Overwhelming A-Class
Kang Junhyung of the overwhelmingly dominant A-Class had never been an exceptionally gifted person in his youth. He simply followed his parents’ instructions, balancing his studies and training at a moderate pace. Thanks to a stroke of luck, he awakened to a high-grade class and managed to enter Broad Academy’s A-Class without any extraordinary help from his family.
The Epic grade, and the fact that it was a swordsman class, felt like a blessing to him. In an instant, he rose far above his peers. His innately superior rank granted him an overwhelming advantage that no amount of effort could ever match.
Before he could fully savor that joy, tragedy struck.
Kang Junhyung’s father made analog clocks. The small workshop he ran began to decline the moment blacksmiths started developing new artifacts. The suppliers who had bought his father’s clocks in bulk suddenly cut off all transactions.
“I’m sorry, but we can no longer continue our dealings.”
The store that once saw a constant stream of customers grew empty. The reason was the Replica Artifacts created by certain blacksmiths.
◈ Perfectly replicates the external appearance of any object
◈ Visual authenticity so precise that even experts struggle to distinguish it from the original
◈ Performance and durability are significantly inferior
◈ Value drops to near zero when used in actual artifact applications
People cheered at the chance to buy perfect counterfeits at less than half the price. Luxury goods gradually lost their value. Of course, just like Picasso’s paintings, some true luxury brands still held their position thanks to brand recognition. But ambiguous mid-tier luxury brands like Kang Junhyung’s father collapsed in a single moment.
“Boss, when exactly are you going to pay us? We’re about to end up on the street here! We delivered the goods ages ago—why haven’t you paid us yet?!”
“Ever since those Replica Artifacts appeared, no one buys your clocks anymore. There was demand back then, but now? There’s none. From our perspective, your clocks are nothing but dead stock. If we pay you the original rate, we’ll be the ones taking a loss.”
The payments they were supposed to receive were suddenly withheld. The family’s finances crumbled. The stockpiles they had ordered sat unsold, burying them even deeper in debt. In that collapsing household, Kang Junhyung became the sole hope.
“Junhyung… Your father is sorry…”
The family collapsed under massive debt. To handle the accumulating interest, his mother took a job at a restaurant, and his younger sister desperately began working part-time. Kang Junhyung couldn’t give up the academy he had already entered, so he balanced classes with work. He attended lectures in the morning and took on physically demanding jobs in the evening.
Then an opportunity came to him.
Before the Class Annihilation Match began, Yoo Heeyeon gathered her classmates and spoke.
“This Class Annihilation Match will be fought fairly. No underhanded tricks. However, to motivate all of you, I have one proposal.”
“Anyone who follows my instructions properly and delivers meaningful results will receive appropriate compensation.”
Yoo Hanbeom, Yoo Heeyeon’s father, had used his authority to forbid any dirty tactics. As a result, she could no longer bribe referees or smuggle in external artifacts. To eliminate even the slightest chance of defeat, she promised differential monetary support based on performance as a way to boost her teammates’ motivation.
This way, it wasn’t technically cheating, she could still make the students obey her, and she could reduce the number of idiots who might slack off. That was Yoo Heeyeon’s judgment.
Kang Junhyung asked,
“How much… are you giving?”
“If we win the Class Annihilation Match, I’ll give at least fifty million won per person. If your performance is outstanding, I can give even more. But if we lose, you get nothing.”
Fifty million won. It was a huge sum. It was nowhere near enough to clear their debt, but it was absolutely necessary to pay the interest and help his family hold on. Kang Junhyung decided to act with extreme caution from the moment he entered the Class Annihilation Match in order to secure that money.
“Yoo Heeyeon, calm down. No matter how urgent this is, we need to assess the situation. We’re in the middle of a capture-the-point battle. Capturing territory takes priority over catching Lee Hyunseung.”
He stopped Yoo Heeyeon from charging recklessly.
“Nam Inwoo, calm yourself. Check the F-Class numbers. They never planned to win through territory capture in the first place. That leaves only one way for them to win. They’re coming for us. There might be traps. Since we can always recapture territory, it’s better to observe the situation carefully and fight on our terms.”
He also restrained Nam Inwoo, who had been rushing in without thinking. The reason Kang Junhyung was being excessively cautious was simple.
He had to win.
He had to win and receive the money. With that money, his mother and sister could rest comfortably for several months. His father would also be able to escape some of the crushing pressure.
But everything began to go wrong.
“Kwaaaaang—!”
Lee Hyunseung, who they thought had disappeared, suddenly appeared in mid-air. It meant Yoo Heeyeon’s pursuit had failed.
“Kuaaaaaack—!”
Not long after, Nam Inwoo was helplessly retired by a single opponent—Lee Hyunseung. It happened in less than twenty seconds.
Lee Hyunseung’s actions didn’t stop there. After brutally dealing with Nam Inwoo, he now fixed his gaze on Kang Junhyung and Jeong Saeron.
“If you think you can endure it, go ahead and struggle.”
He spoke in a spine-chilling tone. Kang Junhyung knew why he was so enraged. It was probably because Jeong Eunseo had been hurt too badly. He didn’t feel no guilt at all. But he couldn’t simply take the beating lying down.
Kang Junhyung had a reason he must win this match.
Bang—!
The tremendous sonic boom that erupted the moment Lee Hyunseung kicked off the ground. Wood chips and small stones exploded violently around his feet. It was an unnatural sight. For a mere human’s kick to possess such power…
‘M…monster…’
He could feel the gap in strength. The speed of his leap surpassed imagination. No one would ever imagine that a mere gunner could display this level of martial prowess. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe the movements of the gunner before them.
Worse, Kang Junhyung no longer had his sword. He had thrown it and embedded it in Jeong Eunseo’s shoulder. All he had left was a single dagger.
“Why are you spacing out?”
Lee Hyunseung, now right in front of him, thrust his arm forward.
Claaaaang—!
Kang Junhyung snapped back to his senses and deflected Lee Hyunseung’s gun with his dagger.
“You’re fast?”
Lee Hyunseung used the force of Kang Junhyung’s block to spin his body once, then began swinging the gun at him again.
Whoosh—!
Lee Hyunseung was using the gun like a sword. Every time he swung the firearm, a chilling gust tore through the air.
Swish—!
The gun grazed his face, and blood began to flow. ‘What kind of gun…!’ Could a gun swung at close range really possess this much power? It wasn’t even a sword, a dagger, a throwing knife, or any bladed weapon, yet the overwhelming force that seemed to crush his entire body made him flinch.
Soon, Lee Hyunseung’s attack came straight at his face.
Kwaaaaang—!
He blocked it with the dagger, but he was gradually being overpowered.
Crrrrrrrrk—
The sound of the dagger and gun scraping against each other rang out.
Vrrrrrrrr—
Kang Junhyung’s arm began to tremble. His muscles swelled as he drew out every last ounce of strength.
‘If… if my strength gives out, my face will be crushed.’
If he let his power drop now, his face would be smashed flat by the gun. It was a horrifying thought. So he gripped the dagger with desperate strength and held on.
But.
“Kuuuuuuuugh…!”
Unlike Lee Hyunseung’s relaxed expression, Kang Junhyung was squeezing out every drop of strength he had just to barely defend himself. The gun drew closer and closer. The muzzle began to point directly at his face. At this rate, if Lee Hyunseung simply pulled the trigger, his face would be blown to pieces.
The moment Lee Hyunseung looked at him with bored eyes and prepared to pull the trigger from point-blank range—
“Kang Junhyung! Duck—!”
Jeong Saeron, who had been hiding in the distance, finished casting a large-scale spell.
Lightning Cannon
A sphere of condensed lightning hurtles forward at terrifying speed.
Crackle—!
The sphere of lightning flew toward them at incredible velocity.
“H…Hyunseung-ssi, dodge—!”
Jeong Eunseo shouted desperately. But Lee Hyunseung simply stepped back slightly and raised his gun.
“D…die! You damn bastard! Acting all high and mighty—serves you right, you stupid fuck.”
Jeong Saeron’s voice echoed from afar. Since she had spent quite a long time casting, she was certain this attack would land. In reality, a Lightning Cannon flying at that speed could not be dodged. It was already too late.
No—more precisely, there was no need to dodge.
Click—!
Instead of evading, Lee Hyunseung quietly pulled the trigger.
Baaaaang—!
His bullet charged straight toward the sphere of lightning.