Chapter 33
The Taebaek Guild was thrown into emergency alert due to a sudden gate outbreak.
"Why isn't this damn car moving?!"
Guild Master Jo Hwan-woo immediately declared an all-guild emergency and dispatched all available 3rd Awakened to the scene as soon as the crisis erupted. As a precaution, he also selected the most capable 2nd Awakened members to join the operation. Naturally, he himself was en route to the site.
But their vehicle—a so-called "hunting vehicle" resembling a camper van with monster-byproduct armor resistant to most firearms and equipped with cutting-edge gear—was crawling forward. Its spacious interior, complete with a conference table, earned it the nickname "mobile meeting room." However, its bulk made navigating narrow roads impossible, even as other cars grudgingly made way.
"Goddammit! We’re in a fucking emergency! What’s the situation?!"
"Reports say five D-rank monsters emerged from the gate."
Jo Hwan-woo’s face twisted sharply. "Tch! At least they’re not calamity-grade... But five D-ranks? This is bad. The whole area’ll be rubble if we don’t hurry."
"With this traffic, the fastest we can arrive is 50 minutes. What should we do?"
"Do? What the hell can we do?! Launch a drone at least!"
With no better options, Jo watched as a guild member deployed a reconnaissance drone. Moments later, the operator stammered, "G-Guild Master! You need to see this!"
Jo stormed over, scowling. "What? Is it that bad?"
"No... it’s..."
The monitor displayed an impossible scene—a lone figure tanking all five D-rank monsters simultaneously.
"That’s... impossible," Jo muttered. Even Korea’s top-ranked tank Lee Dae-soo—who’d been napping in a corner until hearing his name—jolted awake. "The hell? That’s Choi Joon-hyuk! He just awakened as a C-rank!"
Jo’s jaw dropped. "A first-stage Awakened tanking five D-ranks? Bullshit!" But as the drone zoomed in, reality proved undeniable. While their convoy remained gridlocked, this rookie was singlehandedly staving off disaster through sheer, impossible skill.
Meanwhile at ground zero:
ROOOAR!
Joon-hyuk gritted his teeth against the relentless assault. "Fuck... this is brutal." Without his enhanced core level, Speed Master skill, and hyperawareness, he’d have died instantly.
After stunning two monsters for a brief respite, he barely dodged the others’ attacks. "Damn it... no openings to copy skills with five of them." His head throbbed from overusing hyperawareness—a strain that normally lasted hours against one monster now draining him within thirty minutes.
"Where the fuck is Taebaek Guild?!" he roared between earth-shaking blows that hammered home his first-stage limitations.
On a nearby rooftop:
A fearless streamer broadcasted live: "SEE THIS SHIT?! FIVE D-RANKS SOLO-TANKED! I’M RISKING MY LIFE FOR THIS FOOTAGE—DONATE NOW!"
His chat exploded:
[WTF IS THIS?!]
[No way even A-rank 3rd Awakeneds could do this]
[Lee Dae-soo couldn’t pull this off]
[New S-rank??]
[HOW’S HE DODGING ALL THAT?!]
The nation watched in awe as Joon-hyuk’s impossible stand went viral.
