The Fist That Called Down a Meteor Shower

GROOOOOOOOOAAAAH!

The monster was making a truly unearthly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sound. An enormous Boulder dangled from the two hands of a human being a fraction of its size, thrashing and kicking in midair — a spectacle so bizarre that no amount of prose could do it justice.

"This can't be..."

Ayeon had gone past surprise. Her mind had simply stopped. It was a sight so impossible she couldn't even begin to wonder what skill it was, or how any of this could be real.

And that wasn't even the end of it.

This thing is freaking huge!

If he'd managed to rip a monster this massive out of the ground with one hand, that was as good as proof that Masterchef's insane surge had sent his strength through the roof.

So how was he supposed to finish it off? His first instinct was to just smash it — but the surface in his grip felt impossibly hard. It looked like packed mud, yet he couldn't think of a single way to actually break the thing.

No time to think! Just do something.

Coins were volatile. His strength could surge or crater in real time — and every other ability along with it. If he suddenly went weak at the wrong moment, he'd be the one getting crushed by the thing he was holding. If it was possible to get stronger in an instant, it was just as possible to get weaker.

And Jisu knew that better than anyone alive.

"Hyaaaaah!"

Without another second of hesitation, Jisu tightened his grip on the Boulder and started to spin.

Round and round!

Whirling that colossal monster in both hands, he looked exactly like a shot-putter winding up for the throw. Ayeon's eyes flew wide as she realized ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what he was about to do.

"No way—!"

"Hyaaaaaaaaah!"

Jisu clenched down on the Boulder, planted his legs, and poured every ounce of power he had into them—

GROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAH!!!

He hurled the monster — a creature several times the size of a human being — high above his head.

"!!!"

Even Chaerin, who had been standing perfectly still, was shaken. How could she not be? Who on earth could watch a sight like that and remain composed?

WHIIIIIIIIISH!!!

In a single heartbeat, the monster shot up into the sky above Jisu's head.

"I'll finish this in one shot!"

Jisu crouched and launched himself after it. His speed outstripped even the monster's ascent. He could feel it — right there, closing in, filling the space in front of him.

He drew a careful breath. Then he threw everything he had — every last ounce of power belonging to a G-rank Hunter whose very existence had yet to be understood — into a single punch aimed at that massive body.

Crack.

Craaack.

CRAAAAACK!

"@@#$!@!%^!#$!#!"

BOOOOM!

The Boulder's entire body shattered into countless fragments. Just like that, it became what once was a Boulder.

"Oh my god... I don't believe it."

The look in Ayeon's eyes was no longer mere astonishment. It was awe. She was one of the finest Hunters in Korea — and yet, standing before a being who had just shattered every law of common sense, she was nothing more than a speechless creature staring up at something she could not comprehend.

What had people of old thought, gazing up at a meteor shower? Some must have made wishes. Some must have read omens into it, calling it an auspicious sign. In later centuries, once science had advanced far enough, there were those who could explain exactly why it happened.

But no one had ever looked at a meteor shower and thought to make one themselves. The idea was absurd. Laughable.

And yet the fragments of the monster Jisu had just pulverized, spreading and falling from the sky — calling that a meteor shower was no exaggeration at all.

"That's..."

A chill ran through Ayeon, and she lifted her head. Unfolding before her eyes was a landscape that belonged in a fantasy novel. Across a vast, open horizon, countless shards of the Boulder glittered like jewels — and those shards, exactly like a meteor shower, were being pulled by gravity, falling one by one toward the earth.

"This is...!"

Ayeon picked up a small fragment from the ground. It was, without a doubt, a piece of the monster. She stared at the meteors raining down like a storm and murmured to herself, still stunned.

"...That's impossible."

And now the spheres of light were beginning to drift down as well. Essence of Life. They fell the way an aurora might pour itself onto the earth — a landscape of almost unbearable beauty. And at the very center of it, the man who had finally landed stood as straight and still as a pine.

Ayeon looked at Jisu. He was simply gazing up at the sky, as if he had known all along that this was how it would end. In her eyes, he looked like a messenger of the gods who had called down this meteor shower himself — and a feeling close to worship rose in her before she could stop it.

...Whoa. That actually worked?

The person responsible for all of this, meanwhile, was standing there in a daze, not even fully grasping what he'd just done. Of course he wasn't a messenger of the gods. He wasn't anything of the sort. He'd looked up at the sky for no particular reason. He was just as shocked as everyone else — no more, no less.

It really just... shattered in one hit? What even is my power right now?

He'd gone in meaning to finish it cleanly, but who could have predicted that a single punch would blow the thing apart? He'd figured he'd gotten stronger after the coin mooned — that much he'd expected. Imagining this, specifically, had been beyond even him.

If he could have reached Seyeon, he would have asked. But that wasn't an option right now. A power so overwhelming he couldn't even control it at will. And the very first thing Jisu felt, having actually used an ability this monstrous, was fear. A force so strong that even its wielder couldn't rein it in was more than enough to frighten the person throwing the punch.

Yeah... having sky-high stats isn't automatically a good thing, is it?

It was the first time the thought had come to him this clearly. He'd had a similar inkling not long ago, when a dungeon had closed itself before he could lift a finger. Back then it had been a passing notion. Now it was coming into focus, sharp and undeniable.

Raw stats, piled up without limit, were not an unconditional blessing. He understood that now.

But the fear lasted only a moment.

Because what he could feel, right now, was overwhelming power. The kind of strength you'd find in the overpowered protagonist of a munchkin novel. Jisu could become anything. Like the physicist of old, he himself could be Death in this era — the destroyer of worlds.

And the most important thing of all was that this wasn't even his limit. Coins rose without end. The iron law of HODLing!

He was still trembling at the power of his coins when Essence of Life began pouring from the sky in a glittering rain. At the same time, something like a red crystal came tumbling down with it — the weak point Ayeon had told him about. She didn't miss it. She snatched it up.

"Just as I thought."

Ayeon turned to look at Chaerin. Chaerin said nothing, but her expression made it clear she already knew what Ayeon was about to say. Ayeon looked back at her, and simply nodded.

Chaerin closed her eyes. She had sensed it, vaguely, for some time now. She just hadn't wanted to admit it. As if she had finally recognized the position she was in — the position of someone who had no choice but to accept it — she let out a long, heavy sigh.

"So it's confirmed."

"What will you do?"

Ayeon walked over slowly and asked. She knew what the object meant, too. Chaerin was silent for a while. Then, carefully, she parted her heavy lips.

"Mom."

Yoo Chaerin. The words that held her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up. Strength. The greatest, the strongest being. Overwhelming power. The one who stood at the peak of Korea's hunter industry. They were labels other people had pinned on her from the outside — and in front of a comrade who had been with her since the beginning, those words were beginning, little by little, to crumble.

"I wasn't going to say anything. I thought she'd worry."

Chaerin muttered it with her head bowed. With her, of all people — with her and no one else — putting on a strong face had never come easily. She was the woman who had supported Chaerin and shaped her into who she was, from childhood to this very moment. And the fact that, in a situation like this, there was nothing Chaerin could resolve on her own... that was what frightened the woman who had never seemed afraid of anything.

Ayeon could read every bit of it. How many years had they spent side by side? How many bricks of time had she stacked, one after another, from the days they had survived together all the way to the vow she had made to live for Chaerin and their comrades?

She spoke as if she were whispering, her voice infinitely gentle.

"It's alright. Iran already knew. That's why she went overseas."

"I know that. I know."

"I know. I know. It's alright."

Ayeon stroked Chaerin's back, repeating it — it's alright, it's alright. The years they had shared. The stories from when the Hunter profession was brand new, still finding its place in the world. Heeyeon and Ayeon, Siyun, and Chaerin — Iran had taken them all in and begun laying down the roots of hunting in Korea. Ayeon knew, better than anyone, that the weight of those years was more than Chaerin's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠narrow shoulders could be expected to carry alone.

Of course, that was their story. Something they had built and shared among themselves. From Jisu's perspective — a complete outsider — they had just huddled up out of nowhere, and he had no idea what was going on.

What are those two doing all of a sudden? This is so awkward...

The mood had turned strange enough that walking over to say something felt embarrassing, and there didn't seem to be any more monsters around, so the raid was probably over. The fact that no "Raid Field Cleared" message had popped up was a little concerning, but one way or another, the situation looked resolved.

He had no idea why a monster would show up in a place this remote — but if the raid was done, there was something he wanted to check right now.

Alright. Let's see!