Chapter 157

[Title: Did Coffee King Just Get Wrecked?]

There must be at least a hundred of them—how could a B–rank handle this...?

└ You’re a muggle, aren’t you? Using an Awakener’s power looks easy but it’s never that simple.

└ Who said I couldn’t share my own thoughts? lol

└ 222 Exactly—you’d have to rip out everything except the ground you’re standing on and trigger a cataclysm.

└ Oh, great idea.

└ You’re talking about a guy who can barely dig, and now you want a golem?

└ If he could do that, he wouldn’t be B–rank.

Even as all these S–rank loners popped out of their rooms chatting about Taeeon, he remained frozen in place. He couldn’t even guess how many were swarming him, and a cold sweat rolled down his forehead. In his chest, the urge to give up kept growing stronger. Still, Taeeon bit his lip hard and forced the impulse to flee aside. After all, he had a goal he wanted to achieve.

‘I want... I want to show Roy something.’

Roy was the savior of his life. Just as Roy had given him a new existence, Taeeon had resolved to spend whatever time he had left serving Roy—and he’d promised himself he would. Of course Roy had leapt up and said it wasn’t necessary, but wasn’t it Taeeon’s own right to choose his life’s purpose? Taeeon wanted to use his power for Roy’s sake. But against an S–rank opponent, in his current condition, he wouldn’t be of any help—he’d only be dead weight. He was still striving, with Roy’s help, toward a re-awakening, but progress was slower than he’d hoped, and he was inwardly anxious.

‘Maybe... today could be my chance to measure my limit.’

He couldn’t rely on his comrades forever. In the end, everyone had to stand on their own. With that thought, he wanted, just this once, to overcome this trial purely with his own strength.

‘Right. Let’s do this.’

He didn’t really have another choice. Resolute, Taeeon lifted his head. Staring at the scene before him, he muttered to himself, as though to steady his nerves: these are coffee cherries infested with pests. So before the rotten fruit harms the rest, let’s prune them out.

“Pfff...”

He drew a slow breath, closed his eyes, then reopened them. The crimson eyes of the Blood Fiends that had felt so threatening moments ago now looked exactly like coffee cherries. Bunches of fruit hung from every branch—what a bumper crop. If he harvested these and roasted the beans, how fun would that be? At the thought, a smile crept onto Taeeon’s lips.

‘I can do it.’

He planted his weight on his toes and sensed the earth’s currents. Beneath the tangled roots of the coffee trees, he could vaguely feel where the Blood Fiends stood or moved. Just then, he sensed a pack rushing swiftly toward him. He swept his arm to summon a solid, thick wall of earth behind his back—

Thoom!

“Kieeeek!”

“Kiek!”

Blood Fiends slammed into the dirt wall with heavy thuds. If he’d been a moment slower, his back would have been exposed. But this only bought him time; they weren’t the type to die just from hitting a wall. Swish! Taeeon swung his arm again, and chunks of earth and rock cascaded down from above, engulfing the Blood Fiends that had been battering their heads against the wall. But there was no time to relax. Another pack charged at him from the right—

“...!”

Taeeon turned, stretched out his arm—

Kugooong—

With a roar, the ground beneath him shot skyward in a pillar of earth. The column cleaved through the throng, scattering the disorganized pack into pieces.

“Kieeek!”

“Kieeeeeek!”

The unbalanced Blood Fiends tumbled down the slope, colliding and entangling as they screamed. Taeeon watched that for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the opposite side. While he’d been dealing with the right, another pack had burrowed in on the left, closing in on him—

“Grr—”

Taeeon ground his teeth, took a long stride—

Creeeak—

A spiderweb of fissures spread across the ground with a dull crack.

“Kieeeeeek!”

“Kiek!”

The earth split open lengthwise, swallowing every Blood Fiend charging at him. Thanks to the horizontal chasm, he’d effectively created a solid defensive wall to the west. Its width was ample enough that no Blood Fiend could easily cross. But there was still no breath to spare—another pack had surged up from the north and was already almost on top of him.

“Hah...”

Panting, Taeeon raised his trembling arm. He could feel his energy draining noticeably. His limit was creeping closer, but he couldn’t stop here. He had to fight as far as he could. Whip— Taeeon raised his arm again, and this time, wavy streams of earth like heat haze rose from the ground. This was an application of the “Create Creature” skill he’d practiced in re-awakening training with Roy.

“Kiek!”

“Kiek!”

In an instant, dozens of earthen tendrils sprouted and writhed like living creatures, wrapping around the ankles of the Blood Fiends. Trapped and yanked off balance, they staggered and then collapsed face-first. Viewers watching were aghast—each tendril seemed to move with intention, as if the earth itself possessed will.

✧

[Title: Was Kim Taeeon a Magician, Not an Elemental?]

(earth tendril motion.gif)

Is it just my imagination, or does that earth look alive? Can someone explain Awakener powers?

└ Are you kidding? That even exists?

└ I heard there’s one each in Spain and the US, super rare—but they’re D and F rank.

└ Getting C rank on a single power is hard enough; if it splits into two, the ranks have to drop.

└ Yeah, I heard ranks follow both powers equally.

└ If he’d awakened with only one, he might’ve aimed for A or even S rank.

└ What a waste~

└ Did he and Yeonwoo go do a secret retreat together or something? Compared to other contestants, those two have insane skill control.

└ They’re worlds apart from the start.

[Title: He’s a B–Rank Mage]

I can’t directly sense his mana through the screen, so I can’t definitively call him a mage. But among the three foundational skills for tiers, a very similar form exists. Elemental and magical lines both create something from nothing at their core. That’s why academia has long argued they should be classified under one higher category. The issue is expression. Elemental Awakeners typically only amplify or transform existing natural flows. True magic, by contrast, is closer to creation that imbues a concept beyond mere manipulation. Yet this contestant displays simultaneous multi-control, natural amplification/transformation, and even reactions as if he’s given the natural material its own will. There’s no confirmation yet, but if Taeeon truly is a mage, he may become the strongest rival threatening I-Gong this season.

└ Take it easy, bro, or I’ll cry.

└ Wow, savage lolol.

└ Inferiority complex.

Unknown to anyone suspecting him of dual awakening after creating earth tendrils, Kim Taeeon was still focusing every nerve on combating the Blood Fiends before him.

‘...I’m exhausted.’

He was at his absolute limit. Battling packs of Blood Fiends closing in from every direction, his movements grew sluggish. The distance between him and the Fiends noticeably shrank. If he faltered even once, this razor-thin balance he’d maintained would collapse instantly.

“Kieeeeeek!”

Then it happened. The southern defense line he’d barely held broke, and a wave of Blood Fiends surged forward, like a crimson tide crashing down. A cold chill ran through his entire body.