The anticipation that he might gain a Natural Body skill. That anticipation made Sungshik excited.

Moreover, that wasn’t the only encouraging thing.

‘This time, I acquired three traits through [Extraction].’

Acquiring traits through extraction was extremely difficult. Until reaching master level, extraction activated at an abysmal 0.01% probability. That was why he was delighted to obtain three traits through extraction this time.

‘Of course, the ones I got this time are low-ranked traits, but the fact that I can continue gaining traits like this is highly encouraging.’

[B Rank] Troll’s Regeneration (Growth Type), [C Rank] Wild Dog’s Sense of Smell, [C Rank] Iron Man’s Endurance.
These were the traits he obtained this time. They were low-tier traits, but even slightly, they would be helpful in combat.

Especially the Troll’s Regeneration. Thanks to the long-awaited activation of the Key of Heaven, he obtained a growth-type trait. If nurtured well, this trait would prove to be extremely useful in the future.

‘Come to think of it, the one who had the [SSS Rank] Troll King’s Regeneration was amazing.’

A Superhuman who possessed the [SSS Rank] Troll King’s Regeneration. He had a regeneration ability that wouldn’t let him die unless his head was severed.
If Sungshik could evolve his current trait to that level, he might truly become an undying mortal.

‘Should I try synthesizing the sense of smell and endurance…?’

Suddenly, he felt a desire to try synthesis.
In truth, aside from the Troll’s Regeneration, those two traits were so-so, hence the thought.

After some contemplation, Sungshik decided to put it off for later.

‘Let’s gather more traits and try it once the synthesis restrictions are lifted.’

Anyway, synthesizing now wouldn’t yield good results. He concluded it would be better to attempt it after [Consumption] reaches master level at level 7.

[Abnormal signs? A massive number of gates appeared in the Paesang Grasslands.]
[A mass of gates going berserk. Hundreds of thousands of monsters pouring out.]
[High-ranking Superhumans from many countries attending S30 clash with hundreds of thousands of monsters!]

When the gate rampage occurred, countless articles poured out.

[Wow… is this the beginning of the monsters’ full-scale invasion of Earth? ㄷㄷ]
[Hundreds of thousands? I can’t even imagine.]
[What happens if they can’t stop this?]
[A bunch of top rankers went, so there’s no way they can’t stop it.]
[Which rankers went?]
[Sword Emperor, Elma, War Demon, Flame King, and many others went.]
[I believe in Sword Emperor hyung. ^^]

Even amidst humanity’s first abnormal phenomenon, many people weren’t too worried. That was because many of the world-renowned Superhumans had gone there.
So their real concern was who would showcase the most impressive performance.

[It’s gotta be Sword Emperor Hak Ilcheon. There’s a reason he’s considered the best in the world alongside the Martial Emperor.]
[No no. I admit Sword Emperor is the strongest in single combat, but in large-scale battles, Elma Jenny is unbeatable.]
[Can’t leave out Flame King Jarden when it comes to area attacks.]
[Ah, I wish I could watch the battle live.]
└Exactly. They should make it live broadcast.

Among all the high-ranking Superhumans, people expected Sword Emperor Hak Ilcheon, Elma Jenny, and Flame King Jarden to stand out the most.

It was a reasonable inference. They were already verified world rankers.
Especially Sword Emperor’s reputation needed no elaboration, and Elma Jenny and Flame King Jarden were both considered top-tier in area attacks.

That’s why when the battle footage was released, everyone had to rub their eyes in disbelief.
Because in the footage, an entirely unexpected person was showing an overwhelming performance.

[Wow… isn’t that Mjolnir? Holy crap.]
[Who is that person? A Korean?]
[What the… There was a Superhuman like that?]
[I just got here—what’s going on? Can I just watch the footage?]
└Watch it with a diaper on.

It was a shocking video.
The scene of a giant thunder hammer slamming down left a deep impact in everyone’s mind.
From that thunder hammer to the pouring strikes of various elements, what they saw shattered everything they knew until now.

[Is that really one person using all that?]
[Thunder, wind, fire, ice, light, shadow. And that swordsmanship—looks like he’s mastered high-level martial arts too. What the hell is he?]
[Is this video even real or manipulated?]
└Videos recorded through magic orbs can’t be tampered with.

└Of course we know that. That’s how unbelievable it is. —_—

└Why so mad lol

└Sorry lol I was just so shocked watching the video lol

└Okay, understandable

It was unbelievable to the point people questioned if it was fake.
That’s how much Sungshik’s power shattered their existing understanding.
It wasn’t simply about how strong he was.

Sure, it was shocking that his power could rival top rankers.
But what truly stunned everyone was how he used multiple attributes and even applied those powers to martial arts—something no one had ever seen before.

The sharp ones immediately recognized Sungshik’s limitless potential.
Among them were clan representatives. Once they confirmed Sungshik was unaffiliated, they began frantically making calls.

Just like that, Sungshik burst onto the scene like a comet and made his presence known to the entire world.

“Damn. That gave me goosebumps.”

“He’s like a one-man army.”

“Tch~ Look at that back as he charges alone through hundreds of thousands of monsters. Can’t believe such a true Korean warrior came from our country. See Jenny noona’s face? Her eyes are wide in shock! Man, I’m getting so much national pride right now. Brothers, tonight, let’s all drink a bowl of national pride and get wasted~”

[Wow, seriously goosebumps ㄷㄷ]
[Is he really Korean?]

Kim Ramjwi, a popular streamer who runs a channel that uploads videos related to Superhumans.
He was a Korean streamer who usually covered issues and footage of Superhumans and gained popularity that way.
Today, he was streaming while covering footage of Heo Sungshik.

[Ramjwi hyung, did you see the post on the community?]

“What’s that? Some kind of issue?”

Seeing the chat message, Kim Ramjwi responded like that and accessed the Superhuman community.
That was something only possible because he himself was also a Superhuman.

This was one of the secrets behind his popularity—being a Superhuman allowed him access to a system community only Superhumans could see.

Being able to address the issues that arise there was one of his greatest strengths compared to other streamers who dealt with similar content.

‘Of course, I failed as a Superhuman.’

He was initially an awakened Superhuman, but he failed to break through the wall of 3-Star and reach 3-Star level. Having thus been weeded out and left the Academy, he couldn't let go of his lingering attachment to being a Superhuman.

In the end, the method he chose to satisfy his thirst for the Superhuman world was the very position he held now. These days, several streamers with Superhuman backgrounds had emerged, but the one still regarded as a pioneer in this field was Kim Ramjwi—him.

That's why, whenever an issue broke out in the Superhuman community, the first channel viewers flocked to was his.

‘I wonder what kind of issue happened today.’

Upon accessing the community in response to a viewer’s message, he immediately saw a post that was currently on fire.

[Title: You Must Be Careful of Gate Breaks]
The recent increase in gate occurrences. This is not something to be taken lightly. One of the clues leading to a Gate Break (rampage) is when the gate persists for a long time and the dungeon core inside blossoms.

Another clue is when multiple gates persist at high density in a single area. In such cases, the mana density in the area rises, triggering a gate rampage. A gate rampage then causes another nearby gate to rampage as well… (omitted)

“Huh?”

This was a post Kim Ramjwi had seen not long ago. It was written by the Superhuman known as ‘Returner’ who had recently risen to fame.

A post uploaded right before a massive gate rampage outbreak occurred in China. People had argued back and forth quite a bit about this post at the time.

There’s a basis to this. There isn’t. It’s just the writer’s headcanon. There’s no verified evidence.

It was a post that sparked controversy like kindling on fire. And now, it was burning up once again.

[Wow, the gate rampage incident that just happened in China—it looks like it broke out due to the influence of multiple gates clustering together, just like Returner said.]
└Yeah, this really does seem like a plausible theory.

[But this is seriously fascinating. How did the incident break out right after this post was uploaded?]
[If this theory is real, then gates absolutely need to be dealt with as quickly as possible, right?]

The comments were piling up once again.

“Oh……”

Revisiting this after the gate rampage incident in China, Kim Ramjwi also found the theory to be highly credible. Just then, another post that was gaining traction caught his eye.

[Title: ‘Returner’ is the newly emerged 7-Star Superhuman from Korea.]
There’s no physical evidence. But I’ll just share some circumstantial points that led me to believe this.

1. Returner has the [EX Rank] trait that neither the Sword Emperor nor the Martial Emperor ever obtained.

2. Returner appeared on the community not long ago. The likelihood that he awakened recently is very high.

3. Judging by the cases of the Sword Emperor and Martial Emperor, if someone has an EX Rank trait, their growth rate would be overwhelmingly fast.

4. In fact, a Korean Superhuman named Heo Sungshik was only a 1-Star Superhuman active at the Academy just one year ago. But now? His growth rate is monstrous, right?

5. Interestingly, this guy set a new record on the theory test during his Academy days. In the published answers, there were several innovative paradigms proposed for dealing with monsters—things we never even considered.

6. Returner is currently posting various strategies on the community, even if they’re for low-level dungeons, that we had no prior knowledge of.

7. In the recently released combat footage, he demonstrated the use of multiple elemental attributes. Everyone probably thought it was OP, right? lol But if you consider that this is due to the power of the EX Rank trait that Heo Sungshik possesses, then it makes sense. If that trait allows one to copy or learn any trait without limitation—if that’s what EX Rank is—then it’s understandable, right?

8. Therefore, after considering various things, I believe Korea’s Heo Sungshik is Returner.

[Oh, now that you mention it, that makes sense.]
[Honestly, I also thought the person in the combat footage might possess an EX Rank trait.]
[It’s just circumstantial evidence, but it sounds pretty convincing. I support this post too.]
[Ugh, here we go with the wild speculation again. lol You can make anything fit if you twist it enough.]

It was a post speculating on Returner’s true identity. While there were some negative comments, the overall atmosphere leaned toward nodding in agreement, seeing it as a fairly rational suspicion.

“Whoa, folks. There are some fun posts up in the Superhuman community.”

Kim Ramjwi quickly typed the post into a document and uploaded it for his viewers.

[Whoa, this really sounds legit. lol]
[Wow, he got a perfect score on the theory test too? A brainy hunk. Strength and smarts, you're a moral textbook……]
[But if that’s true, then a Superhuman with an EX Rank trait is from our country?]
[Damn, that’s insane and epic. Let’s gooo.]
[So if you don’t take care of gates quickly, they could rampage? There’s an area near my house where gates appear often, that’s scary. ㅠㅠ]

“Guys, but doesn’t this really seem plausible? I found myself nodding every single time I read a line. No matter how I look at it, the person who analyzed this… huh? One moment.”

While leading the stream and reading viewers’ reactions, Kim Ramjwi suddenly stopped mid-sentence and focused deeply.

[Oh, what is it? Let us see too.]
[Ah. lol Every time something like this happens, I wish I were a Superhuman too.]
[I’m curious. Curious. Curious. Curious.]

“Ah, everyone. One moment, this is interesting.”

[Let us enjoy it together too.]
[Yeah yeah, hurry up and tell us.]

“Hmm, ‘Returner’ just posted a message revealing who he really is.”

[Oh, really?]
[Wow, it’s true. This just made headlines.]
[Who is it?]
[It really is Heo Sungshik. Wow! I knew it!!]

“Whoa, this was just posted a moment ago, and it’s already in the news? Reporters are so fast. Yes, it’s true. Returner revealed that he is Korea’s 7-Star Superhuman.”

[Damn, our country now has a 7-Star Superhuman with an EX Rank trait.]
[But what part did you find interesting?]

“Hmm, the part I found interesting… is that a certain well-known figure in the community is currently picking a fight with Mr. Sungshik. But when I read it… it was so absurd it made me laugh.”

A small laugh escaped from Kim Ramjwi’s lips.