Chapter 27 – B Rank (Part Two)

The creature leaped high, practically flying toward them, and the golem’s massive fist shot out toward the monster.

Crack! With a single blow, one of the golem’s arms was completely torn in two.

Then it hurled its spear once more.

This time, the attack was aimed directly at Il-hyeon.

Boom!

Il-hyeon raised his sword and deflected the spear just slightly, and it slammed into the ground right beside him with a tremendous crash.

Il-hyeon reached out and gripped the spear embedded in the earth.

But if he was trying to steal its weapon, it was a futile effort.

The creature recalled the black spear, and Il-hyeon’s strength wasn’t enough to hold it back.

Thwack! The spear flew back into the monster’s hand.

Instead, the skin on Il-hyeon’s right hand was torn away, and blood began to flow.

Having retrieved its weapon, the monster completely shattered the golem’s head from mid-air.

The golem lost its balance and tilted, and the monster thrust its spear down at Il-hyeon from above.

The sharp tip of the spear closed in on him.

Clang!

Il-hyeon swung his sword and met the attack head-on, and the black spear snapped in two.

When its spear broke, the monster froze in place, bewildered.

It felt the impact through its hand; it was impossible that the spear could break from such a meager force.

But Il-hyeon, as if he had expected this, smiled and swung his sword at the monster’s neck.

In that fleeting moment when he had gripped the creature’s spear, he had used his Transformation ability to weaken the weapon’s durability.

Shunk!

The monster barely managed to catch his attack with its bare hands.

Blood poured from the monster’s hand, which was now half-severed.

Il-hyeon applied more and more pressure, and the creature was forced to its knees as it struggled to resist.

The monster’s and Il-hyeon’s eyes met once again.

Even in this situation, the creature’s eyes were filled with hatred and murderous intent, all directed at him.

“Just… die!”

Il-hyeon shouted, and at the same time, a giant snake appeared from behind the creature and swallowed it whole.

Craaaash!

The massive snake, transformed from a three-story building, slammed into the ground, kicking up an enormous cloud of dust and debris.

Il-hyeon managed to step back, and only after the dust settled could he see the monster’s shredded corpse.

“Hoo…”

Il-hyeon let out a sigh.

A deep sense of exhilaration and accomplishment, one he hadn’t felt in a while, washed over him.

Meanwhile, Lee Soo-yeon leaped over a building and approached.

As she landed, she looked back and forth between the fallen ace monster and Il-hyeon, her face a mask of astonishment.

“You took it down… by yourself?”

“I got lucky.”

Il-hyeon said.

His words weren’t just simple modesty.

The B-rank monster was stronger than he’d expected, and this was only possible because his abilities had worked properly.

“By the way, I chipped a tooth. Think this will be covered by worker’s comp?”

Il-hyeon said, touching the spot where a molar was missing with his index finger.

It must have hit a nerve; the stinging sensation was unpleasant.

The part of his face that had been struck was even starting to swell a little.

“Well… yeah. I’ve had a few knocked out myself. They usually grow back in a day.”

These days, even if you lost a few teeth, a couple of pills could make them grow back. It wasn’t a big deal.

The only problem was that the medicine was a bit expensive.

Still finding the situation hard to believe, Lee Soo-yeon glanced around before asking Il-hyeon a question.

“How long has it been since you had your last Awakened evaluation?”

“Hmm… about two weeks, I think. Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Haha… I think you’ll need to get another one.”

Lee Soo-yeon let out a hollow laugh, as if in disbelief.

* * *

The employee precision evaluation room in the basement of Aegis.

A day had passed since the operation in the Philippines.

Through the glass window, Il-hyeon had his eye to a machine, measuring his kinetic vision.

This was Il-hyeon’s second Awakened evaluation, and he went through the various tests without any awkwardness.

Strength, agility, judgment, and so on.

The evaluation ranged from simple measurements to simulations using virtual reality.

Aegis used its own custom-developed equipment, which produced more accurate results with a smaller margin of error than other specialized testing centers or government facilities.

Of course, it also took a lot more time.

After a few tests were completed, there was a short break, and Il-hyeon lay down on a long bench.

The staff member in charge of the evaluation stepped out of the room for a moment.

Lee Soo-yeon and Jeong Jin-seong were waiting for him, having just finished a brief internal meeting.

“So, how’s it going?”

“It’ll be close, but with these numbers, it looks like he could even make it into B-rank. Every aspect has improved dramatically since his first evaluation. We’ll have to wait until all the tests are done to be sure, though.”

The staff member said, clicking his tongue in amazement.

At his words, Lee Soo-yeon smiled with satisfaction, while Jeong Jin-seong let out a dry laugh.

“Already? No way. Isn’t this the time when he should still be getting the hang of things?”

It had been less than two weeks since he joined an Aegis team and was deployed on a mission.

In that amount of time, it wasn’t uncommon for even Awakened who were aces at other companies to struggle to adapt to the suddenly higher level of monsters.

But for Il-hyeon, who was far from an ace and had no experience besides being a Scavenger, to have grown enough to jump an entire Awakened rank was a story hard to believe unless you saw it with your own eyes.

“It seems to be thanks to his ability…”

“You mean that Predation ability you mentioned before?”

Lee Soo-yeon nodded in response to his question.

“I didn’t think it was anything special. It’s not like that type of ability is new.”

Jeong Jin-seong tilted his head, expressing his doubt.

He had seen many abilities similar to Predation before.

This rather grotesque ability—devouring the flesh and innards of hunted monsters to absorb their power—was well-known not only to him but to the general public as well.

However, despite its notoriety, it was only a D-rank ability, and the growth gained from devouring monsters wasn’t all that significant.

There were also side effects, like one’s skin and appearance gradually changing for the worse.

From the perspective of Jeong Jin-seong, who wanted for nothing, it was the kind of ability he wouldn’t particularly want even if it were offered to him for free.

He was far more interested in the Summoning or Transformation abilities than Predation.

Both of those abilities had a wide range of applications and were highly effective.

Summoning-type abilities, in particular, were so rare they were almost never seen.

But Lee Soo-yeon, who knew a bit more about Il-hyeon’s ability, had a different opinion.

“It’s fundamentally different. He absorbs Ether, the very core of the monsters. And it seems to affect him mentally as well.”

“Mentally?”

When he asked, Lee Soo-yeon explained what had happened in Ulsan.

The events of Il-hyeon’s first mission with Aegis, the time he had shown her a different side of his Predation ability.

As he listened to the story, Jeong Jin-seong began to nod, starting to understand.

“So that’s what made the difference?”

Even if he was on the cusp of B-rank, that didn’t necessarily mean he could defeat a B-rank monster.

The different monster affinities, abilities, patterns, and unexpected situations.

The higher the rank of the monster, the more variables emerged in real combat compared to a test.

Experience as an Awakened was what allowed one to handle those overflowing variables, and the difference in experience often decided the outcome of a fight.

But what if the Predation ability mentally bridged that gap in experience?

And since it even completely negated the monster’s special ability, he had a real chance of winning.

“In that case, how was he able to use his abilities?”

“I have no idea about that part. Maybe he was just lucky…”

Lee Soo-yeon shrugged and shook her head.

Jeong Jin-seong, with his A-rank ability, had his powers blocked as well.

Just because an ability’s rank was one step higher didn’t mean it would be immune to a monster’s power.

Unless the difference was overwhelming, of course.

“Anyway, his growth rate is truly legendary.

I thought it would take months for him to pull his weight as a team member. At this rate, maybe he’ll be leading his own team by next year?”

Jeong Jin-seong said, chuckling.

At Aegis, it was standard practice for an Awakened who had worked as a team member to be given their own team once they reached A-rank.

Of course, the difference between A-rank and B-rank was night and day, but Lee Soo-yeon didn’t bother to deny his words.

“Maybe… I never imagined he’d be able to take down a B-rank monster on his own.”

A solo kill of a B-rank monster.

That was what Il-hyeon had accomplished yesterday.

Aegis had received dozens of calls asking to confirm if the record posted on the site was a typo.

Not only outside, but within Aegis as well, the newly emerged rookie became quite the hot topic.

They said a late-blooming prospect who could rival Lee Tae-hee had joined Alpha Team.

However, Il-hyeon himself didn’t seem to notice.

“It makes you wonder where his limit is.”

Jeong Jin-seong muttered.

His growth rate was incredibly fast thanks to his growth-specialized Predation ability, but that alone wasn’t enough.

Normally, one would eventually hit a limit.

Of course,

normally.

* * *

‘B-rank!’

Il-hyeon clenched his fist as he walked out of the evaluation room, holding the results sheet.

He had actually achieved a rank that had seemed so distant.

And in an incredibly short amount of time.

He was basically on the borderline between B and C, but even so, this pace was completely beyond his expectations.

For an Awakened, there was no better feeling than this, and Il-hyeon walked with a spring in his step.

“Oh, hey. How’d it go?”

As Il-hyeon entered the underground training room, Ghost, who was wiping sweat with a towel, greeted him.

The mask that covered his face was tossed to the side.

“I got B-rank.”

Il-hyeon smiled and unfolded the results sheet, and Ghost’s eyes widened.

“Whoa, I knew you were something special from the moment we met, but this is incredible! You should buy me a drink.”

“You’re always saying you’re busy, how can you ask me to buy you a drink?”

“We’re getting dispatched in a few days anyway. We’ll probably be stuck together all day, so we’ll have plenty of time. It’s perfect.”

“Ah… that’s right.”

Due to the fast rotation system at Aegis, it was soon Alpha Team’s turn to be dispatched.

They said they would be on standby overseas for about one or two weeks, deploying whenever an urgent Gate appeared, which made it difficult for team members to be far apart from each other.

He had heard it could be a bit inconvenient, but since it was his first time going abroad, he was also a little excited.

Excluding the times he’d gone abroad for operations, where he’d seen nothing but monsters and ruins.

“Let’s spar. I want to see how much you’ve improved.”

Ghost suggested, jumping to his feet.