The world ended on a Wednesday.
Sky ripped like paper. Earth cracked open like broken glass. Monsters crawled out of glowing gates, strange towers erupted from the crust of the planet, and humanity—blissfully ignorant one day—was on its knees the next.
Three years later, Earth was divided into zones, guilds, towers, and blood.
Awakeners, people who survived the Cataclysm, received unique abilities based on unknown criteria. Some manipulated fire. Some wielded ice. Some were healers, others summoners. Most died.
But only one had Modern Martial Arts fused with All Elemental Internal Energy.
Only one had Telekinesis that rivaled gods.
Only one was the embodiment of control, carnage, and composure.
The Awakener Association in Seoul was filled with eager rookies. Everyone came to get tested, hoping to break out of poverty or obscurity and enter the ranks of hunters.
A monitor beeped. Lights flickered.
All heads turned to a pale figure with a graceful, almost divine presence. He stood tall but not overly so, dressed in a cheap hoodie, black sweatpants, and plastic sandals.
His hair—snowflake white with hints of glacial blue—fell in effortless waves. His skin was a flawless glossy pearl hue, like ivory dipped in moonlight. His iris swirled in stormy silver, surrounding deep ocean-blue pupils that seemed to contain tsunamis.
Even the room quieted when he looked up. His gaze wasn't arrogant.
It was indifference perfected.
A bored god among insects.
"Next—subject 2213. Name?" the examiner asked.
He yawned. "Sage Hwan."
The scanning orb pulsed. Energy surged through the chamber. Lights exploded. Machines overheated.
"ERROR. UNKNOWN CLASS DETECTED. RE-INITIATING SCAN."
Everyone gasped.
Then came the result.
[Awakening Complete]
Name: Sage Hwan
Rank: E (Upgradeable)
Unique Trait: Modern Martial Artist (Elemental Internal Energy Fusion – Infinite Evolution)
Exclusive Skill: Telekinetic Core – Boundless Control
Personality Alignment: [Neutral Chaotic] – Rational Kindness / Absolute Cruelty
Sage's eyes narrowed.
"E-Rank? Tch. Boring."
He flicked his finger. The examiner stumbled back as the floor cracked beneath Sage's sandal. His energy wasn't violent, but it hummed like coiled storms and trembled like suppressed volcanoes.
"I'll start from the bottom then," he muttered.
Three Days Later — A Rank-F Dungeon
Ten new hunters screamed. Their party leader, a B-Rank swordsman, was split in half by a four-armed goblin boss.
Sage walked in alone.
Everyone screamed, "Hey! It's suicide!"
Sage tilted his head. "Shut up."
He blurred forward, feet twisting with brutal elegance. His Modern Martial Flow, a style combining kickboxing, aikido, taekwondo, and chi control, exploded into a tornado of elemental bursts.
Fire wrapped his left fist. Ice hugged his right. Wind spiraled beneath his feet. Thunder crackled around his body like a coat of divine rage.
The goblin boss screeched.
CRACK.
Its head caved in from a single telekinetic elbow strike before it could scream.
Blood painted the dungeon walls. The remaining mobs whimpered.
Sage didn't speak.
He walked—no, glided—into the crowd of monsters and massacred them with surgical, godless cruelty.
He broke spines, shattered kneecaps, ripped tendons—not out of rage.
He was just testing moves.
"I'm getting a feel for it. These goblins are pathetic, but functional for target practice," he muttered as he lifted a struggling goblin mid-air and snapped its limbs in sequence.
The other hunters stared at him with awe and terror.
He didn't spare them a glance.
Until a crying child crawled out of a shattered shield bubble.
Her mother was among the dead.
Sage stopped. His expression changed—ever so slightly.
He kneeled down and wiped the girl's tear-stained face with his sleeve.
"You shouldn't be in a place like this," he said gently. "The weak shouldn't suffer for the failures of the strong."
He carried her outside—telekinetically floating over the rubble—and handed her to the medics.
Back at the Association HQ
The report read:
"Low-rank Awakened kills D-Rank Dungeon Boss solo. Exhibits S-Class Elemental Control. Suspected Reality Bender. Danger Level: Black Watch."
But Sage?
He sat under the sun, cross-legged, shirtless, breathing slowly.
Muscles flexed like they were sculpted by wind, not iron.
Around him, elemental energy condensed. Fire flickered. Water formed spheres. Wind sliced the air. Rocks hovered. Lightning danced. Light and shadow intertwined.
"Again," he muttered, beginning his 10,000-punch training.
Just like a certain bald hero in a manga once inspired him.
But unlike that man, Sage wasn't here to protect everyone.
He was here to dominate.