Chapter 247

Chapter 247

As if he had showered in cold water, a strong chill and a refreshing sensation swept through Zeon’s body.

This was the first time he had ever felt something like this, so Zeon carefully looked at the mineral inside his subspace.

“Park Man-ho said it was found in the shaft where the top-grade Mana Stone was mined, didn’t he?”

If it had been mined from the Mana Stone Mine, it should naturally have been a Mana Stone. But the unidentified ore had none of the traits ordinary Mana Stones possessed.

The mineral had returned to its ordinary appearance, as if it had never emitted such a powerful wave.

“It wasn’t my imagination. Then why did it change at this exact timing?”

Zeon frowned.

There was no such thing as a change without a reason.

Something must have stimulated the mineral for it to show such a reaction.

“Was it my mana?”

Just in case, Zeon infused his mana into the mineral. But the mineral showed no change at all.

“Did it just change because the time had come? Or was there some external factor......?”

When he looked around, all he could see was sand.

There was nothing particularly noticeable.

“I don’t know.”

Zeon shook his head.

He was curious about the mineral’s secret, but that did not mean he wanted to dig into it right now.

Thanks to resting enough over the past few days, his physical and mental fatigue had faded, but his desire to actively attempt something had not yet returned.

If the mineral had continued emitting waves, that would have been one thing. But since it had gone quiet, he wondered whether he really needed to uncover its secret right now.

“Forget it. I’ll think about later things later.”

Zeon murmured as he closed his subspace.

He headed back toward Neo Seoul.

When he entered the slums, Levin called him.

“Brother!”

“Yeah?”

“Did you go outside?”

“Yeah! What about you?”

“I’m meeting some friends for the first time in a while.”

Levin smiled and pointed to the friends beside him.

Boys who looked about the same age as him fussed when they saw Zeon.

“That’s the Sandmancer hyung?”

“Hyung! I’m a fan.”

At the fuss from Levin’s friends, Zeon looked dumbfounded. Then Levin laughed and said,

“Haha! These guys are fans of yours, Brother. They say they were impressed after seeing you fight.”

“It’s true, hyung!”

“We respect you.”

Seeing boys Levin’s age use such an extreme honorific as “hyungnim” was both funny and burdensome, so Zeon waved his hand.

“You don’t have to add that ‘nim’ part.”

“But still......”

“Just call me hyung comfortably.”

“Yes!”

In the end, Levin’s friends decided to call Zeon hyung.

Zeon asked Levin,

“I’m going home. What about you?”

“I have something to talk about with these guys.”

“Really? Then I’ll go in first.”

“Yes, Brother. I’ll see you later.”

Levin smiled and watched Zeon grow farther away.

Once Zeon had completely vanished from sight, Levin’s expression turned cold.

He asked his friends,

“So that bastard killed someone again?”

“Yeah! Everyone’s trying to keep it quiet, but it’s definitely him.”

“Where?”

“That’s......”

For some reason, his friend hesitated to speak.

“Why?”

“The murder happened in the West District.”

“The West District? You mean Neo Seoul?”

“Yeah!”

“Fuck!”

Levin’s face twisted.

Neo Seoul was not his area of activity.

Neo Seoul did not easily open its gates to people from the slums.

No matter how rare Levin’s awakened ability was, entering Neo Seoul was not easy.

If he revealed his awakened ability, he could be issued an official identification card. But in that case, he could become a recruitment target for each district.

He could also secretly enter using his awakened ability, Ghost Transformation, but if he was discovered by any chance, the problem would grow beyond what he could handle.

That was not what Levin wanted.

Levin asked again,

“Are you sure that bastard is killing people in the West District?”

“I heard it from Awakened who belong there. They said there’s a murderer active who breaks into homes, kills people, then cuts up the corpses and decorates them.”

The friend who answered worked as a porter in the slums.

When Awakened went dungeon clearing or monster hunting, he followed them as a porter and did menial work.

He listened carefully to the Awakened’s conversations, and if there was useful information, he told his friend Levin.

That meant this information was highly likely to be real too.

“Then I have to enter Neo Seoul.”

“How are you going to get in? There’s no way.”

“No! There is a way.”

At that instant, someone appeared in Levin’s mind.

If it was her, she could definitely let him into Neo Seoul.

“What way?”

“I’m going somewhere, so you guys keep collecting information on that bastard. Got it?”

“Yeah!”

“Good work. Take this and buy something tasty.”

What Levin handed his friends was a Mana Stone only about the size of a fingernail.

It was something he had obtained by hunting monsters while traveling through the desert with Zeon.

He had gathered quite a few Mana Stones, so he could give this much as payment for their trouble.

“Really? You’re giving this to us?”

“Are you insane?”

His friends looked at Levin in shock.

To Levin, it was something he could obtain any time, but to people from the slums, it was a treasure they might never touch in their entire lives.

Murders did not happen over Mana Stones for no reason.

“If you bring me useful information in the future, I’ll give you more. So be satisfied with this for now.”

“Thanks! I’ll keep gathering information on that murderer.”

“I’ll work hard too.”

Leaving behind his friends, who thanked him repeatedly, Levin walked away.

Suddenly, he took a radio from his chest.

It was a radio mainly used by dungeon raid teams inside dungeons. It was an item he had kept from when they cleared the dungeon with the Pegasus Raid Team.

Levin contacted someone through the radio.

“Sis!”

—Huh? Who is this?

A surprised voice sounded from the radio.

“Mandy?”

—Levin?

“Yes! It’s me.”

—Why are you contacting me at this hour?

The owner of the voice was Mandy.

Levin thought it was fortunate that it was Mandy, not Eloy.

That was because Mandy was easier to ask for favors than Eloy.

“Can you get me into Neo Seoul?”

—Why Neo Seoul?

“You know that ‘son of a bitch,’ right?”

—The murderer who killed your family?

“Yes! I heard that bastard showed up inside Neo Seoul.”

—Whew! Got it. I’ll issue you an entry permit that lets you stay for about a month. Come to the entrance now.

“Thank you, sis!”

—Just hurry over.

“Yes!”

Levin hurried his steps.

After walking for about thirty minutes, he saw the large gate leading into Neo Seoul.

He saw Mandy standing before the gate.

Levin waved his hand and shouted,

“Sis!”

“Come on.”

“I’m sorry for bothering you......”

“Forget it! Between us, what does it matter....... Take this.”

Mandy handed Levin an entry permit.

“Thank you.”

“If I’d had time, I would’ve made you an entry permit that let you stay for up to a hundred days. But for now, about a month is the best I can do.”

“This is more than enough.”

“Do you need help with anything else? Where are you going to sleep?”

“I can sleep at a hotel in the West District. I have enough Mana Stones, so staying for about a month won’t be a problem.”

“All right. Contact me anytime if you need help.”

“Yes!”

The two entered Neo Seoul together.

When Levin saw the inside of Neo Seoul, he stopped for a moment and could not say anything.

He had been overwhelmed by the sight of the enormous city.

He had seen it many times from outside, but the majesty of Neo Seoul from inside was far beyond his imagination.

Mandy patted Levin’s shoulder as if she understood him and said,

“Welcome to the peak of civilization in this world.”

---

A deep furrow was carved between the brows of Serian Oliana, ruler of the North District.

“That feeling just now was definitely......”

“What is it?”

“Wait a moment, Borin!”

Serian raised her hand and stopped Borin, captain of the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit, from speaking.

Borin looked at Serian with a puzzled expression.

Serian, her brows deeply furrowed, was recalling the feeling from a moment ago.

“That feeling was definitely....... Or was it my imagination? Did you not feel it, Borin?”

“Feel what?”

“The strong wave just now.”

“Wave?”

Borin tilted her head.

She had been having a meal with Serian since thirty minutes ago. While she was with Serian, she had not felt any special change or wave.

“I apologize. My senses aren’t sharp enough....... If you don’t mind, may I ask what kind of wave it felt like?”

“It felt warm and nostalgic.”

Before she knew it, Serian’s eyes had grown moist.

It was a kind of wave she had never once felt since crossing over to Earth.

A strange wave, like someone’s call and like a warm breath, was shaking her entire heart.

“Borin!”

“Yes!”

“I need to know the source of this wave. Please investigate it.”

“Understood. But......”

Borin looked troubled.

It was Serian’s order, so she had no choice but to obey, but it was so vague that she had no idea where to begin.

Above all, she could not even perceive the wave Serian felt.

In that situation, tracing the source of the wave was no different from chasing clouds.

Serian realized Borin’s feelings and gave advice.

“The wave arose from the south, outside Neo Seoul.”

“If it’s south, then the slums.”

“Yes! It seemed to come from the desert outside the slums, so begin tracking it from there.”

“Understood.”

Borin thought that was at least fortunate.

It was still as difficult as finding a needle in the desert. But at least she knew where to start.

“If you need support, tell me anytime. I’ll help you with everything I can.”

“For now, I’ll search with only the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit. If we move more troops than that, Lady Eli will surely question us in detail.”

Eli was the second-in-command of the North District.

She was always sensitive to the internal movements of the North District. If they made one wrong move and drew her attention, there was a high possibility they would be swept up in troublesome matters.

“All right. I’ll leave that matter to you, Borin.”

“Thank you.”

“Why thank me? I’m the one who should feel sorry for making such an shameless request.”

Serian wore a bitter expression.

If she and Eli became openly hostile, the ones who would suffer would be the nonhuman races gathered in the North District.

For their sake, she had to somehow carry Eli with her.

“At times like this, I truly miss the shade of the World Tree. Under the World Tree’s shade, every race became one.”

“The World Tree....... I don’t know what that feels like.”

“I’m sure you don’t. When Kurayan was destroyed, the World Tree withered as well.”

The World Tree had been one of the great pillars supporting Kurayan.

When Kurayan collapsed, the World Tree also disappeared.

Elves and nonhuman races born on Earth had never even seen the World Tree. So they did not know what it felt like to face it.

That fact made Serian deeply regretful.

‘If I could see the World Tree on Earth, I would gladly give up even my life.’