###
The Abyssal Depths of Thea.
The deepest darkness dwelling there closed its eyes in contemplation.
A long-prepared and meticulously executed plan under its dominion.
The invasion of Earth. The prelude to it.
The original timing for the invasion was not now.
The plan was to let Earth fester under prolonged chaos—far beyond mere dungeon outbreaks—before launching the full-scale assault.
All invasions were carried out through dungeons tainted by the power of the Abyss.
These dungeon abnormalities were merely groundwork for what was to come.
Naturally, the longer this preparation lasted, the more effective it would have been.
Yet, before the fruit had fully ripened, the grand plan was set into motion prematurely.
The reason?
A few unexpected individuals active on Earth.
Strangely enough, all of them were concentrated in Korea.
The Abyss made its decision.
Korea would be the first to sink.
The thorns in its side would be removed first.
Korea was under the protection of a Blessing, but…
A mere lower-tier Blessing could be breached if a Legion Commander intervened directly.
Of course, doing so would require some sacrifice.
However, at this moment, Korea was a strategic location worth the risk.
【Prepare the wave….】
Rumble—
The underwater cliffs of Thea trembled.
###
Ding!
[The World Quest has been updated.]
[The Second Invasion has begun.]
“Huff! W-We’re already under attack?”
“They’re really coming at us full force.”
Fortunately, Korea had time to prepare.
Military and Awakened forces were concentrated in the 20% of the territory not covered by the Blessing.
Of course, the bare minimum of forces remained to defend the capital.
The First Invasion had provided crucial information.
Invasions occurred through the collapse of dungeons that had been infected.
And the Blessing had the effect of suppressing the power of the Legion Commander that had infected those dungeons.
Thanks to this, major cities around the world protected by a Blessing had remained safe.
However, Kang Hyun did not consider Korea’s measures a wise choice.
‘The Blessing isn’t omnipotent.’
Even if a Blessing was deployed, it didn’t completely erase the Legion Commander’s power that had corrupted the dungeon.
It merely suppressed it, preventing its manifestation.
In other words, if a stronger force were applied, the barrier could be breached at any time.
‘It’s unlikely, but not impossible.’
Forcing their way past the system’s defenses would come at a cost to the enemy as well.
A global invasion wouldn’t likely turn into a full-scale war just yet.
After all, the system had stated.
‘This isn’t an all-out war yet.’
Among the failure penalties listed in the quest were “Escalation to War” and “Establishment of Demon Advance Bases on the Surface.”
This meant that the current invasion was merely a probing attack.
The combined coverage of all the Blessings deployed worldwide was immense.
It was unlikely that the Abyss would push too hard just to break through one of them.
‘At least, that’s what it seems like…’
But the Legion Commander—the Abyss’ chief strategist—was a schemer.
Something about this felt unsettling.
“Tsk. Why is the quest update taking so long?”
“I-I’m scared. It feels like the calm before the storm….”
The entire world was likely holding its breath, waiting for the system’s message.
And finally—
Ding!
[World Quest]
[The Second Invasion has begun.
The Abyssal Forces are invading Seoul, South Korea. Defend Seoul.
Success Condition: Defend Seoul.
Failure Consequence: The fall of South Korea, initiation of the Third Invasion.]
Kang Hyun and Aden both widened their eyes.
Something about this quest felt… off.
“…Huh? M-Master, this wording… it’s like only Korea—”
“Check the Japanese community. Now!”
“Y-Yes!”
The format of this quest was slightly different from the First Invasion.
Back then, the quest had been split into a [Global] Quest and a [Korea] Quest.
But this time, the message seemed to only refer to Korea.
What about the messages received by Awakened in other countries?
Did they get the exact same message?
Or did they receive versions specific to their own nations?
Aden quickly accessed the Japanese community.
└ Huh? Are we supposed to defend Korea too?
└ Are different countries grouped into defense zones?
└ Anyway, Japan itself is safe, right?
└ I called my family in the UK, and they got the same Korea Quest message.
└ Did the system make a mistake?
Confusion spread everywhere.
At this point, the conclusion was clear.
The Third Invasion was targeting Seoul, South Korea alone.
All the forces meant to strike the entire world were now concentrated solely on Seoul.
‘…That scheming bastard, the Abyss.’
Kang Hyun opened the window and looked outside.
What awaited him was already a hellscape.
###
United States, Pentagon.
Wartime Command Headquarters.
The President of the United States swallowed hard as he stared at the satellite footage.
“Korea… is finished.”
High-resolution, real-time satellite imagery.
And the footage captured by agents risking their lives on the ground in Seoul.
It was hell on Earth.
Seoul was swarming with an uncountable number of monsters.
“An invasion like that is even possible?”
“It appears that every dungeon in Seoul has collapsed simultaneously.”
“Dear God…”
The estimated number of monsters was displayed on the analysis screen.
The numbers continued to rise.
There were even plantation-type monsters, capable of producing more monsters on their own.
“We must abandon northern South Korea and establish a defensive line connecting North Jeolla and North Gyeongsang.”
“Can’t we just sacrifice Gyeonggi Province instead?”
“If we use nuclear weapons, it would be possible. But America has no reason to endure the global condemnation that would follow. Even if we only salvage half of South Korea, it can still serve as a strategic base in East Asia.”
Korea, a steadfast ally.
A land that had recently produced a surge of talented Awakened, making it all the more desirable.
Yet, the President made his decision swiftly.
“Proceed with that plan.”
Because, no matter how one looked at it, Korea was beyond saving.
“If such an invasion were to strike the U.S., could we defend against it?”
“America is strong. In the end, we would prevail… but we would temporarily lose our capital.”
“Analyze Korea’s downfall thoroughly. The next invasion will likely be global.”
“Understood.”
The President, the CIA Director, and every official in the war room continued to watch the nightmare unfolding on screen without looking away.
In that tense atmosphere, the General overseeing U.S.-Korea alliance operations spoke up.
“Mr. President. Korea still has an S-rank Word Mage and several powerful S-rank Awakened. If we cooperate with them, we might be able to reclaim Seoul.”
“What do you estimate the chances to be?”
“……Extremely slim, but—”
“Close to impossible, correct?”
The President, usually an advocate for Korea, was resolute.
No—in truth, the General’s suggestion was simply too absurd.
“The S-rank Word Mage isn’t Kyle. Seoul is lost.”
###
<T-They’ve breached the first floor of the guild headquarters! The guild members are holding them back, but—>
“I didn’t ask about that. Did you find it?”
<The main entrance has been breached! Kang Hyun, please hurry—>
“Enough.”
Kang Hyun’s resonant voice carried through the phone.
Even through the receiver, Yoo Chae-young’s shaking ceased.
“Send me the data. Now.”
<O-Okay…>
The requested data transfer came through immediately.
<C-Could you come now? Without you here, it’s… terrifying.>
“Wait for me. Don’t worry.”
<…Okay.>
Strangely enough, those few words made Yoo Chae-young feel reassured.
Kang Hyun ended the call.
And checked the data.
“Alright. Let’s go, desciple.”
“Y-Yes, Master!”
Aden responded as confidently as she could.
But the fear in her trembling voice and wide eyes made it painfully clear how dire the situation was.
Kang Hyun opened a portal.
And they arrived at their destination.
Inside the operations room, the officials were startled by his sudden arrival.
“W-What the hell?”
“Who are you?!”
“A hole just… appeared in midair?!”
“Are you an Awakened? You can’t be here! This is a crisis sit—”
“【Sleep】.”
All the officials collapsed at once.
Except for one.
“Hiiik!”
The one remaining official froze in terror at the unreal scene before him.
“P-Please! Spare me! I won’t tell anyone, I swear! Just let me live!”
Kang Hyun drew his sword from his inventory and thrust it swiftly.
The crimson blade grazed the man’s neck, embedding itself into the wall behind him.
“U-Ugh… Aaaagh!”
“M-Master! Why did you suddenly—?!”
“Your life is in my hands right now. Correct? You understand that?”
“P-Please spare me! Please! I beg you—”
“【Listen】.”
A new Word of Power, 【Listen】.
Gained alongside 【Sleep】.
It was a high-tier Word of Power.
Even though the target was a normal human, a considerable amount of mana drained from Kang Hyun.
“【I now hold ‘your life.’ In exchange, you will answer my questions with the truth.】”
“Y-Yes!”
The man’s soul accepted the binding conditions without resistance.
He could no longer remain silent or lie.
To him, complying with the intruder’s demands was nothing compared to the price of his life.
In fact, he was desperately hoping for this trade.
‘Tsk. This isn’t even a strong restriction, but the mana cost is absurdly high. 【Listen】 is not something I can use freely yet.’
Even though the target was a normal human…
Even though Kang Hyun had erased all resistance…
It still consumed this much mana.
His mana pool was still too small.
“This is the Seoul City Disaster and Safety Command Room, correct?”
“Y-Yes!”
“I heard you can broadcast to the entire city from here. Is that true?”
“Yes! We can transmit through the emergency speaker system!”
“It can be done right now, correct?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Prepare it.”
“Y-Yes!”
Though the last statement was not a question,
fear was a primal contract in itself.
The official frantically moved.
As he fumbled with the equipment, Kang Hyun quickly checked the system to confirm his plan.
“Master? What exactly are you trying to do? Wouldn’t it be better to head straight to Seonghwa Headquarters and help defend? I’m worried about Sister Chae-young too….”
There it was—the reward he had received.
The First Invasion Korea World Quest Reward.
[Blessing of Complete Potential Liberation (1 use)]
[Completely unlocks the user’s latent potential. However, this applies to a single action only, and the ability to control the released power depends on the user.
Warning: Overexertion of released potential may cause harm to the user.]
[Would you like to use <Blessing of Complete Potential Liberation (1 use)>?]
“Yes.”
[You have used <Blessing of Complete Potential Liberation (1 use)>.]
[Your potential is completely unlocked for one action.]
A surge of euphoria so intense that it nearly overwhelmed his consciousness rushed through him.
[Measuring user’s potential.]
[Measuring user’s potential…]
[Measuring user’s potential…]
[Measuring user’s potential…]
…
Ding!
[Insufficient resources to fully unlock the user’s potential.]
[Requesting authorization…]
Ding!
[Developer privileges activated.]
[User’s potential is fully unlocked.]
It was fleeting. Too short—almost disappointing.
“Huuuh…”
“M-Master…?”
For just a brief moment—
The power of his prime returned to him.
“Seoul-wide broadcast, ready!”
