I will be the Strongest

Chapter 1

Resting upon the majestic feathers of a gigantic phoenix, the creature that produces one of the most intense and devastating flames in all of existence, a smiling individual—until that moment, the only human in that place—expressed, "This is so good…" The timbre of their voice, with its undeniable natural beauty, could be compared to the most harmonious of songs.

Although the words spoken from their lips were brief and unpretentious, without a trace of effort or grand intention, for many, it would be absolutely enchanting. "So cozy…"

"You truly are a uniquely strange being. I can't imagine anyone else expressing something similar about these flames." After lowering her head to the ground and continuing to watch her fledglings fly far away, the phoenix said, "…Thank you…"

"Huh?"

"I know I've said this before, but still, thank you for everything."

"No need to thank me; you've been part of the family for a long time."

The person stood up and walked to the edge of the mountain peak where they stood—the highest on the entire planet. They stretched their body and whistled. "Besides, I know that if I'm ever not here, you'll do the same for him."

As the two fledglings flew rapidly toward them, the person leaped and appeared in front of the phoenixes in an instant. Soon, all three of them crisscrossed the entire sky, leaving trails of fire wherever they went due to their uncontrollable powers.

As the sunset unfolded, the number of marks left by the phoenixes, both in the sky and on the ground, continued to increase. "Who's hungry?" After the question, two small explosions occurred in the sky, both with an obvious meaning.

"Let's descend, you little troublemakers. Your older brother will clean up this mess while I find something for you to eat."

"What? But I just left the room…" gasped the young man, lying on the grass, gazing at the bright blue and vibrant yellow flames in the sky.

The one who had been so far away in the sky appeared next to him in an instant. "So you want to fetch Earendel?" she asked.

His response? A brief sigh.

"Why did it have to be this…" he muttered to himself. "No… I'll fix it; it's easier, I think."

After retrieving something from his pants pocket, the person sat on the grass next to his brother. Opening his hand, a small, condensed red ball appeared. The ball began to expand, growing rapidly and rising toward the heavens, joining the fledglings.

"You…" he sat back, shaking his head in surprise. He had already accepted that he'd been fooled. "Next time, that won't work," he promised.

"You said you'd fix it…" the girl lay on the grass, observing the phoenixes as they ate. "So don't take too long. I put a lot of effort into creating this place, only for it to be destroyed in the end because of a prank."

As he walked away toward the flames, the young man whispered, "You should stop playing, especially tag…" He looked down at one of the enormous holes surrounded by flames. "In what world is something like this caused by a simple game…?"

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Time: 12:30

Date: May 26

"12:30…" Hye murmured to himself. "Still 30 more minutes."

Even though he had been awake since four in the morning, watching the melancholic rain fall—rain that seemed to have no intention of stopping, not because it was common or necessary, but because, for the first time in his life, he was too anxious to keep his head on the pillow for more than five minutes. Looking up at the dark sky, Hye smiled.

As Hye slipped his phone into his pants pocket, he continued forward toward his goal—the reason for his smile: to experience stepping through a portal at least once.

With five minutes remaining until he reached his destination, something strange happened.

Being an Awakened, his senses were much sharper than those of ordinary people. It wasn't just about seeing or hearing; he could feel anything approaching within a 50-centimeter radius of his body and, with his speed, prevent anything he didn't want to happen. But not this time.

A girl who had been imperceptible until the moment their bodies touched suddenly appeared, running under his umbrella.

"Excuse me," she said, smiling naturally as she looked into his eyes. "Could you give me a ride to a place where I can buy an umbrella?"

Her indescribable beauty, simply breathtaking, left even Hye—a man considered an ice-cold individual—speechless. For some unknown reason, his heart raced for the first time in his life. His mind went blank, but his eyes remained fixed on that vision. He was in a complete trance.

"Uh... hello?" Confused, the girl stepped back. "Are you okay? Is everything all right?"

Met with silence, she awkwardly smiled and took another step back.

"Apologies..." she said, bowing. "I must have been rude. Don't worry; I'll leave right away."

Before the girl could run back into the rain, an alarm sounded. Startled, Hye snapped out of his brief trance.

He immediately checked his phone: "12:59." Quickly, he put it away and prepared to leave, but for some reason, that vision held him back. The more-than-perfect blue eyes—more than just beautiful, they seemed to hold the entire universe—looked at him with confusion, making him shudder momentarily.

Hye hesitated. Clenching the umbrella's handle, he watched as the girl turned to leave. In an instant, Hye vanished, but the umbrella remained over the unsuspecting girl.

"Did you see, Mom?" a little girl asked, holding her mother's hand. "The handsome man disappeared, but..."

Before she could finish, her mother interrupted. "Forget it! And stop staring at other people's lives." She continued walking with the girl by her side.

"Hmm..." Holding the black umbrella left by Hye, the girl turned and glanced back.

"That speed... So he was an Awakened?" Without looking again, she resumed her original path, using the unexpectedly gifted umbrella. "Strange..."

With only three kilometers separating Hye from his destination, time felt scarce. Less than a minute remained.

He pushed forward, feet pounding the ground in a steady rhythm, never allowing himself to look back. Yet her image remained vivid in his mind—the enchanting smile, those eyes so dazzling they defied reality, and the golden, wet hair clinging to her face.

Hye's constant longing to touch her, to draw her closer, filled every thought during those precious four minutes. But her beauty extended beyond the eyes where stars—or perhaps galaxies—danced. It was so intense that it seemed to defy earthly existence. For a brief moment, Hye wondered if even angels could be so beautiful or if her uniqueness transcended them all.

Sprinting through the streets of Seoul, Hye arrived at his destination ahead of schedule, with ten seconds to spare.

It was a normally bustling street near famous shops. But now, it was nearly deserted.

Dozens of people were already waiting there for Hye. They were all Awakened—individuals of different ages, but none younger than 18.

"It seems the last participant has arrived," said a man around 25 years old, passing by the others and positioning himself at the front. "Get ready; we'll start the final test soon."

The tension in the air was palpable; some even prayed silently. But in a world where power meant everything, where victory was solely a result of one's ability, faith wouldn't help anyone—especially not on ordinary days.

Hye glanced around. People began pulling weapons from their inventories: swords, daggers, bows and arrows, and even a few shields. Those who brought shields too heavy to be wielded with one hand seemed the most nervous. After all, unlike those who could freely use a weapon, they relied entirely on others' abilities to protect them.

Hye observed as people finished donning their armor. Some sets were overly flashy, while others appeared as durable as a common shirt.

With each step, his heart raced. Every drop of sweat made breathing more difficult. His mind cleared. In that moment, he even forgot about the girl who had previously enchanted him. After passing a young woman wearing red armor and carrying a bow and arrow, Hye finally reached the reason why that street was so empty—a sight he had only glimpsed in the background of photos and videos.

A portal.

The white energy shaping it was untouchable and imperceptible to normal people and even most hunters.

Compared to the total number of hunters, few could sense and touch a portal with their hands. Even fewer could simply close a portal at will. They were known as irregulars—those who never relied on the system. But the most powerful among them, the one who could close all portals worldwide with a snap of their fingers and end all chaos, abstained from intervening.

Once again, strange and confusing feelings overwhelmed Hye—emotions he had never experienced before.

It wasn't fear. Hye had spent the previous night researching emotions, trying to understand what he felt. It wasn't anxiety; he was certain of that. It was something different, something no emotion he had researched could explain. Similar to what he had felt moments before with the girl. A whirlwind of emotions. A mixture of feelings he had never read about or heard of, and that no one could ever explain.

For a brief moment, tears welled up in his eyes. The emotions were intense, not uncomfortable like the night before, but incredibly strong. Yet, as quickly as they came, they dissipated.

"Are you all done? Are you ready?" asked the man in charge of the test, standing before the portal. "I'll explain how this final test will work, so pay attention."

According to him, the dungeon was a cave inhabited by goblins—one of the weakest creatures among all monsters. Goblins were often used as a "test" for beginner hunters. The excursion's goal was to kill all the goblins and close the portal, while also testing the participants' skills. It was literally the first raid for everyone taking the test, and for some, perhaps the last¹.

Everyone would be divided into groups of ten members. Hye was in Group 3, along with the unknown woman wielding a bow and arrow and wearing red armor. Three men—two middle-aged and one young—carried shields. The young man was the only one with a shield too heavy to be used with one hand. In Hye's mind, an obvious hindrance. A young woman and two men—one slightly older and another appearing to be around thirty—carried longswords. Two more young individuals wielded two daggers each, unlike Hye, who only had one. One of these young men, by the way he acted—playing around while others were desperate for their lives, swinging his daggers clumsily, and wearing overly flashy armor—made Hye think, "Another one..."

After all the groups assembled, Group 1 entered the portal. Moments later, it was Group 2's turn. And then Group 3.

Each group was supposed to act independently; after all, even eight Rank E hunters wouldn't be necessary to clear a goblin dungeon. That is, as long as they remembered that goblins posed no threat when alone. But together, it was a different story. A group of goblins with a leader could even be fatal for a hunter at the beginning of Rank D; in such cases, combat was not advisable.

Upon entering the portal, everyone marveled. However, Hye noticed something strange: no group had separated; the portal behind them vanished; and worse yet, they weren't in a cave.

Trees at least 15 meters tall surrounded them, blocking their view of the sky. The grass under their feet bore strange marks, as if something about twice the size of a normal human constantly dragged itself across that area—a creature with a serpent's body but human hands and sharp claws.

This wasn't a Rank E dungeon, and when everyone realized that, chaos erupted.