Thump-thump-thump—
Taemin’s heartbeat pounded in his ears.
He gripped his twin blades, channeling mana. Deep blue energy speckled with stars rippled around him like a vast cosmos.
Chabu, an Awakened himself, let out a whistle of awe.
“Wow, wow, just look at that. Our rookie Hunter could easily reawaken as S-Rank, I swear! Gentlemen, the future of Korea is lookin’ bright!”
Sensing the massive surge of mana, Pyroclasto hesitated.
Then suddenly, Taemin felt a searing heat on the earlobe bearing his earring.
“Friend, you really oughta take that earring off.”
Gidan’s warning echoed in his head.
So did the baby bandit gang that had threatened him with a fork, demanding he hand over the earring.
'What does Hyeonak Guild know about this thing?'
He had a vague sense of it by now. That this thing was a threat to his life.
'But...'
Choi Hyeonwoo flashed through his memory—the one who had given him the earring.
“What’s this?”
“Had to break into the ol’ piggy bank. Don’t go blabbing about it—bought it on the down-low.”
“Hyung, this thing... doesn’t look cheap...”
“How many times do I have to tell you? You’re our poster boy. If you don’t make it, none of us do.”
Choi Hyeonwoo had blown even his wedding savings to buy a top-grade mana stone earring.
By the time Taemin realized something was wrong, he was already in too deep.
'Fucking idiot. Seriously.'
His mana surged, almost as if it were lunging toward him.
But Taemin grit his teeth and charged at Pyroclasto.
As he swung his twin blades, water mana surged, extending their reach.
The water trailing from the lengthened blades lashed Pyroclasto’s molten surface like whips.
Hssssssss!
But each time the summoned water struck Pyroclasto’s shell, it evaporated instantly—then flickered back to existence, only to be vaporized again.
'The gap in strength is too big.'
Even though the earring was pumping out mana to fuel the water, it was obvious the skill wasn’t effective.
This wasn’t going to work.
A support-type Hunter was needed to weaken the monster’s defenses and expose its weak points. He couldn’t do this alone.
“Uhh, okay, folks, I think things are turning south!”
Chabu waved both hands.
“Lee Taemin Hunter! Let’s retreat for now!”
If they bought just a little time, they could call the standby Hunters and extract him safely. They’d already prepared for such an outcome, just in case.
But—
“Lee Taemin Hunter?”
Taemin wasn’t responding normally.
“His eyes are... gone.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
Chabu signaled the PD.
“Call in the standby Hunters. Something’s off.”
"GRRAAAAAARGH!!"
Pyroclasto, having clashed with Taemin, let out another earth-shaking roar.
Chabu froze.
Pyroclasto had activated a skill.
'Fear!'
If struck by Fear, lower-ranked Hunters would freeze for a moment, paralyzed.
And here, there wasn’t a single person ranked above Pyroclasto.
“Shit! No!”
Just as Pyroclasto opened its massive jaws to devour Taemin—
FWOOOOOOOSH—
A sudden sandstorm engulfed the boss.
Its once rock-hard shell was easily ground away by the sand, revealing raw flesh beneath.
“B-Brothers... Are you seeing this? A sandstorm just came outta nowhere... What the hell is that?!”
Armor that not even an A-Rank rookie could pierce had crumbled like nothing?
As everyone, including Chabu, stared at the astonishing sight—
Tap!
A dagger appeared from nowhere and struck with a light blow.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
At the same time, three drones fired projectiles at Mach speed.
The bullets shot straight through the exposed head of Pyroclasto.
“GRAAAARGH...!”
BOOM!
With a single blow, Pyroclasto collapsed, the entire field shaking violently.
'Was that... S-Rank?!'
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
And then, through the swirling sand, a silhouette emerged.
Bright blue eyes fixed on them.
“Serhi...?”
Chabu murmured under his breath.
He was a YouTuber for a major Hunter channel.
Naturally, he had detailed knowledge of prominent guilds and their members—and Serhi was no exception.
After all, Hyeonak Guild had declared it wouldn’t take new recruits—yet suddenly a minor of undisclosed rank had joined. It caused a stir across the online community.
'Then... could it be...'
Thump-thump-thump. His heart pounded wildly.
That telltale rush he felt when he encountered someone powerful.
His body was reacting instinctively to the presence of a true force.
Serhi’s skill clearly surpassed even A-Rank Lee Taemin.
And while everyone else gawked in stunned silence, Serhi casually blew a bubble and popped it.
“Yeah. Serhi Markov.”
He gave a short answer and stared ahead—only to suddenly flinch.
'What now? Another monster?'
The crew began anxiously scanning the area, on high alert.
But Serhi simply pointed up at the chick drones hovering over his head like pesky gnats, face full of annoyance.
“These chicks are goin’ on sale. Get hyped or whatever.”
Then, out of nowhere, a half-built teddy bear costume stepped forward from among the staff and gave a confident thumbs-up like a producer.
— Ump! That’s it!
But Serhi just chewed his gum, clearly annoyed at being the ad model.
A jaw-dropping AA-rank solo play debut by a Hunter of undisclosed rank.
And now... it was all for an ad?
The crowd fell into stunned silence.
Only the livestream chat was exploding in ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) chaos.
- Serhi? Drones?
- Chabu hyung, are we in some hidden camera prank right now?
- I mean it is hilarious??
- Wait, seriously? Does that mean Serhi is S-Rank?
- idk
The first to regain composure was none other than the seasoned streamer, Chabu.
He immediately turned the mic to Jjapso.
Serhi’s unexpected skill was impressive—but what really lit the chat on fire was the debut of that railgun.
“Jjapso hyung-nim! You said the drones are going on sale?!”
— Correct.
“I thought the one we just saw looked different from the one in the news, right?”
Guru hesitantly nodded.
— Dis one a B-Wank...
Same mechanics, but downgraded in rank and power. Guru had been a bit worried because of that.
“Ah, so it’s a slightly weaker railgun? Where can folks buy it? The chat’s goin’ absolutely nuts. C’mon, hyung, give us a tiny bit more info.”
— Ump. Five dwones wiww be sowd. But mana stones not incwuded. Detaiewed sawes info wiww come watew.
“Only five units?! People are gonna go feral trying to get their hands on these. Look—they’re already screaming ‘TAKE MY MONEY!’ Can you see this?”
Guru perked up her ears.
Chabu turned his phone to show the rapidly scrolling chat.
It was too fast to read, but it was obvious there was huge demand.
'They still want it even if it’s lower-rank?'
Just as Guru began to feel relieved—
“Grrgh...”
Taemin’s throat let out a low, scraping sound.
“GRAAAAH!”
“Ta-Taemin! What’s going on?!”
Suddenly, a blast of wind flared out from around Taemin, rippling outward with force.
SSSSHHHHH!
In a blur, Serhi leapt toward Guru and carried her out of the shockwave’s range.
Guru’s backpack squirmed—and Veilach peeked out.
“Mewmew...” (He’s about to rampage.)
The core he was using held the mana of SSS-rank Veilach.
And he was using it raw—unrefined. No wonder a fragile human body couldn’t handle it.
This was full-blown mana overload.
A state very similar to unstable Awakening.
He would wreak massive damage on the surroundings—and eventually burst like a balloon.
True to the channel’s name, BJ Chabu and the staff bolted the moment they sensed danger.
While Taemin writhed and the crew scattered—
Only one person tried to approach him:
Choi Hyeonwoo.

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