Prologue part 2 : Daybreak End

The outbreak had begun.

Monsters poured from the rift, flooding the school grounds. Panic erupted as the hallways filled with screams. Students and teachers scrambled in every direction, unsure what to do.

I stood frozen. My body trembled, my eyes locked onto the swirling mass of energy. The air crackled with an unnatural charge, sending shivers down my spine.

Then it happened.

A monstrous creature—a massive beast with multiple glowing eyes—roared as it burst into the classroom. The ground shook beneath its weight, and an overwhelming sense of dread washed over me.

My body went cold. My legs shook as I instinctively backed away. Move. Move. Move—please.

Suddenly, the air around me crackled with electricity.

A blur of motion—too fast to follow.

Suho.

In an instant, he appeared before the creature. His fist struck its face, a surge of lightning exploding from his hand. A deafening crack split the air as the monster was sent flying backward.

I stared in shock.

The beast lay motionless, and Suho stood there, lightning dancing between his fingertips. He was calm, as if used to fighting monsters. But there was something different about his eyes today—a flicker of something unreadable.

"S-suho… w-what was that?" I stammered.

I wanted to ask him: Are you the one who closed those rifts before?

But before I could, he grabbed my arm.

"No time to explain! Did you forget the teacher told us to evac to the gym?!"

Ahead, Yoo Seol waited, her face pale with shock. She must have remembered—one month ago, when Suho first revealed his powers on the rooftop.

"C'mon, Seolseol! We need to move! You too, Marumaru!"

With the way he fought… the truth was clear.

He had experience.

A memory surfaced—Suho falling sick last month. Strange, considering he was the healthiest person I knew. If he ever missed school, it was for idol training.

Another memory: a groupmate mentioning no practice that day, despite Suho insisting otherwise.

He'd lied.

He had been fighting. Closing rifts alone.

How could he be this reckless?

Amid the chaos, other students stumbled around, faces pale with fear.

Another monster lunged at us.

Suho moved in a flash.

He appeared before the beast, his fist colliding with its head. A burst of lightning erupted as the creature was sent flying. Before it could recover, Suho blurred again, appearing above it. He slammed its face into the ground. Again. And again.

The students gawked—some in fear, others in awe.

"Why're y'all just standing there?! Run, man! RUN!"

That snapped everyone out of their trance. We scrambled toward the gym.

Finally, we arrived. The gym was crowded with terrified students, teachers, and staff.

Suho exhaled. "Alright, y'all get inside. I'll protect you, so don't worry." His voice was light, casual—as if he hadn't just fought monsters barehanded.

He turned to the teacher. "Teach, I gotta head back out. Watch over them, 'kay?"

"What?! Baek Suho, it's too dangerous—"

But he didn't wait for her to finish. He waved as if to say Don't worry, and stepped out.

The door shut behind him.

Moments later—

A boom of lightning.

A monstrous scream.

Students murmured nervously.

"He's gonna be fine, right?"

"Did you see him punch that monster? He'll be fine… probably."

"Wait… he punched a monster with lightning?" the homeroom teacher asked, turning to the students.

The truth was starting to spread.

And outside—

Suho fought alone.

Every few seconds, a boom of lightning was followed by a monster's death cry.

Then—a loud crash from the other side of the gym. A minotaur-like beast appeared, roaring. But before it could attack, it collapsed, a lightning-shaped spear embedded in its back. Suho stood behind it, as if he'd just punched the spear from a distance.

"Y'all alright?!" he called.

Another monster lunged at him. Suho blurred, reappearing behind it, smashing its face into the ground.

"Incredible!"

"He's so fast!"

"Is he… superhuman?"

...----------------...

Suho scowled. This situation's bad,he thought. Guess Marumaru was right. The monsters really did come.

He glanced toward the sky, where his status window called it a Dungeon Gate. Defeating their boss was the only way to close the rift—or monster lair, until the government confirmed it.

The monsters were weak individually. His blue hologram-like interface displayed their levels after he struck them—mostly F to C ranks. Except for the boss… that A-rank bruiser had left him battered last time, forcing him to skip school.

He remembered training his lightning powers during thunderstorms, hiding his attacks within natural lightning strikes to avoid attention.

A monstrous claw swiped at him. Suho dodged, electricity crackling around his fist. He struck between another minotaur's legs, then drove his fist into its gut, lightning piercing through.

He huffed. An endurance match.

[Rank Up!!!]

[Status Window]

[Name: Baek Suho (Awakener)]

Privilege Ability: Lightning Manipulation

Mana Core Rank: E

Mana type: Lightning

Stats:

STR: B > B+

MAG: F

END: C

MAG END: EX[Black Hole Generator]

AGL: A > A+

Privilege Passive:

Black Hole Generator (Absorbs elemental and magic attacks, converting them into lightning to strengthen abilities.)

These annoying rank-up notices… always mid-battle.

His passive ability was unusual. And magic? He still had no idea how to use it. Whatever. Fists, dodging, and lightning worked fine.

A fireball shot toward him.

Suho winced, pretending to be hurt—though he was immune, thanks to Black Hole Generator. If the monsters realized, they'd adjust their tactics. Even beasts learned.

He created two lightning spears, punching them one by one to launch them at a flying beast. The first hit its chest; the second pierced the same spot, dropping it.

He huffed, hoping his family was safe. They'll manage. We're good at surviving.

Then he remembered. Wait… if this started during study time… what if someone's hiding somewhere?

"Hey! Is anyone still on break?!"

A girl shouted back. "Kang Min's in the second-floor restroom!"

"Can you call him?!" Suho dodged an attack, swept a goblin's legs, electro-punched it, and hurled a lightning spear skyward. It exploded, raining bolts down on the monsters—some fell; some survived.

"He's still there!"

"Got it! Help guide the attacks; I need to focus!"

He created a lightning-shaped clone, sending it zigzagging through the school at lightning speed.

"On your left!" a student called.

The clone paused; Suho flash-stepped to the right, spinning and kicking a monster.

His clone located Kang Min. In a blink, Suho switched places with it.

"Wait, Suho—!"

"No time. Let's go!"

He grabbed the boy and, focusing lightning only on his legs to avoid electrocuting him, punched through the wall. Dashing back to the gym at blinding speed, he noticed their homeroom teacher fighting too—creating barriers, smashing them onto monsters' heads.

Did she awaken too while I was gone?

He remembered seeing "Awakener" next to his name on the status screen.

"Teach, can you hold this area? I'll handle the horde!"

The teacher nodded, jagged barrier pieces now weapons in her hands.

Suho turned to the rift. The monsters had stopped pouring out. Is this the end of the wave?

Time to finish this.

He dashed forward, lightning exploding from his legs. Dodging every strike, he reached the center.

And punched the ground.

A pillar of lightning erupted, evaporating everything inside.

Everyone in the city saw it—the moment Seoul's strongest future S-rank Awakener revealed himself.

That day became known as the Daybreak End.

Many died. Others awakened to powers.