Fwoosh.

A scorching current surged through the air. Dozens of flaming swords floated in the surroundings. It was a spectacle, a scene as if the Judge of Flames had descended upon the mortal world.

And when Heo Sungshik opened his closed eyes—

Bzzzt.

The dozens of flaming swords floating around him all simultaneously pointed their blades at the target before them. Even those watching from the side felt an overwhelming pressure that took their breath away.

The Bulgasari was no exception.

Flinch.

The monstrous creature instinctively stepped back. A beast over ten meters tall recoiling before a human not even two meters in height—just witnessing the sight sent chills down one’s spine.

“…That’s awesome.”

“That’s insane.”

Overwhelmed by the sheer spectacle, Park Jiyeon and Kim Junghwan forgot their earlier disgrace and let out words of awe.

―Ho, to think you’ve already reached this level of manifestation. Truly remarkable.

‘It wasn’t as difficult as I thought.’

―…Monster. That’s only because your talent is anything but ordinary. Normally, it would take months just to manifest a single form.

At Heaven-Splitter’s remark, Heo Sungshik let out a smirk. Since when had he ever heard someone say he was talented? Before his regression, not once had he heard such words.

Accomplishing what others found difficult with ease—it didn’t bring as much excitement as one might expect.

“Alright then… Let’s see how powerful this is.”

A deep smile spread across Sungshik’s face as he looked at the beast.

“Ah.”

Astonishing.

“Just what is he…?”

Reverence. Shivers. Overwhelming. These were the emotions Kim Jaeil felt as he watched Heo Sungshik.

The numerous flaming swords Sungshik had manifested…

With a wave of his hand, the flaming swords spun and soared into the air. Then, all at once, they rained down upon the Bulgasari. It was nothing short of a disaster for the beast. Tracing long trails of fire through the air, the swords plunged downward.

Shaaah—

It was as if fire was pouring down from the heavens. Each individual flaming sword seemed alive, weaving through the air in a mesmerizing dance, evoking gasps of amazement from those watching.

Yes, it was a scene so intense and awe-inspiring that no one would ever forget it.

The beast couldn’t even put up proper resistance against the rain of flaming swords.

And for good reason. The moment the swords embedded themselves in the Bulgasari’s body, they erupted into massive flames, combusting with tremendous force. In the blink of an eye, the colossal monster was entirely engulfed in fire.

“Kii… eeeeek!”

Enveloped in the raging inferno, the creature let out one final, pitiful shriek. Compared to its overwhelming display when it had effortlessly wiped out the government-affiliated superhumans, its end was far too abrupt—almost anticlimactic.

“Th-this is… impossible.”

Beside him, Lee Jinwoong muttered in disbelief. It was a natural reaction.

No one had expected Heo Sungshik to claim such an overwhelming victory.

This wasn’t a battle. It wasn’t a duel. It wasn’t even a raid.

It was simply a predator hunting its prey. Nothing more, nothing less.

And the true predator before them was not the beast, but Heo Sungshik himself.

“Phew.”

His first time using manifestation.

The result was quite satisfying.

‘At this level, I don’t even need skills.’

―What did I tell you? I said you had no need to rely on such trivial skills.

‘Well, you’re not wrong.’

It was true. If he could utilize elemental power through manifestation like this, there was no need to fixate on acquiring elemental-specific skills.

‘But… the mental strain is too much.’

Whether it was due to his inexperience in handling this power or simply an inherent flaw of the technique, he didn’t know. What was certain was the overwhelming mental fatigue that crashed over him after just a single attack.

―Naturally. To use manifestation at that level, one would normally need to be beyond 8-star and have reached the Flower Realm.

At that, Sungshik questioned.

Then how had he just done it?

―That… My guess is that it has something to do with the expansion of your upper dantian when you reached the 9-star threshold. Manifestation fundamentally draws from the upper dantian’s power. And your physique may be…

Heaven-Splitter trailed off.

―No, never mind. I’m not certain. Regardless, the fact that a brat who can’t even manifest sword aura—let alone execute Sword Flight—has wielded this level of power and is only feeling fatigued is absurd.

His words were long-winded, but there was some truth to them.

‘That power just now… it might have been comparable to Qi Manifestation.’

Qi Manifestation—the supreme power that could only be utilized upon reaching the Flower Realm.

Yet, despite being limited to sword techniques, he had just wielded a power akin to it.

Of course, it wasn’t truly the same. There was still a vast difference between this and genuine Qi Manifestation.

But it was undeniably a formidable ability. Heo Sungshik possessed strength that set him apart even from typical 7-star superhumans.

While conversing with Heaven-Splitter, Sungshik approached the remains of the Bulgasari. Most of its massive ten-meter body had been reduced to ash.

And there, two items lay visible.

[?] Fragment of the Black Moon
[Legendary] Bulgasari Scale Fragment

“Got it.”

Fortunately, things went as expected.

[Legendary] Bulgasari Scale Fragment—the item Sungshik had aimed to acquire. He had worried he might not obtain it since the beast’s appearance was different from what he remembered, but in the end, he succeeded.

‘No coins?’

Strangely, there were no coins. Not once had a beast failed to drop coins before. Even the weakest slimes had always yielded coins upon defeat. Perhaps this was because the Bulgasari was an artificially created chimera.

Setting his doubts aside, Sungshik fused the [Fragment of the Black Moon] into the [Black Moon Rune].

[Black Moon Rune (5/100)]

Looking at the fused rune, he realized that gathering them might be easier than expected. He already had five. The path ahead still seemed long, yet at the same time, it felt like he would collect them in no time.

Yun Gardes had mentioned that mutated gates existed not just in Korea but overseas as well. Even just traveling to those places should allow him to gather the remaining 95 pieces relatively quickly.

―Why are you so determined to collect that thing?

Heaven-Splitter, who had been watching, asked curiously.

‘I don’t know… Just a gut feeling?’

Yes. A vague premonition. He felt an inexplicable urge to complete and absorb it.

Since his regression, not once had his instincts been wrong.

Sungshik believed this intuition stemmed from his Hyper-Sense trait.

―If it’s just about getting stronger, wouldn’t focusing on the Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts be a faster approach?

‘Hmm, it's not just about getting stronger... Right, 10-star. I have a feeling I might obtain a clue to reaching 10-star.’

That was the reason. It wasn’t just about increasing his power slightly. It was the feeling that he might obtain a key to surpassing 9-star and reaching the realm of 10-star.

Perhaps it stemmed from the moment when Sungshik had first used future foresight and had caught a glimpse, however faint, of the essence of the 10-star realm.

―…I see. If that's how you feel.

Unexpectedly, Heaven-Splitter easily accepted Sungshik’s words. For someone who always spoke in theories and gave long-winded explanations, this was surprising.

‘I thought he'd start lecturing me if I said it was just a vague "feeling."’

―Well, it might not be wrong, so go ahead and try.

Rather, Heaven-Splitter went so far as to support Sungshik’s intuition.

This only strengthened his conviction. A clue to reaching 10-star—it might very well be hidden within this Black Moon Rune.

‘I'll think about that later.’

For now, he decided to retrieve the Bulgasari Scale Fragment, which was his original objective.

‘Will it work?’

The method Sungshik planned to use was Consumption. His goal was to absorb the properties of the Bulgasari Scale Fragment through Consumption. If it had the power to transform into a trait like a relic, then it should be possible.

However, the Bulgasari Scale Fragment was somewhat ambiguous as a relic. The probability was fifty-fifty. In that uncertain gamble, Sungshik activated Consumption.

―Using trait [EX Rank] Consumption.

With that, the Bulgasari Scale Fragment in Sungshik’s hand began to glow brightly.

―Consuming…

―Congratulations! You have acquired [S Rank] Iron Devourer.

Iron Devourer. A trait ideal for superhumans in the tank position, who prioritized defense above all else. The more iron they absorbed, the harder their skin would become, transforming it into something akin to steel.

In fact, before Sungshik's regression, there had been someone who awakened the Iron Devourer trait after resonating with a Bulgasari Scale obtained from a Bulgasari-type monster. That person had become an exceptional tank despite awakening the trait late.

‘But I don’t need this.’

There was no need for him to reinforce his skin by absorbing iron. Sungshik already possessed [S Rank] Queen’s Armor. He didn’t need Iron Devourer as well.

However, if Sungshik’s assumption was correct...

‘Fusion.’

―Checking owned traits. [S Rank] Queen’s Armor detected. [S Rank] Iron Devourer can be fused. Would you like to proceed?

His assumption was correct. Sungshik had wondered if obtaining the Bulgasari Scale would allow him to fuse its trait with [S Rank] Queen’s Armor.

Trait Fusion. Normally, people only possessed a single trait, so this was not widely known. However, there were rare cases where traits of the same category fused together to evolve into an even higher-tier trait.

That’s why he had thought, "Maybe..." And his expectation had been right on the mark.

‘Fuse.’

―Starting fusion.

―Fusing…

―Congratulations! You have obtained [SS Rank] Vajra Armor.

[SS Rank] Vajra Aegis

• Grants skin imbued with the power of Vajra. Drastically increases defense.
• Negates all damage from attacks of B-rank or lower (Damage Immunity).
• Upon meeting certain conditions, you can obtain Indestructible Vajra Body.

‘Indestructible Vajra Body.’

What caught Sungshik’s eye was the last line—Indestructible Vajra Body.

Vajra Indestructibility. The combination of Vajra Body, which was impervious to blades, and Indestructible Body, which was immune to fire and water. It referred to an absolute, unbreakable physique.

It rendered the body immune to all poisons and granted a body as resilient as diamond. It was said that with Vajra Indestructibility, one could naturally emit a protective aura and defend against any attack without even channeling internal energy.

Furthermore, not only would the body become impervious, but the mind would also attain perfection—rendering one immune to inner demons and unshakable against any form of temptation.

Only someone who had reached the realm of Life and Death could break through Vajra Indestructibility. And now, Sungshik had acquired a trait that could potentially lead him toward this legendary state.

Though it was not yet the true Indestructible Vajra Body that could be achieved in the Life and Death realm, if he obtained this trait, he might be able to reach that state without external martial arts training.

‘Come to think of it, Choi Moonguk had the Indestructible Vajra Body trait…’

It occurred to him that the "specific conditions" might be similar to the ones required to unlock Choi Moonguk’s Indestructible Vajra Body.

“Alright then.”

Sungshik turned his body and looked at the people staring at him in a daze.

“Mission complete.”

He flashed a bright smile at the stunned onlookers.

As Sungshik had predicted, the superhumans who had been thrown aside by the first attack were not in any serious danger. With some potions, they recovered quickly.

At first, they couldn’t believe that Sungshik had singlehandedly taken down the monster. But when Kim Jaehil and several other superhumans, along with the blacksmiths, began treating Sungshik with utmost respect, they had no choice but to believe.

And that was understandable.

“Hmm, I’m thirsty.”

Scurrying.

“H-here, sir!”

The one who had been most hostile toward Sungshik—Lee Jinwoong—was now behaving like a fresh recruit in the military at just a single comment about thirst.

Even after they left the mine and returned to the workshop, and even within the workshop itself, he stuck close to Sungshik, treating him with extreme deference.

His gaze toward Sungshik was a mix of fear, respect, and reverence. And rightly so—he had been outright disrespectful toward Sungshik before. If Sungshik had wanted to retaliate, he wouldn’t have had any excuse.

Besides, Lee Jinwoong had always admired the power of superhumans. Having witnessed Sungshik’s overwhelming strength firsthand, he couldn’t help but be awed.

―So, you’re not going to teach him a lesson anymore?

‘Well, seeing him grovel like that, isn’t it better to just milk him for all he’s worth?’

―Milk him?

‘There’s a way.’

Sungshik looked at the miscellaneous junk in his inventory and smirked. He had found himself a good errand boy.

At that moment, Jin Yongchan appeared, carrying a long object wrapped in cloth.

“The scabbard you requested is complete.”