(Wh-What the… Who is this man!?)
Kurt couldn’t hide his shock as he witnessed his greatest creations, monsters he considered his masterpieces, being defeated one after another.
“What’s wrong? There are more, aren’t there?”
“Damn it! Shut up! This is far from over…!”
Kurt summoned additional monsters, the ones meant to appear between the second and eighth floors. Over fifty monsters appeared at once, each one too powerful for any student to handle.
However, Shin remained unfazed.
“Lightning Armor.“
Surrounded by crackling lightning, Shin dashed around the battlefield, instantly eliminating the attacking monsters with a single blow. His movements and power were reminiscent of an unstoppable warrior blessed with exceptional talent.
(Damn it… Damn it! Once again, I’m humiliated by talent…! If only I had talent like him…)
“Are you jealous again?”
“!?”
With a cold, contemptuous gaze, Shin spoke harshly to Kurt. His eyes filled with anger, and the surrounding lightning crackled wildly in response to his emotions.
“You’re too obsessed with talent. Even if you steal it from someone, it won’t truly be yours. That power—each person fought tooth and nail to earn it.”
“Shut up… Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up! What do you, someone blessed with talent, understand!?”
“Then tell me, have you ever spent over a year in the ‘Forbidden Thunder Forest’?”
Kurt’s mouth hung open, his expression blank with disbelief. He couldn’t process what Shin was saying.
It was only natural for him to react that way.
The “Forbidden Thunder Forest” was a place considered impossible for humans to survive. Even the most skilled adventurers and those who had contracts with transcendental spirits avoided it. How could anyone survive there for over a year?
—Impossible.
Kurt was certain of it. Not only was it a hellish place, but just entering it was a death sentence.
But the next moment, Kurt came to a realization.
The boy in front of him, the same age as himself, had done the impossible.
“I lived in that forest for over a year. I obtained and honed this power because I’m just a weak human who could die at any moment.”
Shin turned to Kurt and posed a question.
“Do you know? Hera, the person whose talent you’re trying to steal, entered the Forbidden Thunder Forest when she was just seven years old.”
“That… that’s impossible! It’s the Forbidden Thunder Forest! Everyone hesitates to enter, and once they do, they never return! It’s the most terrifying place in the world!”
“But Hera survived on her own. Sure, she’s exceptionally talented. But there are many others in this world with greater talent than her. So, Kurt, have you ever risked your life? Have you ever made the decision to die?”
Kurt was at a loss for words.
He had never risked his life, not even once.
He always made excuses, claiming that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t surpass geniuses because he lacked talent. Instead of putting in effort, he ran away, blaming his lack of talent.
Shin gazed at the speechless Kurt with cold, emotionless eyes and sighed deeply.
Then, in the next instant—
“Someone like you, who has never risked his life, has no right to insult the power born from effort!”
In the blink of an eye, countless lightning spears materialized around Shin, instantly obliterating the monsters. His body exuded an overwhelming aura, and all the mana flowing from him transformed into pure electricity, filling the air with thunderous roars as it surged through the space.
Lightning surrounded Shin, preventing any of the monsters from getting close.
“S-Stop! Don’t come any closer! Stay away…! Help me, you monsters! Kill this insolent fool immediately!!”
“Talent is just talent. If you don’t use it, you’ll never even realize it before you die.”
Kurt, driven mad by fear, desperately ordered the monsters to attack, but Shin didn’t even glance at them. He annihilated them all in an instant. Unlike the terrified Kurt, the monsters were almost joyous, grateful to finally be freed from the torment of being manipulated, eagerly rushing to their deaths at Shin’s hand.
“P-Please… don’t kill me… I beg you…”
“…”
Shin stopped right in front of Kurt and looked down at him with disdain, as if he were staring at trash.
Then, with a stern expression, Shin muttered coldly.
“You’re thinking about summoning the demon of envy to kill me and steal my talent, aren’t you?”
“…T-That’s not true…”
“If you’re really thinking that—then you better give it up.”
The moment Shin finished speaking, the space in front of them distorted, and a powerful lightning bolt burst forth. From it, a god-like figure wielding a staff of thunder—Zeus—appeared, effortlessly controlling the lightning that surged around him.
The sheer presence and power of Zeus, incomparable to any demon of envy, made Kurt realize that there was no escape. There was no way out of this situation.
“You’re finished.”
Shin’s merciless words weighed heavily on Kurt, sealing his fate.
