Thud.

“Aaaaargh—”

The Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword sliced through flesh and smoothly dug into Wang Wei’s abdomen.

Drip. Drip.

Watching the blood flow along the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword, Sungshik activated ‘[EX Rank] Consumption.’

―‘[EX Rank] Consumption’ has failed.

Because the ‘Consumption’ trait had not yet reached Master level, the success rate of ‘[EX Rank] Consumption’ was low.

But it didn’t matter. The reason for casting ‘[EX Rank] Consumption’ now wasn’t to steal the ‘trait’ from the man in front of him, but to strip away his ‘Superhuman power.’

“Gurk, gurk.”

Sungshik looked coldly at the man clutching his abdomen and gasping for breath. He had known it the moment he first laid eyes on him.

Revolutionary Knights. That unique stench of magical energy belonging to them emanated from this man. His senses, which had grown even sharper after reaching 8-star, didn’t miss that foul stench.

‘Filth that rots away humanity.’

Not even a sliver of pity welled up as he watched the man gasp on the verge of death.

They were all trash. That, he could say with absolute certainty.

“You should consider it mercy that I didn’t take your life myself.”

With those words, Sungshik turned and walked away.

The man should feel the mercy in Sungshik’s choice not to end his life with his own hands. Whether the man himself thought that was another matter entirely.

Since the Gate Break, there were now more monsters than humans in the world. To be wounded and collapsed in a monster’s territory meant a survival probability converging toward zero.

That was why Sungshik didn’t kill him directly. Because, for that man, this was the crueler fate.

‘I was going to head straight for Korea… but I should stop by Tsufeng City.’

Sungshik turned his gaze toward the direction of Tsufeng City, leaving the man behind.

Initially, he had planned to run straight to Korea out of concern for his acquaintances there—Kim Subin and Sung Jihwan. But after hearing what Wang Wei had to say, he realized he needed to first understand the current situation.

Even if he stopped by Tsufeng City, it would only delay him by a day or two. And so, Sungshik decided to head there first.

And that decision would become a great disaster for Kurhin, who had seized control of Tsufeng City.

‘But why has everything changed so much?’

The era of the Gate Break that Sungshik remembered had many differences from now.

Before the regression, the community functions still worked properly during the Gate Break era. That was why the community served as humanity’s communication network.

It had been the driving force that allowed humanity—on the brink of extinction—to unite and resist to the end. The community had been the great arena of human solidarity.

But now, that very community function wasn’t operating properly.

‘And the state of the monsters is strange too.’

The Mant Trap Plants he had just faced—originally, they were 6-star+ grade monsters. But among them, quite a few had reached the 7-star level.

They had all perished helplessly before the power of the ‘Primordial Flame,’ but looking back, it had been a very unusual situation.

‘That many monsters achieved a rise in class?’

From Wang Wei’s words, it seemed there were quite a few monsters like those Mant Trap Plants who had experienced class elevation. Not only that, but the distribution of SS-rank Gates had apparently increased significantly as well.

‘What in the world…?’

The standard level of monsters had risen across the board. Compared to the Gate Break era he remembered, the monster threat had advanced by at least one full tier.

Sungshik’s narrowed eyes deepened in thought. He turned his head to look in the direction opposite of Tsufeng City.

He could feel the overwhelming presence of a monster from over there. It must be one of those spawned from an SS-rank Gate, as Wang Wei had mentioned.

‘I should deal with that one first.’

The increase in SS-rank Gate monsters—ironically, that was fortunate for Sungshik.

To his eyes, the monsters from the SS-rank Gates were perfect offerings to raise his ‘Consumption’ trait to Master level. If he kept ‘consuming’ those, he would reach Master level in no time.

‘This actually works in my favor.’

Thanks to the rise in SS-rank Gates, Sungshik’s path toward mastering the ‘Consumption’ trait became much smoother. It might be a disaster for humanity, but for Sungshik, it was a boon.

With that thought, Sungshik launched himself toward the monster presumed to have come from the SS-rank Gate.

“Kyeng―”

“Kkiiing.”

The mournful whimpers of Hellhounds echoed in all directions.

Fwoooosh.

The area was engulfed in hellfire unleashed by the 8-star boss monster Cerberus. Most beings wouldn’t even be able to approach that searing heat.

But—

Thwack!

“Kkyeeeng.”

To Sungshik, that kind of heat meant nothing. Moving freely even in the midst of that inferno, he pummeled Cerberus with ease. Eventually, Cerberus ended up sprawled on the ground like the Hellhounds around him, thoroughly beaten by Sungshik.

“Kang!”

One of Cerberus’s intact heads spewed Hellfire from its mouth—

Screeee.

But it was instantly nullified by the Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts technique, unleashed through the edge of Sungshik’s hand.

“Let’s just end this now.”

Sungshik, who had entertained Cerberus to gauge its strength as an 8-star boss monster, finally spoke the words of conclusion. For the remaining Hellhounds and Cerberus, it was no different from a death sentence.

Resistance was now meaningless. They couldn’t even block a single serious strike from Sungshik.

As the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword danced lightly, the world was torn apart. The countless lines drawn in the air shredded not only the space but also Cerberus and the Hellhounds into pieces.

The overwhelming difference in power. Cerberus, who had ruled this region as its undisputed master for the past six months, fell pathetically and easily at Sungshik’s hand.

Anyone else watching would’ve been speechless in shock. The Cerberus pack, which was thought undefeatable unless a Sword Emperor or Martial Emperor led a full raid party, had been wiped out effortlessly.

But Sungshik, who had accomplished this without difficulty, felt no particular emotion. It was simply obvious from his perspective.

“Hmph, it’s fairly strong, but…”

It was no match for Sungshik. Just as he had expected, Cerberus possessed exactly the power of an 8-star monster. If this was the extent of an 8-star monster’s strength, even if a whole truckload came, Sungshik alone could handle them.

‘At this rate, even if the number of SS-rank Gates suddenly increased, it wouldn’t matter.’

It was his first time facing an 8-star monster, so he had been slightly tense inside, but the result had been anticlimactic. Sungshik felt like he could single-handedly wipe out all the 8-star boss monsters that came from the SS-rank Gates.

He realized once again just how powerful his strength had become.

A soft chuckle escaped from Sungshik’s lips. He couldn’t help but compare his current self to the one during the Gate Break era before his regression. It was a deeply emotional contrast.

Setting aside his sentimentality, Sungshik approached Cerberus’s corpse.

‘Consumption.’

As Sungshik cast Consumption toward Cerberus, the magic stone and the body that composed Cerberus began to scatter light and be absorbed into Sungshik.

―You have ‘Consumed’ the 8-star monster Cerberus.
―The depth of ‘Consumption’ increases further.

‘Consumption,’ which had not yet reached Master level, did not grant him any special abilities or the traits of Cerberus. However, he could clearly feel that he had taken a step closer to reaching Master level.

‘It won’t be long now.’

If he kept dealing with 8-star monsters like this, he felt he could soon reach Master level. Once ‘Consumption’ reached Master level, the growth of other [EX Rank] traits acquired through it would also progress rapidly.

There was one more thing gained from consuming Cerberus.

―Cerberus is being integrated into the ‘Army of Death.’

Integration into the ‘Army of Death.’ That was a power Sungshik had acquired from the ‘Akashic Record.’

During his time in ‘Puyan’s Sanctuary,’ Sungshik had been able to access the Akashic Record twice. That meant he had accessed it roughly once per year.

It was then that he obtained:

“The secret tome of the ‘Army of Death.’”

Thanks to absorbing that knowledge, his [SS Rank] Army of Death had been upgraded to [SSS Rank] Army of Death.

As a result, he could now summon up to five legions, and also organize his own unique Army of Death. That was why Cerberus could be integrated through Consumption.

‘That wasn’t the end of it.’

By obtaining the secret tome of the ‘Army of Death’ from the Akashic Record, Sungshik realized something. The Army of Death could evolve into an [EX Rank] trait containing divine power.

‘The true legion of death.’ That power could govern a genuine legion of death that had risen from the abyss.

Thus, his time trapped in Puyan’s Sanctuary had been meaningful, allowing him to examine his level and combat power, and to determine his future direction.

“Well then, shall I head to Tsupeng City next?”

Having eradicated Cerberus and the pack of Hellhounds that once ruled the region, Sungshik turned his steps toward Tsupeng City.

A wisp of mana lightened Sungshik’s entire body. This was the basic principle of martial arts known as ‘light movement’ (Gyeonggong), but in most cases, excessive mana was wasted in the process of using it.

―It’s truly become refined.

However, in Sungshik’s light movement, there was no waste of mana at all. His mana control was extremely meticulous. Seeing this, Heaven-Splitter genuinely admired him.

Sungshik was undoubtedly stronger now than when he had reached the 8-star level in the fictional world. The fact that he could control his mana without even the slightest waste proved it.

‘These past two years weren’t in vain.’

The time spent in Puyan’s Sanctuary had made Sungshik even stronger.

The reason the portal hadn’t worked at first was rather absurd.

‘I didn’t realize I had consumed that much mana while undergoing rebirth.’

‘Puyan’s Sanctuary’ existed in a separate realm. Naturally, maintaining that space required an enormous amount of mana.

‘Puyan probably didn’t expect that someone who entered her domain would reach the realm of Harmony and undergo rebirth.’

Starting from the realm of Harmony, one could freely draw in nature’s outer energy. Thus, when he underwent rebirth by stepping into that realm, he absorbed an immense amount of ambient mana.

Sungshik had entered the Harmony realm inside Puyan’s Sanctuary, and drew the mana he needed from the core—mana stones that maintained the sanctuary itself.

―It would’ve been fine if it were just the rebirth.

Heaven-Splitter’s words were accurate. No one could have predicted this situation, but if it had only been the rebirth, it wouldn’t have drained even the portal’s mana reserves.

‘The Heart of the Phoenix.’

The power of resurrection that had revived Sungshik. The ‘Primordial Flame’ that reshaped him in the process also required immense mana. That was why even the remaining mana for operating the portal had been completely drained.

In the end, it had taken two full years for the core to regenerate enough mana to power the portal again.

‘But it wasn’t all bad.’

Due to the low mana density around him during his rebirth, he had even absorbed the power of the ‘Primordial Flame.’ Absorbing the Primordial Flame instead of pure mana during rebirth was, in fact, a very dangerous act.

But in the end, the rebirth had been a resounding success, and it gave Sungshik a solid foundation to overcome the next barrier with far greater ease.

And due to the lack of mana in Puyan’s Sanctuary, he had trained himself to manage even a wisp of mana without a trace of waste. As a result, he was now able to acquire a trait called [S Rank] Mana Control.

‘Because of the mana shortage in the atmosphere, recovery of trait power through the Akashic Record was also painfully slow… But even so, I managed to access it twice.’

Although it had only been two accesses, he had still been able to raise the trait levels in the Akashic Record. All in all, it had not been a bad period.

Sungshik dashed forward, chewing over the last two years. Before long, he saw a fortress surrounded by tall walls in the distance.

‘Oh? They’ve built a fortress.’

It was Tsupeng City, which had once been part of Chinese territory—but was now under the occupation of Kurhin—coming into view before him.