Chapter 5

Chapter 5

GRRRK!!

“It definitely looks solid.”

Chang-sik turned his gaze over his left hand, now completely sheathed in a massive layer of rock, examining it from every angle.

The first skill he obtained by making use of his Trait was [ Rock Arm ].

It didn’t merely turn the limb to stone. Instead, a hardening substance exuded from it, solidifying in an instant into something unyielding.

“If I use this right, it could be useful for restraints too.”

It didn’t merely turn the limb to stone. Instead, a hardening substance exuded from it, solidifying in an instant into something unyielding.

He immediately activated another skill, one he had just acquired from Gu Chi-sung, channeling it through his right hand.

Krr-BOOM!

A small flame flared up centered on his right hand, followed by a brief, contained shockwave bursting outward.

The power to detonate space itself struck Chang-sik as something extraordinarily useful in terms of sheer versatility, and his head nodded almost unconsciously.

“I like it.”

There was no doubt about it [ Modification ] operated on an entirely different axis from ordinary Traits.

Above all else, the fact that it allowed him to obtain three desired Traits made it clear that the ability he possessed lay far outside standard parameters.

Hah… so just like the system said, are true heroes really predetermined?

By the time the thought crossed his mind, Chang-sik had already descended the stairs. Leaving the first-floor lobby behind, still scarred by the fierce battle that had raged only moments before, he headed straight out of the building.

FWOOM!

Flames blazed before Chang-sik, and the acrid stench of sulfur burned his nose.

“Kyaaah!! Someone save me!”

BOOM!!

Screams and thunderous explosions erupted from all directions. Chang-sik carefully moved toward the source of the noise, tracking it step by step.

“Hahh…”

As he followed the outer wall of the building, he finally saw it. With its back to the structure and facing the academy garden, Flame Spewer stood there, blasting torrents of fire outward.

And scattered around the creature lay several fallen survivors.

“Ghk! P-please… save me….”

Ignoring their pain-filled screams, Flame Spewer stared at the hellscape he had created and twisted his lips into a grotesque grin.

overwhelming heat.

Drip

Sweat began to stream down Chang-sik’s entire body.

Then, at that moment, one of the collapsed students noticed Chang-sik and frantically waved a trembling hand.

“H-help me!”

At that cry, the other survivors turned their eyes toward Chang-sik, clinging to him with thread-thin hope.

And then disappointment set in.

“Damn it…! That’s Kim Chang-sik!”

“Kim Chang-sik or whoever, just help us!!”

“Idiot, that guy’s a non-awakened!”

“N-no, that’s not true. He used a Trait earlier.”

Drawn by their noisy shouts, Flame Spewer turned around and fixed its gaze on Chang-sik.

“Hmm?”

Then, as he studied his face, he tilted his head, puzzled.

“Hmmm.”

“…….”

As if on the verge of recognition but not quite there, it slowly stroked its chin.

“Ah, damn. What was it…?”

He scratched his head, irritation written across his face, as if the memory simply refused to surface.

In the end, the Flame Spewer, still wearing an expression that said it had no idea at all, addressed Chang-sik directly.

“You… who are you?”

“…Kim Chang-sik.”

At that answer, he pulled a smartphone from inside his coat and began tapping at it insistently.

Then he flicked his gaze back and forth between the screen and Chang-sik’s face a few times before speaking.

“Not on the list.”

An unidentified villain who had been waiting nearby immediately stepped up beside him

“Someone who isn’t on the list doesn’t need your attention.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Considering what just happened, there’s a good chance professional heroes will be swarming in soon. It’d be best to kill Gu Chi-sung and withdraw.”

From the beginning, the objective of Sprout-Stomping had been exactly what the name implied; a terror attack aimed at promising hero candidates.

And the name Kim Chang-sik was not on the list.

“You heard him, right? I’ll spare you, specially. So get lost.”

Flame Spewer even waved its hand dismissively, as if shooing away an annoyance.

Seeing that, the survivors reached out desperately toward Chang-sik.

“Take me with you too!!”

“M-me as well!!”

Flame Spewer looked down at them in silence and then broke into a grotesque grin.

“You’re on the list, so no you don’t get to go.”

The survivors’ faces filled with despair.

That despair soon twisted into anger, and all of it was directed at Chang-sik.

“Fuck!! Who the hell do you think you are?!”

“If you’re going to live, don’t do it alone… take me with you!”

And as Chang-sik quietly watched the entire spectacle unfold…

“How ridiculous.”

A hollow laugh slipped from his lips.

At the sound of that laughter, Flame Spewer’s gaze snapped back to him.

“Hmm?”

“Who do you think you are, telling me to run or stay?”

His voice dropped low and heavy.

Chang-sik’s eyes, gleaming with killing intent, locked onto him.

“…What?”

“I came here to capture you.”

Flame Spewer’s brow creased instinctively.

“You crazy bastard… I was ready to let you live. Not anymore.”

It immediately signaled for the other members of the organization beside it to fall back.

“Hey, boy. Being gutsy is fine but when you’re given a chance, you take it.”

The creature puffed out its cheeks, settling into its distinctive preparatory stance.

Chang-sik opened his mouth with a smile.

“are you still scared of fire?”

“…!!”

The sight of him freezing up, cheeks puffed out as confusion overtook his face, was downright comical.

With a refreshingly bright smile on his lips, Chang-sik lunged forward.

Wham!

He swung his arm at the nearest member of the organization.

“Full Burst!”

A small flame flickered from his sweeping hand and then a powerful shockwave exploded outward.

Bang!

Struck by the blast, the man was flung into the air, crashing against the fire barrier Flame Spewer had conjured, before melting into nothing.

“Aaaargh!!”

Everyone who witnessed it was visibly shaken.

Chang-sik moved without the slightest hesitation.

The physical gap between him and them was obvious.

Which meant at that moment where they were caught off guard, was Chang-sik’s greatest opportunity.

As Chang-sik rapidly closed the distance, Flame Spewer pulled his body sharply backward, jaw gaping wide.

BLORRGH!!

Once again, that bizarre sound rang out as a thick, viscous flame was unleashed.

But Chang-sik, having already predicted its trajectory, dodged Flame Spewer’s fire with ease.

He unleashed Full Burst again and again, driving the scattered members of the organization back toward the fire barrier .

“Hahh—Hahh!”

His breath climbed all the way up his throat.

From just that brief exchange of movement, Chang-sik’s stamina had already reached its limit.

Without hesitation, he activated Full Burst in his right hand and began charging it, as if gathering energy into a single point.

Seeing him panting, the Flame Spewer let out a mocking laugh.

“For someone who was acting so bold, you’re already worn out, huh?”

Taking a deep breath, Chang-sik answered.

“Hoo…! You talk too much, always the same.”

“…You. Do you really know me?”

Ignoring the question, Chang-sik swung his right arm in a wide arc, releasing the fully charged Full Burst he had been holding back.

BOOM!

A sphere about the size of a soccer ball shot straight toward his face.

But it wasn’t fast certainly not fast enough to catch someone like him off guard.

SWISH…

The Flame Spewer sidestepped the Full Burst with ease, a sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

“Stupid bastard. This is the end—!”

But the words died in his throat as an intense heat surged up from behind him.

“W-what the hell is this?!”

Full Burst was, quite literally, a power that detonated space itself.

And the result of hurling Full Burst, charged to its absolute limit, directly behind them into the fire barrier , was devastating.

BOOOM!!!

It was enough to silence everyone present.

The sticky fire erupted with a massive explosion, engulfing Flame Spewer and the organization members.

FWOOSH!!!

Caught completely unprepared by the unexpected attack, the organization members’ screams began to echo.

“W-what is this?!”

“Aaaargh! Save me!”

The stench of burning flesh mixed with sulfur filled the air, while a thick black smoke swallowed everything in its path.

Watching the scene unfold, the group of survivors stared at Chang-sik in sheer disbelief.

“A-amazing….”

“That was insane… what just happened?”

“Damn…! I knew we could trust you!”

FWOOSH

As time passed, the screams faded away, and the thick, viscous flames that had flared up so violently began to die down little by little.

“Hahh…!”

Chang-sik’s head spun, a sharp ping rang through his skull.

“Ghk….”

Sensing something trickling beneath his nose, he hastily grabbed the bridge of it.

The price of overexerting his power was unmistakable.

Ding!

Damn it. I can’t afford to collapse yet….

And then, at that very moment…

FWOOOOSH!!

A sticky torrent of flame burst through the fiery pit.

“…!!”

Expecting that Flame Spewer might still be standing, Chang-sik barely managed to hurl himself to the side, narrowly evading the attack.

“Ghk!!”

From within the inferno, Flame Spewer emerged, his body scorched in several places, he trudged forward step by step.

“Amazing….”

“Hah! So that still won’t do, huh?”

Flame Spewer twisted his lips into a bitter, biting grin.

“I don’t know if you really figured out my weak points, but it won’t matter.”

Raising both hands up to shoulder height, he deliberately displayed his intact body, as if to taunt Chang-sik.

“Wait… you’re not on the list, are you? And seriously, why the hell were the intel guys dealing with this earlier?!”

Irritation flared as he spat sharply to the side, clearly annoyed.

Then he turned his gaze back to Chang-sik and spoke again.

“…Either way, you’re going to die here.”

The Flame Spewer’s grin widened grotesquely, his cheeks puffed up ominously.

At the same time, Chang-sik tensed every muscle, gripping the moment with full alertness.

KRAAAAK!!

A deafening, ear-splitting sound tore through the air.

“Hm?”

Startled by the strange noise, Chang-sik scanned his surroundings.

The fire barrier, which had been raging so fiercely just moments ago, had suddenly weakened in intensity.

‘What the…?’

An unexpected presence had arrived, one even Chang-sik had not anticipated.

But thanks to that, Chang-sik couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Unaware of what was coming, Flame Spewer scanned its surroundings and muttered,

“…What was that sound just now?”

“What else? That was the real Achilles’ heel aimed right at you.”

“…What?”

The creature’s face twisted in bewilderment.

At that exact moment…

KABOOM!!

From behind it, bursting through the sticky fire barrier , someone leapt forward.

“Kraaaah!”

His entire body seemed engulfed in flames, glowing a fiery red.

It was Gu Chi-sung.

His fists, clenched tightly and glowing white-hot, shone like molten metal as he barreled forward.

“Damn…! That bastard!!”

The Flame Spewer spotted him and tried to unleash a stream of fire but he was a step too slow.

CRACK!!

Gu Chi-sung’s blazing white fist slammed deep into the creature’s abdomen.

“Ghk…!”

The force of the strike bent the Flame Spewer’s torso at a brutal 90-degree angle.

And with his fist still buried in the creature, Gu Chi-sung let out a tremendous shout.

“BOOOOM!!”

In an instant, light surged around his fist, exploding outward in a single, devastating blast.

KABOOM!!

The roar of the explosion shook the ground itself.

Flame Spewer, struck directly by the blast, was hurled at incredible speed, slamming grotesquely into the building wall.

CRASH!!!

“Ghk… Ghhk!!”

The fallen Flame Spewer writhed in agony, twisting its body in pain.

Though the Flame Spewer could unleash ferociously powerful flames and was completely immune to them, that absolute immunity applied only to flames he created itself.

And that was the first weakness of the organization’s executive, Flame Spewer, known only to Chang-sik at that moment.

The Heroic Life of the Greatest Villain Continues…