Chapter 153

Chapter 153

“Zeon has returned.”

At his subordinate’s report, Johan raised his head.

The small eyes visible beyond his glasses held no emotion whatsoever.

“When?”

“We have confirmed that he entered two hours ago.”

“His return after fifteen days?”

“Yes.”

“You mean he caused that incident and then left his residence empty for fifteen days?”

Johan frowned.

The force that had suffered the greatest damage from the White Bear Caravan incident was Dongdaemun.

Brickston, Kim Jae-kyung, and even the Berserkers sent with them had all died.

Not a single one had survived. They had been wiped out to the last man.

It was an enormous loss.

The moment Johan heard the report, he had burst into a hollow laugh out of sheer disbelief.

He could not believe it, and it was difficult to accept.

For a moment, he had even thought his subordinate was making a false report. But the subordinate’s report was true.

Every subordinate he had trusted had lost their life. One-third of Dongdaemun’s combat strength had vanished in an instant.

If there was any small mercy, it was that not only Dongdaemun, but most of the forces that had sent troops to the fortress had suffered near-annihilating losses.

The problem was Zeon.

Through the extremely few survivors, the fact that Zeon had killed the Balrog became known. Along with his true awakened ability.

‘A Sandmancer.’

Johan had never imagined that such an awakened ability could exist.

In this world where most land had turned into sand, the uses of a Sandmancer were limitless.

Even a Grade C Sandmancer would be someone people carried on their backs and served, and Zeon’s estimated grade was Grade A.

And that was the lowest estimate.

Judging by the fact that he had led the fight against the Balrog to victory, he was certainly Grade S.

With the appearance of a Grade S Sandmancer, every ruler in Neo Seoul was now on alert.

A struggle to recruit Zeon was taking place beneath the surface.

It was only that Zeon had left his residence for fifteen days for some unknown reason, so the struggle had not yet risen to the surface.

Now that Zeon had returned, each district would undoubtedly begin trying to recruit him in earnest.

“This has become troublesome.”

The problem was that Dongdaemun could not join the battle for Zeon.

They had already become enemies with Zeon, so there was no point in offering recruitment.

If anything, they would only look ridiculous.

But they could not simply leave Zeon alone either.

If they left Zeon as he was, he would surely devour Dongdaemun. Even if Zeon did not want that, the atmosphere would flow that way.

They had to eliminate Zeon before that happened.

“Do I have to move personally?”

Johan sank deep into thought.

---

Zeon took off his robe and hung it on the wall.

The home he had returned to after so long had not changed in the slightest.

That was partly because Briel and Levin had maintained it well, but fundamentally, it was because the Watching Eye protected it perfectly.

While Zeon had been away, many people had come to recruit him. Among them were even those who had tried to break down the door by force. But all their attempts ended in failure.

Anyone Zeon did not permit could never enter.

As soon as he entered the house, Briel held out a bottle filled with red liquid to him.

“You worked hard. Drink this and get some proper rest.”

“What is this?”

“I made it. It’s really good for fatigue recovery.”

Zeon looked at the red liquid with a doubtful expression. It looked like blood, which made him uncomfortable.

“Hurry up and drink it! I’m telling you, it’s really fine.”

“Fine.”

Unable to withstand Briel’s urging, he finally drank the red liquid.

The moment he drank it, Zeon was startled.

Vitality surged through his whole body.

Briel looked at Zeon with sparkling eyes.

“It’s amazing, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hehe! Success.”

“You made this?”

“Mm! I was trying to make a Mana Recovery Potion, but this came out instead. It restores vitality instead of mana.”

“That’s insane. It isn’t even an item, but it has this kind of effect.”

“Yes!”

At Zeon’s praise, Briel jumped up and down in excitement.

‘Her talent is blooming.’

When he had saved Briel, she had been nothing more than a junkie ruined by drugs. But now, almost no trace of being steeped in drugs could be seen in her.

She still had not completely escaped the aftereffects, and there were many days when her eyes lost focus, but even in the midst of that, her talent was flowering.

‘Is this what it means to be a High Elf?’

If Briel continued to develop like this, even Zeon could not know how far she might reach.

Briel was still young, and unless something happened, she would live a very long life, as befitted a High Elf. Even Zeon could not know what sort of items she might create in the future.

That was how limitless her potential was.

“How much of this can you make?”

“I’ve completed the recipe. As long as I have the ingredients, I can make as much as I want.”

“Are the ingredients easy to obtain?”

“Umm......”

“So they’re difficult.”

“Mm! I can get them, but they’re expensive.”

“Then that’s fine. It’s not like they’re impossible to obtain.”

Zeon gave a faint laugh.

Money was not a problem.

His subspace was filled everywhere with things that could be turned into money.

For him, this sort of Vitality Potion was far more helpful.

“I’ll let Yu Se-hee know, so use whatever ingredients you need from the Dokkaebi Market.”

“About that...... I was thinking of partnering with that woman.”

“Partnering?”

“I think it’ll be much more profitable that way......”

“Do as you like.”

“Can I really?”

“Mm!”

Once Zeon gave his permission, Briel smiled brightly.

After experiencing the Balrog summoning incident, she had felt many things.

One human’s obsession and resentment had summoned a catastrophe-grade monster called the Balrog onto this land.

And unfortunately, the target of that human’s resentment had been nonhuman races like herself.

At first, she could not understand such blind resentment and rage.

But when she put herself in their position, she thought she would likely have felt the same.

To humans, the nonhuman races were invaders who had ruined this land.

If they had not forcibly crossed over in order to survive, Earth would not have become this barren, and countless humans would not have died.

Since they had incurred the resentment of so many humans, it was not strange at all for someone to plan a revenge play like this.

‘We can’t undo what our races did, but even so, I want to do something for the people of the slums.’

She wanted to use the profits gained from the Vitality Potion for the people here.

That was the reason she had deliberately decided to partner with Yu Se-hee.

“I’m going to the Dokkaebi Market, so you rest, Zeon.”

“Sure!”

Once Briel ran outside and he was left alone, Zeon sat down on the sofa.

“Whew!”

As he sank deep into the sofa, a sense of relief came over him.

Zeon sat on the sofa and looked out the window.

Beyond the red neon signs, he could see the high wall and City Hall.

Zeon stared at City Hall for a long while before falling asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, it was the next morning.

Even though he had slept on the sofa, he did not feel tired at all.

It seemed to be thanks to the Vitality Potion he had taken the day before.

“She made something incredible.”

It was an item that would be more useful to lower-ranked Awakened than to an Awakened like Zeon.

If one bottle of Potion could dispel all fatigue, there was no reason not to buy it.

If it was released on the market, it would probably enjoy considerable popularity.

“That aside, Jin Geum-ho is looking for me.”

Zeon frowned without realizing it.

Jin Geum-ho was the ruler of Neo Seoul.

A monster who had lived in the same era as Deioden.

His estimated age alone exceeded one hundred and fifty.

Excluding the nonhuman races, there was no human who had survived that long.

At least, not among the people Zeon knew.

An Awakened who had survived longer than Deioden, and who might be as strong as Deioden.

That Awakened was calling for Zeon.

It was not that Zeon was afraid.

He had not lived as long as Jin Geum-ho, but Zeon had also made his way through countless harsh struggles.

He was confident he would not be greatly pushed back even against Jin Geum-ho.

In the desert, that was.

But inside Neo Seoul was different.

Neo Seoul was protected by all kinds of magic circles and barriers, so sand from outside could not flow in.

Without sand, Zeon’s combat power would inevitably be halved.

Knowing that, Jin Geum-ho was undoubtedly trying to draw Zeon into Neo Seoul.

“I’ll have to prepare myself firmly.”

Having his nose cut off with his eyes wide open would be getting off lightly.

The moment he let his guard down, he could lose his life, or a leash could be put around his neck.

“There’s no time to rest. Phew!”

Just as Zeon let out a sigh, it happened.

“Oh, Brother! You’re back.”

Levin opened the door and returned.

“Did you stay out all night?”

“Yes!”

Levin nodded as if it were obvious.

“You’re working hard. Did you get any results?”

“Not yet.”

Levin shook his head.

He was still tracking the murderer. But the murderer had gone completely into hiding after that day.

He had vanished after perfectly concealing his traces.

He had not committed any murders either.

It was clear that he was hiding somewhere, treating his injuries.

The problem was that Levin could not tell where he was hiding.

“When he finishes treating his wounds and comes out, he’ll definitely kill again......”

Levin sighed.

As for himself, he had already lost his family, so there was nothing he could do about that, but he wanted to prevent another victim from appearing.

“Well, anyway, the next time I meet him, I absolutely won’t let him get away.”

Seeing Levin burning with fighting spirit, Zeon smiled.

Levin had also grown a great deal during that time.

While tracking the murderer, he had naturally come into contact with many people, and everyone he met that way became part of Levin’s network.

Based on that vast network, Levin had built an independent information network of his own.

It could not compare to an intelligence organization like Argos’s Eye, but the fact that he had built his own information network was undoubtedly impressive.

Zeon put on his robe and said,

“I’m going out to eat. What about you?”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Levin followed Zeon outside.

Perhaps because it was still early, the street was quiet.

The two headed together toward the street where Old Man Kleksi was doing business.

Slurp!

There was already a customer at Old Man Kleksi’s shop.

It was a large man with short hair.

He had his head lowered and was eating the food Old Man Kleksi had made.

It was only his back, but Zeon recognized his identity at once.

Zeon sat down beside the man and said,

“So I see you here.”

“You’re here.”

The man turned his head and looked at Zeon.

He was an impressive man with a large scar crossing his right cheek and golden eyes.

The man’s name was Lee Ji-ryeong.

He was the Captain of the Pegasus Raid Team and the elder brother of the man Zeon had killed.

“The food here is good. I didn’t know there was a place like this in the slums.”

“The old man’s skill is excellent. Give us the same thing.”

Zeon ordered food from Old Man Kleksi.

“Got it. Ahem!”

Old Man Kleksi cleared his throat and began making food.

Zeon said to Lee Ji-ryeong,

“I doubt you came here just to eat food from the slums. Did you come to meet me?”

“You caused quite the spectacular incident.”

“Do you mean the Balrog?”

“Yes! Revealing your awakened ability yourself. That was a foolish choice.”

“Was it?”

“Now those who covet your ability will cling to you like starving ghouls. Can you handle that?”

“It was something I would have had to reveal someday anyway. As for handling it, I’ll have to try.”

“You seem confident.”

“Did you come here to give me advice?”

“Advice? Hardly. I came to make a proposal.”

“A proposal......?”

“Yes! A proposal. Clear a dungeon with me.”