“The photo came out well.”

A single Superhuman Registration Card held in his hand. The card, which had Heo Sungshik’s face on it, was outlined in blue, signifying a 5-star superhuman, and in the center, a laurel wreath was drawn.

That’s right. What Heo Sungshik was holding was none other than a Superhuman Registration Card. And not just any card—a 5-star rank registration!

Heo Sungshik looked at the card and grinned. It reminded him of the first time he had received his superhuman license before his regression.

Back when everyone doubted he would even graduate from the Superhuman Academy. When he had finally graduated against all odds and received his superhuman license, he had been so overwhelmed with emotion that he burst into tears.

“Back then, it felt like I was finally being acknowledged by the world.”

Comparing that time to now gave him a strange feeling. This time, receiving the superhuman license didn’t stir any particular emotions.

‘I was so naive back then.’

It was the last time he had been truly innocent before experiencing the bitterness of the world. For a moment, he felt as if he had lost that innocence, but—

“This is much better.”

Even if given the chance, he had no desire to return to that time. Now, with clear goals and the drive to pursue them, he felt more alive than ever.

After a brief moment of reflection, Heo Sungshik recalled his immediate objective.

“Alright. Let’s get started right away.”

Bear Cave.

A term referring to a region near Hallasan in Jeju Island where specific monsters emerged from gates. Among superhumans, it was colloquially known as the "Bear Cave" gate area.

The reason was obvious—it was a gate zone where bears appeared. The monsters found there were Grizzly Bears, massive creatures that closely resembled actual bears.

Grizzly Bears primarily attacked using their powerful muscles, sharp claws, and fangs. They also frequently employed their signature move—the bear hug—to crush their opponents’ spines.

“Their attack patterns are simple and brutish, but they can be quite a nuisance.”

Indeed, their attacks were straightforward, but their tenacious and durable hides, combined with their aggressive assault style, caused trouble for many superhumans. Moreover, unlike ordinary bears, Grizzly Bears often traveled in groups of three to five, making them even more troublesome to deal with.

Considering all this, it would make sense for them to be an unpopular target.

“But in the future, they became so valuable that people would fight over them.”

The reason was simple—bear gallbladders and bear paws. Both were rumored to be excellent for male stamina and virility. And once a product was rumored to enhance virility, people would rush to get it like mad. As a result, bear gallbladders and bear paws commanded an extremely high price.

Heo Sungshik had never been particularly interested in such things, but from his perspective, this was a golden opportunity.

“I’ll make a fortune from this.”

Hunting in the Bear Cave for a while and gathering bear gallbladders and paws would earn him a considerable amount of coins. And since he needed coins to purchase light-attribute skills, this was the perfect way to gain both experience and wealth.

With that, Heo Sungshik made his way to Jeju Island. He presented his superhuman license to the gatekeepers and entered the Bear Cave region.

At the foot of Hallasan, numerous portals emitting a blue glow were scattered around. These blue-glowing gates were all B-rank gates where Grizzly Bears appeared.

“Most of these are already being raided.”

Despite the inconvenience of traveling all the way to Jeju Island and the difficulty of facing these monsters, many had already entered the gates, leaving most of them closed.

Heo Sungshik passed by the area and ventured further up the mountain. He recalled something he had heard from a superhuman who had once spent entire days hunting in the Bear Cave before the gate break incident.

“No one knows the Bear Cave better than me. I’ve spent so much time in Hallasan’s Bear Cave that I figured something out—gates located in the mid-region of the mountain have a significantly higher drop rate than those near the entrance. What? How do I know? You think I’m just guessing? Hell no, I counted every drop and did the statistics. Huh? No, I’m serious!”

It was something he had heard before his regression. At the time, he had dismissed it as mere boasting, but now, he figured there had to be some truth to it. So, he climbed past the entrance and reached the mid-section of the mountain.

“Let’s see… This spot should do.”

The number of active raids had significantly decreased compared to the foot of the mountain. Feeling that he had reached a good location, Heo Sungshik stepped into one of the gates.

Flash—

As he entered the gate, the scenery changed amidst a burst of light. The sky appeared gloomier than outside, and the terrain resembled the lower slopes of a mountain.

“As expected, it’s a mountainous region.”

In such environments, rewards were often located at the peaks.

“Hmm, the mana here is definitely richer.”

With his mastery of Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts improving, Heo Sungshik had become more sensitive to mana. He could clearly feel the difference—this place was far richer in mana than the outside world.

‘Now that I think about it, the surge in awakenings after the gate break probably had a lot to do with this.’

When the gate break occurred, not only did monsters flood out, but a tremendous amount of mana must have spilled into the world as well. The increased mana density in the atmosphere likely played a role in the rise of new superhumans.

Just as he was pondering this—

“Grrr?”

He spotted three Grizzly Bears clustered together.

The moment they saw Heo Sungshik, they charged at him without hesitation, displaying their naturally aggressive nature.

Many superhumans struggled against such relentless aggression, but Heo Sungshik remained unfazed.

“Come to me, my precious gallbladders.”

To him, they were nothing more than sacks of valuable loot.

As the three Grizzly Bears closed in—

“Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts, Third Stance—Defence Breaking technique.”

Heo Sungshik assumed his draw-sword stance and unleashed the third technique of Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts.

Shing—

A faint slicing sound accompanied his blade’s motion. It was neither flashy nor dramatic, yet the result was overwhelming.

Splurt—

The three charging Grizzly Bears were instantly bisected, cut clean in half as if sliced by an invisible force. Their fierce charge ended in a meaningless demise—so swift that they didn’t even have time to let out a dying scream.

If someone had witnessed this scene, they would have said—

“A superhuman far beyond 6-star rank just showed up in a low-tier hunting ground and started a massacre.”

And they wouldn’t have been wrong. The Grizzly Bear’s hide was absurdly tough. Cutting three of them cleanly in a single strike was something no ordinary 5-star superhuman could ever dream of.

But Heo Sungshik was an anomaly—a 5-star in name only.

The Grizzly Bears he had slain soon disintegrated into dust, leaving behind their loot.

2,413 Coins

[Common] Bear Gallbladder ×1

[Common] Grizzly Bear Tendons ×2

“Oh, getting a gallbladder right from the start? This is going well.”

'Bear gall was said to have a low drop rate, but getting it right away gave me a good feeling'

"Inventory storage."

Having collected the item, Sungshik continued his way up to the mountain's summit.

After practically massacring grizzly bears, Sungshik managed to gather a good amount of bear gall and bear paws. If not for the occasional appearance of the Mushrooms, he would have thought this was an unbelievably rewarding gate.

"Room room—"

Mushrooms the size of a child. Despite their unassuming appearance, these creatures called Mushrooms were five-star monsters.

Puck—

Whether it was a grizzly bear or a Mushroom, they all fell in one hit from Sungshik, but there was one thing that annoyed him.

"That powder they scatter is always such a hassle."

If Mushrooms weren’t taken down immediately after attacking, they would release a spore powder from their bodies. Inhaling this powder would result in paralysis, making it a rather dangerous ability.

Moreover, even upon death, these creatures would scatter one last burst of spore powder. Because of this, superhumans always warned to be cautious of the "crap powder" when dealing with Mushrooms. Letting one's guard down after defeating them could result in being covered in spores.

"de—"

Once again, Sungshik used his martial arts technique to disperse the spore powder released by the dying Mushroom. Even though he could expel the spores with the energy of Heaven-Splitting Martial Art, he hated the sensation of the powder touching his body.

"Disgusting."

Whenever the spore powder landed on his skin, it left an extremely unpleasant feeling.

"Why did it have to be a gate with Mushrooms right from the start?"

Mushrooms occasionally appeared in mountainous terrain. They weren’t that common, but unfortunately, the gate Sungshik entered happened to have them.

At first, obtaining bear gall right away made him think this would be a good run, but he quickly shook his head, realizing he had been too optimistic, and continued his ascent.

Fortunately, there weren’t too many Mushrooms. Determined to clear the gate quickly, Sungshik moved fast.

After about an hour, the summit came into view. Anyone who had witnessed his speed would have been astonished—reaching the boss room alone in just one hour was almost unheard of.

At the mountain's peak, a wide clearing came into view. There, curled up in a corner, was a black bear.

"Grrrr."

Upon noticing Sungshik, the beast slowly rose to its feet. It was at least three times the size of the grizzly bears he had encountered earlier.

"Oh? A black bear?"

Indeed, the boss was a pitch-black bear. From what he had researched before coming here, the usual boss monster in this gate was a brown bear, yet a black bear had appeared instead.

'Insight.'

[Boss] Yongrim Great Bear Grade: 5-Star+ (★★★★★☆) Combat Power: B+ — Loves honey. Its skin has evolved to be extremely tough to resist bee stings.

Despite the unusual description, the boss's stats were fairly ordinary. Like most boss monsters, it was a 5-Star+ rank.

However, one detail caught his attention.

"Its skin evolved?"

It mentioned that the bear's skin had evolved to resist bee stings. Sungshik found this puzzling.

'Would bee stings even affect it in the first place?'

The idea that bee stings could penetrate a 5-star monster's defenses was ridiculous. Moreover, he hadn’t seen a single beehive on his way here, making the claim about its love for honey even more confusing.

"Kwaa—!"

Before Sungshik could dwell on it further, the beast charged straight at him.

"Impatient, aren't we?"

Setting aside his thoughts, Sungshik quickly assumed a combat stance and met the beast head-on.

Whoosh—

The bear swung its massive front paw. Sungshik deftly avoided the attack and swiftly slashed at its exposed side.

Shrrk—

'Huh?'

Instead of slicing through like tofu, his blade only left a shallow scratch. The unexpectedly tough skin took him by surprise.

"Kwoooaaargh—!"

Enraged that Sungshik had dodged and even wounded it, the bear unleashed a flurry of wild attacks. Nimbly dodging, Sungshik retaliated with a flurry of sword energy.

Thud— Thud—

"Kwoaargh—!"

Astonishingly, despite taking the sword energy head-on, the bear remained largely unscathed, suffering only minor cuts.

"I didn’t put much force into that, but still… impressive."

Sungshik was genuinely impressed. The claim that its skin had evolved wasn’t an exaggeration. Its defense alone was on the verge of reaching 6-star level.

"Grrr—"

The beast seemed shaken by his attack. With such incredible defense, it had likely never been wounded before.

"Not coming? Then I’ll go to you."

Since the bear didn’t seem eager to charge again, Sungshik took the initiative. As he rushed forward, the bear opened its maw, ready to bite.

Swish—

Using his footwork technique, he effortlessly dodged the attack and this time put considerable strength into a slash aimed at the beast’s front leg.

Slice—

"Kwooooaaargh—!"

The bear let out a pained roar that echoed across the summit. Its foreleg was more than two-thirds severed by Sungshik’s strike.

"Whoa—"

Sungshik was truly amazed this time. A slash that powerful would have cut down most 6-star monsters outright, yet it failed to completely sever the bear’s limb.

"That hide is seriously tough."

He mused that armor made from this bear’s hide would be incredibly valuable.

"Kwoooaang—"

The black bear, its foreleg nearly severed, let out a sorrowful wail. Sungshik stepped closer.

"Let’s finish this."

With those words, he unleashed the combined essence of "Defence Breaking" and "Weapon-Breaking" from Heaven-Splitting Martial Art, sending a devastating blade of energy at the beast.

Fwoosh—

"Kr… Krrrk."

The sword energy imbued with Heaven-Splitting Martial Art’s technique effortlessly sliced the bear in half. Letting out a final death cry, the black bear disintegrated into dust.

—The dungeon core has appeared. Destroy the dungeon core.

After defeating the boss, a notification appeared, along with the loot drop.

15,380 Coins

—[Advanced] Black Bear Gall —[Advanced] Black Bear Paw —[Rare] Black Bear’s Extremely Tough Hide ×3

"Oh."

The items left behind were quite satisfying. He had obtained both bear gall and bear paws labeled as [Advanced], along with the rare hide.

"Wow, how did it know I wanted to make some clothes out of that hide?"

Feeling pleased, Sungshik collected the items and was about to destroy the dungeon core when something caught his eye.

"What’s that?"

At the spot where the black bear had been curled up earlier, behind a massive boulder, a hidden passage was visible.