Seeing the petal monster—officially called "Atel"—was a first even for SooHyeok.
"About 2 meters tall just in petal height… with purple petals and tentacle-like arms…"
Each portal opens to a different world.
So while monsters may look similar, many have slightly different characteristics.
Atel was no exception.
Of all the known forms so far, none had been as massive as the one SooHyeok was currently facing.
Most Atels had petals under 1 meter in size and were closer to mid-tier monsters.
In fact, the highest rank ever given to a world featuring Atel was a Grade-4 classification.
"Looks like you'll be setting a new record today."
With a glint in his eye, SooHyeok smiled while holding Park Taejun in his arms.
Just then, a tentacle whipped through the air and slammed into the ground.
SooHyeok retreated using the Taeguk Eight-Directional Footwork , clicking his tongue.
"If it's a plant-type, a sword would be easier to deal with."
Barehanded, and with an ordinary person in his arms, the situation was far from ideal.
A typical Grade-6 Awakened would have chosen to flee under such conditions—freeing their hands first to prepare for battle.
But SooHyeok didn't have that luxury.
"Multiple presences on the other side."
It wasn't just Park Taejun.
Beyond the massive flower monster, SooHyeok sensed the presence of at least three or four more people not far away.
Going around would take too long.
"Will it break?"
As SooHyeok hesitated, another black vine cracked down like a whip from mid-air.
This one looked like it carried significant force.
"No, flowers are meant to be broken."
Dodging the vine, SooHyeok surged forward.
"W-Whoa!"
Startled by the sudden burst of speed, Park Taejun screamed.
Meanwhile, another hidden vine suddenly burst from below SooHyeok's feet in a sharp, spear-like form.
It was unexpected, but SooHyeok lightly leapt and landed atop the sharp vine as if it were solid ground.
"Soaring Flight ??: Sangbi "
A high-level movement technique allowing one to walk even on the thinnest of leaves.
This wasn't a technique just anyone could pull off.
Only those at a transcendent level could even mimic it.
SooHyeok did so by amplifying his internal energy through his middle dantian, harnessing a profound level of enlightenment and drawing on the ultimate martial art Taeguk Eight-Directional Footwork.
It wasn't perfect—more of an imitation—but it was more than enough.
Even the tightly packed vine attacks of Atel were rendered ineffective by it.
The distance quickly closed.
Park Taejun's nose was assaulted by a now-familiar rotting stench.
Gyaaaaah—!
Atel shrieked, thick yellow drool dripping menacingly from its gaping maw.
As it extended its neck to swallow SooHyeok whole—
"Taeguk Eight-Directional Footwork."
Just like with Kim Yoomin, SooHyeok passed through Atel's petals, arriving in front of its extended neck.
"Taepungak Ultimate Move: Sky-Piercing Strike ."
Taepungak is a leg technique developed to strike the wind.
And wind, by nature, is formless.
Yet the technique meant to strike formless wind crashed into the very solid neck of the plant-like monster.
Crack!
The sound of tearing and snapping echoed as Atel's flower-stalk neck was broken.
Gyaaaaah—!
As the shriek stabbed at his ears, more vines shot up from the ground in a desperate counterattack.
But SooHyeok was no longer there.
Executing Taeguk Eight-Directional Footwork once more, SooHyeok rose into the air behind Atel's half-broken neck.
"Windbreaker."
His raised leg delivered another powerful strike with Taepungak.
Boom!
Atel's massive body crumbled and crashed into the ground.
No more screams. No more movement.
As SooHyeok, eyes cold, prepared to rush forward again—
"Wait a moment!"
A voice called out from behind him.
It was Han Taemin.
SooHyeok didn't know his name, but he remembered that this man had been waiting outside with Kim Yoomin.
"I'll take over from here!"
Nodding in acknowledgment, SooHyeok asked Park Taejun:
"Can you walk?"
"Y-Yes. For now…"
Still stunned by the insane speed and intense action, Park Taejun nodded with his mouth hanging open.
As SooHyeok set him down and prepared to move on—
"Ah, wait!"
Han Taemin stopped him again, tossing over the sword from his belt.
SooHyeok caught the airborne longsword by its hilt.
"Use it! It should work well against Atel!"
"Thank you."
SooHyeok smiled at him and vanished.
Han Taemin, amazed by his astonishing movements, turned to Park Taejun, who was clutching a plastic container tightly.
He took Taejun's hand.
"Are you alright? Any injuries?"
"Y-Yes. Thanks to you Awakened folks… Thank you so much for coming to save me."
Han Taemin smiled wryly at his words.
"Ah, don't embarrass me. You should thank that guy. I'm basically a toddler just learning to walk compared to him."
"No… Just being saved is enough. That alone is more than I could ask."
Tears streamed down Park Taejun's face.
***
'Roughly twenty people got pulled in.'
SooHyeok recalled.
When the portal opened, people had been sucked inside.
He couldn't count exactly, but he had a rough sense.
'I've only rescued one so far.'
The primary goal of the hunter is to locate the core device—the Cosmo Energy—somewhere within the world inside the portal and destroy it to close the portal.
So right now, SooHyeok must not defeat the boss monster.
The Cosmo Energy, essentially the massive heart sustaining a world, existed in countless forms—so many, in fact, that it was difficult to list them all.
Sometimes it looked like a common stone. Other times, it disguised itself as the most powerful lifeform in the dimension. Occasionally it took the shape of a sword, or even posed as a massive building. Generally, the more intelligent lifeforms a world had, the more cunningly the Cosmo Energy concealed itself. For hunters, it was always preferable when it took on a visible, obvious form.
In these cases, defeating the boss monster meant eliminating the strongest entity in the world.
In other words—it could mean destroying the Cosmo Energy.
And if luck wasn't on your side, the destruction of the core would instantly trigger the collapse of the entire world.
A world falling apart into chaos and ruin.
For ordinary people, escaping under such conditions was nearly impossible.
That's why SooHyeok's first priority was to rescue every survivor.
Just then, he spotted four people gathered together up ahead.
Three men and one woman.
The men looked fairly fit—maybe they'd worked out—and they each held crude wooden clubs that looked like makeshift weapons.
They stood close together, clearly relying on each other, while just in front of them stood two Atels—slightly smaller than the one SooHyeok had taken down earlier.
'I'm not too late.'
SooHyeok let out a breath of relief.
Atel was not a monster ordinary people could handle just because they picked up a club.
These four were only still alive because the Atels had been toying with them.
Despite being plant-type creatures, these monsters were sadistic—they played with human emotions.
SooHyeok was almost thankful for their arrogance.
He sprinted forward and grabbed one of the Atel's petals with both hands from behind.
Then, using his upper dantian, he channeled internal energy into his arms.
"Hup—!"
Rrrrip—!
The petal split in two with a sharp tear, and as he pulled, the monster's neck stem also tore apart. The halved Atel crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
The survivors stared, stunned.
"Grade-6 Hunter, Yang SooHyeok," he introduced himself.
That name and his overwhelming strength swept visible relief across their faces.
Even if they hadn't spoken, the pressure they'd felt moments ago must have been intense.
The remaining Atel also appeared startled when it noticed SooHyeok.
Its fellow had been shredded in a flash—it wasn't about to underestimate him.
SooHyeok smirked savagely and drew his sword.
'It's been a while since I've used this…'
As mentioned, SooHyeok preferred barehanded combat.
But that didn't mean he couldn't use weapons.
In fact, he had mastered sword techniques well above the norm.
As he dashed forward, he sliced an incoming black vine clean in two.
The sword's balance was better than expected.
'This could've been made by a top-tier blacksmith from the Phantom Continent.'
His surprise didn't end there.
The blade moved like an extension of his own arm.
SooHyeok couldn't help but enjoy wielding a sword of this quality again.
And before long, he had severed the other Atel's neck—and a notification sounded in his head.
Ding!
Your level has increased.
You have achieved Oneness with the Sword .
Sword energy transmission efficiency increased by 50%.
Cutting power increased by 30%.
"Nice."
SooHyeok smiled faintly and turned to the four people.
"I'll guide you to a safe zone."
He was pleased, but time was still against him.
***
By the time SooHyeok returned to where Park Taejun had been, Han Taemin had been joined by two more Awakened.
They stood stiffly, clearly on edge, but when they saw SooHyeok, they straightened up in alarm.
"Did you come to help us?"
"Yeah. Seems like nobody likes being treated like kids."
Han Taemin grinned as he spoke, and the two newcomers—a young man and woman who looked to be in their early twenties—nodded in unison.
"We'll be counting on you. We don't have much time," SooHyeok said with a warm smile.
Their stiff expressions eased slightly.
They were probably intimidated by him.
He had been pretty rough right before they entered the portal.
"Let's get the five of you to the exit first," Han Taemin said.
SooHyeok nodded.
"I'll go back in and rescue more people."
"Are you sure? You've already fought off multiple Atels…"
"I'm good. I think I can wrap this up cleanly."
SooHyeok raised his arm, flexing like he was showing off his strength, and the three others couldn't help but smile.
"Luckily, this world doesn't seem too large. I'll bring survivors back here as I find them."
"If there's only one rendezvous point, things might get messy. Let's each set a different contact point and coordinate," Han Taemin said, tapping the bronze-colored bracelet on his wrist.
Along with his license, a digital map expanded outward.
Amazingly, it displayed a rough layout of the terrain he'd traversed and marked their current location—like a classic strategy game slowly revealing its map.
"I'll send the locations of each person via license mail."
"Perfect. That'll make it much easier."
SooHyeok also tapped his bracelet to open his license.
Awakened bracelets had various features. SooHyeok knew that, but hadn't thought to use them fully—another sign he lacked field experience in some areas.
"Grade-6 Hunter… Yang SooHyeok," someone murmured.
The name rang a bell… but they couldn't quite place it.
As they tilted their head, SooHyeok and Han Taemin finished sharing license mail accounts.
"Then I'll get going again."
"Sorry we're not more help," Han Taemin said with a sheepish smile. "As you know, I'm not particularly cut out for direct combat…"
The two younger Awakened—who'd also just shared mail info with SooHyeok—looked a bit embarrassed too.
"Just the fact that you're stepping up means a lot. Right now, it's about rescuing people."
"We've got to show that crying kid over there how walking really works," SooHyeok joked.
The three burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Hehe."
"Alright, time to get moving. Let's all do our best!"
And so, the full-scale rescue operation began.