###
“Eh? They aren’t stopping. Are they stronger than they look?”
“Huh? So I don’t have to pretend I don’t know anymore?”
“I heard everything about your little plan.”
“Wow, Master, your hearing is impressive.”
“I enhanced my senses with mana. I’ll teach you how to do it soon.”
Leaving the monsters behind, Kang Hyun walked steadily toward the loan sharks.
“Hey, you think borrowing money excuses this kind of behavior?”
He didn’t particularly resent them.
Sure, the interest was exorbitant, but he had handled worse.
‘They even showed up at my house once, but after sending them off properly, it went quiet. And now they show up like this.’
He had really “sent them off properly”.
The way Kyle would have.
Kang Hyun explained the situation to Aden.
“What!? Master, what kind of people like this exist in Korea!?”
“Right? Even I was surprised.”
Rumors about debt collectors killing Awakened debtors were common, but Kang Hyun hadn’t expected them to be true.
“Humans don’t change, huh.”
Not even in a hundred years.
“There were traitors like this in the old days too.”
“Traitors?”
“Those who sided with the Black World Tree.”
These days, it seemed like any Awakened criminal earned the same label.
The loan sharks, who had been standing there blankly, finally snapped back to their senses.
The senior among them started thinking fast.
‘Why did the monsters stop moving?’
How had Kang Hyun noticed their presence?
And why was he so confident?
The situation wasn’t clear, but something felt off.
‘Is he really just F-rank?’
Aden followed closely behind Kang Hyun.
“But, Master, if the opponent is strong, can’t you stop them?”
“If I had enough mana, I could. But I’m out.”
“Oh… Then are you going to fight them using other Words of Power, I mean… other spells?”
Aden almost slipped and mentioned Words of Power.
“Nope. No mana left.”
“What!?”
Then what’s going to happen to them? Aden was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Uh, what rank are those guys?”
“D, I think?”
“Then, Master, aren’t you in a pretty tight spot…?”
What? Tight spot?
“You’re calling me ‘in a tight spot’? You want to die?”
“But, Master, you’re just F+ rank! And if your only offensive option, mana, is gone…!”
This brat had conveniently forgotten he was A-rank.
The exposure to hostility must have locked his mind into fear.
‘He’s so inexperienced.’
An A-rank trembling in front of D-ranks?
Clearly, there was a lot to teach.
‘When am I going to turn this kid into a proper fighter?’
Meanwhile, the loan sharks had assessed the situation while the two bantered.
‘F+ rank, huh?’
And on top of that, a mage-type. Out of mana?
‘Alright. He’s basically a regular human now.’
The frozen scene in front of them? Probably just some unique skill or item.
Of course, if the loan sharks had been mages themselves—or had any understanding of what that frozen scene really signified—or if they’d paid more attention to TV programs analyzing Gate strategies, they might have thought differently.
‘And that big-chested b*tch next to him looks flustered. She probably isn’t that strong either.’
They decided they could handle this.
“Let’s go, rookie.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The loan sharks charged forward, and Aden stepped up.
“M-Master! I’ll protect you!”
“Stay put, and don’t do anything stupid. You’ll get stabbed.”
Despite being A-rank, Aden had no experience with close combat.
She’d be useless in this situation.
A-rank magic?
Getting stabbed would still kill her.
Kang Hyun felt a fresh wave of frustration.
‘These idiots… and Aden too. Do I look like that much of an easy target?’
It stung.
He had once been called the strongest, after all.
“Inventory.”
A shortsword appeared from thin air.
It was practically junk by now, its edge dull from time and use.
But it would suffice. The loan sharks rushed forward, brandishing weapons.
“Die!”
“Hyaaah!”
Their D-rank speed was quick—far beyond what an F+ rank could match.
“Watch closely. Fights aren’t just about stats.”
Two steps.
That alone was enough to slip into their blind spot. And then—
Thud!
The worn shortsword pierced the rookie loan shark’s neck, an almost absurdly easy attack.
“Huh?”
No, it only stuck partway in.
It failed to go all the way through.
Shallow.
“Tsk.”
Blocked already?
Stats really are a powerhouse.
Blood bubbled from the rookie’s mouth.
“Urgh, guh—”
Kang Hyun tilted his head slightly to avoid the spray of blood.
He withdrew the sword from the neck.
‘A softer spot.’
He drove it upward into the jaw.
Crunch—
“Urgh—”
Once again, shallow.
It didn’t reach the brain.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
This was ridiculous.
“Urgh, guh…”
The rookie was already at death’s door, but now it was a battle of sheer persistence.
Behind him, the senior loan shark swung his blade.
Kang Hyun dropped his sword, taking a sidestep to avoid the attack.
“Die, damn it!”
In an instant, the rookie was out of commission.
Fear filled the senior loan shark’s face.
Not that it mattered to Kang Hyun. He took another step forward, returning to his original position.
Grabbing the back of the rookie’s head, he yanked downward.
“Argh!”
With a knee strike, he drove the shortsword that had been lodged in the rookie’s jaw straight up.
Thud.
This time, it pierced clean through the top of the head.
“Wow… Disciple, never mind. Forget showing off and focus on building your stats first.”
Stats really were more terrifying than he’d expected.
When Kang Hyun turned, he locked eyes with the other loan shark, who flinched.
“Ahhhh!”
Consumed by fear, the man charged recklessly.
Kang Hyun walked calmly toward him, brushing past like a ghost and positioning himself behind him.
The loan shark froze in confusion.
“Huh?”
Where did he go?
In that moment, Kang Hyun slammed his elbow into the man’s empty spinal gap.
Crunch.
“Guh—”
It was over.
The loan shark collapsed to the ground like a broken puppet.
The sharp force of Kang Hyun’s elbow, focused at its tip, drove precisely into the nerves between the vertebrae.
‘Stats don’t matter when your spine gets hit like that.’
Still, Kang Hyun felt the limits of his current approach.
Relying purely on combat sense was only feasible against low-rank opponents.
‘Against higher ranks… I can’t win without that.’
Stats couldn’t be underestimated.
He’d need to keep consistently earning the rewards of Perfect Clears.
“Ahh, my legs! My legs!”
The loan shark writhed on the ground.
He’d likely be paralyzed for the rest of his life.
“Disciple.”
“Y-yes, Master!”
“I’m not a one-trick Word Mage.”
“Yes, Master!”
Kyle, in his past life, had suffered from severe vocal strain.
He had to preserve his voice as much as possible.
So, how could he be a one-trick pony relying solely on Words of Power?
The great hero Kyle was a master of magical swordsmanship, imbuing himself or his weapons with Words of Power in battle.
‘Aden… looks fine.’
Kang Hyun had been concerned she’d tremble in fear after witnessing a killing.
‘Then again, she’s from Thea.’
Unlike Earth, life’s value was considerably lower there.
Thea had been at war with the Black World Tree for over a century.
“What will you do with these men?”
“The bodies will disappear once we clear the dungeon.”
Kang Hyun nudged a corpse’s head with his foot, freeing the shortsword.
“It’s completely ruined.”
“Yeah, it’s unusable now.”
He missed his old beloved sword from his previous life.
“And this one?”
“S-spare me! There’s someone behind this! I’ll tell you everything!”
“Wow, no loyalty, huh?”
“None whatsoever! Not a shred! All I have is respect and remorse for you, Kang Hyun-nim!”
What a shameless act.
“Are you handing him over to the police?”
“No. You don’t involve law enforcement in things like this.”
“Why not?”
Kang Hyun’s reply came from experience.
“The state is too public and too humanitarian when dealing with criminals. Unless it directly impacts someone in power, they won’t handle it properly.”
“Ah~”
“If you leave things to others, there will always be loose ends. Always take care of your enemies with your own hands.”
“Yes, Master! But…”
“What is it?”
Aden hesitated for a moment.
“Have you, um… killed people before? I-I mean no offense, it’s just… you seem very used to it….”
“Disciple.”
“Yes?”
Sharp question.
Damn, how do I spin this?
‘Let’s just patch it up with something that sounds profound.’
Kang Hyun adjusted his tone, adding a touch of gravitas—Master mode engaged.
“Do you know why heroes are called heroes?”
Aden’s eyes widened.
“…! I’m listening, Master. Please enlighten me.”
Perfect.
She’s hooked on the Master mode, just like Mila, my old apprentice in my past life.
“A hero is not called so because they feed orphans, tend to the sick, or rescue girls from peril.”
“Then why…?”
“They are called heroes because they kill the most enemies.”
Kyle, among the heroes, had killed an extraordinary number of foes—
Not just the Black World Tree’s demonic forces but also humanity’s traitors and political rivals.
Without a doubt, he was the man who had taken the most lives in recorded history.
“Historical accounts often state that the enemies of heroes were not limited to enemy forces alone.”
Heroes faced countless assassins, and many legendary warriors met their ends that way.
But among the seven, those who survived had shown no mercy in their actions.
They left no threats behind. That’s why they endured.
“If you truly respect them, you must also adopt their mindset. Do not show mercy to your enemies, even if they wear the mask of humanity.”
“…Understood, Master.”
Good.
The explanation didn’t directly address her question, but she seemed satisfied.
That was enough.
“Alright, let’s finish off the frozen mobs and head home.”
“Yes, Master!”
But then, a voice came from beneath them.
“Uh, excuse me, I—”
“Oh, you.”
Right.
It would be a good idea to gather intel about this guy’s organization.
If they found out their men were killed, they might try something else.
“Let’s interrogate him.”
“Huh?”
“Disciple, close your eyes.”
“Yes, Master!”
The loan shark sensed impending doom.
“W-wait—!”
“【Burn】.”
Whoosh!
“AAAAAARGH—!!”
The dungeon echoed with his horrific screams.
###
Chief Choi Young-ho was frantically shuffling through documents.
He hadn’t stopped since yesterday’s TV interview.
‘Three Perfect Clears in a row!’
He couldn’t just storm out of the interview, but he’d been dying inside.
“Bring me all dungeon-clear records from yesterday!”
“B-but there are so many…!”
“Bring them all!”
Papers flew from his hands like a storm.
Rustle, Rustle!
“Now’s the perfect chance!”
Someone had consecutively cleared F-, F, and F+ rank dungeons?
The truth would come out soon.
At that moment—
Ding!
[Awakened have achieved a ‘Perfect Clear!’ of an F-rank dungeon…]
“Argh! Bring me today’s dungeon-clear reports too!”
Choi’s horn-rimmed glasses gleamed sharply.
Tonight was going to be an all-nighter.
‘It’s so close I can feel it!’
He wasn’t leaving until he found out who it was.
A junior staff member brought him a cup of coffee and commented.
“But, uh, this one isn’t a solo clear this time, is it?”
“What!?”
What the hell did that mean?
‘Could they have formed a team?’
A mysterious Awakened who had kept their identity hidden.
It wasn’t likely they’d drag along some low-rank Awakened civilian.
‘Could it be… recruitment by a foreign country!?’
