“Krrrk… krk……”

Boris looked like he was out of his mind. It was understandable. Having been grabbed by the face and then electrocuted head-on—how shocking must that have been? It seemed as if even his brain might’ve been fried.

“Hey.”

He called again, but the man still hadn’t come to his senses. Not only could he not continue the fight, he wasn’t even fully conscious. Sungshik’s victory was certain.

But he hadn’t fought Boris here just to claim victory.

“Beginner Heal.”

Light shimmered in Sungshik’s hand, and soon that light moved toward Boris’s body.

Shhhhhhh.

With a refreshing sound, Boris’s body began to heal. His own regenerative ability in his beastified state was extremely high. With Sungshik’s Beginner Heal added on top, he was healed to some degree in a short time.

“Grghh.”

From looking half-dead, he now appeared somewhat recovered.

“Krrrk… Did I… krk… lose……”

Boris soon seemed to come to his senses and grasp the situation. Still lying flat on the ground, he looked up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes and muttered his defeat aloud.

“You’ll keep your promise, right?”

“……”

“The rule was winner takes all, wasn’t it? Hand over your items and coins, and get ready to sign the slave contract.”

“Grhhh……”

The man squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to hold back his frustration at Sungshik’s words. Now, everything he had would belong to Sungshik. The thought of how hollow and futile it all was dominated his mind.

Sungshik, having now deactivated Natural Body, squatted in front of Boris.

“So this is that ‘The Guardian Necklace of Nivas,’ huh? Wow, seriously, how did you even get something like this?”

Sungshik marveled as he fiddled with the ‘The Guardian Necklace of Nivas’ that Boris was wearing.

“Let’s start by handing this over.”

“……”

“Hey, come on.”

“...Fine.”

Boris, his eyes still shut tight, handed the ‘The Guardian Necklace of Nivas’ to Sungshik while shedding tears of blood.

―You have obtained ‘[Legendary] The Guardian Necklace of Nivas.’

The Guardian Necklace of Nivas
Grade: Legendary
Description: A supreme anti-magic item created by the god of magic, Nivas, for his saintess.
Option: +60 Magic Resistance
Embedded Skill: Nullifies all attribute power within a 5-meter radius. Cooldown: 10 minutes

‘Nice.’

Very nice. This would be an extremely useful item even during the Nights of Trial. Especially against some of the Lords of the Night whose dark attribute powers were incredibly strong, this item could shine.

‘To think I’d obtain this like this.’

In the past, the Sword Emperor possessed it. It was an item that disappeared along with him when he died. But now, it had come into Sungshik’s hands.

‘So the Sword Emperor got it from this guy, huh.’

Sungshik glanced down at Boris. The man still had a twisted expression and his eyes shut. His faint sobbing mixed with his breathing, as if he was holding in his bitterness.

“Alright, let’s handle the rest of the promises later too.”

Seeing Boris like that, Sungshik postponed extracting the rest of his items and branding him with the slave mark for now. After all, no amount of items or coins could compare to this one necklace, and judging by his condition, he must’ve emptied all his assets just to acquire it.

So he turned around and stood up.

“Waaaaah!!”

Whooooosh―

“Heo Sungshik! Heo Sungshik!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd around him. He waved his hand in response as he looked around at them.

Defeating one of the world’s strongest. Seeing the people cheer and go wild for him. Something warm and powerful rose up in his chest.

‘So this is what it feels like.’

It was a feeling he had never experienced in his past life before the regression. A genuine smile naturally formed on his lips.

That was when it happened. A chilling killing intent was detected. Sungshik’s Hyper-Sense trait triggered a danger signal. Time seemed to slow down, and he could see surprise and horror spreading across the faces of the crowd who had been cheering while looking at him.

‘It’s him.’

Sungshik immediately realized it. Boris was attacking him from behind.

Yes. Boris couldn’t let it end like this. Rather than live as Sungshik’s slave after losing everything, death was preferable.

So he decided it was better to be condemned and criticized if it meant he could become the victor. After all, in this world, only the winner is remembered. Even if he was cursed now, once he stood at the top someday, no one would dare curse him to his face.

It was a foolish thought, but Boris believed it wholeheartedly. That’s why he drew upon the remaining latent power in his body and even summoned his innate true energy.

While the man was drunk on victory. While he was relaxed, with his guard down, his back exposed—

He launched the ambush.

Perhaps because it was fueled by desperation, latent power, and innate true energy, Boris believed it was the most perfect strike he had ever performed. So he unleashed it with full confidence, aiming to kill.

‘Behind me.’

Calmly, Sungshik used Qi sense to read the trajectory of the attack coming from behind.

Swish.

He spun swiftly, closing the distance and diving into the attacker’s space. At the same time, he thrust his sword into the heart.

Stab.

“Guh… guhhk.”

Boris, who had ambushed Sungshik, staggered backward while vomiting a mouthful of blood. An expression of disbelief appeared on Boris’s face.

‘I-It was… a perfect… ambush….’

Just before Sungshik transformed into Natural Form, he had barely managed to block Boris’s attacks. This time, Boris had moved even faster. Moreover, it had been a sneak attack from behind. He couldn’t believe this outcome.

As his vision blurred, Boris saw Sungshik’s cold face staring at him. Seeing that expression, the realization of his complete defeat hit hard. Along with that, he accepted his loss cleanly.

“Ku, kuk… So this is… how I go. If I had known… I’d die so fleetingly…”

Boris, gasping for breath, uttered his last words with a voice full of regret. Then, after coughing up blood a few more times, he collapsed completely.

And so, Boris, ranked 16th in the world and known as the Beast, met his end at Sungshik’s hands.

At that moment, countless messages popped up before Sungshik’s eyes.

[Breaking News] Heavenly Sovereign Heo Sungshik defeats Beast Boris.
A great star falls, and a new star rises!

Korea’s great star, Heo Sungshik, skyrockets in global rankings!

The clash between Sungshik and Boris caused a massive stir. Most had predicted Boris’s victory, but once the battle began, Sungshik’s power far exceeded expectations.

[Wow, Boris lost to a rookie ranker? Is that even real?]
[What’s the name of that necklace Boris was wearing? Isn’t that why Sungshik’s first attacks were all blocked? If that’s the case, it’s a completely broken item.]
[When I first saw the Beastification skill, I screamed in shock… But even crazier was that lightning transformation skill. What the hell was that? ㄷㄷ]
[But seriously, Boris, ambushing from behind was kinda disgraceful.]
└Right? He was still a world ranker. I didn’t expect him to show that kind of ending.

Superhuman-related communities exploded with discussions after watching the video of their battle. Some focused on the “Guardian Necklace of Nivas” Boris had worn, while others were intrigued by Sungshik’s initial attribute-based attacks.

But above all, the most attention-grabbing topic was the overpowered transformation skill.

[There’s an analysis post on that Beastification skill. They say it boosts your base physical power by at least double.]
[No way, for real? Even for a 7-Star Superhuman, it doubles power?]
[Yeah yeah, and since he transformed into a black leopard, there’s speculation that he could’ve gotten even stronger if he had transformed into a higher-tier beast.]
[Wow, that means Sungshik holding out against that is amazing.]
[Exactly. People say it was ridiculous that he managed to block with just a sword, considering how much their physical difference showed.]
[But don’t you think Sungshik’s transformation into lightning was insane? That’s gotta be a skill, right? So badass.]
[Check this out: there’s an interview with Sungshik. He said it’s a skill called “Natural Form.” He didn’t explain in detail but confirmed it’s a skill that lets him take on the properties of the element he controls.]

Beastification and Natural Form—these two skills were the hottest topics. However, many were disappointed that with Boris’s death, there would be no way to study Beastification further.

But that couldn’t be helped. The winner had been decided, and Sungshik had even healed Boris. (This alone caused a stir, with people asking what kind of ridiculous traits Sungshik had that let him use healing too.)

Given the situation, ambushing him from behind was utterly inexcusable. Thankfully, Sungshik had neutralized the ambush. If Boris had succeeded and killed Sungshik, it would’ve caused a massive social uproar.

In this context, Sungshik came under even more spotlight. Especially his Natural Form skill—it made waves for how sensational it was.

[It was cool that he took Boris down in one move, but man, that form looked so sick too.]
[Same. Lol, power aside, the visual was insane. He looked like some kind of spirit, super mystical and dreamy.]
[Power drip…]

Short but impactful, Sungshik’s Natural Form skill captured the hearts and admiration of many.

And in the midst of all that, Sungshik’s global ranking soared.
World Rank 16. Heaven-Splitter Heo Sungshik.
His rank jumped by the hundreds, landing right at Boris’s former position—16th.

No one disputed the result. In fact, people even started saying that 16th might be too low for him. Rankings hadn’t changed in ages, and now people were demanding that a new ranking competition be held to reassess everyone.

Thus, Sungshik made his debut as a world ranker, with a dazzling initiation.

“Phew.”

Having just finished his meditation in the training room, Sungshik let out a long breath. He had been wholly absorbed in refining his senses and body, which had advanced significantly after the battle with Boris.

'Status window.'

Name: Heo Sungshik
Titles: Warrior of Adversity, One Who Has Touched the Threshold of Transcendence, Demon Hunter
Rank: 7-Star+ (★★★★★★★☆)(↑)
Combat Power: S+
Stats: Strength S+(↑) / Agility S+(↑) / Endurance S+ / Magic Power S+

'7-Star+.'

That’s right. Through the battle with Boris, Sungshik had reached the realm of 7-Star+.

Countless messages had appeared the moment Boris died.

―Congratulations! Accumulated experience has surpassed the threshold! You have reached the 7-Star+ (★★★★★★★☆) rank.

In that moment, Sungshik felt ecstasy. A sensation as if he were breaking through a shell. The feeling of transcending his own limits was as addictive as a drug. He basked in that extreme sense of bliss for a fleeting moment.

Thus, his body and senses had advanced to the next stage. The realm of harmony of the 8-Star stage. He had taken one more step toward his second full metamorphosis.

But Sungshik's rise to 7-Star+ through this battle was not the end.

―You may consume the two traits: [SS Rank] Beast’s Instinct and [SSS Rank] Survival of the Fittest. Do you wish to consume them?

―Consumption successful. Congratulations.

―Successfully consumed the two traits: [SS Rank] Beast’s Instinct and [SSS Rank] Survival of the Fittest.

―A trait of the same type exists. You can integrate [S Rank] Hyper-Sense with [SS Rank] Beast’s Instinct. Proceed with integration? Y

―Please choose the base trait. You have selected [S Rank] Hyper-Sense as the base trait.

―...Integration successful! [S Rank] Hyper-Sense has been upgraded to [SS Rank] Hyper-Sense! The depth of [Hyper-Sense] increases even further.

Indeed. Through absorbing Boris’s traits, [S Rank] Hyper-Sense had been elevated to [SS Rank] Hyper-Sense. His senses had become even more profound and sharp.

And that wasn’t the end.

―The trait [SSS Rank] Survival of the Fittest is being absorbed into [EX Rank] Consumption.

―Congratulations. The ‘Trait Predator’ option has been added to [EX Rank] Consumption!

The trait [SSS Rank] Survival of the Fittest that Boris had possessed was absorbed into [EX Rank] Consumption.

Thus was born the Trait Predator option. This would allow Sungshik to absorb traits without killing the opponent.

[Trait Predator]
―When destroying the opponent’s magic core (dantian), there is a certain probability of absorbing one of their traits.

Current: LV1

LV 1: Acquisition Rate 5%
LV 2: 10% / LV 3: 20% / LV 4: 30% / LV 6: 40% / LV 7: 50%

For monsters, available starting from LV 6
The entity from whom the trait is absorbed loses the absorbed trait permanently

'This is...'

It was fascinating. From now on, he could absorb traits without killing other Superhumans.

Of course, since it was currently only LV 1, the acquisition rate was merely 5%, but he had the ‘Pocket Watch’ trait. Leveling it up wouldn’t take long.

Furthermore, it seemed that he could even absorb monster traits later on. And if the description was to be trusted, it meant Sungshik could now completely steal a Superhuman’s trait and turn them into a regular person.

'If this gets revealed before the Gate Break, I might end up as a public enemy.'

The world could perceive this power as dangerously threatening. It seemed wise not to reveal it for the time being.

But then it happened. Sungshik sensed a strange feeling from the corpse of Boris, whose heart had been pierced by his sword and who had met his end.

―‘Key of the Heavens’ is resonating.

―The ‘Trait Predator’ option of [EX Rank] Consumption reacts with [SS Rank] Legion of Death.