Claws. Fangs. Buzzing wings.

  Jun-Hyuk barely twisted aside as the first wolf-moth plummeted, its talons whistling past his ear. He felt the air shift from the force of the dive, and his instincts screamed—Move!

  He rolled to the side, boots skidding on loose gravel, and thrust both hands forward. Energy Manipulation Level 11 flared to life, the orange glow blinding against the crimson sky.

  Boom!

  A searing blast slammed into the first creature mid-air, vaporizing it into dust and embers. One down. Forty-nine to go.

  Jun-Hyuk didn’t have time to celebrate. The next wave was already descending, golden eyes flickering like torches in the gloom. His heart pounded in his chest, not just from exertion—but from the stark realization.

  He was outnumbered. Badly.

  "Tch." Jun-Hyuk clicked his tongue, sweat trickling down his temple. "Fine. You wanted a massacre? Let’s have one."

  With a grunt, he thrust his palm downward—a controlled explosion of energy propelling him into the air, just as the ground where he stood erupted in claws and snapping jaws.

  Mid-leap, he spun, fingers tracing sigils in the air. Two-handed barrage! Twin beams of energy lanced outward, striking two wolf-moths in the chest. One disintegrated instantly. The other spiraled, wings shredded, before crashing into another beast below.

  Double kill. 200 points.

  The system’s notification blinked in his peripheral vision, almost smug.

  "Two hundred?" Jun-Hyuk barked a laugh, landing with a thud. "At this rate, I’ll own the whole damn leaderboard."

  But cockiness was a fragile armor. The next attack proved it.

  He heard the hum first—that low, vibrating drone that set his teeth on edge. A wolf-moth barreled toward him, wings flickering like a mirage. He pivoted to blast it…

  Too slow.

  Claws raked across his side, tearing fabric and skin. Pain bloomed, white-hot and sharp.

  Jun-Hyuk stumbled, cursing. Idiot. Pay attention!

  The wolf-moth reared back for the finishing lunge—

  Shing! Dawnfire leapt from its hilt, the blade trailing gold as he slashed upward. The creature’s head separated from its body in one clean arc.

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  "Hah…" Jun-Hyuk wiped blood—his own—from his jaw. "Alright. No more fancy tricks. Just survival."

  And so, the slaughter began in earnest.

  For the next hour, the wasteland became a battlefield of smoke and scorched earth. Jun-Hyuk danced between packs of the creatures, lungs burning, muscles screaming in protest. Each kill was another burst of light, another fleeting moment of safety.

  But they kept coming.

  At one point, he found himself cornered—six wolf-moths surrounding him, wings fluttering, antennae twitching as they gauged his exhaustion.

  He smiled. A wild, defiant smile. Come and get me.

  Energy Manipulation surged again—but this time, instead of firing outward, he compressed it. A sphere of raw power, humming with barely restrained force, swirled between his hands.

  Self-targeted shockwave. Risk of backlash: 70%.

  "I’ll take those odds."

  With a roar, he slammed the sphere into the ground.

  BOOOOM! The shockwave exploded outward in a perfect circle, tossing wolf-moths like ragdolls. Three disintegrated on impact. The rest hit the ground hard, wings snapping under their own weight.

  Jun-Hyuk staggered, ears ringing, vision swimming. His knees nearly buckled… but he forced himself upright. The timer in his vision flickered.

  Bonus Period: 36 minutes remaining.

  "No rest," he muttered, dragging his battered body forward. "More points. Keep going."

  By the time the two-hour mark approached, Jun-Hyuk was running on fumes. His energy reserves dipped into the red. His arms felt like lead, each swing of Dawnfire slower, each blast weaker.

  But the wasteland around him… it was a graveyard of ash and broken wings.

  The final wolf-moth—a massive alpha, twice the size of the others, its fur glistening like obsidian—lunged at him, fangs bared. Jun-Hyuk didn’t dodge.

  Instead, he stepped into the attack, planting his feet with the last of his strength.

  Dawnfire flashed.

  The alpha froze mid-air. For a moment, nothing happened…

  And then its body split clean down the middle, collapsing into dust before it even hit the ground.

  Ding! Bonus Period Ended. Final Points: 13,800.

  Jun-Hyuk stood there, chest heaving, Dawnfire trembling in his grip. He blinked at the number, disbelieving.

  "I… actually did it."

  But the wasteland’s silence was deafening—no more buzzing, no more growls. Just the brittle crackle of burning debris.

  The fight was over.

  Stumbling like a drunk, Jun-Hyuk turned toward the distant shimmer of the city dome, its barrier flickering in the dusk light. Each step felt like dragging concrete blocks, but he forced himself forward.

  Closer. Closer.

  The barrier shimmered and parted for him, recognizing his ID signature. He barely noticed the crowd until he was inside—

  And the roar hit him.

  Hundreds of people lined the streets beyond the checkpoint, faces illuminated by the dome’s soft glow. Strangers. Hunters. Civilians. Even the damn council members. All of them cheering, clapping, some waving energy-infused banners that spelled out his name in flickering neon letters.

  Jun-Hyuk.

  His breath hitched. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to limp back, unnoticed, collapse into a bunk somewhere and sleep for a week.

  But the city had watched. The broadcast drones hovered nearby, lenses glinting like fireflies.

  Lian Hua pushed through the crowd, eyes wide with disbelief—and relief. She didn’t say a word, just punched his arm lightly, tears glistening on her lashes.

  “Told you I’d be back,” Jun-Hyuk rasped, voice shredded from shouting commands to himself mid-battle.

  The crowd’s cheers swelled, thunderous and warm.

  For the first time since this insane challenge began, Jun-Hyuk let himself smile.

  Not because of the points.

  But because, for once, it actually felt like he’d won.