The pain of having his internal organs burned away. It was a kind of pain he had never experienced before. Even Heo Sungshik, who prided himself on having a high tolerance for pain, could not endure this.
“Khhh…”
He clenched his teeth and tried to endure it, but groans escaped against his will. The agony of his nerves burning away, strand by strand, was indescribable. It was an excruciating pain that threatened to drive him unconscious.
‘I must… endure.’
Despite the pain searing through every nerve in his body, Sungshik fought to stay conscious with all his might. This was his first time experiencing such a situation, but he instinctively knew that losing consciousness now would be extremely dangerous.
And indeed, it was the right judgment. A massive energy was rampaging inside him—if the driver lost control, the outcome would be catastrophic. A disaster.
That was why Sungshik desperately struggled to keep his consciousness. There was only one thing he could do in this situation.
‘Heaven-Splitting Heart Technique.’
The only thing he could rely on was the Heaven-Splitting Heart Technique. Following its mnemonic formula, he began guiding the raging fire energy throughout his body.
As expected of an EX-rank martial art—he felt himself gradually stabilizing. Focusing his mind, he continued to operate the Heaven-Splitting Heart Technique.
―Ding. Congratulations. You have absorbed the Phoenix's Heart Fragment.
How much time had passed? Sungshik, who had been so focused on circulating his energy that he lost track of time, finally came back to his senses at the sound of the system alert.
‘I did it.’
The searing pain that had been devouring him vanished completely, replaced by an overwhelming surge of power coursing through his body. Only then did Sungshik realize that he had successfully absorbed the Phoenix's Heart Fragment.
As soon as he processed this, another emotion surged up—rage.
“This damn system just tried to assassinate me.”
His anger was justified. He had been at death’s door just moments ago.
Even though the system had instructed him to absorb the Phoenix’s Heart Fragment, in reality, his current level was not yet sufficient to fully accept its energy. He should have waited until he had advanced further or acquired supplementary means to absorb it completely.
But there was no helping it. Information on [Legendary]-grade elixirs had been scarce even before his regression.
‘That was a pain I never want to experience again.’
It was a costly lesson, but at least the outcome was favorable.
‘Status window.’
Name: Heo Sungshik
Title: Hero of Adversity, One Who Has Touched the Threshold of Transcendence, Demon Hunter (New)
Rank: 6-Star+ (★★★★★★☆)(↑)
Combat Power: S- (↑)
Stats:
- Strength: A (↑)
- Agility: A
- Endurance: A+ (↑)
- Magic: S- (↑)
Traits:
- [EX-Rank] Consumption (LV 6) (↑)
- [EX-Rank] One More Time (Unavailable)
- [EX-Rank] Heaven-Splitting Divine Art (LV 6) (↑)
- [SS-Rank] Pocket Watch (LV 5) (↑)
- [S-Rank] Hyper-Sense (LV 5) (↑)
- [S-Rank] Sword Sovereign (LV 6) (↑)
- [S-Rank] Fragment of Light (LV 2) (↑)
- [S-Rank] Queen’s Armor (LV 2) (↑)
- [SS-Rank] Army of Death (LV 1) (New)
- [B-Rank (Sealed)] Phoenix’s Heart (LV 1) (New)
Skills:
- [S-Rank] Insight (Restricted)
- [S-Rank] Explosive Strike
- [No-Rank] Translation Skill
- [S-Rank] Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts (↑)
- [S-Rank] Heaven-Splitting Eyes (↑)
- [SSS-Rank] Future Vision
- [S-Rank] (Heaven-Splitting) Wind Scar
- [E-Rank] Basic Heal (New)
- [A-Rank] Shining Enchant (New)
As he reviewed his status window, Sungshik’s eyes widened slightly. Many of his traits had leveled up.
‘What’s going on?’
In truth, absorbing a [Legendary]-grade elixir had triggered a chain reaction, increasing his trait levels like a domino effect. For Sungshik, it was an unexpected but welcome outcome.
‘Well, a gain is a gain.’
Next, he checked his newly acquired title, ‘Demon Hunter.’
Demon Hunter: A title granted to one who has slain a demon for the first time.
- Effect: +5% to all stats when facing demons
- Dark attribute resistance +10
Not a bad trait. It seemed particularly useful for the upcoming Night of Trials.
‘Dark attribute resistance is a godsend.’
With the +30 dark resistance from the Fragment of Light, he now had a total of +40. This was a significant threshold. Dark resistance only revealed its true value once it reached +50. The difference between +49 and +50 was not just a numerical value—it was a fundamental gap in effectiveness.
If he could acquire just a little more dark resistance to reach +50, the Night of Trial would become much easier to prepare for.
It was a string of good news. But then, his gaze fell on his rank, and his expression soured.
‘Still just 6-Star+…’
A disappointing result. Even with a [Legendary] elixir, he had failed to break past the 7-Star threshold.
‘Hm?’
That was when he noticed something—his new trait, [B-Rank (Sealed)] Phoenix’s Heart.
“A new trait appeared?”
He had never expected an elixir to grant him a new trait, but there it was in his status window.
[B-Rank (Sealed)] Phoenix’s Heart
- Trait acquired by absorbing the Phoenix’s Heart.
- Grants the power of Purifying Flames.
- Fire resistance +10 / Fire attack power +5% / Can imbue attacks with fire / ? / ?
*Currently, only 30% of the Phoenix’s Heart energy has been absorbed. As a result, the original [SSS-Rank] trait's power is highly restricted.
*Balancing it with ice energy may allow full absorption.
After reading the description, Sungshik nodded.
‘So that’s why my absorption rate was lower than last time with the Thousand-Year-Old Polygonum.’
Observing his body again, he sensed the unabsorbed fire energy condensed in his lower dantian.
‘Ice energy, huh… I’ll need to find an ice-element elixir to balance it out.’
It was a difficult situation—ice-element elixirs were among the hardest to obtain.
Then, a memory surfaced.
‘Ah, there is one…’
It seemed he had found a way to acquire an ice-element elixir.
Meanwhile, as Sungshik was absorbing the Phoenix’s trait, the media and the public in Korea were ablaze with discussions about the recent events surrounding the Yongho Clan.
[Shock] Yongho Clan's Vice Leader 'Han Eunyeong'—Is She a Demon?
A Rising Supernova in Korea's Superhuman World—Who is 'Heo Sungshik'?
Mysterious disappearances of superhumans in Jeju Island—the culprit was the Yongho Clan.
The moment the media caught wind of the incident, they all scrambled to cover the story. The result? Korea was thrown into chaos. The details that surfaced defied common sense. Particularly, the battle between Sungshik and Han Eunyeong was revealed in full detail.
The reason for this was simple.
As a major clan, there were already a few paparazzi stationed near the Yongho Clan. Even though their estate was vast, there was no way such a massive commotion would go unnoticed. They witnessed the clash between Sungshik and Han Eunyeong firsthand and captured the battle on camera.
On top of that, there was even an internal whistleblower. Someone who had harbored resentment toward Han Eunyeong for a long time exposed the truth about the kidnappings in detail.
As a result, not just Korean media but also various online communities related to superhumans erupted with discussions.
[Wow, so all the missing superhumans were actually kidnapped by Han Eunyeong?]
└Yeah, apparently, she was a dark magician. They say she controlled their souls.
└Holy crap, then what happened to the kidnapped people?
└Luckily, since the host Han Eunyeong died, they returned to normal. But their lives as superhumans are over. They lost all their magic power.
└Damn… even if they survived, it's like they’re already dead. Han Eunyeong was a complete monster.
With the widespread exposure of Han Eunyeong’s atrocities, public sentiment turned completely against her. It was inevitable. Especially in Korea, heresy and dark magic were utterly unforgivable. And yet, Han Eunyeong had delved into that very heresy.
[But does it really make sense that her older brother, Han Cheolsik, didn't know about any of this?]
[We seriously need to question him. There's no way he didn’t know all this time.]
As a result, even her brother, Han Cheolsik, was under suspicion.
[It's embarrassing that the Yongho Clan is one of Korea's top clans.]
[I knew they were shady ever since they monopolized the Bear Cave Gate area in Jeju. Their greed was insane.]
[Han Cheolsik probably reached his current level by squeezing coins out of others and hoarding elixirs.]
└Reasonable suspicion. I agree. That makes a lot of sense.
[It’s not just Han Cheolsik. All the executives in the Yongho Clan might be just as corrupt.]
Eventually, the entire Yongho Clan ended up taking the blame.
[But did you see Heo Sungshik this time? He wiped out that undead army with a single slash.]
[Damn, who hasn’t seen it yet? When he obliterated those undead in one strike, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. He’s at least 6-star level.]
└Stop exaggerating. I heard he just graduated from the Superhuman Academy. Do you really think a 6-star superhuman would appear so easily? There’s only one in Korea and just 300 worldwide.
└This is random, but looking at this, Korea really is a weak superhuman nation. ㅠㅠ
└There are plenty of countries with none.
└It’s because the government controlled the Gates at the start, slowing down everyone’s growth. LOL
└And now you’re blaming the government?
└Yes. It’s totally the government’s fault.
└No, it's just that you have no talent. ^^
└So, what’s your own rank?
[Guys, stop arguing and let’s figure out if Heo Sungshik is really 6-star.]
└He's not just 6-star, he might be 6-star+. The undead Han Eunyeong summoned was strong enough to beat Han Cheolsik in one hit. That means even a single undead was at least 6-star. But Heo Sungshik cut down the entire army at once.
└Facts.
Interest in Sungshik started to soar. Korea had only one superhuman ranked 6-star or higher. And yet, the power Sungshik displayed far surpassed that level. Naturally, all eyes were on him. People were already proclaiming him the strongest superhuman in Korea.
“Hmph.”
As Sungshik read through the online reactions, his brow furrowed. Excessive attention only brought trouble. He was already frustrated trying to figure out how ‘Revolutionary Knights’ had approached Han Eunyeong in the first place.
Before the regression, Han Eunyeong had remained relatively obscure until after the Gate Break, when she ascended to the Eleven Thrones. That meant she had no known connection to ‘Revolutionary Knights’ before then.
“Someone in Revolutionary Knights must have known that Han Eunyeong would become one of the Eleven Thrones in the future.”
As he pondered that thought, he recalled the man he had encountered at Baekdu Mountain and again at his Superhuman Academy graduation.
‘Could that man be the key…?’
That man had also shown knowledge of 'Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts.' At first, Sungshik had dismissed it as a coincidence, but after witnessing Han Eunyeong’s case, his suspicions solidified into certainty.
Perhaps Revolutionary Knights’s increased activity and more frequent appearances were connected to this. Moreover, the strange occurrences involving the ‘Fragment of the Black Moon’ only made Sungshik’s head throb even more.
‘Damn it, what’s going on? Does that guy also know the future, just like me?’
He couldn’t be certain, but everything pointed in that direction. The real issue was that the man had now become aware of Sungshik’s existence.
‘That guy seemed to have reached at least the 7-star level.’
7-star. A realm only the chosen few could reach. Even now, the number of 7-star superhumans in the world could be counted on one hand.
Yet, this unknown man had already reached that stage. And Sungshik had encountered him at Baekdu Mountain, becoming entangled in an unwanted connection.
‘If I meet that man again, it’ll be dangerous.’
There was no guarantee that Sungshik could defeat him. Even with Future Vision, it was uncertain if he could push his power to 7-star+.
Even if he did manage to reach 7-star through Future Vision, it would still be an even fight. He wasn’t confident that he could defeat that man within the 20-minute duration of the skill.
‘Even though my traits and skills allow me to surpass my current rank, the gap starts to close at 7-star.’
That was because at 7-star, one’s body underwent a fundamental transformation. As a result, Sungshik’s 7-star power gained through Future Vision was ultimately incomplete.
His overwhelming victory against the 7-star boss, the Queen Bee, had been possible only because she was a non-combatant ‘ruler’ type monster rather than a warrior type. That, combined with Sungshik’s unique traits, his innate talent, and his battle-hardened experience from the future, had led to his success.
That was why Sungshik now felt an urgent need to reach 7-star as soon as possible.
‘If I could fully absorb the Phoenix’s Heart…’
Then he was certain he would step into the realm of 7-star immediately.
“I need to hurry and find an ice-element elixir.”