he turned on
the screen and checked, there was an emergency disaster message saying, “A number
of Irregular Gates have occurred.”

‘Irregular gates, are gates that aren’t forecast when and where they occur. One of the
worst disasters, where one cannot know whether durable, unique, emissive, or
absorbing types of monsters might appear……”

He shut his eyes tightly. Frankly, this text was meaningless even if you received it. It
was always sent out after an incident!

In fact, sirens were still ringing throughout the city. The disaster was spreading in a
flash.

“……Damn it.”

Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively gritted his teeth, recalling the day when his parents died.
No matter how much time passed, he could never forget the memory of that day.

The day he vowed to be a superhuman. The day when he first learned the feeling of
hate and despair. After that day, the scene of the day dominated his mind and wouldn’t
let go of him whenever he heard that siren.

“Yes, Eunah? That’s right, I hear the sirens. “If it’s an attempt to blow up monsters’
eardrums and kill them, I think you’d better stop. Before that, my eardrums are going
to explode.”

Claire was already on the phone beside him. He thought she was receiving a disaster
message, but she wasn’t.

Her calm voice on the phone also subdued Kang Shin-hyuk’s mind. He opened his eyes
slightly and looked at the Alchemist. She looked as calm as her voice.

“How many have you got?…… That’s a lot. Where are you gonna be? Ah, okay. Any
estimates?…… At least A Rank majority? Whoo, I get it. I’ll hurry.”
The phone call was soon finished. The Alchemist packed her bag, swung it, and broke
the outside window.

“Shin-hyuk, there’s an Irregular gate occurrence, so you can hide in this room while I
go to catch some monsters for a while. Despite how it looks, the hotel security here is
awesome.”

He was pretty sure she broke some of the security systems just then but decided not
to mention it. She must have chosen the quickest means of action to solve the disaster
in the city.

“Let’s continue talking when I come back. You’ll do that for me, right?”

“Yes, I’ll do that for you.”

Kang Shin-hyuk nodded firmly and said with as much respect as he could to a warrior
going to fight against the enemy of mankind.

“So please return safely.”

“That’s a nice expression. I’m powered up now. All right, I’ll be back.”

As if she liked Kang Shin-hyuk’s reaction, Claire smiled and jumped out of the window.
From there, he wondered what she was going to do, but her tightly held bag expanded,
quickly turning into a hang glider.

‘If I were only two years younger, I would have thought it was really freaking cool.’

As he thought it’s probably an artifact, the hang glider glowed brightly and used the
wind to disappear into the distance with her in an instant.

Her dream of becoming a bartender had ended up in her becoming an alchemist with
her using a hang glider to fly into the city. She was a wonderful noona who was
realizing all of a middle school boy’s dreams by herself.

If she was that old, she may have been ashamed, but she still seemed to be enjoying
her youth.

“Whoo, then I will……”

It is suicide to take to the streets at a time when an Irregular Gate occurred. Like other
superhumans, he wanted to take to the streets and fight, but he knew he was still
lacking.

He had to hide for now.

Making up his mind, he tried locking himself in the bathroom but grabbed the red
potion that was chained to the table. He wasn’t sure, but hundreds of millions of won
would be traded in an instant for this object, in cash. He couldn’t leave it unattended.

[This is a miracle potion that temporarily amplifies all statuses when ingested. As you
are proficient in dealing with spirit power, you can expect further increases in your
abilities, or even permanent increases.]

“……I think it’ll easily surpass hundreds of millions. No, wait, you don’t have to tell me
the price. Just don’t.”

He held it dearly in his arms and turned around. At that very moment.

– Boom!

A roar rang out at a short distance.

Bounced by a terrible shock, Kang Shin-hyuk was worried about the potion even when
he flew to the opposite wall and was stuck upside the head, but fortunately, the glass
bottle was durable.

Kyah…… Kiyiiiik.

He heard a cry. A strange beast’s voice, though curiously it sounded like a laugh.

Kang Shin-hyuk scurried ahead, scaring up his shaggy body. The window that Claire
broke earlier was now shattered without a trace.

Something.

Had entered through that window.

Kiiii…… I found it. I found itt!

It was a talking black monster.

A different smell. A special smell!…… A smell of spirit power!

[Go ahead and drink the potion! It’s a variant of a Class B monster War Troll; you can’t
deal with it in your current state!]

The monster stared at Kang Shin-hyuk, hitting its axe on the floor.

It was an axe made with spirit power.

– Caaaaang!

The sound of a violent collision between two metal weapons spread across the room.
Kang Shin-hyuk held his trembling hand, which had been crushed and twisted by the
insurmountable force of the monster’s strike. But luckily, he was still alive.

Kang Shin-hyuk had blocked the monster’s attack with the Godslayer sword, which,
for an unknown reason, appeared in his hand before the monster could deal a fatal
blow. Had it not been for its sudden appearance, his head would have been torn apart
by the axe.

[Godslayer Sword]

[D+ Rank]

[Special Ability Unlocked – Blade Predation]

[Special Ability Unlocked – Regression] (1)

As Kang Shin-hyuk glanced at the sword in his hand, a message was engraved on his
retina.

The Godslayer sword’s information was expressed through a message with the Gaia
system’s assistance.

According to the information, the Godslayer sword, which was obviously at the level
of a general weapon when it was first obtained, was now a respectable artifact with
two special abilities!

‘Blade Predation. Regression.’

In a short moment, Kang Shin-hyuk racked his brain trying to understand what had
just happened.
First of all, Kang Shin-hyuk was able to stop the monster’s axe due to the Godslayer
swords special ability Regression, which instantly ‘brought’ the Godslayer promptly
from his dorm room.

Second, the Godslayer sword had probably leveled up to D+ Rank because the Godslayer
sword devoured the E+ Rank longsword containing the feeble amount of spirit power
he made today.

It didn’t matter if the blade predation ability existed before or after that. The
important thing was that thanks to the upgrade, he was able to live.

– Kikik, spirit power. More spirit power!

“Spirit power? This bastard……”

Most monsters can’t speak properly, but the monsters who could speak are dangerous.
It was already a widely publicized fact.

Kang Shin-hyuk pretended to play along in its conversation and wondered, “How can
I survive in this situation?”

– Spirit power, I have to find it. Spirit power! Find it, eat it!

There were two options: Fight the monster or escape.

But since he didn’t think the B Rank monster War Troll variant would be slower than
him, it would be practically impossible to escape. If he somehow jumped out of the
window…… It would still be impossible.

‘Now, it’s dangerous outside. He broke into this hotel straight for me in the first place.
That means he might have the ability to track my spirit power. Though it does seem
that the spirit power he’s wielding comes from the axe, rather than himself……”

Was it because of the memory of the blacksmith in his previous life, or was it because
of his own spirit power? Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively knew the fact just by looking at
the axe the troll was holding.

The spirit power flowing within it wasn’t that of its own, but that of the axe.

Even so, it was strange. The Administrator had said spirit power is a very rare force,
but people from left to right were showing it like there was some sort of a spirit power
bargain sale today!

‘Wait, what if my presence with Claire affected the Irregular Gate’s breakout……?’

No, wasn’t that hypothesis too far fetched? He put aside the idea for now because it
didn’t help him to solve the current situation.

‘Anyway, I have to fight now.’

In the end, only that crappy conclusion remained.

Fighting a variant B Rank monster? Nature must have a terrible sense of humor
because the current situation was not a joke for him.

Kang Shin-hyuk gritted his teeth and put his hand into his arms.

Kirrrrrryik!

“Crap!”

As soon as the monster lifted its axe, it noticed Kang Shin-hyuk’s suspicious movement,
Kang Shin-hyuk threw a sword at it with as much determination and strength as
possible with his broken, twisted hands.

Kang Shin-hyuk’s skill Eighteen Techniques…… No, Fanged Wyvern Dance (2), which
had now grown into an S- level, was quite useful for this unexpected circumstance, as
it also supported throwing techniques.

– Kikik!

However, it was utterly insignificant compared to the power of the War Troll. The
sword, which was hit by a lightly swung axe, bounced off helplessly falling to the other
side of the room.

Of course, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t think he could damage the troll with it. It was just an
attempt to restrain the troll’s movement for a moment.

As soon as he threw the sword away, he took the cap off the potion he had taken out
of his arms and drank it; not paying any attention to the sword’s whereabouts.
– Consuming the Alchemist’s Special Boost Potion (S++).

– All light wounds are fully recovered. Effectiveness has been amplified by the efficient
acceptance of the potion’s spirit power. All non-fatal wounds are fully recovered, and
the remaining healing power will reside in your body for protection!

– For 10 minutes all your status will be raised by two levels. Effectiveness has been
amplified by the efficient acceptance of the potion’s spiritual power. For 15 minutes
your status will be amplified by three levels!

– You have succeeded in drawing more than the limits of the potion’s power! The
potion’s full effectiveness has grown one step further! For 20 minutes all your status
will be amplified by four levels!

[Kang Shin-hyuk – D → C+ Rank]

[Physical Status]

Force – D → C+

Agility – C- → B

Stamina – D → C+

[Special Abilities]

Spirit Power – E- → D

A dramatic change had hit Kang Shin-hyuk. It was a moment when his body temporarily
broke its limits and evolved!

But that wasn’t all. The potion, full of spiritual power, was temporarily amplifying his
own spiritual power!

His body felt ridiculously light, so much so that he felt he could float to the sky with a
light jump. Claire was such an incredible alchemist, he thought. To temporarily,
amplify all his statuses by four levels was a God-given power to create miracles!

Even more surprising was the fact that Kang Shin-hyuk’s spirit power combined with
the potion’s spirit power to double its effectiveness, but that was something to think
about later.

‘With this, I might be able to hold my ground.’

Kang Shin-hyuk’s arm, whose muscles had been torn and whose bones had been
twisted, also recovered in an instant.

The troll, who realized that Kang Shin-hyuk had deceived him, kicked the floor in
anger, but Kang Shin-hyuk already had the Godslayer sword returned in his hand by
using the ‘Regression’ ability. Combining with the awakened Fanged Wyvern’s power,
he quickly released his spirit power to strengthen the sword.

“Heup!”

– Kiyooooohhh!

The War Troll leapt towards Kang Shin-hyuk with a groan, and its axe and the
Godslayer violently clashed. This time, he was able to read the opponent’s movements
properly and react on time!

Kang Shin-hyuk used his competent martial art ability to neutralize the attack’s force
as much as possible, but the troll’s strength was so strong that he was overwhelmed
mercilessly.

Kuohhhhhhhhhh!

It was impossible to face a troll head-on even with his upgraded physical strength!
What a ridiculous monster it was.

However, he was able to grasp the extent of his power with that clash.

– What did you do? spirit power! Spirit power has grown! Give it to me! If you don’t
give it to me, I’ll take it!

Once Kang Shin-hyuk managed to withstand the axe’s power and stepped back; the
monster leapt forward.

As the axe rose in unison with the troll, Kang Shin-hyuk was able to clearly read the
monster’s next move. His eyes, enhanced by the awakened Fanged Wyvern, was
reading the movements of his opponent’s muscles in minute detail.
‘Two attacks incoming–a kick and a strike from the axe.’

The monster moved in a way that seemed to be expecting Kang Shin-hyuk to take a
step back. If that was the case, he wouldn’t back down. Believing in his amplified
agility, he made a quick dash.

Kang Shin-hyuk moved past the axe’s orbit with his sword held straight up as if to
grind its legs into a thin line!

– Kiyak!?

Due to his weak status and inability to handle mana, Kang Shin-hyuk was used to
fighting those who were stronger than him.

He dodged the troll’s kick by a hair’s breadth and reached close to the point where he
could see its thigh.

The Godslayer sword tore its groin and carved out a wound.

“Crap, it’s shallow……”

– Khak!

Kang Shin-hyuk’s face was splashed with black blood. It was that moment when the
enemy was inflicted with valid damage for the first time.

However, there was no time to be happy as the troll’s enormous healing capacity
allowed it to quickly recover. In fact, the wounds it had just received up were slowly
clogging up.

“But the real attack begins now!!”

He launched a stronger attack at the moment when the enemy was wounded and
instinctively slowed down. Kang Shin-hyuk drew his sword with all his strength as it
slipped through the monster’s groin.

At the very moment of engraving, a deep wound on its body, the dragon emblem on
the Godslayer sword shone brighter than ever before. It looked like a dragon was
ascending to heaven!
“Wow!”

Kiyakkkkkkkkkkk!

Black blood poured out of the monster’s wounds like a waterfall. He could see the
ragged monster’s genitalia dripping on the floor.

After he backed off and re-positioned, Kang Shin-hyuk let out a wolfish smile. Even a
troll wouldn’t be able to regenerate that wound right away!

However, just as he felt happy for dealing a fatal blow to a B-class monster, a shock-
wave blasted in from an unknown direction, throwing Kang Shin-hyuk to the opposite
wall.

“Kuk!!”

– Kahaaaaaaah!

Kang Shin-hyuk felt an unpleasant and inscrutable sticky feeling. It wasn’t magical
power, nor spirit power. The shock-wave that attacked Kang Shin-hyuk hit him again
from the front.

He was just behind the troll, so how was the situation turned so quickly? However,
traits and skills made some situations irrational, making such things possible.

‘Here it comes again…… ‘

Feeling the terrifying force of the shock-wave from a distance, Kang Shin-hyuk
hurriedly rolled to the side and avoided it, but just before he got up from his position,
the troll’s axe blade closed in on him.

– Die! Die!

“Kuk!!”

Even a B rank agility couldn’t fully respond to that attack. But thanks to the martial
arts that had been engraved onto his body through years of training, he was able to
block the attack by raising his sword at the last second.

He flew in the air for a moment due to the attack’s force, but he was able to stand up
in the nick of time before the troll moved in.

His legs trembled. While spewing blood, Kang Shin-hyuk grabbed his sword and
looked straight ahead.

– You hurt me! Ahhhhh! You hurt me!

“Tseup……”

The real fight was starting now. The War Troll mentally pressured Kang Shin-hyuk
with its eyes that were as dark as the blood he spilled out of its groin.

An axe of tremendous weight and a shock-wave rushing in from random directions! If

Kang Shin-hyuk’s senses were not activated to their limits, he would have been torn
to pieces by the combination.

– Try this! Try this! Karhaaaaa!

“Keuk.”

Kang Shin-hyuk was stumbling but somehow managing its attacks. Every attack left a
huge burden on his body, but luckily he still had the effect of the potion Claire had
given him.

The potion was barely preventing Kang Shin-hyuk’s body from breaking apart. But
that wasn’t going to last long either. The force of the potion was not infinite.

‘Can I hold out until Claire gets here?’

He wondered as he withstood the troll’s attacks, soon the answer he came to was ‘no.’

War trolls were fast, strong, and meticulous. If that was everything, he might have
dealt some serious blows to the creature with his amplified status, but there was the
problem of the occasional shock wave. He was dodging it as much as he could, but the
damage to his body continued accumulating.

‘Before I get any more tired. Before I run out of energy.’

He had to throw a winning move.

There was a firm determination in Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes. The strength of the sword
rose even higher in his hand.

What came to his mind at this moment was nothing other than the Godslayer sword’s
‘sword dance.’

He had a hunch that if it was the unparalleled force of the sword dance, he would be
able to cut down anything, whether it was the War Toll’s axe or the unknown shock-
wave.

‘If it’s now, I may be able to reproduce it to some extent.’

If it’s a body that has temporarily reached C+ Rank, it might be able to follow the sword
dance’s movements by combining with the D rank spiritual power.

No, rather, he had no choice but to follow those movements.

‘I have to recreate the images of sword dance that the Godslayer sword holds…… I’ll
extract the Godslayer sword’s origin with my spiritual power and link it to my own
origin!’

Kang Shin-hyuk shut his eyes.

The spirit power stretched out from him and dug deep into the Godslayer sword,
covering it entirely. In an instant, the images contained in the Godslayer sword
covered Kang Shin-hyuk’s ego.

As soon as his head complained from the pain, muscles all over his body tightened.

– Mm?

Closing one’s eyes with an enemy in front of him was tantamount to suicide.

The troll was flustered at the sight, thinking he was crazy, but it did not slow down in
its attacks.

On the contrary, the War Troll thought, it was nice to be able to cut off his neck neatly.

– Give me your neck!

Just as the axe blade was about to cut through Kang Shin-hyuk’s neck……

“Keuk……!”

Kang Shin-hyuk took a step forward with a gruesome sound of his flesh tearing apart.

Blood spurted from both his legs and arms, even though he had not yet been attacked.
By trying to reproduce movements that couldn’t be performed with his current
abilities, he was leaving incredible strains on his bones and muscles.

Nevertheless, even though the ‘sword dance’ was incomplete, it was enough to avoid
the War Troll’s attack. No, what’s more……

– Khak!?

At the moment when the dragon imprinted on the Godlslayer sword shone brightly,
the entire arm of the troll holding the axe was cut off.

His thick arm fell to the floor with the axe still in hand, spewing blood everywhere.
Not understanding what had just happened, the troll was astonished, its black eyes
wide open.

– How……!

The troll was a great warrior. He tried blocking Kang Shin-hyuk’s movement by
instinctively firing shock waves, despite the sharp pain that came at the moment his
arm was cut off.

If Kang Shin-hyuk had not thought of reproducing the sword dance infused in the
Godslayer sword at that moment.

If he hadn’t thought of linking himself with the sword and reproducing the images of
the sword dance.

The Troll would have been able to accomplish his goal safely.

“Heup.”

Again and again, the sword embroidered a fine line of trajectory in the air. (3)
The first slash neutralized the shock wave, followed by a slash that cut the neck of the
troll.

“Keuk……”

He could feel his arm muscles tear to shreds, and his headache had become even
worse.

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk was about to have a heart attack, he opened his eyes, enduring
a pain so terrible that he gasped.

The neck and eyes of the troll, which hovered in the air for a moment, met his eyes.

“Ha.”

Facing black eyes filled with consternation, Kang Shin-hyuk smiled clearly despite the
pain of his whole body being torn apart.

He had succeeded in killing the enemy.

Translator and Editor Notes:

1: So, I was thinking about changing the abilities name to [Returner], or something
else, however, the definition of Regression is ‘a return to a former or less developed
state.’ Pulled from google dictionary. So, I decided to keep it, but add a note instead of
changing it.

2: Changed from “Lesser Dragon Dance.”

3: It’s like that fancy anime slash where the slash remains in the air after the attack,
so Fancy!
[You’ve overpowered a harmful monster. Your membership tier has upgraded! You’ve
earned an additional 5,000 HP! You’ve earned a VIP bonus! With an additional HP
equivalent to 50% of the reward, you’ve received a total of 7,500 HP!]

[You’ve learned something important about spirit power. Your understanding of spirit
power has deepened, and the total capacity of your spirit power has been greatly
increased. Your spirit power has been upgraded to D Rank in an instant!]

[Your understanding of the fundamentals of martial arts has deepened. The Fanged
Wyvern Dance (S-) has leveled up to B- Rank!]

[Your body has realized its limitations during your battle with a B+ Rank monster. The
energy of the Alchemist’s special boost potion has responded, and your body will
begin to change. All physical statuses will upgrade to the next level.]

When the enemy died and Kang Shin-hyuk’s victory was confirmed, a list of messages
he had never seen before, filled his retina.

Kang Shin-hyuk somewhat expected that if he defeated a monster, he would get

additional HP that can be used in Hero Universe, but the more important part was the
upgrade in his abilities.

‘All I did was drink the potion and defeat the enemy, those were enough to cause an
upgrade?’

Moreover, did the growth buffs stored in his body play a significant role? The Fanged
Wyvern Dance and his physical statuses have grown by one level, with his spiritual
power growing by as many as two levels……”

He thought that having your abilities enhanced mid-battle and becoming stronger
after a glorious victory was something only to be seen in a shonen manga, but to think
that he would experience it himself……
It was funny to say it himself, but it was worth risking his life.

Thrilled by the upgrades, Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively clenched his fists.

[You are seriously injured! Failure to tend your wounds quickly may result in permanent
damages!]

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

Suddenly, overwhelmed by a surge of delayed pain, Kang Shin-hyuk rolled on the floor.

He felt his entire body’s muscles twisting, bones breaking, and skins splitting all at the
same time.

Of course, it was an obvious outcome considering that he had challenged a being that
was way beyond his current ability. The fact that his body held on during the battle
was already respectable enough.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

[Enter the Hero Universe’s trade board and buy emergency pills! It will prevent
permanent damages to the body, and it will mitigate every fatal wound to a moderate
degree so as not to raise too much suspicion from the people who find you here.]

“Thanks for the proper advice, but can I afford those?”

[Available for 5,000HP!]

It was a hefty price considering the number of bonus HP he had just received, but Kang
Shin-hyuk had no choice. Following the Administrator’s advice, he quickly purchased
an emergency pill from the trade board and swallowed it.

He was lucky to have an effective orally administered medicine in a situation where

he could not properly rub medicine all over his body manually.

[Your body’s condition is improving. However, if you do not receive proper treatment
within a few days, your condition may worsen again.]

His pain subsided immediately after taking the medicine, and he was met with such a
message. Kang Shin-hyuk breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of being out of danger
for the time being.

There was a limit to how many things could go wrong in a single day; if he had to suffer
irreversible damage right after defeating an undefeatable monster, fate would have a
very unfair way of treating him.

[There is something else you need to do.]

“I think I know what that is. You’re talking about that axe that’s giving off some sort
of…… Dark energy, right? It’d wouldn’t be a good idea to have it spotted by someone.”

[A heartful bonus of 100HP to our dear member!]

As the pain toned down and he was able to move his body again, Kang Shin-hyuk stood
up by balancing himself with the Godslayer sword acting as a cane.

What Kang Shin-hyuk saw in front of him was the dead body of the War Troll whose
head and arm have been chopped off, and the black axe held in its fallen arm.

For a moment, Kang Shin-hyuk thought of peeking into the axe’s inner structure by
infusing his spirit power as he did with the Godslayer sword, but he had no time to
spare leisurely meditating in a decimated hotel room. There was no guarantee that
another enemy would not appear.

“All right, then…… Do you think you can devour this thing?”

The Godslayer sword slightly buzzed as if to respond “yes.” Before Kang Shin-hyuk’s
victory, the axe had been protected by the War Troll’s energy, but having lost its owner,
it was instantly devoured in whole by the Godslayer sword.

“Anyway, to think that an axe imbued with spirit power existed…… No, it can’t be. Anvil
can’t be the only person who can make weapons infused with spirit power. But why
was I pursued by this monster in particular……? No–don’t think too deeply. Let’s think
about it later.”

There was no time to waste. As if to blow away any remaining bits of hesitation, Kang
Shin-hyuk fiercely struck down onto the axe.

In an instant, rays of light emitted from the Godslayer sword encased the axe entirely,
absorbing it as it melted like ice cream left on an asphalt road. It was quite a spectacle
to witness, Kang Shin-hyuk thought.

[By devouring the axe, your sword will regain some of its strength. However, it will
take some time to purify and absorb all the external spirit power. You can shorten the
process by supplementing with your own spirit power.]

“Will this be enough?”

[It would be nice if you could dispose of the body of the War Troll variant, but since
that’s impossible, it’d be best to ask for her help to clean up the mess.]

The Administrator gave a vague response to Kang Shin-hyuk’s question. He didn’t have
to think long to figure out who “her” was referring to. And that’s when the alchemist
Claire Boyle flew into the broken window.

Putting aside the issue of everyone around him seemingly coming up to the top floor
of a hotel as if they’re jumping over a fence of a typical residence, Claire had shown
herself at a ridiculous timing.

“Shin-hyuk, are you okay!?”

“Claire……! Ah, I’m not okay. I almost died.”

Kang Shin-hyuk collapsed onto the floor as soon as he saw Claire.

Exhausted after having miraculously defeated the War Troll, a reliable ally had
appeared in front of him, who was constantly on guard for a possible appearance of a
new enemy. It would indeed be strange not to feel relaxed.

“What do you mean you almost died…… This is a War Troll. You beat this all by
yourself?”

Claire, having confirmed Kang Shin-hyuk’s safety first, was shocked to find the dead
body of a War Troll.

War Trolls was one of the most difficult B Rank monsters to deal with. Even a fairly
skillful superhuman would refuse to fight a War Troll if given the choice.

But it was clear that he had beaten the War Troll by looking at the monster’s neatly
cut head and arms, the marks of sword cuts left its groin, and finally the pitch-black
sword in Kang Shin-hyuk’s hand.

“If you really did, then you’ve deceived me. You didn’t seem to be that skilled.”

“It was only thanks to your potion that I managed to win.”

“It’s a rare potion for sure, but that couldn’t have changed anything. There’s no way a
superhuman academy student can beat a War Troll just by drinking some potion. It
may enable you to sustain the fight longer, but winning would be…… Wait a minute.”

Claire, who was baffled by the situation and has been spurting out words like a rapid-
firing gun, finally took notice of Kang Shin-hyuk’s condition.

His clothes were soaked in blood from head to toe, and she could still see blood leaking
out from various parts of his body. Frightened, she slowly approached him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were injured? I’ve been interrogating a wounded man!”

“No, it’s not that serious……”

“Come here right now.”

She pulled Kang Shin-hyuk to herself and quickly undressed him. Before he knew it,
Kang Shin-hyuk was only in his boxers. Claire spoke while looking at his injured body,
shivering.

“Woaahh, this is really bad…… But I can see how you won. Your skill is much stronger
compared to your physical strengths, right? And you used it without thinking about
the strain it’d leave on your body, because you were prioritizing survival more than
anything else.”

“Precisely.”

Kang Shin-hyuk was telling the truth–the Fanged Wyvern Dance’s skill level was
indeed higher than any of his physical statuses’.

Claire let out a bittersweet smile and looked at his body again. She quietly whistled
after noticing his sturdy build that couldn’t be hidden even with the countless injuries,
but thinking that this wasn’t the right time, she coughed aloud and took out a potion
from her bag.
“Let’s first treat the external injuries. Stay still.”

She poured the potion on her hand and applied it to his wound. He felt the potion
permeating his wounds and quickly restoring his skin, muscles, and bones.

The emergency pill from earlier added to its effects to speed up the recovery.

“Wow, your natural recovery rate must be incredible. I guess that’s because your body
is so well–bu…… Oh, by the way, this was a purely medical practice, so you can’t call
the cops on me, okay?”

“Of course I won’t. Thank you.”

“With this, your external injuries should be fine. The problem is with the internal
ones…… Right, I have just the right one.”

Claire pulled a silver-glazed scalpel out of her bag. Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively
grabbed his Godslayer sword upon seeing a knife, but Claire’s target was the War Troll
rather than himself.

“It’s quite unfortunate that its arms are cut off, but you did a good job neatly cutting
off the neck. With the corpse in this condition, the heart inside it should still have
plenty of medical potential.”

“I’m sorry?”

“A War Troll heart has the potential to become the best medicine if you remove the
poison. On top of that, if the heart is extracted from a recently slain War Troll…… You
might even expect to receive a status upgrade.”

Claire gave Kang Shin-hyuk a pleasant smile and…… Poo! She thrust the scalpel into
the War Troll’s chest.

After she deftly had peeled off the skin and dug through the flesh, she reached her
hands inside pulling the heart right out of the carcass.

Kang Shin-hyuk had goosebumps all over his body while watching her go through the
process. He swore to himself to never offend her in any circumstance in the future.

“You just sit and wait; I’ll make you the best drink you’ve ever had.”
Claire smiled brightly as she studied the Troll’s heart. Kang Shin-hyuk shivered as he
noticed the dead War Troll’s blood splashed on her cheek.

“Huh? Could this War Troll be a variant? It’s a little different from the War Troll heart
that I know. This one contains more energy.”

“Is that so?”

“……Well, it should do the job anyway. I can worry about it later.”

With the ingredients in her hands, Claire began making her “cocktail.”

Kang Shih-hyuk watched as she infused her mana into the War Troll’s heart to
compress its size, mix it with various ingredients and sticky liquids in her shaker and
draw more blood from the War Troll’s dead body.

“Hm, hm hm hmm~~~ Hm hm hmmm~”

She then closed the strainer and the cap to fix it in place and began to shake the shaker
while humming cheerfully.

To think that she’d really make a potion like she’d make a cocktail! In this kind of
situation! Kang Shin-hyuk thought it ridiculous, but Claire seemed to be greatly
enjoying herself.

During the process, Kang Shin-hyuk noticed a faint glow coming off of her body, which
soon spread to the shaker enveloping it entirely.

If Kang Shin-hyuk was able to see it clearly, it could only be……

‘Is it spirit power?’

[That is correct. A 10HP bonus!]

But it looked like Claire herself was unaware of that fact. Watching her shake her
shaker as if she had totally forgotten about the current situation, Kang Shin-hyuk felt
her joy spread across to him.

Shake, shake, the shaker that mixed the ingredients with a pleasant sound, soon came
to a stop.
“Oh, it looks like it was a success. Shin-hyuk, you’re really lucky.”

As if she could tell the outcome of her skill despite being unable to detect her own
spirit power, Claire looked surprised as she removed the cap and poured the shaker’s
content into a glass she had already prepared.

“Troll Heart Cocktail is finished. Non-alcoholic. Here, drink it while it’s cold.”

“You didn’t even put ice in it…… Was the glass kept cold? Or maybe the shaker?”

“Both. Come on, hurry.”

Claire’s face was filled with excitement. Kang Shin-hyuk held the glass containing the
Troll Heart Cocktail with great determination. The drink containing a thoroughly
melted heart of a Troll was exhibiting a blood-red color.

After he had given Claire a slight look, Kang Shin-hyuk took a sip and…… Was
unexpectedly struck with the sweet taste that stuck to his tongue. What kind of magic
could possibly turn a Troll’s heart mixed with blood, into something this delicious?

Even more surprising than the taste, however, was the cocktail’s healing effects.

[Your recovery rate is blowing up! All your injuries will be instantly healed and for
three days starting from today, the ‘Increased Blood Flow” buff will be in effect. With
your metabolism speeding up, every type of growth will accelerate, which you will
need to make up for by eating more food.]

[You will receive the full effectiveness of a War Troll variant potion specially produced
with spirit power. Your physical strengths have been upgraded to C- Rank.]

The cocktail that slid down his throat not only amplified his blood circulation but also
immediately affected his whole body, making his bones and body more robust. His
body had become incomparably stronger as he entered the C Rank territory!

Kang Shin-hyuk was so thrilled that he felt like hugging Claire until she was out of
breath. Putting aside the obvious healing and the buff, to think that a potion would
upgrade his physical strength one level further to a C Rank……

“What do you think? It’s amazing, right?”

“It’s incredible! It’s the best!”

Kang Shin-hyuk let out his joy and excitement with no intention of hiding them. Claire
gave a satisfied smile at his childlike reaction.

“Great, it was worth all the effort I put in. Then do you mind waiting here for a bit? The
truth is, the whole situation is not fully resolved yet. I came here rushing after hearing
the report that a B Rank monster had slipped through our blockade. My heart was
pounding when I found out it was heading for this hotel.”

Those words had confirmed his theory. The monster was heading for him from the
very beginning. The question was why, and how……

Countless questions passed through his head, but they were not questions that could
be answered immediately. Kang Shin-hyuk tried his best to smile to hide his complex
feelings.

“I’ll patiently wait here.”

“Yup, this place should be safe now. I’ll be right back, then!”

“Ah, Claire!”

“Hm?”

Kang Shin-hyuk stopped Claire who was about to jump off the window after confirming
his safety and said with great embarrassment.

“I, I’m really sorry, but because I lost so much blood I’m…… A bit hungry. I mean, if
you’re busy, it’s okay, but……”

“Do you have a hole in your stomach as well?”

Claire was dumbfounded, but she promised to buy him more chickens after the job
was finished.

Kang Shin-hyuk thought that she’s a really nice person.

Kang Shin-hyuk noticed he was only wearing his boxers after Claire had already left
the hotel room. He took his blood-soaked underwear off and entered a luxurious
bathroom that miraculously survived the War Troll’s rampage. As he turned on the
faucet, he thought he probably wouldn’t get another chance to take a shower at such
a luxurious hotel’s suite room any time soon.

‘No, if I train my spiritual power further and graduate Shinyoung with top grades,
perhaps…… ’

Kang Shin-hyuk had the mindset of a petit bourgeois (1) until a few days ago, but he
was now in a completely different circumstance.

The status upgrades he had received today were great enough to make his jaw drop to
the floor. Though such a big change only signified how low his status levels were
before……

Neither was the price he paid for those changes trivial. First, there was the unbearable
headache caused by his attempt to forcefully insert incomprehensible knowledge into
his brain, and second, there was the pain of dragging his body to match his clumsy
movements to the Godslayer’s sword dance, causing his bones to twist and his muscles
to rip apart. It was not a pleasant experience.

He didn’t want to go through that experience ever again. If it wasn’t for his laser-like
concentration that he trained through blacksmithing and spiritual power training,
Kang Shin-hyuk would have been the one to drop dead on the floor.

……It was an incredibly close battle.

“Dear Administrator, could you tell me more about that monster?”

[Its sudden appearance was unexpected.]

The Administrator responded as if it were waiting for Kang Shin-hyuk to ask the
question.

[I have already explained that spirit power is an exceedingly rare type of power.
Therefore, ordinary beings are unable to detect its presence, let alone track its
whereabouts.]

“But that thing……”

[The Troll is not the issue, but the axe that it was holding.]

The Administrator continued without pausing.

[That weapon was crafted by our dear member before the reincarnation. Because the
monster was in possession of the weapon, it was able to track your exact location to
this hotel.]

“No way.”

Kang Shin-hyuk had never anticipated his suspicion would turn out to be true.
Noticing him emit a deep sigh, the Administrator continued.

[Our dear member has crafted countless artifacts in his past life, and the artifacts have
been disseminated to countless other dimensions. But you don’t need to worry too
much. The majority of those artifacts are owned by someone, and even if some were
to be stolen, the chance of an enemy breaking through a gate on this planet with one
of those weapons in hand is extraordinarily slim.]

‘So you’re telling me that I beat some astronomical odds today.’

Deep in his mind, Kang Shin-hyuk was suspecting that something else was happening–
something he could not yet see.

Something even the Administrator didn’t know about–or perhaps, didn’t want to
speak about. But thinking that he’d be unable to accomplish anything without putting
his faith in the Administrator, Kang Shin-hyuk decided to trust its words and wait for
the time being.

“Nothing like today’s event should happen again for a while, right?”

[I guarantee.]
“I see.”

Then there was only one thing left for him to do.

“I should train myself when I have the time.”

[That’s the correct attitude. A 10HP bonus from the Administrator!]

He was now able to reach a territory he couldn’t reach before. He also knew what kind
of effort he had to put in. The only thing left to do then, was to spend day and night
training himself.

Compared to those days when he had to train like there was no tomorrow to
compensate for his lack of mana, Kang Shin-hyuk was in an ideal condition; as long as
he put in the effort, there were no bounds to how much he could grow. It was a blessing
for someone who yearned to become a superhuman who has succeeded in defeating
every monster.

‘Open status.’

[Kang Shin-hyuk: C- Rank]

[Trait]

Awakened Fanged Wyvern (A+): Allows you to rapidly acquire martial arts techniques.
Amplifies the effects of martial arts techniques and enhances your weapon’s abilities.

[Physical Stats]

Strength: D+

Agility: C

Stamina: C-

[Special Ability]

Spirit Power: D

[Skill]
Fanged Wyvern Dance (S-): B-

Blacksmithing: E

“……Great.”

It seemed his previous level up was just a short while ago, and yet he had already
leveled up to C- Rank.

As if that wasn’t enough, his strength, which used to be at a mere D Rank, have now
grown to an extent where he could compete to be one of the top 1st-year students at
Shinyoung Academy. All in just a couple of days!

The rapid growth of his spiritual power required no mentioning. With its level at D
rank, he could fight on equal terms with Shinyoung’s Magic majors.

‘By the time I finish all the Eiren Jellies, I may have grown much further than I initially
expected.’

His skills have grown just as much as his statuses. While he was happy with the result
of obtaining the knowledge to utilize spirit power more efficiently, he was most
pleased with the upgraded Fanged Wyvern Dance.

The Fanged Wyvern Dance (S-) was the product of honing the only skill he had for five
years, Eighteen Techniques (A). Considering the amount of time, it took for the skill to
evolve, the Fanged Wyvern Dance’s proficiency level had risen to B- Rank in no time.

‘It’s all thanks to the life or death battle with the Troll; I’m sure.’

Of course, the skill’s growth was significantly influenced by the images of the sword
dance that he had received from the Godslayer sword, but he was still deeply satisfied
to watch the growth of a skill that has accompanied him since his awakening.

‘I want to grow more.’

Kang Shin-hyuk murmured to himself with heavy determination while intently staring
at his status menu. He didn’t waste too much time indulging in his drastic growth; he
was already looking beyond. He had been hungry for greater strength for far too long
to be satiated at this point.
“Ah…… I’m hungry.”

It had been only a matter of time before his hunger for power was overcome by a
hunger for food.

“I shouldn’t just call room service without Claire, right? Wait, come to think of it, why
is no one coming up to check despite all the fuzz that was happening?”

It must have been the effect of the “Increased Blood Flow” buff–it was a great buff, for
sure, but he was too hungry at the moment.

Kang Shin-hyuk quickly rinsed off the soap bubbles, wrapped a towel around his body,
found a nightgown in the closet and wore it. When it came to luxurious hotels, everything
was different, he thought.

“I’m here~”

When Kang Shin-hyuk, wearing a gown, glared at the minibar wondering if he could
eat the snacks inside, Claire came bursting through the broken window. It was a
splendid landing, just like before.

“The whole situation has been resolved, so you can now relax. Oh, did you take a
shower? Great, I was just about to tell you to. How are your injuries?”

“I took a look while taking the shower, and they’re gone without a trace. But……”

He was about to say that she could’ve taken a normal route to the hotel room if the
situation was resolved, but the words went right back in as he noticed a few plastic
bags full of chickens in her hand.

“May I call you noona from now on?” (2)

“You’re too easy. But I like that.”

Kang Shin-hyuk looked at Claire with teary eyes as he accepted the chicken-filled
plastic bag. Although he was still young, Kang Shin-hyuk felt like he had a clear
criterion for distinguishing a good and a bad person.

If a person buys you chicken without expecting anything in return, that person was a
good person. That natural law was never violated.
The Kang Shin-hyuk she saw a few hours ago, who was having a difficult time keeping
his composure in front of her splendid beauty, was no longer at the present moment
as he was overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement. Claire missed the previous
Kang Shin-hyuk that was struggling to find the right ways to act in front of her.

“Hold on. Let’s clean up the mess first.”

Claire took a piece of paper out of her bag after handing over the plastic bags to Kang
Shin-hyuk. The paper was covered in illegible magic symbols.

But when she put the piece of paper in the middle of the wreckage that was caused by
the War Troll’s rampage, the broken room began to miraculously return to its previous
condition.

Torn curtains were woven back, broken windows were recovered, the broken sofa
swallowed back its scattered pieces of foam as if time were being rewound and finally,
the leather cover was neatly fixed.

“What in the world……”

“Paying the compensation for damages may be cheaper, but this way is simpler, and I
don’t want to go out in the middle of the night looking for another room.”

Speaking casually as if the spectacle she showed was nothing, Claire flung herself
down on the sofa. Then she held out the plastic bags she had piled up on the other side
to Kang Shin-hyuk.

“I bought you some clothes. Here.”

“You didn’t have to take care of me this much–thank you, noona.”

“Well, if you think about it, it is my fault that you got into trouble. I’m the one who
brought you here from your school, so it’s obvious that I should take care of you.”

His first impression of Claire was just a beautiful woman who often likes to go out for
fun, but his image of her has drastically changed in the last couple of hours.

From admiring bartenders to thoughtfully taking care of him…… And buying him
chickens! Kang Shin-hyuk had learned again it was foolish to judge a person by their
appearance.
“By the way, there won’t be any aftermaths of today’s incident that you’ll need to worry
about.”

As Kang Shin-hyuk changed his clothes and left the dressing room, Claire unwrapped
the plastic bags containing the chickens and began to explain.

“A lot of events happened today, and it won’t take much work to dispose of a single
War Troll’s dead body. Oh, and I won’t forget to share the profits we gain from it. Its
most important heart is missing, but if it’s the corpse of a War Troll variant, you can
at least expect to receive some pocket money.”

Kang Shin-hyuk quickly snatched a piece of a chicken and put it into his mouth as he
listened to her. He felt so energetic as to swallow the whole thing, including the bones.

“Actually I was told to keep the monster’s break-in to this hotel a secret. Your fight with
the War Troll did cause a lot of noise, but as you might know……”

The sirens and the vibrations that filled the entire city had disappeared a little while
ago.

“Of course, that’s looking at it from other people’s positions. If you wish to publicize
today’s incident, I can help you. As you might expect, a student defeating a B class
monster is a big deal–it might even help with your assessment at school.”

“Uhm…… I’m fine.”

“You’re fine with keeping it a secret?”

“Yes.”

Kang Shin-hyuk firmly shook his head to Claire’s offer. He was trying to sound serious,
but the chicken in his mouth threw off the cool vibe he was aiming for.

“As I’ve said before, my victory over the War Troll was only due to your potion.
Spreading news about something that I didn’t accomplish with my own skills would
only lead to more troubles. So I will train myself further and receive an assessment
that’s fair and square.”

“I don’t know, like I said, adding my potion to the story doesn’t change how incredible
your feat was……”
“The effects I received from the potion were greatly amplified from the regular
amount. Actually, it’d be more correct to say the potion was a good fit for me.”

“What……?”

Judging the conversation might go on forever without the proper explanation, Kang
Shin-hyuk decided to let out the truth.

Kang Shin-hyuk grabbed three pieces of chicken as he continued explaining to the red-
haired beauty whose eyes had now widely opened.

“Not long ago, I awakened a power called ‘spirit power’ and the potion you gave me
was infused with such power. The cocktail you made earlier was too, if I might add.
That’s why I received an effect several times stronger than the default effect.”

“Spirit power?”

Claire looked surprised, as if someone smacked her with a bat from behind. She didn’t
seem totally unaware of spirit power’s existence, but she seemed incredulous to hear
the word’s mention in the current situation.

“I did overhear them talk about it, but to think that……”

“It was without a doubt spirit power.”

Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t know who “them” was referring to, but decided to continue the
explanation.

“Spirit power is similar to magical power, but they’re applied differently. I was told
that spirit power is the power of your soul, but I don’t know the details because I only
recently learned to use it myself. But thanks to you, I learned that different people
have different ways of sensing it.”

“Different ways of sensing it…… Oh, so you don’t smell its scent?”

“Right.”

As expected of someone who has been already sensing its existence, she understood
his explanation without much difficulty. When Kang Shin-hyuk rapidly nodded his
head to her words, Claire formed a disconcerted look while scratching her cheek. It
was a look mixed with joy and unrest.

“What a shock…… I was just expecting to receive a few clues from you, but to think
that I hit the jackpot. It’s so surreal to find the answer out of nowhere like this. Also
surprising that you told me without a second thought.”

“I survived and became stronger thanks to your spirit power-fueled potion. I thought
it’d be meaningless to hide it from you. After all, am I not the one in the position of
having to ask a favor of creating more potions?”

“I like the honesty. Oh, and I don’t want the chicken legs, so you can finish them all.”

“Wow, you’re an angel……”

Claire’s ‘Kindness level’ was upgraded one level further in Kang Shin-hyuk’s mind.

A person who shared chicken legs with others was either an angel who never betrayed
someone else or a devil with a hundred rattlesnakes in its stomach. (3)

“So it was spirit power…… Shin-hyuk, what would I have to do to freely use it?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I saw your spirit power flowing out of you when you were
shaking the shaker. I think that might have been the trigger.”

“Really!?”

“Yup.”

When Kang Shin-hyuk nodded with confidence, Claire’s eyes were filled with joy.

Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t sure why she reacted with such excitement, but he was happy
for being helpful. But then a second later, Claire dropped a bombshell.

“All right, I’ve decided. I’m gonna become a bartender.”

“……I’m sorry?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for some time, but with what you just told me, I’ve made
my decision. Thanks, Shin-hyuk.”
“Wait–wait a minute. Excuse me? A bartender? You’re going to quit alchemy?”

Claire grabbed a chicken breast and stood up. Kang Shin-hyuk almost fell in love with
the confidence she emitted.

“I knew that this was the correct path. After I train my spirit power through bartending
and make a name for myself, I’m going to stuff these chicken bones into the mouths of
those higher-up bastards that always complained about me wasting time on some
stupid hobby instead of alchemy research. Then Eunah will also stop…… Wait.”

“Hm?”

Claire narrowed her eyes. After muttering “what if” in her mouth, she looked down at
Kang Shin-hyuk and asked quietly.

“Anvil?”

“……What?”

“Hero Universe.”

“……Huh? Huuhhhhh?”

“So you do know about these.”

Kang Shin-hyuk naturally flinched at the unexpected words that were deeply ingrained
in his heart. Looking at his reaction, Claire’s eyes narrowed even further.

“You’re a ’17-year-old’ who’s awakened spirit power, who trains in blacksmithing and
knows about Hero Universe…… Come to think of it, that sword.”

The Godslayer sword was leaning against the sofa. She hadn’t given much thought to
it due to the circumstance, but looking at it now, she was certain.

“That’s the sword that Janus commissioned us to look for. The Godslayer sword,
crafted by Anvil.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Janus made such a commission. I mean, he told me to just keep it.”

At this point, Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t help but realize; Claire was probably a member
of the Hero Universe as well!

Kang Shin-hyuk was shocked to find another member in his homeworld, but he’d be
lying if he wasn’t also happy.

“I didn’t know you’re also a member. It’s great to meet you. I’ve actually never met
another member before…… What’s wrong?”

“It was you! The one who was proclaiming to be the reincarnated Anvil was you! The
fraud who tricked our innocent Eunah!”

Claire shouted while pointing at Kang Shin-hyuk with her chicken oiled finger.

‘Wait, was I the only person who was happy to meet a fellow member? But why is she
angry in the first place? Wait…… Eunah? Did she just say “Eunah”?’

“So the Thunder Empress Shin Eunah was that ‘Eunah’!? That’s crazy…… I mean, the
person who sounds like a little child!?”

“Yes, you impostor! That silly girl, who actually believes you to be Anvil, is my friend!”

Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t believe it–despite the same name, he couldn’t connect the
dots because the images he had of the Thunder Empress and the ‘Eunah’ of his
message log were too different!

How could he have thought that an acquaintance from the Hero Universe, the
intersection of countless different worlds, was actually from his home world! Kang
Shin-hyuk thought that he discovered the reason the Administrator was saying he
might know Enuah.

“Wait–wait a minute, noona! I’m not an impostor; I really am the reincarnated Anvil……”

“I never expected you to be from the same world! You impostor!”

“I’m telling you, I’m not! I’ve never pretended to be someone else!”

Claire’s anger didn’t show any sign of cooling down. Well, he thought, if his precious
friend suddenly said something weird like “Grandpa is back alive!” He would be angry
as well, but still!
“Just ask the Administrator! I’m not an impostor! I really am Anvil!”

“If I could do that, I would’ve done it already! How would I be able to just converse
with the Administrator!?”

Only after the Administrator sent a direct message to Claire due to Kang Shin-hyuk’s
earnest request, her misunderstanding was resolved.

That day, Kang Shin-hyuk had discovered that the Administrator doesn’t promptly
answer every member’s questions.

Translator and Editor Notes:

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisie

(2) “Noona” is a word that a guy uses to refer to an older sister/older woman, and the
latter usage (to an older, unrelated woman) signifies a close friendship.

(3) I think this is meant to say “a devil who only eats food of demonic attributes to
refuse something as precious as chicken legs” or something like that.

The snakes could also refer to someone who is trying to get on your good side with
nice stuff, but their goals are malicious.
The next day, Shinyoung Academy was in chaos.

Not just Shinyoung–the entire city of Seoul was talking about last night’s event where
monsters broke out of dozens of irregular gates. But the incident hit home for Shinyoung
students in particular, who were destined to face those monsters in the near future.

“Fuck, all those gates were A Rank!?”

“They were all irregulars too. I heard there were a lot of casualties.”

“That’s insane, all of the superhumans A Rank or above would’ve been dispatched.”

Humanity’s progressive adaptation to the new world didn’t mean that the gates would
cease to be dangerous. Just as with other natural disasters such as floods and
earthquakes, gates were erratic events that humanity could only prepare to effectively
respond to once they occur.

And yesterday, was a test of humanity’s preparation.

“But Seoul has a ton of skilled superhumans, like the Thunder Empress.”

“I’m so thankful the Thunder Empress is part of the association. The top guns of most
elite guilds are often dispatched overseas.”

“It also seemed like the Alchemist was still around Seoul. Because of her, I heard, there
was practically no one injured, despite the casualties.”

“I freaked out when the sirens suddenly went off last night.”

“A Rank monsters…… I’m freaking curious, though. Don’t you wanna see one?”

“Yes, will the next E+ Rank person please speak.”

Kang Shin-hyuk was silently eating his energy bar in the midst of the chaos in the
classroom.

The Troll Heart Cocktail’s buff ‘Increased Blood Flow’ was still in effect.

Kang Shin-hyuk was incredibly thankful for receiving an additional 3-day buff in
growth rates on the last day of the login bonus, but on the dark side, he was greatly
bothered by the hunger that was constantly plaguing him.

The burden was so great that even after eating seven chickens the night before, two
trays of cafeteria food (one tray just for the rice and the other for the side dishes) two
times in the morning, he felt hungry again just as the first class had started.

‘I’m so thankful today is Friday.’

The remaining two days of the buff’s effective period were Saturday and Sunday, his
days off school. If he could make it through today, he could spend the next two days
training himself in his dorm room with a mountain of snacks stacked beside him.

He had already been growing at a rapid rate, but he couldn’t let go of this golden
opportunity. While ‘Increased Blood Flow” was still in effect, he was determined to
upgrade his physical strength from D+ to C- Rank.

D+ Rank and C- Rank were just a stage apart, but the difference in strengths was as
clear as the change in the letter. His agility and stamina were already C Rank and C-
Rank, respectively. With his strength entering C- Rank, all of his stats would enter the
C Rank territory!

‘Then I would already have reached the level of a superhuman who was trained at a
decent superhuman academy. At Shinyoung, I would surely place among the top 1st-
year students. Adding to that, since my weapon proficiency is second to none, if I
supplement it with my spirit power, I’d have nothing to be afraid of. If it all works out,
I might be able to get superb grades from the upcoming sports day.’

Almost every event hosted by Shinyoung has grabbed a lot of attention from outsiders
but along with the school festival, sports day in particular attracted a lot of interest.
The reason was simple; outsiders were allowed to enter!

It was an event where students of various talents showcased their skills and scouts
from various different guilds and active superhumans came to evaluate them.
In other words, your performance on sports day could greatly impact your future, so
it was unwise to consider it as a fun day where you could just slack off.

‘Getting good grades from sports day also improves your academic evaluation. In
many ways, it’s a great opportunity to raise my worth; it might even be a good idea to
participate in the new students’ competition.’

If he diligently raised his worth this way, he’d be marked as a student of great promise
and would receive several sweet offers from various guilds upon graduation. When
that happened, it wouldn’t be much of a dream to go back to the hotel he stayed in
yesterday.

He could order ten chickens from room service and enjoy the luxury of drinking cup
ramen soup after dumping the noodles into the sink (1). Anything would be possible!

Vrrrr

Kang Shin-hyuk’s stick vibrated as he instantly finished the energy bar while trying to
relive the moments of eating last night’s chickens. He checked to see new messages
that were sent by the kind-hearted noona that bought him chickens at the hotel.

[Bartender noona: I thought about it, but let’s keep our meeting a secret to Eunah]

[Bartender noona: Also, don’t tell anyone that you’re from earth]

[Kang Shin-Hyuk: Okay]

Kang Shin-hyuk had saved her number as “Bartender noona” out of the concern that
having her real name listed and spotted by someone may lead to some bothersome
trouble.

But the innocent young boy didn’t yet know that a name as vague as “Bartender noona”
would also lead to various sorts of troubles.

[Bartender noona: Though with your skills, you’d be exposed to the world pretty soon
anyway…… There’s no way you’d go unnoticed by Eunah when you were noticed by
me, right?]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Are you acknowledging me as Anvil now?]

[Bartender noona: I don’t believe in the reincarnation part. Or rather, I don’t want to.]

[Bartender noona: But I think I can believe the part where you obtained Anvil’s ID and
inherited his memories and knowledge]

[Bartender noona: But if you impersonate ‘Grandpa’ in front of Eunah, I’m going to kill
you]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Like I said, I never did that]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: She’d tell you the same if you ask her. I’ve been honest from the
beginning]

[Bartender noona: (emote)]

Despite his firm denial of her accusations, Claire sent several types of ‘suspecting
emotes’ and ‘staring emotes.’ She had been like this on the phone since they split apart
from yesterday, so Kang Shin-hyuk was already quite used to it.

[Bartender noona: Anyway, I hope you had a good rest last night. I’m about to board
my plane, so I’ll talk to you later]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Are you returning to America?]

[Bartender noona: Of course. I may be a freelancer, but I can’t stay away from home
too long]

[Bartender noona: I met everyone I planned to, and the commission from Janus was a
total bust.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: I’m sorry about that……]

The three of them–Kang Shin-hyuk, Claire, and Janus–had already talked about the
matter the night before. The conversation didn’t last long, as Janus had already figured
out that Anvil was reincarnated in Eunah’s world upon hearing of Kang Shin-hyuk’s
discovery of the Godslayer sword.

Claire was mad at Janus for not telling her earlier, but Janus giggled as if he was
wearing a cheeky grin. He still paid her plenty of HP for the efforts she put in, so Claire
didn’t have much to say.
Oh, by the way, the ID Claire used in Hero Universe was ‘Bartender.’

[Bartender noona: If you’re sorry, help me out next time.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: You need my help?]

[Bartender noona: I don’t know how to use my spirit power yet, so I want you to help
me]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: But I’m not that good at it either]

[Bartender noona: But it’d be better for me to cling onto you midway than to drop
head-first to ground level.]

[Bartender noona: I don’t think it’s a bad deal for you either. I’ll give you all the potions
I made from my experiments]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Wow, I love you noona (emote)]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: (emote)]

More than ‘not being bad for him either,’ it was a comically one-sided exchange, being
able to receive potions from one of the best potion makers in the world.

Despite the slight awkwardness between them last night due to the trivial
misunderstanding, Kang Shin-hyuk was happy he could regularly meet such a good
person.

[Bartender noona: Sorry, but I’m not really into younger guys]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Ah sorry, I wasn’t talking about you but the potions]

[Bartender noona: You say that when you frantically scanned my whole body when
you first saw me]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: I’m very sorry noonim! (2) I made a mistake since you were too
attractive!]

[Bartender noona: All right, all forgiven since you’re honest]

[Bartender noona: I’ll visit you again later with chickens]

She was a really good person, Kang Shin-hyuk thought again.

‘Since it came this far, should I specify the chickens’ brand as well? No, that’s going
overboard. But if I’m going to eat them in the first place, they might as well be the best
ones…… ’ Just as Kang Shin-hyuk was painfully agonizing over the question:

[Bartender noona: By the way. Do you know of a teacher……”]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Yes?]

[Bartender noona: Ah, nevermind. Don’t worry about it. Let’s talk about it later.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Sure.]

That was the end of their conversation. Kang Shin-hyuk shrugged his shoulders and
put his stick back in his pocket.

Baek In-ha was in front of him.

“It’s a girl.”

“What?”

“100% It’s a girl. Our Shinyok-yi didn’t even come back to his dorm.”

The word “girls” was pretty much glued to his lips, but as the saying goes, even a
malfunctioning clock sometimes gets the time right. As he was spot on, Kang Shin-
hyuk came up with a random excuse:

“I told you, I went out to buy some dinner, but then went to a nearby evacuation center
after the sirens went off.”

“No, the smile you let out just now was the smile of a winner. It was a smile of
superiority, as if to say ‘I’m different from you measly children.’ It’s a noonim, right!
You must have seduced a beautiful noonim last night!”

If Baek In-ha didn’t shout such pathetic remarks out loud in the classroom, he would
be popular with girls too, Kang Shin-hyuk thought…… Kang Shin-hyuk spoke to Baek
In-ha with a look of sincere pity.

“No seduction, but I did get to know a noonim yesterday.”

“For real!?”

“She’s an Irish American with red hair and red eyes and a good style. Her name’s Claire
Boyle, she’s a famous superhuman.”

“Oh…… Did you guys eat dinner together?”

“Yup, we ate chickens. Claire noona bought them for me.”

Just as he turned his back to the reality that was too hard to bear, Baek In-ha lightly
gave a light tab on Kang Shin-hyuk’s shoulder and returned to his seat.

Looking at Baek In-ha’s back, Kang Shin-hyuk thought there might have been no need
to save Claire’s number with a nickname and took out his second energy bar.

***

The last lecture of the afternoon, ‘Monster Ecology,’ dealt with the ecology of monsters
that appeared on earth; their weaknesses, and detailed counter-strategies against them.

All the writing classes (3) that he had to take to become a great superhuman were as
necessary as they were boring, but now he was also hungry due to the ‘Increased
Blood Flow’ buff’s effect. While Kang Shin-hyuk was struggling to endure the immense
boredom and hunger, a whisper arrived on his message log:

Eunah: >< Grandpaa (4)

It was a whisper from Eunah, a.k.a. the Thunder Empress. Kang Shin-hyuk was used
to receiving her messages, since she has been sending them to him whenever she had
the time since Kang Shin-hyuk joined the Hero Universe.

Anvil: What’s up?

Eunah: My friend went back to Americaaaaa

She must have been talking about Claire Boyle. Then this girl who speaks like a little
child like her tongue hasn’t been fully developed must be the Thunder Empress……

Eunah: We couldn’t even find what we were looking forr :((

Anvil: That must be distressful.

Eunah: Yes :(( And a lot of bad beings appeared yesterday so I was really tired fighting
them.

Kang Shin-hyuk made a decision. He decided to have Min-seo, the youngest kid (6
years old) at the orphanage, as a reference while talking to Eunah. His conversation
partner’s mental age must be around there, he thought.

Anvil: You must have worked hard.

Eunah: Tell me I did goodd

Anvil: Great job.

Eunah: Tell me I did goodd

Anvil: Yup, you did good.

Eunah: Yup! 🙂 I did good, right!

Unable to endure the endless messages, Kang Shin-hyuk felt the ends of his lips
convulse as he said whatever she asked him to.

He was able to respond without any issues with the image of a pure innocent child in
his mind, but knowing that she’s actually the Thunder Empress, he couldn’t connect
the image of the mighty warrior with someone who was talking like a little child.

“Student Kang Shin-hyuk? Judging by the fact that your pen hasn’t been moving, the
lecture must be very boring for you.”

“Uhm.”

“I understand, though it might have been better if you weren’t caught. Right?”

It was at that moment. As Kang Shin-hyuk was mentally wriggling about due to his
conversation with Eunah, he was pointed out in the classroom.

“Why don’t you then teach us about the weaknesses of the monster Aviole? If you give
us a satisfactory answer, you may spend the rest of the class for self-study.”

“Uh……”

He was screwed. Kang Shin-hyuk was taking a writing class to compensate for his lack
of grades in more practical classes, but he was not quite knowledgeable of the Avioles
yet. That was expectantly so, because Avioles were C Rank monsters he had never
learned about!

He memorized every detail of E Rank monsters that 1st-year students were required
to fight against, but it was too much to ask for a 1st-year student in their first semester
to be informed of a C Rank monster!

“Nothing?”

“Hold on, please.”

But if he didn’t respond, he’d lose his writing scores. If he lost points in a ruthless
point-based system where your scores influenced every aspect of your student life,
failure in this moment could even end up impacting his graduation.

Eunah: Grandpa, What’s wrong? Are you busy? I am sorry 🙂

No, don’t worry about it. But I’ll be right back. I’m in a class, so let’s talk later.

Eunah: What are you learning about?

Avioles

Kang Shin-hyuk revealed the monster’s name without a second thought as he was too
agitated by the stares from the teacher and other students. Eunah responded right away.

Eunah: Avioles…… I know a lot about them.

“!”

“Student Kang Shin-hyuk? Do you need more time?”

As the teacher’s stare was about to become even sharper, the Thunder Empress’s
messages completely filled Kang Shin-hyuk’s retina like clouds filled the sky in a
stormy night.

Eunah: Avioles have two wings, but they’re actually midsize ground monsters. They
don’t have a fixed habitat, so they move underground at high speeds, sometimes
leading them to break out of gates with monsters belonging to completely different
habitats. There was even a case where they broke out from an extremely low ranked
gate.

”……”

Eunah: The feathers on their wings have a ton of small holes in them, and using them,
they soak up soil particles which they then emit back out to dig through the ground. If
they align their wings about 70 degrees to the ground and howl, it’s a sign they’re
about to attack and you have to be on your prepared right away. The soil particles
stored in their wings are then discharged at once by infusing mana and that attack is
comparable to a C Rank magical power or physical strength.

At this very moment, a vast amount of knowledge stored in the association’s database
was flowing into Kang Shin-hyuk’s head!

Eunah: But there is a window of opportunity right after their attack. They have to refill
the holes with soil particles, and if you launch water-based magic of C Rank or above,
their wings would be rendered useless by absorbing water instead of soil.

Eunah: They actually breathe with their wings, and will only try to breathe with their
mouths if the holes in their feathers are blocked. You can easily kill them by stuffing
water into their throat when they do. If you don’t have the right magic, you can just
attack their butt to block the passage used to discharge the soil. Their throats are
actually quite sturdy, so it’s not the most recommended part to target. But if you cut
off the tail on top of their heads, they lose their sense of magical power so it becomes
easier to fight them.

“……Avioles are.”

Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t have much choice at this point.

“Hm?”
“Avioles are creatures with two wings but they’re actually midsize ground monsters.”

“And?”

“They use the small holes in their feathers to absorb soil particles, which they use to
attack during battle……”

As Kang Shin-hyuk began talking, the teacher listened to what he had to say. Kang
Shin-hyuk merely repeated what Eunah had told him. She had come to his rescue,
though if you think about it, it was her fault that he was pointed out by the teacher in
the first place!

“……Thus, if a water attack proves to be fruitless, it’s best to take advantage of the slight
gap after it has discharged all soil particles to cut off the tail on top of its head to
disturb its sense, and then finish it off by attacking the discharging pathway in its butt.
That is all.”

“……”

The teacher was totally silent when Kang Shin-hyuk finished the lecture that his
classmates probably wouldn’t have for another year. Kang Shin-hyuk tried his best to
sustain a stiff expression to hide his guilt of having cheated, and most students were
slightly tilting their heads because they didn’t know if anything Kang Shin-hyuk had
said had any authenticity.

Then, a moment later, the teacher let out a smile and gently applauded.

“Splendid. It was more impressive that your answer wasn’t in the form of a textbook
answer. You had grasped the ideal strategy of hunting an Aviole, and more, you’ve
meticulously explored the best way to hunt it as a Knight major. It was the perfect
answer that could only be formed by having watched and analyzed dozens of videos
dealing with Aviole counter-strategies. I could clearly see that you studied hard. You’ve
been awarded 3 points.”

“Th…… Thank you.”

“You may use the rest of the class time for self-study. But even if you know all the
lecture’s contents, please, try not to look bored in class.”

“I’m sorry! I’ll continue studying as hard as I can.”

Kang Shin-hyuk emitted a deep sigh sinking down into his chair. Baek In-ha, who was
sitting near Kang Shin-hyuk, tried to covertly give a thumbs-up to him but ended up
as the teacher’s next victim to answer a question.

Kang Shin-hyuk was dazed for a moment and he could hear students whispering to
each other.

“Ah, Kang Shin-hyuk was always good at writing courses.”

“But that was just…… Is he backed up by a large guild or something? That strategy he
just talked about is something you only see at the front line of a major guild. I’ve never
heard of a specific timing to attack.”

“Hey, he also beat Doo Woo-jin a while ago. What if he’s amazing in practical courses
too?”

“That was just a coincidence.”

“Yeah~ Just as it’d be a coincidence for you to meet an Aviole at an F Rank dungeon
and die while shitting your pants, right?”

“What did you say fucker?”

Until a few days ago, the words around him were filled with shock and suspicion, but
the air around him had changed quite drastically. Faintly but distinctly, there was a
mood where everyone was now acknowledging Kang Shin-hyuk.

Kang Shin-hyuk slightly smiled. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

‘That just now wasn’t me, though.’

He had never expected he’d receive such help from Eunah.

Despite knowing that she’s a superhuman from the association, it was hard for him to
put his trust in her as she always talked like a little child, but now he felt like he could
acknowledge her as one of the top superhumans of Korea.

While Kang Shin-hyuk was sitting with a complicated mixture of 1/3 happiness, 1/3
guilt, and 1/3 unrest, a message popped up in front of him:
Eunah: Grandpa, Is there anything else you’d like to know about?

Anvil: Nope, that was the perfect explanation. Thank you. I made it through the situation
all thanks to you.

Eunah: Heh……

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk was happy to finally receive a short message from her.

Eunah: Do you want to know more!?

Eunah: I know about pretty much every single monster up to S Rank! I know a lot
about SS Rank monsters too! I’ll answer anything Grandpa is curious about! Grandpa,
do you know what Medusa is?

Eunah: You know, I thought you don’t turn into stone as long as you don’t look at its
face, but its breadth and mana rays and all these other things can turn you into stone,
so I almost died hunting it! And you know–

Uh…… Could you please go through one by one, slowly? When you are free, that is.

Eunah: Anytime!

Like this, Kang Shin-hyuk had officially recruited the girl who was calling him Grandpa
as his tutor. It was the moment when a green light turned on his way to receiving a
high writing course grade.

Translator and Editor Notes:

(1) A faux pas for commoners

(2) ‘Noonim’ is the more dignified version of ‘noona’ and connotes much more respect
than the latter.

(3) “Writing courses” really means “knowledge-intensive courses,” as opposed to

“practical courses.”

(4) Korean has a way of sounding cute/adorable by prolonging certain vowels or with
certain single/double syllable sounds, but since that seems either impossible or
incredibly awkward in English, I’ll just use emotes instead, unless the alternative
works. (The closest analog that comes to mind in English is replacing half the letters
with w like “The cwosest anawog thwat cwomes to mwind in Wiengwish is……” But I
don’t want to commit that sin.)
After Kang Shin-hyuk left a deep impression on his fellow classmates, the teacher was
about to end the lecture.

“There is an important announcement. Everyone, please be silent.”

The teacher of 1st-year student’s C class, Siara Bertrand. Like others Kang Shin-hyuk
had met, she was a Caucasian who could speak fluent Korean, which wouldn’t have
been the case if Korea wasn’t a nation known for its supply of talented superhumans.

She was a 40-year-old S Rank superhuman in top 5,000 of the World Superhuman
Ranking. She once made a name for herself during her prime in France, afterward of
which she moved to Korea to teach at Shinyoung.

She was popular with the students not just for her excellence in teaching, but for her
youthful beauty that she was able to maintain by possessing a large quantity of mana.

“You fought yesterday too, right, teacher!?”

“I saw the video of you fighting and it was so freaking cool.”

“Could you also whip me like you did to the mons-……”

“Quiet!”

After she shut everybody up by lightly slamming on her desk, she calmly turned on
the main screen in the classroom. It was an announcement related to sports day.

“These files will be sent to you soon, but please take a look at them right now. The
competition will be divided into three sections. There will be a school-wide
competition where two teams, consisting of all students from 1st to 3rd grades face
off against each other. Then there will be a class competition, where a single class from
1st to 3rd grades will be selected to be the winning team. Lastly, there will be a free-
for-all competition where the results are determined by individual evaluations.”
“Holy crap, finally.”

“I’ll sweep the floor with everyone. I’ll be the free-for-all’s MVP.”

“Yes, will the next D Rank person please speak~” (1)

Just as the students began to make a fuss, the teacher slammed her desk again to
silence the students and continued.

“Please take each competition seriously. All students have to participate in at least one
of the school-wide and class competitions. Participation in the individual competition
is voluntary, where each participant will be strictly evaluated starting from the
qualifiers, so please beware that joining the competition with insignificant skills could
leave a negative impact on your overall academic assessment.”

As expected of Shinyoung, sports day was also a nightmare. Kang Shin-hyuk read
through the screen with a bittersweet smile.

The teacher’s explanation continued, but Kang Shin-hyuk was only interested in the
individual competition. As implied by the wording, most of them were 1v1 competitions,
and they were varied in the types of battles involved.

‘A competition where any major can participate, and major-specific competitions to

determine the best Knight and Magic major of the academy…… ’

Lastly, the new student competition where only the newly admitted students could
participate! For new students, the competition was a bloody warzone that was as
competitive as it was accessible. Kang Shin-hyuk’s stick vibrated.

[Baek In-ha: Shinyok, are you gonna participate in the new student competition?]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Yup. You?]

Indeed, if Kang Shin-hyuk participated in the new student competition, there was a
chance that he’d have to fight Baek In-ha, a monster among monsters who possessed
a S Rank trait and A Rank magic power. Even though he’s been growing rapidly, there
was no chance that Kang Shin-hyuk would be able to defeat him.

[Baek In-ha: I’m gonna participate in the school-wide competition. Since you can’t
participate in the new student competition while participating in the school-wide one,
I guess we won’t be facing off against each other.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: You’re crazy, school-wide competition……]

Even though he should have felt relaxed at his answer, Kang Shin-hyuk felt more
humiliated than relieved.

The new student competition was meant to tease out the most talented new student.
But Baek In-ha was already walking over to the stage of the entire school. His vision
was different.

Kang Shin-hyuk gently bit his lips, and continued with a sigh.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Win the school-wide competition. I’ll win the new student one.]

[Baek In-ha: I’ll win it all. You win it all too Shinyok.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Yup I’ll win it all too.]

Kang Shin-hyuk was just beginning to learn how to walk, and if he tried to chase down
the person running in front of him out of jealousy, he would just end up falling over.

So. he decided to work on standing firmly on the ground for the time being. Running
would come after he learned how to stabilize himself. He breathed slowly as he made
his new pledge. It relaxed him quite a bit.

“The participation list for the school-wide competition and the class competition will
be collected after Monday’s class. Likewise, anyone wishing to participate in the
individual competition should come and talk to me before Monday. That is all. Please
decide after carefully reading the files sent to your sticks.”

“Teacher! I want to participate in the individual competition!”

“I wanna participate in the school-wide competition! Will you accept my proposal if I

dedicate the trophy to you?”

“Bring. The documents. With you.”

Kang Shin-hyuk bit on his last energy bar and stood up as the teacher dealt critical hits
on the loud students’ heads with the attendance sheet.
But then a voice flew in from behind.

“Student Kang Shin-hyuk.”

“Yes.”

Siara Bertrand had called him after she handled the clingy students and packed her
attendance sheet.

Was it wrong to eat the energy bar at the end of class? I won’t be deducted points for
this, right? As numerous thoughts passed by; a faint smile formed on her face. It was
a smile he had never seen since he enrolled in Shinyoung two months ago.

“To think that you’d move his heart. I was very impressed. I’ll be looking forward to
your development.”

“Huh……? Ah, yes.”

As he thought, ‘Who could it have been?’ The answer came right away. She was probably
talking about the supervising teacher of the Artifact Production Club, Lee Manwoo.
Was he some sort of a special type of person? Did something happen to him?

But the teacher had already left after packing her documents before he could ask such
questions. He thought about chasing her to ask, but decided not to, thinking that he’d
naturally come to learn about the issue if it turns out to be important.

[Baek In-ha: To think that you’d seduce our teacher…… You’re the real killer of older
women]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Dude for fuck’s sake]

***

Kang Shin-hyuk entered the Superhuman market with only the Godslayer sword tied
to his waist, intending to buy some field rations.

In order to sustain long-term activity in a gate, the food has been developed to be
cheap, small, and able to fill as much as ten meals.

They were hardly comparable to Eiren Jelly that was delicious as well as able to
replenish spirit power, but since he had little HP remaining, he had to buy whatever
he could with his own cash. Especially now, after he had earned the profit of hunting
down a War Troll!

[A total of 229,105,550 won has been transferred to your account.]

Kang Shin-hyuk thought there must have been a mistake when he first saw the message.
He knew why he received money, but couldn’t make himself believe the amount that
was displayed. Two hundred twenty nine million won!

Thinking he might have misread the number of digits, he reread the message countless
times. But he was right the first time; more than a hundred million had found its home
in his bank account!

But still incredulous, he researched about the corpse of a War Troll. He found out that
not all War Troll corpses can be sold, and certain kinds of corpses are demanded more
than others.

F Rank monsters were barely profitable but the profits became sizable from E Rank.
There was a huge variation depending on the type of monster hunted, but the typical
price was about a 100,000 won.

D Rank monsters were also greatly dependent on the type, but they cost a minimum
of 300,000 won and a maximum of 5 million won.

C Rank monsters cost a minimum of 2 million up to about 30 million.

The concerned B Rank monsters cost at least 10 million up to a grand total of 400
million! On top of that, War Trolls were rare monsters, placing them at the maximum
price range!

‘But since we took out its heart, which comprises the majority of its price…… ’

The price should have dropped significantly, but because the War Troll was deemed
to be a variant, the value of the heartless corpse was high enough to fetch him an
unimaginable sum of money.

With that, Kang Shin-hyuk, who had been barely holding on with a few tens of thousand
wons in his pocket, had suddenly become a multi-millionaire.
Of course, filthy rich people would snicker at such an amount, however, it was money
that he obtained by risking his life, but it still felt surreal to him.

‘This should be enough until I graduate. Now there’s no need to save my dignity
maintenance expense……!’

While ecstatic, he realized why countless people dream of becoming superhumans,

why low-rank superhumans worked so hard to raise their ranks.

It was because a boost in rank came with a boost in profits!

‘I don’t want to be obsessed with money, but having a lot of money makes a lot of
things easier.’

That was indeed the case right now. Even though field rations were considered to be
“cheap,” that was looking at it from the standards of active superhumans; it was still a
large sum of money for an average student. But what had happened with an excess
amount of money? He had bought them without any hesitation!

Money leads to less time wasted, allows you to tread on more comfortable paths, and
gives you better things. In order to become stronger as fast as possible, it was good to
have as much money as he could.

[It’s more important to have more HP than more money. With HP you can purchase
goods that are higher in quality than the ones you can buy with cash. Also, with some
of your VIP restrictions lifted, you can directly purchase products that will speed your
status’s growth.]

Kang Shin-hyuk shrugged his shoulders. He agreed with everything the Administrator
said. There was nothing that the trade board of Hero Universe didn’t offer. Especially
when it came to products that assisted in superhumans’ battles and growth, he recently
realized, the trade board was teeming with those products.

“I know. Obtaining more HP and lifting my membership tier’s restrictions…… In other

words, you’re telling me to put all my efforts into increasing my synchronization rate,
right?”

[That’s precisely right. You can obtain more HP and upgrade your membership tier by
hunting down monsters, but with you in your current state, that’s a bit difficult to do.]
Even though he was a prospective superhuman, he was just that: someone who wasn’t
yet a superhuman.

It was impossible for a student from a training academy to undertake missions of

fighting monsters that broke out of a gate.

Among those, if he wanted to tackle the long-lasting gates that teemed with monsters–
commonly called ‘dungeons’, unless he suddenly happened to walk into one, he had to
go through a long and complicated process of obtaining the rights of entry.

“That’s why I need the money. Enough money to sustain me until I graduate and
officially become a superhuman.”

[Indeed, I am convinced. A 10HP bonus by the Administrator who was impressed by

your thorough explanation!]

“I thought you’d give it to me by this point. Thank you.”

Kang Shin-hyuk wondered if every member regularly received a bonus like him, but
decided not to ask. It was more satisfying to think that he was receiving special
treatment. Despite the small amount, he liked hearing the bonus message.

“……All right, now then.”

Kang Shin-hyuk, who had purchased two days worth of food, headed to his dormitory.

He had already applied to reserve an individual training room. A reservation for the
whole training room just for himself, starting from Friday night to Sunday.

“Hello student Kang Shin-hyuk. Since you even brought field rations with you, you
seem to be ready.”

Emil Bolton was standing in front of the training room. Kang Shin-hyuk had asked a
favor to him.

“Yes, Mr. Bolton. I also plan on cutting sleep.”

“I overheard the students’ conversations. It sounded like you had grown noticeably in
the past few days, and you’re here to hone those improvements to perfection, am I
right?”
“Yes.”

It was to maximize his gain from the effect of his new buff, ‘Increased Blood Flow,” but
there was no need to explain that much.

After all, Emil Bolton wasn’t completely wrong. Kang Shin-hyuk had to adapt to his
newly amplified growth rate in a short amount of time.

“Hm. All right. Everything you asked for is in there, so go ahead and check…… Also,
when there’s a chance, how about you and I have a friendly sparring match?”

“I’d be honored, sir!”

He’d have to go all in to fight against someone who could still fit into the top sections
of the World Superhuman Ranking. Kang Shin-hyuk bowed to Emil Bolton, and
entered the training room.

There were fitness equipment on one side of the spacious room and all kinds of
training tools on the opposite side. Emil Bolton had prepared everything he asked for.

“……Good.”

After a light breathing exercise, Kang Shin-hyuk put a pile of the field rations on the
floor and ate one of them. It tasted bad, but he endured it and passed it down his
throat.

After that, Kang Shin-hyuk gently placed the Godslayer sword against the wall. He
could see the sword shivering.

“……I’m going to train my sword techniques just a bit later.”

Vrrrrr

“Yup, I’m going to train them so much you may get tired of them.”

Vrrr

The Godslayer sword was only faintly shivering, but Kang Shin-hyuk felt like he could
understand what it was trying to say. He chuckled and gently swept its edge a few times.
Having awakened spirit power and learning that the sword has a sort of “ego,” he
started talking to the Godslayer sword as if to a person, quite often. It was a natural
interaction for Kang Shin-hyuk, though it might not be good for someone else to see
him talking to the sword.

“Well, anyway…… I should get started now.”

Kang Shin-hyuk began his physical training right away. Training his martial arts and
spirit power was important, but more than anything, he wanted to train his strength
to C- as soon as possible!

He began lifting weights that were several dozen kilograms heavier than his usual
amount. But he immediately realized that he had made a mistake.

‘This is still light. Come to think of it, my strength must have increased by a great
amount by this point.’

He was already overwhelmed by his upgrade to D+, so how would superhumans of C,

B and A rank strengths feel about their own power? How strong would they become
if they supplemented their strength with mana?

At that point, it would be possible to lift an entire building with their strength. That’s
why they are called ‘superhumans,’ or ‘beings that transcended humans.’ It was a
territory he could not conceive before, but he felt in his bones that he’d one day be
able to approach it!

‘All right…… Let’s keep it going.’

He increased the weights until he felt a heavy load on his muscles. Due to their
abnormal recovery rate, superhumans that were wielding mana could push the limits
of their physical training as much as they wanted without worrying too much about
possible damage. Due to such strenuous training, they were able to become stronger
at incredible speeds.

For Kang Shin-hyuk in the past, who once had no capacity for mana, it was an
unimaginable process to partake. But having the ability to wield spirit power, he was
now different.

In fact, right at this moment, his spirit power was circulating through his entire body
to assert its existence and calm his mind. With the ‘Increased Blood Flow’ buff in effect,
he had nothing to be afraid of.

Pant, pant……!

Kang Shin-hyuk began pushing himself to his absolute limit. His barbell was becoming
progressively heavy, but he didn’t show a sign of wearing out.

The funny thing was, his spirit power began rapidly circulating to stimulate his origin.

‘It’s painful.’

“I want to rest.’

‘My arms hurt.’

‘But still, I’m enjoying this.’

‘Because the pain is making me grow.’

While his body was actively lifting up the barbell, his mind was calmly observing
himself. It was not an act of distracting himself from the exercise.

In fact, he was able to honestly observe himself because he was so intently focused on
the exercise.

‘I trained myself for years only to earn ant-sized rewards, so will this be enough to
make me grow?’

‘No, it’s different now. Now, I can earn more than I did before. I’m sure of it.’

‘I want to give up.’

‘No, I’m making progress.’

‘I can’t let go of this opportunity.’

‘I just want to pound on metals.’

‘That’s the way to escape.’

Wait. ‘Escape’? Pounding on metals is a way to ‘escape’? More than physical training,
wasn’t that the best way to become stronger?

His movement came to a halt and he put the barbell on the floor. His spirit power’s
circulation had stopped. He had been observing himself without anyone’s interjection,
so the thought he just had must’ve been of his own.

‘But why ‘escape’……? I’ve never thought of it that way. Which means…… ’

……Was it Anvil’s memory? Kang Shin-hyuk placed his hand on his chest. He tried to
reach his spirit power again, but perhaps because he was no longer immersed in his
self-observation, he wasn’t able to pull off the intuition like before.

‘Is it because synchronization is active?’

The image of an old man pounding metals in a decimated world kept ringing in his mind.

With mysterious monsters rampaging all over the world, the image of an old man
absorbed in blacksmithing to escape from reality.

“Sorry,”

Kang Shin-hyuk spoke quietly to the old man’s back.

“But now things are different.”

Anvil’s world was destroyed, but this world wasn’t.

Blacksmithing was a means to escape for him, but it wasn’t for Kang Shin-hyuk.

Kang Shin-hyuk lived on earth, not Merva.

“So don’t worry. I have no plans to escape from this reality.”

It was probably some sort of a self-consolation for Kang Shin-hyuk, whom Anvil
acknowledged as his reincarnation, to try to comfort Anvil.

But this was probably a natural part of the process of synchronizing with Anvil. Kang
Shin-hyuk decided to believe so.
‘I don’t step back. I only move forward.’

Anvil obtained his skills by escaping.

But Kang Shin-hyuk decided to use those skills to step forward.

Yup, he still hasn’t escaped his cringy sentimentality. He was fine with it, though.

“Allll right.”

Kang Shin-hyuk gripped the barbell again after emitting a deep sigh. He added a few
more weights and lifted the barbell with as much strength as he could while enduring
the pain of his muscles nearly rupturing.

‘Perhaps, one day I’ll go back to Merva–…… ’

A thought came to his mind, but it disappeared as Kang Shin-hyuk lifted the barbell
again with all his might.

He continued to train hard for the rest of the night. A long night, where the sound of
training equipment and the heavy breath of a man filled the whole room.

Translator and Editor Notes:

1: So, from what I can understand about this line is that the superhumans are rated by
the Gaia system based off of their stats, so, pretty much none of them would be a full
D Rank superhuman. That is at least my guess. Hope it helps a little.
[You’ve received an additional bonus of 1,000 HP for today’s login!]

At 6 a.m. on Saturday, Kang Shin-hyuk woke up after two hours of sleep and quickly
finished two packs of his field rations.

A typical superhuman could get by with only a couple of hours sleep each day thanks
to their abnormal recovery rate, but Kang Shin-hyuk had slept even less than his usual
sleep schedule due to the effect of the ‘Increased Blood Flow’ buff.

[Tsukuyo: You’re a tough one…… Seems like you still haven’t deleted your ID.]

[Halo: Anvil geezer, hope you’re well. Wait, I forgot–you’re not a geezer anymore.]

[Cicatus: Why didn’t you keep in touch? Are you no longer making weapons after being
reincarnated or something? I was wishing for you to make a bridle for my Frozen
Drake.]

[Eunah: Did you sleep well, Grandpa? Eunah just woke up!]

After having skimmed through the mountain of messages sent by his Hero Universe
friends, he sent his first reply to Eunah, who seemed to have woken up at a similar
time. Then he moved on to the rest of the messages.

‘Though I still don’t know what this Tsukuyo woman is trying to say.’

What if, Kang Shin-hyuk thought, Anvil was actually closer to Tsukuyo than Eunah,
which he didn’t know about because his synchronization with Anvil was still incomplete?

But since that was something he had no way of knowing, Kang Shin-hyuk decided to
ignore her for now. Tsukuyo had always replied with the same words no matter what
he said to her, so ignoring her messages was the only answer.

On the other hand, the notification screen on his substitute communication device–
a.k.a. “stick”–was simpler. There were a few trivial friendly messages from Baek In-ha
and a text from Claire.

[Bartender noona: Just arrived in New York. Did you get the money?]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: (emote)]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: I’ll buy you coffee when you visit Korea again]

Claire immediately replied. Even though it was about to be dawn in Seoul, New York
was still sunny.

[Bartender noona: K]

[Bartender noona: I don’t drink can coffees]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: I’ll buy you a whole freaking cafe lol. By the way, isn’t communicating
through the Hero Universe’s system more convenient?]

They were already listed as friends in their Hero Universe accounts. Claire gave a simple
answer to Kang Shin-hyuk’s reasonable question.

[Bartender noona: Communicating like that feels like the recipient is at a different
world, so I don’t like it]

[Bartender noona: Eunah and I usually talk through the phone or texts too.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: I see……]

[Bartender noona: Though whispering is more convenient inside a gate, cuz you can’t
get signals in there.]

[Bartender noona: Not that I have anyone other than Eunah to request for rescue.]

[Bartender noona: I have to go eat now. Don’t skip your meals like you did last time.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Okay]

Truly, there was a large gap between her looks and her personality…… Kang Shin-hyuk
ended the conversation with emotes that expressed lots of love and respect.
“All right.”

The pleasant conversation had cheered him up. He put his stick back in his pocket, and
resumed his intensive training.

As he lifted weights without a break and munched on packs of field rations whenever
he was hungry, his spirit power powerfully roamed around in his body like yesterday,
raising his self-awareness level to its limit. This time, he wasn’t distracted by
unnecessary thoughts about wanting to pound metals or escape reality.

He was solely walking towards the goal of becoming stronger without getting
sidetracked.

“……Huuuk.”

As he was totally immersed in his training as if his sense of self had vanished from his
consciousness, he sometimes felt his supply of spirit power depleting.

When that happened, he replenished the supply by eating an Eiren Jelly. It felt like a
special treat compared to the field rations, but because the recovery rate of his spirit
power increased along with its total volume, he didn’t have to worry too much about
draining the supply empty.

[Baek In-ha: Shinyok, are you training right now?]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Yup, I’m at the individual training room]

After he sent a short reply to Baek In-ha while chewing on an Eiren Jelly, Kang Shin-
hyuk resumed his training. By the time he ate five more packs of field rations and one
more Eiren Jelly, he had finished his weight training.

“Whoo, Whoooo……”

He dropped the barbell, taking a few moments to catch his breath. His heart told him
to keep lifting the barbell until his strength reached C- Rank, but upgrading his status
wasn’t something he could accomplish in just a few hours. Until recently, he had been
thinking about it in terms of years!

There was no need to hurry since there was still quite a bit of time left before the
‘Increased Blood Flow’ buff expired. After he muttered such thoughts to himself, Kang
Shin-hyuk moved on to his second training. It was now time to train his Fanged
Wyvern Dance.

“Whoo.”

He picked up a long spear out of the stock of the training-purpose weapons Emil
Bolton had prepared for him. He intended to train with not only the long spear but
also with the various weapons he had learned to use.

He had two goals he wanted to accomplish while training the Fanged Wyvern Dance.

First, he wanted to transfer the intuition of the Godslayer sword’s sword dance that
he acquired during his battle against the War Troll to other types of weapons. Kang
Shin-hyuk put his faith into his trait ‘Awakened Fanged Wyvern,’ which allowed him to
acquire martial arts techniques at a superhuman speed.

Second, he wanted to learn more about his new ability, Weapon Upgrade, which he
obtained when the ‘The Serpent without its Pearl (A-)’ evolved to ‘Fanged Wyvern
Dance (A+).’ He wanted to learn especially about the feature that ‘enhances the
performance of weapons held in your hands.’

‘As expected, if I grip a weapon with an empty mind, nothing happens.’

Kang Shin-hyuk muttered to himself as he saw no change in the long spear he was
holding. He realized that the weapon could only be enhanced if he held it with a clear,
sincere will.

‘I need to learn to freely use this ability. Even though it always promptly activated
when I needed it most, I can’t just rely on it to come to my rescue in every dire
situation.’

He also wanted to find out the extent to which the weapon could be upgraded.
Understanding one’s overall stock of capabilities was as important as growing stronger,
he thought.

“……Let’s begin.”

Kang Shin-hyuk remembered back to when he performed his sword dance and fixed
his posture. Even though it’d be impossible to exactly reproduce the movements of
that day, the meaning he embedded in his movements was more important than the
forms they took.

He closed his eyes gently. As he took a step forward, he slowly thrust the spear toward
an imaginary point in the air. At some point, a worm-like pattern appeared on the
spear.

***

In the afternoon, Baek In-ha came to visit Kang Shin-hyuk at the training room. He was
dressed casually.

“Woah.”

“Why did you come?”

By this point, Kang Shin-hyuk had practiced with a dagger, staff, hammer, whip and
dual swords. Even though it was too early for him to try and reproduce the Godslayer
Sword Dance–a name, he decided to give it–with other weapons, he had become quite
good at applying his Weapon Upgrade ability.

“Shinyok, can you really lift this up?”

“Yup.”

Kang Shin-hyuk put the whip he was holding on the floor and lifted the barbell. As he
did, Baek In-ha checked the weight on the barbell and exclaimed “woah” with an
impressed look.

Of course, Baek In-ha himself could lift the barbell with ease, but that was to be
expected from someone who’s among the top 1st-year students. Most 1st-year
students would have to reinforce their strength with mana to barely lift the barbell.

But the barbell was being lifted by his friend who could not wield magical power!

“Did you eat some ginseng or something? (1) How did you get so strong in such a short
time?”

“I told you I grew stronger.”

“At least give me a hint of how you did it.”

Hearing those words, Kang Shin-hyuk grabbed a sword and pointed it at Baek In-ha.
Baek In-ha saw a curious pattern engraved on the sword, and a clear sign that the
weapon has gone through an upgrade, a product of Kang Shin-hyuk training his new
ability for hours.

“Wow.”

Baek In-ha looked as if he had realized something. He was indeed an elite among elites,
having accurately discerned the magnitude of the weapon’s enhancement with a
single look.

“Is that a skill?”

“No, it’s a trait. I told you my trait was upgraded.”

“Dude, this is not just an upgrade; it’s more like an evolution.”

“It’s similar.”

“Holy crap! That’s insane!”

There have been known cases of a trait going through an evolution, but it was an
extremely rare occurrence.

Even so, it was widely believed that traits that were born as strong were weaker than
traits that evolved to be strong. In other words, even if two are the same A Rank traits,
the one that evolved to be A Rank was stronger.

“So how is it?”

“A+.”

“Holy fuck!”

Baek In-ha cheerfully tried to hug Kang Shin-hyuk, but Kang Shin-hyuk dodged the
embrace with blatant disgust. Still, Baek In-ha was smiling with happiness all over his
face.

“I knew our Shinyok could do it. At this pace, you might even awaken magical power!”
“Pff.”

It wasn’t magical power he had awakened, it was spirit power, Kang Shin-hyuk thought.
He softly scoffed at Baek In-ha’s response, but on the inside, his heart was about to
drop.

Kang Shin-hyuk slipped away from him, wary that he might see through his secret.
Fortunately, Baek In-ha didn’t notice him retracting because he was nodding in
satisfaction to his own thoughts.

“So your status climbed at once when your trait evolved. Come to think of it, if your
weapon is enhanced by a trait, you could probably use it to beat the crap out of a
monster without using any magical power. Wait, will the enhancement amplify with a
stronger weapon?”

“Probably.”

The Awakened Wyvern was the perfect trait to hide his spirit power’s existence
because there was no way of telling that the upgrade came from a power other than
his trait.

After all, the visual effect of the Awakened Wyvern was glamorous, so people’s
attention would be directed there. Kang Shin-hyuk was confident he could deceive
everyone who couldn’t detect spirit power.

“I see why you joined the new student competition. Maybe you’ll fight against me next
year at the school-wide competition.”

“I’ll probably sweep the floor next year.”

“Look at that confidence.”

Kang Shin-hyuk seemed too confident to call his statement a bluff. While Baek In-ha
suspected that his friend was hiding something, he decided not to pursue his curiosity.
Kang Shin-hyuk would tell him when he wanted; he figured.

“Ah, right, Shinyok. I came here cuz I had something to tell you.”

“What is it?”
“I heard the Thunder Empress is visiting for sports day!”

“……Why?”

As Kang Shin-hyuk asked back, wrinkles formed on his forehead. He was worried just
by the mention of the name.

“She’s coming as the representative of the association. Also, the Thunder Empress is a
Shinyoung alumnus.”

“Is that so……”

“I’m warning you in advance. The Thunder Empress is mine, so you should give up.”

“In-ha.”

Kang Shin-hyuk softly called the name of his greatly determined friend whose fists
were clenched. Baek In-ha got a little nervous at the kind, gentle voice of Kang Shin-
hyuk that he had never heard since knowing him.

“Uh, uh?”

“Good luck.”

Kang Shin-hyuk tapped Baek In-ha on the shoulder with a gentle smile. It was a sincere
wish of good luck without a shred of a lie. Baek In-ha looked perplexed but gave him
a firm nod.

“Then I’ll seduce the Thunder Empress and become next president of the association!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Baek In-ha continued talking about sports day but soon got kicked out by Kang Shin-
hyuk. He could not waste any more of his precious ‘Increased Blood Flow’ buff’s
remaining effective period.

“So the Thunder Empress is coming……”

Kang Shin-hyuk muttered to himself after kicking Baek In-ha out of the room. Having
that information in advance was a gain for him; he could at least emotionally prepare
for the impending meeting with her.

‘Claire said that she’d find out in no time, but to think I’ll meet her this soon…… ’

Kang Shin-hyuk checked his message log and frowned after seeing the stream of
messages coming from Eunah every 30 minutes.

What would happen when she finds out who he really is? He pondered and came to a
conclusion.

“Let’s hide it for now.”

Even though having the Thunder Empress on his side could be a huge advantage, he
was too focused on developing his newly earned abilities to greater heights, so
revealing his identity could only lead to more troubles. She was incredibly bothersome
even in this moment, not even knowing they live in the same world!

……But will he succeed? Claire figured out who he was in a flash–will he be able to hide
his identity from a girl who’s been calling him “Grandpa” all this time?

More than anything should he hide his identity? That Thunder Empress of all people
was blindly affectionate of him…… Wait, no, no.

“Forget about it–let’s just train.”

Kang Shin-hyuk repeatedly shook his head as if to ward off any thoughts related to
Eunah and began to swing his weapon again.

It was too early to fully reproduce the Godslayer Sword Dance with other weapons,
but compared to the morning, he had significantly improved. The Awakened Wyvern
was an exceptional skill when it came to cultivating his martial arts skills!

He moved from practicing with a whip to practicing with a hammer, then moved onto
a sword and back to the spear.

He’d drop the current weapon, use that hand to grab a pack of field rations or an Eiren
Jelly and put it in his mouth as he grabbed the next weapon with the other hand.

Whip for 30 minutes, eat, hammer for another 30 minutes, eat, move onto the dagger,
eat again…… The process repeated endlessly.
Vrrrr

As he devoted all his attention to fend off the unnecessary thoughts, he had earlier, the
weapon in his hand intensely vibrated.

“Hm?”

Kang Shin-hyuk came to his senses. Without knowing, he was holding the Godslayer
sword. He could feel his spirit power escaping his body to encase the sword as a whole.
It was as if the sword and his spirit power had merged as one. But then.

[The Godslayer sword has successfully consumed the axe’s strengths and will upgrade
to C Rank.]

[You are about to view a fraction of the memories residing in the axe.]

“Huh……?”

As Kang-Shin Hyuk excitedly exclaimed at the timely message,

The image of the axe’s strong origin filled his consciousness.

Translator and Editor Notes:

(1) Ginseng is… considered to be the cure-all/panacea by some Koreans. Baek In-ha is
saying that as a joke here.
The axe had been crafted in a spacious workshop containing an ever burning brazier
infused with a small amount of magical power, a worn anvil, and a blunt hammer. And
the workshop was occupied by an old blacksmith.

‘This one’s a failure.’

The blacksmith thought while looking at the completed axe. He had been too distracted
while making the weapon.

The blacksmith always tried to commit to his work with an empty mind, but it was
sometimes inevitable to be distracted by random unnecessary thoughts. Most of them
were quite unpleasant. They included the memories of the end of the world, the
sorrow of losing his family, and the rage against the interdimensional invaders that
caused all those tragedies.

Sometimes those dark emotions would stir inside him uncontrollably, causing him to
make a defective weapon. Although the purpose of a weapon was to harm another
living being, a weapon crafted in such a somber state of mind possessed an excessively
violent aura.

‘Not that I can kill my own child that had just sprung out into this world.’

The blacksmith registered the weapon in the trade board of Hero Universe while
clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction. He hoped the weapon would meet the right owner
who’d correct the axe’s unstable aura to its rightful balance.

[Anonymous has purchased your item. You’ve received a total of 176,500HP!]

The axe was sold in no time. It was a common occurrence. The blacksmith had judged
the axe to be a failure a moment ago, but his friends of the Hero Universe community
always regarded his weapons as top-quality. But.

‘Another anonymous user. They all seem to be the same person, though.’
A user with a hidden identity, who always appeared out of nowhere like a ghost, to buy
his products that emitted especially violent auras.

It was a well-known fact that trading anonymously was only possible with a high
membership tier for a special type of product, and the blacksmith wasn’t quite happy
speculating about the kind of people interested in these products.

‘I should probably not sell these kinds of weapons…… ’

The blacksmith thought about it, but didn’t think for long.

Even a weapon possessing an excessive violent aura could transform into a different
weapon when wielded by the right owner. The blacksmith was merely the crafter of
the weapon; he was not someone responsible for the weapon’s fate.

“I don’t know who you are…… but please take good care of it.”

The blacksmith muttered to himself and closed his eyes to shake off his remaining
uneasiness.

As he did, his consciousness began to fade into the void. When he came to his senses,
he was standing idly in the middle of the training room.

[Your synchronization rate is increasing. Assimilation rate is now at 1.7%…… 1.8%.]

Kang Shin-hyuk fully came to his senses at the message of his synchronization rate
increasing.

He was struck by a mixture of emptiness, rage, doubt, desperation, resignation,

vengeance, and countless other feelings, but they all soon evaporated. He had never
felt that way before while his synchronization rate was increasing.

Kang Shin-hyuk could sympathize with some of his feelings, but he had no time to
waste by clinging onto them. He forcefully shook his head trying to shake off the
memories of the blacksmith that was taking over his mind.

‘The Administrator was right–this weapon was crafted by me before the reincarnation.’

Kang Shin-hyuk momentarily felt regretful that he could not directly benefit from
having the axe for himself as it was now totally absorbed by the Godslayer sword, but
that was an unnecessary feeling. The Godslayer sword had devoured the weapon
down to its roots, to its origin.

What that entailed was that the Godslayer sword could be enhanced at a faster rate by
possessing the origins of several weapons inside itself. Of course, only the origins of
powerful weapons could produce any notable effects.

Kang Shin-hyuk had realized one more thing.

‘The Troll’s manic pursuit of spirit power could have been due to the negative aura
residing in the axe…… If that was the case, who bought the weapon, and how did it end
up in the Troll’s hand?”

Perhaps because Kang Shin-hyuk was Anvil himself, he could obtain the memories of
when the weapon was crafted, but the rest were still kept in the dark. He could do no
better than surmise that it had something to do with Hero Universe.

After all, the Administrator said that Hero Universe was the gathering point of heroes,
not the gathering point of good people.

‘If I get attacked like that again…… No–it would be meaningless to worry about it for
now.’

Suppose that a new enemy finds him with another of Anvil’s weapons in its hand. How
would he predict its occurrence, and in what ways could he prepare for it?

But for Kang Shin-hyuk, the best he could do was to focus on the present, doing his
absolute best for each moment. Just like he was training at this moment, putting all
his might into the task and nothing else.

But as Kang Shin-hyuk infused his spirit power into the Godslayer sword while having
such thoughts, his heart suddenly began to pound rapidly and his entire body’s blood
began to boil.

[The origin of the axe residing in the Godslayer sword and the energy within your
blood have integrated. With the help of your spirit power and trait, you have awakened
a new special ability, ‘Recovery’!]

“Wh-what……?”
His body was hot as if a dormant organ whose existence he didn’t know about, had
just started functioning.

Kang Shin-hyuk tried to understand the change in his body by carefully reading the
message in front of him with the feeling that his mind was being lifted, as if he was
drunk.

‘Recovery?’

‘The axe’s origin and the energy within my blood have integrated?’ Kang Shin-hyuk
immediately knew what that meant–the “Increased Blood Flow” buff! The “energy”
within his blood could only come from that buff!

The “Increased Blood Flow” buff was activated by consuming the War Troll’s heart,
and the axe that the Godslayer sword absorbed belonged to the same monster.

As the two integrated through his spirit power, the temporary buff of “Increased Blood
Flow” had become a permanent special ability.

Kang Shin-hyuk had understood the outcome, but he still had difficulty understanding
the process.

‘A “special ability,” rather than a “skill”…… ’

He had only known magical power as a special ability before he awakened spirit
power by logging into Hero Universe. Superhuman training academies usually didn’t
lecture about the topic of “special abilities” either, and there was virtually no external
research on “special abilities” other than magical power.

Despite that, Kang Shin-hyuk had just awokenakened his second “special ability,”
something other than magical power.

‘This probably isn’t normal.’

He didn’t think it was likely that he was the only person possessing such an ability, but
he wasn’t about to spread the word to the world about his new ability to find his fellow
comrades.

‘Anyway, it’s called “Recovery,”…… Is it similar to a Troll’s regeneration ability? Though

if it is, my regeneration would be nothing compared to that.’
As a matter of fact, Kang Shin-hyuk felt that his body was more energized than before.
Perhaps because the new ability was awakened by his spirit power, Kang Shin-hyuk
could instinctively understand its power.

It felt like the pinnacle of all living things’ natural healing abilities. Even though both
are special abilities, “Recovery” was an absurdly simple power compared to spirit
power, which could be applied in many different ways. Still, “simple” was good enough
for him.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: C- Rank]

[Special Abilities]

Spirit Power – D

Recovery – F

As expected, a new column had appeared in his special abilities window.

Because his new ability was at the starting point of F Rank, the most he could expect
it to do was to restore his body’s condition at a faster rate, but that was still a blessing
for a close-range type superhuman who was always physically active, in practice or in
active combat.

……Though he still had no idea how to effectively train this ability!

“All these gains from one glass of Troll Heart cocktail. How do I express my thanks to
Claire……? No–let’s think about that later.”

While it was true that Claire’s more-than-perfect cocktail contributed to his second
awakening, his ability to extract the origins of objects played a much greater role.

Moreover, he thought, Claire probably isn’t more knowledgeable about regeneration

abilities any more than himself. So, Kang Shin-hyuk decided to delay revealing his new
ability to her until their friendship became close enough to talk about his abilities in
detail.

‘Hm, I hope we become that close.’

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk let out a faint smile while thinking back to his memory of Claire
shaking her shaker with a serious look on her face, he came to his senses and slapped
his own cheek.

This isn’t the time to indulge in stupid daydreams, he thought. He had sworn to himself
to grow as much as possible while the “Increased Blood Flow” buff was in effect!

‘I can probably push myself harder with my body being able to recover faster. All right,
let’s continue training!’

From that point on, Kang Shin-hyuk trained with unprecedented passion. With the
regenerative power added to the buff, his movements were like those of a machine,
showing no signs of slowing down except during breaks to eat something.

It was not a performance one could pull off with high physical stats alone. Without the
support of his strong mind and will, Kang Shin-hyuk wouldn’t have been able to
engage in such strenuous training.

But those two things were the only notable qualities he had for a long time. So strong,
in fact, that he felt even Anvil, who had forged for decades, couldn’t surpass the
strength of his mind and will.

If that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t have enrolled into the world’s best superhuman
training academy as a nobody who had no talent whatsoever in using mana.

***

[Eunah: Grandpa…… Eunah wants to rest but there’s work to doo. :(]

[Janus: Hey geezer, is the new Godslayer sword done yet?]

[Bartender noona: Hey Shin-hyuk, did you know that Eunah’s coming at your sports
day!?]

[Baek In-ha: IIII hateee training. IIIII hateeee training.]

[You’ve received a login bonus of 500HP!]

Kang Shin-hyuk kept diligently training even after the sunrise. While feeling sorry, he
decided to ignore the messages that were coming to his Hero Universe account and to
his personal stick.
He kept switching from one weapon to the next to perfect his sword dance techniques
while exercising his physical body to death. The field rations piled up on one side of
the training room and the Eiren Jellies in his Hero Universe shop inventory quickly
diminished in number.

[Your buff “Increased Blood Flow” has expired.]

[Your body has acclimated to high-speed blood flow and ‘Recovery’ has been upgraded
to (F+) Rank.]

The deadline came to greet him even though his Strength level had remained
unchanging. Having reached Sunday night, the “Increased Blood Flow” buff, which
caused his rapid growth, had ended.

But still, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t stop. Even though “Increased Blood Flow” had expired,
“Recovery”–which had now been upgraded to (F+) Rank–was still in effect. He wasn’t
confident whether he’d have enough strength to stand by morning, but Kang Shin-
hyuk decided to not worry about his condition for now.

‘I think it’ll upgrade if I push just a little more.’

Normally Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t place much faith in his own intuition, but now that he
was observing his body with the aid of spirit power, he could feel even the slightest of
changes in each part of his body with great vividness.

There was a clear sign of growth. Not only for strength, but also for agility.

On top of that, he could feel the blood circulation relieving himself of fatigue and
delivering a sense of fresh energy. Spirit power training was a more definite solution
to understanding himself than a status window, he thought.

‘A little more.’

Kang Shin-hyuk clenched his teeth as he inserted two additional 50kg plates onto the
barbell. Although it was a little too much, he decided to bet on his new ability,
“Recovery.” An acute pain rushed in, but Kang Shin-hyuk still lifted.

‘Just a little more.’

After he found his limit, he tempered himself by increasing the weight several times.
He felt like passing out, but human beings were the kind of creatures that could
surpass its limits with sheer determination.

“Keeeunng……!”

Kang Shin-hyuk lifted the barbell with a shriek that he wouldn’t want others to hear.
The concept of “limit” was already erased in his head. All that was left in him was a
simple desire to move forward.

With his teeth clenched, he lifted the damn metal bar on top of him.

“Heeeeuuuppp!”

How long had it been? He couldn’t count how many times he had lifted the barbell and
had already gone beyond and above the limits of his recovery rate. Not being able to
lift nor let go of the barbell, he felt like his arms would be detached by loosening his
hand’s strengths by the tiniest amount. Just when his mind went completely white.

‘I’m moving forward.’

As soon as he instinctively moved his arms to the voice coming from an unknown
direction, he miraculously lifted the barbell as if it was a piece of paper. In a moment
that felt as long as an eternity, every cell of his body was dramatically enhanced.

He felt his whole body palpitate as if it had become a heart. He then realized that the
voice he heard earlier came from none other than himself.

[Your Strength has been upgraded to (C-) Rank.]

[Your Agility has been upgraded to (C+) Rank.]

[You have surpassed your own limit. Your spirit power has been upgraded to (D+)
Rank.]

A stream of notifications proving his growth appeared before Kang Shin-hyuk. His
strength, agility and spirit power had been upgraded all at once! He felt the upgrades
when he lifted the barbell, but he was moved even more by seeing the evidence with
his own eyes.

His strong will played a large role, but if he wasn’t supported by his spirit power in
that last moment, the upgrades would have been impossible.

Through this experience, he had learned more deeply about how to communicate with
and strengthen himself, becoming able to use his abilities more efficiently. Now, he
thought, he wouldn’t get exhausted from a single strike like he did during his fight
against Do woojin.

“Ha……”

It was finally over.

Kang Shin-hyuk first calmly put down the barbell. A glimpse of the still dark night sky
could be seen out the window. The time on his stick read 4 a.m.

‘Then, it should be fine. Well, probably.’

“Whoo.”

With a faint smile, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t get up from his spot. Three hours later, if it
weren’t for Baek In-ha who came to the training room out of concern for his friend, he
would’ve been late to school.
[Today’s login bonus is one roulette coin. By gathering five coins, you’ll earn one
attempt to spin the VIP roulette!]

“Shinyok, Are you sure you’re okay?”

“It’s all right.”

It was Monday morning before the start of first class. Kang Shin-hyuk replied with a
careless look, pushing Baek In-ha’s face away.

In fact, he was in his best physical condition. His status had grown several times, and
his new recovery power hasn’t been lying around idly. Even though it was still at (F+)
Rank, its effect during sleep was top-notch.

“You looked like a real corpse this morning.”

“I was just sleeping. I’m totally fine now.”

However, Baek In-ha, who did not know about the existence of his new recovery
ability, had yet to forget what he saw in the morning. When Kang Shin-hyuk was about
to push him again, their classroom teacher came into the class.

“This week is Shinyoung sports day’s preparation week. But most classes will still be
normally conducted, so don’t doze off during your classes.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Okay, then, make sure you don’t get hurt during today’s classes. Baek In-ha, please
follow me for a moment.”

“Well, I’ll be back.”

“Aite.”
They were probably going to talk about the school-wide competition. Baek In-ha was
the only student from C class whom one could expect to achieve an excellent
performance in the competition.

Kang Shin-hyuk waved his hand to Baek In-ha, who was following Siara Bertrand and
took his textbook out of his desk preparing for the first lecture.

“Kang Shin-hyuk.”

“What is it, Do Woojin?”

At the very moment when Baek In-ha left the classroom following his teacher, Kang
Shin-hyuk was approached by Do Woojin, who previously lost in a sparring match
against him. Come to think of it; he often felt Do Woojin’s stare in the classroom.

Perhaps he doesn’t have any friends either, Kang Shin-hyuk thought at first. But.
Looking at the guys behind him that were giggling at Kang Shin-hyuk, he seemed to
have good friends.

“Join the rookie competition. I’ll show you my actual skills there. If you don’t participate,
I’ll kill you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

Kang Shin-hyuk calmly answered and took out an energy bar from his bag.

The “Increased Blood Flow” buff was already gone–was the frequent hunger due to
possessing a minor version of the buff?

When Kang Shin-hyuk tilted his head and opened the wrapping paper of the energy
bar, Do Woojin spoke with a sneer.

“Don’t get eliminated in the preliminary round. I’m telling you just in case you’re
mistaken, but you’re allowed to bring your own weapons to the rookie competition. If
you bring a toy like a training-purpose spear, you’ll be out of the competition before
you even see my face.”

“You came here just to tell me that?”

“I know you have hidden skills, but the real strength of a superhuman is brought out
by using a befitting weapon. If you get cocky for winning the last match, you’ll fall apart
in no time. Be prepared.”

Do Woojin left once he finished, his friends tailing behind. Kang Shin-hyuk paused as
he ate another energy bar, thinking blankly as he watched Do Woojin’s back.

As if the days of scolding Kang Shin-hyuk for his lack of mana never existed, he seemed
to think that Kang Shin-hyuk was an opponent who he had to defeat by fighting fair.

‘Of course, I already knew all that. You can bring up to two pieces of equipment
including the artifacts, if I remember.’

Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t have a shield, but he had a weapon. He had the Godslayer
sword, which had recently grown to C Rank after absorbing the axe and its spirit
power.

Through its higher rank, its durability and strength had been greatly enhanced. It was
unlikely to be pushed back even when clashing against another formidable weapon.

But that was it. There were two special abilities possessed by the Godslayer sword.
However, “Regression” was completely useless for the competition and “Blade
Predation” could only lead to troublesome situations, so its existence had to be tightly
sealed.

‘Will I be able to fight against artifacts containing more than one special ability with
such a sword?’

‘No, I’ll have to do well if the sword can’t.’

Kang Shin-hyuk kicked away the anxiety that was crawling up in his mind. The battle
was in his hands, not the swords. All the sword had to do was endure without breaking.
After all, he was already……

‘Status Window.’

[Kang Shin Hyuk: C Rank]

[Traits]

Awakened Fanged Wyvern (A+) – Allows you to rapidly acquire martial arts techniques.
Amplifies the effects of martial arts techniques and enhances your weapon’s abilities.

[Physical Stats]

Strength: C-

Agility: C+

Stamina: C-

[Special abilities]

Spirit Power: D+

Recovery: F+

[Skills]

Fanged Wyvern Dance (S-): B-

Blacksmithing: E

‘Whoo.’

Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes filled with satisfaction as he looked at his status window. His
strength and stamina were at (C-), and his agility was at (C+). His spirit power had
been upgraded to (D+), and he now had ‘Recovery’ added to his special abilities.

But that wasn’t all. The Fanged Wyvern Dance, a core skill that strengthened all martial
arts techniques, was (B-) Rank. With that added to the calculation, his overall
superhuman rank was C Rank.

The rank set directly by the Gaia system was absolute. Kang Shin-hyuk himself was
also convinced he now had the ability to do as much as a C Rank. He had grown
immensely since fighting Do Jinwoo.

‘I can do this.’

He wasn’t going to stay content by only beating Do Jinwoo. If possible, he wanted to

try to win the rookie competition, or in other words, win the Rookie of the Year award.
It was quite thrilling for him to imagine becoming Rookie of the Year after being
treated like a loser in the Academy.

For someone who grabbed everybody’s attention for his deficiency in mana. If he
performed well in the rookie competition, he’d be in the spotlight in a different way.

But he wasn’t afraid of that at all. If he was bothered by people’s attention, he wouldn’t
have enrolled at Shinyoung in the first place.

‘I’ll win. No matter what.’

Kang Shin-hyuk swore to himself again with great determination.

For a moment, the memory of his awakening five years ago flashed back to his mind,
but unlike before; it wasn’t accompanied with a sense of despair.

***

After school that day, Kang Shin-hyuk filed his application for the rookie competition.
The scene of Kang Shin-hyuk confidently submitting an application to his teacher
created another stir in the classroom, but he didn’t feel as bad as before.

“There’s a rumor that his trait evolved’

“Or skill awakening. After all, it’s all thanks to his bullshit skill that he got into Shinyoung.
Eighteen Techniques or something?

“Isn’t that what he obtained along with his trait? Then it’s gotta be trait evolution.”

As soon as Kang Shin-hyuk heard the students whispering on the side of the room, he
turned around to look at Baek In-ha, who shook his head firmly.

Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t very surprised, thinking that the commotion was inevitable as
the causes of his sudden growth could easily be narrowed down to one or two
possibilities.

‘Though it’s probably not that common to see a trait evolution…… That’s the creativity
of teenagers’ minds for you.’

Of course, it wasn’t a big deal for his evolution to be known. That was because he
intended to reveal in the first place. Though when it came to his spirit power, it was
completely necessary to have it hidden in the farthest corner of the closet.

His indifference for its reveal was the reason for telling Baek In-ha about it without a
second thought. He wasn’t sure how he would think about it, but he disclosed it,
nevertheless, because he thought Baek In-ha knowing about it wouldn’t matter much.
He felt a little sorry, but it was true.

“Okay, then.”

[What are you going to do today, our dear member?]

Kang Shin-hyuk, who had just rushed out of the classroom, received a message from
the Administrator. He knew very well why the Administrator sent the message.

A faint smile formed around his mouth. It was funny, but he thought the Administrator
was acting a little cute.

“I think I’ll go to the workshop. Now that I’ve achieved my goal from training, it’s about
time for me to face Anvil.”

[A 10HP bonus to our dear member!]

In response to the expected response, Kang Shin-hyuk smiled again. Of course, it

wasn’t just a decision made to please the Administrator, but a reflex of contemplating
his abilities and the positive directions of their growth.

But since his physical stats had just grown over the weekend, a little more training
during the day probably wasn’t going to make a big difference. The buff had already
expired, so there was no merit in putting his body under strain again.

‘If I push myself too hard, I might get injuries that an (F+) Rank healing ability can’t fix
easily.’

On the other hand, blacksmithing was an efficient training method that helped his
spirit power grow without putting too much strain on his body, and it was also a means
to regain more access to VIP benefits by increasing the synchronization rate.

Moreover, as only a maximum of two pieces of equipment was allowed to be brought

into the rookie competition, he intended to make an effective piece of equipment for
the competition.

‘I’d better make a shield because I already have the Godslayer sword, and also…… Wait,
no.’

‘Isn’t it just that I want to use a hammer?’

Faced with his true intention, Kang Shin-hyuk burst into laughter.

Perhaps he actually sympathized with Anvil in his “Blacksmithing as a means to

escape” memory while pretending with himself to disagree with such a sentiment.
After all, he was trying to reward himself after having gone through the real-life
business of accomplishing his training goal.

It was funny. Everything was the driving force behind his growth, so there was no need
to hesitate or feel disturbed. He just had to focus on what his instinct guided him to
do.

You become good at what you like to do, he thought. Doing what you like makes you
strong. There’s no greater blessing, and that had nothing to do with the previous life,
present life, impulse or memory.

[Great decision, our dear member. If you succeed in producing a good weapon with
your metallurgical techniques, you can try feeding it to the Godslayer sword to
possibly raise its rank by another notch.]

Kang Shin-hyuk’s stream of thoughts was cut off by the Administrator’s timely message.
He decided not to worry about metallurgical training anymore and replied with a
more relaxed look.

“I’ve thought about it, too, and I wonder how much more I can strengthen a C Rank
weapon by feeding it with steel that was handed out for student activities. No matter
the effectiveness of “Blade Predation,” it can’t just receive another upgrade by feeding
on some scraps.”

[There’s always a possibility. What’s more, we may be able to produce better weapons
now that synchronization has progressed.]

“That’s true, too. I’ll think about it once I make a shield.”

[A 100HP gift of joy to our dear member!]

After finishing the conversation with the Administrator, Kang Shin-hyuk made up his
mind and headed for the Wyvern Hall.

Except, a problem was waiting for him at the door.

“Hey, you right there. Stop for a second.”

“Huh?”

Kang Shin-hyuk was called by someone as soon as he was about to enter the Wyvern
Hall. He first scanned the person’s uniform and tie. A 2nd-year Knight major,
wearing…… A red cape.

“Are you that Kang Shin-hyuk or something?”

“Yes, but,…… Who are you?”

“I’m Yoo Min-joon, 2nd-year A-class.”

The cape he was wearing was engraved with a dragon flying into the sky, emitting a
transcendent aura that couldn’t be captured by ordinary human beings.

The cape symbolized the Wyvern Knights, one of the three major student organizations
of Shinyoung Academy.

Unfortunately, the cape was justifying his arrogant attitude.

“It’s been noisy lately. Apparently, a top 1st-year student was beaten by a piece of
garbage who couldn’t even use mana.”

Yoo Min-joon said with a cold look. The top 1st-year student was probably referring
to Do Jinwoo. It was true; Do Jinwoo was one of the most notable students among the
1st-year Knight majors.

However, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t know that word about his defeat over Do Jinwoo had
already reached 2nd-year students.

“So I remembered his name and face, but what a letdown…… I guess there wasn’t much
to expect from him.”

Yoo Min-joon gave an ice-cold glare at Kang Shin-hyuk. It was a look of disdain, as if he
was a bug by his foot. A look that seemed to have figured him out without knowing
him. It wasn’t very pleasant.

[It’s a shame that this waste can’t even catch a glimpse of your true strength.]

A somehow angry-sounding message from the Administrator appeared before Kang

Shin-hyuk’s eyes, but he focused on the person in front of him without answering.

Not that he was about to do anything; he was just wondering how strong such an
arrogant person would be.

Then suddenly, a thread of spirit power smoothly stretched out from his body and
swam through the air, touching Yoo Min-joon’s body for a moment, which Yoo Min-
joon didn’t notice.

‘Oh, I see.’

At that moment, Kang Shin-hyuk contacted Yoo Min-jun’s origin and was able to
roughly understand his strengths. His spirit power had naturally reacted to his desire
to know more about Yoo Min-jun.

It was a very mysterious experience, but quite familiar at the same time. It didn’t feel
that different from when he extracted the origin of objects. But if those were two-way
communications, the current interaction was a one-sided peek into the other person’s
origin!

‘Spirit power surely is a force that can’t be compared to mana.’

Kang Shin-hyuk, who thought that connecting to the origin of things and amplifying
their potential was everything that spirit power could do, had once again realized his
ignorance.

But now that he’s deeply realized his misunderstanding, there wouldn’t be such a
mistake in the future. Once again, he had learned the greatness of spirit power as well
as the importance of training.

But, putting that aside, Kang Shin-hyuk thought.

‘I might win if I try.’

Compared to his incredibly cocky attitude, the strength of the sunbae in front of him
didn’t seem so impressive.

His high-level (B-) Rank average physical stats was expected as a member of the
Wyvern Knights, but the most important attribute of a skill-wielder, magical power,
was a mere D+ Rank. In terms of magical power alone, he was below Do Jinwoo. Even
if you considered his overall stats, it was still far behind that of the War Troll that he
fought a couple of days ago.

It was worth a try to fight him by using his spirit power and the Fanged Wyvern Dance,
which had been upgraded to an unusual degree for a student.

Actually, to put it bluntly, he didn’t feel like losing now that he was well aware of the
power of the Awakened Fanged Wyvern.

“I don’t know what trick you used to beat Do Jinwoo, but your fame won’t last long.
Without a solid base, you’ll soon be exposed.”

Without noticing that Kang Shin-hyuk was deep in his thoughts, Yoo Min-joon was still
looking at him with a measured look. No longer able to ignore him, Kang Shin-hyuk
faced him, clicking his tongue in his mind.

“……You’re right, sunbae-nim. I’m going to compete in the rookie competition. I just
wanted to make sure that my base was rock-solid.”

Although he was ostensibly polite to not turn the most powerful organization of the
Knights majors into an enemy, he showed through his confidence that he was not
inferior to anyone.

“So please keep an eye on me.”

Kang Shin-hyuk answered, looking straight at him. He didn’t bother adding “If you
have the eyes for it, that is.”

“……Ha.”

Perhaps his confident reply was not what Yoo Min-joon had expected.
Yoo Min-joon let out an explicit frown, but what more quarrels could he make with
someone who confidently asked to be evaluated? He backed away after clicking his
tongue.

“Okay, I’ll be looking forward to it. I’ll make sure I don’t miss out on your games.”

Yoo Min-jun, who didn’t realize his safety in the current situation was only due to his
membership in the Wyvern Knights, pushed Kang Shin-hyuk’s shoulder hard with a
sulky look on his face.

When he had completely vanished from Kang Shin-hyuk’s sight, the Administrator
sent a slightly chilly message.

[Should I report him to Hero Universe to put a bounty on his head? He’ll disappear like
dust in less than a month.]

“No, what are you doing, stop it.”

The Administrator seemed angrier than Kang Shin-hyuk.

[If you’d like to take care of him yourself, I’ll temporarily open a VIP private store for
you. There, you can easily buy an item to erase the existence of that less-than-dust life-
form without a trace.]

“You call it “Hero Universe,” and are dealing with such hideous items?”

[A true hero must know how to immerse his feet into the dark.]

“I don’t think I’ll have any time left if I do that kind of thing every time something like
this happens.”

This was what he has been going through ever since he enrolled in Shinyoung.

Kang Shin-hyuk had forgotten about this feeling for a while after beating Do Woojin
and became the center of news in the class, but external assessments had remained
the same.

A lightweight without mana, who was purely lucky. A loach that blurred Shinyoung’s
water.
“But it’ll be different now.”

This was why he decided to compete in the rookie competition. You can’t go to school
properly if you get into trouble like this every time.

“All right, let’s go do some blacksmithing. I’m going to have to get my spirit power
powered up.”

Kang Shin-hyuk hurried his way in a calm manner.

However, he decided to keep the name Yoo Min-joon in mind.

A person whom he’d have no trouble overpowering, even though he was forced to back
down by considering the power of the group behind him.

If he endured his humiliation now, he’d get a chance one day to repay that humiliation.

……And that day is probably not that far away.

[Keut (1)…… A 100HP bonus to our dear member!]

“No, why are you giving me a bonus like a middle-aged man ordering another beer at
a bar?”

[A 200HP bonus to our dear member!]

Translator and Editor Notes:

(1) Onomatopoeia for a deeply impressed sob.

The workshop which he returned to after a couple of days was as cozy and tranquil as
he found it last time.

No matter what sort of disaster happened outside, the room had maintained the same
appearance. Looking around the room, he noticed that his temper had cooled down,
which was heated by meeting an irritating sunbae. Of course, the irritation hadn’t sunk
completely.

“Then…… Let’s get started.”

[A shield would be a good idea.]

The Administrator, who had been talking about whether Yoo Min-joon should live,
calmly responded to his cooling temperament.

He turned his eyes to the steel ingots piled up in one corner. Perhaps because his
emotions were ahead of his head, his spirit power naturally stretched out and encased
the whole pile.

The faint feelings he received from the steel ingots ran head-on against the anger that
rumbled inside his heart, wiping out the anger at its roots.

– Vrrr

But there was one feeling that survived inside him. He had a faint but clear anger that
was about to fade at any moment. It was coming from the bottom of the pile of ingots.

From the moment it entered the workshop, the ingot was waiting to be reborn as a
great weapon, but being constantly buried under the pile, its anger had accumulated
to the point of being manifested on its surface.

‘Well, this is…… ’

But that wasn’t all; along with those feelings, a faint memory had slipped into Kang
Shin-hyuk’s head. It was a memory relating to Lee Manwoo, the supervising teacher
of the Artifacts Production Club.

It was a scene of him holding the hammer that Kang Shin-hyuk previously used and
pounding on metal placed on top of the anvil. There was another person next to him,
but the memory faded into the abyss before he could recognize her face.

[Dear member?]

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Let’s go with this guy.”

[But…… Okay. After all, metals with distinct emotions are more likely to become
artifacts.]

Whatever memory it possessed, the emotions the ingot emitted matched him very
well. Though Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t believe that he could make an artifact.

He overheard the message from the Administrator who still highly valued him and
picked up the ingot to put it in the brazier. He thought blankly at the sight of the red-
hot ingot.

‘If I’m going to create a shield, I’m going to have to melt the ingot more than I did for
the weapon.’

He decided to think about exactly what he was going to make after melting it.

Despite that plan, however, Kang Shin-hyuk immediately began hammering as soon as
the ingot melted moderately.

He couldn’t wait any longer. He couldn’t stay still any longer.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The hammering itself was much more mature than the first attempt, but there was a
blatantly wild feeling involved that could not stay hidden.

It was hard to tell whether he was affected by the emotions of the ingot, or whether it
was the externalization of his own anger. From the moment the iron was melted, his
spirit power had already covered his body and the ingot, making the distinction
impossible to make.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The metal was getting slowly yet consistently elongated as the hammering continued.

It didn’t take the form of a shield no matter how you looked at it, but the Administrator
decided to keep watching without interrupting the process. This was because it had
already predicted this to happen.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Kang Shin-hyuk has been good at hiding his feelings since his childhood.

At a young age, he lost his parents and had to grow up in an orphanage. His newly
awakened trait was nothing more than a glittering apricot (1), and he sweated blood
for years to be admitted to Shinyoung, only to be treated like a black sheep (2) by
everyone else.

He was never in a circumstance where he could express his feelings honestly.

That’s why he had to press on. Having gotten used to bottling up his feelings, he had
forgotten how to express them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

However, he could not keep telling lies in front of Anvil. The blacksmithing skills he
acquired in his previous life was the practice of revealing everything about himself to
what he worked on.

Just as the ingot had emancipated Kang Shin-hyuk of his anger through the connection
established by his spirit power, Kang Shin-hyuk was beginning to clear the metal of
the anger that had been residing within it for quite a long time.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Kang Shin-hyuk became totally absorbed into the task and pressed on the metal. Even
while adding two more ingots into the brazier, his hammering did not stop.

His spirit power started enveloping the whole workshop. The amount of spirit power
released would have been unbearable if he tried a couple of days ago, but it became
manageable after securing his spirit power level at D+ Rank.

‘I’ve never done anything like this.’

Kang Shin-hyuk thought in his deep concentration.

‘It’s definitely the second time I’ve tried blacksmithing…… But why?’

‘I feel like this is the third time.’

He had a curious sense of deja vu.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Soon after he had the thought, he began to hear the sound of hammering in his head.

A hammering sound different from his.

It was the sound of Anvil’s hammering.

***

The memory belonged to Anvil’s early days of joining the Hero Universe.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As Kang Shin-hyuk did from the moment he first entered the clubroom’s workshop,
the blacksmith kept working on the iron.

Anvil’s hammering, which had been full of passion at the beginning, now contained
the resentment against the fallen world, longing for everything he lost and anger at
those who took everything from him.

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk did, he also couldn’t hide his feelings while he smithed.

Swoosh, swoosh……

Although he decided to focus only on shaping the metal in a deeply immersed state of
mind, what he faced after he sharpened its tip was a spear infused with so much hate
that it could not be held properly.

“This is…… Whoo, I’ve made a silly mistake.”

The blacksmith let out a soft sigh before the failed weapon.

The anger that was seething inside him had to be his own, never to escape his body.
He didn’t want to put his weapon, which he deemed equally as his child, under the
same burden since the moment of its birth.

Even if he tried to forget the feeling, or at least keep his mind straight so as not to have
it exposed, whenever he let his mind be guided by his instinct, the shadows he so
forcefully tried to suppress rose on their feet to haunt him again.

“This one’s a failure. This one’s a failure.”

He seriously agonized over whether he should list the weapon on the community he
recently joined, Hero Universe’s trade board.

A place where various items from all sorts of dimensions are gathered, the Hero
Universe. It occurred to him that his weapon might bring about an unintended adverse
effect by selling it there.

He was crafting alone in a dying world, but the folks in Hero Universe had endless
possibilities. In fact, he thought, it was ridiculous to try to mix himself in with such a
group.

[That’s not really true, dear member.]

The Administrator, who had been positive with him from the moment they’ve met,
sided with him once again.

[Even if the weapon may possess a violent aura, it can be used to protect people. Just
as you, with all your anger inside, are making weapons for others.]

“But you’re just talking about the possibility. I’m just concerned if my presence alone
might inflict a negative influence on them.]

[Everyone within Hero Universe has the ability to distinguish a good decision from a
bad one, at least to an extent. In fact, all of the weapons you’ve already made and
registered on the trade board were bought with rave reviews by the buyers.]

[So, I recommend listing your completed weapon on the trade board. Now that you’ve
done your part in creating the weapon, you can leave its evaluation to the warriors
who will actually wield it.]

“Your words always frighten me. But yes, you’re right. My role is to make weapons,
and the role of figuring out their use and evaluating them are left to those who hold
them in their hands.”

[A 10HP bonus to our courageous member!]

Although it was a place full of brilliantly shining heroes that could not be compared to
his pathetic self,

The presence of those brave souls was the reason why he could entrust his weapons’
fates without too much concern.

The blacksmith plucked up his courage to list the weapon on the trade board. Then he
received a message he had never anticipated.

[We have received two messages from prospective buyers. Would you like to check?]

“Hm……?”

[Looks like they liked the weapon you made. It is highly recommended to establish
new friendships with members of Hero Universe, so as the Administrator, I would like
to recommend you check the contents of the messages.]

“If you say so, I understand. I’ll check both.”

Messages from two different people soon appeared in front of his eyes.

Janus: Wow, this spear is interesting! Your ID is Anvil? What kind of work do you do?
Which world are you from? Would you like to talk?

Tsukuyo: Are you the one who made this weapon? Anvil…… Anvil, is it? I wish to have
a conversation with you. Do you have time?

But the spear was sold while he was looking at the messages. Moreover, the buyer had
paid 30,000 HP more than the price offered by the blacksmith. It was by someone who
didn’t identify himself.

Janus: You, you’re a real genius. To be able to instill your emotions into a weapon……
It’s spirit power, right? That’s not a common gift to have even in this Hero Universe.

Tsukuyo: It was, indeed, a beautiful spear. My heart fell when I saw the weapon. Yes,
I’ve fallen in love. I’m dying to know what allowed you to create a spear like this.

“Huh……”

The blacksmith was perplexed by the members’ reactions but was willing to reply to
them.

He was trapped in his own space forging weapons, and having another person talk to
was something he had longed for for a long time.

That was the beginning of the blacksmith’s connection to the members of Hero
Universe.

***

[Synchronization rate is increasing. Your assimilation rate is now at 2.9%.]

“……Ah.”

When he came to his senses, Kang Shin-hyuk was in the clubroom. He had lost
consciousness when the spear was completed.

He had been intending to make a shield that he could use for the rookie competition,
but he couldn’t figure out how he ended up with a spear in his hand.

[You have successfully crafted the ‘poisonous’ steel spear (D) possessing a small
amount of spirit power. The proficiency of your blacksmithing techniques has greatly
increased.]

[Your blacksmithing skill has grown to (E+) Rank. You are now able to handle a
hammer more efficiently and have gained a minor resistance to heat.]

“That was……”
For the first time, he has created a D Rank weapon and raised the rank of his
blacksmithing skill, but Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t pleased.

The countless memories disturbed him that he recalled in those short moments and
the deep emotions accompanying them.

It was different from the previous memory of Anvil that he absorbed. The previous
memory only contained faint memories of Anvil that was implanted on the axe’s
origin, but Kang Shin-hyuk had now directly extracted Anvil’s memory in every detail.

The memory was incredibly vivid; the sense of his unity with Anvil, the authenticity
of the memories that came to his mind and the sense of hammering that was still left
in his body–everything was as clear as if he had experienced them himself.

[Our dear member has created a similar weapon in the past. That action must have
increased the synchronization rate. A 100HP bonus for achieving nostalgic
achievements!]

“In the past…… I see, so that feeling was referring to then.”

He looked down at his spear and reflected back on Anvil’s memory that filled his mind.

In his memory, Anvil could not suppress the negative emotions that were seething
inside him and eventually transmitted them to his own weapon.

He deemed the weapon as a failure, but his friend Janus found it interesting. Tsukuyo,
who apparently fell in love with Anvil due to his weapon, said it was beautiful.

It was also the first time he made a “failure,” and the moment his friendship with other
members of Hero Universe began.

“Ha……”

Then why had he acquired this memory at this timing? It was needless to ponder;
Kang Shin-hyuk already knew the answer.

Kang Shin-hyuk failed to control the irritation and anger caused by Yoo Min-joon,
turning the metal, which was supposed to become a defensive tool, into a sharp weapon.

The bottom line was that he had repeated a mistake from his past life.
“That was a common occurrence, though…… It was routine even before I got to know
about Hero Universe.”

[It’s not like your feelings disappear by trying to suppress them. But you did a great
job. Anger can sometimes become the driving force. In fact, the weapon you’ve just
created possesses the power to slay monsters.]

There was a saying that a weapon starts at D Rank. It was meant to express that a
hunter must be given at least a D Rank weapon to fight properly in a battle.

In fact, for any rank below D, the weapon could not overpower monsters that were
strong in terms of durability and ability.

“I definitely wasn’t trying to ‘escape’… But I guess this one’s still a failure, huh?”

“What a joke.”

“Hut!?”

It was then. Someone next to him answered back. When Kang Shin-hyuk turned around
with a startled look, Lee Manwoo, the teacher in charge of the Artifact Production
Club, stood there.

‘Why does this person always appear out of nowhere? No, maybe I didn’t notice him
because I was too involved in my work.’

“Sir?”

“You’ve made an artifact with bare steel containing no magical power without the help
of an enchanter and are calling it a ‘failure’? That’s an insult to countless people who
can’t reach that level even after spending all their lives.”

“I didn’t mean it that way…… Wait, artifact? Is this an artifact?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. You made it yourself, and you can’t even recognize what
it is? Even I could tell what power it contains at a single glance.”

Kang Shin-hyuk flinched at those words and instinctively grabbed the spear. At that
moment, a small glimpse of information appeared before his eyes, just as when he
touched the Godslayer sword.
[Poisonous Steel Spear]

[D Rank]

[Special ability – Poison Injection]

It was true. There was a special ability attached to the weapon he made. What a
terrifying special ability! Lee Manwoo laughed bitterly at Kang Shin-hyuk, who let go
of the spear out of astonishment.

“I’m glad you noticed at last…… But I have to say, this one’s unique. I can’t feel any
magical power on its surface.”

How did this old man find out that a weapon that wasn’t emitting a sense of magical
power was in fact an artifact?

As Kang Shin-hyuk stared at him, Lee Manwoo came close and lightly grabbed the
spear.

“Anyhow, well done. This could become a good justification for preventing the club’s
shutdown.”

“By justification, you mean……”

“In late July, the World Rookies Creator Artifact Contest will be hosted in Seoul. If you
win a prize there, you won’t be told to close this club anymore.”

“At the end of July…… I see.”

It was clear that the “progress” Lee Manwoo mentioned at the time of Kang Shin-
hyuk’s enrollment into the club meant winning this contest.

As Kang Shin-hyuk nodded in understanding, Lee Manwoo raised a corner of his

mouth and said with a mischievous smile.

“Maybe it’s possible. But to think that you could make an artifact so quickly…… It’s
getting more and more fun. Besides, I see why you called it a failure. You didn’t
intentionally capture your emotions to transfer them to the weapon; you just let them
out in a clumsy way because you couldn’t control them, right?”
“……Yes, you’re right.”

“Try to control them in the future. Don’t try to force them out of your mind, just try to
control them. Being able to capture your emotions into your weapon is an invaluable
talent. There’s nothing you can’t make in the world if you can transfer your emotions
as much as you want, at any time, whenever you want.”

It was easy to say, Kang Shin-hyuk thought, but how many trials and errors did he have
to go through to actually be able to do so? Lee Manwoo noticed his stiff expression and
said after clicking his tongue.

“The attempts alone will keep expanding your horizon, so try as hard as you can
without complaining. If I like what you do, I’ll help you out a little.”

“……Yes, sir.”

“Okay, then I’ll take this. I’ll have it in my possession while I register for the contest……”

“No.”

Kang Shin-hyuk stopped Lee Manwoo, who was reaching out to the spear. When Lee
Manwoo thinly opened his eyes, Kang Shin-hyuk looked straight at him and answered
back.

“This one’s merely a byproduct of my emotions. I’ll make an artifact that shines brightly
of my self-directed will, so please wait until then.”

“……Ha. That’s quite the arrogance.”

Lee Manwoo’s mouth was sealed. But, unlike his words, he looked satisfied.

“Okay, I’ll wait. You’ll at least have to bring something that’s not as ugly as this one.”

“I’ll make sure to do that.”

Kang collected the completed spear and turned around after bowing to Lee Manwoo.

Every few days since then, he practiced his smithing whenever he had time, but Kang
Shin-hyuk was unable to produce defensive artifacts.
The Godslayer sword had not eaten the steel spear.

Translator and Editor Notes:

(1) i.e. A fruit that looks good but tastes bad. A slang term for having a good appearance
but having a bad substance/content.

(2) A slang term for “a member of a family or group who is regarded as a disgrace to
them.”
While Kang Shin-hyuk was having a hard time training, the preparation week for the
sports day was underway.

As outsiders were free to enter the school during the event, the faculty and staff were
busy trying to establish firm security measures and polishing the school’s appearance.
While the students were fiercely training under the enormous pressure to produce
good results on sports day.

The 1st-year’s C-class was no exception, of course, and they gathered to immerse
themselves in practice whether it was practice period during class, lunch period, or
after school.

“Dude, if I’m paired with another guy in the three-legged race, I’d win so easily. Can
we allow a male pair, please?”

“Yeah right, you’re slower than me.”

“Hey, do we have to come all the way to this elite superhuman training academy to do
a fucking three-legged race? Really?”

“I heard the sight of those guys and girls in typical schools participating in traditional
sports games is quite pleasant to look at……”

“That’s right. The school and the outsiders just want to see us, the future superhumans,
playing around like clowns, doing what we’re told to do. That’s quite an abominable
taste, isn’t it?”

Sports day was divided into superhuman and non-superhuman competitions, where
non-superhuman competitions consisted of games where superhumans as well as
non-superhumans could participate–three-legged race, tug-of-war, ball-rolling,
cheerleading, and so on. The use of mana was prohibited. They were no different from
the games that were played on an ordinary high schools’ sports days.
On the other hand, the superhuman-exclusive games set little to no restrictions on the
types of abilities that one could use, and their designs were consistent with the
educational goal of a superhuman training academy, prompting their students to
freely use their learned knowledge and skills in many different types of demanding
situations. From monster hunting, group maneuver, and maze escape to terrain
strategizing, performing arts contest, horse riding, and finally–the most popular event
of Shinyoung Sports Day–relay race, one could expect to see quite a spectacle of the
students’ diverse talents.

Even if some games of the “superhuman” category resembled those of the non-
superhuman counterpart, the difference could be clearly seen when the game started.
It was impossible not to notice a difference.

“We’re forming the pairs! Everyone who wishes to participate, please gather here!”

“Hey, wanna team up?”

“Sure~”

“Hey, you, come here.”

“Dude, I swear this guy likes me. Aah!”

Guys and girls began to pair up at every corner as soon as the class president’s words
got out. Except Kang Shin-hyuk, who was distant from his classmates, everyone
seemed to be getting along pretty well.

‘Before I attended Shinyoung, I was popular too…… ’

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk was feeling slightly discouraged.

“Would you like to pair up with me?”

A shy-looking girl had approached him. Feeling grateful that somebody approached
him, he was about to nod his head. But then.

“Hey, you’re a slowpoke. I’d be the better partner.”

“What do you mean–you’re worse……”

“Get lost, you two. Kang Shin-hyuk, team up with me. I think you, and I would be a
good match. My agility’s B Rank–you know that, right?”

Before he knew it, two more girls had approached him. He had never talked to any of
them before, but he knew who the last girl (the one boasting about her B Rank agility)
was.

She was Karen Stringfield, a British student who was said to possess a sensory-type
trait. If there was a list of “most promising 1st-year students,” her name would surely
appear at the top section of the list.

“St-Stringfield……”

“Wow, that’s incredible.”

“Are you kidding–Kang Shin-hyuk’s stock has skyrocketed.” (1)

Kang Shin-hyuk tilted his head as he faced Karen Stringfield’s green eyes staring at him.

He couldn’t make out her intentions. If she was looking for a hotshot, there was the
unreachable Baek In-ha, but she chose to ask him instead.

“You’re gonna pair up with me, right?”

“Uhm, sure.”

Overwhelmed by Karen’s pressure, the other two girls had already gone somewhere
else, and he could probably earn some additional points by participating in the three-
legged race with her, so there was no reason to refuse.

But when he came back after receiving a knot from the class president, Karen Stringfield
said to him in a soft voice, as she took the knot to tie their ankles together:

“You know, the Wyvern Knights have their eyes on you.”

“Oh, that’s right. There was this one guy talking about my base being too weak or
whatever.”

“They were actually looking to recruit Do Woojin as a new member, but you ended up
humiliating him in front of the whole class, so……”
With those words, Kang Shin-hyuk finally understood Yoo Min-joon’s motive for
suddenly starting a quarrel with him that day.

He was wondering why an incident relating to Do Woojin had provoked him so much,
but knowing that Do Woojin was a prospective member of the Wyvern Knights, he
could see the confrontation from a different perspective. Yoo Min-joon was trying to
repay the humiliation of his fellow comrade. They were indeed a mature group
centered around camaraderie.

“I’m not bragging, but I’m one of the new members of Wyvern Knights. That’s how I
found out.”

“I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Don’t mention it. Honestly, it’s not even funny. Why would you doubt and bear a
grudge against someone who won in a fair match? Instead of using the opportunity to
reevaluate your abilities? You know what I mean?”

“Oh, I see.”

Kang Shin-hyuk asked, looking down at the back of Karen Stringfield’s head as she
checked the knot’s firmness.

“So your role is to reevaluate my abilities?”

“Yup. There are quite a few people in the Wyvern Knights with the same thought.
Though there are a lot more who oppose the idea of reconsidering you.”

“I know that.”

“I’m glad you know. I was going to tell you to be careful, but…… I guess that wasn’t
necessary. Should we get started, then?”

Karen Stringfield said with a grin after raising her head. Kang Shin-hyuk smiled back
at her. He didn’t hate the type of person who spoke frankly.

Kang Shin-hyuk and Karen’s pair performed well in the three-legged race. Baek In-ha
sent him a desperate look pleading for him to change his running partner, which he
ignored.
 ***

Kang Shin-hyuk continued to perform outstandingly in the ensuing practice matches.

How could he have not, having upgraded his body’s physical stats–the only asset that
allowed him to survive in Shinyoung due to his lack of magical power–to be on par
with the best 1st-year students?

In particular, his performances in non-superhuman games (where the use of mana

was prohibited) were nearly equal to those of Baek In-ha and Karen Stringfield. He
had pulled off quite notable results in superhuman games as well, where he didn’t
refrain from using his spirit power. After all, winning the rookie competition after
performing poorly in these matches could raise a lot of suspicion.

“Then Kang Shin-hyuk should participate in the maze escape, right?” (2)

“Of course he should, even if he ran with the speed he showed with his ankle tied to
Karen’s.”

“Then we’ll have Baek In-ha participate in the relay race, and…… What about the
performing arts contest? Isn’t there anyone who can do some flashy stuff?”

“I can juggle pretty well if I can get help from two people.”

“As expected of Karen!”

“Hm…… Kang Shin-hyuk, you wanna try the performing arts contest too? Wouldn’t we
get a high score if he did some fancy weapon techniques?”

“Huh? Uhm, okay.”

“Okay then, it’s decided.”

Did he perform a little too well? Kang Shin-hyuk was quickly confirmed to represent
the class in three competitions. Of course, the more he participated, the more likely he
was to receive additional points in his academic assessment, so he couldn’t let go of
the opportunities.

Having drawn a lot of attention for his victory over Do Woojin, his classmates were
feeling quite distant from him. Though it was better than being laughed at, it didn’t
change the fact that he felt like an outsider to the class.
“Okay, then let’s move onto the CvC games! (3) Let’s practice group maneuver first!
We’re going to practice with D class!”

“Where do we borrow the equipment?”

“Hey, I heard Magic majors use psychokinesis to disturb other classes’ coordinations.
Is that true?”

“We have Magic majors on our side too, so there’s no need to worry. We can just leave
it up to them.”

“Wow, Kang Shin-hyuk has a great sense of balance!”

It was now time to practice for the game where everybody was forced to work together.

For Kang Shin-hyuk’s classmates, the practice sessions were a great opportunity to
reevaluate his skills and improve their friendship with him.

Kang Shin-hyuk also accepted their suggestions without a second thought because he
wanted to get a good evaluation on sports day.

As a result, it looked like he was well mixed into his class, at least on the surface.

‘I guess this is how it looks.’

Kang Shin-hyuk thought blankly while practicing with his classmates.

Most of them didn’t have particularly malicious intent for casting Kang Shin-hyuk
aside. They were just afraid that their academic assessments would be lowered by
associating with someone who didn’t have the capacity to wield mana.

It was much easier for them to crush him to the ground and stand on top of him than
to accept him and suffer by his side.

They all had the pride that was carried by the name ‘Shinyoung’ in their heart. In their
mind, the people who could swallow that pride and dare to befriend Kang Shin-hyuk
were so strong that their perceived worth wouldn’t diminish no matter who they
associated with. Someone like Baek In-ha, that is.

“Kang Shin-hyuk, you’re really fast. Your stamina is amazing too.”

“I’m really counting on you on sports day!”

“Yup, let’s do well together.”

“Uh, yeah. Let’s do well.”

But now, things had changed. Even if he lacked mana, Kang Shin-hyuk proved that he
was capable of defeating a top student with his ability alone.

A proof of his value that was effective enough to remove the labeling of ‘failure’ that
had always been attached to him.

Knowing that, there was no more need for his classmates to be afraid of getting close
to him, because no one could look down on Kang Shin-hyuk anymore. It was an
exceedingly simple line of logic, with no room for the question of good or evil to
intervene.

It was precisely because Kang Shin-hyuk understood that logic that he didn’t complain
to his classmates, “You’ve isolated me all this time and now you’re pretending to be
friends?”

‘But still…… I probably wouldn’t open my heart to any of them, ever.’

It wasn’t that his classmates were at fault, but the time, place, and the way things had
played out were less than ideal.

Even though he knew very well that they were flawed humans like everyone else and
that the people he’ll meet in the future would be no different……

A heart that was once split apart was scarred for life, no matter how hard you tried to
stitch it back up.

“Hey…… We’re definitely gonna win!”

“At this pace, we’re gonna win the MVP award!”

“We can do it! 1st-year C-class, fighting!”

“Fighting!”
After school, the students were hyped up after finishing their practice for sports day
(though they couldn’t practice monster hunting since they couldn’t obtain monsters)
strengthening each other’s spirits with great passion.

While Kang Shin-hyuk blankly watched that scene, his eyes met Do Woojin’s, who
quickly gave him a look of dismissal and turned away. He didn’t have to act like a
supporting cast every damn time, Kang Shin-hyuk thought. (4)

“Good for you, Shinyok-yi.”

“Huh? What is?”

Before he could notice, Baek In-ha was next to him. Kang Shin-hyuk uninterestingly
replied while wiping the sweat off his forehead. But just as he was worried that Baek
In-ha had figured out what he had been thinking about during the day……

“Karen Stringfield. She’s definitely into you. Don’t you think?”

“I was a fool to take you seriously. No, it wasn’t like that, you idiot.”

Kang Shin-hyuk sighed, pushing Baek In-ha’s face. He didn’t expect him to only talk
about Karen Stringfield.

“Why, she’s pretty, she’s got a great personality, her trait’s awesome…… Though if you
judge from my standards, she’d be perfect if she’s a little more mature.”

“If pairing up for a three-legged race made you a couple, nobody at school would be
single. I’m telling you, this is why you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“What–what’s the problem?”

Without answering his question, Kang Shin-hyuk pointed around the classroom. The
girls in the class were glaring at Baek In-ha in unison. Despite his S Rank trait, they
didn’t want to associate with a guy who only knew how to say such things.

Kang Shin-hyuk covertly widened the distance from him so as not to be regarded in
the same way. Of course, he was thankful for Baek In-ha for always being by his side
when all the others isolated him, but he didn’t want to be labeled as a pervert by being
next to him either.
“Uh…… Guys, it’s not what you think. What I’m saying was a sort of a general
observation…… Shinyok-yi likes older girls too, right?”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Traitor! Traitorrrr!”

He did, in fact, like older girls, but he also knew that if he nodded to Baek In-ha’s
question, an unmanageable disaster would ensue, so Kang Shin-hyuk decided to treat
Baek In-ha as a stranger for a while.

***

[You’ve received a low-rank spirit power potion for today’s login!]

[You’ve received a bonus of 1,000 HP for today’s login!]

[You’ve received one roulette coin for today’s login. By gathering five coins, you’ll earn
one attempt to spin the VIP roulette!]

[You’ve received a buff for your special ability ‘Recovery.’ For 24 hours, your recovery
rate will increase by 30%!]

For a week since then, Kang Shin-hyuk devoted himself to practicing for sports day as
a student of C-class.

He prepared for the performing arts contest by practicing the rough choreography he
sketched while making sure to not skip out on his personal training.

Even if his stats had remained the same, it was a warrior’s duty to prevent his skills
from becoming rusty.

But then.

[If you start your blacksmithing training right now, you’ll be awarded 10HP!]

“Your messages are starting to sound like insurance advertisements. I’ll do it, though.”

[A 20HP bonus!]
“Though I think your bonuses are too generous to make any profits.”

Whenever his body and mind were tired after practice, he’d walk through the night
breeze to the clubroom’s workshop.

He had already given up on making a defensive artifact, but he couldn’t escape from
the joy of pounding metal that visited his mind now and then.

Cicatus: Is the bridle done yet, Anvil geezer?

Anvil: I told you, I’m not good enough yet.

Mirang: There’s a pile of things that people would like you to do. Get your access to
the My Room function as soon as possible, Anvil. Then maybe we can make some
progress.

Halo: I want to see your weapon. I’ll be waiting.

Anvil: I’m hammering whenever I have the time, so please wait patiently.

Eunah: Grandpa, you can do it!

As Anvil in his previous life did, Kang Shin-hyuk hammered while responding to the
endless messages coming from his friends from the Hero Universe. That was all he
needed in the moment.

His blacksmithing skills and synchronization rate was growing slowly yet steadily, and
he became increasingly more adept at adding blacksmithing to his daily routine.

[You’ve received one roulette coin for today’s login. By gathering five coins, you’ll earn
one attempt to spin the VIP roulette!]

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but what’s this VIP roulette thingy?”

[I’ll tell you when you’ve gathered all five coins. Login bonuses will become more
diverse as synchronization progresses, so please look forward to them!]

A few days later, Wednesday came.

It was the day when the preliminary rounds for various competitions began. Because
all the matches couldn’t be packed into a single day, the preliminary rounds were
meant to be finished before the day of the main event.

Although 1st-year’s C-class did drop out of a few competitions, they passed most of
the preliminary rounds, and……

Kang Shin-hyuk successfully passed the preliminary for the rookie competition and
advanced to the round of 16.

He had proved his qualification to become one of the 16 most notable rookies in the
school.

Translator and Editor Notes:

(1) A phrase used in gambling (among others), meaning that you’ve won a lot of
money. It’s used here to express that Kang Shin-hyuk is getting all the girls, presumably
by a guy who’s watching from the side.

(2) They’re practicing for the class competitions, where a student(s) is selected for each
game to represent the class. (Unless it’s a game where the whole class participates.)

(3) Class v Class, where the whole class participates.

(4) Fourth wall break!

[Bartender Noona: So what are you going to do?]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: I’ve decided to leave it up to you and fate.]

[Bartender sister: Wow, you really threw the whole thing away]

After a hectic week, Monday finally came when sports day was held.

To be exact, sports day spanned two days, where the majority of the school-wide
competition (divided into Blue Team and White Team) took place in Monday and
several big games, the individual competitions, and the announcement for MVP took
place in the following Tuesday.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Of course I’ll try not to get caught, but I can’t just stay hidden in
sports day. I have to achieve scores.]

[Bartender Noona: How many matches are you gonna participate in?]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: If you include the school-wide competition, I think they add up to
six. Also, I’m going to be competing in the Rookie of the Year competition.]

[Bartender noona: Seems like you have no intention of hiding at all.]

Since Monday morning, they have been talking about keeping Kang Shin-hyuk’s identity
hidden from the Thunder Empress Shin Eunah, who was planning to visit sports day.

[Bartender noona: At least the very least, don’t reveal your Godslayer sword.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Claire noonim…… I…… wish to be the Rookie of the Year.]

[Bartender: Ah, I don’t care anymore!]

Claire seemed to have decided to stop thinking at that point. It was a wise choice.
[Bartender noona: Anyway, don’t act like you know her when you see her at school.]

[Bartender noona: And I’ll meet you when I have the chance, so don’t get upset.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Yep!]

Perhaps expectantly, Claire had caught a flight to Korea as soon as she learned of
Eunah’s visit to Shinyoung to mark Eunah by her side as much as possible!

Fortuately, participating in the Shinyoung sports day didn’t seem that strange for a
high-ranker, so she was able to leave the U.S. without any troubles and had already
arrived in Seoul.

Eunah: Grandpa, I’m going to visit a sports day today!!

That sounds like fun.

As soon as he sent a reply to Claire and put the stick into his arms, a whisper flew in
from Eunah.

How could a message be received at such an appropriate time? Was she eavesdropping
on him? Kang Shin-hyuk opened his eyes thinly and answered back immediately.

Eunah: It would have been great to have grandpa with me!

I’ll look shabby next to you.

Eunah: Grandpa is much cooler than me.

What a blatant lie when she hasn’t even seen my face, Kang Shin-hyuk thought. No, he
had to hide his existence from her at school anyway, so he decided to run along with it.

The students in sports day were told to wear gym clothes and gather at the playground
rather than in the classroom. Each class was designated to either Blue Team or White
Team regardless of their major, and Kang Shin-hyuk’s class, 1st-year’s C class, was part
of the Blue Team.

“Shinyok-yi!”

“Hey.”
The sports day of Shinyoung Academy was different from that of the ordinary school
in terms of scale. The first and second gymnasium, the small playground, and the large
playground were all mobilized, with the opening ceremony held at the large playground.

The large playground felt big before, but having removed all the miscellaneous things
occupying the space, it became an incredibly capacious area. So capacious, indeed,
that two or three schools could easily fit in.

More than that, however, it was quite a spectacle to witness all the current students of
Shinyoung, whether they were Knight or Magic major, gathered in one area.

“I guess the guests haven’t arrived yet.”

“I heard they’re rehearsing the opening ceremony. Doesn’t it feel nice to be doing
things like a high school?”

“We’ve never attended a high school, so how should we know about that?”

The educational structure of Shinyoung was closer to that of a college than high school,
with the students declaring their major in their first year and allowing them to take
electives from their second grade, but you could see the traces of a typical high school
by looking at the school’s events, such as sports day and the annual school trip.

For prospective superhumans, who could not experience a high school or college, that
kind of balance provided the perfect environment.

“Wow, food trucks are starting to come in over that hill. I heard all the quality foods
made it to the cafeterias this time. I guess one cafe wasn’t enough for the outsiders.”

“Yes, we’re definitely not a high school…… Wait, our school had a cafe?”

“Hey, right there.”

As soon as Kang Shin-hyuk arrived, Baek In-ha, who had been dragging him and
snooping around, shouted excitedly, pointing to the stand where the Magic majors
gathered.

“There’s Lee Na-hee sunbae! Right there!”

“Who’s that?”
“Dude, you serious? You don’t know the prettiest lady from our school?”

“No, but your expression of ‘lady’ is creeping me out, so stop it.”

“Just look at her for now.”

Where Baek In-ha was pointing at, Kang Shin-hyuk saw a group of students from the
White Team’s Magic majors.

There she was, a brown-skinned Latin beauty with a drowsy look. Her face looked
familiar. Kang Shin-hyuk tilted his head, digging into his memories to see if they had
ever met before.

“Out-of-this-world pretty, right?”

“I guess, yeah.”

Shinyoung’s Major majors were famous for having many pretty girls, but Lee Na-hee
was by far the most prominent among them.

“I heard that she was number one in the popularity vote at last year’s school festival.”

“Was there a popular vote at my school?” What a weird thing to do at a superhuman

training academy.”

“I heard it’s a voluntary vote. The Thunder Empress was famous for winning first place
for three consecutive years while she was here and there’s a rumor that Lee Na-hee
will be the successor of that achievement.”

“Is that so.”

That rumor was believable, Kang Shin-hyuk thought, as she had the beauty of a top
celebrity, let alone the most popular girl at an academy. He nodded in agreement.

Then he remembered. Indeed, she was the sunbae he encountered at the Wyvern
Hall’s entrance. He remembered her describing herself as half-Korean.

“Why do you look so sour? She’s a real beauty, isn’t she?”

“I know she’s pretty, but we don’t have any connections. It just feels like looking at a
piece of art, like a celebrity on TV.”

“What do you mean by no connection–no one knows what’ll happen in the future.
Someday you and that beauty might have a fateful encounter,……”

While the two were engaging in such a pathetic conversation, Lee Na-hee, having felt
a gaze coming from their direction, looked up and turned her head towards them.

Somehow, her eyes seemed to have grown slightly larger after spotting them.

“Wow–she’s got a crush on me! Here! Sunbae! I’m Baek In-ha from 1st-year C class…!”

Baek In-ha frantically waved at her, but she turned her head again, ignoring him
completely.

Kang Shin-hyuk grabbed Baek In-ha, who was frenziedly trying to grab her attention.
It was almost time for the attendance call.

***

The rehearsal ended without much trouble, and the school opened right away. The
feast of luxury cars ascending the school hill made him dizzy. If Shinyoung’s entire
parking lot was somehow flipped upside down today, the damage would cost hundreds
of billions of won.

[The opening ceremony will be held soon. Please stay in your seats quietly.]

One by one, celebrities who occupied the front pages of newspapers, popular channels
of TV, and famous MeTube videos have begun to take their seats.

When it came to an academy as prestigious as Shinyoung, the parents of the students

and the academy’s associate were not typically ordinary people. While traits are not
hereditary, the probability of awakening a strong trait was higher for children born to
strong superhumans.

As a prime example, the Thunder Empress Shin Eunah was born to parents who
ranked within the top 10,000 of the World Superhuman Ranking. Cases like the
Alchemist Claire Boyle, who was born into an ordinary family but nevertheless became
one of the top 500 superhumans of the world, were quite rare to be seen.
“Look over there, it’s the White Sheep Guild. (1) I think it’s their scout.”

“Fuck, it’s the Cursed Sword Guild!”

“Amatsuki Guild is here too.”

“Uh…… there! It’s the Vanguard Guild! Vanguard is here too! That’s the real Vanguard’s
division 1 leader, I saw on the news!”

Whenever the guest room was filled, voices of cheers and astonishment rang out high
among the students. Just as there was a rank for every superhuman, guilds had a rank
as well, and more than half of the guilds in the top 100 seemed to have attended the
academy’s event.

From the 97th-ranked White Sheep Guild to the world’s number one Vanguard!

“This is Shinyoung Academy for you……”

Kang Shin-hyuk already knew that Shinyoung’s sports day wasn’t a children’s talent
show like a normal school, but he still couldn’t believe the sight of these ridiculous
celebrities crowded in one place.

He felt like he was about to suffocate. Why did he think of entering a school like this
while not being able to handle mana in the first place? The reckless self of his past felt
like a fool.

‘……But now that I’m here, I have the opportunity to show the world what I’m made
of. Yeah, that’s enough.’

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. The opening ceremony soon began and
the school anthem began to play.

“Kang Shin Hyuk.”

“Uh.”

Suddenly, somebody tapped on his shoulder from behind. It was Karen Stringfield,
who he paired up with for the three-legged race.

“I’ll look forward to your matches today.”

“Okay……”

Come to think of it, she had said that her role this day was to reevaluate Kang Shin-
hyuk’s strengths. And that if they turn out to be eye-catching, he’d be dragged into the
Wyvern Knights……

It was quite an unruly attitude, he thought. Who were they to judge him and drag into
their group? He laughed off her remark.

“Don’t be surprised.”

“Wow, cringe. Feels like butter.”

“Because I’m serious.”

When Karen twisted her body and folded her arms around her waist at his cringing
words, Kang Shin-hyuk replied with excitement and faint laughter, turning his head
around. But then by coincidence, he saw Claire and Eunah standing side by side in the
guest room.

Claire spotted him at about the same time and let out a mischievous smile. Kang Shin-
hyuk was dumbfounded to see such a reaction coming from the very person who
proposed his identity to be hidden.

Fortunately, no one else seemed to have noticed the two’s nonverbal interaction.
Karen Stringfield threw one last remark at him.

“Hey, if you do well today, I’ll talk to you then.”

“Then my worth is going to get a lot more expensive. Say whatever when you have the
chance.”

“So full of yourself too.”

She chuckled merrily. Did she learn while practicing three-legged race with him that
he wasn’t simply bluffing?

Then out of nowhere, an unexpected whisper from the Hero Universe system flew in.
Not from Eunah, but from Bartender…… or Claire.
[Bartender: What, you got a girlfriend? She’s quite pretty!]

[I didn’t expect your first whisper to be something like this. And no, she’s not my
girlfriend. It’s an enemy spy.]

[Bartender: High schoolers are playing it really hard these days.]

[I’ll explain in detail later what kind of play it is.]

While he was unintentionally caught between the two women, the opening ceremony
had concluded and the sports day had commenced.

Even the easiest games on Shinyoung’s sports day led to students sweating blood, so
the heat quickly hit the ceiling.

“Blue Team will advance to the Relay’s Final Round!”

“Those who wish to participate in Maze Escape, please hurry up and gather here!”

“Let’s keep this pace and win in group maneuver!”

“Woahhhhh!”

As the game was played by students who have already surpassed the limits of
mankind, they were full of excitement for everything, especially when it came to group
maneuver!

It was a big scuffle in which two floors with unstable footing went up on a large stage,
and the opponents threw rubber balls specially designed to push people away.

As the stage shook uncontrollably throughout the game, it was an extremely unpleasant
game where you could easily lose your cool, though it was greatly entertaining from
the perspective of those watching it.

“Oh, come on, the White Team is holding out by sprinkling the floor with lime!”

“Were items approved in this game!?”

“Yup, they didn’t ban them!”

“Oh, they’re falling! They’re falling!”

With the start of group maneuvers, all games were being played with all kinds of
ingenious items and abilities, which was an important element of the fun of watching
the games of Shinyoung’s sports day.

With such flashy matches all around, an ordinary person could feel like they’ve
entered a new world, where games using supernatural abilities and items, as opposed
to traditional sports, were the norm.

“The three-legged race is about to begin! The participants of three-legged race, please
gather here!

“Let’s go, Kang Shin-hyuk.”

“Okay.”

And finally, the moment has come for Kang Shin-hyuk to shine. The three-legged race
where the White Team and Blue Team face off each other.

Surprisingly, Kang Shin-hyuk was paired with Karen Stringfield for the race. As he was
waiting before the finish line by tying his ankle to Karen’s, Claire sent a whisper to
him.

Bartender: So she’s your girlfriend

I told you, she’s a spy approaching me in this kind of way.

Bartender: Wow, look at that all effort you’re putting in to tie the knot.

So how’s the thing with Eunah?

Bartender: She doesn’t know. Though I think she’s about to.

Then the message was cut off. As expected of Shinyoung’s superhuman trainee, who
could easily outperform Olympic athletes with their physical abilities alone, the two
teams’ pairs were already approaching the line of their final runners.

“Oh, I think your team’s losing.”

“We can turn it around.”

“You’re not gonna be full of yourself just by winning this race, are you?”

“No way, this is only a start.”

Shortly after saying that, the rival team’s final pair took over the baton first and set off.

The next moment, Kang Shin-hyuk and Karen Stringfield also took over the blue baton,
but the difference of one second was critical for superhumans who were not bounded
by the scale of seconds. In fact, many spectators thought they had already lost.

“Can I use my trait a bit?”

“As long as you don’t use your magical power, it should be fine.”

“That’s not what I’m asking–I’m asking if you can keep up.”

“Don’t worry. Just go all out.”

Kang Shin-hyuk answered back while emitting his spirit power. When he checked to
see where it was headed, it was permeating through Karen’s sneakers.

With that he began to understand and commune with the object, taking advantage of
his recent enlightenment.

He could clearly understand her movements, down to the smallest detail. Armed with
that knowledge, Kang Shin-hyuk said in a confident voice:

“I’ll try to match your movements.”

As soon as he spoke the sentence, both of them set their foot at the same time. Two
feet symmetrically opposed to each other, perfectly coordinated.

Kang Shin-hyuk and Karen let out a smile at the same time.

“Heh, not bad.”

“Let’s go.”
“……All right, let’s go!”

Many of the spectators tilted their heads at the sight of the pair seemingly facing each
other through a mirror. But then a moment later, the two began to run with explosive
momentum!

“Wow!”

“Woahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“The Blue Team is the best! Catch them up!”

“How on earth is that three-legged race?”

The two of them sprinted along the playground. Rather than a mere three-legged race,
the two of them were running at the speed of a single superhuman at his highest speed.

Some shouted, “Aren’t they using mana?” but the magic circles that were drawn all
over the playground was proving in real-time that they were innocent.

Naturally, the pair caught up with the White Team and crossed the finish line without
slowing down.

“Blue Team wins!”

“Woooaahhhh!”

“Good job, rookie!”

“They’re so cool!”

“Wait–they can stop, right?”

Of course, there was no need to worry. The two, who had crossed the finish line,
slowed down as if they had planned the movement for that exact second and came to
a halt just before rushing to the stands installed at the end of the field.

“Karen, marry me!”

“Kang Shin Hyuk is so cool!”

“You two should become a couple!”

Kang Shin-hyuk calmly untied the knot that tied their ankles. Several teachers were
approaching them, and he found the greatly flustered looks on their faces funny.

But as he turned around, he realized that Karen Stringfield was wearing the same
expression.

“You really kept up. How?”

“That’s a secret. But well, like I said before”

Kang Shin-hyuk tied the blue band to his head and smirked. The horse race was about
to begin.

“This is just a beginning.”

From now to its end, sports day will be his stage.

(1) There are two possible translations of this guild’s name, either White Sheep or
Yellow Iron Tree. I’ll use the former translation for the time being, and I’ll revise it if it
happens to be wrong.
As he had sworn to himself, Kang Shin-hyuk performed better than he did in practice
for all the matches. He especially shined in shoulder wars where he joined forces with
Baek In-ha.

Unlike normal highschools, Shinyoung’s shoulder wars consisted of only one “horse”
along with the “flag bearer.” (1) Baek In-ha took the role of the horse due to his high
speed and Kang Shin-hyuk, who was probably among the best at Shinyoung for his
hand techniques, took the role of the flag bearer.

Their combination was truly terrifying.

“What, when did they pass!”

“Hey, he stole your headband!”

“Catch that bastard! Use your magic to stop his movements!”

“Dude, what kind of trait does Baek In-ha have? He won’t slow down!”

“Took yours as well, moron. You’re out!”

The Baek In-ha and Kang Shin-hyuk duo bravely dashed through the group of countless
Shinyoung students to knock them over or steal their headbands to disqualify them
from the competition.

Because the two were a threat in everyone’s eyes since the beginning of the competition,
they were the center of focus of magic attacks from the White Team’s Magic majors,
but they weren’t enough to stop the formidable duo.

“Shinyok, we’re going faster!

“All right!”
They could have woven a t-shirt out of the threads of all the headbands that they had
collected, but the two did not stop. Baek In-ha continued to run, and Kang Shin-hyuk
continued to knock over or snatch the headband from any unfortunate pair that
happened to be in their vicinity.

The duo would not have lasted long if they had lacked even a minuscule portion of
Baek In-ha’s speed or Kang Shin-hyuk’s deft hand movements, but they were
persistently surviving by working together in perfect unison, plunging their opponents’
determination to the bottom.

“Hey, drive them in! Drive them in!”

“Wow, they’re calling for reinforcements!

“What’s our team doing?”

“We’re protecting the captain’s headband!”

But Shinyoung Academy, like Gira stars, was a place that brimmed with exceptional
talents. (2) No one could deal with the duo for a short while, but now that they were
surrounded by the majority of the remaining White Team who were slowly closing in,
Baek In-ha had no way to escape.

“You’ve held out so far. Especially you, Kang Shin-hyuk. You’re not as I expected.”

“I guess the rumor was true that you’ve awakened mana. Did it come with the ability
to hide your mana as well?”

“You should’ve made the report as soon as you awakened it. You ended up confusing
me.”

The Knight majors of White Team said as they slowly narrowed the distance. Given
their rude manner of speaking, they seemed to be mixed with several sunbaes who
belonged to the Wyvern Knights.

Kang Shin-hyuk, however, was indifferent to their comments and was solely focused
on figuring out the best way to drag his opponents to hell. But then Baek In-ha said to
him.

“Shin-hyuk.”
When Baek In-ha straight-up called his name without joking around, it was a sign that
he was either being completely serious or playing a ridiculous prank.

“Yeah.”

“I’m jumping.”

“Uuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

At that moment, Baek In-ha jumped high. So high that you couldn’t believe he was cast
under movement-constriction magic.

As soon as they soared into the air by a few dozen meters, Kang Shin-hyuk smiled. He
felt relaxed by the fresh air.

“Let’s get the captain.”

“Hey look, they’re shooting their magic skills at us. Looks like they’re setting off some
sort of fireworks.”

“They’re not allowed to directly attack us anyway, and I should be free of the nerf
soon.”

The magic handled by Magic majors was divided into two broad categories, offensive
and defensive types of magic.

Among the defensive types, there were magical skills that nerfed the opponents’
movement in various ways, such as slowing their speed or disrupting their muscle
coordination, which could only be prevented by special artifacts, skills or abundant
magical power.

Since the use of artifacts was prohibited in the competition, it was obvious that Baek
In-ha possessed a special ability or an enormous amount of magical power, or perhaps
both.

“I found the captain’s headband. We’re going down.”

“Dude.”

At that moment, Baek In-ha kicked the air, shooting himself and Kang Shin-hyuk to the
ground. If they were to bump into anyone, it’d end up as a fatal accident. A tiny mistake
could disqualify them!

But even under such pressure, Baek In-ha made a surprisingly good landing at an inch
behind the White Team’s captain. It was so fast that nearly everyone had to take a
second to understand what was going on.

But the captain of the White Team was different. He quickly turned around and stared
straight into Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes.

“Seems like a ridiculous rookie had enrolled this year…”

“Sorry, but it’s over.”

Before anyone realized, the captain’s headband was already in the possession of Kang
Shin-hyuk’s hand.

The captain’s unit of the White Team was totally silent with their mouth wide open.
The Fanged Wyvern Dance, a technique that was as smooth as water flow, was a skill
that could also be used as a bare-handed martial art.

“Blue Team wins!”

“We won again!”

“Baek In-ha is going on a rampage!”

“Those 1st-years toyed with the 3rd-years! Crazy!”

“Kang Shin-hyuk, I knew you’d do it!”

“Baek In-ha! Baek In-ha!”

Kang Shin-hyuk gently got off Baek In-ha’s back and gave him a high five. It was the
moment when the names of Kang Shin-hyuk and Baek In-ha were clearly ingrained in
the minds of people.

“Dude, that was Baek In-ha’s carry, though.”

“Yeah, like you could do the same as Kang Shin-hyuk. You think a porter can become a
warrior just by sitting on the dragon’s back?”

“Honestly, I couldn’t even see his hands. Is it really true that he can’t use mana?”

“No way, he must have awakened it last time. His mana must have awakened when his
trait evolved.”

“But I can’t feel his mana at all……”

“I don’t know, but…… Something. Something’s happening.”

Amid growing confusion among people over Kang Shin-hyuk’s unordinary performance,
the cheers of his name became even louder and more abundant during his last match
of the morning, the performing arts contest, where he lit the stage by performing the
Fanged Wyvern Dance with various kinds of weapons.

People were particularly struck by the scene where he smashed his axe on the floor,
took out the double pistol from his waist, and shot every one of the dozens of fragments
that bounced into the air.

He had put a lot of thoughts into the choreography, and he was happy to contribute to
the class by getting a high score.

“Waaah! How many martial arts has he mastered?”

“I think I’ve heard. It was said that his trait was his ability to handle all kinds of weapons.
But since he couldn’t handle mana, he was more like a serpent without its pearl……”

At this point, the audience and scouts from the large guilds began to pay attention to
Kang Shin-hyuk.

Baek In-ha had played a large role in their victory in shoulder wars, but performing
arts contest was his solo performance, so they could no longer doubt his skills.

“His ability was quite spectacular, no?”

“He’s grown quite a lot, I’m sure. Shinyoung must have taught a thing or two to him.”

“Seems like there’s one more name I should remember……”

“There should be an interesting spectacle at the end of sports day.”

Kang Shin-hyuk left the stage, receiving the cheers of Shinyoung’s students as well as
the attention of the outside audience.

That was the end of the morning game. It was now lunchtime.

Thanks to his ‘Recovery,’ he was able to perform all the games in perfect condition, but
the side effect had kicked in and he was now ravenously hungry.

But as Kang Shin-hyuk was walking to join Baek In-ha while grabbing his stomach, his
stick suddenly rang.

[Bartender Noona: You were pretty cool in shoulder wars. But the problem was that
you were too cool. Eunah was staring at you as if she was trying to punch a hole with
her stare.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Honestly, I’ve given up on that matter. My score is more important
than Ms. Shin Eunah.]

[Bartender Noona: Even when you compare to the troubles you’d have to bear with
your identity revealed?]

Objectively speaking, Kang Shin-hyuk’s performance today was enough to draw a lot
of attention.

Of course, many students in other competitions pulled off striking performances of

their own, but he was confident that if someone made a list of ten 1st-year students
who stood out the most that day, he would be included.

After hesitating for a moment to reply, Kang Shin-hyuk asked her a question.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Uh, did she notice I’m Anvil?]

[Bartender Noona: I don’t think she’s noticed that yet, fortunately.]

[[Kang Shin-hyuk: So she doesn’t wield spirit power either.]

[Bartender Noona: What, you used your spirit energy!?]

[[Kang Shin-hyuk: If you didn’t notice, you have a lot more to practice.]

[Bartender sister: This bastard……]

Clearly, Claire was a powerhouse who belonged to Top 500 of the World Superhuman
Ranking, but she was far below Kang Shin-hyuk in the field of spiritual power. He had
a lot to teach her.

Kang Shin-hyuk laughed as he imagined Claire’s shaking face beyond the screen and
suddenly realized that a girl was looking at him.

“Stringfield?”

“Hey, just call me Karen. By the way, was that your girlfriend?”

“No, I just know her.”

Kang Shin-hyuk hurriedly turned off the hologram that rose above the stick. Karen’s
eyes became thinner.

“Hm…… Suspicious, the way you were smiling and all…… I didn’t expect that you’d find
a girlfriend from outside, leaving the elite Shinyoung Academy alone.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. Though it’s true that I don’t intend to find one at Shinyoung.”

“Oh…… Hm.”

Considering her subtly shifting expression, she seemed to have properly understood
the meaning behind that sentence.

“I thought I’d talk to you about that.”

“About what?”

“You know.”

Of course, she could have let those words fly by, but Karen, after hesitating for a
moment, shrugged her shoulders and continued.

“You know…… Could you understand, at least a little? Everyone, including me, was
very proud of themselves for belonging to an elite organization such as Shinyoung.
The fact that it was so hard to get into the school encouraged our sense of entitlement……
But then when we came to Shinyoung, we found out that there was a student who
couldn’t use mana.”

Kang Shin-hyuk raised his eyebrows.

“That’s right, so I tried harder than you guys to get in. As such, even though I was
weaker than everyone else and couldn’t handle mana, I was still a student who passed
Shinyoung’s cut-off score.”

“No, no, of course, I have no intention of disparaging your efforts. It’s true that we were
naive. I just think we failed to understand or accept it–you know, the actual value of
your trait. Or maybe it’s more correct to say that we didn’t even try to understand.]

Kang Shin-hyuk knew very well that Karen was choosing her words in her favor.

Still, he didn’t bother to tackle her further. Karen finished with a slightly relieved look
as he shrugged.

“Well, in the end, you proved that everyone who disregarded you was a fool. In a single
day, to add.”

“Does that include you?”

“Of course. Uhm, if I apologize, will you accept it?”

“No, I don’t think an apology will do the job.”

“I guess there’s a long way to go, then.”

Karen sighed again at Kang Shin-hyuk’s decisive response. It was a somewhat expected
outcome, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Not to Kang Shin-hyuk who closed his heart, but to herself for her ugly behavior in the
past.

“Let’s eat together at least. I bought a lot from the food truck, and it’d be a waste to
throw them away.”
“……Sure, why not.”

A person could be guilty, but food was never in the wrong. Seeing the American hot
dogs, takoyaki, cube steaks, and chicken skewers in her plastic bags–she had
apparently swept the food truck’s entire menu–his stomach began to growl again, so
he accepted Karen’s offer straight away.

“Shall we sit over there?”

“Okay.”

Needless to say, the total area of Shinyoung was enormous.

Most of the area except for the school and dormitory buildings were occupied by
playgrounds or labs and a small forest named “Blackwood,” with the others occupied
by well-decorated parks and walkways.

Kang Shin-hyuk and Karen began eating on a bench near the forest.

“Looking at that forest reminded me of a question.”

“What is it?”

Kang Shin-hyuk said with an uncertain tone while biting into the hotdog. Karen, who
wanted to become friends with him, took his words with a curious expression.

“There’s a separate training facility for the Wyvern Knights in the woods, right?”

“The Blackwood Training Center? That’s a special facility given to the Wyvern Knights.
What about it?”

“Is it true that they raise a wyvern there?”

“Yup.”

“Oh, my……”

Kang Shin-hyuk picked up three takoyaki at once, put them in his mouth, and mumbled
while feeling impressed.
In fact, the story has been around before. The story of how Wyvern Knights became
Wyvern Knights.

This was the story shortly after Shinyoung was established. A student from Shinyoung
had coincidentally succeeded in capturing a wyvern and tamed it while attending school.

To everyone’s surprise, the student declared that he would hand over the wyvern to
the one who beat him in a duel, and those who wanted the wyvern along with the glory
of victory gathered and challenged him for a match.

They were all defeated, and the Wyvern Knights was founded by the group that had the
wyvern’s owner as the leader. Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t believe the story as it sounded
like a plot that’d only occur in a comic book, but if the Wyvern Knights actually
possessed a wyvern, the credibility of the story would increase.

“I’ve heard that a wyvern is at least a (B) rank, so it wouldn’t be possible to tame it
without a special trait or a skill suitable for the job, right?”

“Well, there’s a special artifact that’s handed out to the club’s captain that allows you
to tame the wyvern. That’s why if you become the captain of the Wyvern Knights, you
can be the owner of the wyvern while you attend the school. He can’t take it to the
school’s dungeon practice, but during the 2nd/3rd year, there’s a self-study assignment
called Gate Expedition, where they’re allowed to use the wyvern because the mark for
the assignment is purely based on the results rather than the methods. It’s almost like
a cheat key.”

“……Hey, then the captains shouldn’t want to graduate.”

“That’s how I think too.”

Karen grinned and ate her share of the cup salad. Kang Shin-hyuk put the stick of the
finished chicken skewer in a plastic bag while thinking to himself that the amount of
food wasn’t enough for a Knight major.

“So what’s this thing you wanted to talk about?”

Next was the cube steak. Since a steak had to be finished before it got cold, he had to
throw it whole in his mouth and ask the questions while chewing.

On the surface, it looked no different from the cube steak sold at a food truck along
the Han River, but it was different in terms of how juicy it tasted. It was definitely a
A++ quality stripoli.

“Huh?”

While Kang Shin-hyuk was waiting for the answer, savoring the aroma and taste of the
meat, Karen tilted her head with a cherry tomato in her mouth. Kang Shin-hyuk smiled
and asked her again.

“What you were originally going to talk to me about. You didn’t want to come out here
just to eat.”

“Oh, was it obvious?”

“Yup.”

Karen scraped her cheek with her hand that was holding a fork, realizing that Kang
Shin-hyuk had read her mind. In the meantime, Kang Shin-hyuk was taking off the
hamburger wrapper after cleaning up the plate that previously contained the steak.

“Not a big deal, but something related to the Wyvern Knights. You told me before that
I should talk to you when I have the chance. I saw from your performances today that
your worth is indeed going to be increased, so I’m taking the chance to get close to you
as much as I can.”

“Those performances were not that superb, though.”

“No way, everyone was shocked. To put it bluntly, our vice-captain has a lot of interest
in you. She said that on top of your great physical stats, there are a lot of potentials in
your fighting techniques.”

Who was the vice-captain of the Wyvern Knights? Kang Shin-hyuk wondered while
munching the hamburger. Karen put a bottle of coke in his hand, which he drank in
one shot after finishing the hamburger in a single gulp.

“I’m afraid I can’t remember who the vice-captain is. Was she in 2nd-year?”

“Yeah. She’s famous as Shinyoung’s strongest Lancer.”

“Oh, yeah. I think I saw her at the entrance ceremony.”

Karen drooped her shoulders as if discouraged by Kang Shin-hyuk’s lukewarm
response. The exaggerated body movements of a Westerner felt fresh and pleasant to
Kang Shin-hyuk.

“Phew,…… Anyway, our vice-captain wants to meet you, and if possible, she wants you
to join the Wyvern Knights.”

“I’m not really interested, actually.”

“But think about it. If you join the Wyvern Knights, you’d become a great force for our
vice-captain faction.”

Kang Shin-hyuk felt a poignant sensation in his ears from the words “vice-captain
faction.” He asked after taking a Liege waffle from his mouth.

“Is that tiny club divided into two factions?”

“I’m afraid so. The captain doesn’t like our vice-captain. But we can’t just use force
against the captain because the captain is……”

“No, no, don’t share an internal affair with an outsider like me.”

Kang Shin-hyuk cut her off, concerned that he might become involved in the situation
by learning about their internal conflicts. Karen took out her stick with a disappointed
look.

“In commemoration of our friendship, let’s at least exchange numbers.”

“You’re not intending to text me about the inside story, are you?”

“I can’t talk about it through text, so relax.”

Only after hearing her reassurance that he would never be forced to enroll into their
club, Kang Shin-hyuk took out his stick. But while he was busy eating and talking, three
text messages had been sent to his stick.

“Hold on.”

“Girlfriend?”
“Like I said, no.”

Kang Shin-hyuk checked the text message. One came from Baek In-ha and the other
two from Claire.

But their contents were……

[Baek In-ha: I, Baek In-ha, will never forgive a traitor like you.]

[Bartender Noona: You denied it all this time, but I can see you on a date~~.

[Bartender Noona: Wait. Oh god.]

Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head at that very moment.

About five meters away from him stood the Thunder Empress Shin Eunah.

She was staring at him with an indescribable, queer look.

Editor/Translator Notes:

(1) In the usual sports day’s shoulder wars, there are four people supporting the flag
bearer. This game also seems to be the version where each team consists of many units
(pairs, in this case), and one unit is designated the “captain” headband. So a team wins
either by stealing as many headbands from the opposite team as possible or by simply
stealing the captain’s headband.

(2) A slang term for “exceptional people.” “Gira” is the Japanese word for “shiny” and
so “Gira stars” literally translates to “a night sky brimming with stars,” meant to say
“full of exceptional people.”
In the relay race, which began right after lunchtime in the afternoon, Baek In-ha was
definitely in the spotlight more than anyone else.

He was usually a prankster, but no one could deny his talents. As soon as his turn came,
he chased down the sunbae ahead of him in no time to his team’s victory. In response
to his glamorous performances, people began to speculate, “When it comes to speed,
isn’t he the best?”

Baek In-ha seemed to enjoy the attention he was getting. The innocent-looking boy
smiled and waved his hands briskly, and those who didn’t know him applauded in
response.

“Oh, so that’s the boy……”

“What will happen to Korea’s superhuman industry in the future?”

“I’m looking forward to it in many ways, yes.”

After the relay race, which showed a glimpse of the students’ talents, the remaining
superhuman matches were held one after another.

The most eye-catching of them was monster hunting, a CvC battle where students
fought real monsters captured from the gates. Even though psyche magic had been
cast on the monsters to prevent them from dealing fatal wounds to the students, there
was a high chance that a very dangerous situation could unfold.

But the experience of fighting real monsters was an indispensable part of their training,
and more importantly, the match was a great opportunity for the school to show the
outside world of the quality of their education.

“I didn’t expect them to bring a B rank monster……”

“Everyone will tackle the monsters in groups as we practiced! There’s no monster we

can’t catch!”

“You all read the counter-strategy plan, right? Spread out!”

“Two at three o’clock! Five at seven! Respond!”

The seniors of 2nd and 3rd-year students, who had been through countless assignments
such as monster practice, dungeon practice and independent assignments, calmly and
stably competed in the match.

As they knew that their performances this day would affect their job search after
graduation, they needed to emphasize their strengths and ability to cooperate with
their teammates even at the risk of looking like clowns, being played by the school for
spectator sports.

“We can kill this one! Push!”

“You fool, that one’s still full of strengths! Watch out, it’s about to shoot its scales!”

“When a shell wolf is struck on the top of its head, it peels off its scales to fire them!
Did you even read the counter-strategy plan!?”

Meanwhile, the inexperienced 1st-year students made a series of mistakes as they

were not able to calm down in front of monsters that they’ve never faced in their life.

A lot of them were already dropped out of the match, and one of them even turned
pale and rolled on the floor after letting go of his weapon against a monster. The
superhuman spectators would either laugh out loud at those scenes or shout out a big
lecture at them.

“Hey, the formation at 11 o’clock is falling apart! Wait–they’re changing to an offensive

formation!”

“Still, Shinyoung is Shinyoung, after all. No one has run away from the monsters yet.”

“They have the pride of being prospective elites, so they wouldn’t just turn their backs
on those monsters. You can do it; I believe in you!”

“There! Hey, you can’t just let a monster perform a summoning magic!”
“This year’s sports day is fun too!”

Of course, the spectators made such commentary for their own fun; no one had
actually expected these 1st-year students, who had been enrolled in the Academy for
only two months, to calmly handle real monsters.

It didn’t matter that the students had natural talents. They were still immature,
inexperienced.

No matter how much they practiced their formation and prepared for the monsters
that were likely to appear in the competition, the fear of the actual experience was not
something to be taken lightly.

Moreover, it was all the more so because unlike the previous monster practice,
students were dealing with numerous monsters concentrated in a small area without
the help of their teacher.

“Stay calm and stand in line!”

“Tsk, you guys just watch from behind. Heup!”

“Great–you can lure the monsters for us. Everyone else, stay where you are!”

Of course, the weight carried by the name “Shinyoung” wasn’t light, so there were quite
a few 1st-years who stood out and bought the interest of many spectators. Of course,
that included Kang Shin-hyuk.

‘I felt it during the battle against the War Troll, too.’

– Owww!

Kang Shin-hyuk thought while striking the nose of the D rank shelf wolf with the
training-purpose knuckle given to 1st-year’s C-class.

‘I think I’m pretty strong in actual battles.’

During his encounter with the War Troll, the warning of likely death prompted him to
take action before he could be frozen by fear. His head was constantly coming up with
a counter-strategy plan, and his body was constantly always in motion.
‘Why was that? Was it because of spirit power, the faint memory of Anvil, or maybe my
natural talent?”

‘…… It doesn’t matter, actually.’

He kicked the body of a shelf wolf that was rushing towards him while striking another
one that flanked him from the side with his knuckle and pushed it away.

Instead of obsessing over killing as many as possible, he focused on kicking and

pushing away the monsters that were trying to break into his class’s formation.

Kang Shin-hyuk took the role of a guard of his team’s formation for his ability to handle
multiple enemies at the same time due to his high physical stats and impressive skills
in martial arts. The role of dealing final blows to the monsters was handed to two
other students.

“Damn Shinyok, your lower body’s tough! Gotta thank your girlfriend, am I right!?”

“Shut the fuck up, you dumbass!”

“Why is Baek In-ha so disgusting while having such a normal face?”

“That I wonder, too.”

The role of finishing the monsters was given to Baek In-ha, known to have the highest
quality speed-type trait, and Karen Stringfield, who, despite being generally slower
than Baek In-ha, could temporarily boost her agility to an extreme level by strengthening
her nerves.

The two were speeding through the battlefield where weakened monsters were
present to deal their final blow. High speed was an incredibly handy ability, and the D
rank monsters couldn’t respond to the two appearing out of nowhere and attacking
their vital points.

– Clang!

“Whoo!”

“You take care of that side!”

“Okay!”

Although the situation seemed to be worsening on the surface, it was actually stabilizing
for the student’s favor.

Without Kang Shin-hyuk, Baek In-ha and Karen would have lacked the manpower to
protect their vulnerable teammates who didn’t know what to do, but Kang Shin-hyuk
was practically doing as much as three tanks by knocking out the wolves attacking
from every direction.

No, if you considered the students who weren’t doing their best, he was probably
filling the duty of as many as seven people.

“Kang Shin-hyuk…… He’s amazing.”

“I think he has an eye on his back, too. How the hell do you do all that?”

“He’s not using mana, is he? Also, why is the sound coming from his fist so terrifying?”

“Hey, are we going to let him take all the spotlight? Don’t be so pathetic and let’s fight!”

Perhaps thanks to the presence of Kang Shin-hyuk, the 1st-year C-Class was able to
regain its sanity faster than other classes and achieve a comparably high result.

Baek In-ha took it easy for the whole match as he thought it was meaningless to go on
a rampage alone in such a team competition, so it was Karen Stringfield who broke
the neck of the last remaining wolf.

“With this, it’s over!”

As she raised her hand with her trampling on the wolf’s neck, the buzzer rang right
away and the record of the first grade C-Class was engraved on the electronic display.
It wasn’t an all-time high score, though it was incredibly high.

“We finished faster than expected! Were we the fastest among 1st-years?”

“No, we’re behind Magic majors’ I-Class. Didn’t those bastards cheat?”

Since I-Class was brimming with notable talents, Kang Shin-hyuk’s C-Class was unable
to annihilate the monsters at the fastest pace among 1st-year students, though they
were the fastest among Knight majors.

It wasn’t a surprising outcome. I-Class had planned every step; they pulled a series of
defensive and offensive magics in perfect coordination and whipped out 80% of the
monsters before they had direct contact. They probably didn’t have much opportunity
to experience the tension of real battle.

“But I think people would notice that their teamwork is countered by their lack of
individual strengths. It’s not just a matter of finishing the match quickly.”

“Anyway, well done, everybody!”

“Wow, I’m tired. Is anyone hurt badly? The medics are coming soon, so raise your hand
if you are.”

“Baek In-ha looked pretty cool earlier. He would be perfect if he doesn’t open his
mouth……”

“Karen was the best. I almost confessed by mistake earlier.”

While the class was excitedly chatting about their high score, Kang Shin-hyuk let out
a deep sigh after confirming that he wasn’t hurt. Baek In-ha approached him.

“You were awesome, Shinyok. You were flying around.”

“Are you talking about yourself?”

“No, Kang Shin-hyuk, I’m serious. You were incredible. Our formation didn’t collapse
in the middle of the battle thanks to you, and…… I hate to say it, but, Do Woojin.”

When Kang Shin-hyuk shook his head with a grin at Baek In-ha’s words, Karen
approached him and complimented him, perhaps having heard their conversation.
When the aces of the competition stood side by side and praised his performance,
Kang Shin-hyuk finally made a proud expression and shrugged his shoulders.

Kang Shin-hyuk’s sophisticated movements and meticulous techniques had shone on

one-on-one battles, but they shined just as brightly in a team battle.

But since the wolves were weaker than him in physical stats, he could take on as many
of them as possible without retreating. So he just stood his ground and fought them,
which seemed to have generated a deep impression on the people around him.

‘And well, about Do Woojin…… I’m sure he performed well with his abundant mana.’

Do woojin was originally famous for having the equivalent of a C+ rank mana. His trait
was in fact higher in rank, but he had only been using his weaker skills because using
his trait would have led to a penalty.

In other words, the other members of the C-Class showed worse results than Kang
Shin-hyuk, who they had been ignoring for his inability to use mana, and Do Woojin
wasn’t at his full strengths.

“I wish everyone had just pulled themselves together and gotten a higher score.”

“They’ve never been in such a team-oriented battle before, so they couldn’t help it. The
real issue was you; why were you so good, Shinyok? You were almost like an experienced
active superhuman.”

“Yeah right, all I did was knocking down monsters jumping at me.”

“……Shinyok?”

“Hey, this guy’s just calling me whatever he likes, so don’t look at me with that weird
look.” (1)

Kang Shin-hyuk cut Karen off before she could say any further. She mischievously
smiled and asked him.

“If you tell me what you were talking about with the Thunder Empress earlier, I’ll
pretend I didn’t hear that nickname, Shinyok.”

“The Thunder Empress? You met the Thunder Empress, too!?”

“Ha……”

This time, Baek In-ha bit the bait. Kang Shin-hyuk pushed him away as he was closing
in with his eyes wide open as if to eat him alive.

“We didn’t talk about much. She just told me she enjoyed the game.”
“Really? The international celebrity Thunder Empress approached you and no one
else and that’s all she said?”

“Yeah, that was all. Look, they’re calling for us. Let’s go.”

“Suspicious……”

“I’m not lying.”

Kang Shin-hyuk pushed Karen and Baek In-ha’s backs towards where their class was
gathered while thinking back to the conversation he had with her at lunchtime.

‘I was freaked out at first that she found out.’

The Thunder Empress Shin Eunah appeared out of nowhere to stare at him for a few
moments and asked him to have a private conversation.

Karen lost her mind at the sight of a Top 500 superhuman and Kang Shin-hyuk had no
choice to follow her while shivering at the idea of his identity being found out.

‘I saw the morning game.’

‘Kang Shin-hyuk…… I’ll remember you.’

‘I’ll look forward to the remaining games.’

She said those three sentences and left coolly, saying, “See you next time.” That was all!!

‘If that was the case, was it necessary to have a private conversation or stare at me so
intently?’

‘Fortunately though, I don’t think she noticed I’m Anvil. If she did, she wouldn’t have
had that look on her face.’

Recalling the facial expression of the Thunder Empress, which was ice-cold during the
whole encounter, Kang Shin-hyuk sighed in his mind.

A stiff expression with a stiff manner of speaking. He wondered if she really was the
“Eunah” who called him “Grandpa” like a child in the Hero Universe messages.
If she didn’t think of him as Anvil, why would she approach him in the first place? Was
she capable of detecting spirit power like Claire? As a member of the same Hero
Universe, the possibility was there.

“Shinyok, what’s wrong. Is it because of the rookie competition tomorrow?”

“Huh? No… I mean, yeah. I’m worried about that.”

Seeing Kang Shin-hyuk’s look of unrest, Baek In-ha patted him on the shoulder and
talked to him. Kang Shin-hyuk knew very well that mentioning the Thunder Empress
one more time would be self-destruction, so he merely nodded.

At that moment, his stick vibrated. When he took it out and checked, he found that the
schedule for tomorrow’s rookie competition was sent. His opponent for the round of
16 was…… Do Woojin.

“Ha……”

When he looked up, he could see Do Woojin giving him a heated look. Thinking that
he was unnecessarily too heated, Kang Shin-hyuk shook his head.

The first day of the turbulent Shinyoung sports day was coming to an end.

Editor/Translator Notes:

(1) Since “Shinyok” is a nickname connoting a very close connection, Karen is (jokingly)
suspecting that they Baek In-ha is his boyfriend.
[You’ve received one roulette coin for today’s login. With five coins now in stock, you
can spin the VIP roulette once! Would you like to spin it now?]

It was the morning of the second day of the Shinyoung Sports Day, when the rookie
competition was going to be held. Welcoming Kang Shin-hyuk in the morning, was the
message that he had been expecting to receive recently.

“I thought the coins were stacking up, but I collected all five faster than I thought.”

[The VIP roulette is one of Hero Universe’s finest services that only VIP members can
enjoy! Please enjoy the roulette where you have the chance to win invaluable items
from the countless dimensions!]

The Administrator took the chance to enthusiastically explain, but Kang Shin-hyuk
wasn’t really into it.

Whether it was roulette or card flipping, he learned very well from growing up in
Korea, the heaven of gambling games, that the factor of luck was not reliable.

[Our VIP roulette doesn’t have blank draws. What’s more, the roulette will more than
likely end up upgrading your stats, so the more active you are in the Hero Universe
and the more you devote your efforts to your self-development, the more rewards you
will get!]

“But since my synchronization rate is low, my upgrades won’t have much effect.
Doesn’t that mean the roulette’s rewards will be lower in quality?”

[It’s all right. VIP roulette has rewards that go beyond stat upgrades, so you can expect
to receive great rewards!]

“Then can you reveal the probability of winning certain things or something? I would
be satisfied even if there’s a 3% chance of winning a good reward……”
[I’m sorry, I cannot do that.]

As expected, it was simply a game where you draw lots and leave it all up to fate. Kang
Shin-hyuk threw away all expectations at that point.

But the login bonus was a gift from Hero Universe, so he had no reason to complain. If
something was free of charge, even if it was something as trivial as mint chocolate
frappuccino, Kang Shin-hyuk would gladly accept it.

“Then I’ll spin it right away.”

[We’re about to spin the VIP roulette. Please throw the dart at any time you want!]

He thought it would be over with a simple command and the result would be decided
right away, but that wasn’t the case. A hologram-looking translucent giant disk had
appeared on the other side of his bed!

It began to turn furiously as soon as it appeared, and he was holding a small dart in
his hand before he could notice.

[Throw it!]

“What happens if I miss?”

[Throw well so you won’t miss!]

Kang Shin-hyuk felt slightly disappointed as he thought that the Administrator’s

personality seemed to have changed a little these days. But since a free opportunity
was present before him, he decided to empty his mind and throw the dart.

‘It’d be best if I can get a defensive artifact, but…… Wait, my hand is moving!”

Of course, Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t miss, as his throwing ability was also considerably
enhanced by his trait and skill.

The moment the dart hit somewhere on the roulette, the speed at which the roulette
turned slowed down and quickly stopped. Where the dart was hit, it said ‘Lestia’s
hatching item’ was written in Korean.

[Lestia is a world that blesses the birth of all living things. This is a special item that
borrows the power to speed hatching from that world.]

“I see. So I guess I was pretty unlucky.”

Kang Shin-hyuk was fluent in martial arts but he didn’t have the ability to lay eggs.
However, the Administrator seemed oddly pleased with the reward he drew.

[Do you really think so? I have already told you that the reward will likely end up
helping with your stats’ upgrades.]

“Well, should I ask the cafeteria if I could borrow some eggs or something?”

[The hatching egg doesn’t have the ability to turn an unfertilized egg into a fertilized
one!]

Of course, Kang Shin-hyuk was grumbling only on the surface; he wasn’t actually that
disappointed. He knew well that nothing related to the Hero Universe was ordinary.

He decided to keep the item, believing that it may become useful one day. Fortunately,
it was possible to store the roulette’s reward in his inventory.

“Shinyok, are you ready?”

“Maybe? What about you…… Nevermind, I guess there’s no need to ask.”

On the morning of the second day, Baek In-ha seemed particularly energetic at the
large stadium.

The first day of sports day wasn’t quite challenging for Baek In-ha, who had already
transcended other 1st-year students, but the school-wide competition of the event’s
second day included the 2nd-year and 3rd-year seniors, so it wasn’t surprising that he
was hyped up.

“You really only brought that sword. I should’ve prepared a proper defensive artifact
for you.”

The adjective “proper” didn’t go with “artifact,” Kang Shin-hyuk thought. If an item had
the word “artifact” attached to it, it was worth at least hundreds of millions! Kang Shin-
hyuk smiled bitterly at Baek In-ha’s words and tapped into the bag. He invested some
of the money he earned from the War Troll’s corpse and bought a suitable defensive
tool.

“Nevermind that it’s not an artifact, that’s just a D rank defensive tool……”

“This should do the job.”

Many of the students who went to school today wore heavy equipment as they were
allowed to own personal equipment for the individual competitions.

Baek In-ha was wearing thorny gaiters on his knees and an unusually blue pair of
metal shoes. Kang Shin-hyuk had already known, but he witnessed yet another evidence
of how stupendously rich Baek In-ha was.

Many people naturally paid their attention to Baek In-ha, though Kang Shin-hyuk, who
was wearing nothing but a sword on his waist, also bought the interest of a lot of
peo0ple different way.

“Ah, I guess that’s the difference of family. I was looking forward to him since yesterday’s
games.”

“You idiot, he might hear you. He didn’t do anything wrong to you–why the fuck you
gotta be like that?”

“But it’s true. The individual competitions are the best place to raise your reputation,
so if you lose you might not even get sponsored.”

“That’s his problem, nothing for you to worry about.”

Thanks to Kang Shin-hyuk’s constant care and the axe it had absorbed, the Godslayer
now had a fairly appealing black gloss, but to others, it looked like an insignificant
weapon that was D rank at best.

Since the Godslayer sword doesn’t contain mana and its appearance didn’t show a sign
of possessing a notable trait, people’s judgment was destined to be ill-informed. They
would surely be surprised by learning that the sword is a C rank weapon.

‘Adding to that, the real strengths of the Godslayer sword is not a meager C rank. My
memory isn’t that clear, but I’m the one who built this weapon, so I know better than
anyone else. Even if it’s lacking a dragon heart, it’s not going to fall behind some
artifacts that the students will bring.’
Kang Shin-hyuk had sworn to himself to not pay attention to other people’s thoughts
of him, and he wasn’t about to fail that vow by indulging in people’s dismissal of his
sword.

But of course, there were some people who thought differently.

“Hey, Kang Shin-hyuk. You should have brought the right weapon even if it meant
taking out loans and putting yourself under a debt. Are you planning to make an
excuse when you lose against me?”

As soon as the attendance call at the playground was over, Do Woojin ran to Kang Shin-
hyuk and said to him with frustration.

“Don’t you know how important this competition is? People whom you would never
meet in your life are gathered here to see our cute actions. It’s a place where we have
to show our abilities and potential as much as we can. You should have prepared a
proper weapon even if it meant selling your organs to buy one.”

“……You.”

If it had not been for the existence of the Godslayer sword, every word he spoke would
be spot-on. In other words, Do Woojin was sincerely disappointed, rather than feeling
a sense of dismissal.

Do Woojin is really hard to understand, Kang Shin-hyuk thought. How did things turn
out this way? One day, he completely ignored him, and on the other, he’s feeling sorry
for him. They were the same age, but Kang Shin-hyuk really couldn’t understand the
minds of his peers!

“Thanks for your concern, Doo Woojin.”

“……What? Who said I’m worried!”

“But this is a really good weapon, so don’t worry. I’ll prove it to you.”

“……”

Do Woojin shut his mouth, thinking that his confidence didn’t seem to be a bluff. And
then he turned around with a light chuckle, which Kang Shin-hyuk laughed at.
After all, they were little kids. Their minds and attitude constantly changed depending
on their emotion and the circumstance they were trapped in. It wasn’t their fault,
though, it was the fault of the system that was designed to prompt such a volatile state
of mind.’

Kang Shin-hyuk himself was no exception to being young. But, unlike others of his age,
he had the ability to objectively observe himself, which was largely due to the presence
of the old man in his memory.

[Bartender noona: Hey, popular guy, big news.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: I’m not popular. But what’s the news?]

Clare’s text message brought Kang Shin-hyuk back to reality. He waited for her answer,
pushing the face of Baek In-ha constantly trying to steal a glimpse of his stick.

[Bartender noonar: Eunah wants to sponsor you via the association.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Me? The Thunder Empress? Did she notice?]

[Bartender noona: No, I don’t think so. But she does seem to have laid her eyes on you.
She even approached you herself yesterday, so……]

He would probably get more attention from her today by carrying the Godslayer
sword. And one wrong word could lead to a full revelation of his identity.

Kang Shin-hyuk felt as if he had become a death-row convict watching the executioner
get closer to him step by step as he waited with his head on the executioner’s stand.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: By the way, did the association sponsor students?]

[Bartender noona: Of course it’s not like the wild sponsorships that large guilds hand
out. The association likes to sponsor students of poor background who are nevertheless
exceptionally talented–people like you, that is.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Hm, sponsorship…… I don’t intend to decide where I want to join at
this moment, but thank you for telling me.]

[Bartender noona: Of course, it all depends on your performance in the individual

competitions today.]
[Kang Shin-hyuk: I know. Aren’t you going to cheer for me?]

[Bartender noona: Mmm. Your noona will buy you chicken.]

[Kang Shin-hyuk: Okay.]

Though he didn’t express it in his text messages, he was incredibly fired up to pull off
an impressive performance at the prospect of free chickens.

He hesitated to text her if he could give her a kiss after the victory, but he regained his
sanity just before tapping the send button.

“Game’s about to start, Shinyok. Let’s wrap this up quickly and move onto the next
game!”

“Okay. But if you don’t want to be disqualified, take that artifact off.”

“Oh, right, I was only thinking about the individual match……”

On the second day of sports day, there were more games to show off their superhuman
abilities. In particular, Magic majors had various traits that stood out, but many Knight
majors were also under the spotlight for their unusual traits.

“Oh, that one’s interesting…… But I wonder if that will be effective in a real battle.”

“B rank trait? That one? Well, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the rank calculations
of the Gaia system. Still, I guess it means that one has potential.”

While the students were fiercely competing in their matches, the scouts of each guild
calmly assessed their potentials.

“Well, that one’s a no for me. Where’s the list of promising students you kept yesterday?
Let me see it.”

“The individual competitions are about to start. So let’s go to our seats.”

“Whoo, it seems like the Thunder Empress and the Alchemist will be watching the
rookie competition.”

Although Shinyoung’s name was very highly regarded, the scout of every visiting guild
was also an alumnus of Shinyoung or an equally prestigious training academy.

The spots for the guild’s ace were limited and the competition was fierce. The
competition to determine the students’ future paths had begun now.

[Shinyoung Sports Day’s individual competition will be held soon! All the players who
have advanced to the round of 16, please gather at the venue! I repeated, the Shinyoung
Sports Day’s individual competitions will be held soon!]

By the end of lunchtime, a broadcast finally rang out throughout the school marking
the start of the individual competition.

“See you later.”

“Later.”

Everyone excitedly stood up from their seats with a look of “the time has finally come”
for the main event of the second day. Kang Shin-hyuk gave Baek In-ha a fist bump and
turned around to head to gymnasium 2 where the rookie competition was held.

[Fresh sprouts of Shinyoung, a contest of infinite possibilities for 1st-year students!

Welcome to Shinyoung’s rookie competition. This year’s students are also attracting a
lot of interest with their sparkling potential.]

“Hurry up and get started!”

[Haha, president of the Sivie Guild, please be patient for just a little longer. We still
have time before the competition begins!]

The gymnasium was already crowded with the voice of the host covering the noisy
auditorium. But just as Kang Shin Hyuk found his waiting room.

[All students who participate in this rookie competition will earn extra points in their
academic assessment, and those who make it to the semifinals will be eligible to
participate at the 15th World Superhuman Conference in Paris, France, as a guest
representing the academy this fall. Furthermore, the winner and runner-up will be
given special rewards!]

“Rewards?”
Kang Shin-hyuk, who was weak when it came to rewards, raised his head at the words
mentioned. Two items in a transparent box were seen on display at the podium of the
gym, where the host was standing.

[These are highly invaluable items that had been collected by various schoolmasters
with great trouble. The first item is an artifact that was recently unearthed in a
dungeon! As a mask-type artifact, it has the ability to speed up the flow of mana when
worn.]

Shinyoung was indeed an incredibly rich school, but to think that a B rank item worth
billions of won was offered as a reward! This year’s rewards didn’t seem to be ordinary
compared to the previous years’, as indicated by the fuss in the audience.

But the item that caught Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes was not the mask, but the other reward.

[And the second reward is an unnamed spherical OOPArt that was found in a(A rank
gate!](1)

“A sphere……”

[Although mana cannot be detected, its surprising firmness is indicative of the infinite
possibilities that are suitable for our rookies. The winner of the competition will get
to choose the desired reward, while the runner-up will receive the remaining reward.
To make sure you get the prize you want, you better win!]

The host was making it sound all impressive, but in short, it was just a hard ball whose
use was so far unknown.

‘But that one, that one could perhaps be…… ’

Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head and stared at the gray sphere on the platform.

Kang Shin-hyuk could see a faint beating of certain energy inside the object, as if
something was alive inside. It was none other than spirit power.

Looking at it more closely, the object looked like an egg.

[Didn’t I tell you?]

“Yes, the Administrator is the best.”

[A 100HP bonus from the Administrator for the kind words!]

The Administrator said with a swagger. He hated the “I-told-you-so” attitude, but he
had to admit it. Kang Shin-hyuk smiled and nodded.

“I’ wonder what’d come out of that egg, but I guess I have to win to find out.”

Five minutes later, the round of 16 match between Kang Shin-hyuk and Do Woojin began.

Editor/Translator Notes:

(1) “An out-of-place artifact (OOPArt) is an artifact of historical, archaeological, or

paleontological interest found in an unusual context” (Wikipedia)
[The first match of the round of 16 has begun! Surprisingly, it’s a clash between two
Knight major classmates! I’m sure you’ve all heard that a lot of notable talents have
enrolled in Shinyoung this year, and the students of C-class have especially been in the
spotlight.]

A 2nd-year student from the student government was in charge of the commentary
for the rookie competition.

A member of the student government could not be someone that could be taken lightly,
but Kang Shin-hyuk and Do Woojin couldn’t help but frown at the overly dramatic tone
of the commentary.

[Can you believe it? A total of three students from C-class had entered the round of 16!
It’s almost as if the rest of the classes have been slacking off all year. What’s more,
there’s an even more shocking secret involved in this matter, which you can find out
while spectating the academy competition at gymnasium 1!]

The secret was obviously implied by the hint that you could find out while watching
the academy competition, which meant that the host didn’t have much interest in
hyping up Kang Shin-hyuk and Do Woojin.

Kang Shin-hyuk decided to ignore the host and stood with his fighting posture fixed.
As if sharing the same thought, Do Woojin gripped his sword tightly with his eyes
fixated on him.

He had a gray stone sword that had a coarse appearance and a stylish belt that
sparkled on his waist. Those seemed to be the only two artifacts he had prepared.

[All right ladies and gentlemen, it seems that both players are ready. As a reminder,
both contestants have a shock-absorbing sensor attached to their body, and if the
impact exceeds a certain amount, the buzzer will vibrate and the contestant would be
disqualified. Of course, striking the vital spots will lead to harder impacts, so you can
expect safe but real-like battles!]
As the host said, Kang Shin-hyuk and Do Woojin were both wearing choker-shaped
equipment on their arms, legs, and necks.

They were a shock-absorbing sensor created by the armor-manufacturing brand

Mystic, having the ability to absorb a certain amount of shock and protect the wearer
while measuring the magnitude of the impact.

The most impressive feature of the equipment was that its measurement was adjusted
by the defensive abilities that the wearer was using, so if the wearer had a trait to
harden his body or some sort of a defensive skill, the measurement would be lowered
to accurately assess the damage inflicted on him.

Therefore, it was a defensive artifact that had the auxiliary purpose of measuring the
wearer’s defensive capabilities while protecting him from external attacks.

[On one side we have Do Woojin, who is known to have one of the most exceptional
magical power among 1st- year students. Then we have Kang Shin-hyuk on the other
side, who has polished his fighting techniques more than anyone else to compensate
for his lack of magical power. Then, without further ado, let the match begin!]

A teacher from the sideline raised his hand at the host’s signal. As soon as his hand
was lowered Kang Shin-hyuk leaped forward to Do Woojin, who backed away in
response and thrust his sword into the ring.

That was the trigger. His body was swarming with mana!

[Ahhh, contestant Do Woojin is infusing his magical power! His belt is releasing its
own magical power in line with him–it seems that his belt is a supplementary artifact
that helps activate his trait!]

The fact that Do Woojin was born with strong magical power was a testament to his
strong trait. And that gave him the excuse to scold Kang Shin-hyuk’s highly ranked (A-
) trait.

The stronger the trait, the stronger the magical power! That was an unwritten law in
the world of superhumans.

‘I’ve never seen you activate it fully before because there are so many restrictions on
the activation of traits.’
If you attended the academy, it was inevitable to have the identity of your trait
discovered by others in one way or another, but without the ability to read the status
window, it was impossible for others to infer the nature of your trait in great detail.

Moreover, since Do Woojin had never activated his trait in class, Kang Shin-hyuk
suspected that the conditions for its activation were severely restricted. True to that
expectation, he seemed to possess a ridiculously powerful trait that could only be
activated with the aid of an artifact.

‘Though the use of an artifact also depends on the individual’s skill. So? What is his
trait?’

Kang Shin-hyuk opened his eyes wide, correcting his balance so that he couldn’t be
swept away by the raging magical power storm. Naturally, his spirit power flowed into
his eyes to strengthen his vision.

He could see Do Woojin’s body swelling in the midst of the storm.

[Ahhhhhhhhhhh! That is amazing! What an incredible trait that is matched by his

powerful magical power!]

The host, who had noticed the identity of Do Woojin’s skill almost simultaneously with
Kang Shin-hyuk, lavished praises on him. The host was wary of aiding a contestant by
revealing the identity of his opponent’s trait, but Kang Shin-hyuk seemed to have
already caught onto the matter, so he didn’t hesitate to make the remark.

“Whoa!”

It was just then. The mana that covered the entire ring instantly converged into Do
Woojin’s body, revealing his transformation into a giant nearly three meters tall.

“Huh!”

“Amazing…… That’s amazing!

“Transformation! It’s not common to see a transformation that is solely focused on

size and pure power.”

Gigantification. Actually, given the fact that his sword had also grown bigger, the term
“enlargement” might have been more apt.
As he grew in size, his power had also increased, and the air around him gave off the
vibe of a monster rather than a human being. If he nurtures his trait further, he could
well end up becoming a top-tier tank.

But despite the terrifying pressure, Kang Shin-hyuk let out a faint smile.

“Ah…… Hm.”

“If you won’t come, I will!”

Do Woojin rushed to him, seemingly having become more militant by becoming a

giant. With the increase in size, the width of his stride was broadened, and his speed
was faster with the added muscles. So fast, indeed, that ordinary people had a hard
time tracking his movement.

“Whoo.”

Kang Shin-hyuk took a step forward. He drew a circle with the Godslayer sword in the
air and firmly gripped it. He recalled the previous experiences he had with the sword.

The battle at the top-quality hotel where he confronted a monster whose size, weapon,
and aggression were bigger than the gigantified Do Woojin.

‘Of course, I’m a bit weaker than I was when I drank the potion…… ’

He was weaker than during the incident at the hotel, but Do Woojin was also weaker
than the Troll. On top of that, Do Woojin didn’t have the ability to create a shockwave.
Most importantly, however, his current understanding of the Godslayer sword was
incomparably deeper than when he fought against the monster.

Moreover, whenever he practiced sword dance techniques, he simulated re-matches

against the Troll in his head countless times. Although the imaginary simulation didn’t
count as an actual battle, after a couple of practices he was able to pull off an 80% win
rate.

Therefore, victory against an opponent weaker than the War Troll was inevitable. His
certainty in the outcome of the battle was the reason for his vague facial expression.
If ‘enlargement’ was the only trump card that Do Woojin had up his sleeve……

“Sorry, Do Woojin.”
As if he heard Kang Shin-hyuk muttering to himself, Do Woojin’s eyes narrowed to a
slit. He opened his mouth as if to answer something back.

But Kang Shin-hyuk leaned over and charged in without waiting for the answer. His
hard-trained spirit power soared like wildfire. The Godslayer sword made a pleasant
cry as if to resonate with the flow of his spirit power.

The giant struck down his sword, but Kang Shin-hyuk lifted his Godslayer sword and
let it slip it away. The giant tried to punch him, but it didn’t reach him. The giant tried
to kick him with his foot as a last resort, but.

Kang Shin-hyuk’s sword had already reached its destination.

“Kahak!”

The Godslayer sword, which was incomparably more elegant, potent and free the
violent aura than during the incident at the hotel, struck a vital spot of Do Woojin.

The trajectory of the sword drawn in the air was slow enough for his eyes to catch, but
Do Woojin could not stop the attack.

[Oh, my God!…… What an unexpected turn-out! Contestant Kang Shin-hyuk is

overwhelming contestant Do Woojin! I’m sure you have heard that contestant Kang
Shin-hyuk isn’t capable of using mana but…… What are those movements? Contestant
Do Woojin is fast and strong, but he cannot reach contestant Kang Shin-hyuk!]

The sight of Do Woojin swinging his long-sword in every direction after being slain by
the Godslayer sword resembled a fish that had escaped water.

On the other hand, Kang Shin-hyuk moved his body swiftly like a butterfly, avoiding
every attack and rushing into the gaps of his movements to strike his vital points. His
counter-attacks were perfectly timed, as if the two had planned those movements
before the match began.

“Wow……”

“Is it a side effect of gigantification? No–actually, that kid is very strong right now. You
can tell by just reading his momentum. If so……”

“What was that kid’s trait? The report at the time of his awakening.”
“It was high proficiency of martial arts at the cost of the ability to use mana.”

“But his power is effective enough to deal damages to a superhuman. He’s completely
overwhelming him with his movements! To add to that…… I don’t think I can dodge
those sword attacks myself.”

The people sitting in the audience stood up almost in unison. People who only focused
their attention on Do Woojin for his gigantification felt like they had been hit by cold
water.

“You fools, look at the sword that the boy is holding.”

Then a scout from Vanguard, one of the world’s most powerful guilds, said mockingly
to those who were surprised. Only then did others find that the sword in Kang Shin-
hyuk’s hand had a distinct dragon pattern engraved on it.

“I still can’t feel mana from it, but it’s gotten stronger. That pattern wasn’t there
before.”

“Then the artifact was activated under some special condition, or……”

“It’s the power of that boy’s trait.”

It didn’t matter which way. If he could fight a giant without backing down, and deal
damages that were effective against a giant, it was proof that he was a skilled
superhuman, whether he was capable of mana or not.

It was impossible to deny it. It was no coincidence that a boy without mana had
enrolled in the world’s top superhuman training academy, where he was now evidently
one of the greatest potentials!

– Beep!

When the nearly one-sided battle came to a conclusion after very little time had
passed, the buzzer rang. Do Woojin himself had felt that he was at his limit.

“Crrrrr……”

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk pulled his sword, Do Woojin knelt on the ground helplessly as
he dropped his sword. His body began to shrink into its original form like wind
blowing out of a balloon.

After he wore the Godslayer sword on his waist, Kang Shin-hyuk agonized over whether
he should reach out his hand to him. Out of sympathy, he decided to do so.

Fortunately, Do Woojin, who had completely returned to his original form, did not
reject his hand.

“You son of a bitch.”

Do Woojin, who stood up holding his hand, suddenly cursed at him. His tone, however,
signified a sense of relief.

“Why did you pretend to be weak all this time?”

“I was, in fact, weak, but I got stronger.”

“Fuck……”

With that one word of despair, Kang Shin-hyuk started laughing. Do Woojin frowned.

“My eyes were fucking useless.”

“Yup.”

“I’m madder that Baek In-ha knew about your true strength all along.”

“Well, now you know.”

“Yeah, fuck. You’re fucking strong.”

Do Woojin spat out curse words again and let go of his hand. He stepped back from
the ring and gave him one last remark in a quiet voice.

“Congrats on making the quarterfinals.”

The matches continued on.

Karen Stringfield, who was also participating in the competition, had advanced to the
quarterfinals like Kang Shin-hyuk, but he faced a Magic major whom he easily defeated
by throwing his Godslayer sword.

The contestant, who mistook his throw as a simple threat, laughed at Kang Shin-hyuk
for abandoning his weapon and tried to defend himself with an instantly activated
defense magic, but sadly, the sword thrown by him contained as much spirit energy as
he could muddle at the moment, and his throwing technique was enhanced by the
Fanged Wyvern Dance.

In the end, that single throw greatly exceeded the maximum amount of impact and the
contestant instantly passed out. It was a concise yet pathetic battle.

“Did you just see that?”

“That attack should work on monsters too, don’t you think……? I’ve learned quite an
interesting throwing skill.”

“Apparently, he’s good at all martial arts techniques, and throwing technique is just
one of them.”

“Huh.”

His opponent for the semifinals was a Knight major male student from 1st-year F-
Class, who was considered a strong contender for the trophy. Karen said that he was
a talent whose entry into the Wyvern Knights was secured, just like her and Do Woojin.

He was the master of a versatile trait that could generate flames around his weapon
and around himself for protection, but sadly, the flames weren’t powerful enough to
pierce through the Godslayer sword.

[Your synchronization rate is slightly increasing. Assimilation rate is now at 3.9%.]

He felt sorry for his opponent, but he was very familiar with flames.

The memory of the blacksmith, who had been accompanied by flames throughout his
life, was whispering to him. You don’t deserve to be called a blacksmith if you get
scared off by such petty flame.

Kang Shin-hyuk slashed through the raging flames coming from all sides and stepped
forward. The heat resistance effect he got from blacksmithing was activated during
the battle, whose effect was–to his surprise–amplified by spirit power. The damage
accumulated on his sensor was consequently minor.

“You, what the hell is that weapon!”

“It’s an artifact, a very precious one.”

His opponent seemed to have thought that the reason for his flames’ ineffectiveness
was due to the Godslayer sword. Of course, it was true that the (C) rank sword could
not be affected by that kind of flame, so it wasn’t a false assumption.

“You’re weaker than Do Woojin.”

“Don’t make me laugh, it’s not over yet…… Kuhuk!”

With his worthless trait, his only means of taking down Kang Shin-hyuk was through
his sword skills. But that was an area where Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t lose to anyone.

After clashing blades with him several times, Kang Shin-hyuk realized that there was
nothing left to learn from him, so he knocked the sword out of his hand and dealt
multiple damages to his vital points, prompting his buzzer to ring.

That was the end. It was a less exciting ending than Kang Shin-hyuk’s match against
Do Woojin.

[Ah, what an incredible finish! The boy who no one had paid attention to had just
become the dark horse of the competition…… Ah, I apologize–was that expression too
cliche? But it is undeniably a dramatic turn-out! Kang Shin-hyuk is going to the finals!
His opponent is……]

Kang Shin-hyuk gently closed his eyes and opened them shortly after.

His opponent who had advanced to the finals by defeating Karen Stringfield was a
talented student who was considered to be the next king of the Magic majors.

– The final will be held after an hour’s break! Get your popcorns ready, everyone!

It was a head-to-head confrontation between a Knight major and a Magic major.

“He was unbelievably fast. I thought my speed was second only to Baek In-ha, but his
magical attacks caught up to me.”

An hour’s intermission was given before the finals. Karen visited Kang Shin-hyuk who
was waiting in his own waiting room and started talking about various things.

He would’ve kicked her out if she came empty-handed, but she brought a mango
smoothie with her to wish him good luck, so he decided to listen while drinking it.

“And there were plenty. He incanted some sort of magic and created ten fire arrows to
shoot at me. That bastard certainly has at least two abilities: one to create multiple
arrows and another to fire them at high speed. He’s purely a magic type.”

“Do Magic majors mostly have those kinds of traits?”

“No, only a few are armed with incantation traits or skills. The traits and skills of Magic
majors are usually ones that modify their brain structure to become capable of certain
magical skills, create magical circles or modify their magical power. If you’re really
unlucky, you’d just be given an ability to create a fireball or something like that.
Though anyone with that kind of low-tier magic wouldn’t have made it to Shinyoung.”

Kang Shin-hyuk smiled back at her, took his mouth off the smoothie, and responded.

“You never know. Maybe there’s someone like me among Magic majors. Someone
who’s really good at handling fireballs.”

“Oh…… Anyway! He’ll use incantation magic to create multiple high-speed weapons.
So you shouldn’t throw away your weapon like you did in the quarterfinals. Rather,
think of it as fighting against a warrior who throws a lot of weapons, and be careful.”

“You came to tell me that, didn’t you?”

Karen came to cheer for Kang Shin-hyuk in her own way by informing him of his
opponent’s abilities. When Kang Shin-hyuk smiled softly, Karen shrugged her shoulders
and laughed.

“We’re partners. You’ve got to avenge me.”

“Three-legged race partners.”

“I’ll cheer for you. Now you’re the only one who can build the honor of our class.”

“Hm?”

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk narrowed his eyes to a slit out of suspicion that she had
something in her mind, Baek In-ha came bursting into the room in tears.

“Shinyok!”

“Oh, I know what you’re about to say, so go over there and cry alone.”

“Shinyokkkkkkk!!!!!!!”

“Get the fuck off me, you idiot!”

Five minutes ago, Baek In-ha had been defeated in the semifinals of the Battle for the
Crown of Martial Arts. (1) His opponent was Natan Bodin, a third-year French student
who was the current Crown of Wizards. (2)

It was a competitive match, but it was a loss all the same. Karen had already heard the
news and had shared it with Kang Shin-hyuk before Baek In-ha came bursting into the
waiting room.

“You’ve made a record as a 1-st year student to make it to the semifinals of the battle
for the Crown of Martial Arts. Someone made it to the quarterfinals last year, but
you’re the first to make it to semifinals after the Thunder Empress four years ago.”

“The Thunder Empress took the title of the Crown of Wizards as well as the Crown of
Martial Arts in her first year!”

“Wow, you were actually thinking of beating the Thunder Empress……”

Karen laughed in disbelief at Baek In-ha, who seemed like he was about to disintegrate
and die. The Thunder Empress was already a legend at the time of her admission to
Shinyoung. As evidence, despite her young age in mid-20s, she’s currently ranked
317th in the World Superhuman Ranking.

Some people who knew a little about her even claim that she had never shown her full
power. To make that claim more authentic, she had never failed in conquering a gate,
so there was no opportunity for anyone to accurately assess her full strengths.

“Ahhhhh! If I were a little faster, I would have won! If my magical power rank had a +,
I would’ve totally owned her!”

“Calm down, dude. Anyway, you did a great job.”

“Actually, Baek In-ha is a real nuisance. He beat the Crown of Knights in the
quarterfinals, so it all ended up as if a Knight major had lost to a Magic major.

The Crown of Knights of Shinyoung was Douglas Paine, a third-year American student
studying abroad who was currently the captain of the Wyvern Knights.

Having secured his title as the Crown of Knights this year, he entered the Battle for the
Crown of Martial Arts to secure that title, only to be defeated by a first-year student in
the quarterfinals before even getting the chance to face the Crown of Wizards.

It would have been better if Baek In-ha went on to become the Crown of Martial Arts,
but he was defeated by the Crown of Wizards while having beat the Crown of Knights!

“You’re truly a nuisance……”

“He was weaker than me! What do you want me to do!?”

Baek In-ha rolled on the floor, saying, “I don’t give a damn about that dude.” Kang Shin-
hyuk wondered what it would have been like if he had gone out to the Battle for the
Crown of Knights and won the title, but the train had already left, which couldn’t be
helped.

“Karen, are there any Knight majors left in the Battle for the Crown of Martial Arts?”

“Our vice-captain made it to the finals. Of course, if it’s her, I think she can beat the
Crown of Wizards, but……”
“Then is your vice-captain stronger than the captain?…… Ah, forget it. Don’t tell me.
Hey, I said don’t tell me.”

“Tsk, you’re too quick-witted.”

“……”

As soon as the vice-captain was mentioned, Karen tried to take the chance to let Kang
Shin-hyuk into the loop, but stepped down while smacking her palate as Kang Shin-
hyuk quickly deterred her. Baek In-ha glanced at the two and narrowed his eyes to a
slit.

“As expected, you two are dating.”

“Yes, so is today our first day as a couple?”

“No.”

“Kang Shin-hyuk, you traitorrrrrrr!”

Kang Shin-hyuk finished off his smoothie, leaving Baek In-ha alone as he flustered
over Karen’s mischievous jokes. Karen threw away her empty cup and finished what
she came to say.

“Anyway, everything will be fine if you win. I even bought smoothies, so you have to
win.”

“I drank it without knowing it was prepaid.”

“Oh, well, I’m going to buy you a proper artifact this time, so make sure you win,
Shinyok.”

“That’s quite a burden, you know.”

Kang Shin-hyuk rose from his seat while pushing back Baek In-ha away. It was
surprisingly fun to talk to them, but he didn’t have time to relax anymore. The final
match was about to begin.

But when he opened the waiting room’s door, Do Woojin was standing in front of him.
“Do Woojin?”

“……”

Do Woojin slightly flinched when he saw Baek In-ha and Karen Stringfield in the
waiting room, but soon gave something to Kang Shin-hyuk.

It was the belt he was wearing when he faced him in the round of 16.

“I don’t think there’s a rule against renting an artifact. Use this.”

“What……?”

Kang Shin-hyuk looked at Doo Woojin with a shocked look. Do Woojin clicked his
tongue and avoided eye contact.

Baek In-ha, who was watching from the side, shouted with his eyes wide open.

“Oh, you’re right! Doo Woojin, you’re so smart! Wait a minute, Shinyok, I’ll lend you
the artifact I brought……”

“Huh? What?”

Karen clapped her hands as Kang Shin-hyuk was embarrassed by Do Woojin offering
his belt to him and Baek In-ha who was about to take off his artifact.

“You fought so well that I thought you had everything, but I see, you didn’t use an
artifact.”

“This sword of mine is an artifact.”

“But that’s the only artifact you have, right? It’s a good thing we noticed before you got
up to the ring. Your final opponent is equipped with two artifacts, both of which are B
rank or higher. I know for sure because I fought him myself. If you’re going to fight
someone like that, you’re going to have to be well-equipped.”

“Hm……”

Kang Shin-hyuk responded to her reasonable words in a low voice. He hadn’t been
expecting this to happen.
Why did he burn so much enthusiasm for the rookie competition in the first place? Of
course, he purely wanted to achieve good grades, but he also wanted to prove his
strengths to Yoo Min-joon of the Wyvern Knights who s started a quarrel with him.

“But the one who made me confront Yoo Min-joon and was defeated by me in the
round of 16 is trying to lend me his artifact.”

It was a very difficult situation to understand. Even if he took his offer, Do Woojin was
going to be seen as weird.

‘What is he thinking?’

Kang Shin-hyuk looked at Do Woojin with an indescribable look. But Do Woojin was
still sticking out his belt at him with a wistful face.

“Don’t worry about useless things and just take it, you bastard. I just don’t want to see
you beat me and lose in the finals just because your opponent had better items.”

“I mean, I can take mine? I don’t need yours.”

“That’s funny, what Baek In-ha’s offering you only works well for certain users.”

That was true. Of course, in terms of rank alone, the Baek In-ha’s artifact would be
higher in quality than Do Woojin’s belt. But more importantly, Baek In-ha’s artifact
was specialized equipment.

Baek In-ha has the highest-quality trait associated with speed, and his artifacts have
the ability to enhance that quality of him. Even if Kang Shin-hyuk were to wear it, he
wouldn’t receive any dramatic effect, since his agility was only a little bit high.

‘But that belt…… ’

Kang Shin-hyuk thought while looking at the belt in Do Woojin’s hand. That belt had
the ability to trigger the activation of the user’s trait. For someone like Kang Shin-hyuk
who had exclusively relied on his trait until his awakening of spirit power, it was an
invaluable treasure.

“Whoo. Okay, then I’ll borrow it for now.”

“Of course you should.”

Eventually, Kang Shin-hyuk accepted the belt from Do Woojin. He decided to push
useless concerns aside and borrow the artifact only for the duration of the competition.

In the first place, it was not pleasant imagining his opponent to be armed with artifacts
of B rank or higher while waiting for him, and he didn’t want to refuse the item that
Do Woojin had given out with a good intention. Thus, it was not time to say, “I will win
the match with this one sword!”

“Thanks, Do Woojin. I’ll definitely win.”

“It’s expensive, so don’t scratch it.”

“No, why, my artifact is much better even if it’s not a good match to your trait!”

“You’re looking down on my trait. I’ll show you what it’s made of, so keep an eye on it.”

As Kang Shin-hyuk looked at the belt in his hand while Baek In-ha was rolling on the
floor from a sense of unfairness and indignation, a message from the Gaia system
popped up in front of his eyes.

[Enhanced Power Belt of Delampe]

[C+]

[Special ability: Weakly triggers the activation of a trait and enhances a trait with low
probability]

It was just as expected, or perhaps more. Kang Shin-hyuk took off the armor he was
wearing and wore the belt. Then, as if it was waiting for the right moment, the broadcast
announcing the final match rang out.

[The long-awaited final match of the Shinyoung rookie competition will begin! The
contestants will now enter the stage!]

“Whoo……”

After a short deep breath, he looked back for the last time.

For an unknown reason, the sight of Baek In-ha and Do Woojin looking at him with the
same sulky expression made him smile. They weren’t adults yet, he thought.
“Good luck, Shin-hyuk!”

Bartender: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Karen voiced her support while the boys were staring at each other. At the same time,
Claire’s cheering message popped up in front of his retina.

Kang Shin-hyuk nodded firmly and turned his head again to move forward. A myriad
of spectators gathered at the second gymnasium looked at him.

Among them was a familiar face: Yoo Min-joon, the sunbae who had promised to watch
his matches. He seemed shocked to find Do Woojin’s belt on Kang Shin-hyuk’s waist.

Kang Shin-hyuk was expecting such a reaction from him, but it was more entertaining
to see it with his own eyes. He didn’t accept Do Woojin’s good-willed offer to provoke
such a reaction from him, but he couldn’t help but enjoy.

[Oh, contestant Kang Shin-hyuk! He’s wearing the belt that contestant Do Woojin wore
in his last match! They’ve exchanged their artifact for the final match, and according
to the rules…… There’s no problem! How nice of him to lend his artifact to the
opponent who beat him!]

On the stage, his opponent with a conical hat holding an elegant staff looked straight
at him. Rather than an out-dated fashion, they were powerful artifacts that were at
least B ranks, as Karen had told him.

[On one side we have a genius who has been the fan-favorite from the start, and on the
other, we have a dark horse who popped out of nowhere. What an exciting match this
is! A battle of pride between a Knight and a Wizard; the loser will carry home the
humiliation of losing to their rival as the representative of their major. Both contestants
must put out everything they have!]

Kang Shin-hyuk stepped up to the ring and looked at his opponent.

On the surface, he didn’t seem nervous at all. Kang Shin-hyuk could understand the
look of arrogance; he was the Wizard equivalent of Baek In-ha, whom every Magic
major unanimously acknowledged as the strongest.

‘If I hadn’t borrowed Do Woojin’s belt, I would have been finished after swinging my
sword once or twice.’
But somehow, it never occurred to him that he was going to lose.

It wasn’t because of his friends’ sincere and heartfelt support; he was just fully
confident in himself.

“Whoo……”

Kang Shin-hyuk pulled out his sword and fixed his fighting posture.

The judge raised his hand and struck it down.

“Fight!”

The Godslayer shone brightly and Kang Shin-hyuk rushed to his opponent.

The final match of the rookie competition has begun.

Editor/Translator Notes:

(1) Fixed a translation error; the previous “academy competition” was modified to
“Battle for the Martial Arts Crown.”

(2) Changed from the previous “King of Magic majors”

“Ha.”

Kang Shin-hyuk’s opponent was Yuta Mitsui, a Japanese international student and a
freshman in the Magic Department. Yuta laughed at Shin-hyuk, who charged at him as
soon as the game started.

‘I was nervous because he is the best in Shinyoung with his skill, but there’s nothing to
see here.’

The British woman that fought in the semi-finals lost rather quickly, and he didn’t
think this would be any different. With his normal eyesight, he wouldn’t be able to
follow the movements of Shin-hyuk at all, but he was currently using an artifact that
increased his vision and reaction speed. Right now, it was as if Shin-hyuk was running
slowly, and was easy for Yuta to hit with his magic. Even though he was running at his
best, he was caught in those eyes reinforced by artifacts.

‘Not that I was expecting much from the knights.’ Yuta laughed and lifted his staff; it was
an artifact that increased his casting speed and guided his magic projectiles. With that
staff and his characteristics that allowed him to use high-speed chanting and multiply,
there was no-one among Shinyoung’s freshmen that could surpass him.

“Now!” Colorful petals bloomed from the end of the staff as nearly twenty fire arrows
immediately formed to seek out Kang Shin-hyuk.

“Hm?” Surprisingly, Shin-hyuk didn’t make any attempt to avoid it. He whisked his
sword around as he lifted it. The weak wind propelled by the blade was enough to
redirect some of the flame arrows’ trajectories slightly. Shin-hyuk continued to run
along the path he created, right across the small arena. Fighting against a wizard was
a game of taking advantage of the gaps in each other’s defenses. In avoiding this
preemptive attack, the edge was definitely on Kang Shin-Hyuk’s side.

‘He turned the arrows’ direction with the wind from his sword? That’s no martial art!
But it doesn’t matter!’ A small smile crossed Yuta’s lips as the flame arrows that missed
Shin-hyuk turned in the air began to pursue him. But he had already narrowed the
distance between himself and his opponent, and it didn’t matter if an arrow hit him if
he could defeat Yuta right away.

“It’s over!” Yuta exclaimed, dozens of flame arrows blooming once again from the staff
right in front of Shin-hyuk. A wave of magic approached him from both sides; it was
clear to see why Yuta was already the strongest in the magic department. Anyone
would be hard-pressed to find someone who could match his firepower at his age,
even when you considered the support he had from his artifacts.

“Hm…” In this situation where the game seemed to be over already, Kang Shin-hyuk
still drew his sword forward. At that moment, everyone watching immediately
recognized it as a skill. All of the flame arrows in the way the sword cut through were
extinguished.

-Oh my! Those arrows contain quite the punch, but they were cut off in an instant by
Kang Shin-hyuk’s sword! A skill that destroys magic is the most desired one for close
combat, but who knew Kang Shin-hyuk had it!

“He didn’t divide them; he destroyed them. It was possible because it was low-leveled
magic. If he can grow that skill, it would be worth having.”

“I thought I could use that card too, but it wasn’t worth using in the quarterfinals!”

The auditorium was heating up due to the words of the moderator. Kang Shin-hyuk,
however, had no real idea of what he had just done. He swung the sword because his
intuition had told him it would be best to cleave through the arrows with his sword.

‘Well, I suppose it’s a skill incorporated into my sword dance now.’ Perhaps it was due to
the spiritual force that moved according to the sword’s trajectory, but he knew now
wasn’t the time to consider the reasons. Now was the best chance to push his attack.
He thrust his sword forward, aiming at his opponent’s head, but something blocked
him.

“Hot!” Yuta had done everything he could to block the sword, sending flame arrows
from all directions at him immediately after. Even with that, though, he would
probably get hit before they landed.

“Khhh…!”
“Shield!” Kang Shin-hyuk swung his sword again and rolled back to create some space.
Instead of chasing after him, the fire arrows stopped in place as Yuta began to chant
defensive magic once more.

-The tides have turned again! There were some sharp movements from Kang Shin-
hyuk, but Yuta Mitsu has created an enormous number of magic arrows! It’s incredible
how quickly he can chant his defensive magic while managing all of them!

Yes, that was the problem Kang Shin-hyuk faced. He breathed in deep, gripping his
sword tightly. A wizard that could control dozens of magic arrows, and even summon
a shield to protect them. They were a frustrating foe to fight; even a master swordsman
would have been easier. It was an uphill battle for a martial artist like Shin-hyuk, but
he knew it was pointless to bemoan that fact.

‘If I were a little stronger, I would’ve finished it already. Still, it’s not over yet. Let’s try
again.’ If he gave him any more time, he would use that to summon more magic arrows
or hinder him with secondary magic. He hit the floor and rushed back towards his
opponent, done with thinking. His spiritual power swirled around his body, and
through his sword, a figure of a dragon clearly formed on it for anyone to confirm.

-Just like the previous matches, a dragon has appeared on Kang Shin-hyuk’s sword! Is
that an ability of the artifact, or his skill?!

A magic arrow rushed to meet Kang Shin-hyuk as he fiercely charged. He didn’t avoid
it, cutting the magic at once. He had concluded that the amount of spiritual power he
consumed doing so was manageable.

“Huh.”

He kept sprinting forward, his sword cutting down the magic arrows flying at him. At
least one vanished each time his sword flashed out in his beautiful dance. The sword
flew through the air like a swallow, much faster and lighter than before.

-Wham! Bang! Kablam! Bam!

Kang Shin-hyuk, who was pushing himself to the max, had no blind spots at that
moment. The magic arrows gave off too much energy to be able to sneak around him.
The belt around his waist shone brilliantly, enhancing his abilities. The sight of him
running around and cutting through the magic arrows as they closed in on him from
every side was dazzling. However, as he cut through about half of the arrows, and his
feet hit the floor…

-Kablaaaaam!

“Kh…!”

The remaining magic arrows exploded all at once.

-Kang Shin-hyuk was caught off guard! He didn’t know that the magic arrows could
remotely detonate!

Kang Shin-hyuk broke through the explosion, his body gliding briefly through the air
as he rushed at Yuta. His clothes were slightly singed, but the sensor hadn’t gone off;
it wasn’t a clean hit. The answer to how he avoided it was in his sword, the engraving
of a dragon wrapped around it. It had grown only larger.

“Hold!” Yuta had already prepared himself for that not being the finishing blow,
activating his restraint magic that he had been preparing to tie Shin-hyuk in place. But
that was what Shin-hyuk had been waiting for.

“Kh…!” The moment his feet stopped, Kang Shin-hyuk stood firm, twisting his waist to
put all of his strength into his upper body. He threw his sword forward, letting it sail
toward Yuta.

-There it is! The throwing technique that finished off his opponent in the quarterfinals!
But Mitsui Yuta was already prepared for it with a stone wall!

With a terrible crashing noise, the stone wall Yuta summoned collapsed to the ground;
Yuta himself was unharmed. Kang Shin-hyuk ground his teeth but could tell the power
of the magic shackles was loosening. Yuta couldn’t maintain concentration on that
many defensive spells. Shin-hyuk didn’t miss the opportunity, rolling his feet forward
violently to break through the shackles. He attempted to summon his sword to hand
as he charged once more, but it did not return to him.

“Urgh?!”

“Artifacts with a retrieval function aren’t common, but I expected as much. “Shin-
hyuk’s sword was entangled at the base of the ring, bound by Yuta’s magic. At the same
time he had been defending, he had chanted a spell to neutralize the sword as well.
“You wouldn’t throw it if you didn’t have a way to get it back, after all. But if I do this,
you can’t get it back.”

“…” Amid the battle, such a thought had occurred to him, and he had sealed the sword
with his magic, proving that it wasn’t just his artifacts that made him such a dangerous
foe. Shin-hyuk couldn’t call back his sword without tearing up the entire floor.

“I was worried about your ability to cut through my magic, but if I just nullify your
artifact, then it doesn’t matter.” He was trying to talk calmly, but it was easy to see Yuta
was anxious. The sword that was stuck to the floor was still trying to break free from
its restraint. He knew he couldn’t afford to wait any longer, chanting attack magic to
finish the fight.

“Go!”

At that moment, Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively stretched his arm forward, thinking he
had to stop the attack. But that didn’t mean he was able to snatch away his opponent’s
staff or block the magic attack.

-Woowooong.

The belt about his waist began to vibrate. While the simple explanation was that the
belt’s power assisted in activating a trait, it would be more accurate to say; it
stimulated the very core of a capable user. And so, it was perhaps thanks to that…

“Ah…!”

Deep inside of him, a dragon was sleeping in the depths of Kang Shin-hyuk’s
consciousness. One he had yet to reach. But just a little… a little bit… it began to open
its eyes.

-Know yourself.

Golden eyes flashed awake, a weak part of a much greater power flowing out.

“What… what is this?” Yuta, who had been trying to fire his magic, began to tremble as
if he was shocked. His mana wasn’t cooperating with him at all. A terrifying presence
wrapped around his staff, forcibly breaking his synchronization with the artifact.

“I broke his connection with the artifact… that’ll be a useful skill.” Kang Shin-hyuk
muttered to himself. He was beginning to realize that the power of his trait, which he
had been applying only to himself and his own weapon, could affect the weapons of
others.

‘The moment I listened to Yuta, I thought I could do it. I tried it on a whim, but… it
actually worked. I didn’t think I could seal the artifact away, but thanks to this belt… ’

“Now, this seems fair.”

“You…!” Yuta cleared his confusion and began to chant again, forming a new attack.

-Bang!

“Wow!”

Kang Shin-hyuk hit him with a solid kick backed by all of his might, breaking straight
through his defense magic.

-Kang Shin-hyuk, how did you do it?! Preventing the opponent from using their magic,
and then breaking through their defenses with a kick! I heard you were good at all
martial arts, but this is insane! Oh, another jab landed! A one-two punch!

The easiest way to mess with a wizard’s magic chant was to apply constant physical
and mental pressure to prevent them from focusing. Kang Shin-hyuk knew this well
and was putting that knowledge to good use.

“Ow! Stop, ah!”

“Let’s keep going.”

-Bang!

His right fist, containing a part of the spiritual power he had been using to amplify his
sword, slammed into the enemy’s face. The shock knocked Yuta down, his sensor
ringing out, announcing that the battle was finally over.

-Kang Shin-hyuk sent Mitsui Yuta flying with a right straight! The final of the Rookie’s
Game has ended with a punch! The winner is Kang Shin-hyuk, the Rookie King from
the Knight’s Department! That must hurt for the Magic Department!
Kang Shin-hyuk raised an arm, calling the sword back to his hand, now that it was free
from its magical restraints. The hall around him immediately filled with cheers and
applause.

“Wow!”

“He really did it! He broke through that magic fire and beat that wizard up with his
fists!”

“Looks like we have a new magic killer. How fun.”

“Kang Shin-hyuk! Kang Shin-hyuk! Kang Shin-hyuk!”

“I bet Vanguard wants him.”

“…This is insane.”

Kang Shin-hyuk felt like the main character in some TV show. He stood there blankly,
thinking that this all might be a dream when two lines of text formed in his retina.

―Talent [Awakened Wyrm (A+)] has satisfied one condition for growth. As soon as the
other conditions are met, the trait will grow.

―A 100HP bonus from a manager who is impressed with your proud appearance!

‘Oh, so it’s not a dream.’ Kang Shin-hyuk smiled and raised his arms even higher in
victory for the growing cheers of the crowd and the countless eyes upon him. Kang
Shin-hyuk looked around for Yoo Minjoon, who had already been shocked by the belt
he wore.

“Yeah…!”

“Ha.” Yoo Minjoon looked as if he couldn’t believe his eyes, grinding his teeth as soon
as he made eye contact with Kang Shin-hyuk. He turned away and left in a hurry, the
sight of which made Shin-hyuk feel a little relieved.

‘Hopefully, Do Woojin is alright. Though, he was probably already prepared for this.’

A mixture of feelings was present in the crowd. Some were astonished and admired
him; some were wary. Some were happy or surprised, and some were angry. But one
thing was for sure.

Kang Shin-hyuk’s fate at Shinyoung academy had changed entirely.

The awards ceremony was held later that afternoon, accompanied by the announcement
of the results of the athletic meet and the selection of the MVP. The Qing team had
successfully beaten the Baek team and not just thanks to the struggle between Kang
Shin-hyuk and Yuta. As Karen Stringfield had predicted, the Vice-Captain of the
Wyvern Knights defeated the Crown of Wizards in the finals, taking the Crown of Two
Kings. When the Crown of Knights had lost in the quarterfinals, there had been some
worry whether the Crown of Magic would claim the victory for the Magic Department.
The Knight Department had claimed victory in the end, however, and strengthened
their position this year.

“There are so many interesting characters at Shinyoung this year.”

“Did you see that second-grade kid, Eleanor R. Alger? I don’t remember seeing much
of them last year.”

“Who was that first grader who defeated the Crown of Knights? Baek In-ha?”

“Shinyoung is still Shinyoung, after all. I’m looking forward to next year already.”

The results of the athletic meet were announced first, followed by the MVP class and
individual awards. Following that, the Crown of Knights, of Magic, and of Two Kings
were summoned forward and presented. Usually, one of the two Crowns occupied the
position of Two Kings, but this year was different. Kang Shin-hyuk took this
opportunity to see the Vice Commander of the Wyvern Knights that Karen Stringfield
praised so generously in person.

‘Are they British? Did Karen follow them because they’re from the same country? I
wonder if the Wyvern Knights and the Magic Society have all been taken over by
international students… is she really eighteen-years old?’ Kang Shin-hyuk was focused
on the English girl with long black hair and clear purple eyes. He wondered idly if her
eyes were a result of some trait she had but couldn’t deny that they added to her noble
image. The most surprising thing to him, however, was how short she was. She
couldn’t have been more than 155 centimeters tall, with a slight stature that was
unfavorable for close combat. No one would dare make fun of her for her height,
however, as her presence there as the Crown of Two Kings proved her ability. Kang
Shin-hyuk was filled with admiration for her as he watched her calmly accept the gaze
of everyone around her.

-Next is the certificate award for the winner of the Rookie Game.

For the first time that day, Kang Shin-hyuk was face to face with the principal of
Shinyoung, Shin Yoonhak. Like many others who worked at the academy, the principal
was also a person who had made a name for himself as one of the top heroes in the
world before working there

“Kang Shin-hyuk… I had a lot of expectations for you since the start.” That was the first
thing the principal said as he greeted Kang Shin-hyuk for the award ceremony.

“Haha… thank you.” Kang Shin-hyuk replied with an ambiguous smile, not buying the
words he was hearing.

“You have met my expectations wonderfully. To help students like you with unique and
wonderful traits find the right path and grow up- that is the duty of our school.”

“Thank you. I will try my best going forward.” Kang Shin-hyuk almost couldn’t stop
himself from laughing at the words unique and wonderful. Shinyoung would fall from
grace if they really cared for kids with such characteristics, but in the first place, it was
just a pretense, so he decided not to bother with it. People in this country didn’t water
seeds to make them grow; they looked for the sprouts that had grown on their own in
a dry land. He thought it was stupid, but he knew he couldn’t help that the world ran
like that. At that moment, Kang Shin-hyuk had broken through the hard ground and
sprouted. He proved he deserved water.

“More than that, you saved face for the Korean students. I look forward to your success
in the future. Especially in France.”

“Yes.” France. It took a second for Kang Shin-hyuk to recall what he was talking about,
as he had forgotten all about it while preparing for the games. The finalists of each
individual exhibition, including the rookie one, would participate as school guests at
the 15th World Superman Conference held in Paris. He couldn’t help but be excited
about a free overseas trip.

“This red badge will be evidence of your victory today. Always wear it on your school
uniform.” The principal presented him with a certificate and then attached the badge
directly to the left side of his uniform.

“Okay.” Similar badges had been given to the other victors.

“That will be all.”

“There was the prize as well, Principal.”

“Ah, yes. There were two options. Which one did you want, Kang Shin-hyuk?”

“I’ll take the spherical object.” He responded without hesitation. The principal lifted
an eyebrow at this boy who would dare take the unknown object over the excellent B-
class artifact.

“Very well. May I ask why?”

“It feels like the correct choice. Besides that, I can’t even use mana so the other one is
useless to me.”

“Haha, of course. That it is.” The principal burst into laughter and waved a nearby
faculty member to hand Kang Shin-hyuk his prize, a box with the spherical egg inside.

“Maybe you can awaken the possibilities it holds.”

“Maybe.” Kang Shin-hyuk took the box and hugged it to his chest, responding with a
firm voice. The principal shook his hand with a smile. At the moment, Shin-hyuk could
feel energy secretly emanating from the principal, trying to explore him. He almost
reactively used his spiritual power to protect himself, but before he could, a message
from the administrator arrived.

-Spiritual power isn’t the type of thing he can sense, so don’t worry. Stay still.

‘What about my regenerative power?’

-If you don’t open the status window yourself, he won’t see that either.

Thanks to the administrator’s advice, Kang Shin-hyuk was able to avoid rousing the
principal’s suspicion by activating his spiritual power in response to the principal’s
search ability.
“Well, yes.” Seemingly satisfied to learn just about the Awakened Wyrm ability, the
principal nodded with a smile upon his lips. Kang Shin-hyuk shook off his thoughts
and bowed his head, pretending not to notice a thing. Though he had to bite his tongue
to keep it that way.

‘From the beginning, I was suspicious.’ There was no one in this world to trust. As Kang
Shin-hyuk went down from the platform, recalling that fundamental truth, all of the
first-year C class members were waiting for him, with Baek In-ha at the front.

“He’s here, everyone get out of the way!”

“Rookie of the Year is coming through!”

“From now on, I will sing his achievements! Principal, give me a beat!”

They all crowded around him, pretending as if they had always been best buddies.
However, he didn’t try to push them away or rebuke them. He decided it was wiser to
not waste his energy with the past, and instead focus on what would happen from then
on. Maybe he could make a new relationship with all of them. It would have been
impossible for him to consider it before, but now, he had been able to shake away that
negative mindset at least a little bit.

“Ah, Woojin Do.” Woojin Do was off by himself, but he made eye contact with Kang
Shin-hyuk. Even though he won the championship with his own power, he was
thankful for his help.

“Thank you. It’s thanks to you that I won.”

“Thanks to the belt?”

“Yeah. I made sure to use it properly.”

“Okay.” Woojin Do gave him a small smile, which Shin-hyuk returned as he handed him
back the belt.

“Hey, Woojin Do lent him that?”

“When did they get so close?”

“How kind of him.”

“Woojin Do, right hand of the Rookie King!”

As soon as they heard the conversation between the two, his classmates began to
swarm Woojin Do as well. The awkward atmosphere between the two had entirely
disappeared now.

“Well done.”

“Ha.” Baek In-ha showed up to the side of Shin-hyuk. Instead of asking Baek what he
had done well, he instead brushed him off, the red badge swaying from his chest. Baek
In-ha’s eyes shook as he looked at the badge.

“Jealous?”

“Just you wait. Next year, you will call me brother.”

“Okay then, I’ll listen to you next year when you win. Until then, call me brother.”

“If that’s the case, I have no choice but to take the throne now!”

***

The athletic competition, as tumultuous as it had been, ended in success. New stars
had emerged. Those were Kang Shin-hyuk and Baek In-ha, of course, but Woojin Do,
who had shown off his strength despite losing, was also receiving attention. Scouts
were fiercely competing for the prospective talents they found. Kang Shin-hyuk was
receiving messages from several people as well, but for the time being, he put them all
on hold. He thought he was still too weak to properly respond to them. Two of them,
however, couldn’t be ignored. The first was the guild that made Korea the world’s top
superhuman power- Vanguard, the guild at the top of the world rankings.

“I’m Hoon Lim, team leader of Vanguard One.”

“I’m Kang Shin-hyuk, a freshman in the Knight Department.”

“Why not just introduce yourself as the Rookie King?”

“That’s a bit embarrassing for me to say…” Later in the evening, long after the closing
ceremony for the athletic meet, Kang Shin-hyuk was sitting across from Hoon Lim in
a cafe near the school. Hoon Lim tried to offer to take him to the campus cafe for a
drink, but Shin-hyuk refused. He didn’t want to draw the attention of the other
students for no reason, and he had never been to the campus cafe before.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Korean student occupy the position of Rookie King.
I’m proud both as a Korean and as an alumnus of Shinyoung.” The man didn’t touch
the iced americano that he had ordered, but Shin-hyuk wasted no time in trying his
mocha latte with extra whipped cream.

“Shinyoung is a place where talented people from all over the world come together. In
terms of ability, though, Baek In-ha is much better than I am.” Shin-hyuk’s response
was exceedingly polite as he put down his mocha. Hoon Lim suppressed a smile and
shook his head in response.

“That boy was defeated after choosing to go after the Crown of Two Kings. Choosing
your battles wisely is a valuable ability as well. You made a great choice and proved
your abilities, which is why we’re contacting you.”

“Is that so…”

“Of course, that’s not the only reason. I hope you’ll excuse me, but I went ahead and
looked at your admission records. You barely made it through the entrance exam,
correct?” Kang Shin-hyuk nodded while making his way through the whipped cream.
It wasn’t really a secret, after all. Nearly everyone knew about it.

“Despite that, in the two months since you arrived you went on to win the title of
Rookie King. We are looking forward to your frankly amazing speed of development
and the potential you will show in the future.”

“It is an honor.”

“What a polite young man. Right… let’s go ahead and take a look.” He took out a
contract and handed it to Shin-hyuk. It was unexpected to Shin-hyuk that they would
be so blunt about it, and Hoon Lim let out a laugh as if he could see right through him.

“This is Vanguard’s policies. We are the best in the world, we don’t need to waste any
time in recruiting someone.”

“I like that way of approaching things.”

“Yes, I thought you might.” While Hoon Lin stopped to enjoy his americano, Kang Shin-
hyuk finished off his own drink as he checked out the contract.

-There are no clauses that are specifically detrimental to you, and quite a few of the
provisions are beneficial.

‘Oh, thank you.’

In the end, he didn’t even have to read it through because the administrator checked
it for him. Did he really have nothing else to do?

-In fact, I like that Artifact Support is a big part of this contract. Although you will be
able to create the best artifacts on the planet.

‘Vanguard is the world’s number one guild. It’s ridiculous for me to sit face to face with
the leader of Team One like this.’

-However, you are one of the most notable being in the Hero Universe, where countless
worlds gather. You don’t need to dwell on being number one in this world right now.

Sometimes the administrator’s words were so grandiose that they caught Kang Shin-
hyuk off guard. He couldn’t say they were completely wrong, though.

‘I haven’t even shown everything I can do yet.’

From his previous life as Anvil to his metallurgy and spiritual power, even his
characteristics that were beginning to develop… Hoon Lim had said he was surprised
by his growth, but to Kang Shin-hyuk, he was just now on the starting line. He could
tell that now he had been using spiritual power, he could be sure he had endless
potential. Now he could be in a position to choose rather than be chosen.

“Vanguard is a great guild.”

“Of course, we are the best. In fact, we’re making you an offer that you can’t refuse
because there will be no better place than in Vanguard.” The world’s best guild had
contacted this first-year after seeing what he could do for just one day. If he passed it
up now, there might never be another chance like it. But…

“But for now, I want to continue to grow by myself.”

“Hm?” Hoon Lim’s eyebrows raised as high as they could. He didn’t seem upset or mad,
simply confused.

“I can’t openly do guild activities while in school anyway, right? There’ll be plenty of
time for you to reconsider me joining before I graduate.”

“Of course, it is mostly in name, but even while you are still in school our guild can
provide you many benefits such as renting artifacts. You could even take the Crown of
Two Kings next year with our help.”

-It would be better to make your own artifacts. Ones meant for mana users won’t be
suitable for you.

Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t as sure as the administrator sounded, but he knew it was as
attractive of an offer to him as it would be to other students. Besides, he had something
else in mind.

“I want to solve that by myself. When you were a student, you didn’t need artifacts so
desperately, did you?”

“Hmm… you’re right, of course. All right. We will wait as much as we can.” Hoon Lim
nodded, full of confidence. The response had been crystal clear.

“Maybe the contract we offer you next time will be a little different.”

“Haha, was it because of my answer?”

“No.” The contract that Vanguard had brought him was extremely beneficial, written
with the consideration of his potential for growth. Just looking at the contract was
enough for Kang Shin-hyuk to realize how they were able to become the number one
guild in the world.

“I’ll be showing you more than just what I have so far.”

“Hahaha! It should be expected that a Rookie King would have this much spirit. Alright,
make me come back with an even better contract.” In the end, Hoon Lim burst into
laughter. Kang Shin-hyuk responded with a smile and shook his hand, glad that the
meeting had gone so well.

He had set his mind on not belonging to this guild, but he hoped he could maintain a
good relationship with them going forward.
After a pleasant meeting with the Vanguard representative, Kang Shin-hyuk returned
to his room. On one side of the room, which wasn’t very spacious to start, he had the
Godslayer sword, the steel spear he had made, and a box wrapped in cloth.

“Alright, then.”

-I’ve been waiting for this moment.

Kang Shin-hyuk wanted to hatch the egg as soon as he had received it, which is why
he hurried back to check on it after the meeting with Vanguard.

“It’s time to hatch it.” After changing his clothes, Kang Shin-hyuk opened up the box
and took out the egg. He thought to just toss the box away, but after he realized that it
was made out of a material found beyond the gate, he decided to hold on to it.

-You can trust in the power of Lestia.

“I haven’t seen it myself… no, I do. I trust in it.” Shin-hyuk made sure his door was
locked before he took out the hatching accelerator from the world of Lestia from the
shop inventory. It took the form of an ampoule full of nutrients that you would place
on the egg.

“This is…”

“Believe in it.”

“Well, if even you believe it will work…” He had no choice but to pretend to be deceived
by it. Fortunately, it was intuitive enough to use. He emptied the ampoule onto the egg;
the shell quickly absorbed the liquid.

“Huh?” The egg began to vibrate immediately, like a Digimon egg that was about to
hatch. Kang Shin-hyuk was confused, unsure of what to do, but he quickly decided to
pick up the egg. It continued to shake but showed no sign of actually hatching. Thinking
about what he could do, he did the only thing he could think of. He stretched out his
spiritual power and wrapped it around the egg.

-Woowhoom.

What he did was instinctive, but it appeared to work. The vibration of the egg
decreased as it received his spiritual power. He could feel a faint beat resonating from
it, the sound of a heart. Thinking that the administrator would stop him before he did
something bad, he continued to exude spiritual power into the egg, feeding it. He
wasn’t sure if it was working, but he was at least confident that the egg didn’t hate it.
He could feel the vivid emotions of the egg and could tell that they were connected
through his spiritual power.

‘Wow… this is a weird new experience.’ Shin-hyuk was used to utilizing his spirit to stop
his opponents’ weapons and read their abilities. This was the first time he had tried
to interact with a living thing with just his pure spiritual power. Spiritual power was
the energy at one’s core, which meant that right now, Kang Shin-hyuk and this egg
were facing the core of each other’s existence. It felt unfamiliar to him, but it wasn’t
unpleasant.

‘You have yet to hatch, yet I can tell your will is ridiculously strong. No, wait. Are you
about to hatch?’ Even though they weren’t talking, he could read all of the egg’s
intentions. The life that was about to be born was weak, extremely so, but it had a
strong will. In interacting with Kang Shin-hyuk’s spiritual power, the energy exuded
by the egg began to grow slowly, becoming clearer and firmer. Just as Kang Shin-hyuk
had been able to awaken his spiritual power through attaining the memories of Anvil,
this egg was receiving the information needed to be hatched in such a way.

-I didn’t need to tell you a thing. After all, you are…

“The accelerator wasn’t enough by itself.”

-That’s right; it needed you. This means that maybe this creature was destined to meet
you.

The egg of some ancient creature that already lost any hope of awakening as it was
abandoned to time. To wake it up, it needed not only energy but also the presence of
someone who would take up the mantle as its parent. Kang Shin-hyuk had just found
it, yet as a result, its shell was already beginning to crack. He put it down on the floor
carefully, watching it hatch. The administrator was already excited, however.

-What is this egg? Perhaps it wandered through the storm of time and space with no
hint of what it was. There are some living organisms whose appearance and abilities
vary significantly depending on the parent, its environment, the ability of its breeder…

The administrator rambled on as the egg completely cracked open, a small creature
emerging from within. It resembled a rat, covered in black fur except around the face,
which had small little tufts of white. It was immediately clear to Shin-hyuk that it
wasn’t such a simple creature, as he noticed the small but sharp strands of hair
protruding from its back.

“Wait a minute, this is…”

-It is a hedgehog.

The administrator answered correctly, and Kang Shin-hyuk’s mind went blank as he
heard it spoken aloud.

“Why is a mammal coming out of an egg?”

-It resembles a hedgehog, but at its core is a life with a completely different structure.
In the first place, normal animals aren’t born with fur like that.

“He is…”

-Wow.

The hedgehog looked up at Kang Shin-hyuk, wriggling as it let out a small, cute cry.
When he reached out his hand to it, it immediately crawled up and bit at the tip of his
finger. It didn’t hurt him, however.

-It seems that it recognizes your spirit. However, ingesting spiritual power isn’t enough
to fix its physical hunger. It must be starving.

“…It’s pretty cute.” There was a saying that all young animals were cute, and it was
hard not to feel your heart warm at the sight of such an adorable little creature. It was
looking straight at Kang Shin-hyuk, its eyes shining as it rubbed its head against his
palm.
“I guess it’s definitely not a hedgehog. What would be a good name be… pointed…
dense…”

-Can I name it?

The administrator requested immediately, unable to withstand Shin-hyuk’s horrible

sense of naming. He nodded.

-Hedge would be nice

“Isn’t that just short for hedgehog?”

-…

Shin-hyuk recognized he touched a nerve as the administrator refused to send a

response to his words. After a moment of silence, the administrator continued as if he
hadn’t said a thing.

-How about Spina? Or Spike…

“I should just name it myself then. I’ve decided, Doosik.”

-Not that name!

-No, how about…

As the administrator and Kang Shin-hyuk continued to argue over its name, the
hedgehog bit at his finger a few more times before wandering off somewhere. By the
time Shin-hyuk realized it had disappeared from his sight, it was already in front of
the steel spear he made the other day.

“Hey, that’s dangerous! Don’t touch it!”

-No!

Kang Shin-hyuk tried to scoop him but, but the creature was surprisingly agile despite
just being born. It quickly avoided his hand and ran into the steel spear.

“Uh…?”
There was an odd sound as the little creature started to bite into the spear and eat it.

“It’s eating it?!”

-It has been biting at your finger because it was hungry.

The administrator retorted sharply at Shin-hyuk, who was making a silly noise. While
he stood there looking blankly in amazement, the hedgehog began to eat at a faster
rate. A tenth of the steel spear was already absorbed into its small body, and it only
kept eating faster as it went.

“Haha…” Initially, Kang Shin-hyuk had been wondering if he should sell that spear on
the trading board of the Hero Universe. He knew that it was of poor quality compared
to what Anvil had made before and that it was a failure since it carried the emotions
he had while forging it, but he still thought it would be the best way to show who he
was. There would be those who would be disappointed in him or some who would not
be convinced that he was reincarnated. But there would also be those who would be
convinced, those who would accept him now. At least, that would have been the case
if the possibilities weren’t being devoured before him.

-Are you okay?

“It ate it all. My opportunity is dead.”

-Sure, that perspective is valid for you too. 10HP bonus from an administrator who
learned something good!

His words were sincere; the core of the spiritual power forming the spear was already
eaten by the hedgehog. He wouldn’t be able to repair it back to the state it had been.
Kang Shin-hyuk decided to worry about punishing the hedgehog later and, for now,
waited for him to finish his meal.

“Still…” As he watched the creature, Shin-hyuk realized something. The way it ate the
metal…

“It looks more like a starfish than a hedgehog.”

-Then, how about we call it Tedro…

“I’ve decided. I’ll call it Onyx.” A dark body with a white face and dark, sparkling eyes
that reminded him of jewels. It was the perfect name.

-You have met the conditions and successfully formed a pet contract. Unless his loyalty
dips down to the negatives, Onyx will follow you unconditionally. Currently, his loyalty
is at 50.

He had acquired a pet that could typically only be handled by tamers. Being the one
that hatched him, fed him, and named him seemed to be what Shin-hyuk needed to do
to meet the conditions.

“Did you know that?”

-Of course, that’s why picking a name was very important. Onyx… not bad. A 10HP
bonus for your good naming sense!

It was a name that had nothing to do with either hedgehogs or starfish, but the
manager appeared to be satisfied with it. While the two reached this compromise,
Onyx increased his momentum in eating the remainder of the steel spear. After
watching for a few minutes, the creature had devoured the entire spear and let out a
cute little burp.

-Kyu-oh-oh…

It promptly fell asleep after its meal.

“This child…”

-It is young.

Even if he bowed his head and spent the rest of his life apologizing, Kang Shin-hyuk
knew he would never live it down if he fell asleep so neatly after a meal. As the
administrator had said, however, Onyx was still just a child. Kang Shin-hyuk struggled
to dismiss his rising anger as he lifted the child up and placed him on a blanket. As he
swept the remains of the egg that Onyx broke off from, he could feel them begin to
vibrate and resonate with him.

“Hm…?” Kang Shin-hyuk narrowed his eyes and watched them. He didn’t think they
would hurt him. Dazzling light began to pour out from them as they melted together
and flew toward his hand, seeping into his skin.
“This…”

-It will not harm you, don’t worry.

He already knew without the administrator telling him. He could feel the intense
energy of life emanating from the shell, resonating with his own spiritual power. The
results were astounding.

-By absorbing powerful soul energy, your spiritual power has grown to C-rank.

-The power to energize and strengthen life. By growing in your understanding of this,
your regenerative power has grown to E-rank.

“Huh…” Just by absorbing the eggshell was enough to produce such an outcome. Kang
Shin-hyuk felt dizzy as the strong spiritual power welled up in his body. It was the
simultaneous growth of two of his special abilities, which more than made up for the
steel spear he lost.

“No way… you anticipated all of this…?”

-… Of course. I can count from one to ten.

Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes narrowed as he read the administrator’s message, which

arrived after a pause. It was a bald-faced lie, made in an attempt to surprise him.

“Okay… thank you.”

-10HP Bonus for friendly members!

In this way, Kang Shin-hyuk took this starfish-like hedgehog as a pet. He didn’t know
how it would grow up, but he knew it wouldn’t be ordinary.

…Once he woke up, Kang Shin-hyuk vowed not to let him eat the Godslayer sword.
-Klang! Klang! Klang!

The blacksmith was shaping the metal on the anvil even today. Since he had been able
to obtain metals from other worlds through the trading board of the Hero Universe,
he had been studying the various metals he could purchase there.

-Klang! Klang! Klang!

Immersing himself in his work, all of his useless thoughts disappeared to give way
only to the desires and expectations of creation. Even his anger, which seemed as if it
would never subside, could be blown away. The blacksmith thought of this work not
only as his escape but also as the rest that was allowed for him.

-Mirang: Anvil, why do you want to sell these precious weapons at a bargain price?

How many hours had he been in a trance? Suddenly a question from a friend brought
him out of it, and he responded with a bit of surprise.

-I’m gradually raising the price, though I still think that price is too high. I have to cover
the material costs, though.

-Mirang: I think it’s rude to devalue your work as such, but that’s just my advice. It
should be traded at a price it deserves; otherwise, people who won’t be able to use
them properly will buy them.

-I don’t know enough, so it may be embarrassing for me to ask, but aren’t all members
of the Hero Universe geniuses whose talents are universally recognized?

-Mirang: You only know a couple, Anvil. Of course, each member has an exceptional
talent, but their personalities can’t be guaranteed.

-But that’s not something I can fix.

-Mirang: What would happen if such people bought your work at this bargain price
and told others about it? That would be a problem.

The blacksmith hadn’t thought about it before, but as he looked down at what he was
making, his expression hardened. It was a nice shield, massive in size. It made him
think of a wonderful warrior, the very image of a hero. But what if it were to fall into
the hands of someone who didn’t know how to respect it properly? What if not a
guardian, but one with ill-intent, acquired it?

-That is indeed, a problem.

-Mirang: Of course, there is no need for you to personally take responsibility for the
things you craft; you are just a producer. But considering the balance of power and
proper distribution, I think you need to set a higher price for your items.

-Your sight is very far.

-Mirang: What?

No one could hear his voice, but it was the voice of a man bursting with laughter.

-Mirang: I was just bothered by such quality goods being sold so cheaply.

***

Sunlight was pouring in through the window, waking up Kang Shin-hyuk a little later
than usual.

-Sync has been accelerated. Assimilation rate of 4.5%

Kang Shin-hyuk sat up, looking back at the memory of Anvil. It had been brighter than
the other ones he had acquired, still vivid in his mind. The memory of an old man who
had succeeded in controlling some of his emotions to find a bit of calm. As that feeling
settled in his heart, Shin-hyuk felt strange that he had been so excited the day before.
It wasn’t a bad mood, but rather one that naturally accepted what was ahead. He
noticed that the synchronization had accelerated, and he was acquiring more of
Anvil’s memories. He wondered if he did something, but nothing came to mind.

-It’s because your spiritual power has grown.

The administrator, who had been observing Kang Shin-hyuk sit on the side of his bed,
responded as if he could see right through him.

-You have achieved dramatic growth by using your spiritual power in different ways.
It is the power at your core, the power of the soul. As it has grown, the memories
sleeping deep within your soul have awakened.

“Oh, so that’s why.” Now that he understood spiritual power a little bit better, he was
able to naturally accept the administrator’s explanation.

-Kyuu…

“It’s because of this guy.” He muttered with satisfaction while watching the sleeping
Onyx, slumbering on a futon made of cushions and a jacket. Now that the steel spear
had been devoured whole, he felt like he wanted to make something new. He also
needed to gather a meal for the creature.

“…Should I head to the club room for some iron bars?”

-When the synchronization rate reaches 5%, you will be able to access the My Room
function. All the metal that little creature can eat will be available to you.

“How much time will that take, I wonder… I think the club room’s closed today.” It was
a Wednesday, but the school had designated it a holiday since the athletic meet had
been the day before. But before that… Kang Shin-hyuk smiled bitterly as he picked up
his stick, looking at the text message that had just arrived.

[Shin Eunah: 11 AM, at the designated place.]

[Shin Eunah: (Link)]

Before all of that, this meeting had to be resolved. The second force that approached
him yesterday couldn’t be ignored; he had to meet with the superhuman association.

‘It’s nice to meet with the association, but why did they send her…?’ Fortunately, she
didn’t seem to notice he was Anvil, but it wasn’t good to attract too much attention.
Kang Shin-hyuk was firmly determined not to get caught by her, as well as to get the
support of the association if he could. That was the real reason he had agreed to meet
them today. The fact he had a meeting with them was one of the reasons he rejected
Vanguard as well.
‘I talked to the administrator yesterday, but it’s true that the artifacts Vanguard could
lend me aren’t useful to me. The rest are things the association can also take care of.’
There was a merit that only the association had as the superhumans of Korea. They
held tight to any and everything related to the gate. If he could gain support from them,
he could get rid of some of the restrictions he faced as a student. For him, the place
called Shinyoung was both a training facility and a prison.

“Alright, let’s go now.” After a quick bath and choosing a decent set of casual clothes,
Kang Shin-hyuk strapped a training sword to his waist then checked on the sleeping
Onyx before he left. He was anxious about whether it would be alright to leave him
alone in the room but decided it would be fine now that he had the Pet system to aid
him. The meeting place Eunah chose wasn’t far from Shinyoung, anyway. It was a
familiar street to him, a shopping district for supers that he had been to several times
before.

‘It’s still weird every time I come here.’ This was the place where most superhumans
gathered in Seoul, where everything was meant for superhumans. It was joked that
even if the government fell to the monsters, the Choin Shopping Center would be safe.
Kang Shin-hyuk found the cafe he was looking for in a side alley, hidden away off the
main street. Not many people were around, and he could tell a special type of barrier
was erected to protect it.

“Welcome.” As soon as he entered the shop, he was greeted by a young clerk with a
neutral expression at the counter. The soft sound of a violin being played tickled his
ears. The inside of the store was quite narrow, with several antique decorations
hanging all over and a staircase going up to one side. It had quite an odd atmosphere.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Yes, here.” Kang Shin-hyuk opened the link Eunah sent him on his stick, a holographic
pattern forming above it. The clerk picked up something that resembled a high-tech
barcode reader to scan it, nodding at what he saw. The words [2F Room 09] appeared
on his stick, the reader sending a signal to it as soon as it had confirmed he had
permission. He felt briefly upset at the idea of it accessing his messages.

“Is this place always like this?”

“This is the first time, actually.” The clerk smiled and straightened up, leaning close to
Shin-hyuk as if he were sharing some secret.
“It’s just because everyone wants to return here.”

“I see.” Kang Shin-hyuk exchanged a smile with the clerk and went straight upstairs
after placing an order. He found his room quickly, knocking on the door. The stick
vibrated again as he knocked, the door opening automatically in response.

“Ah…” Shin Eunah was already inside, drinking black tea alone. He had been hoping
Claire would be with her, but it appeared that wasn’t the case.

“Hello.” She put down the teacup and greeted him after confirming it was who she
expected. She was like a statue made of ice, a cool and perfect beauty. He could find no
flaws in her ebony-like hair, and the golden hairpin that decorated her bangs gave her
a charming impression. Her golden eyes shone brilliantly as she looked at him, making
his heart beat faster. He pushed the thoughts away, recalling Claire’s face to help him
in doing so.

“Hello.”

“I said I would see you again.”

“Yeah.” Her expression was unreadable. To Kang Shin-hyuk, who had a secret he
wished to keep from her, he couldn’t help but almost flinch with every word she said.

“I thought you had great potential… but I didn’t know it would manifest the next day.”

“It was thanks to the artifacts I had.”

“In the decades since Shinyoung was founded, every victor of the rookie games had
better artifacts than you.” Her expression remained unchanged as she spoke, pointing
across the table with her hand. Kang Shin-hyuk obeyed wordlessly, sitting down across
from her.

“I will talk plainly. You are strong and will only become stronger. I wish to support you
going forward.”

“I guess most people here like to cut to the chase.”

“Vanguard?”

“Yeah.”
“Hmph.” She responded immediately to the words he said in an attempt to lighten the
atmosphere. By the way she clicked her tongue, he could tell she didn’t like Vanguard
very much.

“Did you agree to them?”

“No.”

“Ah…” She let out a sigh of relief. Immediately following it, as if she caught herself doing
something she shouldn’t, she raised her hand to cover her mouth. At the moment, a
knock sounded on the door. The clerk arrived with Kang Shin-hyuk’s drink order, a
mocha with extra whipped cream.

“Enjoy your stay.” The clerk regarded the scene without raising an eyebrow and left.

“Hmm.” Shin Eunah coughed as the clerk left. While her expression had hardly changed,
he could tell by the way she fiddled with her hairpin that she was embarrassed.

“Pardon me; I don’t usually act like this. It’s strange, but you… well, it feels comfortable
to talk to you.”

“I’m glad that is the case.” In fact, he wasn’t happy about it at all. The hand which Kang
Shin-hyuk held his coffee with was trembling slightly with agitation. He couldn’t help
but wonder if that meant she could instinctively sense that he was Anvil.

“Alright… let us continue.” Fortunately, she didn’t appear to notice as she took out a
piece of paper.

“I want to make it clear first that we don’t want to force you to be a part of the
association after you graduate.”

“Then, what do you want…”

“We have two conditions. You will not join another guild until you graduate, and you
will not change nationalities.”

“…That’s all?”

“Yes. You will be working with our support if you agree, so organize your thoughts about
the association and judge it for yourself.” She beckoned for him to check the paper. It
was precisely what he had wanted. A monthly subsidy would be issued under the
name of the association, and artifacts ranged from C to C+ could be rented. Vanguard
had offered up to B level, but that didn’t really matter to him. In addition, if he could
obtain permission from the superintendent of the association, he could explore gates.
He would even have permission to access E-class documents held by the association.
It was ridiculously favorable.

“To give such a benefit to someone not technically a part of the association…”

“Compared to the support of a large guild, it’s not all that great. They all take students
into gates to train and explore.”

“What if I take this deal and then join a guild when I graduate?”

“I won’t blame you. You can do whatever you like. But you are the one who decided to
come here today.” She said it with a small smile between sips of tea.

“I judged that you were a talent the association wanted and that the association was
what you were interested in. if I was wrong about that, I have no one to blame but
myself.”

“I see.” She had told him to judge the association for himself, so this was probably a
test for him. He wouldn’t be able to join the association just because he had the
abilities, so she was planning on watching over him for the next three years to decide
if he would be suitable. However, Kang Shin-hyuk saw this as a positive. If he did an
excellent job, he would receive attention in the future. Not only the association, but
many guilds and various people would be watching his growth. When it came to it, the
association was a strong force to rely upon.

“If I may tell you one more thing.” Shin Eunah, unaware that Kang Shin-hyuk had
already made his decision, continued.

“If you want to get by using your own strength, the association is the best option.” Her
expression and tone were ones of absolute conviction, not a hint of doubt in her body.
The Eunah, who seemed like a child obsessed with her grandpa, and the Shin Eunah
now in front of him were completely different people. Perhaps it was due to the large
gap between the way they acted that Kang Shin-hyuk could mentally differentiate
them as two separate people.

“Yes, I agree.” He nodded at her words. From the beginning, he had been planning
exactly that. From the day his parents were lost when he had been saved by a
superhuman from the association.

‘Those who have to face the most dangerous situations and fight more battles than any
other guild… this is exactly what I wanted.’ Kang Shin-hyuk had never forgotten the
fundamental reason he had for wanting to become stronger. An emotion that he
shared with Anvil. Absolute hate for monsters. That was why he trained, the wealth
and honor were only byproducts.

“Thank you very much.”

“…It’s alright if you just call me your senior in the future.” Shin Eunah responded
immediately and shook hands with him.

Contrary to his initial impression of her, her hands were soft and warm.
“It’s small.”

Claire looked around Kang Shin-hyuk’s room and didn’t waste any time giving him her
first impression. If it weren’t for the bag of chicken in her hand, he would have already
driven her out.

“This a male boarding house; you’re not supposed to be here.”

“Shin-hyuk, let me tell you a secret; It’s not a crime unless you’re caught.” Claire gave
him a meaningful smile and stuck a small black circle at the door entrance. Kang Shin-
hyuk looked at it blankly, unsure of what it was.

“It’s a barrier against perception. They sell a lot of them on the trading board, so I
recommend you buy one too. They’re only 50,000 HP.”

“50,000…!”

“At times like these, you’re such a newcomer. Why are you acting so surprised at only
50,000 HP? It’s not a disposable item, you can recharge it and reuse it.” Assuming you
received the VIP bonus, it wasn’t an amount that could be obtained even by slaying ten
variant War Trolls. Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t think Claire even knew of the existence of
his VIP bonus, though, and figured she might be stunned if he told her.

“I figured it was a great item, but do you know who the dormitory director is? It’s Emil
Bolton. He used to be in the top 300 in the world.”

“I see. It’ll be okay.” Claire took out another barrier and stuck it nearby the first as she
said this. Content with her work, she decided to sit down on Kang Shin-hyuk’s bed,
finding the hedgehog lying on a cushion nearby.

“Is that from the egg yesterday?”

“Are you stalking me?”

“I noticed when you chose it over the Class B artifact. Even if you couldn’t use it, you
could’ve sold it for a bunch of money. But this one is so cute. Can I hug him?”

“Don’t let him get close to metal, he’ll eat it.” When Shin-hyuk had returned after his
meeting with Shin Eunah, the creature had already gone through a door handle and a
belt buckle. He was still hungry, too.

“Metal? Wait…” But here was an angel before Kang Shin-hyuk. Claire accessed the Hero
Universe without hesitation and bought some ingots right from the trading board.

-Mew!

The hedgehog jumped up immediately from his spot and ran over to the unknown
metal ingot Claire held in her hand. Once he was lying down on her lap and contentedly
eating at the metal, she began to pet him with a satisfied look.

“He eats so fast.”

“Yeah, I need to figure out a way to feed and raise him. Thank you for feeding him.”

“It’s not expensive, so don’t worry about it. Let’s eat too.” Having learned her lesson
last time, Claire bought five servings of chicken. It was a good brand, too. Claire opened
a can of cola while Kang Shin-hyuk hurriedly bit into a chicken drumstick.

“You did well. You made a good rookie debut, and you weren’t even found out by Eunah.”

“Well… I think she noticed something. She said she felt comfortable around me, and
she noticed the sword during the match.”

“Eunah said that herself? You really need to be careful of her intuition. It’s like you
wanted to be spotted.”

“I don’t. It was a little quiet today, but normally I receive a message from her every
thirty minutes…” He had been half-worried and half-prepared for her to find out about
his identity as Anvil at the athletic meet, but she hadn’t. As a result, he concluded that
unless he or Claire made a big mistake, she wouldn’t notice. Although, that didn’t mean
he was alright with meeting with Shin Eunah one-on-one regularly. When he had met
her in person…

“Is that what she is normally like? It was completely different from when she sends
me messages.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of scary. When she talks about Anvil, she becomes a completely
different person.” Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively nodded. It was scary. Outwardly, she
was fine, an upstanding adult. Yet, she became like a seven-year-old child when she
sent messages to her grandpa. He couldn’t help but think he preferred the Shin Eunah
persona or the Eunah one.

“At least it worked out well in the end, so then…” Claire handed the can of cola to Shin-
hyuk and pulled a can of beer from her bag for herself, toasting him with it.

“Congratulations and cheers for Kang Shin-hyuk’s rookie championship!”

“Cheers!’

-Mew!

Kang Shin-hyuk drank some of the cola and then went right back to eating chicken.
The cola was sweet, and the food tasty, and Claire herself was also pleasant as they
conversed over the meal.

“So you’re a hybrid; combat and production. I mainly focus on production myself.”

“I think Anvil focused only on production as well. According to the administrator, he

didn’t have the combat characteristics I did.”

“Ah, so that’s how you became a hybrid. But won’t it be difficult to focus on both
metallurgy and combat? It’s difficult enough to master just one path.”

“But I can. Or rather, I must.” Kang Shin-hyuk responded strongly, having already
finished off one of the chickens. Claire couldn’t help but think that this child appeared
to be most confident while he was eating.

“I think you can pull it off.”

“Absolutely.”

“Alright, if you’re trying your best, then I need to as well. I’m ready to open my bar.”

“You mean that…” Claire finished off the rest of her beer boldly, and Kang Shin-hyuk
couldn’t help but think about how cool she appeared then.

“I’m going to set up a mobile bar for superhumans. I’ll have a separate main store, but
I’ll drag a cart with cocktail ingredients to every gate that opens up and do business
there! How’s that? Isn’t it cool?”

“It’s very cool!”

“You get it too!” It was an idea that even if he were only a toddler, he would have
sincerely cheered on with all his heart.

“It won’t just be a potion business. By being there to see the types of monsters that
appear, I can instantly make and sell cocktails designed to deal with them.”

“A bartender defending humanity on the front lines.”

“Frontlines… the frontline bartender. What do you think?!” He thought it was a bit of
a cheesy name but didn’t want to tackle that subject. Claire nodded, very satisfied with
herself.

“Shin-hyuk, you have some good sense. If someone asks me where that name comes
from, I’ll tell them you came up with it. A mysterious man who showed up in this
bartender’s path and gave them advice on how to use their abilities… it’s perfect.”

“Uh,…?”

“I had a question for you that I meant to ask last time.” She decided to ask the question
that had suddenly come to her mind, and Shin-hyuk was happy to change topics before
this one could continue further.

“Do you know anything about a man named Lee Manwoo?”

“…Do you know him?” Claire’s surprise at his casual familiarity with the name was
unparalleled, and Shin-hyuk was momentarily taken aback.

“Do you know him personally?!”

“Well, we’re not close but he’s the adviser for the club I’m in. He occasionally shows
up to talk.” Claire almost choked on her drink at that.
“I wondered if that person was really in Shinyoung…”

“Is he famous?”

“What are you even doing? He’s one of the greatest craftsmen in the history of
superhumans… although Eunah often complained that compared to Anvil, he was just
pretending to be a craftsman.” Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t help but laugh at those words;
he could tell how much Eunah thought of Anvil. In reality, it was probably somewhat
true. Lee Manwoo wasn’t in the Hero Universe, after all, but Anvil was. Not that it
mattered for Kang Shin-hyuk, who was only a blacksmith-in-training with poor skills
himself.

“But why are you looking for him?”

“If you’re looking for a craftsman, it means you want something made. I had been
wanting to put in a request with him, but it’s been difficult. I had heard he was at
Shinyoung, so I thought I might ask you but… it turns out that was the correct choice.”
Despite finding the answer she wanted, Claire’s face was dark.

“To be honest, I knew he had some reason for laying low. Have you seen him do any
metallurgy yourself?”

“No, not at all.”

“I see.” She pondered deeply before letting out a sigh.

“Oh well. It’s not in me to bother someone who wants to be left alone. Which means I
have no choice but to rely on you.”

“Me?”

“You said it yourself you wanted to master both. I’ll help you regain the power of Anvil,
in exchange for a few tools.” She let out a spiteful laugh.

“I’m not the only one who expects things from you.”

“Do you mean Shin Eunah?”

“No, Lee Manwoo. He wouldn’t have taken you on unless he knew of your talent.” She
winked as she handed him a new can of coke.
“If you’ve received the recognition of the best craftsman in the world, I have to believe
in it myself. I will be good to you, so grow up fast, alright?”

“…Yeah.” Kang Shin-hyuk’s face was beet red at Claire’s face coming close and giving
him a wink. She laughed at his innocent reaction and opened a new can of beer. Suddenly,
she clapped her hands as if she came up with something good.

“I’m going to make a cocktail right now, so keep watch and let me know if I use that
spiritual power or not. You can drink both my failures and successes.”

“I’m prepared.” Kang Shin-hyuk had been hoping for the good atmosphere to continue
but decided to give up on his expectations and start eating again.

-If you increase the synchronization rate, you will be able to control your emotions
more freely. That is the true skill of a blacksmith who has been struggling with iron
for twenty years.

The message from the administrator came with awkward timing.

‘I’m going to practice metallurgy tomorrow… ’

As the two continued celebrating, Onyx finished eating the ingot and was now working
his way through the aluminum cans they had dropped on the floor. The thorns on his
back were gradually growing sharper, but Shin-hyuk hadn’t noticed it yet.

***

-That’s how it happened. He took the contract and left.

“Hmm, really?” On the way back to the hotel after leaving Kang Shin-hyuk’s room, Claire
was on the phone with Shin Eunah. She was recounting the story of the association
member candidate she had met earlier that day. Of course, Claire had no intention of
telling her she had just been partying with that very same candidate.

-I said it yesterday, but he really has great potential. It was difficult to keep my
composure. I suppose he was chosen by that sword for a reason.

“So did you give the contract ridiculous terms?”

-Yes?
“Artifact rental, providing identification… such a ridiculous privilege for a simple
sponsorship would never happen in the United States.” There was no response as
Claire simply grinned and teased her friend.

“Be honest with me, Eunah. What were you thinking?”

-Maybe I’m in love.

“…Huh?” Claire had been expecting an answer like, ‘He’s my grandpa!’, but instead, the
answer she received caused her muscles to tense. It was completely unexpected. The
silence, however, only made Shin Eunah bolder in her confession as she could not see
the shell-shocked expression on her friend’s face.

-My eyes kept going to him, and my heart kept beating every time I saw him. It felt like
my chest was tightening… I had never met him before, but I had the urge to approach
him and hug him that I could hardly endure. I couldn’t leave it be, so I abused my
authority a little to get him into the association.

“Uh… huh? Huh?”

-Is it love? I haven’t experienced it before, so I don’t know. Claire, is this love?

“Well… well… isn’t it arrhythmia or a heart condition?” Claire tried to deny her words
but was sweating.

‘She instinctively feels that it is Anvil but is trying to reason it out mentally. So this is the
conclusion she came to…!’ However, Claire couldn’t tell her who Kang Shin-hyuk was.
Shin Eunah continued to blabber to her friend like an innocent schoolgirl.

-Also, my hairpin vibrates whenever I see him! I’ve been wearing it for eighteen years,
so I know. It only does that when I meet an exceptionally good person. It was the same
when I met you.

“Oh, the hairpin that Anvil made you… so, he’s a good person because it vibrates?”

-Maybe this is fate? A bond that grandpa gave to me…

The hairpin was just reacting to the person who had made it, but without knowing
that, it was easy to see how Eunah had come to such a conclusion.
-What should I do if it is love? There’s a big age difference… and I’d have to ask grandpa
first.

“Don’t do that, please!”

-No, I won’t ask. I have to think about it on my own.”

“That’s right!”

-Kang Shin-hyuk, Kang Shin-hyuk… what a good name. A good personality, too.
Besides… don’t you think he’s handsome, Claire?

“Oh, Eunah…!”

The alchemist screamed at the chaotic situation gradually unfolding before her and
grabbed her head.
-You’ve earned Spirit Glue for today’s log in bonus!

Kang Shin-hyuk awoke early the next day, unaware of Claire’s tremendous suffering at
the hands of Shin Eunah’s absurd misunderstandings. Onyx was already nibbling at
his fingertips, complaining he was hungry.

-Myu!

“You ate so much yesterday…”

-Myu!

Whether it was because he was connected to the pet system or because he used his
spiritual power to hatch him, Kang Shin-hyuk could read Onyx’s intentions as he let
out a small cry. According to him, he would consume all metal in general, but the most
delicious thing had been that finished weapon with plenty of spiritual power.

“I guess you know what you want. Do you get stronger when you eat that sort of thing?”

-Myu.

Onyx rolled up his body with energy at Shin-hyuk’s words, the tip of his thorns glowing
purple.

“Hm?”

-Myu!

He realized belatedly that the creature was using the special ability of the steel spear
he had ingested, poison spray, in an amusing way. ‘Wait a minute, poison spray?’

“Don’t shoot! I’m an ally.” At Kang Shin-hyuk’s frightened voice, the hedgehog dismissed
the magic. At the moment, a familiar system window appeared in front of Shin-hyuk’s
eyes. It was the status window of Onyx, not himself.

[Onyx: E+ rank]

[Physical Ability]

Force: F

Agility: C-

Health: E

[Special Ability]

Gold Magic: E

[Skills]

Iron Predation (S+): E

Implementation (SS): F

Defensive Position: D

[State]

Subordinate to Kang Shin-hyuk: Loyalty 52

Its overwhelmingly high agility was surprising, but the first thing that caught his eyes
was the special ability Onyx had- gold magic. Presumably, it had something to do with
magic metals, but it was something he had never heard of before.

“The iron predation is the same ability that the Godslayer has… so he can reproduce
the power of what he’s eaten with it. It’s only F rank, but its rarity is higher than S.
How absurd.” Kang Shin-hyuk carefully stroked his pet after confirming the poison
had disappeared. He realized that this little guy really was no ordinary pet.

‘Still, that means I have to create an artifact to complement the Godslayer sword, and
something for him to eat, in addition to making something for the Hero Universe and the
contest.’ It was hardly something a human could find time for, much less in addition to
martial arts training, studying for class, and the activities that the association would
have him take part in.

“Administrator, is there an item that could make a duplicate of me for sale on the
trading board?”

-There is not.

“Then, how about a product that will increase how much time is in a day?”

-Also no.

“How about a product that will let me graduate early?”

-No. How about dropping out and becoming a mercenary?

“Don’t give up on me…!” Kang Shin-hyuk let out a cry, and the administrator responded
casually.

-Graduating early isn’t possible, but all of your other problems can be fixed by increasing
the assimilation rate.

“Really?!”

-Of course. Therefore, please, earnestly raise the assimilation rate.

Of course, that was always the answer. He simply sighed and nodded.

“You said 5%, right? Let’s reach it today.”

-50HP bonus from a cheering administrator!

Kang Shin-hyuk asked Onyx to stay quiet in the room, buying some cheap ingots for
him to eat from the trading board. He had been saving up the login bonus and the
administrator’s bonus, so he could purchase enough for him to eat.

“…I’ll take one. I want to try metallurgy with other materials.”

-I think your priority should be getting used to the basics for now.
“I know, I was just being greedy.”

-A 20 HP bonus for members!

“Are you encouraging me?” These days, as Anvil’s memories were gradually recovering
quicker and quicker, Kang Shin-hyuk felt the urge to imitate the Anvil he saw in his
memories. The skill of a blacksmith who had reached the realm of perfection. When
he woke up, he felt an instinctive need to chase after it. The administrator was
reinforcing that desire as he tried to grasp at that lofty ideal.

-Myu?

“Yes, it’s all for you. I won’t take any.” He left after reassuring Onyx, who was staring at
him anxiously. The sky was, fortunately, clear on his walk to the club room.

“Rookie King!”

“Your match the other day was insane!”

“Were you just pretending to be unable to use mana?”

“Hey, let’s hang out later!”

“Is that this year’s Rookie King?”

Things had dramatically changed for him now, as everyone who passed by was
pretending to know him. He felt somewhat troubled as he didn’t know how to react,
but he finally made up his mind. He quickened his pace as he walked, trying to put on
a suitable sense of confidence for a Rookie King.

-100HP Bonus!

‘Why, just why?!’ It had been the same when he had shown up at the classroom earlier,
his newcomer badge still too shiny. Even their homeroom teacher, Shiara Bertrand,
looked incredibly happy at the meeting earlier that morning.

“Everybody in the sports competition worked hard. Some of you may have shown off
your skills, and others may be unsatisfied with your results, but I believe all of you
have grown greatly from the experience you gained. And…”
“You’re pretty today too!” Shiara smacked the head of the student who interrupted her
without fear.

“As everyone knows, the Rookie King came out of our class this year. So we sincerely
wish to congratulate you on that.”

“Woahhhh!” Cheers went up through the classroom at her words, everyone standing
up and applauding. It was a scene that he couldn’t have even imagined a month ago;
all he could do was quietly chuckle at it. He still felt like he had a long way to go to
follow after Anvil, however.

“In addition to that, students who advanced to the semifinals in the solo exhibitions
will be able to participate in the World Superhuman Conference held in Paris this fall.
Surprisingly, three of them are from our class.” That was Kang Shin-hyuk, Karen
Stringfield, and Baek In-ha.

“Do they get to skip class to go to Paris?”

“They’ll get to meet all those powerful people.”

“I wonder if they’ll see the Alchemist there. I envy them.”

“Everyone quiet down. The festivities are over, and now Shinyoung’s curriculum will
begin in earnest. It would be good to think of the classes up until now as a tutorial to
get used to Shinyoung.” She finished her speech and looked at Kang Shin-hyuk briefly
before leaving the class. However, the ending was a mess as she unconsciously hummed
a tune to herself as she left.

“Our teacher is cute…”

“So cute…”

“Hey, first period will be outdoors! Change into your gym uniforms!” The students
prepared for class in a warm atmosphere, but it was as the homeroom teacher said.
The teachers kept rushing the students, and things became nearly as twice as intense
as before.

“You must’ve realized it during the competition, how much people look up to you as
elites!”
“If you feel like you can’t measure up to that standard, pack up and go home now. If
not, run. Run even more! Run until you collapse!”

“You ten in the back, you have ten more laps to run! Make the most of your abilities!”

Kang Shin-hyuk was feeling refreshed as he went through this class that forced
students to run without thinking. If he didn’t have spiritual power, he would have
already reached his limit and collapsed. But thanks to the spiritual power that already
reached C-rank, he was able to hold his core firm. His regenerative power at E-rank
was helping his muscles regenerate quickly as well, which made a huge difference,
enough to put him in the lead of the group.

“I think I’m faster.”

“No, you’re slower.”

“Wha? Dude, you can’t be faster than me, this is all I have.” Baek In-ha, who was
keeping pace with him, pretended to be frightened by his confidence before laughing.
The teacher gave them a look as if to run without talking, but Baek didn’t give up.

“Can you run any faster?”

“A little bit.”

“Alright, keep up with me.” Baek kicked it up a notch. Kang Shin-hyuk clicked his
tongue and sped up as well, using more of his spiritual power to keep up. The power
of his soul strengthened his body, the change even more dramatic and longer-lasting,
now that the grade of his skill had increased. It was only natural that his body would
strengthen alongside his soul. His calf muscles bulged as they pushed him forward.

“Don’t use all your strength on running!”

“Ha, who would?”

“Go faster!”

“Stop being crazy!” Soon Karen Stringfield joined them, running alongside the two
men. The three left the other students behind. The students behind them, led by Do
Woojin, clenched their teeth and renewed their mana to pursue after them. In the end,
the only four people who completed the course were those three in the lead and Do
Woojin. The teacher looked at them coolly before turning to another class.

“There are some good contenders in C class. Are you just going to them?”

“No!”

“I see. Alright, run again for 10 more laps! Go, go, go!”

The students were clamoring that now their education was only physical. The teachers,
however, were skilled. They knew the limit of their student’s bodies and that pushing
them close to that limit was the fastest way to develop their skills. This intense training
was the most efficient method of doing so, born out of a deep understanding of the
students.

“Next week will be gate practice. If you look pathetic then, you’ll really die. We’ll give
you basic protection, but you’ll be fighting real monsters.”

“If you don’t want to die, then train! Get used to the formation needed to fight a
monster and push yourself to the limit to defeat your enemy!”

The basic combat and skill training was also intense. It made sense, given that gate
practice would be next. It was the most dangerous and practical training they would
receive. Kang Shin-hyuk continued to prove himself in all of the classes, showing that
he was indeed qualified to be the Rookie King.

“Kang Shin-hyuk…”

“Wow, I can’t even see his sword anymore when he swings it.”

“It’s obviously a trait evolution.”

“Is he stronger than Baek In-ha?”

“No way, but it’s close.”

Neither Do Woojin nor Karen Stringfield could beat him now. Gong Joon-pyo, the gym
teacher, could only resentfully grind his teeth.

“I’m looking forward to the gate practice.”

“if you’re lucky, you’ll be paired with Baek or Shin-hyuk.”

“What, we’ll be in pairs?”

“Actually, Karen would be a good partner too.”

Unfortunately for those students, their hopes were shattered in the last lesson of the
afternoon- Group Combat Training. The teachers had already formed groups based on
the midterm exams and their performance at the athletic meet.

“Finally, class C. Baek In-ha, Karen Stringfield, Do Woojin, and Kang Shin-hyuk. You
four will form the last group. Your group will be conducting special exercises.”

“Crazy, they’re like some special forces…!” Usually, when one student was particularly
stronger than the others, they would be removed from the class and put into a group
of aces formed from each grade level so they could receive special practice. In this case,
however, multiple talented people had gathered in one class. As such, four students
from class C were grouped up to conduct that special practice.

“You will enter the D+ rank gate. Don’t think it’ll be easy just because your abilities are
outstanding.” The teacher laughed darkly as their group was announced.

“The crown you wear is heavy, and you won’t have time to settle down and relax.” As
he listened to the teacher’s words, Kang Shin-hyuk looked at his teammates. Do
Woojin would make an excellent tank with his traits, and they had two fast melee
attackers. The teacher was trying to scare him, but he knew that the D+ rank wasn’t
all that dangerous. Of course, they still had to be vigilant. He also had one important
issue to address before then.

‘What should I bring?’ He knew you couldn’t bring external artifacts to gate practice,
which meant the Godslayer was out. But he wondered what about artifacts or tools
the students created themselves.

The teacher’s answer to that question made him smile.

“So I’m going to create my own artifact somehow. Fortunately, my teacher gave me the
OK since they didn’t think I could do it.”

“That’s a good idea.” Lee Man-woo nodded as Kang Shin-hyuk’s idea brilliantly tricked
his teacher. Lee Man-woo, the Artifact Creation Club advisor, had agreed to authenticate
that he had created it himself.

“It may not be reliable, but with your skills, it shouldn’t be impossible. What’s important
right now is keeping your mind disciplined, as I said before. If you make an item with
your need in mind, your results will be higher.”

“If you think about what you need and make it… would my emotions naturally be
contained in it?”

“The darker feelings that you don’t need will disappear, leaving only the ones you do.”

“I see!” Perhaps it was because of his newfound experience with Anvil’s memories, but
Lee Man-woo’s advice sounded different to him now. With his guidance and the
memories of Anvil, it was only natural the growth of his metallurgy would be
exceedingly fast. Lee Man-woo saw that Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes were glittering, and he
gave him a bittersweet smile.

“I think I understand you a bit better now.”

“Haha…”

“No, it wasn’t a joke. With your metallurgy, you intend to pursue another path alongside
it.” They were the same words that Claire said before. Truly, it was uncanny how well
other craftsmen understood him. His answer did not change this time either.

“I will do both. I can’t give up on either one.”

“I knew you would say that. I don’t intend to interfere, so I won’t say anything more.
Perhaps the metallurgy you have will affect your combat abilities… or perhaps your
martial arts will have a positive effect on your craft. At the very least, I don’t think they
will interfere with each other.”

“Is there any more advice you can give me?”

“No. Think about the rest yourself.”

“Alright, then…” Kang Shin-hyuk immediately began to devise a plan that considered
the characteristics of his team members.

‘We have two fast ones and a strong one. But how about me? What can I do… ’ The
answer came to him quickly. The other three were exceptional close-range strikers,
and he himself preferred to use swords and spears. But his special weapon skill
encompassed all weapons, which naturally included ranged weapons like bows and
guns. He could bring a sword as well, but a ranged weapon would definitely be useful.

‘There are so many types, though. Bows, crossbows, guns, javelins… I suppose a gun is
beyond my current ability.’ Except for students who received special permission, they
weren’t permitted to possess live ammunition, anyway. Moreover, guns weren’t
particularly preferred when dealing with strong monsters as they don’t have recoverable
ammo. Although he doubted the monsters at the gate they were going to would be that
strong.

‘Crossbows are out too. It would be strong enough with my power, but it won’t leave a
particularly good impression of my abilities.’ He went through the myriad of weapons
he had practiced with one by one, enjoying the process immensely. It felt like he was
taking a step forward as a blacksmith.

“I’ve decided.”

“What are you going to make?”

“I’ll make javelins. It has less range but more destructive power than a bow.” A javelin
is a throwing-spear that had a simple structure to make.

“It’ll be difficult to make it stand out since it’s so simple.”

“I think I’m going to change it up a little bit.”

“I’ll watch your process.” Kang Shin-hyuk immediately set to work. He had a lot of
practice with similar weapons while he was practicing his throwing technique, so he
knew its characteristics well.

‘Control your mind… control your mind… ’ He melted the ingot down into a familiar
shape with the furnace and began to stretch it out on the anvil with his hammer. He
had to get the balance exactly right. He focused on shaping the tip of it, hammering
away.

‘What sort of things do I need? If it were Anvil, how would he make this part…?’ The
speed at which he worked was quick but careful. No one who saw him would think he
was a beginner who had just started using a hammer. Little by little, he was showing
the experience he was learning and relied less on the instincts given to him, feeling
more comfortable in his own body as he hammered away.

-You crafted a steel javelin (D+) with a weak spirit. Metallurgy has increased.

Despite the fact he had been working carefully and using his spiritual power, the result
wasn’t quite an artifact. The synchronization rate hadn’t even increased.

“It looks like your work is becoming a lot more natural despite being limited to
working with only steel.” Lee Man-woo praised his progress, but Shin-hyuk couldn’t
agree with him. Anvil had created wonderful treasures that would astonish countless
heroes despite the limitations of his materials, all within the abandoned workshop of
a dead world. It wasn’t a matter of making an artifact anymore, or of skill proficiency.
He knew this wasn’t his best, and if he were satisfied with stopping there, he would
never grow.

“…I’ll try again.”

“You’ve already been working for a bit, and you made what you set out to do.”

“It’s alright. I can keep going. I brought a lot of snacks to keep me going.” Kang Shin-
hyuk lifted the bag he brought with him and took out one of the energy bars it was
packed full of. Lee Man-woo was speechless as he watched the student eat the energy
bar and get right back to work. The process was precisely the same, melting the ingot
and hammering at it on the anvil. As he did it, though, Shin-hyuk tried to focus entirely
on the metal before him.

‘I had too many thoughts to contain and wasn’t sure of what I needed.’ Spiritual power
bloomed inside of him, wrapping around him and moving down his hammer to the
anvil and the metal atop it. He could hear a faint metallic voice calling out to him,
which he listened to with his hammer. He remembered what Anvil had looked like
when he was forging the metal, never intending to put any thought or emotion into his
craft—just hammering the iron, letting the mind naturally move with spiritual power.
That’s how his anger would just dissipate away.

-Klang! Klang! Klang!

Kang Shin-hyuk had been too obsessed with figuring out artifacts that he misunderstood
a fundamental fact. Lee Manwoo said it was difficult to put one’s emotions into iron.
He tried to achieve that without understanding and failed as a result.

‘But I’m glad I realized it sooner rather than later.’ He decided not to think too deeply
about it now and push away thoughts of Anvil. It was him, not Anvil, who was
hammering the iron right now.

-Klang! Klang! Klang!

He forgot about the anvil, his heart, and even his spiritual power. All that existed in his
world was forging the javelin. It was the most fundamental wish of any craftsmen, to
craft something. The anvil vibrated, spiritual power covering the metal with each
impact of the hammer. The iron was responding to him, crying out in response.

“Huh…” Lee Man-woo was entirely focused on Kang Shin-hyuk as he was immersed in
metallurgy. He had no doubt in his skill, but the pace he was developing was absurd.

‘He’s using techniques I don’t know and can’t follow… ’ Not all people’s experiences in
learning metallurgy were the same. Lee Man-woo had learned the skill after working
as a blacksmith, but there were those who awakened to it suddenly. To those people,
it was like knowledge just flowed into their heads by its own accord.

‘With metallurgy, each person’s growth and potential varies so much, but this… ’ Even
with that, Kang Shin-hyuk’s metallurgy was utterly alien to him. Even those who
awakened the skill without training didn’t show such skill and would experience
countless errors as they practiced. He was awkward and lacking still in many ways,
but he moved as if he already had the skills of a master.

‘He instinctively noticed even the smallest errors and is looking for a way to fix them.
He’s faster than any craftsman I’ve seen… ’ It was, of course, faster than him. Faster,
deeper, and more beautiful. Lee Man-woo realized he was jealous of Kang Shin-hyuk
and couldn’t help but laugh at himself. What was the point of an old man who had
given up on crafting feeling jealous of a young man who had just started?

‘I just don’t want to admit it, but he’s talented. It will bloom brightly if it’s nurtured.
There’s nothing I can do but keep others out of the way.’ It wasn’t a responsibility he felt
as the teacher in charge of the club. No, he just wanted to remove the shackles
Shinyoung had imposed on him. He wanted to see how far this boy’s amazing metallurgy
would go; to see this talent that clearly overwhelmed him. He thought Kang Shin-hyuk
would make something that he never could.

-You crafted a separating steel javelin (C-) with a moderate spirit. Metallurgy has
greatly increased.

-Metallurgy has grown to D rank! Stamina has grown to C+ rank! Your resistance to
heat has increased, and a 20% correction will be applied to your working speed.

-Synchronization has greatly accelerated. Current assimilation rate of 5.3%

-The soul’s vessel has strengthened, and your spiritual power has grown to C rank. You
will take less damage from weaker spiritual power and will now be able to recognize
the source of the soul.

-The first VIP benefit is in progress. 5 million HP has been unlocked. The ‘My Room’
function is now available! Access My Room right away to check out the Dimension Quest!

Suddenly, as he stood there holding the new javelin in hand, Kang Shin-hyuk had no
idea what he should do.
[Separating Steel Spear]

[C-rank]

[Special Ability: Split]

*Split: When throwing this javelin, there is a 30% chance that two more spears aimed
at the target will be created. The created spears will disappear after hitting the target.

The first thing Kang Shin-hyuk did after he recovered from the shock of all of the
notification windows was to check the javelin he made. That alone would have been
surprising enough.

“An artifact…!”

“You really created one.” Lee Manwoo, who had been watching from the side, let out a
loud laugh. He was the world’s best craftsman, so he could easily see how great the
artifact this student had just created was.

“You succeeded in containing your emotions.”

“I tried to do it sincerely.”

“Ha, that’s enough.” Lee Manwoo couldn’t help but let out another short laugh at Shin-
hyuk’s response. In such a short period of time, he went back to correct the mistakes
he made and found the right path forward.

“If you submit that to the contest, you’re guaranteed to win a prize. You could even go
after the grand prize. Not many people are capable of using javelins, admittedly, but
the contest doesn’t evaluate that.”

“I need to use this for practice, so I can’t submit it right away… thank you for keeping
watch so late, sir.”
“I had to observe to prove to the school that you made it. But you’re right; it is already
late at night.” Lee Manwoo realized that it was indeed already dark outside, the sun
having set hours prior. He was so absorbed in watching Kang Shin-hyuk that he didn’t
notice the time passing.

“Well, it’s alright. Next time I…” He felt an intense impulse, one he hadn’t felt in a long
time, that was brought about by watching Shin-hyuk’s blacksmithing. It was an
impulse he tried desperately to quell.

“No. You did well today. You’re probably tired, so go home. I’ll be getting some rest
too.” Lee Manwoo waved him off, and Kang Shin-hyuk quickly picked up his two spears
and left the club room. It was hard for him to remain calm, given all that had just
happened.

-A 100HP bonus from a joyful administrator!

-A 200HP bonus to congratulate you on gaining access to My Room!

-Congratulations on the creation of a C-rank artifact with a 50HP bonus!

Especially since the administrator’s messages kept popping up in his view.

“Please calm down.”

-I’m very calm now. I’m just congratulating you on your assimilation rate passing 5%.

“No, thank you for that…” With the creation of this new artifact, his metallurgy had
grown significantly, as did his synchronization rate. The situation was confusing to
him, which the messages from the administrator didn’t help, though he wouldn’t say
that out loud. Kang Shin-hyuk did view the administrator as a friend and didn’t want
to upset him by saying that.

“It only exceeded 5%, but five million HP was unlocked.”

-I told you once you passed it, you would be able to afford to feed Onyx. The amount
of HP that the previous you earned over the course of twenty years exceeds any other
member.

“…That’s kind of scary.” The fact that Anvil had acquired such a large amount of HP was
indicative of the impact he had on the Hero Universe. He was aware, now more than
ever, of the enormous footsteps he was following.

-But in the end, that business is now yours as well. It will come back to you naturally.
That artifact in your hand proves it.

“I mean- no, it will be the same in the end. Thanks, administrator. Let’s go as far as we
can.” Whenever he thought of Anvil, his previous life, the same questions, and anxiety
haunted him. However, he couldn’t let that keep dragging him down. The administrator
responded as he always did.

-A 20HP bonus to a member who can honestly express their gratitude!

Kang Shin-hyuk returned to his dorm room, holding his two javelins in hand. As soon
as the door opened, Onyx, who had been just sleeping, opened his eyes and rushed
towards him. Or rather, towards the separating steel spear he was holding.

-Myu!

“No, don’t eat this one.”

-Myu!

He threw the first javelin he made to Onyx, who rushed to take a bite of it and then
stored the artifact in a place where Onyx couldn’t reach it. After that, he grabbed a
quick snack and prepared for bed. He wanted to check out the My Room feature, but
he felt too tired to do that. Creating artifacts wasn’t simple, and he made two of them
in a single day. His stamina was low, though his spiritual strength still had some energy
thanks to the rank-up at the end.

“Would it be okay to postpone it a little…?”

-It might be better to check it out tomorrow. It will be Friday, and after class, you will
have the weekend.

Kang Shin-hyuk tilted his head, not quite expecting that response. He had been
speculating that My Room wasn’t just a simple room, however, and wondered what
could be inside.

“Will I have to go far…?”

-It would be best to pack some luggage.

“You know I have gate practice coming up, right?”

-Which is why you need to prepare even more.

Kang Shin-hyuk decided to listen to the advice and packed a bag without saying
anything. The administrator never lied to him, after all.

***

Friday’s class wasn’t much different than the previous day. All the practical subject
teachers pushed their students without rest, and the students were eagerly waiting
for the writing class. However, even that long-awaited class completely betrayed their
expectations.

“There are a lot of hardships awaiting you at the first gate practice. Since we must
prepare you thoroughly in advance, today, we will conduct a test.”

“Beg your pardon?!” The students screamed in unison as the teacher in charge of
monster ecology began to hand out test papers.

“Do it carefully, as they will be weighted. Think of this as a matter directly related to
survival inside the gate.”

“We have to train over the weekend too…”

“It is important to train your knowledge of monsters haunting the lower gates. Now
start!”

“This is hell…”

“You really have to know all of this to become a superhuman?!”

Each of the students taking the exam cried out in a different voice. Most of the questions
weren’t just related to the knowledge of monsters but required judgments tailored to
an individual situation, and thus most of the students had a hard time answering.

‘Because there are so many people who become superhumans without knowing this,
there are still deaths at the lower gates. Shinyoung really goes all out.’ As the other
students lamented the exam, Kang Shin-hyuk calmly answered the questions. He
couldn’t just borrow Eunah’s power, so he had been diligently studying and taking
notes to increase his score. He could clearly draw out the situations in his mind and
determine how to actually deal with them. There was a small group of students,
alongside Kang Shin-hyuk, who had been preparing and thus were answering the
questions with ease.

“I will score the exams right away since everyone must be busy over the weekend.”

“Oh please, teacher…”

“I only want all of the students taking part in the practice to be safe.” The teacher’s
words were serious. Most of the students who received less than satisfactory results
were committed to studying theory for a significant chunk of their weekend. Karen
and Baek In-ha were among those who had to study.

“I was going to do joint training this weekend, but… it seems it will be difficult. Hehe.”

“What are you even doing?” Karen laughed slightly at Kang Shin-hyuk, who was gazing
at Baek with a mixture of doubt and reproach.

“You’re the type who is stronger in practice than theory.”

“Did you not notice the sign I sent you asking for the answers?”

“I ignored it.”

“Traitors will have to pay a dear price!”

“Yes, yes. Work hard on your assignment.” It wasn’t a bad thing for Kang Shin-hyuk
that the plans for joint training had fallen through since the administrator had said he
should be prepared to leave for the weekend. He left the classroom by himself,
ignoring the resentful gazes of those who would spend their weekend studying.

***

He was back in his room.

-Are you ready?

“Yes… maybe.” Kang Shin-hyuk had his Godslayer sword attached to his waist and the
armor he wore during the rookie games. On his back, he wore a pack containing food,
water, and the javelin he made yesterday. Additionally, Onyx was with him, and he had
metal grains to feed him with. It might have been too much equipment for entering
My Room, but the administrator told him to pack well.

“Okay, then… let’s enter.”

-Connecting to My Room.

He could feel his body being dragged somewhere else, his vision cutting off.

“Am I alive?”

-You’re alive; it’s just a very dark place. Don’t worry.

-Myu!

Fortunately, he could read the administrator’s message without any problem, the
words shining bright on his eyesight. It only made him more anxious, however. He
must have just entered My Room, but why was it so dark? He considered several
possibilities in entering the place, but him being unable to see it wasn’t one of them.

“Should I turn on the light?”

-50HP bonus for your excellent guess!

He received a bonus, but the room was still bathed in darkness.

“Do you have to use HP to buy an exclusive item or something to turn on the light?”

-No, it doesn’t take HP.

“What do I need to do then?”

-To activate the complex functions of My Room, you need to perform a dimensional
quest.

“Lighting the room is a detailed function. I didn’t know that.” Kang Shin-hyuk trembled
slightly with anger, recalling the dimension quest yesterday when he received the
notification. He skimmed over it, not knowing it was essential to use the My Room
function.

-With only a 5% synchronization rate, the functions of My Room couldn’t be activated.

It would take too long to reach a high enough rate to unlock them, so the dimensional
quest was activated to accelerate your use of the My Room function.

“What a well-thought out measure.” It was a quest, so he thought maybe it was like a
search or expedition type of task like in a game.

-In fact, this is also a way to help you accomplish your goals. The dimensional quest
can provide you with the time you need.

Kang Shin-hyuk recalled that he did say it would be better to go to My Room for gate
practice as well. It was clear that this was the administrator’s plan from the beginning.
Curiosity began to replace his anger.

[The City Wall of Despair]

[The weapons you made in the past have spread all over the worlds, and some of them
are used for the wrong reasons. If you go ahead and recover them, it will help increase
your synchronization rate.]

A text box with a different texture than the administrator’s messages appeared in front
of Shin-hyuk’s eyes. It explained what exactly the dimensional quest was.

[Recover your armament’ Heroic Shield’ from Kieron, the closed world. If it is
successfully retrieved, you can get semi-permanent access rights to Kieron.]

[Quest Deadline: One month]

[Earth to Kieron Time Ratio: 1:10]

“Heroic Shield.” That was the name given to the shield that Anvil made in his last
memory.

“By the way… for the wrong reasons…”

-You can check it out yourself.

“Going to another dimension?”

-That’s right. It is possible through the intermediate dimension of My Room.

“So that’s why you were clamoring to get me access to enter here…” Kang Shin-hyuk
had been preparing for something like this since he had learned about the Hero
Universe. Other dimensions existed, and you could communicate between them. So
why wouldn’t it be possible to travel to them? It had happened a lot faster than he
thought it would, though.

“Can I really do this?”

-There is no need to worry about the difficulty of the quest. Only dimensional quests
that can be solved with your current abilities are presented to you.

“My current abilities…” Kang Shin-hyuk nodded at the administrator’s message as he

read over the notification in his retina again. Heroic Shield. He could remember the
thoughts Anvil had over it, as well as Mirang’s worries.

“Then, this time rate… one day on Earth is ten days on Kieron?”

-That is correct. Even if you spend the entire time until the quest deadline on Kieron,
only three days would pass on Earth. Since your soul belongs on Earth, you will only
age three days as well. What a great benefit!

“It really is…” That he could train in this other world but only use three days on Earth
was more than he hoped for. Kang Shin-hyuk was starting to get pumped up at this
opportunity. He wouldn’t be able to spend the entire time there, however, as three days
passing on Earth would make it Monday.

“I’ll have to finish up by school time on Monday.”

-I believe if it’s you, it will be possible.

The administrator blindly complimented Kang Shin-hyuk once again, but this time he
believed it himself.

“Okay, let’s start right away.”

-Connecting to the world: Kieron.

Just like when he arrived at My Room, he could feel his body being dragged somewhere
else. He closed his eyes and then opened them as soon as the sensation stopped,
greeted by a bright world around him. He didn’t have time to appreciate the light;
immediately, as his eardrums were assaulted by a loud noise from all around him.

“The general is dead!”

“They’re about to deploy the laser cannon…!”

“The general is dead! Retreat, retreat!”

The administrator said it would be safe, so why did he hear the sounds of a battlefield?
Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head, his vision filled with the sight of two groups of
humans fighting with a massive wall between them.

“Block their arrows!”

“You can’t back down. Today, I will get back the orb! March!”

“Energy is gathering at the Walls of Despair!”

All of them were armed with cold steel in the form of swords, spears, and bows. Only
a few mana abilities were popping up, and no artifacts could be felt. The two forces
were about equal in strength, but that wall was the deciding factor.

“Prevent that trash from climbing up!”

“Take no prisoners!”

“The Orb of Water is ours!”

The enormous walls were smooth on the outside as if made of whole iron and
apparently had the ability to gather energy and shoot destructive beams. It was like a
huge artifact.

“Administrator, maybe that city wall…”

-Yes.

From the moment he arrived, he noticed that his spiritual power was resonating with
an object other than his divine sword. Specifically, that wall. It was clear the wall was
related to him, and more so, though it was huge if you carefully examined it… it almost
looked like…

-Kieron is a small dimension that makes everything that comes under its influence
smaller as well. There is no exception, even for members who could access it from the
outside.

“…”

-The exception is artifacts that have established their own spiritual power. Only those
inanimate objects, made by members prior, can escape the influence of this world.

He saw it in Anvil’s memory. It was the shield he made, the Heroic Shield.

“…No, how in the hell do I recover that?

-Myu!

In the midst of his despair, the similarly miniaturized Onyx cried out cutely. He held
Onyx carefully; the creature was anxious to rush towards the wall full of spiritual
power.

He now understood why the name of the quest was the Wall of Despair
Kang Shin-hyuk felt a need to get a grasp on the situation first. It was a quest to get
the Heroic Shield back, which means that those who claimed it as their wall would be
his enemies, but what if…

“Return the Orb of Water!”

“Those damn Survival Alliance guys! Stealing Orde’s treasure was a nasty trick!”

“In this world, power is order! Weakness is a sin!”

“No defeated soldiers will grow old. Kill them all!”

At least the good and evil on this battlefield was clear. Kang Shin-hyuk was able to
figure out the situation by picking up the yells and screams ringing out on the
battlefield. Those who currently occupied the wall were the Survival Alliance, and they
had stolen a treasure known as the Water Orb from the group named Orde. They were
fighting now to retrieve it, but couldn’t cross the wall, with their situation looking dire.
Kang Shin-hyuk immediately realized he needed to cooperate with Orde to get the
Heroic Shield back. Even leaving aside the concepts of good or bad.

“There’s someone wearing unusual clothes over there.”

“Leave them be!”

“No, kill them and take their stuff!” Apparently, one of those stationed on the wall had
a sharp eye, crying out a warning as he discovered Kang Shin-hyuk. It was frankly odd
he hadn’t gotten any attention up until now, wearing modern clothes around these
soldiers decked out in medieval armor.

“Kill him!” Arrows rained down toward Kang Shin-hyuk from the top of the wall but
looking at it; he felt neither fear nor anger, only a distant longing. He was prepared to
suffer an attack since he was in a battlefield, even if they were all humans.
-They’re not the same as you. They’re aliens with different customs than your world.

“It’s unfortunate that my first contact with an alien is like this…” Kang Shin-hyuk
pulled out Godslayer and filled it with his spiritual power, tracing a trajectory in the
air above him with it. He stopped the magic arrows of Mitsui Yuta like this, so ordinary
arrows stood no chance. He swung his sword once, smashing and scattering the
arrows closest to him. He quickly fell back after that, sword still at the ready.

“He’s a skilled warrior!”

“He dares insult our citadel? Activate the wall! Kill him with everything you have!”

They were referring to the special abilities of the Heroic Shield. It was a type of counter
that converted the damage done to the shield into energy and fired it at a single point.
It was originally at a level that could frighten the enemy. But ever since becoming a
giant, it was now a terrifying weapon of destruction that could wipe out an entire area.

“Can’t you stop it?”

-You have to avoid it.

Kang Shin-hyuk put as much spiritual power in his body as he could, retreating at full
speed. A huge crater remained in the ground where the energy had struck, the place
he had just been.

“Die!” The warriors of the Survival Alliance, who were fighting the soldiers of Orde
under the wall, attacked Kang Shin-hyuk as if they had been waiting for him. Kang
Shin-hyuk’s face hardened as he realized their weapons were aimed at his vitals.

“…Hoo!” His hesitation was over quickly as he struck at the spearman leading the
charge, narrowing the gap between him and the attackers. He swung his sword, the
attack neatly cutting through the necks of three people. It was a skillful enough attack
that those who saw it retreated.

-Sorry, dear member. Even I couldn’t predict that such a large-scale war would be
happening.

“It’s okay. I was prepared for anything…” He had been prepared ever since he decided
to become a superhuman. He was prepared to take a person’s life. The enemies of
humanity weren’t just limited to monsters; there were plenty of wicked people who
had become drunk on power and left bodies in their wake. If he wanted to live in that
kind of society, he would have to face them one day. And if he wanted to live, he would
have to take their lives. Shinyoung didn’t neglect in that training, either.

‘I didn’t think I’d be doing it for the first time now though… ’ He saw no reason in sparing
the opponents who rushed forward with the intent to kill. Especially not in a
battlefield where the lives of countless people could be snuffed out in an instant.

“…” But even still, as he tried to reason it out, he was still human. The feeling of killing
another human who looked like him left him feeling unbearably filthy.

“Woo…”

-Hm?

Kang Shin-hyuk let out a deep breath, his sword-arm trembling. The people around
him were still amazed by his skill, and thus didn’t yet notice his agitation.

-Dear member, are you okay?

“…I’m okay now.”

-Myu!

“Thank you… I won’t give you the Godslayer, though.”

-Myu…

Kang Shin-hyuk managed to endure the feelings welling up inside him, and hastily
began to withdraw from the battlefield. He put all of his remaining spiritual power
into his legs, running even faster than he did with Karen Stringfield. The enemies
couldn’t even dream of catching him. Those on the wall still screaming after him, but
those who had seen his swordsmanship decided it best not to approach him and let
him leave.

“Get back! Retreat!” Around that time, the soldiers of Orde began to retreat as well.
The Alliance shot arrows at them as they fled but didn’t actively pursue them. In the
first place, there had been more archers on the safe walls than soldiers down below
fighting. They wouldn’t abandon the overwhelming advantage they had.
“Listen up, if you surrender to the Survival Alliance and give up all your stuff, we’ll
accept it!”

Kang Shin-hyuk slowed down to wait for the retreating soldiers while listening to the
insults slung by the Survival Alliance. There was only a single road leading out from
the deep valley the fortress was located in, so if he waited here, he could meet with
those retreating.

“Well now…?”

“Ah, it’s that man!”

The soldiers carrying their wounded soon discovered Kang Shin-hyuk and shouted
out loud. He looked quite different from them, wearing his modern outfit and the bag
upon his bag. Onyx was situated on his shoulder.

“He showed up in the fight!”

“I saw him too; he appeared out of nowhere.”

“He cut down three of those alliance soldiers with a single strike!” Fortunately, unlike
the Survival Alliance, they didn’t try to attack him. He remained vigilant but decided
to relax a bit around them. Soon, a man wearing an armband pushed his way to the
front to speak with him.

“Were you waiting for us?”

“Yeah. I thought our goals would match up.” The language was different, but he could
understand it. The administrator helpfully informed him it was a function provided by
the Hero Universe. He decided to ask about it more later, specifically for his foreign
language studies at the academy.

“Our goals…” The soldier speaking to him looked back to the others. Kang Shin-hyuk
saw one of them nod his head, and the one in the lead turned to him.

“Hmm, alright. We’ll listen to it.” The soldier let out a laugh and nodded.

“But first, let’s move out. This is still their territory.”

“Alright.”
They eventually stopped in the highlands, completely outside of the valley. The land
was dry, without a trace of water to be found. But the soldiers had a well-equipped
barracks stationed there.

“Looking at your expression, you really know nothing about us.”

“No. I really don’t.”

“Alright. Come this way.” The other soldiers began to take care of the wounded as the
one in the lead brought Shin-hyuk to the largest building. Three other soldiers,
including the one he nodded at before, followed them in.

“Alright, now let’s talk. I’m Zeke, and I lead these soldiers. At least, for now, as my
superior just died.”

“I am…” Kang Shin-hyuk was about to give him his name but stopped. He couldn’t trust
these soldiers quite yet, so he had to be careful.

“Anvil. You can call me Anvil.”

“Anvil? That’s a peculiar name. Is it a pseudonym?”

“It’s a name I made up; it’s like my recognition code.”

-300HP bonus for this member!

Even though he felt like it was a misunderstanding, the administrator seemed to be

extremely thrilled that he called himself Anvil. But, in truth, he had only thought of
that name since it was because he went through Anvil’s My Room to retrieve his shield
that he was now in this situation. At least for now, he was working as Anvil. Thus, it
was only natural he used that name.

“Anvil… yes, I see. Then I hope you can explain to us how in the world you suddenly
appeared in that battlefield.”

“I used a special kind of magic. It sends me to the place where something I want is.”

“Magic…?”

-A 50HP Bonus for your artistic explanation!

“Have you ever considered that what you call the Wall of Despair looks rather strange?”

“It’s like a huge shield. It’s never been broken, and even when the continent was
destroyed, it protected the Survival Alliance who were hidden inside it.” Kang Shin-
hyuk briefly wondered about the destruction of the continent, and if it had led to the
war between these two groups.

“It is a shield. In another world, it was a shield meant for a human.”

“…What do you mean?” The real boss spoke up this time, the one who had been
watching quietly from the group of three behind me. He was wearing a helmet, so I
couldn’t see his face, but he sounded young.

“I am from a different world, here to retrieve that shield.”

“I heard from my father that different worlds exist, but are there any who could travel
from them beside monsters? No… I suppose you’re not a monster.”

“That shield is something I made.” He ignored his own remorse, reminding himself he
was working as Anvil now.

“So you’ve come to retrieve it… is there a way to recover it?”

“That’s what I need to figure out now. But one thing is for sure; I need to get rid of
those you call the Survival Alliance if I want to recover it.”

“I understand.” He nodded and stepped forward, dignity and prestige evident in his
movements.

“I am Milan Van Orde, the Prince of the now ruined Orde.”

“I am Anvil.”

“Orde was robbed of the Water Orb- our lifeline. We must retrieve it from them, so our
purpose is the same.” Kang Shin-hyuk simply held his hand out to the prince of these
ruins.

“Are you asking me to form an alliance with you?”

“Indeed. I wish to form an alliance.” Shin-hyuk thought this prince was a pretty cool
guy as they shook each other’s hand.

“Do you have a specific plan? As you can see, we are struggling with crossing the wall,
and, if possible, I am hoping that you can help us make a strategy. That is, given you
are the creator of that wall and shield.”

“I’ve no memory of making it, and I’ve no experience in sieges, but I do have an idea.
Do you have any archers?”

“None have survived, and they are difficult to train.”

“I figured that would be the case.” He glanced at the backpack he was carrying. He had
the javelin, a destructive and straightforward long-range weapon that could fly quite
far if thrown by a strong man.

“Do you have any forges?”

That was how Kang Shin-hyuk, or rather Anvil, began his first dimensional quest.
-Bartender: What? Are you really in a different world right now?

“I am. That’s why I didn’t receive your messages. I would never deliberately ignore…”

-Bartender: Look at you sucking up.

Two days after joining Orde, Kang Shin-hyuk was in the temporary accommodations
given to him, whispering to Claire. She had initially tried to contact him by phone, but
her messages hadn’t gone through. She started to worry when he didn’t respond and
tried to contact him through the Hero Universe instead.

-Bartender: I suppose when you’re a VIP, you get to experience such novelties. I wish
I could help out.

“Can an outsider even help?”

-Some dimensional quests allow other members of the Hero Universe to accompany
you.

“You can help out next time.”

-Bartender: Well, that’s not important right now. You’re in a different world- are you
really okay?

Kang Shin-hyuk was touched by Claire’s words of concern and couldn’t help himself
from responding energetically.

“I am. The level of the forces around here is much lower than in our world. I was also
told they only handed out quests that could be solved.”

-Bartender: Why are you freely giving out that information? Well, that sounds suspicious,
anyway. It’s a good system for us, but… I really don’t like it for some reason.”
“It’s alright. I wanted to check this out with my own eyes, anyway.” He responded
somewhat firmly to her, who was worried about him. Although the reason he had
received the dimensional quest was to activate the My Room function, he probably
would’ve accepted it anyway even if he didn’t need to. He couldn’t get the conversation
between Anvil and Mirang out of his head, and he wanted to see the armor that Anvil
had made himself. Most importantly, he didn’t want to see the Heroic Shield being
used for the wrong purpose. It was something only he could do, as the one who had
accepted Anvil as his past life.

“This is my job.”

-Bartender:… Okay?

“Yeah.” He had a slightly mischievous smile on his face as he continued in a playful tone.

“And there’s no reason not to do it. It will increase my synchronization rate, and time
moves much faster here. If I don’t do it, I’ll die with a lot of work left.”

-Bartender: If you didn’t say that, you would’ve looked cool.

Claire noticed he was trying to reassure her, but she decided not to point it out.

-Bartender: So, what are you doing now?

“Now, I’m…”

-Klang! Klang! Klang!

Kang Shin-hyuk stopped his hand that was swinging the hammer and let out a sigh.
Embers scatted and danced around him in the air like fireflies.

“I’m working with iron.” He was making a javelin with a simple stove and anvil. Among
the weapons that the soldiers could use to attack the enemies high up on the wall with
their abilities, the only one that fit the bill that could be mass-produced in a short
amount of time was the javelin. It could be manufactured simply, and it would be
enough to break through armor with ease.

“It’s a javelin. Can you really break through the fort with this simple weapon?” Milan
Van Orde expressed his concerns upon hearing Kang Shin-hyuk’s idea. It was an
ancient weapon used since the dawn of civilization, and it had a shorter range than a
bow. But Kang Shin-hyuk was convinced that the ones he made were fundamentally
different. His confidence had only grown by making that artifact. It didn’t matter if
these ones didn’t become artifacts; a well-made javelin would surely be just as
destructive and far-reaching as a bow. Maybe even more. That was the difference of a
weapon made by a blacksmith with metallurgy.

‘And on top of that… ’ Kang Shin-hyuk was working much faster now that his metallurgic
skill had risen to the D rank. It was like the connection between his thoughts and
actions while working had become more natural, and his movements were more
efficient. He had already succeeded in making more than twenty javelins in the two
days since his arrival.

All of the javelins he made were of steel, the metal that was distributed in large
quantities throughout the world. He was able to buy it at a reasonable price (about
1Hp per 10kg) on the trading board. Given the value of HP, though, he thought it should
be cheaper. Of course, when he considered it, one of the administrator’s bonuses was
enough for him to buy at least 100kg of the material. As a bonus to that, he had enough
to give to Onyx so that he wouldn’t try to eat the completed javelins.

“Anvil, are you still working?”

“Yes. Good morning.” Kang Shin-hyuk had just finished the twenty-third javelin when
Zeke greeted him. He was staring at the javelin Shin-hyuk was holding with an unsure
expression.

“To be honest, I’m not sure about this. Can you really hit the guys in the fort with this
stick?”

“Yes. I was actually thinking I should try out a demonstration.”

“Testing it?” Kang Shin-hyuk picked up the javelin he just finished and motioned for
Zeke to go outside. The one-meter long javelins were piled up outside of the barracks
near the soldiers. It felt like a bit of a waste of iron to use it now, but he had plenty of
resources to make more.

“Anvil.”

“Okay, I’ll go ahead and demonstrate it all to you.” Seeing that Milan’s voice wasn’t very
welcoming, he was quick to show off the power of the javelins.
“Are there any birds around here?”

“Yes. Up until recently, our archers would shoot them down for food. With that and the
Water Orb, our group…”

“Alright, that’s okay. Stop.” Kang Shin-hyuk spoke up, unwillingly to listen to an extended
story. Glancing upward, he could indeed see several birds flitting across the sky.

“There are so many…”

“Anvil, you really do act like someone from a different world.” Milan responded in a
bleak voice.

“Our world has declined because of a terrible monster. Those winged ones, however,
are able to evade it and are still thriving.”

“A monster?”

“Well…” Some of the soldiers who were listening groaned as Milan explained the
situation bleakly.

“It is a monster that hides in the ground, waiting to snatch at unsuspecting prey and
draw them underground. It will also deceive people and mislead them. If you see
something that looks suspicious, it’s better to avoid it.”

“…I will remember that.” Kang Shin-hyuk nodded seriously at his words and readied
himself to throw the javelin. It was a weapon that was easy to master, the form for
throwing one simple as can be. But despite that simple method of use, its effect was
truly dramatic.

-Quek!

The spear rushed through the air, piercing a large bird hundreds of meters up. The
bird fell to the ground, spear sticking out of it, and a soldier ran over to collect it.

“He really got it… it’s dead!”

“No, how did he…”

“It’s really dead!”

“That… it doesn’t look like an ordinary javelin!” While the soldiers were admiring and
cheering him on, mostly out of a desire to share in the bird’s meat, Milan suspiciously
looked at the javelin he had collected.

“I wouldn’t have bothered with it if I were intending to make a normal javelin. Do you
believe me now?”

“Alright. If all of our soldiers… or even a quarter of them were armed with these, there
is a possibility we could overthrow the citadel.” The number of Orde soldiers was not
so great in the first place, numbering only in the hundreds. He said this world was
declining, but he had to wonder how many people there would be if all of them were
gathered in a crowd.

“Then we can get it back… the Water Orb…!”

“Why was it stolen in the first place?” Kang Shin-hyuk decided this would be a good
time to finally approach the subject. Milan turned his head away as if to avoid his gaze.

“…We… originally relied on that fortress.”

“But they betrayed you. They stole the orb and banished you?”

“Yes. We were protecting civilians, but they said they had no intention of protecting
those who couldn’t fight. I… couldn’t agree with that.” Shin-hyuk regretted making him
talk about it and wordlessly handed him the javelin.

“I’ve shown you how to throw so, so start training your soldiers with it. You can
acquire food in the process. Oh, and have some of your men help me make more.”

“Alright. One more thing… it is shameful for me to ask, but… do you have any water to
spare?” They said they were robbed of an orb that could make water, after all.
Fortunately, that was something that could be acquired at a meager price on the
trading board.

“Alright, then let’s barter.”

“Barter? I don’t know if we have anything of use to you.”

“You do.” Kang Shin-hyuk was staring at Milan’s metallic blue armor. It wasn’t steel or
any other armor he knew. It was a metal unique to this world.
‘I can’t pass up an opportunity to acquire new metals for cheap.’ Of course, he had no
intention of taking their armor or weapons. That would be counter-productive given
the fight they were preparing for. But if they could receive much-needed water in
exchange for metal, no doubt they would agree instantly.

“Ho, you want my body?”

“What?! No! I’m sorry, I’m interested in that metal.” Kang Shin-hyuk quickly cleared
the misunderstanding, and Milan sighed with a relieved expression.

“It is Brenite, a specialty from the old continent. It’s light and sharpens well, making
for great arrowheads. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly hard, so it’s not great for a
full-fledged weapon.”

“Light and sharp, and great for arrowheads? That’s perfect.”

“It’s perfect…? Ah…” Milan, somewhat belated, realized what Shin-hyuk was thinking.
He could only laugh.

A week later, the Orde units were armed with steel javelins that had Brenite tips. Of
course, Kang Shin-hyuk had been working with the new metal non-stop.
What determined the level of metal? Under the assumption it was being used to make
a weapon, hardness was one of the most important evaluation factors. However, in
many worlds, the existence of mana completely changed the criteria for evaluation.
How would this metal react to mana? What change could mana cause to it, or how
much could it contain?

“Magic metal is really a wonder…” The Brenite mined in Orde was an exceptionally
light and sharp metal, caused by exposure to the mana flowing through the mining
area. When mana was added to it, these characteristics were only reinforced. However,
its hardness wasn’t particularly good; thus, it was not suitable for armor. But for
arrowheads and javelins, it was perfect.

“It’s so pretty.”

-If anyone heard that, they might think you were confessing your love to a woman.

“But it’s really pretty.”

-… 500 HP Bonus!

“Why?!” It would have been enough to just tip the spears with the metal, to conserve
resources that were already scarce, but Kang Shin-hyuk wanted to make at least one
made entirely out of the Brenite he had. The resulting shiny metal spear was a product
that demonstrated Kang Shin-hyuk’s ability as he had been forging tirelessly for the
past week.

[Brenite Spear That Never Fades]

[C+ rank]

[Special Abilities: Robust, Split]

* Robust: The spears hardness and attack power has increased.

*Split: When throwing the javelin, there is a 50% chance two more spears aiming at
the same target will be created. The created spears will disappear after hitting the target.

The notification window indicated that he created another artifact. It was so beautiful
to him that he wanted to embrace it and roll around on the ground with it. It was C+
Rank, which he was especially happy about. And it had two abilities, not just one. It
was even better than the one he made for himself.

-This administrator is even more amazed at your metallurgy, making such artifacts in
such a short time.

“Did you know about my metallurgy?”

-I did, from the moment you joined.

He wasn’t sure if that meant when he joined the Hero Universe, or if he was talking
about his previous life as Anvil.

―Metallurgy has grown to C-rank! Your resistance to heat will be higher, and the
likelihood of a positive effect will be added to your finished product has increased.

―The synchronization has greatly accelerated. Current assimilation rate of 7.4%

―The spiritual potential that the soul remembers has been drawn forth. Spiritual
Power has grown to C+ rank. The influence of spiritual power has been increased and
can be used more skillfully.

A person who had just started metallurgy would not be able to raise his skill rank so
fast only in the course of ten days. This was evidence that Kang Shin-hyuk had been
able to make a leap to the next level as a blacksmith, thanks in part to the half-
remembered instincts of a prior life.

“If you were Lee Manwoo, you’d think I’ve changed too much in such a short time.

-Dear member, the quest deadline is still ten days off. While such dramatic growth may
be difficult to achieve once more, one more step should be possible.

That would mean going up from C rank. While he didn’t know what that meant in
blacksmithing, it was a huge gap to cross for any other ability. To achieve it in just one
month… Kang Shin-hyuk considered it but shook his head as he remembered his
conversation with Lee Manwoo.

“Well, he said I was a weird guy from the start.”

-So you’ve realized it. He won’t be dazzled by this kind of change, though; he doesn’t
have enough skill to notice this level of growth.

“And by the time my synchronization reaches one-hundred percent, it’ll be so

advanced it’ll be unrecognizable.”

-Of course.

“…Wow.” He didn’t expect the administrator to confirm it. But he couldn’t help but
wonder what would happen next after that moment came. Would he recover all of his
memories, HP, and abilities? Anticipation and fear mingled inside of him. He knew he
would just have to wait for things to become clearer.

“I can clear the quest quickly now. I’ll spend the rest of my time working.”

-100HP Bonus to a member with cool eyes!

-Myu!

“What? You think I’m cool too- oh, you’re hungry.” He decided to give Onyx some of the
leftover Brenite he acquired in exchange for water.

-Myuuu!

While Onyx chewed away at a spiritual power filled Brenite dagger with the happiest
face in the world, Kang Shin-hyuk packed up the Brenite spear he had just made with
the steel javelin and a new sword.

“Anvil, are you ready?”

“I am.” Milan and his soldiers were lined up, much more energetic than they had been
ten days ago. Before, they had been half-starved and dehydrated, but now that they
were able to acquire both food and water through their deal with Shin-hyuk, they had
turned completely around.

“All that remains is the decisive battle.” Milan stepped forward stiffly. In the last battle,
he had a general leading his army. That general had been killed, and now this prince
had to lead the army himself. He was nervous, and Kang Shin-hyuk could hear his voice
trembling earlier when he was rallying the troops.

“Don’t worry about it. You can do this. You guys will win.” Over the past three days,
Milan and his soldiers had been practicing non-stop. Kang Shin-hyuk had been forging
non-stop in the meanwhile, going through the supply of Brenite he traded for.

“Of course.” Milan’s voice was firm now, as he shook away his doubts. It wasn’t just to
live that they battled. The Water Orb was the symbol of pride for the Orde people. If
they ran away without it, they would be lost. Milan’s face was covered by his helmet,
but Kang Shin-hyuk could sense his resolution and spirit to fight.

“Alright, then let’s go.”

“It’s time to depart!”

“We’re going to capture that fortress!” There were two-hundred and eighteen soldiers
remaining, including Milan, who were able to fight. One hundred of them were armed
with the javelins Kang Shin-hyuk made, and another hundred abandoned their swords
to pick up large shields. They were the main offensive line, archers in the back guarded
by a solid formation of shields. The remaining eighteen soldiers were armed with
swords and shields, and they would be the ones to clean up and push while the spear-
throwers dealt with the main enemy forces. This was the formation that they decided
upon to reclaim the Water Orb and Orde’s pride.

“I’m sorry I won’t be able to help you in the battle.”

“No, you’ve already helped us enough.” Milan looked as if he wanted to say something
more, but decided to stop and stepped back. Kang Shin-hyuk responded with a small
smile.

‘Am I being too cruel?’

-You can do what you want. The purpose of the quest is to recover the shield.

The administrator had been sticking to short, vague answers when it came to the
humans of this world’s humans Shin-hyuk could only think it was out of respect for
his decisions. But it felt a bit odd to him, as now the Heroic Shield was clearly occupied
by the Survival Alliance, yet the quest was to take it from them.
‘Is the will of the Hero Universe different from that of the administrator?’ He tilted his
head at this incongruity, but it wasn’t a question that could be resolved so quickly. He
pushed it to the side and stepped in line with the soldiers of Orde. One of the soldiers,
Zeke, approached him and offered him a helmet.

“It was taken from one of the fallen, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I think the dead may find more use for it.” Kang Shin-hyuk put it on regardless,
accepting the sentiment behind it. A couple more soldiers approached him to offer
him more armor; he decided to only accept their moral support.

“Soon.”

“Yes, soon.” As soon as Shin-hyuk finished speaking, he could see the fortress in the
distance. It was protected by a valley on three sides, facing toward the only path
available. As he looked at it from afar, it was easy to tell; it was shaped like a shield.

‘Because it’s partially buried, its hard to see up close.’ It had a smooth surface, impossible
to climb in the midst of a battle, and it was much too thick to break. In this world of
small people, it was invincible. He wondered if maybe this world’s ability to make
everything small had a role in why the inhabitants were weaker.

“They’re coming again!”

“They’ve come to offer us more treasure!”

“God’s allowing us to plunder today too!”

Voices began to rise up from the fort, met by Milan’s retort.

“Today, Orde’s Water Orb will be restored!”

“Ooooooh!” Kang Shin-hyuk thought it was an excellent idea. He cut off the enemy’s
provocation and managed to inspire his troops at the same time. His voice was much
more dignified now, too; he had clearly been practicing.

“To protect the honor of Orde! For our future! For Anvil! Charge!”

The two-hundred and eighteen soldiers ran forward at once. The soldiers atop the
fortress looked like they were going to start shooting as soon as they were in range.
“Is it this way?”

“Yeah, move quickly.”

“I know. Just a little more forward.” However, the Orde soldiers weren’t charging in
ignorantly as they had before. They suddenly stopped, still at a distance much too far
for an arrow to reach.

“Ready!” Milan took up his javelin first, pulling his arm back in a throwing stance.

“Throw!”

“What?!” Confusion briefly sprouted atop the fortress, the allied warriors perplexed
as to what was happening. It took them little time to confirm, however, as one of them
was collapsed on the wall with a javelin through his chest.

“Attack! They’re attacking!” The alarm went up, soldiers running about to prepare for
their counterattack. Orde’ssoldiers stood still for but a moment, confirming the javelin
had worked and began to throw their own. The soldiers of the fortress reacted
sluggishly, trying to lift their shields or fire back arrows. The Orde soldiers were
prepared, the ones wielding large shields moving into position to defend the spear-
throwers. It mattered little in any case, as the range of the bows made in this harsh
environment could not match the javelins created by Anvil’s reincarnation.

“Okay then… shall we start?” Orde’s soldiers were following the plan exactly, and the
stronghold soldiers had no choice but to focus on them. Kang Shin-hyuk rushed
forward, aiming for the gap that had been created for him. Some of the fortress
soldiers noticed him, but it was too late for them to turn their attacks toward him.

“It looks like I didn’t waste my time here.”

-Yes, it seems that the weapons you made were certainly worth the cost.

The administrator still gave strict evaluations to everyone but him. He couldn’t help
but laugh as he picked up speed towards the Wall of Despair- the Heroic Shield.

-How will you do it?

“I’ve thought about it, but there’s really only one way I can.” That was, he had to make
the shield small. It had to be a size he could carry if he wanted to collect it.
-How are you going to do that?

“I don’t know. I thought I’d ask you…” For the past ten days, he had been forging iron
and thinking quite a bit. He even asked other Hero Universe members for ideas. But,
in the end, the reincarnation of Anvil had no choice but to figure it out himself. He
created it a lifetime ago, and he had spiritual power. He would have to try to talk to the
Heroic Shield, just as he usually did with the Godslayer sword.

-It’s the right direction, at least.

The administrator’s response was positive, as always.

-Even if not, you can always try a few things until it works. As I said before, you’re safe
here.

“I don’t plan on taking it easy like that.” He had ten whole days left, but he wasn’t going
to let these people he had been talking to and working with die as he stood by and
watched.

“I’m here.” He laid his hands on the huge wall before him, activating his spiritual power.
The reaction of the wall, or rather the Heroic Shield, was instantly dramatic. Tremors
and vibrations echoed through it, yet given the size of it, those same tremors echoed
throughout the entire battlefield, frightening the soldiers.

“He’s trying to do something to our wall!”

“Kill him!”

“You do it, I’m not lowering my shield!”

He ignored the reactions of those around him, knowing they couldn’t harm him even
if dozens of them attacked him at once. There was too wide of a gap between them.

‘Can you hear my voice?’

-Vwoom.

The will of the shield was similar to the sword when he first encountered it. He began
to think it would be easy after all, but he suddenly felt an overflowing sadness come
through to him.
“The energy cannon! Can’t you use it?”

“It can only be used when it’s triggered by a direct attack! They’re throwing the spears
at us, not at the wall!”

-Vwoom.

The Heroic Shield vomited forth countless emotions, like a child who was seeing his
parents for the first time in a long while. It was too complex and disorganized,
however, as it overwhelmed his mind.

“Get down there!”

“Fuck…!”

“Everyone get down now! The wall is too dangerous!”

“I’ll kill him myself!”

-Vwoom.

Kang Shin-hyuk managed to sort through the emotions he was feeling from the shield,
his brain on the verge of exploding. Sadness, anger, more sorrow… he wondered if this
shield was upset that it was being used by these people. As he thought this, he felt the
shield’s sadness more intensely.

‘I’m sorry… ’

-Vwooom.

The shield seemed to be complaining, crying out to its long-lost parent. It was the
same with the Godslayer sword. From the beginning, it considered him to be Anvil and
treated him as such, just as the sword did.

‘I’m so sorry I left you alone in a place like this.’

-Vwoooom.

‘Will you come with me?’ The shield let out another brief cry, affirming the question.
‘It’s okay. It’ll work out somehow.’

-Vwooooooom.

The moment the shield accepted his will, it began to shine brightly. Synchronized with
it, Kang Shin-hyuk could feel his spiritual power being drained rapidly from his body.
He pulled out an Eiren jelly in a panic, consuming it quickly. He couldn’t help but
appreciate his spiritual power developing so much, knowing that it would’ve been
really dangerous without it.

-Vwoom, Vwooom.

The Heroic Shield that had been vibrating violently began to reduce in size. Kang Shin-
hyuk couldn’t help but think of how easy it was, minus the sudden draining of his
spiritual power. But for those watching from afar, it was a truly overwhelming sight.

“It really is getting smaller…”

“Does Anvil really own that wall… or shield, I guess?” The battle calmed down, the
soldiers all standing slack-jawed. Zeke quietly approached Milan as everyone else was
focused on Shin-hyuk and the wall.

“Sir, are you okay? We originally meant to occupy the citadel once we pushed out the
collation…”

“What would you have me do? Kill Anvil and take it away?”

“No, that’s…” Milan let a bitter smile play across his lips as Zeke dropped his head. It
was impossible for them to compete against Anvil, who had done so much for them
already.

“It was meant to be this way. We lost our Water Orb due to greed, but thanks to Anvil,
we have recovered our precious treasure and way of life. If we stayed in that fortress…
we would eventually be no better than the Alliance.”

“Sir…”

“Milan. Just call me Milan.”

“Okay, Milan… what?”

“What is… it…?” Milan looked in the direction that Zeke was pointing, a frightened
scream leaking from his mouth. He thought it might be the Alliance attempting to rally
once more, but…

“The land… it’s moving…”

“Because of the wall…? No…” Anyone who lived in this world knew what was happening.

“Anvil, run!” Milan let out a desperate shout, hoping he would make it in time.

Where the wall had been, moving up through the earth, appeared the mouth of a huge
monster.
[Guahhhhh!]

The moment the shield was in his arms, the earth began to vibrate violently, and a
deep cry erupted from below the ground. Kang Shin-hyuk understood what was
happening immediately, remembering the monster Milan had told him of.

-Vwoom

The shield in his arms confirmed it, letting out a silent scream. What the Heroic Shield
hated was not the humans fighting between themselves. It was initially an armament
meant for fighting after all. What it hated was the monster below it, using it as bait to
acquire prey. It had felt an intense sorrow and anger for failing to fulfill its duty of
protecting people, and instead, aided in their destruction.

“Anvil, run away!” Kang Shin-hyuk was flying through the air before the warning cry
reached him. Like a prickly fence, teeth began to rise out from the ground seconds
later, right where the wall had been. The buildings built next to the wall started to
collapse underneath the beast. It had a black chitinous body, with cockroach-like legs
protruding out from all over it. A huge mouth occupied more than half of its face,
disgusting Kang Shin-hyuk.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Save me!”

“Help!” Those who were stuck inside the fortress buildings were consumed, chewed
up by this monster’s fangs. They told him the Survival Coalition had no interest in
protecting those who couldn’t fight, but that appeared false. No doubt, they simply
rejected and plundered Orde to protect their group.

‘They’re not the first.’ He recalled what Milan had told him of this monster, how it
waited for prey, and mimicked things. That was what had happened here; it used the
shield as bait to attract prey. When enough gathered here, it would come up and
consume them all just to hide again, waiting for the next group. How many times had
that scene repeated here in this valley?

‘This is the disaster that drove this world to ruin… ’

-Stay back, dear member. It will be a formidable enemy to defeat. You have already
completed the quest, so it would be better to practice metallurgy with your remaining
time in a safe place.

The administrator’s advice was certainly ideal. There was no need to fight that huge
enemy, now that the quest had been completed. But Kang Shin-hyuk wondered if he
could do that. If he could finish the quest while this monster that had been tormenting
his shield was still alive and tormenting humans.

-Vwoom.

The Heroic Shield in his arms cried out again, and Kang Shin-hyuk knew its intent. He
was tormented by what he should do, but Milan’s voice echoed across the battlefield
before he could reach a decision.

“Attack it!” Shin-hyuk raised his head, witnessing dozens of javelins flying toward the
head of the monster at once.

“Let no more humans get eaten by that monster!”

“Kill it!”

“It will fool us no longer!”

“We can worry about the rest after we kill it!” It was a strange sight. They could save
their lives if they ran away, but Orde’s soldiers were throwing their javelins at the
monster with no consideration of retreating. Those with spears threw them, and those
without them grabbed swords to charge it. The monster was entirely above ground
now, a giant monster with a body longer than ten meters in length, but they didn’t
hesitate.

‘Because of the Water Orb? No… ’ If that had been the reason, they could just recapture
it and flee. It was as if they had forgotten all about it and the Survival Coalition, their
only intent to attack the beast.
“Fall back there!”

“Damn it…!”

“Get back!” Perhaps it was because they were human that he could not sit still and see
the sight of them being devoured by a monster. Maybe it was the anger of the entire
human race and unbridled hostility toward this monster that had hunted them for so
long. Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t know why, but he knew what he had to do.

-Vwooom.

“Yes, I’ll see your vengeance through.” Perhaps, in the end, it was the intense anger of
the shield in his hands. Kang Shin-hyuk took a step forward towards the monster.

-If I determine your life is at risk, I will immediately return you to My Room.

“Thank you.” The administrator said nothing about his choice but chose to support
him anyway.

-As a bonus for today’s login, you’ve received an Instant Spirit Booster!

Kang Shin-hyuk smiled. It was paid according to Earth’s time, but he wondered if his
timing was convenient.

“Thank you.” He immediately took out the spiritual booster and drank it. He suddenly
felt as if his soul had been pulled out forcibly from a deep cave it resided in, thrust into
a large and vast world. His senses were amplified, revealing to him a new world that
he had never seen before.

-Your spiritual power is temporarily amplified (10 minutes) to B+.

Kang Shin-hyuk felt as if he were possessed, holding both the steel and Brenite javelins
in hand. The symbol of a wriggling dragon engraved itself on both of them as he
readied them, his spiritual power reinforcing them. The spears sailed through the air,
one after another, at the monster’s head.

-The special ability Split has been triggered.

-The special ability Split has been triggered.

Both of the spears’ split abilities were activated at once, several more versions of the
spears breaking off from them and colliding with the monster all at once.

[Kuohhhahh!]

The monster let out an annoying sound at the javelins thrown by the soldiers, but it
soon twisted into a terrible scream as it was hit by the artifact spears. Some people
who were not yet consumed fell out of its mouth, and the soldiers with swords moved
up quickly to save them.

“I can’t do this.” However, Kang Shin-hyuk’s heart wavered. That attack he hit it with
was the best he could manage, his with spiritual power amplified to B+ rank backing
the strongest javelins he had. Even the split ability had been activated on both of them.
Nevertheless, it was not enough to drive back the enemy. Surely, it had been an
effective hit. Yet it would require at least ten more people like him using that attack
again to finish the monster off. It wouldn’t be possible to end this with a single attack,
but less than nine minutes remained on the potion.

[Guahhh!]

-Vwoom.

The monster recognized Kang Shin-hyuk as the clear enemy here, twisting its body to
face him. However, it was a monster built to hide underground and wait for its prey,
so its movements weren’t fast. Kang Shin-hyuk avoided him, flying up into the air again
as he evaluated his options.

‘Even if I cut a hole through it with Godslayer… that wouldn’t be enough.’ Even those
javelins wouldn’t have been enough if that had pierced through. It meant nothing for
him to risk his life by getting close to poking it with his sword.

‘So should I just keep throwing javelins? No.’ A fundamentally different solution was
needed. If only he could feed this beast a large spear. Kang Shin-hyuk wracked his
brain for the best way to defeat this monster with his amplified spiritual power.

-Vwoom.

The Heroic Shield let out a strong cry, but Kang Shin-hyuk dismissed it as childish
pleading. It just wanted him to defeat that monster quickly,
“Is Godslayer the answer? But can I wield it while holding you?”

-Vwoom.

The shield let out another strong cry. Kang Shin-hyuk was determined to find a way
through this, and he considered the shield. An artifact was able to maintain its original
size in this world, where everything else became smaller. Just like this shield was a
wall, his sword was also incomparable to the size it had become. Could the Godslayer
become a giant sword? If that could happen, it would be a simple matter to take care
of this monster. The problem was that the sword was weakened; it wasn’t in tip-top
shape like the shield was.

‘No, is it worth trying?’ Kang Shin-hyuk thought about it, checking his amplified
spiritual power. It would disappear in the next few minutes, but currently, it was
immeasurable. If he invested all of that power into it, maybe he could recover a little
bit of the Godslayer.

“Okay, fine. Let’s do it.” Kang Shin-hyuk pulled out his sword, and with a thought,
pulled out a javelin to go with it. There was a hole in the handle where the decoration
had fallen off, so he was able to loop it around the javelin with ease.

-Vwoom.

“No, don’t struggle.” The sword told him not to treat it as junk, and he had no choice
but to laugh. Since the level of his metallurgy and spiritual power had risen, they had
become more friendly.

[Kuohahah!]

He took a deep breath, the monster holding guard for his attack. It couldn’t approach,
given the humans still going all out to attack it, however.

“Get back. It’s about to attack!”

“Pull the injured away from the battlefield!”

“Kill the monster!”

He thought it was fascinating how they moved in unison, despite several of them being
enemies just a little while ago. When it came to struggling against monsters, truly, little
else bound humans as tightly. It would be easy for Shin-hyuk to dismiss it as stupid or
trivial, but he didn’t want to belittle these people who were just struggling to survive.

“Please.”

-Vwoom.

Even if it failed, he could run back to My Room. But it would mean he failed. He was
trying to become a superhuman so he wouldn’t have to run away. He rained his
abilities to fight and win, so he was sure.

“That damn monster… kill it!” He launched the sword into the air with all his strength,
backed by his spiritual power. It soared into the sky, faster than the eye could see. It
flew quickly, more than a few kilometers.

-Vwoom.

“Let’s hope it works…” His head became blank as he exhausted all of his spiritual
power, unable to move one step as hunger wracked him. He desperately endured it,
consuming the recovery potion he acquired to keep himself going. He could feel the
soaring Godslayer, according to his will, begin to descend.

‘It’s not over yet… ’ The sword’s rank had not yet increased, and thus, had not yet
enlarged. If that didn’t happen, it would all be for nothing.

‘Be strong.’ Kang Shin-hyuk muttered to himself, relying on that faint connection of
spiritual power between himself and the sword.

‘Get stronger.’ He felt as if he could hear the faint cry of the sword, so far away. He
somehow had to give it more power, but he wasn’t sure how. Kang Shin-hyuk clenched
his teeth and focused on that connection.

‘Get your original form back!’ If the power of the sword was not enough, he had to add
his own power to it. If his spiritual power wasn’t enough, then he had to give it
everything. He concentrated with all of his might, pulling out the potential of all of his
characteristics and abilities, pouring them through his spiritual power into the
Godslayer sword.

[Kuoahhhh!]
The monster wriggled, devouring two more people. Warriors wielding swords and
spears ran past Kang Shin-hyuk, running toward the monster. Both the surviving
Alliance warriors and Orde soldiers were driving their weapons into its body.

“All…” Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head, his eyes shining golden.

“Get away from it.” He had no energy left, but a scream ripped through his throat with
all the might he could summon. The humans around the monster reacted to him
instinctively, retreating. A huge shadow was cast upon the ground.

―Talent [Awakened Wyrm (A+)] satisfied all the conditions for evolution and has
evolved into [Golden Eye Dragon (S)]. All stats will grow significantly. The characteristic
skill [Warrior Dragon Dance (S-)] evolved to [Fantasy Dragon Dance (S+)].

―The Godslayer has regained some of its original characteristics and has grown to B-
class.

The sky opened up, a massive blade descending to the ground. It was so large, its
entirety couldn’t be captured by sight alone.

[Kuha…]

It smashed through a petty bug that was wriggling on the ground.

-Kwaang!

The moment the giant sword cut through the body of the monster and cleaved into the
ground, a terrible tremor ran through the earth. Everyone on the battlefield hit the
ground, unable to move. No one could understand what just happened. The monster,
which had been running amok, was pierced through by a huge sword that suddenly
fell from the sky. What could this be, if not a divine event?

-Vwooom.

The Godslayer, having cut through the entirety of the monster with a single blow, cried
out loud as if it were happy to be active after such a long time. The Heroic Shield shone
with jealously in response. Kang Shin-hyuk stood up with a bitter smile, unable to
enjoy the evolved characteristics of his sword.

“Yes, good job.”

-Vwoom.

The sword vibrated low with joy, returning back to Shin-hyuk’s grasp. Because it had
exhausted his spiritual power, the sword was once again bound to the laws of the
world and reduced in size.

-Vwoom.

“Uh…”

“It’s dead.”

“That huge monster is dead!” Only once the sword that had been supporting up the
monster’s body disappeared, and it fell to the ground did people realize it was dead.
They had succeeded in slaying this absolute evil, which overwhelmed humanity at its
strongest.
“It is God.” One of the soldiers cried out, realizing the sword that had killed the beast
was now in Shin-hyuk’s hand.

“He is an apostle of God!”

“Oh, God!”

“We’re sorry!”

“Forgive us…!”

“I will never kill again…”

Kang Shin-hyuk, who had apparently become an apostle of God, looked around in
embarrassment and saw everyone looking at him. Objectively, he just appeared out of
nowhere and shrunk their fortress wall. He then threw a sword and enlarged it to
destroy that monster. Having deciding not to deny it, Kang Shin-hyuk chose to act as if
he were an apostle of God, at least just for a moment.

-You have suppressed the ones that were harming the order of things. You have
received a bonus due to your membership level! You have received 30,000 HP. AS a VIP
bonus, you receive an additional amount of HP equivalent to 50% of the reward, for a
total of 45,000 HP.

-The dimensional quest has been resolved perfectly. The synchronization rate has
accelerated to 10.4%. The light and tile functions of My Room has been unlocked. You
have received a 20,000 HP bonus for overachieving on the quest. The choice of new
dimensional quests has been expanded.

The message from the administrator hit his vision. The HP he had just acquired was
nothing compared to the HP he recovered before, but at least it was something he
earned by himself.

“The reward is big.”

-Because you did a great job. I can’t say anything about your choices, but if you wanted
me to share my personal impressions, you also looked great.

“Thank you…” After seeing the administrator’s message, Kang Shin-hyuk was relieved.
His eyes that had been shining gold had returned back to their original state now that
the battle was over. The fact that he had just unlocked the lighting and tiles of the room
made him think he should quickly increase the rate of synchronization. But first, he
had to help the survivors of this messed-up battle.

***

It took a long time to clear out the battlefield. There had been many causalities in the
original skirmish, and several had been devoured by the monster. Thanks to the
Godslayer sword being dropped on it, however, some of them could be saved. Mainly,
it was thanks to the abilities of the sword.

[Godslayer]

[B Rank]

[Special Abilities: Edged Predation, Regression]

[Open special ability: Flesh Control]

* Flesh Control: The sword will only cut and kill what the sword’s master wants to.

‘Now it’s actually worthy of its name.’ While the new ability wasn’t focused on attack
power, it was a rare and useful ability that would give him a tactical advantage going
forward.

-Vwoom.

“Yes, you’re a lot stronger now. It’s a shame I couldn’t rely on that javelin, though…”

-Vwoom!

Although the spiritual power imbued in it was temporary, it was thanks to that, that
the sword was able to regain some of its lost abilities. In the process, its condition had
been restored to near perfect. The empty space in the crossguard was still there, but
it looked brand new. The sword was acting the part as well, and Kang Shin-hyuk let
out a laugh as he sheathed it. The sword wasn’t the only thing to evolve, however, as
did his abilities.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: B rank] (10.4% synchronization rate)

[Characteristic]

Golden Eyed Dragon (S): Unable to deal with mana, but will master all kinds of martial
arts very quickly. It can greatly amplify the effectiveness of self-learned martial arts
and the performance of weapons under its influence.

[Physical ability]

Force: C- → C+

Agility: B- → B+

Health: C+ → B

[Special ability]

Spiritual power: C+ → B-

Regeneration: E- → D-

[Skill]

Dragon Fan Dance (S+): B- → B

Metallurgy: C-

All of his physical abilities had grown two stages, and his spiritual power had grown
one. Regeneration, however, had grown three whole stages. Shin-hyuk could already
feel his fatigue recovering, confirming it did get stronger. Even his sword dance skill
evolved as well. All of it was only possible because he didn’t run away from that
monster. Shin-hyuk couldn’t help it, but he happy he could stay true to his desires.

“Good…”

“Anvil!” As he was drunk on checking out his new status, a voice called him from
behind. He looked around, quickly finding Milan. The prince did not think Shin-hyuk
as an apostle of God, though his respect for him had grown.

“That was really… amazing.”

“Is the clean-up done?”

“Yeah, thanks to your help. Thank you for everything.” Milan was still wearing his
helmet, though Shin-hyuk could tell what sort of expression he was making. He
shrugged, tapping the sheath that Godslayer was in.

“It wasn’t that impressive. Just like that shield had grown big, so did the sword. It was
so hard I’ll probably never do it again.” That was partially a lie. If his spiritual power
kept growing, he could probably pull it off again. But he was afraid they might start
expecting more things from him, so it was best to try and deceive Milan.

“I have no doubt it took a tremendous amount of skill to pull it off, but thanks to that,
many people were able to survive. Once again… thank you very much.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was necessary when recovering the shield. It looks like this
guy suffered a lot at that damn bug’s hands.”

-Vwoom.

Milan couldn’t say anything while he watched the Heroic Shield vibrate in response to
Shin-hyuk’s words.

“Then, now you have the shield back. Are you heading home?”

“Well… what should I do…”

-Since you’ve completed the quest early, you can still stay here until the originally
scheduled deadline. That would be more convenient.

Kang Shin-hyuk nodded at the message and decided to accept it. They considered him
to be an apostle, so they wouldn’t have any problems with him staying here in the
future. Milan, for his part, seemed delighted that he would be staying another ten days.

“Milan, the survivors of the Alliance are looking for you.” Zeke came up as they were
talking, delivering a brief report to the prince.

“Did you gather them all together?”

“Yes.” They had all unified to fight the monster, but they had just been fighting a fierce
battle against each other just before. Neither Kang Shin-hyuk nor Milan thought they
would try to keep fighting, however.

“If we had a lord like you…”

“Please, give us a chance. If you lead us, we’ll never betray you!”

“…We were desperate to survive. We have no excuses.” The group of survivors from
the Survival Alliance handed the Water Orb to Milan, declaring these things in unison.
Milan accepted their offering.

“You will be my servants from now on. We will live together in this dying land, and we
will surely survive and sprout new life.”

“Thank you!”

“Sir!” At their core, humans were simple. They were able to reconcile after fighting
together just once. In this world, that simplicity might be integral to survival. Kang
Shin-hyuk took a step back with such thoughts in mind, not wanting to interfere as he
was just a guest.

“Hey, Anvil.”

“Yes?” It was Zeke, pointing toward the destroyed battlefield. Kang Shin-hyuk glanced
over, seeing that he was pointing toward the remains of the monster.

“We’ve cleaned the body, so please take the remains of it. You finished it off by yourself,
so it’s all yours.”

“Oh, I see. You did all of this?”

“It’s the least we could do.” He had hunted monsters before, but he hadn’t thought of
saving the corpse. Kang Shin-hyuk’s jaw dropped as he examined the remains of the
monster that had accumulated. Sharp teeth, eerie chunks of flesh, pieces of black
shells, and a huge mana stone. It was the largest mana stone he had ever seen.

-It will be difficult to sell without authenticating your identity first.

“What should I do with it?”

-It would be best to use it as materials for metallurgy. Using it to make an enchantment
would be best, but you probably can’t handle that right now.

Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t know how to use mana stones in metallurgy, just as the
administrator had said. But he thought to ask Lee Manwoo about it next chance he got.
At least, he could do something with the carapace and teeth in the meanwhile.

‘If I go back with this, will it suddenly become huge?’

-If your metallurgy reached the extreme, it might be possible to create something like
that. But now, don’t worry. It won’t get any smaller either.

‘But how will I collect all of this?’

-Don’t worry! Among the items that you can now purchase on the trading board, there
is the Hero Universe service system. Among these services, there is an inventory
feature! It is a sub-space like the shop inventory.

Thinking back, Shin-hyuk did remember Claire pulling things out of empty space. That
must’ve been her personal inventory.

-That’s right. With no volume limitation, you will receive an inventory that can hold up
to 200 kilograms per compartment at the VIP 50% special discount of 1.5 million HP!

“…” Shin-hyuk trembled. Even with the discount, it was so expensive, which meant it
was originally three million HP per slot? And two-hundred kilograms… that wouldn’t
be enough to store all of these materials.

‘I’ll buy… three spaces.’

-Please note that the purchase price becomes more expensive after five slots!

‘Alright, hand them over quickly.’ He could immediately tell that he had gained access
to the inventory. It felt like he had access to a personal drawer that only he could tell
was there.

‘But I can’t take everything.’ He took the remains he had in hand and pushed them in
his inventory, and then wrapped up the rest in a cloth to put in his backpack.

“You can have the rest.”

“Well, there’s not much we can do with it…”

“I see…” Kang Shin-hyuk let out a sigh.

“I will process it somehow, so leave it be then. Please move it to the barracks if you
would.”

“Certainly, Apostle.” Seeing that what he wanted was done, he gave a bloody smile. He
planned to spend the remaining ten days practicing metallurgy non-stop.

Ten more days passed, Kang Shin-hyuk was steadily devoting himself to his training.
He made weapons, primarily in the form of javelins, for the people who were treating
him as an apostle.

-Metallurgy has grown to C rank. Strength has grown to B rank through skill growth.
Your resistance to heat has increased. Working speed will increase by 30% in the
future.

Through this way, he reached the skill of C rank he had been aiming for.

-As today’s log in bonus, you have received a monster attraction system (C+ grade)!

The day had come for him to finally return to Earth.

It was said that among the many monsters, there were a few cases of insectile
monsters having metallic shells. However, the monster that Kang Shin-hyuk had just
slain wasn’t of that variety. Therefore, to process the carapace and turn it into a
weapon, he had to physically break it down. Fortunately for him, it was easier to break
down once he applied heat to it.

“But, when I think about it, this isn’t really metallurgy, is it?”

-Metallurgy is a skill that spans a very wide area. Even if you’re not dealing with metal,
processing materials to make weapons is influenced by it.

“It’s not metallurgy… but it is…” It was thanks to the metallurgy skill that he could
process the carapace so easily, so Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t going to complain. No doubt,
this would serve as a good foundation for the future, in processing all sorts of non-
metals to make weapons.

-Janus’s whisper: What are you doing?

“I’m trimming the shell of an insect.”

-Janus’s whisper: You are working hard, that makes me happy.

“But the Godslayer sword is still far away, so please wait, Sir Janus.”

-Janus’s whisper: Just Janus is fine.

Kang Shin-hyuk idly chatted with Janus while he ground away at the shell, succeeding
in making an oval-shaped ring. He attached the small, sharply ground teeth to both
sides of it. The finished object looked almost like the mouth of the beast it had come
from.

-You made a Sudden Monster Trap (C) with a little spiritual power. Metallurgy
proficiency has slightly increased.
-Synchronization has accelerated. Current rate of 11.2%.

“Done!” The moment he created this new object, a trap, Kang Shin-hyuk was delighted
to see the notification window in front of him. This was the first artifact he created
that wasn’t a weapon or armor.

“I think it’s because my metallurgy is now C rank, but I’m gradually getting a sense of
how to make artifacts. I have to pay attention to the source of the object as well as my
own will to imbue it with spiritual power.”

-Not just anyone can casually create C rank artifacts and talk about it in that way.

[Sudden Monster Trap]

[C rank]

[Special ability: Stealth]

*Stealth: When deployed, this trap is immediately assimilated into the surrounding
environment and concealed, slightly increasing the damage of the trap. It cannot be
detected by search abilities below rank B.

“Ooh…” It was a special ability that really fit a trap. Kang Shin-hyuk let out a satisfied
laugh as he examined the completed trap, but it occurred to him it would hurt if he
accidentally activated it. He safely stored it away in his inventory.

“So, that’s it.”

-If you return now, it will be Monday, at 8 AM.

“Wow…” He was alright with being a little late, as he wanted to stay there longer. He
had taken to metallurgy rather quickly, and it wasn’t boring, no matter how long he
worked.

‘But that’s just an escape.’ To become a superhuman recognized by everyone, he

couldn’t slack off when it came to classes. He was eligible to come back here after
completing the quest, so he resolved himself to come back the following weekend. He
quickly organized his luggage and prepared to leave.

“Anvil, are you awake?”

“…Yeah.” With good timing, Milan entered the barracks as Shin-hyuk was packing up.

“Leaving without a heads up?”

“It’s night. Besides, I said I would be leaving sooner or later.”

“Nevertheless… no, I suppose that’s true.” Milan approached him with a small sigh,
taking off the gauntlets he was wearing and offered him a handshake.

“Anvil, you’ve helped us so much… thank you.”

“You paid me to do it.” The prince’s hand was delicate, but his voice was strong.

“You charged us nothing. If we survive on this land, it will be because of you.”

“If you think so.”

“No, You have no idea how grateful we are. You are, uh…” Milan hesitated, then put
both of his hands on his helmet. Kang Shin-hyuk realized he had not taken it off in
front of anyone as far as he had seen. As the helmet was lifted off, what Shin-hyuk saw
was the face of a beautiful girl with dazzling blonde hair and clear eyes.

“…?!”

“It was worth taking off my helmet just to see that expression.” Milan gave him a smile
upon seeing his face. Her voice was different now, and he realized that the helmet she
wore must have been an artifact of some sort.

“I will introduce myself formally. My name is Milia Van Orde, the last princess of the
kingdom of Orde. To rally my soldiers and have them follow me, I was imitating my
brother, who died.” Shin-hyuk was immediately convinced, but also a bit curious.

“With just that helmet?”

“I’ve also had some help from Sir Zeke and a few others. But at this point, who can say?
Maybe I won’t need to hide anymore.” Milia clapped my hands loudly.

“But such concerns are luxurious. You gave us this opportunity, and as my benefactor,
I felt that I shouldn’t deceive you.”
“As you wish…”

“Is this not enough? It won’t be enough, so…” She came to some sort of conclusion all
by herself, without a word from Shin-hyuk, and lightly gripped his shoulder. She kissed
him briefly on the cheek, the scent of her clear to him.

“This is the best way to express myself as I plan on continuing to live as a man in the
future.”

“Are you okay?”

“This is a breathtaking feeling.” She laughed and stepped back toward the entrance of
the barracks. She put back on her helmet and returned to being Milan without any
regrets.

“Thank you for everything, Anvil. I hope the day will come when we meet again.”

“I do too.”

“Well.” She nodded firmly and left the barracks, and Shin-hyuk felt the spot on his
cheek she kissed.

“There were some hiccups, but the finish line was great. It feels like I’ve achieved a
real quest because I got a kiss from a princess.”

-…

‘If you’re not going to talk, then don’t. Why send these ellipses?’ He shrugged it off.

“Then, let’s go back to My Room now.” The next moment, he was really back there.
After it had happened a few times, it didn’t feel like a dimensional shift at all to him.
Now, however, the lights were back on so he could see the floor and walls laid before
him.

“This place… so.”

-It’s like the shelter you used in your previous life.

Though it was blocked on all sides and he couldn’t check it out properly, it was clear
that this was Anvil’s studio. The one he had seen in the memories.
“How…?”

-My Room is meant to resemble your own thoughts, and it can change as you grow.

“So… it isn’t that world?”

-Of course not. You can go directly there by paying HP once your synchronization rate
increases. However, please decide carefully if you want to go. Merba is a perilous place.

He felt equally relieved and disappointed that My Room wasn’t actually that place, but
both were soon overtaken by a sense of anger and the urge to go there someday. He
was about to say, ‘my family is there,’ but he stopped himself before he could. He let
his mind cool off for a moment, regaining his senses.

‘It’s because the synchronization has increased.’ As he acquired more memories of

Anvil, the sense of unity with him only increased. It seemed more and more foolish to
try and separate himself from Anvil since it was his past life. Which was why he…

“I will go.”

-The more effort you put in, the faster you will get there.

“I know. Thank you.”

-… 10HP Bonus!

He decided to find Merba someday and clear everything up.

***

At school that day, Kang Shin-hyuk was pestered non-stop by Baek In-ha all morning.

“Who did you go play with? You abandoned me!”

“Let’s say I was playing with someone. Would I tell you about it?”

“No, damn it!”

He was able to explain the situation to Claire, but he couldn’t honestly confess to Baek
that he had been to a different world. However, since it was impossible to make an
appropriate excuse to him since he had been trying to contact and search for him all
weekend, Shin-hyuk decided to act as if nothing was wrong.

“I believed you were my friend…!”

“You were busy working on assignments all weekend anyway.”

“You were supposed to help me!”

“Do you not know how to work on your own? Are you a kid?” Kang Shin-hyuk sat down
while teasing Baek, but at that point, he quit complaining and just stared at him.

“If you climb the stairs of adulthood, will your physical abilities be amplified?”

“I’ve never heard of something so stupid.”

“No, you’ve definitely gotten stronger.” A child he may have been, but a keen one. Shin-
hyuk trained in another world for a month and had greatly improved all of his stats,
but he had yet to demonstrate that. How could he read that change in his status?

“It’s a growth spurt, yeah.”

“No matter what, I’ll catch up to you right away. It seems like the evolution of a trait is
really intense.” Shin-hyuk had no intention of telling him it had evolved again.

“I can’t lose anyway. I’m going to train non-stop today.”

“I’m going to start group training today as well.”

It was a new week, but no changes had occurred in the teachers’ educational policies.
Even if group training was going on this afternoon, the training intensity only felt as if
it had increased to push the students who already had a week to adjust to the hellish
physical exertion.

“Compared to the level of training the seniors get, this is easy. Some of those seniors
even have lower physical statuses than you lot do, so that means the problem is your
guts!”

“Oh, god… they finally said guts…”

“How is it possible that these elite superhumans were trained this way…?” Each
student was complaining, but Shin-hyuk was of a similar mind to the teacher. The
students were unused to handling their stats properly, but he had been training hard
with his body to accommodate the fact he couldn’t handle mana.

‘But I’m also not dealing with my status properly because my growth has been too rapid.
I have to figure out my limits and how to deal with my skills.’ He had entered the B rank,
and at this level, it was enough to be on par with active superhumans. But if he were
asked if he could use that power properly, his answer would be no. He had grown too
quickly and didn’t know how far that strength could carry him. He had to push that to
the limit until he couldn’t summon any more strength.

“Crazy. Kang Shin-hyuk is still holding on…”

“He’s definitely stronger than last week.”

“We’re barely holding on, but he’s not slowing down at all.”

Originally, in his class, Kang Shin-hyuk was still thought to be below Baek despite him
winning the Rookie King title. Or rather, many people thought Baek was just an
exception.

“My face doesn’t change so much.”

“Were you trying to make a tough expression?”

“No, it’s rather… I was going for calm?”

“Are you constipated?”

“No, look, you asshole…”

However, in today’s class, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t seem to be lagging behind Baek in
any of the training. If Baek had gone all out, maybe that would change, but right now,
they were almost equal.

“I still can’t feel mana.”

“What the hell is it?”

“If you become a Rookie King, do they give you some sort of magic elixir?”

Kang Shin-hyuk was training with the wooden spear, a bloody smile on his face, as he
listened to the gossip behind him. He was doing reaction training to hit incoming
targets, but the training was soon over as he completely cleared the set at the
maximum difficulty.

“Kang Shin-hyuk, you’re free to train as you wish with Baek. Everyone else, gather up!”

“Ahhhhh.”

“This is hell.”

“I’m not saying you need to do it like them, just do the best you can!”

It wasn’t just the 1st year C class. Since the previous week, all of the 1st years were
being finely ground down. They cursed the teachers, Shinyoung, and the entire world
as their bodies were broken down to be built back up. However, the thought of
showing off an ugly sight in the sports competition made them hold on without giving
up.

“Hey, Kang Shin-hyuk seems to be looking good today.”

“He does look different since he became the Rookie King.”

“No, it’s more like something fundamentally changed.”

As a bonus, Kang Shin-hyuk’s stock price was gradually rising, although he was too
busy trying to stop Baek from running off to be aware of it. Soon, the afternoon classes
came to an end, but special classes awaited them after school.

“Oh no, I’m going to die!”

“If you don’t want to die in the gate practice, work hard right now.”

“Shin-hyuk, let’s go right away! I heard a rumor that our trainer is a woman.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

The group training for gate practice was conducted in the Blackwood. For the
students’ safety, the school closely monitored their training by calling in support from
active supervisors from the superhuman association and several famous guilds. The
superhumans, who had graduated from Shinyoung, were always willing to respond to
the call of cultivating prospective youngsters, especially for the chance to make new
contacts. But the supervisor of Group 7 of the 1st year C class had received a lot of
attention in particular.

“I will be the supervisor of your gate practice training. I am Shin Eunah, a superhuman
from the association.”

“…yes?” Kang Shin-hyuk rubbed his eyes and double-checked the sight in front of him.
There was no doubt that Shin Eunah was right there before him. She met his eyes and
gave him a slight nod.

“It’s good to see you again. Please take care of me.”

‘No, wait, why?!’

Shinyoung’s group 7 of Class C gathered in the multipurpose room to listen to the story
of Shin Eunah, their practical supervisor.

“This gate practice has been held for a long time, and it takes place in a persistent
absorption-type gate- also known as a dungeon. There is no need for me to explain the
difference between persistent and single-shot gates, or emission and absorption
types, yes?”

A gate was first divided into general and surprise types. A general type had signs of its
appearance, and thus it could be prepared for, but a surprise gate would appear
without warning. Such a gate had appeared in Seoul previously when Shin-hyuk had
been meeting with Claire. The next difference was persistent versus single shot, which
was merely the difference of whether the gate lasted for a long time or not. Finally, an
emission type gate poured monsters out into the area, but the absorption type brought
humans in when they made contact within the gate. Specifically, it brought them to a
subspace environment full of monsters that existed inside.

‘But emission type gates are often difficult to measure in advance because they are
usually single shot rather than persistent.’ Absorptive gates were also usually
temporality deactivated once a condition was met inside the gate, such as killing all
the monsters or a specific boss monster. At that point, it would spit the humans back
out. That was called clearing, and some gates would be maintained after they were
cleared. It was possible for humans to repetitively attack those gates, and humans had
begun to refer to them as dungeons.

“I know all of that, but why were you put in charge of our group…?” Baek In-ha asked
this with hearts in his eyes, dreaming of his future wedding with Shin Eunah and
becoming the president of the Korean Superhuman Association. Shin Eunah glanced
briefly at Shin-hyuk when she heard his question, but quickly let out a little cough and
responded in a cold voice.

“Because you are the freshmen who have received the most attention so far at
Shinyoung. Many guilds competed for this opportunity, and the association stepped in
to prevent things from getting heated. However, many in the association feared the
backlash, so the baton came to me in the end.”

“Doesn’t the association also want us?!”

“The type of talent the association wants is different from the ordinary guilds. Now,
let’s get back to the gates.” Baek’s desire to be recognized by the association was neatly
ignored. There was no doubt about his abilities, but in terms of personality, he was at
least a million light-years away from what the association wanted. Kang Shin-hyuk
took a step back from him as Do Woojin and Karen gazed at Baek with pity.

“The gate you will enter this time is the D+ class dungeon in Jongno, Seoul, known as
Crow’s Nest.”

“Crazy…”

“No, so wait.” Upon hearing the name of the dungeon, Karen murmured quietly, and
Do Woojin, who had been watching Shin Eunah quietly, finally spoke up. It was a
famous dungeon that had a lot of people coming and going, but it was also…

“That dungeon has flying monsters.”

“Right. Frankly, all of your abilities to perform close-quarter combat is beyond the
range of the 1st grade. However, by raising the dungeon’s rating, it would violate
education equity and increase the risk.” The highest the dungeon’s grade, the more
likely an unexpected situation would occur. In fact, it was already sort of unreasonable
to push freshmen into a D+ grade dungeon.

“The school has decided to judge how you will respond to an unfavorable
environment. The main monster you will face is the D-class Gray Crow. It is a flying
monster with high intelligence, and it is not prone to provocation. How you will move
in response to this monster will be the core of this exercise.”

“I can only feel like I’m trying to do something impossible… ugh…” Do Woojin, who
was complaining, stiffened at Shin Eunah’s emotionless gaze. Baek In-ha, who was
holding his mouth shut after grasping the atmosphere, looked back at Kang Shin-hyuk
with a proud expression that was promptly ignored.

“It is natural for a superhuman to be specialized in a single field, but it isn’t something
to be proud of. You must know how to respond to any situation; it is the most basic of
basics to prepare countermeasures.” Normally, superhumans move as a team, but
higher-ranked ones often charge into gates alone. Certainly, in such a case, it would be
necessary to be fully prepared for any situation. But they were still only students.
These expectations were too big.

“Then what about you?”

“Call me teacher.”

“Would you be able to fight using melee?” It seemed like Do Woojin was still struggling
with the idea. They were being told that they, as students who used melee weapons,
should be able to fight long distances. So naturally, Shin Eunah, a student from the
Department of Magic, should be able to fight using melee. It was reasonable at first
glance, but she was a high ranker who was here as a teacher for some reason.

“Sure. Do you need proof?”

“Yeah, I want to know.”

“Do Woojin, that won’t really solve anything…” Do Woojin asked for proof without
hesitation, and Karen could only shake her head at him. Kang Shin-hyuk sympathized
with her, but Do Woojin was unable to recognize anything unless he experienced it
with his own eyes and body. Shin-hyuk would have found it hard to admit out loud,
but he thought it was pretty cool.

“Alright, then step forward.”

“…” There was plenty of space to fight in. Do Woojin shut up and stepped forward
without a weapon, and Shin Eunah took out dozens of silver bracelets from her bag
and placed them over her arms. IT was an artifact that suppressed the wearer’s
magical power.

“I saw that in Dragon Ball.”

“Shut up, Baek.”

“Hm…!” Do Woojin bit his lip, feeling his pride hurt as he watched her suppress her
own magical power. However, considering her position, it was a natural measure to
take. Rather, it was an honor to be able to fight her.
“Then start.”

“Ha!” As soon as Shin Eunah said that, Do Woojin rushed at her. He partially activated
his characteristics to raise his physical performance, running at her with the intent to
see her strength. It was a fast and powerful rush, but Shin Eunah calmly took a step
forward and stretched out her fist. An electric current flowed around her fist, which
slammed into Do Woojin. It was a clean hit, and he hit the ground.

“…What did you do…?”

“I couldn’t see it… Karen, is it possible that her lightning ability is also enhancing her
speed?”

“I don’t know. Nervous system stimulation involves the flow of electric currents, so
considering my own ability to strengthen my nervous system… it is possible.” Shin
Eunah’s gaze brought a stop to Shin-hyuk and Karen’s whispering. Her reflexes would
remain a mystery to them.

“All abilities can develop with discipline, so don’t limit yourself.” She swung her hand
to unleash telekinetic magic, moving the fallen Do Woojin back to his starting spot.

“Of course, we don’t need to worry about the specifics right now. Let everyone think
about what way they should train and come up with their own answers by tomorrow.
Today, I will just check the basics.”

“Check our basic abilities?”

“Next is Karen Stringfield, step forward.” In the end, everyone was supposed to fight
her. As Shin Eunah talked calmly, Karen stepped forward, trembling. Just like Do
Woojin, she was beaten and stunned.

“Next… Baek?”

“Yep! I’ll show you at once!” For the first time since he had enrolled, Baek was excited
to show off his abilities. Shin Eunah weighed him for a moment and then loosened a
few of the dampening bracelets. She was still wearing at least ten of them, though.

“Are you all talk?”

“I will go!” Baek’s talent was primarily his speed. He charged forward, just like Do
Woojin and Karen. Shin Eunah, however, was surprised for the first time today by his
speed.

-Bang!

However, the results didn’t change much. Baek In-ha was about to be hit in the head
by a fist, but as he tried to move out of the way, Shin Eunah quickly lowered herself
and hit him with a leg breaker that would only appear in a fighting game. Baek hit the
ground; the wind was knocked out of him as he passed out.

“He’s a real monster… how at that age…” Shin Eunah, who had laid him out on the
ground like that, murmured quietly as she shook her fist. It was hard to tell who the
real monster was, though. The talent that had made it to the quarterfinals was taken
out so quickly in close-quarters combat by a magic-user who was suppressing their
magic.

“Let’s go next then.”

“Hm? No.” Kang Shin-hyuk was determined to take his beating next but was confused
by Shin Eunah’s refusal.

“I clearly grasped the extent of your abilities in the rookie exhibition. I don’t like to hit
people needlessly.” Using just her index finger to move them with magic, she arranged
the three fainted students’ side by side, then pulled out a can of coffee for the two of
them. He accepted the can, vowing not to mention that it seemed like she had planned
this.

“Oh, thank you… teacher.”

“We’re the only ones left, so you can just call me senior.” His hunch had been so right
he was stunned.

“Then… senior.”

“Good.” Kang Shin-hyuk was in a strange mood as he saw the small smile she showed.
He couldn’t help but wonder if he was receiving special treatment right now.

‘It must be because I’m sponsored by the association.’ The coffee was delicious, turning
out to be a specially designed product for superhumans to drink inside the gate. It was
a stimulant, but a superhuman’s body was able to consume it with no problem. Shin-
hyuk, with his excellent regeneration power, immensely benefited from it.

“I like drinking it because it keeps me aware of my surroundings.”

“Do you always want to be tense even when you’re not fighting monsters?”

“No way. When I have to do director stuff, I always have to deal with nerves.” She said
that without changing her expression, taking another drink of her coffee. She took
three more cans out and arranged them in front of the fainted students. It was no
doubt due to her own sincerity, but to an observer, it almost looked like a bizarre ritual.

“What happened to you?” Her question came to him while she did this.

“Yes?”

“I apologize if I’m mistaken, but… you seem almost calmer than before.” Kang Shin-
hyuk wasn’t too surprised to hear that, as even Baek noticed he had changed. Even
though he had only met her once, there was no way Shin Eunah wouldn’t recognize it
as well.

“I think I made some progress from the special training I did at the weekend.”

“Special training… for metallurgy?” Kang Shin-hyuk stiffened, feeling embarrassed

once he realized what happened. It was only natural that she knew about it; he
belonged to the Artifact Creation Club now. Anyone could access that information.
Moreover, to proceed with his practice, he had no choice but to reveal to people that
he was practicing metallurgy. That way, he could bring his own javelin instead of
buying a bow. Kang Shin-hyuk cleared his thoughts and began to calm himself, but
Shin Eunah continued in a cool voice.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on saying it’s useless. I think metallurgy is a valuable skill.”

“I see, I’m glad… yes, I’ve been working on metallurgy over the weekend. I achieved
some good results that I think will help our combat power.”

“Of course, you…” Shin Eunah seemed to mutter something, but he couldn’t quite catch
it.

“So, how about this exercise? Did you have a plan?”

“Yeah. It’s a little embarrassing, but I’ve prepared something.”

“Okay… I’m looking forward to it.” She seemed to be trying to talk to him about it, but
he desperately wanted to refrain from talking about metallurgy. Finally, she packed up
her bag, expressionlessly.

“I’m relieved that I was able to prepare properly. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah… goodbye.” After saying goodbye, she left the multipurpose room without
looking back. Kang Shin-hyuk, who thought he might go after her, decided to remain
with his unconscious friends. He still had some coffee left anyway.

[Eunah’s whisper: Grandpa I… I think I just experienced fate.]

Later, this whisper came to him through the Hero Universe.

When he woke up, Kang Shin-hyuk’s consciousness was once again in that cramped
workshop. He couldn’t recall how many times he had seen the blacksmith’s memories
in a dream by now.

-Janus’s whisper: Anvil, is it a little challenging to control your emotions?

-Noisy.

Words and actions that he could not control; a flow of thoughts that were simultaneously
his own and someone else’s went through his mind. He could feel them all so realistically
before they slipped away. He no longer felt uncomfortable with it, wondering if that
was because he was getting used to that sense of unity with Anvil.

-Janus’s whisper: Still, you’re making more and more these days. Yes, it feels like I’m
invincible with these armless armaments. Oh my, I’m laughing too hard! Hahahaha!

-I will block you.

-Janus’s whisper: Wait, I was wrong! I just wanted to compliment Grandpa on a talent
you wouldn’t find even by searching the whole world!

Janus was talking intimately with Anvil, who felt as if the hammer had become lighter
as he conversed.

-I should call you Grandpa; you must be older.

-Janus’s whisper: You’re Grandpa because you use such an old tone of voice! The title
follows the spirit.

The relationship between the two was particularly good, or rather, Janus was oddly
interested in him. He didn’t express his emotions very well, but Janus would still laugh
and be happy despite that.
-Tsukuyo’s whisper: Ah, Anvil. The armor you made today was even better.

Meanwhile, Tsukuyo was even stranger, sending him messages that made it almost
sound like they loved him.

-Tsukuyo’s whisper: I want to meet you soon. If only the barriers between us
disappeared, I would run to meet you right away.

No, rather, Kang Shin-hyuk thought that they definitely loved him.

-What a useless idea. I am only a filthy old man.

-Tsukuyo’s whisper: No way! When I close my eyes, I can imagine how wonderful you
look. Alas, I want to meet you soon.

Anvil regarded Tsukuyo as a strange person, just as Shin-hyuk did upon seeing his
memories, but he figured it was just her own way of expressing herself.

-Tsukuyo’s whisper: Are you a VIP yet? If you aren’t, you will definitely be one soon!

He didn’t know what a VIP was, so he responded carefully.

-When the time comes, I will be.

-Tsukuyo’s whisper: Huh… well, I’ll be waiting until then, Anvil.

Mixing with the cheerful sound of his hammering, Tsukuyo’s message appeared in his
retina.

-Tsukuyo’s whisper: Until then.

Kang Shin-hyuk opened his eyes wide. It seemed like the message was still there,
causing him to shudder, but then a familiar message instead covered his eye.

-You received 1 Roulette coin for today’s log in bonus.

“Phew… good thing, that was kind of scary…” He stood up from his bed, trembling. That
was the first time he had a real memory of Tsukuyo. The last time she sent a message
he couldn’t understand, he got quite nervous.
“If possible, I shouldn’t get involved…”

-Tsukuyo’s whisper: Hey, you. If you claim to be Anvil, why aren’t you even posting any
items on the trading board?

As soon as he thought about it, she sent him a whisper. Maybe she had the ability to
spy on him? Kang Shin-hyuk thought deeply about whether he should ignore her or
not, but there was what she was saying about him erasing his ID.

-I’m a lot different than the person you remember, but I was planning on posting some
soon anyway.

Tsukuyo didn’t answer, but ultimately, Shin-hyuk didn’t care about it and instead went
to the huge bag he had in the corner of the room. Onyx, having risen earlier, was
whining and slammed his head against it.

“Hey, I gave you something to eat.”

-Myu!

“No, how… alright, I got it.” Kang Shin-hyuk decided to throw out the lowest grade item
he had in the bag to Onyx. Although it was still a D class artifact, despite being the
lowest grade. Onyx raised his voice in joy and began to eat excitedly.

-Myuuu!

“I can’t live like this.” No matter how much he had grown, he still couldn’t produce
artifacts as Anvil had. He had stayed in Kieron for more than three weeks, hammering
away the entire time, but in the end, he was only able to create three artifacts aside
from the Brenite Spear and the Trap. One of them was just eaten by Onyx, so he only
had two left.

“I don’t think I’ll use the trap much in practice anyway, so let’s put that on the trading
board.” There was no trap in his inventory, so he wondered if he had accidentally taken
it out while organizing yesterday and forgotten about it. He wasn’t as careful with it
as he was the Godslayer sword.

“But, it’s not even in the bag…?”

-Myuuu!
“Hey!” In the end, Onyx confirmed he had eaten it yesterday. Shin-hyuk couldn’t forgive
him so easily, picking him up and pinching his nose.

-Myu!!!

“…uh?” The next moment, Onyx’s body became transparent. Onyx, who had escaped
his hand while he was surprised, screamed and began to roll around.

-Myu! Myu!

“But you were the one in the wrong. Even if it seemed like delicious food to you, it is
an object that can help me in an important moment. Are you really not going to reflect
on it?”

-Myuu…

As Shin-hyuk lowered his voice, Onyx curled up and laid his thorns down in reflection.
He was sincerely asking for forgiveness for his inability to overcome his appetite. He
didn’t appear to have any malice in him, and he hadn’t touched the really valuable
artifacts. He was just like a child, unable to control himself in front of food.

“…It’s my fault for going about this the wrong way.”

-Myu?

“But I won’t forgive you again. If you want to keep eating delicious things, do better
next time.”

-Myu!

Satisfied with his answer, he let Onyx crawl up his shoulder as his anger began to cool.
He decided to check in on Onyx’s status while he was at it.

[Onyx: D Rank]

[Physical ability]

Power: E

Agility: C
Health: D-

[Special ability]

Gold Magic: E+

[Skill]

Iron Predation (S+): D-

Implementation (SS): F+

Defensive Position: C

Stealth (A): F

[State]

Loyalty to Kang Shin-hyuk: 58

“What…?” He assumed the statuses rose due to eating the artifact, but he also acquired
a surprising skill- Stealth. That must have been from him eating the trap and was how
he became transparent in his hand. Ultimately, Shin-hyuk was sure it wasn’t a bad
thing that Onyx was growing.

‘An A-rank skill from eating a C-class artifact is also a steal.’ Artifacts, no matter how
good they were, were just objects that retained skills. Kang Shin-hyuk pinched Onyx’s
nose a little again to confirm his pledge that he would never eat another artifact
without permission again.

“Okay, then…” He posted the two remaining artifacts on the trading board: an ordinary
longsword and a shield he had put his heart into making after seeing the Heroic Shield.
He was embarrassed because the sword was D+ rank, and the shield was C-, but he
thought it was better than nothing.

“Then, what would you like to do?”

-Vwoom

The will of the Heroic Shield was weak, probably due to being used as bait for so long.
Its will had been strong when they fought the monster, but like an old man waiting for
death after his final wish had been fulfilled, that will had gradually weakened since
then.

-Vwoom

The Godslayer hummed this time, offering the idea of accepting the Heroic Shield.
Shin-hyuk was silent for a moment, considering this as he stroked the Heroic Shield.

“What do you think?”

-Vwoom

It was a weak affirmative. Kang Shin-hyuk shook his head and held the shield in his
arms, but it only cried out louder. He couldn’t understand it, the difference between
humans and armaments being too wide for him to cross.

“It’s enough for you just to be here. Why do you need to prove your worth?”

-Vwowoom

The shield appeared to harden its mind, and the Godslayer sword became quiet as it
read Shin-hyuk’s intent. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh as he unsheathed
the sword.

“Damn it.”

-Vwoom

“Sorry… and thank you.” He thought about what he should do but had come too far to
pretend he didn’t know what needed to be done. Shin-hyuk raised the sword high and
brought it down upon the shield. It was sucked into the sword without breaking, and
he felt a strange emotion welling up inside of him as he watched the Heroic Shield
vanish.

-The Godslayer sword ate the Heroic Shield and regained some of its strength as the
shield had a large amount of spiritual power. It will take a considerable amount of time
to fully digest the power of a strong armament.

Perhaps this was the moment the dimensional quest truly ended. Kang Shin-hyuk
thought this with a bitter smile as he sheathed the sword.

***

The second group training happened after school the next day. Kang Shin-hyuk
brought his javelin, and Karen brought her bow, but Baek In-ha and Do Woojin had
nothing in hand. Shin Eunah calmly evaluated all of them.

“The bow is difficult to master.”

“I’ve practiced with it before, and I have the ability to strengthen my nervous system,
so I am quick. Additionally, Shin-hyuk is good at handling all types of weapons and has
enough skill to keep in check the oncoming monsters.”

“…” Kang Shin-hyuk thought Karen had a good response, but Shin Eunah stared at her
as if to decide that she didn’t like her. Kang Shin-hyuk felt embarrassed, choosing to
speak up first.

“What if we try some target practice?”

“Okay.”

Shin Eunah fiddled with a hologram device installed into the multipurpose room, and
several targets popped up into the air near one side of the room. This was a state-of-
the-art training facility that could detect actual blows with sensors. Karen pulled back
to an appropriate distance and then began to fire her bow. The result was five hits out
of five, and Kang Shin-hyuk couldn’t help but nod.

“What about that?”

“Next, let’s make it move.”

“Ugh.” It was natural that they wouldn’t be dealing with a stationary object. Shin Eunah
manipulated the hologram again, and Karen, now less confident, could only hit four
out of the five.

“You missed too much. But first, we should move on to measuring damage. The key is
how much damage can be done to a D-class monster with your arrows.”

“I’m confident when it comes to my magic control!” As she had claimed, she successfully
shot successive arrows with enough mana to complete the task. It was a difficult
technique to keep enough magical power in a ranged weapon like an arrow or bullet.
Kang Shin-hyuk softly applauded her skill and wondered if he could make a bow for
himself instead, but Shin Eunah sounded even stricter.

“No matter how good your magic control is, if you miss an important shot, it’s over. If
you really plan to carry a bow, practice until your accuracy is at least ninety-five
percent. That’s the condition for your practice.”

“That’s tougher than being a special shooter…”

“Until you can, practice.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Shin Eunah’s bitter expression finally sunk into Karen as Shin-hyuk
wondered how a British student knew about the Korean army’s special shooting
conditions. Next up was Kang Shin-hyuk, who Shin Eunah regarded with a softer
expression.

“The javelin has a big range of movement, can you manage it?”

“Yes, non-stop.” The javelin needed the weight of the entire body behind it to be
incredibly powerful. Certainly, an ordinary person or even a trained thrower would
feel the burden of repeating such a movement multiple times. However, Kang Shin-
hyuk was hardly the same person he had been a short while ago. His physical strength
had increased to B, even though it was still negative. It was of a level that could
produce severely destructive power and speed without needing the use of the whole
body. Added to that was his D-rank regenerative power, which helped his muscles
recover from fatigue more than twice as fast.

“Then prove it.”

“Yes.” He proved it wasn’t too difficult, throwing much faster than Karen, who was
practicing with her arrows. She stopped to run over and check on him after a while,
concern ridden on her face.

“Shin-hyuk, is your shoulder okay? You were really throwing them. Like consecutively.”

“I’m fine.”

“Wow, that was cool. I need to pick up the pace myself.”

“Karen Stringfield, go back to training.”

“Yes!”

“And Kang Shin-hyuk, you’ve passed. Let’s think about how to work in sync with the
other members in a real-world scenario.”

“Okay.” Shin Eunah passed on her decision without hesitation, skipping Baek In-ha,
who was waiting with an open heart and went right to Do Woojin.

“What are you planning on doing?”

“I’m planning on learning a provocation skill.”

“A skill stone?”

“Yes, I learned it recently.” A skill stone was a crystal that forcibly awakened a skill, and
it was an extremely rare type of mana stone possessed by a monster. The vast majority
of them had a ridiculously expensive price range, and just possessing one wasn’t
enough to obtain the corresponding skill. Depending on the compatibility with other
skills, it was possible to fail acquiring the skill but still destroy the stone. However, Do
Woojin was an obvious tank type with matching characteristics, so the probability of
him successfully acquiring a provocation skill was high.

“You’re going to bring the enemy to the ground with your provocation.”

“There will be some enemies who attack with range, but the other two can deal with
them.”

“You spent money instead of using your head?”

“I’m not confident in my ability to fight at a range. Rather than taking the clumsy way,
I decided to force the enemy into my territory.”

“That’s also a good answer, but I can’t allow it until I check the level of provocation. I’ll
bring equipment tomorrow, so train yourself until then.”

“Thank you.” Do Woojin looked proud, happy to be recognized by Shin Eunah.

“Okay, everyone is starting off in the right direction. Train on your own, and tomorrow
I will educate you about simple formations in the dungeon.”

“Uh, ma’am. What about me? I haven’t shown off my ranged abilities yet!” Baek In-ha
raised his hand high, and Shin Eunah replied with a profound feeling that conflicted
with her expressionlessness.

“Do you need to?”

“Please!”

“Yes, then…” Shin Eunah opened a window with her telekinesis and then launched a
can of coffee out of her bag into the sky. It soared out of the window, quickly becoming
a distant point.

“If you catch that, you will pass.”

“Okay!” Surprisingly, the next moment Baek jumped through the window that was
clearly narrower than him and soared into the sky. Shin-hyuk thought it was a speed-
based ability, but it was like even his body had transformed. His eyes were open wide
in amazement as Shin Eunah handed each of them a can of coffee.

“Everyone worked hard. Good job.”

“Uh… thank you…?”

“What about Baek?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, I’ll be heading off on my own.” Shin-hyuk decided not to mention
it as the rest of them disbanded and decided to head to the club room without waiting.

[Don’t forget about tomorrow.]

[Baek In-ha: Oh yeah!]

He sent him a text message and received an immediate reply. In the end, he decided
not to worry about it.
-Klang! Klang! Klang!

What did Kang Shin-hyuk make the most of during his stay at Kieron? Of course,
javelins.

-Klang! Klang! Klang!

He hadn’t made them for his use, but to supply a large number to Orde. They were
mainly made of steel, but a few were also made with Brenite.

-Hissss.

The point is that, in a short period of time, the area that Kang Shin-hyuk had mastered
was the production of the javelin. It was an easy matter for him to make a better javelin
and put his heart into it.

“…Done.”

-You made a steel javelin (C-) with the spirit of falconry. Metallurgy skill has increased.

-The synchronization has been weakly accelerated. Current rate of 11.4%.

After a long time away from it, but really only two days, he was extremely excited to
be holding onto a hammer again. In no time, he created a C-rank artifact, the highest
rank he had accomplished with something made of steel. He wondered, briefly, if that
were the best that steel could achieve.

[Hawk’s Steel Javelin]

[C-]

[Special ability: Hit, Penetration]

*Hit: It becomes easier to hit the target. Attack power has increased slightly.

*Penetration: Increases the probability of penetrating the target by overcoming the

limitations of the material. Attack power has significantly increased.

“Can I see it?”

“Yes, here.” Kang Shin-hyuk, with a slight smile at the two special abilities, handed the
javelin over to Lee Manwoo, who had been watching him work all the while. He looked
it over seriously before sighing lightly and returning it to Shin-hyuk.

“How is it?”

“Frankly, I can’t believe it was made using steel. The second I think I know the extent
of your abilities, you create something new the very next moment.”

“Is that a compliment? Thank you.”

“You’ve been training quite a bit during the weekend.” Lee Manwoo had noticed there
had been significant changes in Kang Shin-hyuk, both in his technical skill and his
mentality.

“Is it a woman?”

“What?!”

“That’s not it. Something similar happened, I think.”

“Don’t look into it.” After snorting at Shin-hyuk’s smiling face, Lee Manwoo continued.

“Do you have any plans to deal with magic metal? You’ll need it to go further in the
field of metallurgy.” Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes began to shine- he had been thinking of the
same thing.

“Could I, please?”

“I can’t give you much. However, if you make good things out of it and achieve an
excellent grade in the contest, the school will purchase more.”

“Thank you, sir.” Lee Manwoo remarked he always had a good response, then clicked
his tongue. He took out his stick and began to manipulate it in his hands.

“When did you say the practice was?”

“Friday.”

“You have to be ready by tomorrow to make something useful for practice. It’s good
that your hands are fast.”

“I don’t know the average time needed, so is it a lot faster?”

“No matter how much metallurgy assists in the work, it’ll vary from person to person.
Some people will take three or four days to make a sword that’s nothing to brag about.”
He finished playing with the stick and put it down, giving a final glance to the javelin
before nodding.

“Next time, I’ll introduce you to someone.”

“Who?”

“It’s the guy who remained in the club until the end. I have to admit I kicked them out.”
Shin-hyuk wondered why he would introduce him to someone he kicked out, and Lee
Manwoo had a bitter smile on his face.

“The situation was pointless if he was left alone. His skill is real, though.”

“If you are alone, there’s no point…”

“He knows that you joined the club and wanted to talk to you. So far, I’ve stopped him…
but maybe with a look at what you’ve created, it’ll convince him too. Maybe he’ll even
try to collaborate with you.”

“Collaboration? Like an apprenticeship?”

“You really are like someone from another world who just picked up a hammer.” Shin-
hyuk’s heart stopped for a moment, but the teacher continued unaware.

“It’s common practice to create artifacts as a joint effort. It’s odd to create them with
just one person’s skill.”
“…Yeah?” Lee Manwoo put a hand to his head upon seeing Kang Shin-hyuk make a face
like this was the first time he heard about it.

“The blacksmith shapes it, and the enchanter gives it an ability. When the two are in
harmony, an artifact is born. That’s how the majority of artifacts have been produced.”

“An enchanter… that’s right.” Kang Shin-hyuk also knew of the existence of enchanters:
wizards who temporarily or permanently imparted power into objects. Of course, he
even knew that they made artifacts. However, he didn’t know they were involved in
the creation of artifacts made by a blacksmith, since he, or rather Anvil, had been
making them alone from the beginning.

“It’s not impossible to create an artifact with metallurgy alone, obviously. The more
special the material, the higher the level of the skill, and the stronger mana the
blacksmith has… all of that will increase the probability of an artifact being created. I
can also create them by myself… but that’s not the norm. Most can barely make one
even with the power of an enchanter.” Lee Manwoo smiled at Shin-hyuk as he
contemplated how he should even begin to respond to that.

“Originally, I didn’t want to say it because I thought it might make your head too big.
But that guy kept waiting for me… I knew that you weren’t the type to be swayed by a
word or two, so I decided to let you know.”

“That’s… thank you.”

“Moreover, it would make a good experience for you to collaborate with an enchanter.
Anyway, if you collaborate with him and make a good artifact, you can submit it to the
contest.”

“Yes.” Lee Manwoo left the club room with those words. Kang Shin-hyuk only nodded
and muttered to himself while blankly watching his back.

“He’s a good person.”

-He has a lot of thoughts on how to make your talents bloom. It seems like you’re a big
shot in this world.

“Enchanter… enchanter…” He mumbled to himself and checked the time. It was only
6:30 PM, and the group training ended at 4:30, so he had created a C-rank artifact in
less than two hours.
“Let’s make something with Brenite or that monster shell.”

-Good idea.

However, before he could start, his stomach rumbled loudly. The distance between the
club room and his dorm was quite far, and Shin-hyuk cursed the size of the school as
he considered how hungry he was. Anguishing over this, he suddenly recalled what
Baek In-ha had told him before.

‘There’s a café on campus.’ The structure of Shinyoung was extremely complicated,

given its size and the number of buildings it had, so he hadn’t known it existed for
quite a while. In fact, there was a multipurpose building containing a bowling alley,
gymnasium, and game room right next to the cafeteria he would eat lunch at, which
also included the cafe and other amenities. The building’s name was Unyu, but he had
never gone there as he was always too busy training after classes.

‘It’s closer than the dormitory, and now I don’t have to stick to the dorm food because I
have money. It’s so good to have enough cash… ’

-50HP bonus for a proud member!

To the administrator, this side of Shin-hyuk was rather cute. He ignored the message
as best he could and marched onward to Unyu. He found it quickly; the cafe was on
the first floor and had seating outside for people to eat.

“That’s Kang Shin-hyuk.”

“It’s really him… I haven’t seen him before here.”

The moment he entered the cafe, all eyes were focused on him. That probably
would’ve never been the case before he became the Rookie King. But, whether it was
a good thing or a bad thing, he was used to the gaze of others. He pressed on to make
an order of a cafe mocha with an excess of whipped cream, a lemonade, two sausage
pretzels, and several butter croissants before finding a suitable seat with a buzzer in
hand.

‘There are so many people in here.’

-I told you once this is a fairly elite group, but I’m honestly a little disappointed.
‘People have to rest sometime.’ Shin-hyuk responded with a bitter smile at the stubborn
words of the administrator. He hadn’t spent really any downtime lately, but that was
just because he was bad at it.

‘I wonder if I’m like Anvil in that regard- if it’s my way of escape by only focusing on
training.’ But no matter how durable a person was, proper rest was indispensable.
Moreover, it was important to take time to establish acquaintances with those who
would be active in the field in the future. That was the main reason he focused on
gaining the status of Rookie King, after all. Now, thanks to that, he was given special
treatment in this space where elites gathered.

-It’s ringing.

“Ah.” Kang Shin-hyuk approached the counter and accepted his tray. However, as he
returned to his seat with the thought that this wouldn’t be enough food, the face of
someone he recognized crossed his eyes.

‘The King of Two Crowns?’ It was the 2nd year- Eleanor R. Alger. The rather small lady
was sitting alone at a cafe table, much like Shin-hyuk had been. She was eating a
croissant, much the same as Shin-hyuk had ordered, and was cutely gnawing at it
while holding it in both hands. She clearly didn’t intend to look cute, however, as a
serious expression was plastered on her face.

‘She looks physically weak, but she’s the King of Two Crowns? That’s great.’

-Do you want to talk to her?

‘No, I hate the Wyvern Knights.’

-10HP bonus for this member!

‘Why?!’ He sat down, catching a glimpse of the cloak of the Wyvern Knights fluttering
on her back. He thought he caught her glance at him as well, but thought it was his
imagination.

“He should go ahead and say something.”

“What a bunch, but it’s funnier like that.”

“Don’t you think Alger should pay more attention?”

“Kang Shin-hyuk will be the next Crown of Knights.”

“Yeah, and honestly, Douglas Payne…”

“Shh. She’s moving.”

He tried to ignore the voices coming from all around him, focusing on clearing out his
food and drinking his lemonade. Something moved across his field of vision, and as he
looked up, the figure of Eleanor R. Alger stood before him.

“…”

“…”

It felt a bit sad to him that her eye level was not so different from his while he was
seated, but she gave off the impression of being strong enough to not care about that.
The moment he tried to say something to her, facing her purple eyes, she cut him off.

“…you go.” She mumbled in clumsily spoken Korean and placed an American muffin
on his tray. He suppressed the thought he had that she was British, and it wasn’t an
English muffin.

“Uh, thank you…”

“Hm.” She nodded a little, then picked up her tray and left. Kang Shin-hyuk was taken
aback that that was all she had to say and decided to check the muffin for a secret
message before biting into it. No such thing existed, however.

“What just happened?”

“What kind of play was that…?”

The other patrons’ words were rude, but to Kang Shin-hyuk, it was an amazingly effective
strategy. In his mind, as he ate, he felt his affinity with her rise. Almost resentfully.

-The administrator is very worried about your future.

‘I’m sorry, administrator… ’

As a bonus to those events, he received a very unexpected message on his way back to
the club room.

-Tsukuyo has purchased both products. You will receive a payout of 117,300 HP!

No personal message arrived from her, but Shin-hyuk wondered if she had begun to
acknowledge him in her own way. She had paid more than twice the starting price
posted by him, after all.

-Eunah’s whisper: I was trying to buy something made by Grandpa, but an odd person
bid above me and took them both.

-I’ll make more if I get better.

-Eunah’s whisper: Wow! Something made by grandpa just for me? How much can I
pay for it? 1 million? 2?

Kang Shin-hyuk, who was in a good mood, responded kindly to the message from
Eunah that immediately arrived, but it only succeeded in igniting her will. As a result,
the rivalry between Tsukuyo and Eunah flared up, and eventually, it would become a
war that would engulf the entire Hero Universe.

Not that Kang Shin-hyuk had any idea of that.

“You said you met with the vice-captain yesterday?”

“Not really. Without saying a thing, she dropped a muffin on my tray and walked off.”

“Hey.”

The next morning, Shin-hyuk told Karen about his meeting with the vice-captain, and
she immediately burst into laughter.

“I’m asking because I don’t know, but is there something special about muffins for the
British?”

“Ahh, no. It’s just because the vice-captain is a little awkward.” From Karen’s smile,
Kang Shin-hyuk knew there was something up. However, she gave no sign of answering
his question.

“You must’ve done well. Did she seem like a bad person?”

“No, she seemed like a good person.”

“Alright, then I’ll see you later.”

Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t going to join the Wyvern Knights in exchange for a muffin and
decided to refuse to even consider it. Do Woojin came up to the two of them as they
were entering the school.

“Hey, I’m going to hall two starting today.”

“Huh? Why did that happen?”

“Hm?” Do Woojin’s words were for Karen and seemed to have something to do with
the Wyvern Knights. He apologized mentally to them, but he wasn’t going to fall for it.
“There’s a 2nd year named Yoo Minjun. You should remember him.”

“Oh, there was a person like that…” Kang Shin-hyuk recalled that there had been
another reason for him going after the Rookie King title. It was to rub it in the face of
that senior who had been looking down at him, but so much had happened right after
that he had forgotten entirely. Thinking of that senior now, it didn’t inspire much in
Shin-hyuk anymore. He had too many other things to worry about to be bothered by
such a person.

“Why did I lend artifacts to you during the finals? That senior was asking about that…
finally, they kicked me out of the first building.”

“What the hell is going on in hall one and two? Does this have anything to do with the
split between the captain and vice-captain?”

“Right. Remember that there is a training center for the Wyvern Knights in the school
forest? There are two buildings.”

“The second building is for the vice-captain.” Do Woojin had originally been picked by
a senior who worked under the captain and joined the Wyvern Knights. But that senior
had been disgusted by this incident, and he had been moved to join the vice-captain.
It really wasn’t funny.

“I like the second building. There are fewer people, so there is plenty of free space.
We’re throwing a barbecue party this Sunday, too.”

“I don’t know why this is happening in the first place, just because I lent an artifact?”

“Why don’t you just fight against it?”

“That’s not allowed.”

“I can’t. We have to help the vice-captain.” At Kang Shin-hyuk’s words, watching idly
from the sideline, Do Woojin shook his head, and Karen replied a firm no. Karen then
turned back to Do Woojin.

“Whatever the reason, we’ll be on the same side in the future. Let’s work hard together,
Do Woojin. Ah, at times like these… if only a strong friend joined us…”

“I won’t.” He was a little sorry that he was the reason for Do Woojin being kicked out,
but ultimately, he was a bit glad that he wouldn’t have to deal with such an awful senior
anymore.

“Yeah, I don’t want to get involved with such an odd guy.” Do Woojin nodded,
sympathizing with Shin-hyuk.

“I just don’t like someone being above me… now that this has happened, why don’t we
help the vice-captain get the position of captain? It looks like she’s stronger.”

“That’s what I want to do too…”

“More than that, you two should talk without me.” Whether or not the story of an epic
rebellion began here, Shin-hyuk made himself blissfully unaware. He ran away from
Karen’s pursuit, who was trying to tell him about the internal affairs of the Wyvern
Knights. Karen clicked her tongue and glanced at Do Woojin for help, but he just shook
his head. Baek In-ha, who had just appeared behind them, decided to speak up.

“What, are you dating Do Woojin too?”

“Wow, none of you are helpful!”

***

“A formation means placing people in a specific structure with unique roles. It can be
done in advance to cope with a fluid situation. It is not only important in large-scale
battles but also when exploring dungeons.” After school, group 7 was once more
gathered in the multipurpose room to listen to Shin Eunah’s lecture about the basics
of exploring a dungeon.

“So, from now on, I will educate you on the basic formation that suits each situation.
Your success will depend on how quickly you can adapt to a rapidly changing situation
and respond appropriately.”

“Can you tell us about the appropriate formation for this dungeon?”

“If you understand the basics behind it, you’ll be able to figure that out on your own.”
The actual training would occur on Friday, and today was Wednesday, so they had only
two days to beat their knowledge to a level that was useful in a real battle. They were
subjected to practical formation training, accompanied by response training that
mimicked a battle situation.
“I feel like I’m a real superhuman.”

“The one who does the best in class often makes a mistake in the real world.” Because
they were outstanding talents, Karen and Baek In-ha were able to follow through
without any problem once the training switched from theory to practice. When it came
to the way they moved, everyone was already a professional.

“Hmm, this much… you pass.”

“Thank you.” After the training, Do Woojin’s provocation skill was measured by Shin
Eunah. Even though he had just learned the skill, it was already a considerable level.

“If Shin-hyuk and Stringfield pressure the enemies at a distance, and Do Woojin pulls
them closer with a taunt, I can go ahead and clean up. Isn’t that perfect?”

“Yeah, yeah, just do what you’re saying.”

“What about our party leader? I think Shin-hyuk would be good for it.”

“Well…”

“Okay, then Shin-hyuk.” Thus, Kang Shin-hyuk became the party leader. He wasn’t
confident, but he was also aware that only he would be able to control Baek at any point.

“Good.” Shin Eunah gave a satisfied nod as soon as they picked a leader.

“I’m getting used to it now. Tomorrow, we will review the things that need to be grasped
when entering a dungeon and prepare for the actual battle. You are dismissed… Kang
Shin-hyuk, remain here. I need to make a list of the items you will be bringing into the
dungeon.”

“Okay.”

“Ah, wait a minute.” Shin Eunah stopped the others from dispersing, handing each of
them a coffee can from her bag. They all accepted it without question, expecting as
much, and then split up. Kang Shin-hyuk was convinced she was just being conscientious.

“Then… how many are you going to take?” With only the two of them there, Shin Eunah
took out a document and pen from her bag. It may have just been because of his mood,
but Shin-hyuk thought her speech was becoming more comfortable around him. He
put down his canned coffee and tilted his head.

“There will be a few more… I think ten.”

“Ten, did you make all of them?”

“No, not yet, just three. I’m planning to finish the rest from now on.” Including the steel
javelin he made the other day, he had three that Lee Manwoo had certified. The
remaining seven would be forged from the magic metal he would prepare. He wanted
to bring the Brenite Spear, but it would be hard to explain where it came from.
Thinking about Lee Manwoo’s personality, he wondered if he would even be willing to
give the okay sign.

“From now on? Is that possible?”

“Yeah.”

“…” Upon hearing that, Shin Eunah frowned slightly and looked at the watch on her
delicate wrist. It was a brand of watch Shin-hyuk had never even heard of, and he
wondered how expensive it had been.

“Is it possible to see the production myself? I’ve been interested in it for a while.”

“Uh, um…” He wondered if it would be okay. She shouldn’t have any knowledge of how
Anvil actually forged, so it might be fine.

“Yes, but there is a teacher in the club…”

“That’s no problem.” There was one problem that Shin-hyuk overlooked, however, and
it was how eye-catching Shin Eunah was. As she walked alongside him to the clubroom,
everyone they passed had their eyes on them.

“It’s her…”

“What, why is she here?”

“Do you not know? I saw her at school a few days ago…”

“She’s so pretty…”
“Hey, it’s the Rookie King. Are you with him?”

Kang Shin-hyuk felt like he was the focus of the rumors that were spreading among
the people right now, even from the little he could hear. He had already been attracting
a lot of attention these days, but now that he was seen with Shin Eunah… he wished
he could just grab one of these people and explain that she was his supervisor for gate
practice. Maybe this was what she had been aiming for? No, it seemed that she didn’t
care about her surroundings at all with her unchanging, icy expression. He sighed and
proceeded as quickly as he could to the third floor of the Biryong Hall.

“Mr. Lee Manwoo.”

“Well.” In the room of the Artifact Production Club, Lee Manwoo was sitting alone and
reading a newspaper. In these days where everything had been replaced by digital, it
was the very image of a stubborn, old craftsman. Almost too much so.

“Well?”

“Mr. Lee Manwoo, long time no see.”

“Alright… it’s you.” The two seemed to know each other. It was only natural, as she was
a graduate of Shinyoung. But he wondered why Claire hadn’t known about that fact if
she suspected Lee Manwoo was here. As Shin-hyuk tilted his head, the two continued
to converse.

“I heard about what happened a while ago, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not something for you need to apologize for.”

“Alright.”

“Now, why are you… hmm, yes. You are their trainer. Do you have any doubts he made
it himself?”

“No, I came to watch the production process.”

“It’s a demonstration then.” Lee Manwoo frowned.

“Are you going to badmouth this guy’s work?”

“Huh?”

“No.” Kang Shin-hyuk, who was listening from the side, raising his head. Shin Eunah
was quick to deny his words, and Lee Manwoo clicked his tongue.

“This student came to the club once and said that compared to what they were looking
for, what we had was far short of it.”

“…” Shin Eunah clamped her mouth shut. Kang Shin-hyuk began to recall what Claire
previously told him about Lee Manwoo and how Shin Eunah said he could not compare
to Anvil. Shin-hyuk wondered about that story, and Lee Manwoo moved forward
slightly as if to protect Shin-hyuk.

“If you’re going to comment about this guy’s work, then just go back. I can vouch that
this guy can create artifacts.”

“Are you teaching him yourself?”

“…No, not quite.”

“I’m relieved.”

“What a terrible guy.” Shin Eunah was hostile towards the old man without hesitation.
Lee Manwoo clicked his tongue at her words, but only let her enter after she pledged
not to bad mouth Shin-hyuk’s work.

“Then look. I purchased some of the most commonly used magic metal, Kenyon, and
some of the more popular metal you might look for, Alite.” Lee Manwoo had prepared
four kilograms of the metal total, with two one-kilogram ingots each. The Kenyon had
a shiny silver look to it, and the Alite radiated a subtle golden glow. Shin-hyuk was
more interested in the Alite than the Kenyon.

“Kenyon is, in a sense, the top version of steel. It is reinforced by absorbing magical
power, so it is preferred by those who use magic. It also has a high rate of success in
enchanting… Alite, on the other hand, doesn’t accept magical power and is hard to turn
into an artifact. But once completed, it is excellent for blocking and destroying magic.”

“I see…” Lee Manwoo had known Shin-hyuk couldn’t handle magic and must’ve
prepared it out of consideration for him. Shin-hyuk smiled ambiguously at him.
“It’s a waste to turn it into a javelin.”

“Every attempt has meaning. Try it.”

“If you say so.” He took the two Alite ingots without any further hesitation. Shin Eunah
struck up a conversation with Lee Manwoo as they watched him turn on the furnace.

“I heard you gave up the hammer.”

“I did. Still, I thought I could clear the road ahead of him.”

“Is that so? You’re doing that much.” Shin Eunah’s expression hardened, and Lee
Manwoo continued.

“So, tell me. Is it possible that you were connected to that guy…”

“Yes, Jormungand… I was informed that the anti-superhuman coalition is starting to

move again.” Lee Manwoo’s expression also hardened and became grim. He had a bad
relationship with the group called Jormungand.

“It’s said they are recruiting new blood after losing many members in the previous
conflict. Shinyoung decided to put their prospects together after receiving that intel.”

“Are you a part of that escort?”

“We are cooperating with Vanguard as well. So even if there is another accident, the
students will be safe.”

-Klang! Klang! Klang!

Kang Shin-hyuk started hammering on the molten metal as the two continued to talk.

“I still don’t like what the higher-ups are doing.”

“…It was the best choice to protect the students.”

“I won’t deny that, but it’s dangerous.”

“From the moment they enter this school, the students will be prepared to fight.”
“Aren’t those just pretty words? Well?” Shin Eunah didn’t respond, staring at the figure
of Shin-hyuk while he worked. Lee Manwoo nearly passed out as he witnessed the
small smile on her lips.

‘She can smile?’ Lee Manwoo had been interested in her ever since she complained
about his work being bad. The Ice Princess, the Lightning Witch, and so on. Just by
looking at her nicknames, you could get a sense of how beautiful she was- and her
terrible personality. She never involved herself with anyone during the three years she
was at Shinyoung, and no one had seen her smiling face. This continued after she
graduated and became a member of the Superhuman association.

‘But she… ’ Lee Manwoo recalled the day she visited the club room and spat on their
work. She had said it was lacking compared to what she was looking for. So, what if
she had found it? What if that was Kang Shin-hyuk? What if it weren’t to observe his
work that she had come here?

‘Huh… at least I don’t have to worry about his safety.’ Lee Manwoo was surprised at the
conclusion he had come to, so much, so laughter came out of him unbidden. Shin
Eunah turned to him with a scary expression.

“…”

“Is there a problem…?”

“…No, no…” Shin Eunah turned her head back expressionlessly, but Lee Manwoo, with
the eyes of a craftsman, could see her blushing ears. Of course, he looked away without
a word.

Kang Shin-hyuk was forging the magic metal, unaware of what was happening around
him.
-You have earned 1 Intermediate Agility Potion as a bonus for today’s login.

It was a bright Friday morning on the day of the gate practice. Kang Shin-hyuk, who
had continued to refine his mind until he went to bed, was suddenly distracted by
seeing the log in bonus.

“Agility potion? Administrator, does drinking that increase your agility?”

-Unfortunately, it is not a permanent increase. It will amplify your agility by two levels
for thirty minutes.

“Even a temporary effect is great.” The administrator informed him that the lower
level potion could be purchased as a basic item from the transaction board, as an item
sold by the Hero Universe itself. Even a one-level increase would be great, but the price
was 100,000 HP, so he decided to give it up. Today’s bonus was an absurd enough win.

-Do note that it will only go so far as SS rank, given it is an intermediate potion.

“An intermediate potion covers up to SS?” As far as Shin-hyuk knew, there were rare
cases where a skill or status would exceed the S rank. If one did, it was enough for one
to be considered a top ranker. How could any potion that pushes someone up to an SS
rank not be advanced?

“How many levels does the status go up to…” Currently, he had: Strength B-, Agility B+,
Health B, Spiritual Strength B-. Now all of his physical statuses had entered the B rank
since his second trait evolution, but now he suddenly felt pathetic. Even Shin Eunah,
who Kang Shin-hyuk dared not compare himself to, was treated as a newcomer to the
Hero Universe. The administrator sent another message as if shaking his head.

-You will surely reach that far someday.

“Is that really true…”

-Of course. As soon as the synchronization rate reaches 20% and the second VIP
privilege is released, the chance you’ll receive a growth-speed buff from the log in
bonus will increase.

Shin-hyuk could easily count the number of times he had received it so far. If he could
get that buff more often, however, that would be great for his training.

-In addition to that, there will be a status growth potion among the basic items on the
trading board. It can be applied with the growth rate buff to increase its efficiency.

“What’s the price?”

-As a special reminder, the price of a lower potion that will increase your growth rate
by 30% for a day is 300,000 HP.

He knew it. Even after he restored some of his VIP rights and recovered a lot of HP, it
seemed like so little now. There was the issue that he also wanted to purchase more
inventory space and consumables like the Eiren Jelly. There were also metallurgic
materials and unknown conveniences that he might need to spend HP on.

“I have to make weapons and sell them quickly.”

-100HP bonus for members!

“Yes, thank you.” At the administrator’s usual bonus, he quickly expressed gratitude.
He finished getting ready before giving breakfast to Onyx and heading off to eat at the
dorm restaurant himself. Originally, he would train in the morning after breakfast, but
he didn’t have the time today. It was the day of the gate practice, and they were
supposed to gather right at 7 AM after arming themselves.

“Shin-hyuk!”

“Oh.” He met up with Baek In-ha, who was enjoying a nice meal full of popular Korean
ingredients.

“Today is perfect Korean cuisine.”

“We always eat this kind of food, even though Western cuisine is popular here.”

“I think it’s a conspiracy to make the Korean students outperform the international
ones.” Of course, other national cuisines were also prepared for students. But even
most of the international students were eating Korean dishes. As they considered this,
they could feel the presence of another person approach them. It was none other than
their assistant, Do Woojin.

“Sit next to me.”

“Yeah.” Do Woojin’s meal consisted of much the same, although it was meager compared
to Shin-hyuk’s large portions.

“Why are you eating so much this early? Did you forget about practice?”

“Because we have practice we should eat more. Besides, to eat like this outside of
campus you’d have to pay a lot more. Eat when you can.” Do Woojin shook his head
and sat down.

“The captain asked about you.”

“Captain… Douglas Payne?”

“I asked him what the hell he wanted from me after kicking me out of the second
building.” He made an unpleasant expression as he popped a steamed egg in his mouth.

“I answered like that, but sooner or later they’ll probably take direct action.”

“Is it really something to get that upset about?”

“Well…” Do Woojin hesitated, chewing on some fried sprouts before letting out a sigh.

“You may not know this from Stringfield, but the captain wants to make the vice-
captain his girl. Since, the first man the vice-captain has shown interest in is you,
naturally, he’s interested in who you are. At least, that’s the word around.”

“So he seriously wants to deal with me because of that?”

“That’s the kind of person he is. It’s like he’s from some book.” Do Woojin made a face
as he considered Shin-hyuk and Baek. Baek was looking between the two.

“What. Why. What?”

“Doesn’t the vice-captain usually scout out and hire talented newcomers?”

“That’s why it’s a mess. The vice-captain is famous for having a good sense for a
person’s ability.” Kang Shin-hyuk listened to him as he continued to eat the food before
him. Do Woojin seemed a little upset at least in part by that.

“The captain didn’t seem to notice that, though, which must be annoying for you
because you heard the vice-captain was interested in you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“It doesn’t really matter. This stuff is happening because of you, regardless of whether
you did something wrong or not.” It bothered him to be surrounded by this, but he
figured he could at least look after them since they would be in the dungeon together.
But he honestly felt that he would rather them take care of it on their own. All he did
was eat the muffin Eleanor gave him.

“Anyway… be careful.”

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

“Hmph.” Do Woojin pretended like he wasn’t worried and just ate his rice. Kang Shin-
hyuk smiled as he emptied the remaining rice on his plate as well. Baek was eating at
the fruit he had for dessert.

***

7 AM. All 1st-year students had gathered in their groups in the grand courtyard. They
listened to a brief speech from the principal and were now on their way to their
assigned gate with their supervisor. There were a total of seventy-five groups and a
total of three-hundred people, including eight classes from the Knight Department
and two from the Magic Department. The only one entering Crow’s Nest, however, was
Group 7 of C Class.

“Morning.”

“Hello.” Kang Shin-hyuk, who had arrived with Do Woojin and Baek In-ha, greeted
Karen, who was looking particularly good. She tilted her at the three approaching.

“When did you get so close?”

“We just ate rice together.”

“Alright? Anyway, Shin-hyuk, come to our barbecue party this Sunday. Free unlimited
meat!”

“I’m not going.”

“Why?!” She let out a yell but surprisingly, Do Woojin moved up to side with her.

“It might be better to join us if you want to avoid all this bothersome work.”

“Hey, then I would be confronted in earnest. That would be more troublesome…”

“Is there a problem here?” As Shin-hyuk refuted him, a voice popped out from behind
them. At the same time, everything became noisy.

“It’s the Empress!”

“She’s real!”

“That’s the special forces.”

“How did they get that person to become their supervisor?”

Shin-hyuk turned around to see the figure of Shin Eunah, the grand-daughter of Anvil,
emitting the chill of absolute zero through her golden eyes.

“Is someone picking on Kang Shin-hyuk? Who dares?” She looked straight at Do
Woojin as she asked this, which was scary to me even on the sideline.

“Well, uh… that’s…”

“It’s nothing serious, just a petty dispute.”

“…” Do Woojin was embarrassed by her unflinching gaze, so Shin-hyuk intervened

quickly. Shin Eunah’s eyes became a little gentle.

“A trivial dispute… alright. But if there is anything unreasonable happening, please

consult with me. I will take formal action through the principal.”
“Okay.” Was she the principal now? Even if he woke up from death, he would never
consult Shin Eunah.

“I’ll always be around so that nothing happens to Shin-hyuk!”

“Alright. Now, everyone. Head this way.” She responded coldly to Baek, who was trying
to score points and lead the group to line up. A total of seventy-five groups were lined
up side-by-side.

“Look over there.”

“It’s the Thunder Empress.”

“Pretty…”

“I’m sorry…”

She wore a plain black suit, but her luminous beauty was enough to attract attention.
Exclamations erupted among the people who saw her, but she was staring straight
ahead without paying it any mind. The atmosphere didn’t change at all during the
principal’s admonition, but immediately after the training session started, she turned
around and let out a brief shout.

“Start!” The command rang out amongst all of those gathered, but especially in Kang
Shin-hyuk’s ears. That was because of the ear microphones that each member of his
group was wearing.

“Where’s that group going?”

“I’m envious.”

Groups rushed forward as if they were competing, but Shin Eunah let their group
without the worry of the surrounding atmosphere. That attitude of always maintaining
one’s own pace was something Kang Shin-hyuk wanted to learn.

“When superhumans engage in gate operations, there are two ways they move. The
first is in an emergency dispatch due to an irregular gate. The second is in a general
dispatch. In the case of the second, there is no problem in taking any mode of
transportation so long as you’re not late.” Shin Eunah quickly explained to the group
as she led them off of the school grounds.
“For an emergency dispatch, all available means must be used to arrive at the meeting
point as quickly as possible. The state will even compensate for damage to public or
private properties due to the activation of abilities. Then, with that, we will carry out
an emergency call.”

“Yes?” Shin Eunah disappeared from the spot without giving them a chance to ask
what she meant. Immediately afterward, Shin-hyuk’s stick rang with a notification.
She sent him a map with the location of the meeting point.

“Then, I’ll go too!”

“Oh, you bastard!”

“Me too!” Baek In-ha quickly recognized the situation and ran. Karen bolted after him,
leaving only Shin-hyuk and Do Woojin facing each other. Do Woojin already knew he
would be the last to arrive.

“See you later.”

“Fuck!” Shin-hyuk also hit the ground running, exerting his spiritual power to the max
to increase his speed. His D rank regenerative power would keep his muscles from
fatiguing.

“What are you, Shin-hyuk?!”

It didn’t take long for him to catch up to Karen, who was running to her fullest. She let
out a shout of fear as she noticed him passing her.

“Why are you faster than me?!”

“Well…” At the athletic meet, he had heard her agility was B rank. Now, he was B+,
thanks to the rapid growth of his second awakening. That wouldn’t have been enough
to compete with her ability, but he had his own spiritual power.

“A scam! You’re a scam!”

“See you later!”

“Ahhhh!” Shin-hyuk leisurely overtook her as she angrily sped up.

The practice had already begun.
“Huh, huh, huh…”

In downtown Jongno was the Crow’s Nest, a D+ class gate surrounded by barricades
to prevent the public from entering. Do Woojin, who arrived last, was gasping for
breath. Shin Eunah was looking over him calmly.

“It is good to hurry at the words emergency dispatch, but keep in mind you need to be
able to fight as soon as you arrive on site.”

“Okay…”

“If you’re not confident in your own speed, it would be good to arrange a special means
of transportation in case of an emergency call or seek cooperation from another
superhuman.”

“…” He nodded silently, and Kang Shin-hyuk nodded along with him, thinking there
was a third method.

‘Although that’s a special means of transportation.’ Things like magic bikes and cars
were on the market, and they had superhuman-only vehicles that could speed up
according to one’s magical power. The prices started in the billions, of course.

‘But I don’t have magical power.’ He did have spiritual power to strengthen himself, but
it wasn’t useful for a magic vehicle. Then, he considered, there would be no choice but
to make something. He decided he would have to put that off until his metallurgy
reached at least A rank.

“Look, it’s Shinyoung students.”

“Are the students going in there?”

“Hey, it’s the Empress. The Empress!”

Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head to the sounds coming around him. Jongno had many
people and was considered the number one political city in Korea, so it had taken
especially careful measures around the gate. To enter Crow’s Nest meant you were a
recognized superhuman.

“They send their students to this gate?”

“Aren’t their students special?”

“Hey, that boy is so handsome.”

“Not that one…”

It was a stable gate that didn’t have the risk of reversing flow – a phenomenon in which
monsters would come out of the gate due to a failure to handle it –, but it had great
meaning because it was Jongno’s gate.

“After a five-minute break, we will enter.”

“Alright.” Perhaps that was why Shinyoung assigned Group 7 to this gate. Kang Shin-
hyuk shrugged as he could feel people watching them, with some even taking pictures.
He struck Baek In-ha on the side, who was posing.

“Don’t do something that blatantly visible.”

“Kuhh, you got stronger…”

Five-minutes passed, and Do Woojin was able to recover back to a fighting condition
at that time. The group held each other’s hands to pass through the gate; Shin Eunah
stood at the front of the barricade holding Shin-hyuk’s hand. She used her superhuman
registration card to open the barricade, which slid open for them to pass.

“Don’t let go of each other’s hands until we’re all completely inside the gate.”

“Okay!” Kang Shin-hyuk felt a faint trembling in Shin Eunah’s hand. ‘What? She’s a
certified S+ rank, she can’t be nervous to enter a D+ gate… ’ That said, he wondered if
there was a hidden situation behind the exercise. While he considered it, she stepped
through the vortex of pale gray floating above the ground.

-Entered the D+ level gate Crow’s Nest.

The message of Gaia System, not the Hero Universe, struck his retina. The world went
round and round, and the next moment he had already arrived in another world. It
was his first time entering a dungeon.

‘It’s similar to the dimension quest.’ He thought blankly as he looked up to the sky.
Surprisingly, the sky above them was taller and bluer than the one outside the gate.

“It looks high, but it’s not really. Depending on the grade of the gate, the area inside
will vary.”

“I see…”

“Teacher, can we let go now?” Karen spoke up, and Shin Eunah looked surprised for a
moment. She recovered quickly, nodding, and then let go of Shin-hyuk’s hand.

“Yes, you can.” Freed from Karen and Shin Eunah, Shin-hyuk busied himself, preparing
for battle. The armaments he had brought, with permission from the school, were nine
steel javelins. They were: the D+ splitting steel javelin, the C- hawk’s steel javelin, one
made of Alite, and finally a D+ steel sword. He took one of the javelins out and hung a
second one around his waist. He prepared a bucket to carry the rest and put it over
his shoulder. He had a bit of luggage, but he wasn’t uncomfortable carrying it all.

“Did you really make all of that?”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have received permission.”

“Awesome…” Karen was armed with a bow and a long spear, where Do Woojin held a
greatsword and a towering shield. No doubt it was for when he grew in size, although
Shin-hyuk couldn’t judge someone for overburdening themselves. Baek In-ha was the
least armed, wearing only combat boots with a small metal blade protruding from the
end. Aside from that, he was dressed casually.

“I will follow from behind. From now on, everything will be subject to evaluation, so
keep that in mind.” As soon as she finished speaking, she fell in behind the party. It
wasn’t a joke; she was completely out of sight behind them. They looked as if they were
possessed by a ghost, but soon regained their senses and went into formation.

“Alright then, go ahead. Did you memorize all the maps?”

“Yeah. This will probably be the D pattern.” Dungeons were deactivated each time they
were cleared and then reactivated after a certain set amount of time called resetting.
The internal structure of the dungeon would also slightly change, along with the
distribution of monsters. Of course, there were limitations to this, so instead of a
completely new dungeon, instead there were several similar patterns.

“Then let’s go.”

“Let’s do it!” At Shin-hyuk’s words, Karen shouted vigorously. Baek raised his arms to
follow her, and Do Woojin held his weapons tighter. Shin-hyuk responded with a rough
smile. However, their efforts to inspire their own spirits would soon wither in vain.
Because the dungeon was too easy.

-Kuah!

“Monster!” It was a Gray Crow, the main monster in the Crow’s Nest. It was as big as a
human with a clever intelligence not prone to provocation. They didn’t have long-
range combat capabilities, however, and were easy to deal with.

“Kuh!” Shin-hyuk found it, and the moment he let out a cry, he threw his javelin with
all his might. It gave the Crow no chance to escape as it flew faster than a bullet with
his B rank strength, accurately piercing the Crow’s head to kill it. There was no
message, which made Shin-hyuk think the Hero Universe didn’t count monsters below
a certain level.

“Oh.”

“I guess it’s natural you can kill a D class monster in one hit.”

“But how do you retrieve that?”

“That’s the only downside. I can recover them after the battle.” He agreed it would be
nice if they had an automatic recovery function, but it turned out that option belonged
to a sword, not a javelin.

“Then I will retrieve it. I can go before the formation collapses and then get back.”

“Stop… whoa.”

“I’m back, was I fast?” Before he could even say thank you, Baek had returned with a
javelin and a gray crow in hand. From him, it didn’t matter if it was a kilometer or not.
He could travel back and forth within a second.

“Much faster than before.”

“Well, here you go.” As Baek returned Shin-hyuk’s javelin with a smile, Shin-hyuk
realized it was still impossible for him to catch up with this guy.

“What about the monster corpse? It’s worth money.”

“Usually, we’d have a porter. But it can’t be helped…”

“It’s my job as supervisor.” Shin Eunah suddenly appeared in the air, grabbing the Gray
Crow. It was immediately sucked into the air, which she explained as a rare inventory
artifact, but Shin-hyuk knew the identity of the inventory.

“All corpses will be dealt with after training. If there is a skill stone, it will be
distributed to the most suitable person.”

“Do skill stones actually show up?”

“Sometimes.” With a word, their motivation grew immensely. A skill stone was the
fastest way for a superhuman to grow through the gate, although the probability was
clearly slim. She clearly knew how to raise morale like a professional. They had no
hesitation now, especially now that Shin-hyuk had someone to recover his javelins. He
led the group, throwing one whenever he saw a Gray Crow. He didn’t even need to rely
on his special javelins; the normal ones were doing fine.

“Hey, we don’t have anything to do.”

“I believe there is a section where the number of monsters is diversified. We’d usually
come across more sooner, but Shin-hyuk is killing the Gray Crows before they can
react.”

“We’ll have to kill the mobs before the boss, anyway, so let’s pull the crowds little by
little from now on and fight.”

“Okay, then Karen will start first.”

“Okay.” Under the strict command of Hell Instructor Shin Eunah, Karen’s bow skills
had increased remarkably over the past few days. Perhaps her ability to strengthen
her nervous system had positively affected her learning ability as well, though she was
still bad at studying.

-Kyaaaah!

-Kyaaaah!

“They’re calling for their friends like that.”

“Good. Do Woojin, get ready.”

“Already am.” The Gray Crow that was hit by Karen’s arrow began to scream loudly,
soon met with a quick reply. Shortly thereafter, dozens of gray crows began to appear
in the sky.

“So many?”

“Shin-hyuk has only been killing them one by one, so now they’re showing up in force?”

“Do Woojin, start provoking!” Kang Shin-hyuk decided to start it off with his steel
javelin, which luckily triggered it’s split option from the start to tear into three Gray
Crows instantly. The party’s eyes, seeing the power of his artifact for the first time,
went wide open.

“Did Shin-hyuk really make that?!”

“Shoot them!” Shin-hyuk significantly reduced the Gray Crow’s numbers by throwing
successive javelins, backed by Karen, firing off mana-filled arrows to thin them out at
a slightly slower pace.

“I’m going to clash head-on. Should I participate in the ranged attack?”

“Do Woojin will bring them down with provocation, I need you to recover javelins.”

“Sheesh.” Shortly after Baek recovered my javelin, the Gray Crows began to launch
their attack. Their method of hunting was to use their beak, sharper than a blade, to
sweep down. Do Woojin stepped forward with a tense expression, raising his shield to
shout.

“Provocation!”
“Is it a skill that works by shouting like that?”

“Oh, it works.” The Gray Crow was not a monster prone to provocation. However,
whether the taunt he learned was of a high rarity or his skill aptitude was high, a large
number of them stumbled in the air and started to move toward him. Of course, it was
only about half, but that felt about right.

“It’s being covered by Do Woojin and Baek In-ha.”

“Shin-hyuk, please support me. I’ll switch to spear now.”

“Alright.” Again, Kang Shin-hyuk’s javelin announced the start of the battle. The Falcon’s
Steel Javelin, which had the hit and pierce options, stabbed through three Crows and
stuck to a fourth one. It continued to fly as the one it stuck to collapsed. But now, Karen
wasn’t holding back anymore either.

“Ha!” The Gray Crow approaching the ground was struck by a spear and killed. It
wasn’t an easy thing to kill a D class monster with a single blow, and she was doing it
with just a regular spear.

“Be diligent!”

“Ha!” Meanwhile, Do Woojin and Baek also fought very neatly. Baek was light on his
feet, jumping up, killing crow after crow with his feet before landing on Do Woojin’s
shield.

“What, you’re done already?”

“It’s not that bad of a gate.” It was probably because Baek said that, in the next
moment, a bright light burst out of the stomach of a Gray Crow while Shin-hyuk was
collecting his javelin from it.

“What?!” Shin Eunah, who had been watching from a distance, approached at a
startling speed and began to cast protection magic. Unfortunately, Shin-hyuk was too
close to the epicenter of the light to be protected by magic.

-Entered the B+ Class Irregular Gate Tomb of the Mantis. Be careful; this place has
greater difficulty than your own ability.

He was swept away by the light.

Irregular gates would appear at random, but this was the first time Kang Shin-hyuk
had heard that an irregular gate would reveal its entrance through the body of a
monster inside of another gate.

-She’s a great fool.

The message from the administrator was full of anger.

-If she hadn’t stopped it, there would be other victims to ensure your safety.

“No, don’t say such terrifying things…” Shin Eunah used her magic to save everyone,
including him. All the others except for him were saved, so she was at least seventy-
five percent successful.

“But what the hell?”

-An irregular gate is a gate whose timing, scale, and location cannot be predicted.
However, someone who can manipulate such a gate certainly exists in this world.

“Is that so?” Shin-hyuk nodded, recalling the troll he had confronted in the previous
irregular gate situation. Somehow, the troll had been wandering in search of spiritual
power while wielding a weapon that was made by Anvil. It was unlikely that it had just
been a coincidence. The existence of Kang Shin-hyuk and the Godslayer sword… no
doubt, someone had been confirming that. Now, he was convinced of it.

“Is this about the sword again?”

-I can’t be sure, but maybe not. There were too many uncertain elements. There is a
high probability that all the people who entered the gate with you, or at least someone
among that group, were targeted.

Aiming at people and attracting them into this irregular gate. If that proved to be true,
it’d make a huge fuss. It wasn’t lost on him how absurd it was that he was the first to
get caught in it.

“Can you come to help?”

-It’s annoying to give praise, but that woman is the highest-ranking wizard who has
mastered not only her own traits but the magic allowed for humans. If you take the
right action with the right product, she should come to your rescue. The problem is
not her, however…

“Ah, the other’s outside can’t be left alone.”

-That’s right. However, when it comes to priorities, your priority should be yourself
over anything else, so keep that in mind. Moreover, because of your own mistake, you
were left alone in this dangerous place…

The administrator suddenly cut off his message. Shin-hyuk wondered what sort of
things he might be telling Shin Eunah, or if he was even communicating with her. Kang
Shin-hyuk speculated at will but decided he should first take a closer look at his
environment.

“Big.” He couldn’t see the sky. The place where he was now was a cave full of dark and
humid energy. Sticky mucus covered the floor, and there were thread strands all over.
But, above all, it was big. This natural-looking cave was clearly not something that
could exist on earth. Absurdly high ceiling, passages that even a troll could leisurely
enter, and above all, rocks were rolling around him.

‘So the monsters that appear here will also be huge… damn it.’ B+ rank gate. Although
Shin-hyuk had grown rapidly over the past month, enough to reach Class B, this gate
had greater difficulty than that. It was common sense that when entering a gate, enter
only the ones that were at least one level lower than yourself. It was rare, but even
monsters that shouldn’t appear could. Therefore, that was the common belief
established among professionals.

‘But I was sucked into a gate that is higher than me… ’ Moreover, the worst part was
that someone artificially created this irregular gate to pull him into it. Which meant
there was someone who held malice towards him that wasn’t a monster.

-Eunah’s whisper: Grandpa…

It was then that a message arrived from Eunah.

-Eunah’s whisper: What would you do… Grandpa, what can I do? What do I do? Grandpa,
help me…!

-Eunah’s whisper: Grandpa, grandpa. What should I do, what should I do…!

Kang Shin-hyuk stared at it blankly for a moment. It wasn’t uncommon that he thought
Eunah was out of her mind, but now she was especially going at it. How did she plan
on asking for help if she wouldn’t talk about the situation? That said, she wasn’t
necessarily calm right now… but it was clear to him that she was really worried about
Shin-hyuk, not Anvil.

-Eunah’s whisper: Grandpa, grandpa…!

-It’s okay.

Kang Shin-hyuk, who was reading her messages constantly, came through and suddenly
replied. It felt only natural.

-Eunah’s whisper: Yes…?

-It’s okay.

-Eunah’s whisper: It’s really okay?

-Yeah.

-Eunah’s whisper: Why, how…? I haven’t said anything yet.

-That’s… I’ll tell you a little later.

Shin-hyuk wondered if he would be caught since he sent such a message. No, he might
have been caught already. However, for him, it was more important to care for Eunah
right now, who was surely worrying herself silly outside.

-It’s really okay, though. So believe and wait.

He couldn’t help it. As the synchronization rate gradually increased, he became more
aware of Anvil’s feelings, who cared for Eunah. He figured it would be more important
to calm her down now than worry about what would happen if he were caught.
Perhaps it was because he was feeling guilty of hiding it from her.
-Eunah’s whisper: Yes…

-Eunah’s whisper: Yes!

Fortunately, her answer was positive. He checked the message with a smile, but he
couldn’t help but worry about the future now that she had calmed damn. The
administrator’s message flew in the next moment to comfort him.

-Your actions were appropriate. She has regained her composure at a phenomenal
pace. It seems that in about five minutes, you will be able to find the entrance to the
irregular gate and open it again.

“I just need to hold on for five minutes? Thank god…”

-But you have to last five hours.

He stiffened at the message that flew in right after. The administrator began to explain
as if it were only natural.

-There are many cases where there is a time gap between the outer dimension and the
irregular gate. This one appears to be a particular offender… in other words, you will
have to be careful.

“Ha…” Perhaps that was why it took a moment for the messages to fly in from Eunah
at first. There was a fair bit of time in-between them as well. He thought it was just
because she was agitated, but that wasn’t it. He felt like he wanted to shout out loud
but desperately suppressed it because he knew it would be foolish.

Five hours.

Three-hundred minutes.

Eighteen-thousand seconds.

He would have to endure eighteen-thousand seconds in a gate where death could

come at any moment.

-Kiiii…

At the same time, from the other side of the cave, a noise that distinctly belonged to a
monster sounded out. He held his breath as much as he could and went to the rock
wall in search of a place to hide. Immediately after, the cavity began to fill with dense
mana.

-Kii…

The cry of the monster had a clear intention. Did it have something to do with the
mana that just filled the room? Shin-hyuk squeezed the javelin tight in his hand, his
knuckles whitening. Fortunately, he had his weapon. He could throw it or just swing
it.

-Kiii.

It took another step and made a short cry. It was accompanied by the slight sound of
wings. Shin-hyuk instinctively activated his spiritual power and rolled forward, the
rock he was hiding behind breaking into pieces.

-Kiiii!

The monster’s cry seemed to say, ‘As expected!’ From the beginning, it had guessed
that Shin-hyuk was somewhere in this room. He focused on the creature. It was a
mantis, wrapped in a gum-purple colored shell and nearly four meters tall. A long
blade on its arm was flashing out.

-Venom Blade Mantis, a B+ monster.

“So it can poison me?”

-That’s right.

“Great.” Kang Shin-hyuk muttered and began to flee again. The moment his shoulder
turned, the blade swung, and a sharp wind flew along his trajectory. The place where
Shin-hyuk had been was smashed once more. Pebbles rained down all around him.

-Kiiiii!

“Kh!” When it tried to swing the blade again, this time, Shin-hyuk swung his javelin.
No matter how hard the carapace was, the joints were likely to be weak. The javelin
precisely shot out towards the elbow joint that supported the blade, flying too fast for
even a B rank monster to react easily.
-Ting!

It bounced off the joint harmlessly.

“Seriously?”

-Kyaaaahhhh!

He was dumbstruck by the ridiculous sight. The monster began to scream and spit
something out of its mouth. Shin-hyuk jumped away without looking at what it was,
something with an acrid smell passed and grazed the end of his uniform. Shortly after,
his uniform top completely melted away. Looking behind him, he could see that purple
saliva covered part of the floor, sizzling and breaking the rock down.

“Seriously…” He pressed his heart down and held back his desire to cry, moving again.
Combining his spiritual power to his agility, he was able to escape the next attack. He
still had an agility potion he could drink as well, so at least he could beat his enemy in
terms of speed.

‘No.’ He had only met his first enemy; resorting to drinking potions already would be
too much. He needed to save it for the direst of situations. If so…

“Fuck.” He had no choice but to fight back. He prepared a steel javelin, avoiding the
attack that came as he swung it forward, once again aimed at the joints. As much as he
could, he poured his spiritual power into the weapon that contained his best efforts.
However, it also bounced off without an effect this time. As a result, he concluded that
a normal steel javelin couldn’t do anything to this mantis.

-Kyaaaahhhhh!

The mantis rushed in with a shout, brushing away the attack. Whenever it took a step,
a dull vibration resonated throughout the cavity. Kang Shin-hyuk jumped away
desperately, rolling on the ground. ‘Should I close the gap instead? Would it be easier to
block his arm at close range? No, he has that acid… ’

Kang Shin-hyuk calmed his breathing while taking evasive movements. He had one
more shot at this. This time, he prepared the falcon’s steel javelin.

-Kyaaaaah!
“Kh!” Avoiding its wind blade, he carefully threw the spear. Luckily, the javelin’s split
option activated. The javelin found its target, as it stuck itself into the monster’s elbow.

-Quoooh!

It made a terrible noise, but Shin-hyuk was happy to hear it. Three javelins tore at the
elbow joint, and the blade on it’s left arm fell neatly to the floor.

-Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

The mantis screamed loudly, spraying acid in every direction. Shin-hyuk ducked
behind the largest rock he could find. It melted away, but he was able to stop it from
hitting him.

“It works.”

-It works.

The artifact he created had a great effect. There was no happier feeling for a craftsman.
The only problem was that he just threw the only artifact he had.

-Gyoaaaahhhhh!

The mantis was thrashing about, and Shin-hyuk examined the arm that fell below it.
The javelin was stuck in its joint. If he could recover that, he could get rid of the other
arm too. Would that be possible? It seemed difficult, but he had to try it. However, in
the next moment, his thoughts were cut off as a thread flew in.

-Gyaaaah!

The mantis screamed, yet the thread that was now connected to him never broke.
More strands began to fall down from the ceiling, gradually restraining the mantis and
pulling him into the air.

-Click, click-click

There was an unpleasant sound that couldn’t be compared to that of the mantis. Kang
Shin-hyuk held his breath as he looked up towards the ceiling. A giant spider was
pulling up the mantis and began to cocoon it.
“…” He wanted to compliment himself for not making any sound. Fortunately, the
spider didn’t notice him as it focused on recovering the mantis.

-Very well done. 200HP bonus to members.

Even the message from the administrator sounded quiet. He couldn’t say anything out
of fear and only spoke once he was convinced the spider was completely gone.

“So, it’s the Mantis’ Graveyard.”

In normal gates, monsters rarely hunt each other, but it’s not uncommon in irregular
gates.

“I see…” He felt dizzy after holding his breath for too long. If it weren’t for his
regenerative power, his limit would’ve arrived long ago. He moved slowly, very slowly,
with gratitude for his power. He retrieved the javelin he threw and grabbed the
mantis’s bladed arm. At that moment, he could feel his spiritual power permeating
and resonating with the mantis blade. He was able to acquire one piece of valuable
information as a result.

He realized that both a great crisis and a great opportunity had arrived
Two types of monsters lived in the Mantis’ Graveyard. There were bug-type monsters
that were lower than C class, which weren’t very threatening to Kang Shin-hyuk. The
ones that he had to be concerned about, however, were the Venom Blade Mantis and
their predator, the Spiders. Both were B+ class monsters, and there were quite a few
of each of them.

‘But the spiders are more interested in the mantises.’ Using his spiritual power, Shin-
hyuk once again examined what he heard from the mantis’s blade he collected. He
didn’t think he would be able to communicate with the monster’s body, but once he
knew it was possible, it wasn’t difficult to do. The blade contained all of the information
about the ecology, combat method, and weaknesses of the creature it was just attached
to.

‘To think such a possibility was hiding inside my spiritual power.’ Of course, he
remembered the time he had used his spiritual power to figure out the momentum of
the senior who was trying to take a picture of him. But at that time, he was only able
to get a rough sense of some of his opponent’s power. Perhaps it was because this was
a piece taken directly from a living thing, or that his spiritual power had grown more
than before. Maybe it was even a combination of the two.

-Member, are you okay?

The administrator sends him a worried message as he stood still there in an

emergency situation. He didn’t speak openly, but the administrator appeared to be
seriously concerned.

“Yes, I’m okay.”

-…?

Shin-hyuk’s answer was calm. He was still envisioning how to use the new information
he had gathered. Soon, he arrived at a conclusion, albeit one with gaps in it.
“Administrator, how much HP do I have?”

-753,090 points.

The administrator responded without delay.

“Wow.” He knew it wouldn’t be a lot after he had purchased inventory space per 1.5
million HP, but it was enough for now.

“Is there a potion that can refill my spiritual power at once?”

-The cheapest of that type are sold for 50,000 HP apiece.

“Then just one… no, two.”

-VIP fee waiver, VIP special discount price both have been purchased for 80,000 HP.
This potion has a ten-minute cooldown.

“Thank you for the easy to understand explanation.” I now had 670,000 points left. I
bought a few more items, including five additional trauma treatment drugs, at 4,000
apiece.

-This product cannot be purchased anywhere else. In the Hero Universe, there are
magicians that have been cultivated to create potions.

Shin-hyuk wondered how they compared to the potions Claire made.

“Is there anything I can afford with my remaining money that would help me sneak?”

-Searching transaction board.

It took a little time this time. However, according to Claire, it seemed that the search
function of the Hero Universe board wasn’t so friendly. It was one more thing he had
to thank the administrator for.

-It will take a little time. Can you wait?

“No problem, I also have a little work to do.” Shin-hyuk took a seat on the floor, keeping
his ears alert for any monsters. The moment he put the blade on the ground and pulled
out the sword he had stored in his inventory…
“…What?”

-Myu!

Onyx popped out with a cute cry, hanging off of Shin-hyuk’s face. He put a hand over
him quickly.

“If you’re not quiet here, we could die. Understand?” He whispered quietly, and Onyx
let out a small cry to affirm that he understood the situation. Onyx settled in on his
shoulder, but he was still confused.

“How the hell did you enter my inventory… was it always possible for living things to
enter?”

-Inventory provides an optimal environment for everything stored inside. Keep in

mind that items that aren’t yours cannot be stored.

Indeed, according to that, Onyx was able to enter it because he was Shin-hyuk’s pet.
He hadn’t even imagined that he would try to crawl in. He really was a fearless little
guy.

“I guess he was trying to eat the Brenite in there.

-But I’m glad he’s here. I couldn’t find a product that would meet your conditions
within the price offered, but thanks to Onyx, there are products that could be used.
This is the Mimicry Scroll.

“Will it let me imitate his stealth skill?” Onyx had a stealth skill with a whopping A
class rarity. He gained it by eating the C class trap Shin-Hyuk created. The administrator
confirmed his speculation without hesitation.

-Correct. However, you must remain attached to the target. You can borrow the
target’s skills until the seventh time the scroll expires. The skills that are borrowed
are limited to one at a time.

“That’s perfect for this moment…” Onyx let out a proud cry as he realized that he was
helpful. Shin-hyuk gently patted him.

“How much is it?”

-It is 560,000 HP.

“I knew it.”

***

Fortunately, since his encounter with the mantis, he hadn’t run into any other
monsters. Shin-hyuk began to mobilize once more after finishing his preparations. The
mantises would move quickly once they realized one of theirs had been killed.

-Mimicry has imitated the entity Onyx’s Stealth (A) ability. The skill proficiency of the
borrow skill is D.

“Good… I don’t know when you increased your skill level, but good job.” He activated
the imitation scroll he purchased right away, confirming that Onyx’s stealth was
applied to him. It would release if he engaged in combat, but as long as he had the
scroll, he could reapply it at any time.

-Member, are you prepared?

“Yeah.” He nodded seriously at the administrator’s obvious concern. There were many
types of superhumans in this world, but Kang Shin-hyuk was the type who attacked
monsters even if it was dangerous for him.

“Let’s go.” He had a javelin in one hand and the mantis blade in the other. After
removing the flesh from the blade, which was two meters long, he sharpened it with a
whetstone and used the leather he had in his inventory to make a handle. He had just
done that, but a nice makeshift sword had been born. His previous experience in
Kieron making armor from shell really helped him in making it.

-Do you have any reason to make it?

“To deal with the big guys, I needed a larger blade. Moreover…” The blade was highly
toxic and would be able to block the webs that the spiders emitted.

-When I look back, it seems you’ve grown quite a bit. Infiltrating the enemy’s base,
tearing off a bit of their body, and processing it into a weapon on the fly… 300HP Bonus!

“Thank you.” Maybe the day he would receive more than 1,000 HP as a bonus was
approaching. He shook the thought quickly, sensing a monster.
‘Spider.’ A giant spider was peeking out from a hole in the ceiling. It had eight purple
legs and was making a creepy clicking sound. Kang Shin-hyuk held his breath as it
blinked its compound eyes, then returned into the hole. His stealth had proven
effective.

“Thanks to that, I’m alive.” He tried to be bolder with the next monster he met. The
mantis never recognized he was there. It was only a D rank stealth ability, but it was
incredibly effective.

-The skill proficiency of Onyx’s stealth skill became D+ rank, and the level of imitation
has increased with it.

It was even growing in real-time. He didn’t want to imagine what would’ve happened
if Onyx didn’t eat that trap he made.

‘Nest.’ He soon reached the entrance of a cave where there were a lot of mantises. Until
now, they had been walking alone, but now he estimated at least thirty of them were
at the front of the cave. He knew what was in there.

‘That female mantis is holding an egg. These must be the soldiers who protect the young
then.’ This was a harsh breeding environment. However, they found ways to live and
deal with the spiders which they coexisted with, overcoming them with numbers so
that they could protect their offsprings.

‘But that’ll give me a way to catch them.’ Shin-hyuk found a wide passage within sight
of them and placed a bottle in the center of it. It was the monster attractor (C+) he
obtained as a login bonus before. It was a hunting aid that could attract monsters up
to the B- class. By itself, it couldn’t attract B+ mantises. So, Shin-hyuk used the spiritual
power potion he bought, using his spiritual power to strengthen the lure. Before, this
idea would have been impossible for him. But now, he was in an environment where
he had to squeeze his brain for all the ideas he could. That was helping him learn how
to use his spiritual power.

-Now, you’ve mastered the training of spiritual power. At this level, you can attract as
many as you like.

“Thank you, then…” He quietly left the bottle and took out another in his hands. It was
the spiritual glue that he obtained. When applied with spiritual power, it became a
transcendent adhesive that would bind all things inconsistent with his own spiritual
power.

“Is this not sold at the store?”

-Upon the third liberation, we can purchase them for 2 million HP each. When that
time comes, the discount will be even better, so you could buy it for 800,000 HP!

“I asked for nothing.” He grunted and spread the adhesive around the monster
attractant. As expected of a product worth 2 million HP, the amount of adhesive was
quite large. The entire passage could be covered without a problem.

‘That should be enough. I’m now ready.’ Kang Shin-hyuk carefully distanced himself
from the passage while still hiding. Only then did the mantises find the lure placed in
the center of the passage, making a noise to alert the others. A steel javelin, fired off
by Shin-hyuk, shattered the bottle to spread the lure.

-Kiiiii!

-Kiaaaaa!

There was a terrible commotion. The mantises screamed and ran into the passage
together. Even though his hiding was dismissed as soon as he threw the javelin, they
ran forward without paying him any mind as they flew toward the attractant. Soon
after, they all stopped in place where he had spread the adhesive, their feet bound to
the floor.

-Kiiiii!

-Kiaaah!

-You’ll need to hurry. Once activated, Spirit Glue only works for a few minutes.

“That’s enough!” Kang Shin-hyuk ran right into the cave holding the egg clusters. A
blade of wind flew out to meet him, but he rolled straight down the floor to avoid it.

-Kiiii!

A giant female mantis revealed her anger at this invader. The cave behind her was
filled with mantis eggs.
All superhumans had a limit to their growth. Traits, skills, and even stats had clear
limits that could be reached, and a person’s potential could be judged by how high
their limits were. Usually, that could be roughly determined by the rarity of a trait or
skill, so superhumans with high rarity traits were considered elites. Kang Shin-hyuk
himself had acquired an S Rank characteristic through two trait evolutions, so his limit
was naturally higher.

But how did a superhuman become stronger than that limit? There were two methods.
The first was to keep things simple and work hard. Deeply exploring one’s
characteristics and repeatedly training the body to challenge one’s limits would slowly
grow one’s status.

‘Which is what they make the students, including me, do… ’

The second was hunting monsters. The Gaia system itself was a system that presumed
the ability to grow by hunting monsters. Abilities would grow by absorbing bits of the
monsters they defeated. You couldn’t get strong by killing monsters weaker than
yourself, but in contrast, you could get stronger quickly by defeating monsters
stronger than you. It was like the idea of experience in a game.

‘Of course, you don’t see dramatic changes right away as you level up in a game, and you
might feel your ability growing faster by training… ’

Nevertheless, by hunting monsters steadily, your stats would surely grow. When Kang
Shin-hyuk defeated the mutant troll and devoted himself to training, his status grew
rapidly as evidence of this. As he had found in that case and in fighting the strong
enemy in Kieron, this way of growth brought no small risk of death.

-Gyaaaah!

“If it’s just one, it’s worth trying.”

-Myu?!
“Onyx, quickly get in the inventory.” In front of his eyes now, there was a giant female
mantis. This was a particularly strong one among the B+ Venom Blade Mantises, who
was put in charge of guarding and raising the young. However, Shin-hyuk had already
learned the pattern of her behavior through the mantis blade he had acquired. Holding
it, it was like he was a mantis himself.

‘It’s odd when I feel united with the Godslayer but… this isn’t bad.’

-Kiiiiiii!

The mantis cried out and swung its front limbs. Shin-hyuk laughed quietly, avoiding
the attack that had arrived just as expected. Originally, they collected mana in their
limbs to fire off toxic wind blade attacks, but she wasn’t doing that. The reason wasn’t
that she couldn’t, but because this space was full of mantis eggs.

‘I’ve heard rumors but… ’ He had heard urban legends of superhumans who fell
through single-shot absorption gates, falling into the center of a nest of insect-type
monsters. They were able to gain enough experience to increase their status on the
spot. It wasn’t known how high the experience value of a monster’s egg was, since
those stories were relegated as an urban legend, but the egg of a B+ rank monster
would no doubt be worth quite a bit.

-Monster eggs provide experience equivalent to one-eighth of an adult. However, their

price remains the same.

He found out that information from the administrator.

“So… like this!” He struck the nearest egg clutch with the forelimb blade; the eggs
collapsed with an unpleasant crunching sound. Whether the eggs weren’t resistant, or
a direct cut was too much even for a regular mantis, the eggs quickly began to blacken
and rot away from the toxic limb. As soon as he destroyed the clutch holding more
than a hundred eggs, a message appeared before his eyes.

-You have suppressed a mass of beings that are harmful to the order of things. Bonus
on membership level! You acquired 120,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you gain additional
HP equivalent to 50% of the reward, for a total of 180,000HP!

-Your strength has grown to B rank!

At that moment, he felt a rush shoot through him. Not just because he acquired HP, but
because the moment he reaped those countless lives, he could feel something
absorbed into himself. The growth in strength wasn’t much compared to the monster
on Kieron, but it was still incredible. Shin-hyuk was half-way occupied with those
ecstatic thoughts when…

-Kiiiii!

The blade of the mantis aimed for the nape of his neck, strong enough to kill him
instantly if it hit.

‘But.’ It wasn’t difficult to avoid. He should be safe if he kept moving away from it to
break the egg clutches first. The main concern was how much time he would have to
break all the eggs.

‘The spiders will react after making such a commotion.’ And, more than that, the
spiritual glue wouldn’t be able to hold a B+ rank monster forever. It was best to work
as quickly as possible and then get out. Kang Shin-hyuk grabbed the forelimb blade
with both hands before letting out a scream as he charged at the mantis.

“Break!”

-Kiiii!

The mantis spat out a glob of acid at him, faster than any bullet, but Shin-hyuk was
prepared. He turned the blade to block the acid. It couldn’t melt through the blade as
he swung it forward, causing it to spatter on a nearby egg clutch. He hoped the
experience for that would be given to him.

-Kiiiii?!

The mantis crossed its forelimbs, and Shin-hyuk lowered himself as he continued his
charge. He ducked under the swinging blades, waiting for the moment it tried to
recover. Now that he could read the enemy’s attack patterns, it wasn’t difficult to evade
them. He moved in close to its body as its balance was disturbed, cutting deep into the
mantis’s neck joints. It was a perfect attack with uncanny timing, but true to the rank
of B+, the monster didn’t die immediately after being dealt a fatal blow.

-Kiiiiii!

As Shin-hyuk tried to pull the sword out, the two forelimbs moved in behind him to
confine him there. The mantis lowered it’s split head, revealing disgusting four-
pronged tentacles protruding from within. It was proof that, despite looking like a
mantis, there were actually monsters. It wasn’t information contained in the forelimb
blade, either.

“Kh…” In a split second, he considered his options. ‘Can I escape if I leave the weapon?
No.’ He realized he had to cut through with all he had. He squeezed the blade harder,
clenching his teeth as he poured his spiritual power into the blade. His skill was
activated, a dragon pattern engraving itself on the forelimb blade. As Shin-hyuk’s eyes
turned golden, the forelimb blade began to vibrate.

-Kiiii!

“Khhh!” Kang Shin-hyuk gave up his shoulders to the counterattack of the enemy that
flew in. Panic set in as he could feel his flesh being carved, but he had no time to look
at the wound. Wind began to emanate from the vibrating blade, blowing the head of
the mantis clean off. According to the forelimb, however, they could move for a bit
without their heads.

“Hoo…” Fortunately, that was the end. There was no trace of the head or the tentacles,
and the torso soon stopped moving and fell in place.

-You have suppressed a being that was harmful to the order of things. Bonus on
membership level! You acquired 10,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you gain additional HP
equivalent to 50% of the reward, for a total of 15,000HP!

-Your Regeneration ability became D rank.

-You are poisoned. Even taking into account your regenerative power, you should take
at least an intermediate level of detoxification. An appropriate item has been purchased
immediately at the discretion of the administrator. 20,000HP will be deducted.

“Thank you.” Since the message was urgent, Kang Shin-hyuk took the detoxification
drug that appeared in his hand without question. Looking at his shoulder, he saw that
his uniform was a mess, and flesh had been dug out of his shoulder. The drug would
neutralize the poison, but it didn’t help with the actual wound. He drank a recovery
potion and applied some trauma medicine to the wound, which radiated pain through
him.

“Ow… still hurts less than the troll.”

-Member…

“No, I’m sorry.”

-I’m not trying to blame you. I just noticed something outside has changed, but it isn’t
good news…

“Changed? What did?”

-Myu?

He took out Onyx from his inventory and asked the administrator to elaborate.

-An irregular gate has occurred again in the Crow’s Nest. However, this time, it is an
emissive type. Shin Eunah is currently engaged in a battle against unknown enemies
to protect the students… I don’t think you can wait for outside help.

“So, that means…”

-You have no choice but to clear this gate alone.

“Ah…” He didn’t want to hear that, but that didn’t mean anything would change. It
couldn’t be solved, so he decided to figure it out after breaking all of the eggs in this
cavern.

Meanwhile, he didn’t notice Onyx approaching the fallen mantis.

For him, it was like an open-pit flowing with gold and silver. Wherever he went,
treasures awaited.

-You have suppressed several beings that are harmful to the order of things. Bonus
based on membership level! You received 150,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you will obtain
additional HP equal to 50% of the reward, for a total of 225,000 HP!

-You have suppressed several beings that are harmful to the order of things. Bonus
based on membership level! You received 110,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you will obtain
additional HP equal to 50% of the reward, for a total of 165,000 HP!

-Your Regeneration ability has grown to the D+ rank!

-You have suppressed several beings that are harmful to the order of things. Bonus
based on membership level! You received 140,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you will obtain
additional HP equal to 50% of the reward, for a total of 210,000 HP!

-Your Health has grown to the B+ rank!

Thinking that the spiders could arrive at any moment, Kang Shin-hyuk immediately
launched the wind blade from the forelimb, which he had just learned to activate with
his power. The wind blades were just like those launched by the mantises, slicing
through the eggs scattered throughout the cavern with ease.

-You have suppressed several beings that are harmful to the order of things. Bonus
based on membership level! You received 172,000HP! As a VIP bonus, you will obtain
additional HP equal to 50% of the reward, for a total of 258,000 HP!

-Your Spiritual Power has grown to the B rank!

In the process, both HP and experience were pouring in at a tremendous rate. Even
his spiritual power had grown to the point he could feel it recovering and expanding,
just as he was finishing up with the last clutch of eggs.
“Huh… huh…” Kang Shin-hyuk took a moment to catch his breath after confirming
there were no enemies incoming. Rather than being tired from using too much energy,
the constant changes he was undergoing were wearing him down. He decided to
confirm his status as he busied himself, filling his lungs with oxygen.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: B+ rank]

[Characteristic]

Golden Eyed Dragon (S)

[Physical ability]

Force: B+

Agility: B+

Health: B+

[Special ability]

Spiritual Power: B

Regeneration: C-

[Skill]

Dragon’s Fan Dance (S+): B

Metallurgy: C

“Crazy…” Although his agility remained the same, his strength had grown by two
stages, and his stamina and spiritual strength by one. Amazingly, his regeneration had
grown by three whole stages. While the mantises were sturdy and strong, they weren’t
very agile. Perhaps, being insect-type monsters, they had a regeneration-like ability
that had helped in developing his own.

‘But the wall to A-rank is high.’ The – or + after the rank indicated a difference in power,
of course, but it was incomparable to the letter changing. He had acquired several B+
rank abilities, but Kang Shin-hyuk knew very well of the wall that blocked his progress
now. He believed he could become an A-rank superhuman, but there had been plenty
in the past who had thrown themselves vainly against that barrier with such beliefs.

‘Even so, I’m easily in the top 15%… ’ At B+, only 15% of the superhumans, or roughly
750,000 of the 5 million, had reached that far. That number was cut in half if you went
to A-rank and cut in half once more by going to A+, but Shin-hyuk was confident he
wouldn’t stop there.

-Don’t forget to be vigilant, member. You have just reached the B+ rank, but this gate
is still the same level as you.

“I know, but thank you for the good timing with that advice.

-100HP bonus for unattended members!

He knew he couldn’t hope for outside help, so he had to work to clear the gate by himself.
The added power he acquired here was nothing but laying down the groundwork.

“Well?” A raucous of mantis cries, and clicks filled the cavern. Rather, it had been there
all along, but he was just noticing it now that his own battle had calmed down. He
made sure his stealth was activated and peeked outside. The group of mantises was
engaged in a battle against several spiders.

‘The glue is working properly.’ He expected the spiders to show up, but given it would
mean decreasing his foes, he was glad to see it actually happened. The battle was
fiercely unfolding before him. The mantises had been struck by surprise and were
unable to move properly because of the glue, yet they had wind blade. The spiders
were overwhelming them gradually, but the mantises were fighting back fiercely.

“Okay, then, you can collect the loot…”

-Myu!

“What… you’ve grown quite a bit.”

-Myu?

Kang Shin-hyuk narrowed his eyes at the appearance of Onyx approaching him. If
previously he were the size of an apple, now he was more like a pear. It was a subtle
difference, but one he recognized. The thorns on his back seemed sharper now too,
more like blades than thorns.

“…What did you eat?”

-Myu myu myu… (I only ate half…)

‘You only ate half?’ After hearing Onyx’s honest confession, he looked back to find that
one of the mantises’ forelimbs had disappeared. While Shin-hyuk had been destroying
the egg clutches, Onyx was eagerly gnawing at the forelimb blades. ‘No, wait. He’s
treating that like metal?!’

-Myu?

“…You have to eat plenty when you’re young. Good job, good job.”

-Myuuuu!

Onyx let out a cry of relief, afraid he would be scolded. Shin-hyuk cut off the other
forelimb blade and stowed it in his inventory for later, noticing a glint of blue in the
torn neck of the mantis. He grabbed it, thinking it was a mana stone, but it looked a
little different.

“Is this… a skill stone?” The words of Shin Eunah came to him as he examined it. He
doubted his luck, but he had been ridiculously lucky in falling into the irregular gate.
In a bad way, anyway. But this was a skill stone from a B+ gate.

-Please take it right away.

“But it might fail…” He had no idea how compatible he would be with it, but it felt
stupid to just store it away when it could be useful.

‘It feels somewhat cold against my spiritual power.’ It didn’t feel bad to him, though. He
closed his eyes and held it tightly, the skill stone shattering in his hands. A cool rush
of energy flowed through him.

-You learned the attribute skill [Wind Master (A-)].

As the message appeared before him, he desperately suppressed a scream of joy.

‘It’s a skill that deals with one of the four major attributes!’ With the rarity of A-rank,
this was the jackpot of jackpots. The skill level was still F-rank, however, so he
wouldn’t be able to use it effectively. However, he had a weapon that could assist with
it. Creating wind by himself was beyond him right now, but reinforcing it wasn’t so
long as he used the forelimb blade. With that, he could create a blade of wind even
stronger than the mantises made.

-Myu!

“Huh? What, again…?” Perhaps as an apology for eating the forelimb, Onyx placed
something in front of him. It appeared to be half of some broken marble, with faint
energy leaking out from it. Shin-hyuk immediately identified it as spiritual power. But
why?

-Member, put it in your inventory.

“Yeah.” At the administrator’s message, which contained urgency, he immediately

stowed it away.

-The enemy is coming. Hide.

“It’s over already? Onyx, come here.” Holding Onyx in his arms, he immediately
activated stealth and hid in a corner. Shortly after, he watched a spider climb inside
the cavern. It began to wander around the ceiling with a clicking sound, but shortly
stopped in confusion when it found nothing. It clicked a few more times before leaving.

‘…Can it sense movement?’ Kang Shin-hyuk sat there for a while, not moving until he
couldn’t feel any signs of movement. Careful to stay hidden, he slowly left the cavern.
A sight from a horror movie awaited him. Bits of monsters were scattered about, and
the ground was dug up and melted in places. However, the corpses didn’t remain,
consumed by the victors.

‘The spiders won and carried them off.’ The mantises might’ve won if it weren’t for the
spiritual glue, but if that happened, it wouldn’t have been good for him. It was a bit
disappointing he couldn’t recover the parts, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘Well… let’s get started with this gate.’ He confirmed the amount of HP he had acquired.
3.7 million HP. It was a good bit of money; now he had to think of how to use it in
clearing the gate.

-Kwooooong
A dull and massive vibration rocked the space he was in as he was thinking. Anxiety
filled him as the inner walls of the gate swayed.

-Be prepared!

Kang Shin-hyuk hugged onto Onyx and squatted down, bracing himself for the terrible
shock that reverberated through the gate.

-The Mantis’ Tomb (B+) has transformed into the Queen’s Cobweb (A-) due to the
change in the power structure. Be careful!

The world turned over again.