Kang Hanil. Currently the number one ranked superhuman in Korea.

Kang Hanil was the first in the country to reach 6-Star, but he had been stagnant ever since. In fact, even compared to the rest of the world, the speed at which Kang Hanil reached 6-Star was on par with the world’s top-ranking superhumans. He had risen swiftly to 6-Star and had received high expectations accordingly.

[Kang Hanil, the thirty-first superhuman in the world to reach 6-Star.] [The proud future of Korea, the beacon of Korea’s superhuman world—Who is Kang Hanil?] [The president of the Superhuman Association evaluates Kang Hanil: “Kang Hanil, a talent destined for the world’s TOP 10.”]

Kang Hanil was at the center of Korea’s spotlight. Korea, being relatively weaker in superhuman power compared to neighboring countries, had placed even greater expectations on him.

But those expectations and interest soon turned into doubt and disappointment.

[Even Jardon from the U.S. has reached 6-Star+ now.] [What is Kang Hanil doing? Even superhumans who reached 6-Star later than him have all moved up to 6-Star+.]

While other superhumans who had reached 6-Star after him progressed to 6-Star+, Kang Hanil remained stuck at 6-Star.

‘Is this my limit?’

He inwardly set his limit at 6-Star. In his previous life, Kang Hanil had never managed to break past the wall of 6-Star.

“Tsk… Damn it, damn it.”

But today, that wall had begun to crumble.

Frustration. Helplessness. Anger. These emotions surged through him, becoming the catalyst. It felt as though something inside him was breaking apart.

Goooo—

The first to notice the change was Sungshik.

“Oh?”

―Isn’t he… awakening?

Indeed, Kang Hanil was now pushing past his limits. Seeing this, Sungshik stopped in his tracks once more. Things had gotten interesting. It was worth watching a little longer.

“Uwaaaaaah—”

For a moment, a brilliant light radiated from Kang Hanil’s body before fading. Only Sungshik fully grasped the significance of this.

Kang Hanil’s fist aura had become noticeably faster and stronger. His attack landed on the Thunderbird’s body.

Boom.

It was the first attack to connect. Everyone saw the Thunderbird stagger from the blow.

“Now! Focus all attacks on its wings!”

The raid team didn’t miss the opportunity. They immediately followed up on the chance Kang Hanil had created.

Kwaaang.

The raid team’s attacks continuously struck the Thunderbird’s wings and body. Kang Hanil didn’t stay idle either. He launched consecutive attacks.

The Thunderbird seemed unable to regain its composure. It wavered visibly in the air, unable to resist the raid team’s barrage.

Thud—

In the end, the massive body of the Thunderbird crashed to the ground, producing a thunderous sound. A signal that the once-overwhelmed raid team had landed their first successful counterattack.

Flash.

Kang Hanil dashed toward the fallen Thunderbird like a bolt of lightning. His determination to seize this moment was palpable.

“Huuup.”

A dense, deep blue aura formed around his fist, visible even to the naked eye. Kang Hanil thrust his fist toward the Thunderbird.

Bang.

“Kieeeeeek—”

The Thunderbird let out a pained scream after taking another direct hit from Kang Hanil.

‘It works.’

As his attack connected, a thrilling sensation surged through him. He could feel it in his bones—he was much stronger than before.

That’s right. Just moments ago, Kang Hanil had broken past his wall and reached 6-Star+. At 6-Star+, his attacks were incomparably faster and stronger than before.

‘Perhaps I’ve been crushed under the weight of expectations all this time.’

It felt as though the burden that had been suffocating him had been lifted. Perhaps what freed him today was the arrival of Sungshik.

The appearance of a superhuman who might be stronger than him. That realization had alleviated the pressure of needing to reach 6-Star+.

At the same time, the helplessness, frustration, and anger he had felt during the raid had acted as the trigger that shattered the limit he had imposed on himself.

‘The world looks different.’

He had only just reached 6-Star+, not even 7-Star, and yet the world already appeared so different. He couldn’t begin to imagine what the world would look like at the level of 7-Star.

Shaking off his thoughts, Kang Hanil clenched his fist. Even stronger energy gathered in his hand.

Each of Kang Hanil’s attacks inflicted heavy damage on the Thunderbird.

Crackle—

The Thunderbird continued to generate streaks of lightning across its entire body. At the same time, it desperately tried to shake Kang Hanil off and take flight again, but it wasn’t easy. Kang Hanil tenaciously clung to it, preventing it from escaping.

‘If we miss this chance, who knows what will happen.’

He felt that this might be their last opportunity. Even though he had broken through to 6-Star+, he knew that if the Thunderbird regained the advantage, things wouldn’t go well.

Now that he had reached 6-Star+, he could better sense the Thunderbird’s full strength. It was now clear—the creature hadn’t been fighting at full power before. The intensity of the black lightning it was releasing now was on a completely different level.

‘So it was toying with us, planning to slowly wear us down.’

Realizing the monster’s true intent, a curse nearly escaped his lips. Clenching his teeth, he pressed on even harder. The Thunderbird would now pay the price for its arrogance.

“Huuup.”

With a powerful shout, Kang Hanil’s right arm muscles swelled dramatically.

[SS Rank] Hyper-Muscle. The trait caused his right arm to visibly expand, as though it had undergone partial gigantification. Until now, he hadn’t been able to use this ability, but upon reaching 6-Star+, he had finally unlocked it.

“W-What is that?”

“Whoa…”

Even the onlookers were taken aback by Kang Hanil’s new ability. Just looking at it, they could feel the overwhelming strength radiating from it.

“Haaaaah.”

Boom!

As Kang Hanil swung his fist, the Thunderbird was sent flying with a deafening impact. It seemed to be the decisive strike.

“Wow!”

“We did it!!”

The raid team was already celebrating. That’s how overwhelming Kang Hanil’s display of power had been. No one believed the Thunderbird would come out unscathed.

“Haa…”

As the extreme concentration faded, the fatigue of battle flooded his body. Kang Hanil was convinced of their victory.

‘Should I go to the sauna first after the battle today? A sauna is the best way to relieve the fatigue built up from battle.’

As the tension eased, I approached the Thunderbird, thinking about how to unwind after the raid.

―It's probably not over yet.

Heaven-Splitter, who had been watching, spoke.

‘Yeah. It's too early to celebrate.’

Heo Sungshik also agreed with that statement.

One thing that everyone was overlooking—despite taking hits from Kang Hanil, the Thunderbird had not shed a single drop of blood. The only thing that had happened was that its stiff-looking black feathers had gradually fallen off with each impact.

‘Moreover…’

Its aura had not weakened in the slightest.

At that moment, the Thunderbird’s energy suddenly went berserk.

“Watch out!!”

Heo Sungshik shouted urgently at Kang Hanil, who was approaching the Thunderbird.

“What…? Ugh—!”

Just as Kang Hanil was about to question the urgency in Heo Sungshik’s voice, his vision blacked out as excruciating pain coursed through his entire body.

Thud.

Crackle.

Kang Hanil collapsed after taking a direct hit from the black lightning unleashed by the Thunderbird. That black lightning carried a level of destructive power far beyond anything the Thunderbird had unleashed so far.

Even after he fell, sparks continued to crackle and jump across Kang Hanil’s body.

“!”

“Kyaaah!”

“W-What is that?!”

“Kang… Kang Hanil-nim!”

The sudden reversal of the situation threw the raid team into chaos.

“Kiiiiieeeek—!”

The Thunderbird shrieked in triumph after taking down Kang Hanil. At the same time, its energy surged wildly, and its form began to change dramatically.

Flap.

All of its earth-colored feathers fell off, replaced by scales. The new scales gleamed with a polished sheen, as if they were freshly forged.

At the same time, its body, previously about four meters in size, swelled to over six meters. Two horns, resembling those of a ram, sprouted from its head.

Crackle.

Electric currents crackled between the two horns, and powerful lightning continuously flowed from them. The Thunderbird’s rapidly changing appearance was like a fusion of a bird and a dragon, with scales and horns adorning its avian form.

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing nervously reached my ears. It was one of the mercenary superhumans standing nearby. It was understandable—after all, the overwhelming waves of magic power from the transformed Thunderbird were palpable even from here.

“T-That… Did the boss monster just awaken mid-battle?”

Someone spoke up in a trembling voice.

Mid-battle awakening. A phenomenon that was extremely rare. Just as Kang Hanil had awakened in the middle of combat earlier, there were rare instances where boss monsters evolved mid-battle, increasing their rank. This was an incredibly rare occurrence—both Kang Hanil and the boss monster awakening in battle at the same time.

‘Even before my regression, I could count on one hand the number of times I witnessed a mid-battle awakening.’

Both a superhuman and a monster awakening simultaneously? This was such an unusual and rare scene that it felt surreal even to Heo Sungshik.

‘Insight.’

[Boss] Thunderbird
Rank: 7-Star (★★★★★★★)
Combat Power: S+
― A bird that feeds on lightning. With a single flap of its wings, it can generate dozens of bolts of lightning.
― It has embraced the power of darkness, further strengthening its thunder magic.
― Before transcending [Name Missing] and losing its name, it reclaimed part of its original essence.

“7-Star……”

As expected. In just that brief moment, it had truly ascended to a 7-Star rank.

“W-What?! 7… 7-Star?!”

“Wait, 7-Star?!”

“T-This is insane…”

The mercenaries from Team B fell into complete panic after hearing Heo Sungshik’s muttered words.

A 7-Star-ranked monster. The number of such creatures that had ever been successfully hunted worldwide could be counted on one hand. At this point in time, 7-Star monsters were considered outright calamities, disasters incarnate.

“Aaaaaahh!!”

The fear of a 7-Star monster spread like a plague. Some members of the raid team began fleeing the battlefield.

“Damn it! Get back here! Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Let go of me! If you want to fight that thing, do it yourself!”

The raid team descended into chaos in an instant. Heo Sungshik watched it all unfold.

‘Honestly, I can’t say I don’t understand… but still… Tch.’

He felt deeply disappointed.

Kang Hanil’s unexpected defeat. The boss monster evolving into a 7-Star threat. Raid Team A now faced an unwinnable battle.

The fear was understandable. But this was still a raid. Abandoning the frontline just to save their own lives would only ensure everyone’s death.

Feeling a deep sense of disappointment, Heo Sungshik suddenly understood why South Korean superhumans were considered weak.

Crackle—

“Gaaahhh!!”

In the meantime, another barrage of lightning from the Thunderbird struck, wiping out a large portion of Team A’s front line.

Among those hit were the trio from the Nati Clan. Their eyes rolled back, and their bodies convulsed violently. But from the way they still twitched, it seemed they had miraculously survived.

‘They took a direct hit from a 7-Star boss monster, and they’re still alive? Tough bastards.’

After briefly observing them, Heo Sungshik turned his gaze back to the boss monster.

“Subin, put this on and stay far back. That thing is a lot stronger now, so you absolutely cannot afford to take a hit.”

Heo Sungshik handed Kim Subin the [Hero] Ring of Protection, an artifact he had obtained during a recent gate expedition.

An artifact that activated a high-grade shield up to three times per day in critical situations. Since Heo Sungshik himself could use protective barriers, he had no need for it, but for Kim Subin, it would be a lifesaver.

“O-Okay. Ah! W-Wait—”

Kim Subin seemed to be in a state of panic due to the situation. She instinctively responded, but the moment she saw Heo Sungshik launching himself toward the Thunderbird, she reached out her hand. However, by then, he had already moved.

“Kiiiiieeeek—”

The Thunderbird screeched as it saw Heo Sungshik charging toward it. The cry resembled that of a wild beast confronting another predator, sounding more like a warning than a threat. It seemed to instinctively recognize that, even after ascending to 7-Star rank, Heo Sungshik was the most dangerous opponent present.

Swoosh—

Heo Sungshik, still sprinting at full speed, drew the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword from the sheath at his waist.

“Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts, Third Form: Defence Breaking Strike.”

Flash.

A streak of light shot forward, slamming into the Thunderbird.