In the skies above South America, a man with black hair and black clothes soared through the air. His sharp features and blue eyes gave him a strikingly handsome appearance among men. It was none other than John Smith.
"It seems my speed has increased as well," John thought to himself with inner joy.
His battle with Silver had brought him great rewards — among them, the acquisition of the Hellfire skill, which had elevated his mastery over all other elements to an entirely new level.
His proficiency in wind magic and flight had reached a high tier, making his traveling speed far faster than before.
After leveling up by 150 levels and increasing his luck by 1,000,000 points, the number of monsters that attacked him without reason had slightly decreased. The greater effect, however, came from his level increase, which caused him to emit a more fearsome aura that intimidated nearby monsters.
After several hours, John reached his destination — a coastal nation in South America.
At once, anger and sorrow appeared on his face. The destruction here was several times worse than what Silver had caused. After all, Silver hadn't personally attacked the city — he merely commanded his followers.
The Kraken, however, personally attacked cities from time to time, and a single strike from it was enough to destroy an entire city.
Immediately, John began searching for survivors using his reconnaissance skill.
Ten minutes passed…
He found no one.
"Was I too late?" John blamed himself.
"No… perhaps they've already evacuated to another city far from here. If they did, that would be better."
"That would mean fewer casualties when the battle with this monster begins."
The Kraken was unlike any other creature. It was a unique monster — the only aquatic one of the disasters.
All sea creatures now obeyed its command. It had become the new King of the Ocean.
It was known that humanity had discovered more secrets of space than of the deep sea. No one knew what lived in the depths of the ocean — were they dangerous or not? Were they a threat to humanity or not?
"It seems my plans have changed a little… but I'll start by finding this monster first."
John flew toward the ocean, activating his reconnaissance skill at once.
But again, he found only a few sea monsters near the surface.
"What's going on? Did it change its target to another city… or did it dive into the deep sea?" John wondered in confusion.
"I need to find clues about its whereabouts. Luckily, there are still some monsters here."
These monsters were humanoid — their bodies human-like, but with fish-like faces and skin resembling that of sea creatures. Each held a trident, filled with killing intent.
They clearly hadn't come with good intentions.
There had been cases of humanoid races appearing — like elves and dwarves — who bore no malice.
Elves excelled in healing magic, while dwarves were masters of weapon forging.
John rushed toward the creatures and instantly killed them.
Afterward, he used his new skill — Memory Search.
"It seems I've gained a skill that'll help me deal with the Kraken indirectly," John thought.
He had once believed the system was affected by his bad luck, but after this moment, he began to reconsider.
John didn't just gain the monsters' crucial memories — events that had happened here, the number of humans killed — but also fragments of their lives and daily habits.
He now understood these creatures more deeply: their strengths, weaknesses, and behavior.
But his greatest reward was discovering their next destination.
John immediately flew in that direction, reaching it in less than five minutes.
Fortunately, according to the monsters' memories, humans had already begun evacuating the city, so casualties weren't high.
"It seems I arrived before the Kraken itself," John thought. His flight speed had become nearly supersonic, allowing him to arrive before the Kraken's forces.
But just as he thought that, he saw the Kraken's army emerging from the ocean.
The sea monsters began battling the Awakened who had prepared to face them.
The Awakened showed signs of exhaustion and bore many injuries.
From the memories John had obtained, this wasn't the first city they had attacked.
The Kraken's armies had been raiding city after city, forcing humans and Awakened to flee from one place to another, driving them to exhaustion.
"Don't fall back! We must hold these monsters off for as long as possible so civilians can escape!" a voice shouted.
It was the commander of the Awakened forces — a man with slightly dark skin, curly black hair, sharp features, and deep black eyes that radiated determination. Tall and muscular, his name was Oscar, an S-rank hunter from Brazil, level 280.
At first, the difference between ranks wasn't great, but what made it harder for lower ranks was the number of points gained per level.
Rank F: Average stat 15 — gains 1–2 points per level
Rank D: Average stat 30 — gains 1–2 points per level
Rank C: Average stat 45 — gains 2–3 points per level
Rank B: Average stat 60 — gains 3–4 points per level
Rank A: Average stat 75 — gains 3–4 points per level
Rank S: Average stat 100+ — gains 5–10 points per level
Though some ranks shared similar gain ranges, higher ranks leaned toward the upper end.
For instance, a Rank F Awakened had a 90% chance of gaining 1 point per level, while a Rank D had the same chance of gaining 2. The same logic applies to B and A ranks.
Rank advancement wasn't impossible either.
Reaching level 100 as Rank F, 200 as Rank D, 300 as Rank C, 400 as Rank B, and 500 as Rank A would allow one to promote their rank, though their stats would reset to the starting average of the new rank.
So if a Rank F Awakened reached level 100 and promoted, their stats would reset to Rank D's base (average of 30 per stat).
Many people avoided rank promotion because of this reset.
Only one Awakened had ever reached Rank S starting from Rank F through this system.
Still, anyone who managed that feat was without question an exceptional fighter.
No one knew if there was a rank above S. The higher one climbed, the harder leveling became. Most S-ranks never surpassed level 300.
John, despite being Rank S, gained only 5 points per level due to his bad luck.
The difference in strength between two S-ranks, even at the same level, often came down to their point gains — one might get 10 per level, while another only 5.
It was entirely determined by luck.
—Back to the present—
Oscar led the Awakened army, but they were under crushing pressure from the endless waves of monsters.
"It seems we'll have to retreat again," Oscar cursed internally as he watched the horde.
It wasn't that he couldn't handle an A-rank monster — the sheer numbers were simply overwhelming.
Only an army of Awakened, or one of the strongest Awakened in the world, could kill them fast enough to prevent the city from being overrun.
Oscar was powerful, but not powerful enough to turn the tide alone.
Just as he was about to order a retreat, a flash of light swept through the battlefield — monsters dying instantly in its wake.
"What's happening?! Who's killing them this fast?" Oscar shouted in shock as he saw a man cutting through the monsters with unbelievable speed.
It was John.
Before arriving here, he had forged a new sword. Though he possessed Susanoo's Blade, he intended to reserve it for fighting Yamata no Orochi.
Swords were classified into five ranks:
Common, Unique, Rare, Legendary, and Mythic.
The Susanoo blade was Mythic, while the sword John had forged was Legendary.
The difference was that Mythic weapons had their names recorded in historical or epic tales, whereas Legendary ones had not, preventing John's sword from ascending to Mythic rank.
John swung his sword from a distance, and hundreds of humanoid sea creatures were instantly slain.
He kept moving, cutting down wave after wave of monsters.
It was the largest horde he had ever faced — thousands upon thousands of enemies.
Combining his swordsmanship with his Lightning Speed skill, John annihilated the entire wave in less than five minutes.
"It seems this disaster commands the largest army, just as I expected," John thought.
The ocean held an endless supply of unknown creatures and resources to sustain them.
Their numbers were at least ten times greater than Silver's army.
"You there — mighty warrior, may I know your name?" Oscar approached John.
"You may call me John Smith," John replied respectfully.
"John Smith? Forgive me, but I've never heard that name before," Oscar said, puzzled. Despite John's overwhelming power, his name was completely unfamiliar.
"Don't worry, I'm just a newly awakened. Normally, you haven't heard of me," John answered honestly.
"In that case… you're not from here, are you? Are you external support?" Oscar asked, still suspicious — John's level seemed too low for his strength, and his weapon was at least of Legendary rank. But for now, John was helping, and that was all that mattered.
"You could say that," John replied with a faint smile.
"Then please, I beg of you — help us repel these waves!" Oscar pleaded. He had no other choice.
"That was my intention from the start. Otherwise, why would I be here?" John said with a light laugh.