Kwaaaa-rururung—

A sound shook the heavens and the earth. At the same time, a streak of lightning shot out from the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword.

It was an enormous black thunderbolt. If the black lightning that the Thunderbird had unleashed until now had been like dozens of writhing earthworms, then the single black thunderbolt that Sungshik released was akin to an Imoogi—no, a full-fledged dragon.

Kwaaaa-rururung! Paji-jik. Pajik.

“Kkieeeeeh—”

The Thunderbird, fully exposed to the lightning, let out a shriek. It staggered in midair as if unable to gather its senses from the shock, its wings flailing. Sparks erupted all over its body.

However, it didn’t seem to have taken as much damage as expected.

—Tsk, since that thing itself is of the Lightning attribute, its resistance to Lightning must also be immense. It’ll be difficult to deal significant damage with the same attribute. That last attack only managed to harm it slightly because the output of the mana was exceptionally high, causing pressure from the sheer force of the mana.

That was Heaven-Splitter’s assessment. He assumed that the Thunderbird’s resistance to its own attribute was so extreme that Sungshik’s previous attack had not been able to deal any significant damage. However, because the attack had momentarily surged with immense mana output, the pressure from that energy had managed to inflict some harm.

It made sense. After all, the source of mana that Heaven-Splitter had absorbed had originally come from the Thunderbird itself.

On top of that, it was the same Lightning attribute. Hoping to inflict major damage with the same attribute was unrealistic. If Sungshik had possessed a trait allowing him to manipulate Lightning, he could have used attribute conversion to attack with a different element, which would have been far more effective.

But… this brief opening is enough.

The Thunderbird, momentarily disoriented from the previous attack. It didn’t matter if reflecting the black lightning hadn’t caused substantial damage. For Sungshik, this small opening was all he needed.

Hwi-yuuuu.

Wind began to wrap around the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword. The wavering gusts quickly turned into a swirling vortex that coiled around the sword.

Stronger.

Sungshik poured even more mana into the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword.

Then—

He wavered.

As he infused mana into the sword, his body suddenly faltered.

Aftereffects?

The recoil from stepping into an unknown realm, displaying super human divinity. It seemed the burden on his body had been greater than he had anticipated.

However, it was only momentary. His super human physique, having undergone rebirth, was already rapidly recovering from the previous overload.

Soon, Sungshik clenched the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword even tighter.

Hwi-yo-oooo.

An immense whirlwind burst forth from the sword.

“This… This mana is unbelievable.”

“Ah… It seems the rumors about him were true.”

“Please…”

The superhumans could feel the overwhelming mana waves radiating from Sungshik’s sword. Their reactions were nearly identical—shock, admiration, and a desperate hope that he would emerge victorious.

They understood it clearly. Their very lives rested in Sungshik’s hands.

Carrying their wishes, Sungshik unleashed an immense surge of mana from his sword.

“Heaven-Splitting—Wind Scar.”

Shua-wa-wa-wak!

Countless blades of wind burst from the tip of Sungshik’s sword.

Overwhelming mana. Even those watching from afar could feel the dense wind mana shaking the battlefield. It was the power of Sungshik, who had reached the level of Seven-Star and was unleashing his near-full strength.

On top of that, the effects of the “Master of Wind” trait had been activated. The winds surrounding the Thunderbird fell under Sungshik’s command.

Kwa-deu-deuk.

“Kkieeeh!”

An invisible, massive force ensnared the Thunderbird. At the same time, it let out a distressed shriek.

The creature had snapped out of its daze due to the overwhelming surge of mana crashing down upon it, yet the force holding it down prevented it from escaping the battlefield.

As a result—

Shuuu—Kakakak!

Kwa-jijijik—!

The Thunderbird took the full brunt of “Heaven-Splitting—Wind Scar.” The result was nothing short of devastation.

Puhwak—

The Thunderbird’s body was, quite literally, shredded apart.

Pudu-du-duk.

Its corpse plummeted to the ground with a loud crash. A meaningless end for a beast that had moments ago radiated overwhelming majesty.

The superhumans who witnessed the sight were once again filled with chills. It was difficult to believe. None of them had imagined that monster would be annihilated in a single strike.

As they stood in stunned silence, the system message brought reality crashing down.

—Congratulations. You have defeated Boss Thunderbird.

—The Dungeon Core has appeared. Destroy the Dungeon Core.

“Ah…”

“H-he did it!”

“Did we really… kill it?”

“Oh, God. Thank you.”

Only after hearing the system message did the superhumans truly realize that the monster had been slain. They rushed toward Sungshik, cheering.

“Uwaaaah-ha-ha! Big Sir, I respect you!”

“I’m joining the Church of Big Sir starting today!”

Some expressed fanatical excitement.

“I knew Big Sir wouldn’t let us down.”

Even Seo Haneul, who had been aware of Sungshik’s strength, spoke with conviction.

“Ah, now I see it clearly. You’re really a Seven-Star superhuman. Finally, our country has produced a Seven-Star superhuman.”

And Kang Hanil, impressed by Sungshik’s strength, acknowledged that he had reached Seven-Star.

“S-Seven-Star? Really?”

“Wow… That’s insane.”

“Now that I think about it, considering that battle just now, it would be more surprising if he wasn’t a Seven-Star.”

At Kang Hanil’s words, the others were left in shock. Watching the battle, they had already begun to think that Sungshik might be even stronger than Kang Hanil. Yet, the true weight of his power had only now fully sunk in after Kang Hanil’s explicit declaration.

A Seven-Star superhuman. A realm that only a handful of the world’s most elite had ever reached. Few nations even possessed a single Seven-Star superhuman. South Korea had neither a Seven-Star nor even a Six-Star+ superhuman.

Yet now, in this minor nation of superhumans, a Seven-Star had suddenly emerged. The existence of Sungshik alone would elevate South Korea’s status on the world stage.

Sungshik looked around at the superhumans gazing at him with admiration. Some even wore expressions of reverence.

Seeing them, he let out a small chuckle. Being looked upon with admiration and respect wasn’t a bad feeling.

“Now then.”

As Sungshik opened his mouth, all eyes turned to him, anticipation filling their gazes.

But the words that Sungshik spoke were,

“Let's settle the loot from the boss monster.”

It was about distributing the remains of the boss monster.

Yes, Sungshik's interest lay in the byproducts obtained from slaying the Thunderbird. Everyone momentarily stared at him, dumbfounded.

―Hahaha, talking about settlement in a situation like this, that’s so like you.

Even Heaven-Splitter laughed, as if he hadn’t expected Sungshik’s words.

“Huh? Ah, yes. Right. Settlement, we have to settle things.”

Kim Jihoon stammered in response. Meanwhile, Sungshik’s gaze turned toward the pile of the Thunderbird’s remains.

‘I can't afford to delay settling things after seeing that.’

There, glowing yellow in Sungshik’s vision, was a stone.

[?](Essence of Thunder)

―Grade: ? (Legendary)

―? (A mysterious stone containing immense lightning energy)

The Essence of Thunder. A stone infused with vast lightning power.

‘An unidentified item.’

Since the Essence of Thunder was in an unidentified state, all of its information was hidden as ‘?’. However, through Insight, Sungshik could discern its true nature.

‘I must take that, no matter what.’

Obtaining an essence infused with elemental power was a rare opportunity. If he acquired it, he might be able to gain the Lightning attribute.

That was why he brought up settlement first. While everyone was still basking in the afterglow of victory, he needed to claim what he could as quickly as possible.

‘The ones I absolutely must take are…’

His eyes swiftly scanned the pile of remains once more.

‘The Essence of Thunder and the Fragment of the Black Moon.’

The Fragment of the Black Moon, which had been his target from the beginning. This time, two of them had dropped. If he could claim both the Essence of Thunder and the Fragments of the Black Moon, he would be taking all the most valuable loot for himself.

Following Sungshik’s words, the raid team quickly sorted the items obtained from the Thunderbird’s remains.

“[Heroic] Dragon Scales, twenty-three pieces. [Heroic] Underdeveloped Dragon Horn, one. [Rare] Claws of the Thunderbird, five… [?] Unidentified Stone, [?] Fragment of the Black Moon, two. Seven-star Mana Stone, one. A total of nine types, thirty-six pieces.”

Half-bird, half-dragon. If one were to classify the Thunderbird, a monster that had awakened into a seven-star beast, it was half bird and half dragon. That was why the items it left behind were a mixture of materials that could come from both species.

Once the sorting was done, the settlement began. Unlike last time, this time, it was difficult for Sungshik to claim all of the boss monster’s loot. This was because, in the initial raid attempt, the raid team and Kang Hanil had contributed to pushing the Thunderbird to the brink before its awakening.

‘The rest aren’t particularly necessary. As planned, I’ll just take the Essence of Thunder and the Fragment of the Black Moon.’

The other byproducts would only be sold for coins anyway. Thus, Sungshik requested the ‘Unidentified Stone’ first.

“Hmm, we currently only have [Common] Identification Scrolls, so we can’t verify exactly what this item is… Are you okay with that?”

To identify an unidentified item of [Heroic] grade or higher, a [Heroic] Identification Scroll was needed. However, the raid team only had [Common] grade scrolls on hand. Since the item couldn’t be identified with a [Common] scroll, they could at least assume it was of [Heroic] grade, but they had no way of knowing what exactly it was.

That was why they asked again. In truth, since Sungshik had been the one to take down the Thunderbird, he had the overwhelming majority of the claim to the loot. Even if the unidentified stone turned out to be of [Heroic] grade, he had every right to take it.

However, the value of items within the same [Heroic] grade could vary significantly. Because of that, Sungshik’s decision to only ask for the ‘Unidentified Stone’ and the ‘Fragment of the Black Moon’ made it seem as if he was being quite generous to the raid team.

“Yes, this is enough. Besides, I’ll also receive half of the proceeds from selling the seven-star Mana Stone. If it’s alright, I’d like to ask for a favor in the future.”

Everyone nodded in agreement without hesitation. In fact, this was a situation they welcomed. Establishing ties with a high-level super human—such a connection held immeasurable value in the era of the Great super humans.

“Just call us anytime. We’ll come running.”

“Our Nati Guild is the same.”

Thus, the settlement was neatly concluded, just as Sungshik had intended.

The mood was one of celebration. However, not everyone in the raid team could share in the joy.

“The super humans who fled during battle will be reported to the super human Association and immediately added to the blacklist.”

Several super humans, who had run away during the battle but had sneaked back after it was over, dropped to their knees and begged. However, Kim Jihoon was resolute. As per the regulations of the super human Association, they would be disciplined accordingly, and their future activities as super humans would face severe restrictions.

Then there were the injured. Some had been directly struck by the Thunderbird’s Black Lightning, suffering damage severe enough to impair their Mana Roads.

“N-no way. That’s impossible. It can’t be!”

The trio from the Nati Guild, who only regained their senses long after the battle had ended, screamed in despair. All three had been struck by the Black Lightning, and due to not receiving timely treatment, their internal injuries were severe. As a result, their Mana paths had been damaged.

Seo Jiwon, Kim Yoonsang, and Han Seokwon. Among them, Seo Jiwon had the least damage, yet his combat strength had still plummeted to four-star. Kim Yoonsang and Han Seokwon had dropped to three-star.

The Mana Road was, quite literally, the pathway through which mana flowed within the body. Once damaged, it was incredibly difficult to restore completely.

Even if they somehow managed to heal their Mana Roads successfully, it would take them years. That meant their chances of survival in the upcoming era of Gate Breaks would plummet.

The approaching era of Gate Breaks. A time when one’s combat strength was directly linked to survival.

In such an era, possessing only three or four-star strength—especially with a damaged Mana Road that prevented them from using their power properly—was essentially the same as giving up on their own safety.

Then, a certain conversation reached their ears.

“What? Big Sir’s weapon is of [Mythic] grade?”

At that moment, a sinister glint flickered in the eyes of the three.