Kim Hoyun. A superhuman who could wield the power of the fire spirit.

Spirits were among the enigmatic existences that remained largely unexplored even in the future. However, the power of spirits was undeniable. One of the 11 Thrones, the 'Lord of Thunder and Lightning,' was also known to have wielded the power of a lightning spirit.

The destructive power of those who controlled the forces of nature was formidable, to the extent that they ranked higher even among those of the same class. However, there was a clear drawback as well.

“Don’t get cocky just because you’ve got some petty ability to solve test problems.”

Kim Hoyun, who wielded the power of the fire spirit, had a fiery temper as a side effect. He was quick to anger and found it difficult to control his inner rage.

The humiliation he had suffered before was something he still couldn’t forget. That talentless guy, once mocked as a mere “Kuruma,” had evaded all of his attacks.

He had been about to end things decisively when President Park Tae-sik intervened, allowing the incident to blow over. Still, whenever he recalled the humiliation of that day, uncontrollable rage surged within him.

‘To think I had to apologize to that Kuruma.’

Though it was an apology forced by the President, it had left a deep scratch on his pride. The chairman’s warning and the inexplicable unease Hoyun had felt from the guy that day made him wonder if there was something hidden up his sleeve.

‘But it turns out it’s just a petty ability for solving test problems.’

He felt more and more as though he’d been duped. Seeing Heo Sungshik bask in the attention of those around him while he himself was boiling with anger made his fury rise to an unbearable level.

Unable to hold back any longer, Hoyun approached Sungshik, his eyes glaring fiercely.

“You again?”

The voice that responded was drained of energy, brimming with annoyance. The tone, as if Hoyun wasn’t even worth considering, caused his face to flush red.

“You little… damn it…”

He struggled to suppress the anger that was boiling over. With class about to start, he couldn’t afford to cause a scene. Then, sensing eyes on him, he glanced to his left.

“Ah…”

There stood Kim Subin, watching the scene. In that moment, an unbearable sense of embarrassment swept over him. It felt as if he had just been exposed as a childish kid jealous of a classmate who excelled in a test, in front of someone he liked.

His anger boiled over. He felt that everything—this entire situation—was Sungshik’s fault.

“Damn it all!”

Before anyone could stop him, Hoyun summoned his ability, his fist engulfed in the fiery energy of his spirit, and launched it toward Sungshik.

“Kyaaah!”

The unexpected commotion caused the surrounding students to scream in alarm. Unlike the chaotic reactions around him, however, Sungshik remained completely calm.

[S-Rank] Hyper-Sense—Level 1

The S-Rank hyper-sense was extraordinary. From the moment Hoyun decided to throw his punch, Sungshik’s senses had begun to ring alarm bells. Even before Hoyun’s fist moved, Sungshik’s brain had already triggered a rush of adrenaline.

Soon, the world around him slowed, as if he were watching a video in slow motion. The wide-eyed look of shock on Jihwan’s face. A girl clenching her eyes shut as she screamed. The astonished gazes of the surrounding students. Sungshik took all of it in.

‘It’s slow.’

He naturally leaned his upper body to the side. The fist sailed past him. Hoyun’s expression betrayed his shock. Off balance, Hoyun’s upper body tilted toward Sungshik.

Still seated, Sungshik extended his left hand, spreading his palm wide as he placed it against Hoyun’s abdomen.

‘I think I can do it now.’

Bzzzt. Pop!

―Ding! Special skill “Explosive Strike” has been activated.

“Ugh.”

Hoyun coughed, spitting saliva, his body jerking upward. Clutching his abdomen, he staggered backward before collapsing flat on his back.

“Whoa, what… what just happened? Are you okay? No, how did that even happen?”

Jihwan blinked in disbelief, stunned by the sequence of events that had unfolded in an instant. From his perspective, it had looked as though Hoyun had been throwing a punch, only to suddenly clutch his stomach and fall to the ground.

“Phew.”

Sungshik reflected on the sensation from just moments ago. Even as Jihwan exclaimed in shock beside him, his words didn’t quite register with Sungshik.

The internal energy that had radiated through Sungshik’s palm had burrowed into Hoyun’s body, delivering a sharp impact. The technique, commonly referred to as “d,” was a high-level skill. Typically, only those who had mastered martial arts-based abilities could use it.

‘That’s the cleanest execution I’ve ever done.’

Sungshik’s stats were generally weak, so the impact’s power was negligible. Yet, executing such a clean “Explosive Strike” was something he had rarely achieved, even in the future.

Back then, because he had acquired martial arts-related traits late through the “Consumption” trait, he had lacked the time to truly master them. As a result, his success rate with “Explosive Strike,” a high-difficulty skill, was abysmally low—working maybe two or three times out of ten attempts.

‘This is strange.’

Something felt off. His body moved far more naturally than he had expected. Just as it had during his previous confrontation with Hoyun, his body had followed his intentions flawlessly.

Even with his future experience and combat instincts, the stark difference in stats between him and Hoyun should have made such an easy victory impossible. Moreover, Hoyun had partially tapped into his ability’s power just now.

Before his regression, Sungshik’s physical aptitude had been unremarkable. He had required significant effort and training to compensate. For him to execute “Explosive Strike” so effortlessly should have been unthinkable without substantial practice.

‘This feels like I’ve entered the realm of those so-called prodigies.’

Of course, it was still too early to draw conclusions. But there was no denying the feeling that something about his body had fundamentally changed since his regression.

‘I’ll need to investigate this properly later.’

A slight smile formed on his lips. Regardless, this change was a welcome development for him.

As his thoughts subsided, his surroundings came into view.

In front of him lay Kim Hoyun, clutching his abdomen, sprawled on the ground. Students had gathered around, checking on his condition. Nearby, Jihwan was noisily overreacting. Most of the other students looked on with unabashed expressions of disbelief, struggling to process what had just occurred.

‘It seems I used to be underestimated a lot.’

Their expressions made it clear. They had thought him to be a mere worm, but now they realized that stepping on him revealed a snake capable of baring its fangs and biting back.

Reflecting on the disdain he had once endured, a chuckle escaped his lips.

‘It’s annoying to think I was treated like that, but things will change from now on.’

As he once again took in the stares directed his way, a subtle sense of exhilaration coursed through him.

‘I want to grow stronger, and soon.’

Power. That primal desire ignited a fire in Sungshik’s heart.

“Hey, does that even make sense?”

Most people, when hearing a story that contradicts their common sense, start with denial. This time was no different.

“Rank 1-star. Presumed to have a non-combat trait. A less than 10% win rate in practice duels. And with specs like that, they took down Kim Hoyun, a 2-star with fire elemental control, in one blow?”

“You might as well say Heo Sungshik is actually a protagonist from a novel who regressed from the future with an EX-rank trait and is on a journey to become overpowered.”

Indeed, it was something that shouldn’t have been possible by any normal standards. The difference in rank was absolute. It was like a kid who just started elementary school trying to fistfight a full-grown adult man.

Logically, if there was a rank difference, it was almost impossible to win. Moreover, Kim Hoyun possessed what was presumed to be an A+ rank skill related to fire elementals.

“Absolutely ridiculous. If that’s possible, it would disrupt the ecosystem entirely.”

Despite such a stark disparity in rank, to take him down in one blow was considered an upset, even if it was a fight among lower ranks. That’s why even some cadets at the academy began to pay attention to the incident caused by Sungshik.

“Tsk, those stares, like I’m some kind of fascinating animal, are getting on my nerves.”

As Sungshik walked, he occasionally felt the gazes following him, causing him to frown slightly.

“All I did was teach an arrogant brat a lesson, but it seems I’ve drawn some attention.”

Sungshik had come out to test a newly acquired skill. But with so much attention on him, making any rash moves could do more harm than good. Ultimately, he decided to visit the training room to experiment with his new skill in peace.

Status Window

• Name: Heo Sungshik
• Title: None
• Rank: 1-star (★)
• Combat Power: F
• Stats: Strength F, Agility F, Stamina F, Magic Power F
• Traits:
  1. [EX-rank] Consumption―LV 1
  2. [EX-rank] One More Time (Unavailable)
  3. [S-rank] Hyper Sense―LV 1
• Skills:
  1. [S-rank] Insight (Restricted)
  2. [C-rank] Explosive Strike (Rank Restricted) (Requires Martial Arts Trait)―New

The skill Explosive Strike. Originally, it was a skill that only users with martial arts traits could learn. However, Sungshik had acquired the skill by manifesting it through his past experiences in an inexplicable manner.

“Hmm, it seems skills branching out from traits are rank-restricted unless the corresponding trait is present.”

Originally, Explosive Strike was known as an advanced skill, typically graded at a minimum of A rank. In the past, Sungshik had never fully mastered Explosive Strike and therefore hadn’t acquired it as a skill. But according to martial arts trait users, it had always been considered such.

While the effectiveness of the skill varied significantly depending on its rank, the fact that the newly acquired Explosive Strike wasn’t graded at A rank was slightly disappointing—but it didn’t matter much.

“I’ll eventually acquire a martial arts trait, which will lift the restriction.”

For now, he let it slide, though it was a little regrettable. Knowing the future, Sungshik planned not only to reacquire the martial arts trait he had in the past but also to absorb even better traits through Consumption.

“Grrr.”

A low growl snapped Sungshik out of his thoughts, making him lift his head.

A beast-type monster with a hyena-like head, walking on two legs, stood before him. Typically, these monsters traveled in packs, but the augmented reality simulation of the training room had summoned it alone.

“Graaa...”

The augmented reality-constructed Gnoll sniffed the air with its nose, seemingly closed its eyes for a moment, then recognized Sungshik as its enemy. After briefly observing Sungshik, it gripped the club in its hand firmly and began to approach. Once it was within about a meter, it started circling him, as if looking for an opening.

“Wow, even back then, augmented reality tech was impressive.”

Noticing the Gnoll’s detailed behavior, from its habits to its subtle movements, Sungshik muttered in admiration, something he hadn’t noticed before due to rarely using such facilities in the past.

“Alright, if I slightly show my side like this...”

As the Gnoll circled, Sungshik turned his body slightly away from it. This fainting motion was meant to exploit the Gnoll’s tendency to attack when it detected an exposed flank or back.

“Graaaah!”

The Gnoll, standing at about 1.5 meters tall—smaller than Sungshik—bared its sharp fangs and lunged at him, drooling menacingly.

Whoosh—

As soon as Sungshik presented an opening, the Gnoll charged forward, swinging its club.

One step. With a single step, he avoided the attack by the slimmest of margins.

The fluidity of Sungshik’s movements was impeccable, enough to draw admiration. Possessing the Hyper Sense trait and precise control over his body, such micro-level maneuvers came naturally.

With big movements came big vulnerabilities. It was effortless to place his hand on the Gnoll’s exposed side as it missed its attack and left itself wide open.

“Using Explosive Strike on an F-rank Gnoll feels like overkill, but...”

Goooo, Pop!

From Sungshik’s hand placed on the Gnoll’s side, a powerful current of force erupted.