The two burly corporate lackeys lunged forward like starving wolves, their fingers curved like claws as they reached for Min-jae’s shoulders. To them, Min-jae was just a scrawny kid who happened to find a flashy toy. They assumed that a coordinated physical assault would bring him to his knees instantly.

"Grab his arms! Strip the weapon!" Tae-hoon barked from the back, his face contorted with ugly, aristocratic greed. "Let’s see him talk big without his little knife!"

Min-jae didn’t even bother raising his newly acquired S-Rank blade. He stood perfectly stationary, his hands stuffed casually inside his pockets. A cold, mocking glint flickered deep within his eyes.

Idiots.

The heavier lackey, a former college wrestler weighing easily over two hundred and fifty pounds, slammed his entire body weight into Min-jae’s chest. Simultaneously, the second lackey grabbed Min-jae’s right arm, twisting it backward with full force.

Crack!

A sickening sound of bone fracturing echoed across the asphalt.

But the scream that followed didn’t come from Min-jae.

"Argghhhhh! My hands! My wrists!"

The heavy wrestler collapsed backward onto the pavement, clutching his forearms. His wrists had completely shattered upon impact, the bones splintering into his own muscle tissue as if he had run full speed into a solid steel mountain.

The second lackey fared even worse. The moment he tried to twist Min-jae’s arm, the Rank-SSS talent Eternal Vajra Deity Body flared to life.

[Received 180 points of physical damage. Damage negated.]

[Reflecting 90 points of True Damage to the attackers.]

Boomm!

An invisible, catastrophic force erupted from Min-jae’s skin. The second lackey’s entire right arm suddenly twisted in reverse, the elbow joint snapping outward with a gruesome spray of blood. True Damage completely ignored their physical defense parameters, tearing through their flesh from the inside out. He flew ten feet backward, crashing into a row of abandoned shopping carts, completely unconscious.

"W-What... what kind of magic trick is this?!" Tae-hoon staggered backward, his expensive leather shoes tripping over a piece of debris. His face turned an asymmetric shade of ghostly white. He hadn’t even seen Min-jae move a finger, yet his two prime enforcers were completely dismantled.

Min-jae slowly took his hands out of his pockets. He stepped forward, his boots crushing a piece of broken glass with a slow, deliberate crunch.

The silence in the street was suffocating. The remaining two survivors inside the shop didn’t even dare to breathe, their eyes glued to the terrifying young man walking toward their boss.

"You wanted my weapon?" Min-jae asked, his voice low, vibrating with an icy calm that raised the hairs on Tae-hoon’s neck. "You wanted to break my arms?"

"D-Don’t come any closer!" Tae-hoon fumbled inside his tailored suit jacket, his shaking fingers pulling out a compact, silver revolver— a illegal firearm he kept for personal protection. He pointed the barrel straight at Min-jae’s forehead. "I don’t care what kind of freak talent you have! Can your skin block a bullet?! Back off, or I’ll blow your brains across the pavement!"

Having a gun in the first hour of the apocalypse was a massive psychological advantage. Tae-hoon’s courage surged back, his finger tightening around the trigger. "Kneel down! Give me the blade, or you die right here!"

Min-jae didn’t stop. He didn’t even slow down. His pace remained perfectly rhythmic.

"Fire then," Min-jae said, offering an empty, eerie smile. "Let’s see whose brain explodes first."

"You lunatic! Die!"

Bang!

A deafening roar echoed through the narrow street as a flash of gunpowder ignited. The lead bullet tore through the air, traveling at supersonic speed, and struck Min-jae precisely between his eyebrows.

Time seemed to slow down to an absolute crawl.

The bullet didn’t pierce his skull. The moment the lead tip made contact with Min-jae’s forehead, a blinding ripple of golden light manifested on his skin. The bullet flattened completely into a useless metallic pancake and dropped harmlessly into the dirt.

[Received 550 points of high-velocity physical damage. Damage negated.]

[Reflecting 275 points of True Damage to the attacker.]

’Pong!

A horrific backfire erupted not from the gun, but from Tae-hoon’s own skull. An invisible phantom bullet struck Tae-hoon directly in his right eye socket.

"Arghhhhhh!"

Tae-hoon let out a blood-curdling shriek as his right eye burst into a cloud of red mist. The sheer force of the 275 True Damage points sent him spinning through the air before he slammed face-first into the asphalt. The silver revolver flew out of his hand, skidding across the pavement right to Min-jae’s feet.

Min-jae casually picked up the gun. It was a standard Rank-F weapon, but to him, it was just more raw materials for his system.

[Ding! Detecting Rank-F Equipment: ’Compact Silver Revolver’.]

[Hidden Evolution Path Found!]

[Evolving to Rank-S: ’Void-Descent Handcannon’ (Requires 500 Mana Crystals).]

I’ll save that for later, Min-jae thought, tossing the gun into his pocket. He walked over to the groveling, bleeding CEO.

Tae-hoon was clawing at the concrete, his expensive suit ruined, blood pouring down his face as he sobbed in absolute terror. The arrogant corporate predator had been reduced to a pathetic, whimpering dog. "Please... mercy... I have millions in the Swiss bank... I have safehouses... don’t kill me... please..."

Min-jae stood over him, looking down with complete indifference. "In this new world, your money is just worthless paper. Your life is worth even less."

Without a shred of hesitation, Min-jae brought his boot down, crushing Tae-hoon’s throat in a single, cold movement. He didn’t have time to leave enemies behind to plot revenge. In the apocalypse, a ruthless mind was the only way to survive.

[You have eliminated a hostile human faction leader. Gained 100 EXP.]

[Current EXP: 135/200. You are making rapid progress.]

Min-jae turned his attention back to the convenience store. The remaining survivors were trembling behind the counter. Among them, the young female employee who had been pushed into the front lines earlier stepped out. Her hands were shaking, but her eyes held a strange, desperate spark of resolve.

"P-Please," she whispered, bowing deeply toward him. "I don’t care about Tae-hoon. I have no loyalty to him. My name is Han Chae-won. I know where the store’s main storage warehouse is locked. If you protect me, I will give you everything. I can manage your supplies. Just let me follow you!"

Min-jae scrutinized her. In his past life, Han Chae-won wasn’t a nobody— she eventually became one of the top-tier logistics mages of the continent, known for her unique spatial manipulation talents. To think she was working as a simple convenience store clerk before the Descent.

Before he could answer her, a deep, ominous vibration shook the entire street.

Rumble... Rumble...

The blood-red sky suddenly split open even wider. A massive, obsidian gateway materialized directly above the district square, casting a long, terrifying shadow over the buildings.

[Warning! World Event Triggered: The First Regional Boss has descended!]

[Target: Level 10 Goblin Shaman Chief.]

[Mutation Activated: The Boss has absorbed a fragment of the Void Core. Difficulty raised to Calamity Rank!]

A screeching wave of thousands of goblins began to pour out of the portal like a tidal wave of green flesh, heading straight toward their coordinates. The air grew heavy with dark, magical pressure.

Min-jae looked up at the portal, his blood beginning to boil with intense anticipation. A Calamity-Rank mutated boss at Day 1? To others, it was an immediate death sentence. To his SSS-Rank reflection talent, it was the ultimate jackpot.

"Pack the supplies, Chae-won," Min-jae commanded, his hand gripping the hilt of his pulsing crimson blade. "We’re going hunting."