Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster

The 3rd ranked guild in South Korea, ‘Seonghwa’.

The support team of Seonghwa was in an uproar.

“Team Leader!”

“…Yes, I see.”

The team members were all excited, but the support team leader, Yoo Chae-young, responded calmly.

The notification that had appeared earlier was still in front of her.

She couldn’t take her eyes off it for a while.

[One warrior has perfectly cleared an F+ level dungeon, ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’, and completely stopped the invasion of the World Tree!]

[As a tribute to his achievement, a ‘Blessing’ is granted to the surrounding area. Please congratulate him!]

“Perfect Clear three times in a row…?”

“Team Leader, now it’s sixth place in the world, right?”

“Four of those were from one person. And in Seoul, no less.”

“That’s amazing!”

The team clapped their hands.

But Yoo Chae-young’s forehead tensed, and her glasses gleamed.

“This is not the time to celebrate.”

“Huh? Oh no… her glasses! Workaholic mode!”

“Don’t celebrate, get to work and find him now!”

With that command, the team members quickly returned to their places.

“What’s the status?”

“Still nothing.”

“He hasn’t been found yet, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, what about the Perfect Clear?”

The S-rank Word Magician.

The one who shook South Korea to its core.

The number one candidate for recruitment.

But now, there was one more.

Another legendary talent.

The Perfect Clear.

“Still nothing…”

“Why? You just need to compare the dungeon records, right?”

“The thing is, the government is controlling the information.”

“What?”

“It seems like Section Chief Choi Young-ho is involved.”

“…That person again.”

Yoo Chae-young was South Korea’s top headhunter.

An expert in finding and recruiting awakened individuals.

And Choi Young-ho.

A name that was always mentioned alongside hers.

The key player who calmed the incident involving North Korean awakened individuals defecting.

“This time, we absolutely have to bring him to Seonghwa!”

Her glasses gleamed again.

She was always calm and composed as a team leader, but when it came to Seonghwa, she became emotional.

Make Seonghwa Great Again!

That was Yoo Chae-young’s motto.

A workaholic.

Her life started with Seonghwa and would end with Seonghwa.

“Wait. If it’s four consecutive Perfect Clears, how’s Korea’s progress right now?”

“Let me check~”

A team member hummed as they looked it up.

Progress.

Each country had to clear dungeons to fill its progress.

If they didn’t fill it?

The country would perish.

All of the country’s dungeons would collapse at once.

What nation could survive such a disaster?

The system was preventing the dungeon collapses.

Because a dungeon collapse was an invasion of the World Tree.

But the system’s power wasn’t infinite.

It couldn’t cover the entire Earth completely.

That’s why progress had to be filled.

They had to prove to the system that their country was worth protecting.

Both opened the progress screen at the same time.

[Global Progress Status]

United States (2 months 16 days remaining): 100%

China (29 days remaining): 100%

…

Japan (3 months 2 days remaining): 94.65805%

United Kingdom (2 months 6 days remaining): 92.00295%

South Korea (25 days remaining): 89.00045%

…

“9% increased! Just today!”

“Huh.”

A single Perfect Clear boosted the progress by 3%.

An insane figure.

“The whole country raised it by 80% over 5 months, but one person raised it by 9% in a single day…”

The deadline for progress was 6 months.

They had to complete 100% in that time.

Then, for the next 6 months, they had to fill another 100%.

South Korea had 25 days left.

But while the public worked hard to fill even the smallest decimal places…

The Perfect Clear raised it by 9% in one go.

An unprecedented talent.

Even Yoo Chae-young gulped.

And then she spoke up.

“…In the worst case, I can understand if Section Chief Choi takes him away.”

“Yes. As long as he doesn’t go to another country…”

This was the reason why the entire world was so focused on awakened individuals.

They were not only national assets but were directly tied to the survival of the nation.

South Korea was already anxious.

For years, the country had been experiencing a brain drain.

This caused a decrease in the speed of progress.

And most importantly, they had just witnessed the fall of North Korea.

Could anyone be more desperate than South Korea?

“Still! We must bring him into Seonghwa’s fold!”

“Yes!”

With the Perfect Clear awakened individual,

‘We can become the number one guild in South Korea.’

No, perhaps even world-class.

“Move out!”

“Yes!”

Make Seonghwa Great Again!

###

Kang hyun lay on the academy sofa.

Ding-ding-

The phone rang.

“Yes, Father?”

“I’m about to.”

What was that about?

“You called yesterday, and now you’re asking if I’m doing well? Just say you wanted to hear my voice.”

Kang hyun chuckled.

His father was unexpectedly amusing.

When he was Kyle, he was an orphan.

But this time, Kang hyun lived with his family.

‘I thought being an orphan was better.’

But that wasn’t the case at all.

This time, he was feeling the warmth of family for the first time.

At first, it felt strange.

Could they really be called family?

‘But, there really is someone in this world who thinks about me.’

Without sleeping.

Without eating.

Pouring everything into raising him.

He couldn’t deny it.

They were Kang hyun’s family.

Without a doubt.

“Who’s this?”

Through the phone, Kang hyun could hear his mom’s voice saying, ‘Don’t bother the kid with nonsense!’

The sound of her smacking his father’s back.

Smack!

He knew the academy had gone under.

He had even borrowed money.

So his parents had been worrying.

“Yeah, it’s going really well. I’ll start paying off the debt soon.”

“Yeah, things worked out. I’ll tell you more when I come home.”

He didn’t mention being awakened.

They would worry about that.

‘Not with the recent Hero Plaza collapse incident.’

There were no casualties, but the collapse of a gate in the middle of Seoul was a huge event.

Recently, the atmosphere had been one of heightened danger.

‘Especially with the still high fatality rate in the F-rank zones.’

He decided to wait until later to mention it.

The rank would rise quickly anyway.

“I’ll send you some pocket money.”

Her voice had changed.

It seemed she had snatched the phone from his father.

“Does it look like I’m someone who’d push myself?”

“…Where did you hear that?”

It seemed his mom had heard that he was being treated like a scam artist.

He looked at Aden, who was munching on snacks.

“Mm? What’s wrong?”

“…Apologies, my disciple. You’re really something.”

“Excuse me?”

He spoke into the phone again.

“Mom, the student I’ve been teaching just made it big, and the academy’s buzzing! I’ll bring her over.”

“Huh?”

Aden pointed at herself.

“Yeah, I’m busy helping him. Let’s talk later. Eat well, and I’ll send you some money for something nice to eat~”

He hung up.

“Uh-huh. Sorry, didn’t tell you beforehand.”

But Aden’s expression was far from worried.

“Did you just brag to your parents about me?”

“Brag? Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Heh.”

Her smile stretched wide.

Ah, he shouldn’t have worried so much.

“Ahem! Well, our Master wants to show off an ‘A-rank’ disciple, so as a disciple, I can’t act stingy, right?”

“Uh… sure.”

He wanted to smack her, but since he was the one asking for help, he held back.

“But won’t they be surprised if I bring an A-rank with me?”

“Oh, maybe.”

An A-rank was a bit too much.

They were considered a core national asset.

“Well, it’s better than them worrying about me after I awakened.”

“True.”

“Once I make a name for myself, you should come visit my family too.”

“Of course! I’ll never forget your kindness, Master! I’ll definitely visit you!”

What a good disciple.

Maybe he should buy her something.

“Are those snacks good?”

Aden, just as poor as Kang Hyun, devoured the snacks.

She was eating them as if she’d run out of food in one day.

“They’re delicious! I haven’t had these fancy foods in so long!”

She must have really been poor before.

“You never bought stuff like this, what changed?”

“Well, I awakened. Eat as much as you can. I’ll buy more with the mana stones.”

“Yes! I’ll even bring lunch with me!”

Although there was still some debt, once the mana stones were exchanged, it would be paid off.

‘Solo dungeon clearing earns way more than I expected.’

Without sharing with anyone else, he ate it all himself.

Although he didn’t have cash on hand, he had more leeway than before.

“Where’s the remote?”

“Huh? Didn’t they cut the line for not paying?”

“I applied yesterday.”

“Wow! I’ll go get the remote!”

Aden, excited, ran to get it like a dog fetching a stick.

“It’s been so long since I watched TV, not a phone!”

“Put it on.”

“Yes!”

As soon as it was turned on, the news came up.

Yesterday afternoon, a new A-rank was registered as a Korean Awakened.

“Oh! Who leveled up? Was it Oh Hyuk-Joon, the most likely B-rank Awakened?”

“No. It’s a new registration. Let’s take a look.”

“Oh, that’s me.”

“Kya!”

Aden turned up the volume in excitement.

…This is an unprecedented event. Foreign news outlets have expressed amazement at South Korea’s pool of talented individuals.

Aden suddenly thrust her phone at him.

“This is it!”

She’d already found the translated article.

After two rising stars, a new A-rank suddenly appeared.

Is the Korean Peninsula a treasure trove of talent?

Is the 21st century South Korea’s era?

“How do you feel?”

“Look at the article below too!”

The article had his name as well.

Huh?

Perfect Clear?

Why is that being mentioned?

‘I heard there were several Perfect Clears, but why is everyone making a fuss?’

He checked the reactions online.

└ S-rank, Perfect Clear, these two should be found quickly!

└ The management headquarters and the top 10 guilds, what are they even doing?

└ Let’s not miss them this time.

└ At least find one of them….

└ Whether it’s a guild or the country, finding them would make someone a national hero.

└ I can’t sleep, worried that an S-rank gate in Seoul might explode after North Korea’s situation.

The world saw them as two separate individuals.

An S-rank couldn’t even enter an F-graded dungeon.

‘But… the atmosphere is…’

Perfect Clears are clearly being evaluated as highly as S-rank.

‘Why is this happening?’

Something feels off.