In truth, for him in the 63rd Iteration, the Mountain Lord Battle had been the sixth.
The Mountain Lord was, how should he put it, like the day of an exam.
Regardless of their level of preparation, it always came on the same day.
No matter what they did before that,
whether the number of survivors in Korea utterly collapsed or overflowed,
whether he put the Awakened through combat training or dance lessons,
whether they studied strictly from textbooks or received one-on-one customized tutoring.
In any case, the Mountain Lord had advanced south in April for four consecutive years.
'Victory probability 0.02%.'
He calculated the win rate of the 63rd Iteration's Mountain Lord Battle somewhat optimistically.
There was only one reason for that optimism.
The newly secured Awakened, Kwon Noeul.
"Hey, Alpha… do I really have that much potential?"
"That is correct. …Probably."
"What do you mean probably? I'm not even S-Class…."
The Awakened organization to which Kwon Noeul belonged was the
A suspicious group that classified people by alphabet letters,
and issued something called a Hunter license like a driver's license.
Kwon Noeul was A-Class. A considerably high rank, but below S-Class.
'Hmm… something feels different….'
Even he had some doubts at this point.
The traces of Kwon Noeul he had seen at the beginning of the 62nd Iteration had been extremely impressive.
But right now, he was merely a somewhat strong Awakened.
'Was his Awakening lacking something? Is there a separate condition?'
At this point in time, he had no way of knowing.
In any case, shortly after, the Mountain Lord Battle began.
It started with a horde of Changgwi (zombies) flooding the six-lane road above Suraksan Station.
[Gruuugh… gu-ugh…!]
[Gugegel- geruk!]
The Changgwi showed off their individual vibrations as they blackened the entire street.
Though there was no political connection, it had truly been a hundred years since northerners had invaded this far south.
The southerners, in turn, held an appropriate welcoming ceremony.
"Attack, attack!"
"They're zombies! Burn them!"
"Uraaaaah-!"
The Awakened charged at the Changgwi.
A horde of over a million monsters covered every visible space—
The difference in forces exceeded a hundredfold.
"Urahaaak-!"
That battle cry did not come from a Changgwi.
It came from the very person everyone was curious about.
Sergeant Kwon Noeul, as he swung a streetlamp.
Clang- Kkang- Kkang-!
With the refreshing sound of aluminum meeting skull, the heads of the Changgwi flew off.
"Oh… that's incredible!"
"As expected of A-Class Kwon Noeul!"
"They say his brute strength alone doesn't fall behind S-Class!"
The Hunters followed behind, suddenly tossing out lines as though they were spectators.
Kwon Noeul crushed through the enemy's dense formation and advanced.
The other Hunters also unleashed various abilities, slaughtering the Changgwi.
In truth, Changgwi could be handled by anyone around B-Class.
The problem was simply their insane numbers.
"It's not much after all, is it?"
"We might actually win…!"
After fighting desperately for dozens of minutes and taking down tens of thousands of Changgwi,
the Hunters exchanged somewhat hopeful words.
Oh dear. They should not have done that.
Shiiik—
"Kwaak!"
"Ghk…!"
The two Hunters who had spoken optimistically,
were pierced the very next moment by black pillars that shot down from above.
Black pillars as thick as a human forearm lifted their bodies into the air.
"U-uaaah!"
"So this is the Mountain Lord…!"
The black pillars had extended from the Mountain Lord's black stripes.
The Mountain Lord's head was more than ten meters above,
and the black stripes that ran from the top of its head to its tail writhed and moved.
Each of them was a living, ferocious weapon.
"Kraahk, keok…!"
Hunters were skewered in droves by the countless descending pillars.
Humans could not withstand such attacks.
Blows capable of instant death poured down in immeasurable quantity and speed.
'…Kwon Noeul is too far forward.'
At the moment Kwon Noeul, standing at the very front, was about to be attacked—
He leapt from the rooftop.
Slash—
With the Monomolecular Blade, he severed several pillars stretching toward Kwon Noeul.
Carrying his momentum, he aimed a direct strike at the Mountain Lord's head—
[Krung!]
Kwaaang-!!
The next moment, he was embedded in a roadside building.
The Mountain Lord's forepaw had swatted his body away at a speed that was literally invisible.
The kitty punch delivered by a cat the size of a building was powerful.
Pajik- Jijijik-
Short circuits erupted across his body.
He had suffered massive damage in a single blow.
Even so, it seemed he could still move.
"A-attack! Focus your attacks on the Mountain Lord!"
Magic from the Awakened—released energy—shot toward the Mountain Lord's head.
However, it was blocked by the black pillars.
The attacks of the S-Class could at least destroy the pillars,
but once one was shattered, another immediately took its place.
There were too many pillars to count.
A near-infinite defensive barrier was being deployed.
'Kwon Noeul…?'
He barely moved his head to find Kwon Noeul.
He was screaming beneath the Mountain Lord's neck.
"Seong-su! Hoseok! Uaaah…!"
As he called out the names of comrades who had been impaled by the pillars, tears streamed down his eyes.
'…If he exposes such an opening during battle… he'll die quickly….'
He observed the battlefield situation with complete composure.
And then—
"I'll kill youuu!!"
Kwon Noeul leapt.
With unbelievable strength and speed—
He charged toward the Mountain Lord, dozens of meters above…!
'...!!'
Kwaaang-!
A deafening roar as if explosives had detonated.
It was the sound of Kwon Noeul's fist striking the Mountain Lord's cheek.
The shockwave generated in that instant distorted the surroundings.
[Krung-?!]
The Mountain Lord's massive body staggered.
It was a truly unbelievable sight.
A human striking something the size of a building with his bare fist and making it reel—an unreal scene.
'Data that contradicts existing data…!'
There was no time to marvel.
To Kwon Noeul, who had delivered a magnificent punch to the Mountain Lord's shoulder,
Countless black pillars stabbed down.
And astonishingly,
"Urgh…!"
They failed to pierce Kwon Noeul's body.
Though he was suspended in midair by the pillars, he remained unharmed,
and tore at them with his bare hands.
"Sergeant Kwon Noeul!"
Calling his name, he kicked off the building and leapt.
Countless pillars flew toward him—
He cut through them one by one, using the recoil to propel himself forward.
Kwon Noeul brightened when he saw him.
"Alpha! You always come to save me!"
They sliced away the pillars binding Kwon Noeul and fell to the ground together.
With no foothold, there was little they could do.
Watching the Mountain Lord's enormous forepaw rise,
he muttered,
"…I should raise the win rate by about 5 percent."
"Only 5 percent? It's just getting started!"
"This time is too late. Next time—"
"Next…?"
Kwon Noeul turned to him with a puzzled expression—
Slash—
The Mountain Lord's claws swept through their bodies.
Result.
Body severed into three parts.
Function suspended and Synchronization.
64th Iteration.
Leaving the research institute behind and heading north,
he sensed that the data flow of the Quantum Brain was far more complex than usual.
[Alpha! You always come to save me!]
Synchronization did not evoke any special emotion in him.
Yet this Synchronization-triggering event—death, by human standards—had been quite impressive.
Kwon Noeul's expression, mixed with rage, relief, and resolve, still lingered before his eyes.
As did his final words.
[-It's just getting started!]
…He slowly organized and stored away the impressions swirling around the Quantum Brain.
First, he needed to interpret the phenomenon he had witnessed.
'There was a moment when Kwon Noeul's energy output increased explosively. There must have been some kind of trigger.'
Judging by the circumstances, that trigger had been the death of his comrades.
Seong-su and Hoseok, who had shared life and hardship with Kwon Noeul in the Hunter Association, were Awakened he also knew well.
Since Kwon Noeul had formed emotional bonds with them,
their deaths must have caused a drastic emotional shift.
'Emotional shift. Is that the trigger for Awakening?'
The notion that a human Awakened based on mood was new.
But there had been nothing else that could serve as a trigger.
'…Then why did he Awaken at the beginning of the 62nd Iteration?'
There had been an immense emotional upheaval at the beginning of The Situation.
It meant it had been on par with the death of comrades he had spent three years with.
'…Just what happened…?'
At this point, he could not possibly calculate it.
But there was a way to find out.
Go to Kwon Noeul's unit and see for himself.
Tap.
He concealed himself atop a tree right beside Kwon Noeul's quarters.
Amid the commotion caused by the self-propelled howitzers in the unit suddenly beginning to move,
Kwon Noeul was fast asleep in his bunk.
It was Sunday morning for a sergeant with one day left before discharge.
No one would disturb him.
After waiting a bit longer, the self-propelled howitzers, having loaded their shells autonomously, began firing.
Boom! Boom!
Few had heard the sound of self-propelled artillery in person,
but it was shockingly loud.
Kwon Noeul did more than startle awake—he rolled off his bunk.
"Gwaah…! What the hell…!"
Rubbing the head he had slammed against the floor, he staggered up.
Right then, a junior rushed in, shouting.
"Sergeant Kwon! Sergeant Kwon! Wake up! It's war!"
"W-what? War… Aagh!"
Boom! Boom!
The artillery blasts shaking the building were more than enough to convince him that something serious was happening.
"What do you mean war? What kind of nonsense is that! I'm getting discharged tomorrow!"
"We can't contact outside! It's definitely signal jamming!"
"Damn it! Where is it! Who are we at war with!"
"Well… obviously North Korea, isn't it!"
"Is that so!"
War with North Korea…
It was absurd, yet a widely spread misconception at this stage.
If war broke out, was it not most rational to assume it was North Korea, who had aimed guns at them for nearly a hundred years?
Kwon Noeul, in towering rage, dressed in his uniform like a madman and ran outside.
"Aaaaargh! You bastards! Couldn't you have started one day later!"
"Sergeant Kwon! Where are you going!"
"What the hell! Why are the self-propelled guns aimed at Seoul!"
If they were at war with North Korea, the guns should have been aimed north.
Even in his fury, Kwon Noeul immediately realized the direction was reversed, and grew even more enraged.
"You crazy bastards! My family's in Seoul!"
He ran to the nearest self-propelled howitzer and pounded it with his fists.
When there was no response, he astonishingly tore the hatch off with his bare hands.
"S-Sergeant Kwon?!"
"What the hell! There's no one inside! This is insane!"
What followed was even more astonishing.
A human tore apart the several-ton turret of a self-propelled howitzer with his bare hands…!
'Incredible…!'
Truly shocking power.
Enough to strike the Mountain Lord.
"Aaaaargh!"
As he shredded the unit's howitzers in an instant, the soldiers could only tremble.
"A m-monster…!"
"Sergeant Kwon, get a hold of yourself!"
It seemed he could no longer hear others' voices.
After destroying all the howitzers, he began running north.
Even double-layered barbed wire was flimsier than paper.
"You bastards! How dare you start a war! The day before my discharge!"
Kwon Noeul ran at tremendous speed.
Trees and rocks alike were simply obliterated before his momentum.
'Ah. So that's why he ran north.'
He could not leave him be.
He leapt and landed in front of him.
"Sergeant Kwon Noeul. Our enemy is not North Korea."
"What are you now! I'll kill you!"
Kwon Noeul uprooted a nearby tree and swung it.
It was no ordinary tree.
It was a solid conifer over ten meters long.
"Hm!"
He sliced through the tree with the Monomolecular Blade,
and hurled the severed upper portion back at Kwon Noeul.
"…!"
Even after being struck by a tree weighing hundreds of kilograms, Kwon Noeul did not stagger.
Tremendous defense.
He immediately uprooted another tree.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Sergeant Kwon Noeul. If war has broken out, shouldn't you protect your unit first?"
"Dieee!"
"Then… your family is waiting."
"Shut up!"
"I have your discharge certificate."
"...!!"
Kwon Noeul froze on the spot.
He waved the discharge certificate he had obtained from the company commander's desk.
"D-discharge…?"
"That is correct, Sergeant Kwon Noeul. I hereby order your discharge."
"Really?! Oooooh…!"
Kwon Noeul's state rapidly returned to normal.
It seemed he had finally found the answer.
In subsequent Iterations, he almost always brought Kwon Noeul first.
The method was simple.
He merely kept the discharge certificate and waved it before his eyes when he went berserk.
Kwon Noeul's Awakening condition was 'Rage.'
Intense rage made him stronger.
However, even if Kwon Noeul remained Awakened, it did not mean they could immediately defeat the Mountain Lord.
There were many more attempts afterward.
And he…
had ultimately discovered a stable method of supplying Kwon Noeul's 'Rage.'
"Sergeant Kwon Noeul. I hereby order your reenlistment."
"Pardon? I… must have misheard?"
"Before your discharge, the nation entered a wartime state. Therefore, your discharge certificate is invalid. Return to your unit immediately and carry out your duties."
"Th-… what… ughaaaaak?!"
The one issuing the order was General Kim Seongyeop, Chief of Staff of the Reserve Forces Command.
After speaking solemnly,
he anxiously watched as Kwon Noeul began to lose control.
"Is this enough? It's… safe, right?"
"That is correct."
Standing behind him, he nodded calmly.
What was the most dreadful situation for a discharged soldier?
'Reenlistment.'
"You motherrrrrrfuuuuuuck!"
Sergeant Kwon Noeul screamed.
Like a voice spreading to the edge of the stratosphere,
his discharge never came again.
Until the end of the world.
Postmodern Hulk - clear.