Spirit. Even far into the future, the true nature of spirits remained an enigma. Strangely enough, some people acquired traits through spirits, while others encountered them as beasts in places like dungeons.

One of the most notable examples of gaining a trait through a spirit was the Lord of Thunder among the 11 Thrones.

The Spirit King of Thunder, Lioner. A transcendent being, Lioner lent his power to those he deemed worthy.

On the other hand, there were times when spirits appeared as monsters in gates or dungeons, just like now. For instance, in the A-Rank Gate Sungshik had recently cleared, an ice spirit had appeared as a monster.

The spirits that appeared now were none other than Intermediate Spirits of Thunder, Electron. Their bodies were less than a meter tall, with an upper half resembling a human while their lower half was covered in a hazy current like drifting clouds.

Each of them wielded long, jagged weapons made of lightning, looking as if they were holding bolts of electricity.

Spirits were troublesome opponents because physical attacks had no effect on them. Only attacks imbued with mana could deal damage.

Moreover, since their power originated from the natural world, their destructive force was often far greater than that of other monsters.

However, given the current raid team’s strength, dealing with intermediate spirits shouldn’t be too difficult. The only problem was—

“C-Can they really swarm like this?”

The spirits had appeared in groups of dozens.

Until now, only insect-type monsters like ants or bees had ever been reported to form such swarms in gates.

A horde of spirit-type monsters was something unheard of. Moreover, these were clearly thunder-attributed spirits, a type never seen before.

“For now, stay calm and reorganize the formation.”

At Kim Jihoon’s command, the flustered raid team quickly regained composure. Fortunately, the Thunder Spirits did not attack while they were gathering themselves.

“Their rank appears to be similar to the Electric Worms we just faced.”

Kang Hanil gauged their energy and relayed his findings to the group. That meant these spirits were all at the 5-Star+ level. Upon hearing this, some of the mercenaries turned pale.

“Damn… This is insane.”

Some members had already been visibly shaken since the Electric Worm ambush earlier. Even though they had avoided significant losses, the psychological trauma hadn’t yet faded. More than a few had truly felt the threat of death during that attack.

A few mercenaries among the B-Rank team members began to retreat hesitantly. Kang Hanil, noticing this, frowned slightly.

‘I need to boost morale here.’

If morale dropped, even tasks they could usually handle with ease could turn disastrous. Having spent years as a mercenary, Kang Hanil knew this better than anyone.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward. Now was the time to charge in and seize control of the battle, even if it meant overexerting himself.

Just as Kang Hanil was about to rush into the enemy ranks alone—

“Wait a moment.”

Sungshik’s voice halted him in his tracks.

“There’s an easier way to deal with those things.”

Sungshik smirked as he pulled a three-meter-long rod from his inventory. It was a Small Lightning Rod.

[Small Lightning Rod]
— Rank: Heroic
— A compact version of a lightning rod. Has the power to attract surrounding electricity.

“Oh, now that’s a brilliant idea!”

Kang Hanil’s eyes lit up as he immediately grasped the value of the item in their current situation.

Sungshik had obtained it while running gates to earn some coins a while back. He had considered selling it in the shop but never expected it would come in handy like this.

“It won’t hold out for long. We need to finish them off quickly.”

“Leave it to me.”

Kang Hanil grinned at Sungshik’s words.

Buzz… Crackle.

The last remaining Thunder Spirit vanished in Kang Hanil’s grasp.

The moment they set up the Small Lightning Rod, all the Thunder Spirits’ attention was drawn to it. Their gazes locked onto the rod, and they swarmed toward it en masse.

Their collective lightning attacks were overwhelming, but every bolt was drawn into the rod. As expected of a [Heroic]-rank item, the rod withstood several waves of attacks.

During that window, Kang Hanil and the A-Team superhumans charged in, eliminating every last spirit. Kang Hanil’s performance stood out the most—he had single-handedly taken down more than half of them.

“Damn, that was amazing! As expected of Kang Hanil!”

“Wow! It’s like he’s a one-punch man. Just one hit and they vanish!”

“This was nothing. It’s all thanks to that lightning rod.”

Kang Hanil redirected the credit to the rod, which now clearly showed signs of wear after enduring multiple rounds of lightning strikes.

“Honestly, if it weren’t for Big Sir, this could have been rough.”

At Kang Hanil’s remark, the surrounding superhumans nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. If those bolts had been aimed at us… Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Seriously. How did you even come up with using the lightning rod, Big Sir? That was genius.”

“Honestly, if not for Big Sir’s lightning rod, even Hanil would have had a harder time.”

With Kang Hanil pointing it out, the credit shifted toward Big Sir.

“That being the case, I think we should give Big Sir 30% of the mana stones dropped here. What do you all think?”

The group collectively gasped at Kang Hanil’s suggestion.

The Thunder Spirits had dropped an absurd amount of mana stones upon their destruction. Due to their nature as spirits, which vanished without leaving bodies, their drop rate for mana stones was significantly higher.

Just by a rough count, there were over a dozen mana stones scattered about. Thirty percent of that meant Sungshik would be walking away with at least five high-tier stones.

A single 5-Star+ mana stone was incredibly valuable, so the group hesitated to respond.

“Wait, but 30% is a bit… All he did was take out the lightning rod. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable just to compensate him for that?”

Seo Jiwon, one of the Nati Guild Trio, voiced his opposition while subtly gauging Kang Hanil’s reaction.

“Right? We’re the ones who took them down, so giving away 30% is a bit much.”

Another member of the Nati Guild trio, Kim Yoonsang, added to the argument.

“Hmm, do the rest of you feel the same way?”

At Kang Hanil’s question, the others merely exchanged glances, hesitating to speak.

“I think giving 30% is fair, just as Kang Hanil said. That lightning rod doesn’t seem like an ordinary item. If anything, 30% might not even be enough.”

Seo Haneul, who had been silently observing, finally spoke up. A-team’s raid leader, Kim Jihoon, followed up on the statement.

“That sounds about right. Big Sir, what was the grade of that item?”

Seongsik, who had been quietly enjoying the situation, answered with a smirk still on his face.

“[Heroic] grade.”

“!”

The others’ eyes widened at his words. [Heroic] grade meant that even the least valuable of such items would still be far more expensive than a 5-star+ mana stone.

“I-It really is [Heroic] grade.”

Someone had appraised the lightning rod and exclaimed in shock. The expressions on the faces of the Nati Guild trio twisted in disbelief. Their faces clearly read, ‘That worthless-looking stick is actually [Heroic] grade?’

Despite their objections, 30% of the mana stones obtained here ended up in Seongsik’s hands. Seventeen in total had been collected, and of those, six were given to him.

The Nati Guild trio glared at Seongsik with discontent.

Smirk.

Seongsik, seeing their reactions, smiled slyly. Their faces flushed red, and they turned away in frustration.

‘There are amusing people wherever you go.’

After that, more Lightning Spirits continued to appear, but not in swarms of dozens as before. Each time, only up to five would emerge at once.

The raid proceeded steadily once again. Then, in the distance, a massive structure came into view.

“What is that…?”

“It looks like the boss room.”

Two towering pillars stood parallel to each other, resembling twin skyscrapers. Even from afar, they radiated an ominous presence, making it clear that a powerful foe awaited beyond.

“So, the boss is finally here.”

“Looks like this raid is almost over.”

Some of the raiders sighed in relief, assuming the end was in sight.

Then—

“Grrrrr…”

A chilling beastly growl echoed through the air. Some of the more perceptive Awakened felt shivers run down their spines.

“Wh-What was that?”

“There’s something ahead.”

In the distance, the vague silhouette of a massive beast came into view.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

At Kim Jihoon’s command, the Awakened swiftly assumed battle positions. The mere sight of the approaching creature made it clear—it was no ordinary foe. Tension filled the air.

Thud. Thud.

With heavy footsteps, the source of the growl emerged.

“A… leopard?”

Indeed, what appeared before them was a massive leopard-like beast, standing nearly four meters tall. However, its body was entirely covered in yellow fur without a single black spot, and its tail split into three separate strands.

Crackle.

Electric currents flickered around its body. At a glance, it was evident this creature was an electricity-type monster.

But that wasn’t all. The aura it exuded was fundamentally different from the creatures they had faced so far. Even those with duller senses could feel the stark difference in power.

“I-Is this the boss? But we’re not even at the boss room yet… Why is it here?”

Some of the Awakened couldn’t hide their confusion. The creature before them radiated a boss-level presence, yet they were still on the path leading to the boss room.

“Everyone, stay sharp. This monster…”

Kang Hanil trailed off, his expression darkening.

“It’s a 6-star creature. And it’s not the boss. Plus… it’s not alone.”

As Kang Hanil hesitated, Seongsik continued, sharing the creature’s information.

Insight.

Gardi

―Grade: 6-star (★★★★★★)

―Combat Power: A

―A beast born with the power of lightning. Feeds on electricity.

Everyone turned to Seongsik in disbelief. Not the boss? And not alone?

“What kind of nonsense—”

“Grrrrr—”

“Grrr.”

Before Nati Guild’s Seo Jiwon could finish his annoyed remark, growls echoed from behind the first beast.

“Wh-What the…”

“T-There are three of them?”

Indeed, two more appeared. There were a total of three of them.

This was why Kang Hanil had paused mid-sentence earlier.

Gardi (Juvenile)

―Grade: 5-star+ (★★★★★☆)

―Combat Power: A-

―A beast born with the power of lightning. Feeds on electricity. Still an underdeveloped specimen.

Fortunately, the two that had appeared behind the first one weren’t as powerful. They seemed to be younger, less developed versions of the main beast.

“The good news is that the two in the back aren’t as strong. If we just focus on the one in front, we should have a good chance of winning.”

At Seongsik’s words, the raiders exhaled in relief and focused their attention on the lead monster.

“Here they come. Get ready!”

Crackle!

At that moment, the three beasts unleashed powerful surges of electricity and lunged at the Awakened.

B-team, positioned further back, watched the unfolding battle.

“Shouldn’t we help them?”

“Let’s observe for now.”

Had they intended to fight together, they would have set their formation earlier. Now, jumping in amidst the chaos could do more harm than good. Besides, with Kang Hanil present, as long as A-team didn’t panic, they had enough strength to handle the situation.

The real problem was…

Seongsik glanced toward the towering pillars that marked the suspected boss room. From within, he could feel an overwhelming presence—something far beyond the creature before them.

‘At least 6-star+, maybe even higher.’

Then, as if responding to his thoughts, a powerful roar echoed from the distance.

“Kieeeeeee—!”

Flash! Boom!

At the same time, lightning bolts rained down across the battlefield from the sky.