Chapter 114

Chapter 114

The countless sand spikes that had pierced the Armored Great Horn Bear’s body collapsed as if they had never existed.

No trace remained anywhere to prove that the sand had become enormous spikes.

All that remained was sand stained red with blood.

Even that was soon covered by new sand carried in on the wind and vanished.

“What was that?”

“What the hell?”

Kim Kyung-su’s party blinked.

It had not been a mistake or an illusion.

They had clearly seen Zeon use sand to create spikes with their own eyes.

It had not been a lie, nor a fantasy.

It was definitely Zeon’s ability.

‘I’m sure he used flame-type Skills earlier.’

‘And now he uses sand too? Then is he a dual awakened?’

They felt chills crawl up their spines.

Being dual alone was astonishing, but to think his other ability was controlling sand.

They realized at once just how incredible and dangerous Zeon’s ability was.

They did not know his exact grade, but the fact that he could freely control sand alone meant Zeon’s potential was limitless.

Zeon’s gaze turned toward the four of them.

“You know you have to keep this secret, right?”

The four nodded heavily.

Invisible chains were tightening around their hearts.

They instinctively realized that the moment they broke the oath and opened their mouths, those chains would burst their hearts.

‘We’ve become...... his slaves.’

‘Damn it!’

‘Fuck!’

‘This life is ruined.’

They lowered their heads.

A single moment of greed had reduced them to slaves.

They had no one to blame.

It was a disaster brought on by their own greed.

Zeon said to Kim Kyung-su,

“You’re their leader, right?”

“Th...... That’s right.”

“Then keeping them in line is your responsibility too.”

“Yes! I’ll do that.”

Kim Kyung-su dropped his head.

His face was full of resignation.

The others were no different.

None of them had expected one wrong choice to bring about such a terrifying result.

‘At least we survived?’

Then Zeon asked,

“Where do the four of you live?”

“We live in Block 13 of the Central District.”

“Block 13 is near City Hall, right?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s good.”

Zeon smiled.

The reason he had used the Oath Scroll to force their obedience was because he needed people inside Neo Seoul to handle miscellaneous tasks for him.

Kim Kyung-su’s party had quite good conditions.

They had been born in the Central District, and as natives, they knew Neo Seoul’s circumstances well.

All four of them were Awakened too, so their usefulness was limitless.

They were the best cards Zeon could have obtained.

Slave No. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Their identities were decided in Zeon’s mind.

Kim Kyung-su asked carefully,

“What should we do now?”

“Nothing will change.”

“What?”

“The four of you just live as usual, then carry out my orders when I give them.”

“What kind of orders......?”

“That’ll depend on the situation.”

“What?”

“Do you feel wronged?”

“That’s......”

The corners of Kim Kyung-su’s and his companions’ eyes trembled.

That was because they felt the cold killing intent hidden beneath Zeon’s gentle tone.

The man smiling before their eyes was by no means soft or easy.

If he had been that kind of person, he would never have dared to use their attack as an opportunity to activate the Oath Scrolls.

The true self hidden behind that smiling face was terrifyingly cold and ruthlessly merciless.

Now they felt as if they understood a little of Zeon’s real nature.

‘To think we provoked someone like this.’

Regret came flooding in too late, but it was useless.

They could never act against Zeon.

“We’ll follow your orders.”

Kim Kyung-su bowed his head.

The others followed his lead.

Zeon smiled.

He knew full well that they were not sincere.

Nor did he want true loyalty.

They were simply tools that would faithfully carry out his orders.

That was exactly the level of obedience Zeon wanted from them.

Zeon asked Kim Kyung-su,

“Do you have an item for communication?”

“I have a dungeon-use two-way communicator.”

Kim Kyung-su took an earring from his chest.

It was a workshop-made item.

It had been made so party members could communicate inside dungeons, and every member of Kim Kyung-su’s party wore one.

Zeon put the earring on his ear and said,

“That works. From now on, I’ll contact you with this.”

“Understood.”

“Take that and return to Neo Seoul first. I’ll contact you separately.”

Zeon pointed at the Armored Great Horn Bear’s carcass.

“But our vehicle’s engine is......”

“Take my car. Its engine is in good shape, so it should be able to tow yours. Once you arrive in Neo Seoul, return the vehicle to a butcher shop owner named Will in the Shinchon slums.”

“Then, M-Master......”

“Just call me Master.”

“Yes! Master. Then how will you return, Master?”

“You seem to have forgotten what my ability is. The desert’s sand isn’t an obstacle to me.”

“Mm!”

Kim Kyung-su let out a groan and turned around.

He said to his companions,

“You heard Master, right? We’re taking the Armored Great Horn Bear’s carcass and returning to Neo Seoul.”

“How does the word Master come out that easily?”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“St-Still, we have pride. How can we call him Master?”

Lee Jun-su answered while watching Zeon’s expression.

Kim Kyung-su glared at Lee Jun-su.

“Is that head of yours just decoration? Our lives are in his hands. Is this the time to put forward some half-baked pride?”

“St-Still......”

“If he tells us to die, we at least have to pretend to die, you cripple! Please understand reality already. Don’t piss me off.”

“Damn it!”

“And you know, right? What’ll happen if you let a word about today slip. If you don’t want to die, all of you had better watch your mouths.”

“Got it.”

In the end, Lee Jun-su and the others answered weakly.

They had fallen from proud Awakened to slaves in an instant, so of course their strength left them. Still, they had to take comfort in the fact that they had survived.

“Let’s go!”

At Kim Kyung-su’s order, the three loaded the Armored Great Horn Bear’s carcass onto the vehicle and connected the buggy.

After finishing every preparation, they left for Neo Seoul as soon as day broke.

Left alone, Zeon took out a piece of jerky and ate it.

“This worked out. I needed a straw to tell me about Neo Seoul’s situation anyway.”

They were all people with official citizenship.

That meant their range of movement was wide.

Their usefulness was limitless.

It was unfortunate for Kim Kyung-su’s party, who had become slaves overnight, but Zeon felt no guilt over it.

If someone intended to kill another person, they had to be prepared for the same to happen to them.

That was the law of the world.

“Now I just have to wait for Levin to come out?”

RUMBLE!

A faint vibration came from beneath his feet.

It was the vibration caused by Levin fighting the Vampire Bats.

It was proof that Levin was still alive.

Zeon lay down on the sand and chewed his jerky.

---

“Aaaah!”

A purple radiance burst from Levin’s entire body.

CRACKLE! CRACK!

Purple currents flickered across Levin’s body as he floated in the air like a ghost.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

The purple current spread through the air, burning and bursting the Vampire Bats surrounding Levin.

Dozens of Vampire Bats fell at once.

Levin floated in the air and murmured,

“My grade went up.”

The purple radiance from just now had occurred as he was promoted.

With this, Levin had become Grade C.

He had become Grade D while fighting the murderer, and before much time had passed, he had become Grade C.

It was a promotion at such an absurd speed that it was hard to find any precedent.

The moment he became Grade C, he knew.

He had gained strength on a completely different level from Grade D.

The Vampire Bats’ ultrasonic waves could no longer affect him.

His Ghost Transformation had become perfect.

On top of that, his Lightning ability, his means of attack, had grown even stronger.

The purple current, Purple Lightning, possessed destructive power several times stronger than white lightning.

Until his grade rose like this, Levin had crossed the threshold of death dozens of times.

Sometimes, his mana ran dry, and he fought the Vampire Bats barehanded.

He tore out their throats with his teeth and blocked their attacks with his arms and legs.

The wounds he had accumulated that way covered his entire body.

So much blood had been sucked from him that his mind had grown hazy.

He had wanted to give up and die comfortably.

But Levin forced himself to shake off the temptation and fought desperately.

After fighting that way for days and nights, just as he felt he had reached his limit, his promotion happened suddenly.

Once he became Grade C, all the wounds across his body healed as if washed clean with water, and vitality filled him from head to toe.

There were still countless Vampire Bats left, but they no longer felt frightening.

Levin shouted,

“Come at me, you bat bastards.”

WOOOONG!

His voice echoed through the underground space.

The Vampire Bats that still remained were provoked by it and attacked all at once.

But the Vampire Bats’ attacks could no longer harm Levin at all.

The Vampire Bats passed futilely through Levin’s ghostlike body.

They attacked with ultrasonic waves too, but it was useless.

A cold smile hung on Levin’s lips.

“You’re all dead.”

CRACKLE!

At that instant, a net of purple current spread from Levin’s entire body.

It was his Skill, Purple Lightning.

Only the color had changed, but the power was incomparable.

Purple Lightning filled the cave and burned or burst every Vampire Bat.

The cave filled with the acrid smell of burning meat.

“Ugh! I really can’t stand this.”

Just because he had turned into a ghost did not mean he could no longer smell.

If anything, his senses had grown sharper, making it even more painful.

Without releasing Ghost Transformation, Levin headed straight up to the surface.

He quickly passed through the sand and emerged above the desert.

“You’re here.”

The one who greeted him was, of course, Zeon.

Looking at Levin, who shimmered with purple light, Zeon said,

“As expected, your grade rose. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, hyung!”

Levin released Ghost Transformation and regained his corporeal form.

He looked around and said,

“Where’s the car we came in? I don’t see it.”

“Something happened.”

“What?”

“And now it doesn’t matter even if we don’t have a car. Most monsters won’t be able to harm you.”

“Yes!”

Unless it possessed a special Skill or was a monster of the same Specter type, it could not injure Levin’s body.

He could not use the desert like his own home the way Zeon could, but at least in the desert near Neo Seoul, no monster existed that could harm Levin.

“Let’s return to Neo Seoul.”

“Yes! Hyung.”

Levin gladly followed behind Zeon.