The screams started from everywhere when the monster wave hit.
"We have to run—quickly—until the forces get here!!" someone shouted while fleeing.
"My mom! Where are you, Mom?!" cried a little girl searching for the mother who had run off and left her after the wave began.
At that moment, a level-30 ghoul approached to kill her — but a young man, handsome with black hair, blue eyes, and a muscular build, appeared and cut the ghoul's head off with a single spear strike. It was John.
"Are you alright, little one?" he asked the girl with a smile.
"I'm looking for my mom," she sobbed.
"Don't worry — I'll find your mother for you," John said, smiling.
"Thank you, big brother," the girl replied, grateful.
I must kill all the monsters in this wave as fast as possible, John thought to himself.
"All right — I trained 170 years for this day." John activated his MAX-LV sensing skill.
"It looks like the largest gathering of monsters in this area." He dashed toward it. There were over a hundred level-30 monsters, but they were no longer a challenge to John with his countless skills. He slaughtered all the monsters in that area and then moved on to other places to clear the remaining creatures. While he fought, he rescued humans and guided them to safe zones.
"Lightning Speed is an amazing skill. I cleared all those monsters in less than five minutes. Of course, I could only use it because of Infinite Mana Circulation Skill." Lightning Speed multiplied John's normal speed by 100, making his Agility effectively 10,000 points! Even top-ranked players never dreamed of such a number. However, the bigger surprise was Infinite Mana Circulation Skill — it allowed him to draw endless mana from nature continuously without losing concentration while maintaining the skill.
"Okay, I've reached level 40, but level-up points don't matter much at this point. I'll ignore them for the moment." John's goal was to save the world from the catastrophe; he couldn't be distracted — every moment counted.
Over the 170 years he trained, John knew the greatest Disaster threats to humanity. Before John returned to the past, humanity had already been wiped out — but John planned to travel back anyway, so he continued training.
There are seven world-level disasters across the continents: North America — the End Dragon SILVER; South America — the giant octopus Kraken; Asia — the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi; Africa — the firebird Phoenix; Europe — the Hellhound Cerberus; Australia — the legendary Chimera; and the Antarctic disaster, John had little hard information but was certain there was a world-level disasters there too, based on his sensing skill.
"My nearest disaster is in North America: the End Dragon SILVER— that's my next destination." John had planned this already. He would rescue North America, which had the highest S-RANK awakened people, because America had enlisted many S-RANK awakeneds.
John knew he couldn't save the world alone, so he wanted to recruit the S-RANK awakeneds in America to help save as many people as possible.
"This is the bitter truth: I can't save all of humanity even with my full power right now. I'll rely on awakeneds to clear the normal waves while I handle the global disasters alone!" That was John's plan.
John's journey to the first disaster wasn't easy despite his strength — he encountered every type of monster wave on the way.
"Damn it! Even after raising my power this far, my luck is still my weakness," John cursed internally.
Every living creature has a survival instinct, so it was strange that monsters still attacked John despite his massive strength — of course, that was the effect of his cursed luck.
After ten days:
"Finally — I've arrived in America. The End Dragon should be nearby." The Place was littered with wreckage and flames — signs of SILVER battles with awakeneds.
The awakener ranks were classified as follows:
Rank F: barely awakened — average stat 15
Rank D: average stat 30
Rank C: average stat 45
Rank B: average stat 60
Rank A: average stat 75
Rank S: average stat 100 and above
There were exceptions for unusual skill combinations: for example, an F-rank awakener with a B-rank crafting skill might be classified as C or D.
John's stats were S-rank, and more terrifyingly, his unique skill Regression was EX-class special skill — but his luck remained his weak point.
"I need to find the human remaining here." John activated his sensing skill and soon located them.
As John drew near the shelter, he heard a shout: "Stop! Stay Back!" He knew someone was there.
"Calm down — I'm John Smith, an S-rank awakener. I'd like to talk to your leader," John said quietly so as not to alarm them further.
"Who's asking to meet me?" A heavily wounded, tall, rugged-faced man stepped out. He was an S-ranked awakener: William Antoine.
William assessed John when he heard the S-rank claim, and a look of disappointment crossed his face. John was level 40, while even the weakest S-ranks were in the mid-200s; William himself was an exception — level 300.
"I know what you're thinking — you think I'm only newly awakened," John said; William wasn't surprised John could tell that. Only a fool wouldn't know.
"When I heard you say you're S-rank, I thought you might be someone I know or reinforcements from another country," William said directly. He'd been hoping for international support given their dire state — but when hope appeared before him, it vanished in the next moment.
"No external aid will be coming from any country… but don't worry, I'll be your support," John said arrogantly.
"You? What gives you the confidence?" William snorted in mockery.
"I think this will be enough," John replied and activated a magic skill: "Transcendent Healing." He healed all of William's wounds.
"What?! You have an S-rank healing skill?! Can you use it repeatedly? Can you heal all my people?!" William shouted in disbelief when he saw it.
"Yes — I can," John answered immediately.
"Please, come in," William invited John into the shelter.
Inside were many ordinary people, thousands of wounded, and thousands of awakeneds gravely injured.
"It's good that all the injured are in one place — this will make my job easier." John activated Transcendent Healing on a wide area. The effect was reduced in range, but he healed most of the injured in seconds and the severely wounded within minutes.
"All done," John said to William, who stood shocked. He had expected to be satisfied if even ten people could be healed; John had healed them all.
"How can I ever repay you, sir…? Where are my manners — I didn't ask your name. I'm William Antoine. What's your name, sir?" William said, bowing in deep respect.
"I'm John Smith. As for repaying me — I want you to handle the monster waves," John said firmly to William Antoine.
William sighed. "I can't do that. I can't defeat the End Dragon by myself," he replied sadly.
"Who said I want you to kill the End Dragon? I want you to attack the other monster waves while I kill the End Dragon!" John explained.
"What?! You'll die if you try to kill the End Dragon — and you're just a healer!" William assumed John was an S-rank healer because of the skills he'd displayed.
"I don't have time to explain. Do exactly as I say. We'll attack in one hour. Finish off the monster waves and I'll kill SILVER." William realized John wasn't joking.
"Maybe he really has a way to kill him," William thought to himself.
"Oh, and gather all the awakeneds — I want to see everyone's abilities," John added with a smile to William.