I had a dream for the first time in a while.

From the moment it began, I realized I was dreaming.

But even with that awareness, I couldn't wake up.

The world inside the dream was gray-white.

At least, that’s how it looked.

I couldn’t confirm whether it resembled the inside of a Rift.

The dream world was like a deepfake video created by an A.I.—unnatural, blurry, and full of omissions beyond human logic or comprehension.

Still, I recognized it as the interior of a Rift, and tried to perceive my surroundings as if I were in the real world.

Suddenly, a monster appeared before me.

It was my nemesis type—my mortal enemy.

Even for someone like me, whose heart burns with hatred, seeing that terrible predator of humanity was enough to send chills down my spine.

The monster looked down at me.

Was it trying to communicate?

I couldn’t tell what it was thinking or trying to convey.

With no warning, another monster appeared.

Another nemesis type.

One—no, two more had arrived.

Without moving, they anchored their massive beetle-like bodies to the ground and stood still.

“...”

At that point, I concluded this was just a typical nightmare and gave up thinking.

Whatever. I’ll wake up eventually.

And in fact, I could already feel sensation returning to my body.

Soon, the dawn of reality would wash over this murky dreamscape.

There were no strange changes as I woke.

Just a typical nightmare.

But at the tail end of the dream, something odd happened.

The nemesis type that had been staring at me turned its head.

Or rather, “turned” might not be the right word.

It looked toward the other nemesis type.

And the one it faced slowly turned its head as well.

That was where the dream ended.

I sat up.

Something glinted in the darkness.

John-nae-non.

She was staring at me quietly from the shadows.

“John.”

Unfortunately, it seemed she wasn’t fond of her new name.

“Alright, Hayang. Did you sleep well?”

When I called her Hayang, she finally crawled into the cardboard house I’d prepared for her.

Just as her previous owner said—she’s a bit aloof.

“...”

I turned my head.

You’ve probably felt it before.

That feeling something’s coming, even before your phone rings.

Beep—beep—beep—

Just like now.

The K-WalkieTalkie buzzed for the first time in a long while.

A call from a personal ID code.

Personal ID Code: ALPHA_ONE

Na Hye-in.

The fact that she contacted me via radio instead of cellphone, even within the city, was significant.

“Hey. It’s me.”

Despite it being 2 a.m., I answered without hesitation.

“Hey. Are you free right now?”

“Where are you?”

“Hmm. I guess... you could say I’m inside the Rift?”

“Really?”

“I’m fine, nothing to worry about—but we’ve got a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“I still can’t find Kang Han-min inside the Rift. I’m pressuring his loyal subordinates, but their mouths are shut tight. Maybe I should’ve raised a bunch of loyalists like Min-hee did.”

“No need to beat yourself up over it. No rush either. He’s not dead, is he?”

“I doubt it. Oh—and one more thing.”

Na Hye-in paused for breath.

“There’s a monster horde headed your way. You’ll probably spot them from Paju in two days.”

“They’re coming again?”

“Not a huge number. Mid-sized group, I’d say.”

The numbers didn’t matter.

What mattered was that the monsters were rebounding from their earlier defeat—and starting to send them out again.

As usual, I didn’t bother reporting what Na Hye-in told me to the upper ranks.

No point informing the Seoul administration, full of people I can’t trust, that I’m connected to her.

The Jeju people are enough of a headache, and the personal guard under Yoo Yang-seo isn’t exactly a soft target either.

Even the newly powerful “citizens' committee” has started sniffing around, trying to probe what’s going on here.

As Na Hye-in had warned, the monster horde revealed itself at the Paju Rift.

“Mid-sized monster horde detected! Direction: southwest! Estimated 80% probability of entering city boundaries!”

The Seoul administration went into panic mode.

Understandably so.

It was the first monster wave since the Nemesis War.

“Commander Park Gyu, Command HQ is calling for you. Commander Park Gyu, please report to HQ.”

The office speaker was more irritating than usual today.

Dragging my feet, I headed toward the command post.

It was a mess of confusion.

“That can’t be. Savior Kang Han-min is supposedly inside the Rift. How did the monsters get out past his team?”

“What’s the contact status with Kang Han-min?”

“According to acting executor Yoo Yang-seo, they’ve also lost contact with him.”

“Goddammit!”

The man currently responsible for the city’s defense was Kim So-uk, known as the most powerful figure from the Jeju Committee.

The military exists separately, but the units transferred from Jeju had long since turned into ragtag militias serving individual committee members.

The only neutral-ish body is the Hunter Division, known as the Special Defense Bureau—but that operates more like a contractor group, dispatching Regular Awakened and Hunters as needed.

That, too, was by my design.

When powerful groups like Regular Awakened start developing their own identity, the resulting corruption is no joke.

Just look at the Jeju Committee—a necessary evil of the Republic, or rather a near-absolute evil. They seized power just because they had a little authority.

Small-scale monster removals are handled by the Special Defense Bureau, but in large-scale invasions like this, they need coordination with other departments.

That’s why they dragged in an old, sidelined man like me.

“What do you suggest we do?” Kim So-uk asked, anxiety seeping through his voice.

Not surprising.

He scraped together every usable supply hoping to make an escape, and now disaster struck before he could even leave Seoul.

Honestly, I was just as unprepared.

I didn’t think the monster eruptions would resume this quickly.

“Well, let’s see...”

There’s no reason to risk my life in a place like this.

I’m no hero or savior.

Just a vengeful man who hates monsters.

I was planning to make up an excuse and dump the responsibility on someone else.

It’s just a mid-sized group.

Someone can throw resources at it and wipe them out without much trouble.

The problem is: who’s going to open their stash in a city full of cowards looking to run?

Forced conscription would be ideal—but would these self-centered bastards give up even a sliver?

Not my concern.

If the city falls fast, the Jeju Committee won’t be safe either.

I was grinning with that nasty thought in mind, preparing to turn down everything, when—

Thud—

The door slammed open.

Someone tried to stop them, I think, but the door was flung so hard that everyone in the command post turned toward it.

A familiar face stood in the doorway.

Jeon Si-hoon.

I’ve felt it for a while now—but this guy has changed.

When I pulled him out of King’s domain, he was just a scrawny, lost boy.

But in Jeju, both his body and spirit grew.

Now, even an unfamiliar confidence and arrogance shimmered faintly in his eyes.

“I heard the news.”

Wearing the elite Gore-Tex combat uniform known as the Kang Han-min Royal Guard set—tighter than a standard military outfit—Jeon Si-hoon addressed the room.

“Sorry for barging in without permission, but I’ll take care of this myself.”

Bold and unashamed, he looked around.

No one said a word.

Who would?

Everyone was reluctant to act, and here was an over-level-10 Awakened volunteering.

As his gaze swept the room, he paused briefly on me.

A strange smile curled at the corner of his mouth—but who knows what it meant.

“Well then, I’ll be back shortly.”

Jeon Si-hoon turned and left.

News that he singlehandedly wiped out the mid-sized monster horde arrived less than two hours later.

*

Gabyeolcho, Mercenary Corps, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Royal Guard, Paper Tiger.

These are all nicknames for Kang Han-min’s Royal Guard.

Despite being composed of Regular Awakened with overwhelming power, they were infamous for doing absolutely nothing.

Based in Ganghwa Island, they moved to the skeletal ruins of old Yeoksam-dong and built a fortress, living entirely within its walls.

They claimed it was for a series of actions aimed at permanently sealing the Rifts.

But their extreme isolationism and disregard for Seoul bred suspicion, which soon turned to mistrust.

What does Kang Han-min even do?

That question first arose when the nemesis types led a force to Seoul’s doorstep.

After that, people stopped talking about him.

New Seoul was expanding rapidly, sucking in every kind of human debris like a sponge.

Amid that explosive growth, opportunities glittered—and no one wanted to miss out.

In the midst of that frenzied scramble, Kang Han-min’s faction became irrelevant.

They were far away, had no influence, and didn’t even protect the city—so why care?

But now, that faction had broken its long silence and entered full-scale activity.

“I’m back. The monsters have been completely wiped out. No signs of a follow-up wave.”

When Jeon Si-hoon returned with his team—each member bearing the same sharp-eyed intensity—no one was happier than Kim So-uk.

“Oh, Jeon Si-hoon Hunter! You’ve done incredible work. I can’t thank you enough for stepping up during this crisis.”

That gratitude soon took another form.

Viva! Fox! held its soft launch.

As expected, the forum was still limited—no post functions yet—but the news tab, practically an official mouthpiece, was pumping out over ten articles a day, making it very clear who actually ran the place.

One article stood out as the crown jewel of Jeju’s propaganda effort:

[A New Hero Appears Like a Comet—Who Is Jeon Si-hoon?]

Though his identity had previously been kept secret due to security, Jeon Si-hoon’s name now rang out across the streets in the largest font possible.

“Jeon Si-hoon? Never heard of him.”

“They say he’s an Alpha Awakened—same level as Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in.”

“He was key in closing the Jeju Rift, apparently.”

“Why didn’t anyone know about him until now?”

“Probably because the fanatics were targeting him. Just two years ago, those guys bombed a military city, remember?”

At first, people were unfamiliar with the name Jeon Si-hoon—but soon, they began taking him seriously.

That shift became obvious the moment Viva! Fox! launched its full service.

EggBreadManiac: Heard Jeon Si-hoon soloed the whole mob? Just like Kang Han-min?

YoonYoungie: Looks like he’s got an elite team under him. Like a legendary first-string squad.

PruunJuice: The team isn’t the point. The point is—Jeon Si-hoon is here now.

SugiharaManami: Are we witnessing the birth of a new hero? (proud emoji)

HyunGukMom: Shouldn’t we give him an official title or something?

Chased: Doesn’t matter who it is—as long as someone’s protecting us. Jeon Si-hoon! I’m counting on you!

...

...

Everyone was talking about Jeon Si-hoon.

No doubt Jeju’s influence was all over it.

Even I, someone who couldn’t care less about politics, heard rumors that Jeon Si-hoon celebrated with the Jeju Committee on the night he wiped out the monsters.

“...”

It’s fine.

Let him be famous.

In fact, I welcome it.

I left the hot-topic board and explored the smaller ones.

Since it was still early in the launch, most boards were just empty placeholders.

The Beatbox board I had my eye on was still one of those “For Lease” zones.

“...”

Tap tap tap

SKELTON: (Skelton Performance) Viva! Fox! Launch Celebration – Skelton’s Beatbox

After typing the title—

Tap tap tap tap tap—

I backspaced over it and canceled the post.

It’s not my time yet.

Everyone’s eyes are on Jeon Si-hoon right now.

The old me would’ve posted without a second thought—but now, as a mythic name in Viva! Apocalypse!, I know how to read the room.

My monumental Viva! Fox! debut as the legendary Skelton of Viva! Apocalypse! would have to wait.

But still—

“...”

What is this?

This weird, unsatisfying, unpleasant feeling.

Fortunately, something happened to blow that melancholy away in an instant.

My phone rang.

[Gong Gyeong-min]

My old friend reached out after a long time.