[EX Rank] Consumption and [SS Rank] Army of Death reacting together—this was a situation he neither anticipated nor expected.

‘This is……’

But anticipation welled up. The Key of Heaven. It was an item that had always brought good results to Sungshik. Along with the pocket watch, it had been a major contributor to making the current Sungshik who stood here.

―The link between the ‘Trait Predator’ option of [EX Rank] Consumption and [SS Rank] Army of Death has been confirmed.

―Congratulations! An additional option has been granted to [SS Rank] Army of Death.

As soon as the system message appeared, Sungshik immediately checked the [SS Rank] Army of Death trait.

“Whoa.”

A voice escaped involuntarily. The reason was simple. Even Sungshik himself had never seen an option like this before.

[SS Rank] Army of Death
―Able to summon the undead army of the 72 Demon King Murmur.
―Up to 3 corps can be summoned.
―With additional grimoires, up to 5 corps can be summoned.
*Can only fully summon the corps using dark mana.
*Can incorporate those whose traits have been consumed into the Army of Death.―NEW

The newly added final option. The phrase that those whose traits have been consumed can be incorporated into the Army of Death.

The moment he saw that, he understood why he had felt a strange sensation from Boris’s corpse. It was because he had fulfilled the condition to incorporate Boris into the Army of Death.

Sungshik’s mind began to turn quickly.

‘Even the Witch of Halla, Han Eunyoung, didn’t have this ability.’

Among the Witch of Halla’s abilities, there was never anything like this. She had the ability to brainwash and control someone, but never had he heard of anyone incorporating the dead into the Army of Death.

―The Superhuman ‘Boris’ can be incorporated into the Army of Death. Do you wish to proceed with incorporation?

The system message informed him that Boris could be incorporated into the Army of Death, but Sungshik couldn’t rashly do so here. If the fact that he could incorporate a deceased Superhuman into his own corps was made known, the world would surely start to check and restrain him. At least, according to current social norms.

‘This ability must only be revealed after the Gate Break era begins.’

An era when the world’s norms and rules are overturned. A time where the dominant criteria became survival of the fittest and the strong devour the weak—a world ruled by power. Once that era arrived, this kind of ability might be tolerated.

‘For now… too many eyes are watching.’

Thus, Sungshik did not immediately incorporate Boris into the ‘Authority of Death.’ However, he decided to take care of Boris’s body himself. Since he had claimed everything that was Boris’s, he resolved to take responsibility for even cremating the body.

In this way, Sungshik took Boris’s body with him. Then, in a place where he was alone, he incorporated Boris’s body into the ‘Authority of Death.’

Shhhhhh—

Boris’s corpse began to transform into black smoke and was absorbed into Sungshik’s body.

―The Superhuman ‘Boris’ has been incorporated into the ‘Authority of Death.’

In that moment, Sungshik intuitively knew. Boris had been added to the death legion that was his ‘Authority of Death.’ Whenever the time came when he could fully wield the power of the ‘Authority of Death,’ the world would see Boris reborn as part of that force.

“This power… I want to use it soon.”

Sungshik felt an overwhelming attraction to this power of controlling the Authority of Death. Especially the overwhelming force of the Army of Death that had swept across the battlefield before the regression. The memory sent chills running across his entire body.

He tried to think of a way to acquire the dark (暗) attribute but couldn’t come up with a suitable method. It was possible he might suddenly acquire it by chance, but for now, the only thing to do was to gather as many fragments of the Black Moon as possible. That was why Sungshik resolved to accelerate his collection of Black Moon fragments.

And thus, Boris was incorporated into the Army of Death. At the same time, Sungshik began to envision the possibility of forming his own corps that transcended even the Army of Death shown by Han Eunyoung.

Immediately after the duel with Boris, Sungshik's popularity and recognition skyrocketed in South Korea. Now there were hardly any people who didn’t recognize his face. He was now considered one of the most recognizable figures in Korea.

“Wow, it’s Heo Sungshik!”

“Uwaaaaah!”

“Kyaaa— Oppa!”

Sungshik, who had gone out onto the streets like usual, faced great difficulty because of this. It was because he hadn’t fully grasped how much his recognition had surged.

“Please give me an autograph!”

“Hyung, please look here! Just one photo!”

“You’re even more handsome in person!”

It was a level of popularity comparable to that of a famous celebrity.

“Uh, just a moment. I have an appointment right now. Ah, who was the guy that just touched my butt?”

Surrounded by a crowd, Sungshik had quite a tough time before he could finally escape.

―You could’ve just pushed your way out with force. Why go through all that trouble?

“Even so, how could I do that to people who like me?”

Indeed. He could’ve just leaped into the air and escaped by climbing a building or transformed into a form of the wind and slipped away unnoticed.

But Sungshik didn’t do that. This was a new experience for him, and seeing people cheer for him actually felt pretty good.

―Tsk tsk tsk, you’re obsessed with a meaningless illusion.

Pacheon clicked his tongue in disapproval, but Sungshik ignored him. Who cared how Pacheon saw it—as long as it made him feel good, wasn’t that enough?

With his spirits lifted, Sungshik arrived at the meeting place.

“Yo~ Our superstar Heo Sungshik has arrived!”

“Man~ Sungshik’s glow just keeps getting brighter and brighter.”

“Seriously. I swear his face is literally glowing now?”

“Haha, does it look that way?”

Sungshik greeted his academy friends with a wide grin.

Sung Jihwan, Choi Moonguk, and Kim Subin. They had all become genuinely close, the kind of friends who felt completely at ease around each other.

They chatted for quite a while. Afterward, they held a party to celebrate Sungshik’s victory over Boris. It was a fun and joyous time.

Once the party was over, Sungshik turned to Choi Moonguk and Sung Jihwan and spoke.

“A massive gate break that could endanger the entire world might occur. You guys need to grow stronger, faster.”

He subtly hinted at the potential danger of a gate break. Moonguk and Jihwan listened attentively to his words. Sungshik gave them various pieces of advice on how to grow stronger more quickly. He even marked down gates suitable for their current level and shared strategies for tackling them as well as efficient training methods.

Just this gentle guidance on the path forward would allow them to grow rapidly.

“For now, there’s not much I can do to help directly. In the end, your growth must come from your own hands.”

Then he turned to Kim Subin.

“Subin, you’re already doing well on your own. But would you like some advice too?”

“Yeah~ I want advice too! I would’ve felt left out if you hadn’t offered.”

Sungshik chuckled at Subin’s feigned sulking. Her pretending to be upset was so cute that he almost reached out to pat her on the head without realizing it.

He gave Subin some detailed advice as well. Then, he pulled out some elixirs he no longer needed and handed them out. The Frozen Grass in particular seemed like it would be a great help to Subin.

“Whoa, there’s even a [Hero] grade one here?”

Subin’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw a [Hero] grade Frozen Grass among them, and she looked up at Sungshik in awe.

“It needs to be at least that level to be helpful.”

With those words, he shrugged his shoulders. For someone who had already surpassed 7 Stars, it would no longer be effective, but for Subin, it would surely bring significant results.

“Hey, Sungshik. We want to try a [Hero] grade elixir too. Aren’t you spoiling Subin a bit much?”

“I’ll get you guys some next time when the opportunity comes up. The Frozen Grass has strong yin energy, so it’s most effective for a woman like Subin.”

“I feel like that’s not the only reason though……”

Sung Jihwan narrowed his eyes and glanced between Sungshik and Subin’s faces.

“I get the feeling you’re going to keep spoiling Subin from now on……”

Jihwan trailed off, staring suspiciously.

“If that’s what you think, then I’ll keep spoiling only Subin from now on.”

“Oh no~ Hyung-nim, why would you take my words that way~ What I meant was~ that we’d appreciate it if you’d look after us too, that’s all.”

A pivot faster than the speed of light. Sungshik let out a dry laugh at the sight.

“Alright. Anyway, don’t rely too much on elixirs. If I get more, I’ll share them. But as I said earlier, your top priority should be increasing your own martial strength. Got it?”

He repeatedly emphasized the importance of increasing their own martial prowess.

‘Only then will the chances of survival increase, even a little.’

People he couldn’t stay with in the previous timeline—now that fate had brought them together again, he truly hoped they could all reach the end together this time.

Not long after seeing his academy friends, Sungshik received a call from Elemental Master Jenny.

―Hello, Sungshik-nim. Have you been well?

“Yes, of course. How about you, Jenny-nim?”

―I’ve been doing great~

“That’s a relief. So, what’s the occasion for the call?”

―Aww, that’s cold. Are we only allowed to call each other when there’s a reason? We shared the battlefield together, remember? Looks like we’ll need to work harder on getting closer. But actually, yes, there is a reason. I called because I want to invite you to something. There’s a friend who really wants to meet you. So if you could accept the invitation, I’d be really grateful.”

Jenny invited Sungshik to her homeland, the United States.

Sungshik gladly accepted the proposal. He would likely be able to see the Martial Emperor there. Not only that, but Sungshik also had a guess about who Jenny's so-called "friend" might be.

The Lord of Thunder, one of the 11 Thrones, Fletcher. It was probably him.

When Sungshik accepted the invitation, Jenny, visibly excited, began chattering away. Jenny, it turned out, was more talkative than expected.

He had felt it during their previous meal after the battle—despite the calm and quiet image she gave off, she was a textbook example of a cute, talkative young woman who loved to chat.

Their conversation had flowed smoothly, and they’d had an enjoyable time together. Thinking back on that moment, it wasn’t unreasonable to say they’d grown close. Perhaps she might even feel a bit hurt that he had jumped straight to asking about the purpose of her call.

That’s why the invitation itself gave Sungshik a positive impression.

‘Come to think of it, Jenny is also close to the Martial Emperor.’

Considering that, deepening his relationship with Jenny would be a wise choice.

‘Besides, I genuinely enjoyed our conversations.’

Sungshik was a man too. It was nice to be friends with a beautiful woman like Jenny, especially one he could talk to so easily. It’s not like he had a girlfriend who would get jealous, and there was no reason not to grow closer to Jenny.

‘It’s not like I have ulterior motives for Jenny.’

That was true. Right now, his mind was only filled with one thing—getting stronger, surpassing even the 9th star to reach the unprecedented 10-star realm and stopping the Lord of the Night.

But who knew? They say even on the battlefield, love happens.

When he thought about romance, Gong Hayeon came to mind. The woman he dated before regression. He hadn’t looked for her, but she was surely alive somewhere in Korea.

He remembered the days when they relied on each other. But that didn’t mean he intended to meet her again. He felt it was better to leave memories as memories.

As he pushed Gong Hayeon out of his mind, Kim Subin’s face surfaced. Sungshik didn’t know why her face suddenly came to mind. Maybe, without realizing it, he had started to develop feelings for her.

Suddenly, he recalled a fact—Kim Subin had once been in a relationship with Park Tae-sik. If his interference hadn’t changed the future, perhaps right now, Kim Subin and Park Tae-sik might have been doing well together.

‘Did I change the thread of fate?’

He felt oddly sorry toward Kim Subin.

‘But could I even be someone she’d want to be with?’

A question arose. He didn’t know, but it seemed like she only saw him as a good comrade—nothing more, nothing less.

As his head began to ache, Sungshik stopped thinking. If fate wanted, things would connect. If not, they’d just remain close comrades. Forcing the relationship could break it instead. He decided to let things flow like water in a stream.

“Only beginners act hastily. I won’t make that mistake.”

With one relationship in his previous life, and zero in this one, Sungshik, practically a commander of the Solo Battalion, nodded to himself as if he were a love expert.

―Cluck cluck cluck, still a long way from romance.

In an empty space, only Heaven-Splitter clicked his tongue as he looked at Sungshik.

Thus, after accepting Jenny's invitation, Sungshik soon boarded a plane to the United States. After a long flight, he arrived on American soil.

The moment he stepped into the arrival hall, a blonde woman caught his eye. The beauty shaking her flowing blonde hair and welcoming Sungshik was Jenny.

“Welcome to America! Sungshik!”