There were no casualties among the Superhumans during this monster invasion. It was all thanks to the great efforts of Sungshik.

“For the Heavenly Sovereign—!”

“For the Sovereign—!”

That evening, a party was held at Anchorage City Hall to celebrate Sungshik’s great feat.

So naturally, Sungshik was the star of the party. However, it wasn't as hectic as last time. Everyone silently agreed not to disturb Sungshik’s rest, considering the enormous effort he had expended during the battle.

“Hey, are you in 9th grade this year too?”

“Yeah. We're all 9th graders.”

“Wow, same age. Nice to meet you.”

This time, many civilians also attended the party. Fletcher happened to meet kids his age and joined their group. Thanks to that, Sungshik and Jenny were able to enjoy the party together in peace.

“Sungshik, you know the Avengers movies, right?”

“Yeah, of course. They're masterpieces.”

“You know Thor from that? You totally looked like Thor earlier.”

“Nah, not quite that much.”

“Eh, you kind of did though?”

Jenny mimicked Sungshik’s tone and expression. It was quite adorable. Sungshik chuckled and gently patted Jenny’s head.

“I'm glad you look like you’ve regained your energy.”

“Mhm. I got to rest well all day in the room... It’s because you and Fletcher took such good care of me.”

As she felt Sungshik’s touch, Jenny blushed slightly. She thought his touch was very warm.

“Weren’t you bored while resting?”

“Hmm... a little?”

Jenny brought her thumb and index finger close together to show just a little bit.

“Good thing you weren’t too bored. Is there anything you want to do now?”

“Umm......”

Jenny hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth.

“I want to see a movie... If the next Avengers sequel comes out, want to go watch it together?”

“Oh, that sounds great. Let’s watch it together.”

Jenny’s face instantly brightened when Sungshik accepted her proposal. She had been worried he might turn her down.

“Should we invite Fletcher too?”

“Ah... I think Fletcher doesn’t really like going to the theater.”

“Really? Then just the two of us will go.”

Jenny thought to herself. Fletcher, who usually didn’t like theaters. For some reason, he looked lovely today.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go just the two of us!”

Jenny’s voice, as she made plans with Sungshik to see a movie, sounded a bit excited.

They had successfully repelled the invasion of Anchorage, but that didn’t mean the fundamental cause had been resolved.

“Currently, Gates continue to increase across all of Alaska.”

The Gates. If they couldn’t be reduced, this situation would only repeat endlessly.

“Right now, the rate at which Gates are appearing is slightly faster than the rate at which we’re eliminating them. If we can’t reduce a certain number within the next three months, we may have to consider the possibility of a Gate Outbreak.”

This was the concept of a Gate Outbreak, which Sungshik had mentioned before. The exact threshold hadn’t yet been revealed. However, it was being compared to the recent Gate Outbreak that occurred on the Pasaeng Plains.

Considering the distances between Gates and their numbers, in three months, Alaska too could have multiple regions at risk of large-scale Gate Outbreaks.

That was why. Previously, they had been steadily tackling the Gates from the eastern outskirts of Alaska. But with Sungshik joining, they decided to attack simultaneously from the east, central, and west regions.

“Then, we ask that the Heavenly Sovereign take charge of the western area.”

Because of the Heavenly Sovereign’s unparalleled might, Sungshik, Jenny, and Fletcher were assigned to take charge of the entire western area.

Before the meeting ended, the governor asked Sungshik once more.

“But are you really sure the three of you can handle it?”

“Of course, that’ll be more than enough.”

Originally, they had considered adding a few more Superhumans to Sungshik’s team, but he refused.

“I’ll be working as a team with just Jenny and Fletcher.”

No one considered Sungshik’s demand arrogant. After witnessing his power during the recent defense battle, everyone thought that anyone else would only hold him back.

“Honestly, with the Heavenly Sovereign’s power, he could handle this solo.”

That was the general consensus. Even if he went alone, it would be understandable. And Jenny, a 7-star Superhuman, was on his team. Their strength was greater than most other large Superhuman teams.

“Jenny, take a break this time.”

“Huh? No, I’m fine.”

“No, no. You know Fletcher and I can handle it just fine. Rest a few more days, and then we’ll head out together.”

“Mhm. Okay, got it.”

When Sungshik looked at her with worried eyes and spoke, Jenny accepted his suggestion. She wanted to be with him, but she didn’t want to make him worry.

And so, Sungshik and Fletcher left Anchorage to attack the Gates.

“Alaska’s way bigger than I thought. The area assigned to us alone is about the size of a small city.”

“Dang, how are we supposed to cover all this?”

Alaska was vast. It was seven times the size of the Korean Peninsula. Even after dividing it up repeatedly, the area assigned to Sungshik and Fletcher was still around 60 square kilometers, the size of a small or mid-sized city.

What’s more, most of Alaska was unexplored land. Traveling by mana vehicle was difficult, so they had to go on foot.

“Well, we’ll just take several days and make our way around slowly.”

They would likely have to make repeated round trips from Anchorage over several days to subjugate the Gates.

If not, they’d have to camp out. Even though the weather was close to summer, camping in Alaska was a good way to freeze to death at night.

Of course, for Sungshik and Fletcher, who had gone through a complete transformation, it wasn’t a major concern. But it would still have some effect on their condition. And there was always the chance of being attacked by wild monsters.

That’s why they let Jenny stay behind in Anchorage to rest.

“Oh, bro. That’s an Ogre, right?”

While moving, Sungshik and Fletcher spotted an Ogre wandering across the snowy fields of Alaska. Many monsters had been released due to Gate Outbreaks, so it wasn’t unusual to encounter monsters in the field.

It would later become a normal sight after the worldwide Gate Break, but for now, Fletcher found it fascinating. Until now, he had only seen monsters inside Gates.

“I’ll take care of that one!”

Fletcher dashed forward before Sungshik could even respond. His steps were full of excitement.

“Kuwaaaaar!”

The Ogre let out a beastly roar as it spotted Fletcher. Usually solitary, there happened to be two of them here.

The average Ogre was ranked between 6-star and 6-star+. At this point in time, they were fairly high-level monsters.

Crackle!

Fletcher’s feet were wrapped in intense lightning. His speed was astounding. Sungshik’s eyes sparkled as he watched.

‘Oh?’

“Hello, friends!”

Fletcher quickly arrived in front of the Ogres. He wrapped his arms in thick lightning and then darted between the Ogres, sweeping both arms around.

Fletcher’s arms had turned into long whips of lightning. The lightning whips wrapped around the Ogres.

Crackle!

“Kwooooooh—”

Thud—

The Ogres collapsed without even resisting. It was a rather anticlimactic result. Despite being monsters with fairly high attribute resistance, Fletcher’s power easily shattered that resistance. Even considering that Fletcher was 7-Star, the destructive power was astonishing.

“Ta-da! Hyung, how was that? Not bad, right?”

Fletcher stood on top of the fallen Ogres, placed both hands on his waist, and flexed.

“Impressive.”

Sungshik was genuinely impressed. Having higher-than-expected attribute power was remarkable, but that wasn’t what truly surprised him.

Fletcher’s legs had turned into bright blue lightning as he charged forward. That wasn’t just lightning wrapped around his legs.

‘That is……’

—It’s a Natural Body.

Indeed. Astonishingly, Fletcher was using part of his body as a Natural Body.

‘Is that even possible?’

—Theoretically, it’s perfectly possible. If one learns and masters the skill ‘Natural Body’ on their own, it would begin just like that, from a part of the body.

Incredible as it was, Fletcher was learning the skill Natural Body by himself.

“Since when could you do that?”

“This is the thing you showed when you fought Boris. I watched that video of you and tried to copy it, and it actually worked! I’ll be able to transform my whole body into lightning just like you soon!”

“Wow… such a prodigy.”

Sungshik’s jaw dropped at Fletcher’s talent. Hearing that he had mimicked Sungshik using the Natural Body during the fight with Boris and succeeded was incredible.

There have long been legends of rare geniuses who could imitate others’ techniques just by seeing them once. But to think that this kid in front of him would be one of them...

Especially since this wasn’t an ordinary technique, but a skill used by Superhumans—an [SSS Rank] one at that.

‘Did he master the Natural Body before the regression?’

It was a reasonable suspicion. Fletcher might have awakened to the Natural Body skill on his own before the regression. If so, seeing Sungshik use it this time would have allowed him to master it even earlier than before.

“You're the real prodigy. I can only transform my arms and legs for now. Plus, it consumes way too much mana, so I can't use it for long.”

“I got the skill by acquiring it. Wait, then Fletcher, do you not have any cooldown or anything when you use it?”

“Nope. I don’t really have one. Do you, hyung?”

“Of course I do. It’s a skill, after all.”

“Whoa… so you do have a cooldown.”

Sungshik fell into thought, leaving Fletcher’s surprised voice behind.

‘So if you learn the Natural Body skill directly, the cooldown disappears?’

—Hmm, come to think of it, that does make sense.

Heaven-Splitter spoke with a thoughtful tone.

—Skills obtained through items or external sources are simply templates formed by someone else, and you’re just feeding them mana and using them.

‘Oh?’

This was a perspective Sungshik had never deeply considered before.

—Originally, such power wasn’t permitted. Because you’re borrowing that power, various restrictions are imposed. Things like cooldowns or debuffs. However… a skill you awaken and master on your own is more free from such restrictions.

‘I see…….’

Sungshik nodded at Heaven-Splitter’s words. Then he looked down at his right hand and began to gather energy.

Crackle. Crackle.

Sparks jumped across Sungshik’s right hand as electricity surged through it.

‘If I fuse this… into my own body…’

Crackle, crackle-crackle!

Sungshik’s hand flashed as if it had become lightning itself for a brief moment. But it was only a fleeting instant—barely a tenth of the blink of an eye.

It was a moment so short that without the enhanced reflexes from reaching 7-Star, he wouldn't have even noticed it himself.

“Huh? Hyung, just now…?”

Fletcher seemed to have noticed the transformation during that split second. He looked on with admiration, hoping Sungshik’s hand would show it again.

But—

“Phew, it’s not working well. Is there an easy trick or tip for this?”

Grasping the mechanism of a skill wasn’t something that could be mastered in a single try.

Crackle!

The hand where sparks and current flowed soon transformed into lightning itself.

“Wow! Hyung, amazing! You did it in just one day!!”

“Oh-ho, so this is the feeling.”

Sungshik had successfully achieved partial Natural Body transformation. To succeed within a day proved how remarkable his talent was.

“It took me almost a week to get it right for the first time… as expected of hyung!”

Fletcher looked at Sungshik with sparkling eyes full of admiration and respect.

“Nah, it’s thanks to your great tips.”

Fletcher had kindly shared the know-how he used. Still, that didn’t diminish the feat of succeeding within just a single day.

It was then—

—Ding. You have partially understood the mechanism of the skill ‘Natural Body’.

—An option has been added to the skill ‘Natural Body’.

[SSS Rank] Natural Body
—Type: Active
—Transform one of the usable attribute powers into Natural Body.
—Corresponding attribute power +54. Immunity to physical attacks.
—Duration: 20 minutes (10 min + 10 min)
—Cooldown: 12 hours
—Understanding: 17%
—You have partially grasped the mechanism of the ‘Natural Body’ skill. You can partially transform your body into a Natural Body (No restriction on duration or cooldown).

As understanding increases, duration increases and cooldown disappears.

“Huh?”

Sungshik was surprised. The change in the skill was noticeable. The attribute power had increased from 50 to 54, the duration from 10 to 20 minutes, and the cooldown had been halved from 24 hours to 12.

The previously existing “proficiency” stat was replaced by “understanding.” As a result, he could now partially transform his body to use the skill without restriction.

“Wow.”

The skill, which was already OP, had become even more broken.

At the same time, Sungshik realized something.

‘So this is why Fletcher was able to rampage so freely.’

Only now did he understand. The reason why Fletcher could become a powerhouse nearly on par with the Martial Emperor through the Natural Body skill.

Fletcher had awakened and mastered the Natural Body skill on his own. Through that complete, self-taught mastery of the Natural Body’s power, he became that strong.

Sungshik looked at the upgraded Natural Body skill and thought—

‘If I use this Natural Body skill, how far can I go now? Could I reach the Sword Emperor?’

He didn’t know it yet. But soon, he would have the chance to find out the extent of his true power.