Thwack!

The goblin warrior, who had been charging with bared teeth, was shredded in an instant by a single kick from Sungshik.

―Congratulations. You have cleared Stage 1 of the Golden Goblin's Arena.

―You have acquired 10,000,000 Coins!

―The next stage will begin in 1 minute.

‘That’s it for the first stage?’

Sungshik had prepared himself to some extent, but it was far easier than expected. The only opponent in the first stage was a single goblin warrior.

Just a 1-star monster. And only one at that. Even a 1-star Superhuman could’ve passed with ease.

‘They’re giving ten million coins just for killing one goblin warrior?’

This place was generous to the point of being excessive.

With one minute until the next stage, Sungshik quickly assessed the situation and grinned.

“Jackpot.”

If this was the starting level, he was already excited to see how much he would ultimately earn. He was confident that earning the one billion coins needed to purchase an [EX Rank] Trait Enhancement Ticket would be easy.

Even if he only earned ten million coins per stage, he only needed to win around a thousand rounds to reach a billion.

―10 seconds remaining until the next stage.

The announcement for the next stage sounded to him like a call to open his mouth and get ready to receive more coins.

“So, you're telling me Zhang Ziyun is holed up in the slums right now?”

“Yes, that’s correct. He’s been taking care of a young girl in the slums for the past three days.”

“I sent him to collect tribute and he vanishes, ends up hiding in the slums… And you’re saying some unknown Superhuman told him to do it?”

“We haven’t confirmed that part yet.”

Quan Chou, listening to the report from his subordinate, looked dumbfounded. Zhang Ziyun had been serving well as his right-hand man. Yet suddenly, the man who had gone out for collection just vanished.

It wasn’t just Zhang Ziyun. Even the underlings beneath him had all disappeared together.

“Bring him in immediately.”

There was no way he had left Tzefeng City. It wasn’t a place one could leave simply because they wanted to. Though Zhang Ziyun was a 5-star+ Superhuman with decent strength, it wasn’t nearly enough to escape Tzefeng City.

That was obvious. Even Kurhin, the 7-star Superhuman who ruled over Tzefeng City, couldn’t leave this place alone. For Zhang Ziyun, escaping would be utterly impossible even if he died and came back to life a hundred times.

If he had disappeared, then either he had become monster food while trying to leave, or he was hiding somewhere within Tzefeng City—one of the two.

“We’ve brought in the guys who were under Zhang Ziyun.”

On the third day of searching, they captured some of the men who had followed Zhang Ziyun. Two of the three remained loyal and resisted, but one spilled everything after being subjected to intense torture.

And so, they learned a shocking truth.

During the collection, they had encountered a Superhuman with an unusual presence. Zhang Ziyun, swayed by that person’s words, gave up on collecting. What’s more, he voluntarily went to the slums to take care of a young girl.

To Quan Chou, this was utterly incomprehensible.

‘Was there something I failed to provide him?’

In Tzefeng City, Kurhin’s influence was absolute. However, Kurhin himself wasn’t particularly interested in ruling the city. He was solely obsessed with hoarding coins.

In reality, it was Quan Chou and Jian Guo, Kurhin’s two arms, who wielded that power. And the sweet benefits of that power trickled down to their direct subordinates.

‘It was a sweet deal.’

Zhang Ziyun must’ve been enjoying the full extent of that power as his right-hand man. And yet, to suddenly throw it all away on the whim of some unknown person? No one in their right mind would do such a thing.

“Did Zhang Ziyun really say that guy definitely came from the outside?”

“Yes, that’s right. He even said the man was more powerful than Lord Kurhin.”

“Makes sense. If he really pierced through that horde of monsters alone and came from outside, then it’s possible.”

Quan Chou was a man of reason more than emotion. Though he found Zhang Ziyun’s actions absurd, he still left room for possibility.

‘That mysterious pillar of fire from a few days ago.’

A strange incident from a few days ago gave further weight to that possibility.

A massive pillar of fire had risen from the Mantrap Plant habitat. Coincidentally, the timing of the unknown man’s appearance matched the timing of the fire. Moreover, Quan Chou, Kurhin’s right-hand man, was aware that Wang Wei, who had gone to scout the area, was now missing.

‘Suspicious.’

Perhaps, just as Zhang Ziyun claimed, it was true. That unidentified Superhuman might truly be someone who had come from the outside—who had pierced through the hellish horde of monsters alone.

And so, Quan Chou made his decision.

He would capture both Zhang Ziyun and the girl and observe the situation more closely. If that person truly came from the outside, there was no way he’d live quietly here. He would act in some way.

“Bring both of them in for now.”

Quan Chou gave the order.

‘So this is how she’s been living.’

Zhang Ziyun sighed repeatedly.

In truth, he himself had grown up in the slums before the Great Cataclysm. There was a time when his life was consumed by the struggle to survive day by day.

After the era of the Great Cataclysm, he had been lucky enough to awaken as a Superhuman. During the Gate Break era, he grabbed onto Quan Chou’s coattails and had been living in luxury ever since.

He had forgotten. Forgotten the cold, hungry days of his past.

But seeing how the girl before him lived, those memories came flooding back.

‘Still, it’s fortunate she had a place to stay.’

Luckily, there were many empty houses in Tzefeng City. So even a girl without a guardian, like her, didn’t have to sleep on the streets and could at least secure a roof over her head.

But that was it. She had a place to live, but had to struggle every day just to avoid starvation.

The girl was only fourteen years old. Before the Great Cataclysm, she would have been a teenager just beginning to dream. But here, she was the head of the household—taking care of her little sister, who was only nine years old. She had survived until now by risking her life every day outside the city walls, gathering fruit bit by bit.

‘Tsk.’

The sisters were ethnic Koreans from the Manchurian region. They had wandered from place to place and eventually ended up in Tzefeng City—only to be caught in the outbreak of the Gate Break.

Amidst the chaos, the girl had managed to take care of her sister, surviving day by day.

Then, her younger sister suddenly came down with a high fever. Watching her sister suffer, the girl had desperately tried to obtain fever medicine sold by the “Coin General Store” through the Superhumans. It was during that frantic struggle that she encountered Sungshik.

And as a result, a man named Zhang Ziyun came to stay at the sisters’ house.

“Your little sister looks a bit better now.”

“Yes… Truly, truly thank you, mister.”

The girl, Ren Sua, expressed her gratitude to Zhang Ziyun. Zhang Ziyun had obtained fever medicine on her behalf and taken care of her younger sister, even apologizing for the exploitation they had endured.

In truth, Zhang Ziyun also came to realize the reality of the non-Superhumans, which he had previously ignored, through Ren Sua and her sister. It became a turning point that brought great internal change to him.

They were human beings with dignity, not beasts that pursued only strength. Things couldn’t go on like this in Tzefeng City. A world had to be created where Superhumans and non-Superhumans could coexist.

Zhang Ziyun firmly believed in the words that Sungshik had left him with.

‘By that man’s hand, a new wind will blow through Tzefeng City.’

That belief was unshakable. That’s why even though Quan Chou’s subordinates were now searching for him and the girl, he could remain calm.

Because soon, the wind would blow here. The wind of change that the existence called Sungshik would bring.

“Huu.”

A breeze brushed away the sweat from Sungshik’s forehead.

‘It feels like I’m reaching my limit.’

Before he knew it, the Golden Goblin’s combat arena had reached the heights of the 800th stage. In just a few days, he had made it this far.

At first, it had been very easy. From stage 1 to 50, only 1-star monsters appeared. He could get through that segment by lifting a single finger.

Then, from stage 51 to 100, 1-star+ monsters showed up. When a 2-star monster appeared at stage 101, Sungshik understood.

‘Every 50 stages, the grade increases.’

Like that, he steadily continued to conquer the stages. Only one minute of rest was allowed between stages.

However, Sungshik’s stamina and mana, having reached 8-star level, were more than sufficient for such short rests. His stamina and mana recovery exceeded the rate of their consumption—at least up until stage 750.

But starting from stage 751, with the appearance of 8-star+ monsters, the difficulty spiked dramatically. Even though the grade only increased slightly from 8-star to 8-star+, the difference was palpable.

‘Sure enough, from 8-star onwards, even the slightest gap in grade results in a huge difference in perceived strength.’

The higher one's level, the more pronounced even minor differences became. Now at 8-star, even a subtle gap was massive in combat.

The reason why things suddenly became grueling at stage 751 was exactly that.

The gap between 8-star and 8-star+ was stark. Sungshik, who had easily dealt with 8-star monsters, could no longer handle those beyond 8-star+ as easily.

‘I didn’t expect the gap to be this big.’

Even so, the 8-star+ monsters didn’t completely halt Sungshik’s momentum. They merely slowed the runaway train that he had become.

Even that was astonishing. Anyone familiar with the difference between 8-star and 8-star+ would find the result unfathomable.

It made sense. An 8-star was equivalent to the level of "Hwakyung" among martial artists. At that level, battles between powerhouses were so intense that even the difference of a sheet of paper could determine the outcome.

Yet a Superhuman at 8-star, not even 8-star+, was defeating monsters of 8-star+ level?

This was an irregularity that defied the laws of the world. One who could overturn the power gap created by difference in grade. Since the birth of the universe, only a tiny, chosen few had ever accomplished such a feat. Just like Sungshik now.

―Congratulations. You have defeated ‘Gorgon.’ You have cleared stage 798.

―You have acquired 10,000,000 Coin!

―The next stage will begin in 1 minute.

Once again, a one-minute rest was granted. It was a rest that had felt boring in the earlier stages, but now felt far too short.

“Huu.”

Regulating his heavy breathing, Sungshik used even that short time to circulate ‘Heaven-Splitting Divine Art’ and recover his condition. Facing monsters of 8-star+ rank was no easy feat. His entire body was already covered in minor wounds, and both his stamina and mana had been heavily depleted.

It was under such circumstances that the monster of stage 799 appeared.

―Stage 799. VS Basilisk. The battle will begin shortly.

‘Basilisk.’

Sungshik knew the monster well. He had encountered it once before in his previous life.

A primordial monster that had appeared during the Fourth Night of Trial. A being known as the king of snakes. That enormous, serpent-shaped creature had been so powerful that half of the 11 Thrones had to fight it together.

‘The power of petrification. A deadly venom that melts even steel.’

The authority of petrification, activated by eye contact, was the most troublesome power it had. Beings above 8-star had resistance and wouldn’t truly turn to stone.

However, any being below 8-star would instantly turn to stone just from a glance. It was one of the most powerful monsters even among the 8-star+ rank.

―Is it not just a reptile?

At Heaven-Splitter’s words, Sungshik let out a snort of laughter. That laugh eased the tension slightly from his body.

He knew that in this space, even if he died, it wouldn’t be a true death. Just like the Tower of Training. His life wasn’t in real danger, so there was no need to be overly tense.

At that moment, Sungshik made eye contact with the Basilisk.

―The Basilisk’s ‘Authority of Petrification’ attempts to invade your body.

Just as his body began to stiffen—

―‘[EX Rank] Heaven-Splitting Divine Art’ has completely resisted the ‘Authority of Petrification.’

‘Heaven-Splitting Divine Art’ had perfectly nullified the Basilisk’s petrifying power.

Chiiiiik.

―A mere human…

The Basilisk’s mental voice echoed in Sungshik’s head. Its eyes blazed with fury. It was enraged at Sungshik for blocking its power.

Sungshik gave a short laugh at the sight.

“You’ve got a long tongue, huh?”

The Basilisk’s tongue flicked like a snake’s—indeed, it was long. At Sungshik’s provocative remark, the Basilisk glared at him with even more vicious eyes. It looked ready to strike at any moment.

“Yeah. Come on, come on.”

Sungshik extended one hand, aiming his Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword at the Basilisk, wiggling the blade tip to provoke it.

―A worthless human dares…

With the Basilisk’s enraged roar, its massive body surged toward Sungshik.