###
[World Quest]
[Time Limit: 2 days, 8 hours, 45 minutes]
The countdown continued to decrease day by day.
Governments around the world reassured their citizens almost daily.
<The United States of America will stand firm against any storm…>
<France’s spirit of resistance has always overcome crises.>
<Korea is strong in times of trial. Please do not worry and continue with your daily lives and work…>
A world quest foreshadowing a global crisis.
However, thanks to the successful propaganda of each nation, widespread panic was avoided.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Countries with weak administrative capabilities or low public trust in their Awakened forces.
Riots broke out in such places.
But the GSA intervened swiftly, suppressing them.
By doing so, they demonstrated international solidarity and promoted the idea that the world was safe from the World Quest.
‘Their response isn’t too bad.’
However, the atmosphere had become overly complacent.
And the driving force behind resistance wasn’t survival, but profit—which was a problem.
The GSA’s rapid response was the same.
Ultimately, it was just an action to expand the influence of the permanent member states.
‘With this kind of attitude, they won’t survive a real war.’
The Black World Tree was a calamity beyond imagination.
Only by standing together could humanity resist it.
That was why Kang Hyun was looking beyond merely clearing the World Quest.
‘Now isn’t the time to be obsessed with setting up Blessings.’
He had been steadily placing five Blessings per day,
and had now managed to set up twenty in total.
A woefully insufficient pace.
Especially with the countdown ticking down.
Yet, he did not rush.
He neither used Dried Sacred Water Elixirs nor commandeered F-rank mana potions from other countries.
If he revealed the existence of mana recovery methods?
That would be providing the enemy with information far too valuable.
As one of the most critical assets, Kang Hyun had to control information.
If he increased the number of Blessings right away?
It would expose the fact that mana restoration was possible.
‘And what meaning would that serve?’
Fewer people would die, sure.
But in the grand scheme of things, it would be meaningless.
No war is fought without casualties.
All one can do is struggle to minimize them.
Ending the war was also just a means to stop allied casualties.
A more fundamental solution was required.
A breakthrough that could bring the war to an end.
In the short term, it meant finding a clue to clearing the World Quest.
‘The real opportunity comes when the countdown ends.’
Counterattacks always began with defense.
Whether it was forcing a retreat after a crushing defeat.
Or striking the enemy’s unguarded base after they marched out.
The true moment to strike was when the enemy was on the offensive.
Right now, the demons were still in their reconnaissance phase.
Wasting energy and exposing cards at this stage would be foolish.
‘And maybe… letting Earth take some damage could actually work in our favor.’
He didn’t know what would come after the countdown ended.
But if humanity survived that moment well.
If the world gained some real fear from it, it could actually be beneficial in the long run.
Right now, humanity wasn’t prepared for war.
The peace that had dulled them for too long needed to be shattered by a strong enough shock.
Thus, rather than clinging to dungeons, now was the time to prepare for the next invasion.
“That doesn’t mean I’ll just sit around twiddling my thumbs.”
“Huh? What did you say, Master?”
“I’m heading out.”
He grabbed Kyle’s Dark Slayer.
It felt heavier than usual.
Because Aden was clinging onto him like a koala.
“Let go.”
“M-Master, you can’t leave this behind!”
“Hugging a weapon brings bad luck. Let go.”
“But you can’t even use it properly!”
“Damn it.”
He opened his inventory.
Pop!
The stone sword disappeared, and Aden tumbled to the floor.
“Ouch!”
“Keep the house safe.”
“W-Wait! My Kyle!”
Whose Kyle?
Ignoring her wails, Kang Hyun donned his suit and vanished into the darkness.
###
Today’s target.
Assemblyman Cho Hyun-seok.
A young politician who had climbed the ranks swiftly.
A D+ rank Awakened.
‘Same rank as me, huh.’
Kang Hyun infiltrated his private residence.
Cho Hyun-seok sat at his desk, typing away on his laptop.
Moving in silently, he approached from behind—
But then.
The Heartbeat of Prey tightened around his finger.
“…!”
There had been no presence, no sound.
He quickly scanned the surroundings.
Yet no matter how carefully he examined the room, there was no one else but Cho Hyun-seok.
The ring’s effect was to detect killing intent.
The ring moved on its own, pointing his finger directly at Cho Hyun-seok.
“…?”
What the hell?
He stepped closer and placed a hand on Cho Hyun-seok’s shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“Hrk!”
Immediately, Cho Hyun-seok swung a fist.
Kang Hyun dodged with ease.
For a D+ rank, he’s slow.
After his failed attack, Cho Hyun-seok instantly pulled back.
“G-G-Ghost!”
The man trembled in terror.
After all, Ghost was known as an S-rank villain.
But even though he was that afraid, the Heartbeat of Prey continued to tighten.
‘What’s going on here?’
Kang Hyun shifted his gaze to the laptop.
A document Cho Hyun-seok had been working on.
He swallowed hard but made no attempt to stop Kang Hyun from reading.
“Let’s see… Villain Execution Legislation. Ghost Suppression Bill. GSA Appeal Speech.”
He scrolled through the document.
Cho Hyun-seok had been trying to mobilize international forces to hunt down Ghost.
A global campaign through the GSA.
‘Smart move.’
After all, S-rank villains were feared worldwide.
Of course, the plan was doomed to fail.
And why was that?
Because the one who leaked Cho Hyun-seok’s information to Ghost was none other than the United States, the most powerful Permanent Member State of the GSA.
‘So that’s why the ring reacted. It detects ‘intent to kill’ rather than mere ‘hostility’.’
Meaning this document was a blueprint for Ghost’s execution.
But why?
Was Cho Hyun-seok afraid for his own life?
No.
‘Because he’s a traitor.’
The truth was right there in the document.
The one who proposed this plan was an advisor of the Abyss Legion Commander.
The final objective?
Ghost’s execution.
And after that, his corpse would be handed over to the demons.
Likely for the sake of extracting an S-rank skill.
And Cho Hyun-seok was the one in charge of executing the plan.
‘Unbelievable.’
Kang Hyun stared at the trembling man and asked.
“What did they promise you in return for selling out humanity?”
“…”
Cho Hyun-seok gulped.
Then, with eyes filled with eerie determination, he spoke.
“I… I already received it.”
“What?”
“Thanks for waiting.”
His eyes rolled back, his body convulsed violently.
Crack, crunch—!
His entire body was transforming.
Exoskeleton and spikes sprouted from his flesh.
He looked like a grotesque fusion of a sea urchin and a conch shell.
“So it’s this routine again.”
It was always the same.
Even a hundred years ago.
Idiots selling out their own people for a taste of power.
Park Cheol-woong had done the same.
“Graaah…! This power! It’s overflowing!”
Ghost was an S-rank Awakened.
Cho Hyun-seok knew he couldn’t win.
This was merely his final desperate struggle before death.
Or perhaps… an attempt to escape.
“Want to know what happens to people like you?”
“Huff… Huff…!”
“You were tricked into thinking it was ‘temporary power.’ But the truth is, you’ll never be human again.”
“…What?”
Did he seriously trust demons?
Park Cheol-woong’s heart had probably been played with in the same way.
Cho Hyun-seok flinched and tried something.
“W-Why can’t I turn back—?”
“In a day, you’ll start craving human blood. In a week, you’ll struggle to breathe on land.”
“That… that can’t be!”
“You’ll either live by hunting humans in the ocean or join the Abyss beyond the Gates.”
“How do you know that?!”
Kang Hyun casually unsheathed his sword.
“Because I’ve seen countless fools like you.”
【Silence, Blind, Forget.】
He deployed the dark room.
The room was filled with darkness.
Ding!
[Skill <Assassination> has activated.]
Cho Hyun-seok lost sight of his target.
Kang Hyun immediately swung for his throat.
Clang!
A metallic impact.
An unpleasant resistance.
“Tsk.”
“There you are!”
His exoskeleton was sturdy.
Annoying.
Spiked hands lashed out.
He was fast enough that dodging wasn’t easy.
Even the shockwaves from his attacks were powerful.
‘B-rank level, huh.’
Oh? B-rank?
That brought back memories.
Back then, Kang Hyun couldn’t handle a B-rank in pure physical combat.
But that was a two-on-one fight.
‘Let’s see how I do now.’
No Words of Power.
No 【Open】.
No 【Die】.
Just swordsmanship.
“【Vera】.”
Clang! Clang!
Even with 【Vera】’s enhancement, every strike was blocked by the exoskeleton.
Compared to that, what about Cho Hyun-seok?
Cho Hyun-seok rushed forward at a speed that couldn’t be countered without 【Gara】.
‘He’s stronger than the last ones. His stats aren’t just B-rank in one category—they’re evenly high.’
His spiked hands smashed through the office.
Bang! Crack!
“You… You’re not S-rank!”
“Yeah. I’m D+.”
“Hahaha! Then die!”
Drunk on power, Cho Hyun-seok swung wildly.
And yet, he was still a threat—his sheer physical abilities were overwhelming.
“One thing’s for sure—his endurance is insane. But his lower-ranked stats are far too weak.”
If it were those two B-rank enemies from before, maybe he’d stand a chance.
But an upper-tier B-rank opponent was still too much for Kang Hyun to handle head-on.
“See?! This is power worth betraying humanity for!”
“Not really.”
Arrogant bastard.
Should he just kill him outright?
‘Damn it, now I really want to break through this.’
How could he pierce that defense?
Oh.
‘Right. Let’s try that.’
Kang Hyun leaped back, putting distance between them.
Good thing this house was spacious.
“Inventory.”
“Haaa!”
Unlike the last two B-ranks, Cho Hyun-seok didn’t stop to analyze the Words of Power—he just charged straight in.
His stats were inflated, but his combat instincts were still D+ rank.
The inventory opened.
A rough stone sword materialized in midair.
It dropped right between them.
[Kyle’s Dark Slayer]
[…An optimal weapon for Magic Swordsmanship.]
He still couldn’t swing it properly.
But it followed commands flawlessly.
“【Gara】.”
The falling sword suddenly froze in midair.
Then, as if alive, it tilted slightly—and then rushed toward Cho Hyun-seok.
And then—
“【Vera】.”
The rough stone blade pulsed with a lethal aura.
“This is nothing!”
Crack!
The sword pierced straight through his guard, sinking into his flesh as effortlessly as a knife through tofu.
A completely different result from when he used 【Vera】 on an the jet-black blade.
“…Huh?”
“【Burn】.”
Fwoosh.
The surface of the blade flickered with heat.
Then—
FWHOOOOOOOOM!
The flames erupted, consuming everything in sight.
It was far more powerful than before.
The darkness of the assassination skill was burned away.
The furniture in the room turned to ashes in an instant.
“Whoo.”
This.
This was it.
A true magic sword—one that resonated with its master’s will, amplifying Words of Power.
‘As expected, nothing beats a familiar weapon.’
When the flames finally died down,
Cho Hyun-seok lay on the floor, a sword impaled through his chest.
Not even a scream had escaped him.
Unlike before, his entire body was now charred black.
“Yeah, even if you’ve got B-rank durability, if I roast you from the inside, you’re done.”
He kicked at Cho Hyun-seok’s body.
“Still alive, huh?”
“Ugh… g-guh….”
Kang Hyun ripped the sword out.
Shluk!
“Kegh…!”
“Don’t die yet.”
He knelt in front of Cho Hyun-seok.
“You’re working with the Abyss, aren’t you?”
“Spare… me….”
“What’s going to happen when the countdown reaches zero?”
