The Heavenly Eye Awakens
The front office was in complete chaos, but the exact opposite was happening with the raid team. The moment Baek Yeon-woo's entry was confirmed, not a single person raised an objection.
They had seen it with their own two eyes in North Korea—the true nature of the talent contained in that body.
Perhaps that was why. The raid team genuinely celebrated their youngest member's debut and didn't hold back on advice. Baek Yeon-woo listened to every word with deep focus.
“Yeon-woo, the second you step into the match, start provoking him right away. You know what you're good at. Park Jeong-seok has a tendency to look down on anyone younger than him. Once he gets even a little worked up, his body leans forward.”
Hye-jung noona had called it anger management issues.
“Hmm, from my experience facing him, Park Jeong-seok definitely has quick feet. His side-stepping in particular was quite good. The only problem was his timing. How should I put this… it’s like his decision-making ability is a bit lacking?”
Yu-shin hyung-nim had called him a rockhead.
“Don’t get too nervous. Park Jeong-seok is a guy with clear limits. You’ll probably see them right away.”
Sanwang Captain had called him a nobody.
“You’re going to win. You’re way more handsome than Jeong-seok oppa—wait, he’s not on our team anymore, so I guess it’s Jeong-seok ajusshi now. Right? You didn’t know? Handsomeness is a direct measure of combat power.”
Lira noona was as bright and cheerful as always.
“Jeong-seok hyung is—”
“A sunfish.”
“Uh, yeah. Fighting!”
The sunfish was left out.
There had been plenty of advice, but the one that truly struck Baek Yeon-woo’s heart came from Lee Shin.
“Worried? Listen up, Yeonu-yeonu. That guy’s a fucking idiot.”
Aaaah…….
How perfectly direct that expression was.
Lee Shin had told him not to pay any attention to the moron in front of him and to focus only on himself.
“Your ability… let’s call it ‘Heavenly Eye.’ You said it learns just by looking at the opponent, right? But once you enter the match, it’s probably going to get a little distorted.”
Baek Yeon-woo’s Cheon-an was, if categorized, closer to a ‘miracle-type’ trait.
Similar to the Saintess’s Miracle or Manwang Han Jeong-do’s Super Intuition.
And like healing-type traits, miracle-type traits received the heaviest nerfs from the Canyon’s ‘control force.’
Even worse—
“You’re going to be way more confused than anyone else. It’s your eyes, after all. Things that should obviously be visible will look blurry or disappear entirely. So don’t try to rely on the senses you have outside.”
“For the first set, just focus on ‘seeing.’ Ignore it even if the moron in front of you keeps yapping. Get used to the Canyon’s senses first. Got it?”
Lee Shin hyung was right again.
The moment he entered the match, Baek Yeon-woo felt the world spinning.
It was like his vision had suddenly dropped from 5.0 to 1.0. The dizziness was intense.
He instinctively understood. Ah, this space doesn’t like me.
It wasn’t just him. Park Su-bin, Sanwang, Kim Yu-shin, and Yu Ri-ra all felt the same. The Canyon’s control force simply didn’t favor powers that existed outside the norm.
And that wasn’t all. Lee Shin hyung had even predicted the moron’s trash talk perfectly.
“How old are you? Ha, this is ridiculous. Sending some nobody we’ve never even heard of into the match? The team representative really hasn’t changed at all. Obsessed with attention and rookies, that guy.”
The guy just wouldn’t shut up. It was disgusting.
The funny part was that Baek Yeon-woo had flinched the first time he saw him. Park Jeong-seok took that as fear—He’s scared!—and gleefully continued his trash talk.
In reality, Baek Yeon-woo had been shocked by something else entirely.
How can a person have this many openings?
Is this a fake? It has to be a fake. There’s no way someone this pathetic would be in League 1.
—To the point where he even wondered if the opponent’s obvious weakness was a trap.
It was a minor side effect of having only seen raid team members with average potential in the 190s since awakening his ability.
He looked even worse than Choi Soo-pil from Team 2, who was on the same youngest-member line as the sunfish.
So at some point, Baek Yeon-woo started treating him like the neighborhood idiot and focused solely on adapting to the Canyon.
“I’m only saying this because you feel like a little brother to me, but think carefully about where you are. That representative treats hunters like tools. The second you become useless, he’ll throw you away.”
Bullshit.
If you become useless, you should be thrown away. Proving your worth is what being a pro is about. Is a guild some kind of security blanket you carry around out of attachment?
“You joined for the money too, right? Hey, money isn’t everything in this world. I started out thinking the same way, but I left so I could live like a human being. Look at me now—I’m a League 1 starter.”
More bullshit.
“What’s with that look? Don’t tell me you heard the ‘tool’ comment too? You did, didn’t you? Haha. He’s still saying that crap?”
Still bullshit.
Baek Yeon-woo knew the full story. During the height of his treatment, Lee Shin had visited his hospital room almost every single night.
Lee Shin would smile and talk to him, saying he’d feel lonely if left alone. One of the main topics they’d discussed back then was recruitment.
— “Hmm, most of our kids will probably have to leave. They were never going to reach major level anyway. It’s best to part ways now while we can still smile.”
Lee Shin took far better care of his people than expected.
He had loaded them up with items, performance bonuses, detailed growth plans, and even recommended guilds that matched their directions.
Take Baek Yeon-woo himself, for example.
— “Hey, Patient Number One. You’re lucky. You have no idea how expensive the medicine and equipment you’re using right now are. So participate in the experiments with enthusiasm.”
It was something that damn porter had said, but he hadn’t been wrong at all.
Baek Yeon-woo had been saved by Lee Shin.
Therefore, everything this guy was saying was bullshit.
No.
I feel bad for dogs.
Even dogs know gratitude.
The more Baek Yeon-woo’s ‘eyes’ adapted, the more Park Jeong-seok’s information was laid bare before him.
This guy never should have been here. If someone had dragged a failure all the way to this stage, the least he could do was bow his head and greet them every day with gratitude. Instead, he was running his mouth? If he were a dog, at least he’d be cute.
Baek Yeon-woo had endured a lot.
He had endured so much.
He had endured so, so much.
And now, he was done.
When Baek Yeon-woo reached the top lane for the second set, he watched Park Jeong-seok prepare to start another round of childish trash talk, then threw his scabbard to the ground.
“Hey.”
“??”
“You need to get hit.”
Baek Yeon-woo vanished from Park Jeong-seok’s sight.
A moment later.
‘Baek Yeon-woo’ has killed ‘Park Jeong-seok.’
* * *
It hadn’t even been a full minute since the match began.
At a time when even the commentators had nothing to say and were still analyzing the previous set, Baek Yeon-woo’s solo kill exploded onto the screen.
He had thrown away his scabbard, charged straight at Park Jeong-seok, dodged every single one of the man’s signature bare-handed strikes, and then headbutted him.
Not a metaphor. He literally performed a headbutt.
— “Even after the face strike, Baek Yeon-woo dodges all of Park Jeong-seok’s attacks! Kick, one-two straight, even that new grappling technique he just equipped. He’s leaving afterimages with every evasion!”
— “The evasion is amazing, but the counters are pure art.”
— “Park Jeong-seok is the one throwing punches, yet every punch leaves a sword wound. After accumulating damage, the moment Park Jeong-seok unleashes his signature ‘Shattering Kick’…!”
— “He dodges by a hair’s breadth again and immediately slashes the throat! Krrgh!! This is fun. He’s charging in without any regard for defense. So brave! So relentless!!”
With his seal broken, Baek Yeon-woo was unstoppable.
He still hadn’t fully adapted to the Canyon. He couldn’t even gauge the limits of his own ability yet. He wasn’t even considering things like macro or vision control.
If it had been Park Su-bin, the same age as him, he would have agonized over the situation and eventually found the answer himself. But Baek Yeon-woo was different.
He decided to focus only on what he could see.
“Captain.”
— “Speak.”
“I’m only looking at top.”
— “!!”
“I’ll say it again. I’m only looking at top.”
If Lee Shin had heard that line, he would have burst out laughing.
The ‘Griff’ he remembered had also killed anyone who caught his eye first.
Baek Yeon-woo sharpened his focus and shifted into high gear.
He awakened the slaughtering instinct engraved in his DNA.
Conveniently, there was an annoying bug flapping around in front of him. He curled the corner of his mouth at the perfect prey.
“Hey, you worm.”
“!!…… You little shit?”
“A bug is talking?”
“Come here, you son of a bitch.”
“Who the hell are you to tell me to come or go?”
You come here.
When Baek Yeon-woo beckoned with his finger, Park Jeong-seok snorted and charged.
A dazzling barrage of punches. The cannon-like sound of air being torn filled the surroundings. He looked furious, but he wasn’t using his feet, and unlike before, each strike was careful and measured.
The problem was…
“Now it’s finally worth watching. You could do this the whole time. Why didn’t you?”
Even as the punches came flying in with afterimages, Baek Yeon-woo remained relaxed.
Dodge left, slash. Dodge right, slash.
The funny thing was that he was only aiming for the thighs.
“That half-assed footwork of yours is actually poisoning you. A tank trying to look cool. Myeong-suk noona was actually tricky to deal with, though.”
“Shut up!!”
“Still, one thing you said was right. If you had stayed, there wouldn’t have been a spot for you. Right now, there’s no one in the guild worse than you.”
“This little bastard……”
“Still, Hye-jung noona is kind. She says even a guy like you was a colleague, so even if she has a narrow heart, she doesn’t think you’re a bad person?”
“……You son of a biiitch!!”
“Use your item. You’ve got one hidden, don’t you? Right there on your chest.”
Stab!
At the same time, a sword plunged into his heart.
“Huh? That went deep?”
“……?!”
“Sorry.”
“You… fuck.”
“‘Fuck’ is getting old. Next time you come back, please use something more creative.”
‘Baek Yeon-woo’ has killed ‘Park Jeong-seok.’
Bye-bye.
Baek Yeon-woo even waved at the disappearing Park Jeong-seok.
He probably didn’t realize that the entire scene was being broadcast live across the country.
— “Kup, kuhup.”
— “H-hold on, that’s pretty spicy. Baek Yeon-woo, was it? Extremely spicy.”
— “Hunter Baek Yeon-woo scores his second solo kill with a graceful thrust. The balance in top lane has completely collapsed.”
— “Hehe, what a unique character has appeared. The fans are going to love this.”
And just as the commentator said, the chat was in absolute chaos.
In truth, because Lee Shin and the Yongbung fans had such strong images, people often forgot that when you looked at the raid team, Mir Guild was pure, innocent, and tasted like milk.
Yu Ri-ra was the only spicy one, but even she was the healthy kind of spicy—nothing too dangerous.
But they had finally found it. Their stimulant.
The Maraschino Assault Captain had arrived.
Tower destroyed.
— “Baek Yeon-woo sends the returning Park Jeong-seok back home again and single-handedly takes down the first tower. Current time: 4 minutes 51 seconds. Not even five minutes have passed.”
— “Ah, Park Jeong-seok. His condition must be bad today. He’s nowhere near as good as before. On the other hand, Baek Yeon-woo is truly unique. He doesn’t back down. When an attack comes in, you’d think he’d retreat, but he actually steps forward instead. ‘Hit me, I can dodge everything.’ And he really does dodge everything. Wow……”
— “It’s true. An extreme infighter style. The more you watch, the more awe-inspiring it becomes. Still, he should probably regroup now—huh? Huh?”
— “Where is he going? Baek Yeon-woo? Excuse me, Baek Yeon-woo?!”
There was already far too much information. Just organizing it all was overwhelming. So instead…
I will close my thoughts.
Move forward no matter what.
Cut down anything that stands in the way.
If you’re going to do it, do it properly. No half-measures.
Leave nothing behind. Focus on only one thing.
Only forward. Absolute advance. Baek Yeon-woo’s gaze locked dead ahead.
He ran.
His sword danced. Sword light flashed.
He split time and carved space apart.
This place, reflected in his sky-blue eyes, was his territory.
The path he walked became the path itself. Therefore, anything that blocked it was removed.
“This time I won’t—!”
The sky-blue eyes flashed. The sword light, curved like a ‘snake,’ bared its vicious fangs.
Park Jeong-seok charged forward with both shields raised to block it.
However—
Shishishik—!
The gracefully curved sword light in the air slithered like a living serpent, slipping perfectly between both arms.
And then it bit into his heart.
Enemy slain.
In that same flowing motion, Baek Yeon-woo spun elegantly like a dancer and thrust his sword into the bushes.
“Kugh……!”
Park Ho-soo, who had been hiding and waiting for an opportunity, collapsed out of the bushes.
A sword buried in his throat. Instant death.
Within the domain of the Heavenly Eye, no one could escape Baek Yeon-woo’s sight.
Double Kill.
And so.
He grabbed the sword that had risen above his head in reverse grip and stabbed it into his own side.
Stab!
Aki, who had slipped into the shadows, stared in disbelief at the sword buried in his heart before scattering into magical energy.
Triple Kill.
That’s right.
To stealth assassins, Baek Yeon-woo was nothing short of a natural predator.
No matter how outstanding the stealth, it was ultimately a human technique. How could a mere human trick hope to escape the eyes of heaven?
This was exactly why Lee Shin had gone out of his way to bring Baek Yeon-woo up.
“I told you. You just have to look.”
An existence capable of shattering a stalemate and flipping the flow of an entire match in an instant.
Crack.
This was the final masterpiece Lee Shin had prepared.
Tower destroyed.
Amid the shattered remains of the tower, Baek Yeon-woo’s sky-blue eyes were shining.
— “Baek Yeon-woo is completely incinerating the top lane!!”