Heo Sungshik and Fletcher crisscrossed the Alaska region. Among the monsters roaming the Alaska Field, there were none that could stand in their way.

“Hyung, don’t they seem weaker than when we faced them inside the gate?”

“It does feel like that, yeah.”

Even monsters of the same species seemed weaker than the ones they had encountered inside the gate. It was subtle, but they were definitely weaker than when met inside the gate.

“Hmm… I have a few ideas why.”

“What is it?”

Sungshik stroked his chin and fell into thought.

Even before the regression, there had been much talk about this. Sungshik had only cleared a few low-grade gates before the Gate Break, so he didn’t have a direct basis for comparison. After the Gate Break, he hadn't even dared to think about raiding gates.

However, he had heard many things from various Superhumans back then.

“First of all, you already know this, but usually the mana density inside the gate is higher.”

“Ah… that’s right!”

Fletcher slapped his knee. Hearing that, he got the picture.

The reason monsters weakened after coming out of the gate. The foremost reason was the difference in mana density between inside and outside the gate. The mana density inside the gate was higher.

―That makes sense. Monsters don’t store mana like humans do; they just naturally accumulate it in their bodies.

Monsters, unless they were boss-level, mostly accumulated external energy naturally in their bodies. When mana density dropped, their ability to utilize mana also declined. It wasn’t a huge difference, but it was a definite gap.

“And the second reason is probably the weather.”

Indeed, the environments inside gates were generally optimized for the monsters that appeared within them. But the extreme cold and large daily temperature variation in Alaska's environment inevitably affected their bodies, whether they realized it or not. It wasn't a huge factor, but still.

“Also, look. Except for special cases like orcs who maintain social structures, most monsters are roaming solo.”

Lastly, while inside gates it was common for monsters to appear in groups of a certain size, outside the gates, most monsters acted alone.

It was similar to wild animals. Predators more often roamed alone than lived in groups.

It was the same for monsters. Like the ogres they encountered earlier, some moved in twos or threes, but most traveled solo. Inside the gate, they grouped together half by choice, half by force.

'There was a lot of fuss about this at one point.'

Suddenly, he recalled the pre-regression days. Many Superhumans had delved deeply into this phenomenon.

Even monsters that grouped together inside the gate often went solo once they were outside. Because of that, there had been a lot of debate about whether some kind of ‘transcendental will’ existed that indirectly or directly controlled the monsters inside the gates.

'In the end, the theory leaning toward the existence of a ‘transcendental will’ gained the most traction.'

“Wow, hyung, when did you analyze all this?”

Fletcher looked at Sungshik in awe. Sungshik just shrugged. He didn’t really have anything to say since he was just repeating knowledge from the future.

“Hyung, let’s split up for the gates.”

“Split up?”

“Yeah. There aren’t any S-rank gates anyway, so isn’t it enough if we go alone?”

That was true. For Sungshik and Fletcher, there was no need to tackle the gates together. It was much more efficient to go separately.

“Alright. Let’s split up.”

“But hyung, wanna bet?”

Fletcher swung his right arm enthusiastically and proposed a bet.

“Oh~ What kind of bet?”

“The winner gets a wish granted!”

“Hah, I’m in.”

“Good. It’s a deal. I might be weaker than you, but I’ve got full confidence in my speed.”

Fletcher showed pride in his speed.

It was understandable. Since Fletcher handled the lightning attribute, his speed was exceptional. Especially when he cast Partial Naturalization on his legs, his speed could even surprise Sungshik.

'Hmm, I shouldn't let my guard down.'

Sungshik was 7-star+, and Fletcher was 7-star, which meant a considerable difference in combat power. But in terms of raid speed for low-grade gates, there might not be such a large gap. After all, they weren’t pouring out their full strength for these gates.

Besides, there were areas where Fletcher had a comparative advantage over Sungshik.

'When it comes to Partial Naturalization, Fletcher is probably more skilled than me… Even though his implementation power is lower, he’s been handling the lightning attribute for a long time, so that might turn the tide.'

Fletcher was a genius among geniuses. He couldn't compare to Sungshik, who had taken all sorts of perks and characteristics to the point of absurdity, but Fletcher too was monstrously talented in the eyes of normal people.

Though his implementation power was clearly below Sungshik’s, his mastery of the attribute might be higher. He could make up for his lack of raw combat strength with that.

In terms of managing his attribute power more efficiently and with less waste, Fletcher, who had handled lightning since awakening, might be superior.

“Alright then, today’s bet applies to the gates in this designated area, yeah?”

“Okay.”

Sungshik and Fletcher dashed off to the left and right, heading toward the gates. As Fletcher ran off, Sungshik suddenly looked back.

'Hmm.'

After hesitating for a moment, Sungshik ran off in the opposite direction from Fletcher.

“The kid who went out with Heo Sungshik also seems to be a 7-star level Superhuman.”

“What?”

“Hmm.”

Guma, who had activated the skill ‘Eye of the Omniscient Observer,’ opened his mouth. Guma had become a 7-star being through Xiaoguang’s secret arts, but his combat power wasn’t particularly high. He was a supporter-type ability user.

Still, he was quite capable among the Nine Children. His representative skill, ‘Eye of the Omniscient Observer,’ could oversee a 10-kilometer radius, so his ability was extremely useful for reconnaissance.

“If he’s 7-star, that’s world-ranker level… Was there a kid like that among the world-rankers?”

“None that I know of.”

“What a headache.”

They had been waiting for the moment Sungshik would step outside Anchorage to raid a gate. When they confirmed that the Elemental Master, Jenny, remained in Anchorage and he only went out with some kid, they thought a good opportunity had come.

But suddenly, a new 7-star Superhuman appeared.

“Ilma, aren’t you being too cautious? Honestly, even if that kid’s 7-star, with our forces, we can take on both of them at once without issue.”

“I agree with Samma.”

“So do I.”

They couldn’t understand Ilma. Unless the Sword Emperor or Martial Emperor Sevrant was present, no one could stop their combined forces. Though they had started under Xiaoguang’s hand, their final completion came from their master, Tidian.

“We are strong.”

They had every reason to be proud. After all, they were beings completed by Tidian, who had poured his own power into them.

It hadn’t been long since they were reborn as homunculi, but they were already fully aware of the value of their strength. Even before they were reborn as the Nine Children, their base forms had also been Superhumans.

“It was the Master's order. Have you already forgotten that we were told to face him only when he was alone?”

“Hmm……”

“That may be true.”

When Ilma reminded them that it was Tidian’s command, they fell silent. They were beings born to faithfully carry out Tidian’s orders.

“I also think the Master’s command might have lacked caution. However, there must be intention behind that command. We have no need to guess at his intention. We are to follow it as it is.”

He was right. They were Tidian’s sword. A tool had no need for free will.

“It’s not like there’s no opportunity at all. The two have split up to tackle the Gates.”

“Oh-ho, in that case, let’s strike when they finish the Gate raids and come out.”

At Guma’s words, they reached an agreement. When Sungshik raided the Gate alone and emerged, they would strike at that moment.

“Let’s determine their Gate raid times and expected paths, then strike at the optimal moment.”

“Understood.”

Dark power surged in their eyes.

“Wow, hyung. Don’t you think that was a bit too much?”

“What was?”

“You totally went all out, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t, though.”

“Then how are you so fast!”

Sungshik chuckled at the sulking Fletcher.

It was true Sungshik hadn’t gone all out. But even as a 7-Star+, Sungshik was not like any other 7-Star+. He was on the same level as monsters like the Sword Emperor and Martial Emperor—beings who showed overwhelming disparity even among those of the same rank. No, he might even surpass them.

“Haha.”

“Ugh, this is cheating.”

Fletcher, despite using nearly his full power, fell significantly behind Sungshik and started grumbling. Sungshik had cleared seventeen Gates in under three hours. Fletcher had only managed eleven.

Even among the A-rank Gates, Sungshik had cleared a higher proportion. It was a total loss without argument.

“Let’s go again.”

Fletcher burned with a desire to win. After all, while going through the Gates, he had started to get a feel for things.

In truth, Fletcher had very little experience raiding Gates, despite his fame and strength. Part of that was because he’d been obsessed with playing hero, but mainly, the UK had been reluctant to expose Fletcher’s identity. So instead of raiding Gates, he had developed his power through solo training.

“And if we go again, do you think you can win?”

“I told you, I’ve got the hang of it now. I can clear them faster.”

He wasn’t wrong. Fletcher had clearly improved his raid speed with each subsequent Gate. The first one had taken him nearly thirty minutes, but the last few had dropped to around ten minutes each.

Sungshik had been clearing Gates in just under ten minutes each. With a little more speed, Fletcher could certainly catch up.

“Well, in that case, today was just a practice match.”

“Whoa? Seriously? As expected of you, hyung! I believed in you! Loyalty, loyalty!”

Sungshik smiled at Fletcher’s cheerful energy. Before the regression, the only times he saw Fletcher were from a distance, so he hadn’t known he had this kind of personality. Perhaps it was due to his young age, and the fact that this wasn’t yet a time overshadowed by humanity’s doom, that he was able to remain like this.

But Sungshik had a feeling Fletcher would have stayed this upbeat even during those dark times.

‘It’s nice to see.’

Gate Break. Nights of Trial. A time when most people had dead eyes, lost in despair. Back then, it was impossible not to be grim.

Moreover, during his Academy days, Sungshik had been labeled a dropout and went through hard times. So the only bright friend he’d ever hung out with was Sung Jihwan, and even then, only briefly.

“Then let’s bet on the entire zone assigned to us this time. We’ll keep a running tally until we clear everything here.”

“Okay, deal!”

Seeing an excited Fletcher, Sungshik chuckled. Then he suddenly turned his head to look behind him.

“Huh? What? Is something there?”

“Hmm, no.”

When Sungshik suddenly turned his head, Fletcher looked that way too. But all he could see were snow-covered trees and a white road. As Fletcher tilted his head in confusion, Sungshik wore a subtle expression.

‘Hmm…….’

He definitely felt someone’s gaze, but even when he raised his senses, he couldn’t detect anything.

‘Am I just on edge because of the cold?’

Sungshik tilted his head, blaming the barely noticeable chill in the air.