Sprout #01 – Hypergyphon: Hold on a sec… I'll look into other streams.

Sprout #03 – Essos: That's actually a good idea… imma look too.

Sprout #02 – Linnene: I'll stay here, just in case… hope you find them.

Sprout #01 – Hypergyphon has left the stream.

Sprout #03 – Essos has left the stream.

Somewhere on Earth—

Old man Callum Hayes sat behind a cluttered desk, the glow of a holographic screen reflecting in his glasses.

[Profile: Ahrie Von Creed]

He leaned back, rubbing his temples. "Creed…" he muttered under his breath.

The door creaked open. His assistant stepped in, a polite smile plastered on his face.

"Good day, sir. What are you up to?"

Callum turned the screen slightly, revealing Ahrie's profile.

The assistant blinked. "Isn't that the troublemaker?"

"Yeah," Callum said with a grunt. "This bastard was a headache for the entire four years he spent in the Training Grounds."

The assistant chuckled. "He fought everyone, didn't he? Even you, sir."

Callum smirked faintly. "Yeah. Beat every instructor that came his way…" He paused, eyes narrowing. "But every time he faced me—he left the arena crawling."

"Tch…" Callum muttered, eyes fixed on the glowing profile. "He's starting to resemble his old man as he grows. Battle maniac runs through that damned bloodline, I guess."

He leaned back, exhaling through his nose. "Still… stats alone—he was the strongest I've ever seen."

The assistant tilted his head. "Stats?"

"Normal humans without awakening," Callum explained, tapping the air to pull up a chart beside Ahrie's record, "only sit around 0.5 across the board—maybe a few points higher depending on lifestyle."

"Like how scientists would have higher stats in intelligence?" the assistant asked.

"Exactly," Callum nodded. "Highly trained humans—they usually cap at 1.0 in one or two stats. That's already top-tier for an unawakened."

He paused, tone flattening. "A rare few hit 1.2. But him…"

He flicked the screen, displaying a line of identical numbers.

"1.5. Not in one stat—in all of them."

The assistant went silent for a moment before muttering, "That's… inhuman."

"Indeed," Callum said.

"But the most terrifying thing he had…" Callum leaned back in his chair, a crooked grin forming. "Was his adaptability. Kid lasted from a single punch… to a full minute of my consecutive hits—just within a few days. Hah!"

He let out a booming laugh, shaking his head. "I wonder what that brat's doing right now… can't wait to see how much he's grown."

He shifted in his seat—crack!—his spine protested audibly.

"Arghh… my back…" he groaned dramatically, clutching his side. Then, with a deadpan glance at his assistant:

"Can I retire now?"

The assistant replied, "No, sir. You can't."

"Oh, come on!" Callum threw his hands in the air like a sulking kid.

At the Ent's office… chaos filled the halls.

Papers flying, screens flashing, Ents yelling at each other from every direction.

Ahrie's Ent sprinted through the corridor, panic in his voice.

"KOKO! MIN!"

He kicked open another door—wrong office.

"Sorry! My bad!" Slam. Next one. "MIN!? KOK—nope! Not them either!"

He dashed down the next hallway, breathing heavily, sweat dripping like he was in a marathon.

Actually, by this point, he was running a marathon—half of one at least.

But he didn't stop. Not when Ahrie's and his life was on the line.

"Dammit! Dammit!"

Ahrie's Ent tore through another hallway, panic cracking in his voice. His glow dimmed with every failed door. Hope was slipping through his fingers.

Then—

BAM!

He kicked another door open.

"KOKO! MIN!"

Inside, an Ent blinked at him from behind a cluttered desk.

"...Is there a problem?"

Ahrie's Ent stumbled forward, panting.

"Who—who are you watching!?"

"Uh… Seo Min Jae," the Ent replied.

Ahrie's Ent froze. His eyes sparkled. Then—

Tears. Actual tears.

He threw both arms up, voice breaking,

"FINALLY!!!"

He pointed at himself like a lunatic. "I'm Ahrie's Ent!"

"Wait—eh!? You're his Ent!?" Min's Ent turned back to his screen, eyes widening. "Oh, shit. We have an emergency!"

Both stared at the stream—Ahrie getting absolutely mauled.

Ahrie's Ent smacked his own face. "Focus! There's a potion—inside the bag—tied to that useless horse! Tell Min to get it!"

Min's Ent rubbed his chin. "Right, right, smart… but, uh—"

He turned, face blank. "I don't have a way to contact him either."

Silence.

Ahrie's Ent froze. His glow flickered. Slowly, realization set in.

"They're… both still level one," he muttered.

And then—

He dropped to his knees, despair filling his voice.

"...Nooooooo."

At Ahrie's Ent's office…

Sprout #02 – Linnene watched in horror as Ahrie got ragdolled across the battlefield.

Sprout #03 – Essos joined the stream.

Sprout #03 – Essos: any news?

Sprout #02 – Linnene: none so far..

Sprout #03 – Essos: damn he was so beat up..

Sprout #01 – Hypergyphon joined the stream

Sprout #01 – Hypergyphon: FOUND IT! Here's the Root Address : tr4sh-summr.root

Sprout #02 – Linnene: aight… let's spam there..

One by one, they disconnected from the stream.

Sprout #03 – Essos leave the stream

Sprout #01 – Hypergyphon leave the stream

Sprout #02 – Linnene leave the stream

Sprout #142 – ???: ROCKY!

Sprout #271 – ???: ALL HAIL ROCKY!

Sprout #087 – ???: ALL HAIL ROCKY!

Sprout #888 – ???: tell Koko we want some tea too…

Koko's Ent groaned, rubbing her temples as chat scrolled faster than she could read.

Koko's Ent: Alright, alright! Stop spamming Rocky before I mute the whole stream—

But then… something changed.

Sprout #02 – ???: Help Ahrie!

Sprout #03 – ???: There's a potion in the bag tied to the horse!

Sprout #01 – ???: Help Ahrie!

The chat suddenly turned from memes to panic.

The feed flooded with messages:

"THE POTION! THE POTION! THE POTION!"

Koko's Ent froze for a second, eyes darting between the chat and the live feed—then her fingers flew across the keyboard.

She typed one urgent message, hit send, and prayed it would reach in time:

"KOKO—THE POTION!"

A UI window blinked to life in front of Koko—

PFFFFUUUU!!

Tea sprayed everywhere as Koko choked mid-sip.

"W–what do you mean—Ahrie!?"

She turned her head—and froze.

Across the field, Ahrie was getting folded like laundry.

"OHH GEEZ—WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?!"

She jumped to her feet, rushing to the horse and rummaging through the side bag.

Clink—Clink!

Two small glass vials rolled into her hand.

Koko stared at them, her face twisting.

"Two health potions…? We only have two health potions?!"

She looked back at Ahrie—bloodied, staggering, barely on his feet.

"Brace for impact, Ahrie! Potions are comin'!" Koko shouted, winding her arm like a pitcher.

She hurled the vial—

whooosh—CRACK!

It hit the dirt a few feet short and exploded into glittering mist.

Ahrie blinked at it. "…Did—did you just miss?"

Koko winced, gripping her hair. "Ow… yeah… f–fuck, my bad!"

She looked at the remaining potion in her hand, then at Ahrie getting rag-dolled again.

"Okay… okay, focus Koko…"

Min stood frozen—breathing sharp, uneven.

His grip on the knife wavered. The sound around him faded—Ahrie's grunts, Koko's shouts, even the thundering of the monster. All drowned in static.

At the Ent's office, both Ahrie's and Min's Ents were screaming through their screens—

"DO SOMETHING, MIN!"

But it never reached him.

Whew… whew…

Min's chest rose and fell, trembling.

Blood.

Shattered bodies.

That voice.

"My goal? Heh… I'll be one of the greatest tanks in history."

"Look forward to it, Min."

A flash—

That same person, lying in a pool of blood.

"Run away, Min…"

His vision flickered—past and present melting together.

The blood-soaked man from before…

and Ahrie—getting crushed right now—

Overlapped.

Min's hand quivered harder.

He clenched his jaw.

The same helplessness.

The same fear.

The same scream—

stuck in his throat.

WHAM!

A rock nailed Min right in the cheek.

He blinked—then glared at Rocky.

The little guy was flailing his rocky arms, squeaking furiously—

"Da fuck are you doin' just watching?! GOOO! SHOOO! HELP THE FUCK UP!"

Of course, Min couldn't understand a word.

But that look—that judging, disappointed look—said everything.

Something in Min snapped.

His trembling hands gripped his small shield.

His mind flashed back—

blood dripping, that familiar weight of a dying comrade in his arms…

"I'm gonna be the best tank in your stead," he'd once whispered.

"So please… watch over it."

"ARGHH—FUUUCK!" Min roared, voice cracking.

He raised the shield—

the same one he swore he'd never use again—

and charged.

"I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU DO YOUR SHIIIT!"

Rocky threw a thumbs up—solid, confident, like "yeah, that's my boy."

Then—WHIP!

The lizard's tail came out of nowhere and slammed Min square in the chest.

BOOOF!

Rocky froze mid-pose… then slowly, awkwardly lowered his thumb.

Min coughed, wiped the blood off his lip, and stood his ground.

He rolled his shoulders, spat to the side, and yelled,

"OII, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

The lizard's head jerked toward him, eyes narrowing—its aggro instantly switched.

While it turned, Koko tiptoed her way toward Ahrie, clutching the last health potion like it was a bomb about to go off.

"Please don't die before I reach you…" she muttered under her breath.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.