Chapter 224

Chapter 224

Zeon’s group and Jang Yong-beom’s party left the fierce battlefield where they had fought the Orcs and headed toward Neo Seoul.

The Orcs who had gathered under Orca’s banner had all scattered in every direction, making it hard to find even traces of them.

Thanks to that, Zeon’s group and Jang Yong-beom’s party could walk comfortably for several days without any particular threats.

When the sun set, Zeon said,

“Let’s rest here today.”

“Let’s do that.”

Jang Yong-beom readily nodded.

Zeon was the guide of this group.

Zeon chose the direction and decided when they would rest.

Jang Yong-beom followed Zeon’s decisions unconditionally.

That was because he knew it was easier that way.

In this desert, there was no guide better than Zeon.

No Navigator could surpass Zeon.

If they rested where Zeon told them to rest, they would never be attacked by monsters.

After a simple meal, they gathered separately.

They were traveling together, but that did not mean they trusted each other completely.

They knew very well that nothing was more foolish than trusting someone completely in the desert. That was why neither side felt offended even when they acted separately like this.

“Whew!”

Eloy sat on a sand dune and let out a sigh.

Her gaze turned to her wrist.

The red Rank Insignia she had kept carefully hidden from others could be seen.

Five red lines proving she was martial type.

It was proof that she was a Grade B Awakened.

That was a high enough grade to take pride in. But she could not be satisfied with this.

“I have to become stronger than this if I want to protect Mandy.”

It went without saying, but she and Mandy shared one body.

Eloy was a personality created to protect Mandy’s unstable mind. Once they entered Neo Seoul, Mandy’s personality would emerge.

Everything in Neo Seoul required tremendous subtlety.

It was too much for the simple-minded Eloy to handle.

That was why she willingly yielded the body to Mandy.

Mandy acted as the representative personality, but that did not mean Eloy fell completely asleep.

She watched every situation from behind Mandy.

She simply did not step forward.

For Mandy’s sake and her own, she had to become stronger. But her growth had reached its limit.

Just because one was an Awakened did not mean everyone’s range of growth was the same.

Some awakened at low grades but quickly reached high grades, while plenty of others started at high grades yet could grow no further.

Effort did not make everyone a high-grade Awakened.

Every Awakened had a different vessel.

Those with large vessels became Grade S.

People like Lee Ji-ryeong or Jang Yong-beom.

Those with small vessels inevitably stopped growing at Grade E or Grade F no matter how hard they tried.

Fortunately, the vessel Eloy was born with as an Awakened was by no means small. But Grade B was about her limit. No matter how hard she tried, she could not climb higher than that.

“How am I supposed to break through this wall?”

It was so vague that she had no idea what direction to take.

It felt as if she were trapped in a fog where she could not see even an inch ahead.

At that moment, a voice like a single beam of lamplight reached her.

“Do you want to break through the wall?”

“When did you get here?”

Startled, Eloy turned around.

Zeon stood quietly in her sight.

He had approached behind her without making a sound.

If Zeon had been an enemy, she would already have been dead.

She knew he was strong, but she still could not even guess where his limits lay.

Not only his ability as a Sandmancer, but even his ability as a martial artist surpassed hers.

This was the first Awakened she had ever seen like this.

Eloy smiled bitterly and answered,

“How nice would it be if I could break through the wall just because I wanted to? But you know that’s impossible, and so do I.”

“I’m asking about your resolve.”

“If it’s possible, of course I want to break through it. Why? Can you make me grow like Levin?”

“With my power, that’s impossible. Levin was born with the talent to reach Grade S. But you......”

“I know! At best, Grade B is about my limit. If things go well, I feel like I might reach Grade A, but I can’t see the path at all.”

Eloy honestly acknowledged her own limits. Once she did, she felt much lighter inside.

Zeon held out a small stone to her.

“What is this?”

“It’s the Mana Stone that came from the Orc Great Chieftain.”

“This?”

Eloy’s eyes trembled.

Mana Stones also came from monsters.

Naturally, the quantity and quality of mana they contained were far superior to Mana Stones mined from mines. But she had never seen a Mana Stone that shone so clearly and red like this.

“I expect it probably contains some kind of Skill.”

“A Mana Stone containing a Skill?”

“To be precise, it would be more accurate to say it contains a seed or trigger that can make a Skill bloom.”

“That’s possible?”

Eloy looked disbelieving.

“It’s possible. I also gained a Skill that way.”

“Good heavens!”

At Zeon’s explanation, Eloy unconsciously covered her mouth with both hands. If she had not done so, she felt as if she would have screamed in delight.

Unlike Mana Stones mined from the Mana Stone Mine, some Mana Stones that came from monsters occasionally contained the creature’s energy.

Because of that, there were cases where people absorbed the energy of a Mana Stone that came from a monster and gained a Skill.

Naturally, the higher the monster’s grade, the higher the chance that its Mana Stone would contain a good Skill. But the odds were atrocious, so it was almost unheard of for an Awakened to obtain a Mana Stone with a good Skill.

There was no telling whether the Mana Stone she was looking at contained a Skill.

She might gain a truly good Skill, or she might gain a garbage Skill.

It would be fortunate if she gained a good Skill with compatible nature, but if she carelessly gained a garbage Skill, even her existing Skills could be ruined.

Zeon said,

“The choice is yours. What will you do?”

“I’ll absorb the Mana Stone.”

“I’ll say it again. You might really gain a garbage Skill. If that happens, all the Skills you’ve developed until now could be ruined.”

“I know. I’m still going to absorb the Mana Stone.”

“Good. If that’s your resolve......”

Zeon handed the Mana Stone to her.

Eloy clenched the hand holding the Mana Stone.

She felt heat like fire in her palm.

Even without Zeon telling her, she felt as though she knew how to absorb this hot energy.

She closed her eyes and began absorbing the energy inside the Mana Stone.

“Khh!”

Through the hand touching the Mana Stone, tremendous energy surged in like a tidal wave.

The fire-hot energy rampaged through Eloy’s body.

Eloy tried somehow to control the energy, but it was no use.

“Aaagh!”

Eloy collapsed and screamed. But there was no chance of her scream reaching Jang Yong-beom’s party.

That was because Zeon had wrapped mana around her and trapped her scream so it could not escape.

Eloy rolled across the ground from the pain of her whole body burning.

She wanted to let go of the Mana Stone, but as if it were stuck to her like a magnet, it would not move.

Still clutching the Mana Stone, Eloy lost consciousness.

Even after she fainted, tremendous energy poured from the Mana Stone into her body.

Zeon silently looked at the unconscious Eloy.

He too had once gained a Skill through the same process as Eloy, so he knew all too well just how much pain she was feeling.

Zeon had absorbed the Mana Stone of the Hydra, the Gold Dragon’s Guardian, and became Grade A.

The Skill he gained then was super-regeneration.

Thanks to that, no matter how severe a wound he suffered, he recovered before long.

One of the reasons Zeon had been able to survive eight years in the desert without anyone’s help was the Skill called super-regeneration.

It was then.

Eloy’s fingers, which had not moved at all as if she were dead, twitched.

‘Looks like she gained a Skill.’

A little while later, Eloy let out a deep breath and opened her eyes.

“Haa! I didn’t die?”

“As you can see, you’re alive.”

“Fuck! I really thought I was going to die.”

“You look pretty fine for that.”

“Do I?”

Eloy braced her hands on her knees and stood.

She straightened her back, closed her eyes, and looked within her own body. Then she felt a flow of mana different from before.

‘What is this?’

No one explained it to her, but from the feeling alone, she thought she knew what kind of Skill it was.

“Mass Increase?”

It was the Skill contained in Teratan, the battle-axe Orca had used.

Strangely, Eloy had inherited the Skill contained in the weapon rather than Orca’s original Skill.

This was a first.

The problem was whether the Skill called Mass Increase was compatible with Eloy’s own Skills.

Eloy’s answer to that was simple.

“It’s good.”

Like Teratan, it was a tenfold Mass Increase.

With that much, she could maximize the power of Mad Nine-Tailed Fox’s Skills.

The problem was whether her body could withstand such insane Mass Increase.

Fortunately, that problem was also easily solved.

A sixth line was shining on her wrist.

It was the light that signified a Grade A Awakened.

Eloy muttered with a dumbfounded expression,

“I broke through the wall this easily?”

“It wasn’t easy. The effort you’ve built up until now is shining through. The Orc Great Chieftain’s Skill merely pulled the trigger on the gunpowder you had already stacked.”

“Ah!”

“In any case, congratulations on becoming a Grade A Awakened.”

“Thank you! I’ll never forget this favor.”

“Everyone is waiting, so let’s go down now.”

“Mm!”

Eloy nodded and followed Zeon.

---

Jang Yong-beom tilted his head.

His gaze was fixed on Eloy.

‘Something seems different.’

She had gone up onto the sand dune last night and did not come down for a long while, and now her atmosphere had changed somehow.

Her eyes and the energy he felt from her body were different from yesterday.

Even without anyone telling him, he could tell.

A great change had occurred in her.

‘Did her grade rise? That easily?’

Perhaps because he had become Grade S, he could see the condition of other Awakened.

He did not know the exact numbers, but he could roughly sense what level they were at.

‘What kind of magic did he work on her?’

Jang Yong-beom’s gaze turned to Zeon.

Zeon was walking ahead, cutting through the sand-laden wind.

The only reason Eloy’s grade would have changed was Zeon.

Jang Yong-beom was curious what kind of move Zeon had used to raise Eloy’s grade.

“Tch! Looks like he’s still hiding a lot. I wonder how many cards he has left.”

“What are you talking about, Captain?”

“Nothing.”

“Really?”

Giselle, who was walking beside him, tilted her head.

At that moment, Aiden shouted,

“Huh? It’s the Mana Stone Mine.”

“What?”

“Over there!”

Aiden pointed at the rocky mountain jutting up in the distance.

At the familiar sight, everyone burst into cheers.

“It really is the Mana Stone Mine.”

“We finally arrived.”

“Ugh!”

Among them, Briel and Levin’s emotions were beyond words.

They had gone dungeon clearing with Lee Ji-ryeong’s Pegasus Raid Team, been betrayed, and fought against the Red Storm Band and the great Orc army.

Only after suffering through all kinds of hardships had they finally returned to the civilized world, so the emotions they felt could not help being different.

Zeon murmured,

‘I’ll be able to meet you soon. Lee Ji-ryeong!’

He never forgot either grudges or favors.