As time passed, most of the World Bosses that had appeared on Earth were subdued.
<It’s a horrific disaster. The number of casualties worldwide is so high that an accurate count is nearly impossible…>
More than half of the boss monsters were not defeated within the 24-hour time limit.
Ding!
[You have failed the World Quest (Earth).]
[After some time, the second invasion will begin.]
After the failure notification for the World Quest appeared, the GSA took the lead in sending aid to countries that had yet to defeat their bosses.
Some countries saw 1,000 casualties.
Others saw 10,000.
In some, 100,000 perished.
The most devastating damage occurred in Lebanon.
<Breaking news. Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, has been annihilated by the A-rank Raid Boss, Vitatitudo. The estimated death toll is around one million…>
Lebanon, just like Korea, had faced Vitatitudo.
But unlike Korea, they failed to defend their capital.
└ One million???
└ My god.
└ What? One million?
└ A million people dead?
└ Are you serious? Is that number even real?
└ Isn’t this the greatest disaster in human history?
└ Nah, more people probably died when North Korea collapsed. It just wasn’t counted properly.
└ How could so many people die at once?
└ Go check the satellite footage on NewTube. The entire city was wiped out in a single explosion. You can see it from space.
└ The entire population of the capital was wiped out. That’s why a million died.
It was a catastrophe that shook the world.
Many scholars concluded that Lebanon could never recover.
Under normal circumstances, perhaps they could, but with the world now in a wartime state, recovery was impossible.
└ Beirut’s original population was around 2 million. The evacuation was incredibly fast, which is why only a million died.
└ Honestly, given the circumstances, their response was exceptional. Evacuating a million people in time? That’s insane.
The Lebanon Crisis—a tragedy that would go down as the most horrifying disaster in human history.
At the same time, the world’s eyes turned to Korea.
<Shocking: Korea and Lebanon faced the same Raid Boss!>
<Aside from deaths caused by trampling during the evacuation, Korea reported **zero** invasion-related casualties. What was the difference?>
<And that’s not all! Korea was the **first country in the world** to defeat a Raid Boss!>
└ Wait, we fought the same monster? Is this real?
└ Where have you been living? Under a rock?
└ That could’ve been our future.
└ A million? More like ten million could’ve died in Korea.
How had Korea succeeded where Lebanon had failed?
The answer was painfully obvious.
└ How do people still not know?
└ Have you seen the video? It’s the top recommendation on NewTube.
└ One hundred million views in a single day? Insane.
For Koreans, it was the video their algorithm pushed first.
The reappearance of an S-Rank Word Mage.
“Watch this, Your Excellency.”
“Hmm.”
A video played on the conference room wall.
A massive Vitatitudo, and in front of it, a lone figure, floating effortlessly in midair.
As the camera drone zoomed in, his silhouette became clearer.
Vitatitudo’s monstrous mouth hung open.
Yet the man remained indifferent, merely glancing at the helicopter nearby.
His face was obscured by a black mask and hood.
Even so, there wasn’t the slightest hint of tension in his posture.
“That outfit…”
“Yes. It’s the same black hoodie with a skull pattern that he wore during the Hero Plaza Collapse.”
“And the black mask?”
“That, too, is identical.”
Moments later.
The man did nothing—just stood there.
Yet, an enormous change occurred.
Vitatitudo’s massive form collapsed powerlessly.
Thud—!
Buildings were crushed beneath its weight.
A massive dust cloud erupted, reaching all the way to the helicopters.
By the time the dust settled, the S-Rank Word Mage was gone.
“How… did he do that? Did he put it to sleep?”
“No. We compared the footage with the timestamp of the quest completion notification. They are perfectly synchronized.”
“Then… it died? But he didn’t do anything.”
“Yes. To be precise, it died at the exact moment its body touched the ground.”
The president’s face twisted in disbelief.
How was that possible?
“They say he inherited Hero Kyle’s legacy.”
“That is the prevailing theory.”
“Did Kyle ever use a Word of Power that could do this?”
“…Experts in history and Awakened combat strategy are analyzing it now.”
“I’ve seen Kyle’s movies. He never had a Word of Power like that.”
Words of Power were known for forcing reality to comply with a spoken command.
But this—this was beyond comprehension.
No visible effect. No incantation.
And yet, an A-rank Raid Boss had simply… died.
“It’s as if he just ordered it to die.”
“….”
The aides had no answer.
Not just in Korea—no nation had an explanation.
###
“Find him.”
The President of the United States issued a firm command.
“You must find him.”
“But, Your Excellency, due to the ongoing invasion, our agents are—”
“America is strong. Losing a few agents won’t make us fall.”
The CIA Director hesitated.
The president’s resolve was unshakable.
“Preparing for tomorrow’s invasion isn’t true defense.”
Instead, the U.S. President pointed at the man in the black hood on the screen.
“That man is the future of America’s defense. Our national strength. Our very survival.”
The current president had an insatiable hunger for talent.
And right now, he was on the verge of losing control.
“Now is our only chance. He will definitely act in the next invasion as well. This is the best opportunity we will ever have to find him.”
“…Understood.”
“Ensure success. No matter the cost.”
###
<The days when people desperately searched for the S-Rank Word Mage and the Perfect Clear Awakened now seem ridiculous. To think all three—him, Ghost, and the Perfect Clear Awakened—were the same person.>
“Ta-da.”
<…>
Chief Choi’s dumbfounded expression was practically visible through the screen.
<Do you have any idea how shocked I was? You barely hung up the phone, and suddenly the quest was completed. A little heads-up would have been nice.>
“Takes too long. Tedious. Overly intellectual. 100% chance of unnecessary debate.”
<Huh?>
On the other hand, just clearing the World Quest?
“Over in a flash. 0% chance of losing an argument.”
<I… see.>
Now, Aden, Yoo Chae-young, and Choi Young-ho all knew.
Well, not everyone.
<I did find it odd. Three newcomers, all rising to fame around the same time.>
“I have no idea how I ended up as three different people.”
<At this point, I suppose nothing can surprise me anymore?>
“…”
<Right?>
“…”
<Kang Hyun?>
Naive man.
“Anyway, how are the other countries doing? Keeping up?”
<’Anyway’? Why aren’t you answering? What else are you hiding?>
“Which country finished next after Korea?”
<Hah…>
The fastest country after Korea was the United Kingdom.
Most people expected the Awakening capital, the U.S., or sheer manpower-driven China, but Britain had an S-Rank Saint and an official Hero’s successor.
“I know this one!”
<Come to think of it, this would be of interest to you, Aden.>
“What is it?”
“The Saint’s successor played a major role!”
“Aha.”
Hmm, yeah. That woman’s successor—of course, they’d achieve something like this.
“I heard she used <Divine Resonance> in this battle.”
“If they had that, the entire team must’ve had an easy time.”
“How does Master know about that?”
“Seems obvious. It was in a movie.”
I could already picture the whole scenario.
They probably trusted in the Saint and rallied every S, A, and B-rank in the country.
With Divine Resonance, no one had to worry about dying.
Then, they would have unleashed overwhelming firepower, erasing the boss with brute force.
That kind of straightforward approach was always satisfying.
<I’ve compiled notable details about boss raids from various countries. You can review them if you’re interested.>
“Oh, nice. Thanks.”
I hung up and skimmed through the reports.
Aden, as expected, was glued to my side, reading along.
“This looks pretty decent overall.”
“Hah! Japan is exactly as expected! Can’t even handle a single boss properly!”
“Don’t be too harsh. It’s not like the citizens are at fault.”
“T-That’s not what I meant….”
Apparently, Korea’s online communities were fixated on Japan’s A-rank boss raid speed.
It was all because of Japan’s S-Rank Word Mage, the so-called “keyboard warrior”.
“That bastard! He kept running his mouth about how an S-Rank Word Mage was nothing special, but he didn’t even show up on the battlefield!”
“Oh? Really? Tsk, I expected more from him.”
“Korea’s S-Rank Word Mage solo-cleared the first World Quest in history, and yet he didn’t even show his face!”
Aden puffed out her chest triumphantly.
“Put that away… ugh.”
“That guy trashed the S-Rank Word Mage, yet he was nowhere to be found! If it were me, I’d die from embarrassment—ahhh!”
“Move your chest.”
I pushed her away.
“Anyway! We can’t let this slide! We need to expose him online and completely humiliate him!”
“Expose? What is this, a hunt?”
She was getting too into keyboard battles lately.
“Oh! A new post alert!”
“Stop looking at your phone!”
“J-Just this one…!”
Aden frantically checked something.
“What!? That bastard is still running his mouth!?”
She was furious again.
Curious, I glanced over.
“Ugh, don’t waste your energy. That’s bad for your mental health.”
It was a post from the Japanese.
Excusing himself for not joining the raid, rambling about “mysticism”.
Of course, the Japanese weren’t fools either—the comments were flooded with criticism.
Even in translation, I could tell they were colorful insults.
The guy himself wasn’t confident, either.
So, he tried shifting attention by attacking the S-Rank Word Mage again.
He clearly had experience stirring up online drama.
<Doesn’t anyone find that video suspicious?>
<Come on, it looked completely unnatural!>
<Idiots! Even Kyle couldn’t use a Word of Power like ‘Die’! That kind of ability doesn’t exist!>
<Obviously a trick! I can’t believe people fell for it! lmaooo>
“Arghhhh—!”
“Come sit down. Let’s meditate.”
Who knew when the next invasion would begin?
Ding!
[The World Quest has been updated.]
[The second invasion begins.]
