After Ten Millennia in Hell

"Ugh… U-Understood." Kang Tae-Soo, who had been super excited after their first successful hunt, flinched and lowered his head sadly after hearing Oh Kang-Woo's critical feedback.

Kang-Woo then turned to face Choi Eun-Bi. "Eun-Bi, you don't need to use powerful magic to finish off monsters that have been knocked down. Don't forget that Si-Hun is the main damage dealer. You are a sub damage dealer, so you should be supporting him. Yet, you were so focused on attacking the three monsters on the ground that you weren't able to do anything against the five approaching from behind, right?"

"Y-Yes. You're right, oppa."

"Even weak lightning attacks can paralyze enemies, so limit using up your reserves."

"Yes, oppa!"

"And Seol-Ah…"

"Y-Yes, Kang-Woo!" Seol-Ah answered nervously after seeing the previous two receive criticism from Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo said calmly, "The timing of your buff was great, but attacking the monsters with light arrows was dangerous. Healers already draw too much attention. If you attack on top of that, Tae-Soo won't be able to keep the attention of the enemies on him. You're not hunting alone, so even if you want to help, you need to be more careful."

"Oh… I-I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry. You'll improve with time. As for Si-Hun…"

"Yes?" Kim Si-Hun, the last party member, calmly awaited Kang-Woo's words.

"There was nothing for me to criticize. You carried out your role perfectly," Kang-Woo stated.

"Oh… Thank you very much," Si-Hun said with a nod.

He didn't seem too surprised. It was as if he knew he hadn't made any mistakes.

Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun and thought, 'Amazing.'

Even from the perspective of someone with ten millennia's worth of battle experience, Si-Hun's battle sense was impressive. His technique was a bit rough around the edges due to the lack of experience, but it was impressive nonetheless.

'So, this is what a real genius looks like, huh?'

Even though Si-Hun didn't have much battle experience, he was getting used to combat at a frightening speed. Kang-Woo, on the other hand, had taken approximately ten years to learn how to use a weapon properly, so he felt dejected.

'I guess this is how Cha Yeon-Joo feels when she looks at me.'

It was the same for most occupations, but talent was especially important for Players. Cha Yeon-Joo didn't know about Kang-Woo's past, so she probably saw him as someone with impressive talent. Despite that, Kang-Woo wasn't really that talented. It was only because of the experience he had gained through shedding blood, sweat, and tears for the last ten millennia that he had become so strong.

However, Si-Hun was different.

'He's the real deal.'

Si-Hun possessed a frightening level of talent, so much so that his movements improved even while fighting the orcs. He was a diamond in the rough.

"Let's head a bit deeper inside," Kang-Woo said.

He was now interested in how much Si-Hun could grow.

"Okay."

"Hehe! I'll do better this time, hyung-nim!" Tae-Soo responded excitedly while lifting his shield.

The party members hunted more orcs as they went deeper into the forest.

Crack!

"Haap!"

Si-Hun was abnormally talented, but the rest of the party members were also quite talented compared to the average Player. Furthermore, after taking Kang-Woo's suggestions to heart, they were now improving very quickly.

'At this rate, they'll be able to enter a C-rank Gate within a month.'

It took the average Player over two months to enter a C-rank Gate, so it would be considerably fast if this party could do it within a month. Of course, it had only taken Kang-Woo five days, but it didn't make sense to compare them with him.

"Huh? Hyung-nim, what's that monster over there? It isn't an orc," Tae-Soo pointed out.

"Hm?" Kang-Woo, who was watching them hunt from a distance, stepped forward.

"Grrrr!!"

There was a black wolf with two giant horns on its forehead, and it was glaring at Tae-Soo with murderous intent in its eyes.

'A Demon Wolf.' Kang-Woo's expression hardened.

A Demon Wolf wasn't as strong as a Hellhound, but it was still a demonic beast from the First Hell.

"GRRAAARRR!!!"

"H-Huh?"

Seeing the Demon Wolf leap toward him at a terrifying speed, Tae-Soo raised his shield, but it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to block the attack. That was how overwhelmingly powerful the Demon Wolf's charge was.

"Tsk." Kang-Woo frowned and extended his hand toward the demonic beast.

He hadn't been planning on doing anything unless a complication arose, but this was far more serious than a simple complication. Tae-Soo was a talented tank, but the opponent was on a whole other level. The party members were still too weak to fight a demonic beast from Hell.

'Why is there another demonic beast here?'

Kang-Woo scowled at the Demon Wolf. After his previous encounter with a Hellhound, this Demon Wolf was the second demonic beast from Hell that he had encountered on Earth.

Powerful demonic energy surged from his body as he prepared to fight.

However, before Kang-Woo could do anything, Si-Hun charged toward the Demon Wolf.

Slash!!

"GRRAARR!"

"S-Si-Hun!" Tae-Soo exclaimed.

"Please get back!" Si-Hun said.

A blue aura rose from his sword. Si-Hun swung his sword at a speed that couldn't be compared to before, slashing open the demonic beast's back with the blue aura.

"GRRAARR!!" the injured Demon Wolf roared and lunged toward Si-Hun with its front legs.

Si-Hun blocked the attack with his sword.

Wham!

"Kurgh!"

Nevertheless, there was no way a Player who had only just achieved his Second Awakening would be able to block a Demon Wolf's attack. The impact of the Demon Wolf's attack sent Si-Hun flying backward and then rolling on the ground.

"Kurgh, cough!"

Despite having taken the Demon Wolf's attack head-on, Si-Hun staggered to his feet, but the Demon Wolf charged toward him once again.

Crack!!

"Whiiiine."

Kang-Woo climbed onto the Demon Wolf's back. He amplified his strength with the Authority of Titanic Might and used his fist to smash the head of the Demon Wolf, destroying it with just one attack.

Riiing.

[You have successfully defeated a D-rank Rift Fragment.]

[Your level has risen by 1.]

A blue message window appeared in front of Kang-Woo, but he ignored the message window and turned to look at Si-Hun.

"Cough! Haaa, haaa. Th-Thank you very much, Kang-Woo." Si-Hun bowed his head toward Kang-Woo while panting heavily.

Tae-Soo came to them and shouted, "Wow!! As expected of hyung-nim!! You defeated that monster with just one blow!! Damn!! You're the best!!"

"…"

"Also, Si-Hun, that was sword energy, right? Right?!"

"Ah… Umm…"

"Are you really only on your Second Awakening? Your sword was flashing so brightly!"

"I really am only on my Second Awakening," Si-Hun replied to Tae-Soo with a troubled expression.

Kang-Woo gazed at Si-Hun intently while thinking deeply.

'He's strong.'

What Si-Hun had just shown defied logic. It couldn't simply be because of his extraordinary battle sense. Even after taking into consideration that he had unlocked an A-rank Trait with his Second Awakening, he was still too strong for a Player of his level.

'I'm thinking the same thing as Mun Yeong-Ho.'

Mun Yeong-Ho had probably felt the same way when he looked at Kang-Woo.

'Is he really only on his Second Awakening?'

There was a reason why Kang-Woo was overwhelmingly stronger than other Players, but Si-Hun was different. He couldn't have also spent ten millennia in Hell.

Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun suspiciously and used the Authority of the Beholder on him. Demonic energy flowed out of Kang-Woo and went toward Si-Hun.

Riiing.

[Erasing traces of Demonic Energy with the effect of Ruler of Demonic Energy (Rank: A).]

The distinct chime of a bell rang out, and the unpleasant and disgusting sensation of the demonic energy disappeared. With its traces now concealed, the demonic energy could approach Si-Hun without being noticed.

[Status Window]

[Player Name: Kim Si-Hun]

"Hm?"

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder after a blue status window suddenly appeared in front of him. The name on the status window clearly said 'Kim Si-Hun.'

'You can do things like this with the Authority of the Beholder…?'

He had only intended to check whether Si-Hun was hiding some sort of power, but he realized an unexpected truth. It seemed that he could check the status windows of other Players.

To confirm if that was truly the case, Kang-Woo used a little bit more demonic energy on Si-Hun.

[Level: 14 (Second Awakening)]

'I can see his status window.'

Kang-Woo's eyes lit up at the unexpected turn of events.

'He truly is only on his Second Awakening.'

From what Kang-Woo could see, Si-Hun was Level 14. Si-Hun had said before the hunt that he was Level 12, so he had leveled up twice today.

'In that case, how is he so strong?'

This meant that Si-Hun had indeed only achieved his Second Awakening despite being that strong.

Kang-Woo tilted his head and used a bit more of the Authority.

[First Awakening Trait: Martial God's Successor (Rank: SSS) *The power of the Martial God has not yet been fully absorbed, so the Trait cannot display its full potential.

Second Awakening Trait: Sword Energy Manifestation (Rank: A)]

"What?"

Kang-Woo couldn't hide his surprise after checking out Si-Hun's Traits.

[Unique Class: The Chosen One - The soul of the Martial God Tian Taihuang dwells within you. You are a hero destined to become the protector of this world.

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 16

Health: 13

Qi (Unique Stat): 25

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 9]

'What?' Kang-Woo's mouth fell open in shock. 'The hell's with this guy?'

Si-Hun had an SSS-rank Trait and was a human with the soul of the Martial God dwelling within him, a hero destined to become the protector of this world…

'Is he actually the protagonist?'

Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun bewilderedly.