Chapter 214

Chapter 214

Fire had given people a sense of relief since ancient times.

Though it was small, the mere presence of a campfire was enough for the Awakened to regain their composure.

Though it had been only one day, losing their vehicles and wandering aimlessly through the desert had placed tremendous pressure on them.

“Whew!”

“We’re alive.”

The Awakened gathered around the campfire naturally let out sighs of relief.

By contrast, Briel, who had suddenly ended up sharing their space with a large number of Awakened, pouted.

She did not like the current situation.

Just a moment ago, it had felt like a cozy picnic, but now it felt as if she were standing in the middle of the Goblin Market.

The sudden change made her head throb.

At that moment, Jang Yong-beom said to Zeon,

“I’m grateful you accepted these uninvited guests, but shouldn’t you reveal your identity now too? That would only be fair.”

Then Eloy stepped forward.

“It’s been a while.”

“A while?”

“I’m Mandy.”

“Could you be the Supervisor from City Hall?”

“That’s right.”

The moment Jang Yong-beom’s identity was confirmed, Mandy’s personality surfaced.

Fortunately, Jang Yong-beom knew Mandy.

“Why are you here? I heard you went dungeon clearing with the Pegasus Raid Team.”

“You know that much?”

“But didn’t you die during the dungeon clearing?”

“So that’s what Neo Seoul thinks.”

“That’s what the Pegasus Raid Team reported.”

“Those sons of bitches!”

“Tch! Looks like there was some dirty story behind it.”

Jang Yong-beom clicked his tongue.

But he did not look especially surprised.

That kind of dirty trick was not rare in the world of Awakened.

The world of Awakened was a place where all kinds of conspiracies and schemes ran rampant.

A man leading an organization the size of the Pegasus Raid Team was surely skilled in every kind of dirty dealing.

Just like Jang Yong-beom himself.

“So the Pegasus Raid Team returned safely.”

“They returned with tremendous spoils. Because of that, Neo Seoul was noisy for a while.”

“Lee Ji-ryeong must have been on cloud nine.”

“He’s been officially recognized as a Grade S Awakened. He’s truly become a big shot now.”

The expression that appeared on Jang Yong-beom’s face as he spoke calmly was clearly envy.

Jang Yong-beom was a Grade A Awakened.

Unlike Lee Ji-ryeong, leading a large organization did not suit him, so he only maintained a small party. But apart from that, he had always felt competitive toward Lee Ji-ryeong.

That was because, publicly, both of them had been Grade A Awakened.

Even if he did not consciously care, the people around them could not help comparing them.

Comparison was especially unavoidable in the world of Awakened.

Most people judged Lee Ji-ryeong to be superior.

Regardless of personal ability, they gave him high marks simply because he led a large raid team.

That had always dissatisfied Jang Yong-beom.

Even so, he had never shown it because he was confident he would win if they actually fought.

But Lee Ji-ryeong had become a Grade S Awakened.

An unbridgeable gap had formed between him and Jang Yong-beom.

It was only one grade, but there was an enormous difference between Grade S and Grade A, one that could never be crossed casually.

If going from Grade D to Grade C was like growing from a gourd bowl into a washbasin, then becoming Grade S from Grade A was like growing from a pond into a reservoir.

It was a realm one could barely glimpse only after the total amount of mana, Skill experience, and combat sense had all reached their limits and cracked a towering wall.

Jang Yong-beom had yet to discover any possibility of becoming Grade S.

In such a situation, Lee Ji-ryeong had broken through his limit and become Grade S.

If Jang Yong-beom was still at the level of a pond, then Lee Ji-ryeong had become a large reservoir.

Naturally, Jang Yong-beom had no choice but to feel inferior.

Jang Yong-beom asked,

“Just what happened in the dungeon for him to become Grade S?”

“Is that important?”

“It is! To me, more than anything......”

“I don’t think that’s something to discuss in front of everyone. I’ll tell you quietly later.”

At Mandy’s answer, Jang Yong-beom frowned briefly, then nodded.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s status after becoming Grade S was completely different from before.

Even Neo Seoul’s rulers no longer dared ignore him.

Many Awakened had lost their lives during the dungeon clearing. But even more Awakened had applied to join the Pegasus Raid Team.

Because of that, its power had grown even larger than before the dungeon clearing.

He could not gossip about someone with such tremendous status in front of everyone.

Jang Yong-beom looked at Zeon.

“You said those pig-like monsters from earlier were called Orcs?”

“That’s right.”

“What the hell is happening? Do you know where bastards like that came from?”

“Originally, they’re a race that lives scattered throughout the desert. They’ve hardly ever gone near Neo Seoul, so they’re almost unknown.”

“Then why have they suddenly appeared in groups like that?”

“A monster called the Orc Great Chieftain has been born.”

“Great Chieftain?”

“You can think of it as something similar to a dungeon boss. In any case, with the Orc Great Chieftain’s birth, he is gathering the Orcs scattered throughout the desert.”

At Zeon’s words, Jang Yong-beom’s expression hardened.

If they were small groups, there was nothing especially frightening about them.

Orcs were strong, but an Awakened around Grade D could deal with them without much difficulty. But if a Great Chieftain had been born and they had become a massive horde, the story changed.

Whether human or monster, once a force grew in scale, it inevitably became more dangerous.

“What grade is the Great Chieftain?”

“I haven’t seen him yet, so I don’t have that information.”

“Is that so?”

“We’ll know soon enough.”

“Do you think we’ll meet the Great Chieftain?”

“Probably.”

“Interesting.”

Jang Yong-beom’s eyes shone sharply.

He was one of the fairly famous Awakened in Neo Seoul.

He was a Grade A Awakened and was famous for his cold, destructive personality. Because of that, everyone who met him in person feared him. Yet Zeon, standing before him, showed no sign of fearing him at all.

He was speaking comfortably, as if he were chatting with a neighborhood friend.

Even though he clearly knew Jang Yong-beom was Jang Yong-beom.

Jang Yong-beom thought Zeon was no ordinary Awakened.

“Come to think of it, I still don’t know your name. What is it?”

“It’s Zeon.”

“Zeon?”

At that instant, Jang Yong-beom frowned.

It was a name he had heard once before. But he could not remember where he had heard it.

Aiden, who was beside Jang Yong-beom, realized Zeon’s identity.

“You’re that Sandmancer.”

“Sandmancer?”

“Didn’t they say a Sandmancer appeared in Neo Seoul? His name was Zeon.”

“Zeon? That’s right! He was the Sandmancer. So that’s why you could stay calm even after lighting a campfire in the desert.”

Only then did Jang Yong-beom understand the entire situation.

If Zeon had been an ordinary Awakened, he would never have been able to camp so calmly in the desert.

“Sandmancer...... Were you also part of the Pegasus Raid Team? Just what happened inside the dungeon for you to appear here with the Supervisor? As far as I know, the dungeon the Pegasus Raid Team cleared was several hundred kilometers away from here.”

“We’ll talk about that separately later. You must be tired, so rest.”

Zeon smiled and stood.

Jang Yong-beom stared fixedly at Zeon’s retreating back.

If anyone else had acted so insolently in front of him, he would have split them in two with his claymore on the spot. But the opponent was a Sandmancer.

To survive in a desert filled with Orcs, his help was essential.

He was not someone Jang Yong-beom could kill just because he was being cheeky.

Giselle tilted her head.

“I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere.”

“Didn’t he say he traveled with us before?”

“That’s what I mean. I’m sure I’ve seen him, but I can’t remember where.”

“We’ll find out naturally if we travel together.”

“He’s quite handsome. Should I try knocking him over?”

Giselle licked her lips with her red tongue.

At that, Aiden smiled faintly.

“How? He’s already got two women with him.”

“Do you really think those girls are a match for me?”

“They look better than you.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Whoa, calm down. I’m not your enemy.”

When Giselle narrowed her eyes like twin axes, Aiden raised both hands as if surrendering.

---

The sand had already grown hot from dawn.

The Awakened who had joined Zeon’s group grumbled as they rose.

“It’s fucking hot.”

“Fuck! My nostrils are full of sand.”

Their faces and bodies were covered in sand.

By contrast, Zeon’s group was perfectly fine.

That was because Zeon had blocked the sand with his control.

The other Awakened still did not know Zeon was a Sandmancer. That was because they had not heard his conversation with Jang Yong-beom. So they did not realize that only Zeon’s group had avoided being covered in sand.

The Awakened filled their stomachs with high-calorie energy bars they had brought with them.

Because they were easy to store and a single bar provided enough energy to move for half a day, Awakened filled their backpacks with high-calorie energy bars.

Zeon’s group also filled their hunger with energy bars before leaving.

When Zeon moved, Jang Yong-beom’s party naturally followed, and the other Awakened followed behind them.

Jang Yong-beom’s party followed because they knew for certain that Zeon was a Sandmancer, and the other Awakened followed because they trusted Jang Yong-beom’s party.

Jang Yong-beom approached Zeon, who was walking at the front.

“How are you choosing the direction? Are you judging by the sun?”

“I just know.”

“Just know?”

“Yes!”

“Then you don’t need a separate guide. What is your detection range? If you’re a Sandmancer, you naturally use sand to detect things, don’t you? That’s how you determine whether monsters are present too.”

“What are your Skills? Do you prefer the pure destructive power of your claymore? Can you make an Aura Blade?”

“Haha!”

At Zeon’s question, Jang Yong-beom burst into laughter.

Jang Yong-beom’s question was, so to speak, asking for a trade secret.

If he knew the range of Zeon’s control, he could figure out many things.

Zeon’s grade and attack range, for instance.

It would become important information later if he became enemies with Zeon.

Zeon asking whether Jang Yong-beom could use Aura Blade had the same meaning.

In short, if you want to know my weakness, reveal yours too. And Jang Yong-beom was absolutely not someone who would reveal his own weakness.

“Interesting.”

“I’m not particularly amused.”

“Why don’t I remember someone like you? If you were this impressive back then, you would have left a deep impression.”

“I was nothing special back then.”

“So it was before you awakened.”

“Yes!”

Jang Yong-beom persistently tried to grasp Zeon’s information. But Zeon evaded him vaguely.

‘This bastard is no ordinary slippery snake either.’

Jang Yong-beom clicked his tongue.

In the end, he had learned nothing useful.

Still, he felt he knew one thing for certain.

‘He’s young, but he’s clearly experienced a great deal. I can feel his depth.’

At that moment, Zeon looked ahead and cut off the conversation.

“We should stop the pointless chatter.”

“Why? Do you dislike talking with me?”

“Because interrupters have appeared.”

“Interrupters?”

Only then did Jang Yong-beom move his gaze to where Zeon was looking.

He saw nothing.

“What do you see?”

“Orcs.”

“What?”

The moment Zeon’s answer ended, a dust cloud rose near the horizon.

At that instant, goosebumps rose across Jang Yong-beom’s entire body.

‘Don’t tell me he sensed movement from that far away? Just what is this bastard......?’

Zeon’s detection range was far vaster than he had vaguely imagined.

Unbelievably so.