Chapter 267

Chapter 267

Thanks to taming the Thunder Buffalo, the journey to Steel Fortress became much more comfortable.

When traveling through the desert, one encountered monsters frequently.

There were so many monsters inhabiting the desert that it almost seemed as if they were as numerous as grains of sand.

No matter how much of a Grade A Awakened Lee Jung-ho was, there were limits to the power he possessed.

Lee Jung-ho’s ability was specialized for interpersonal combat.

Rather than one-against-many battles, he displayed overwhelming power in one-on-one fights.

The reason he had been able to slaughter the Flame Wolf pack so easily was that they were only Grade C.

Even for him, a pack of monsters above Grade B would be difficult to handle.

In other words, the matchup was poor for him.

If he had crossed the desert alone, he would already have grown exhausted or suffered serious wounds from dealing with countless monsters.

But once they mounted the Thunder Buffalo’s back, there were almost no occasions where they had to face monsters directly.

Most small-class monsters avoided them just by seeing the Thunder Buffalo.

Its scales, harder than steel, could not be pierced by teeth.

Since attacking it would only damage their own teeth, the monsters simply gave up on attacking altogether.

Thanks to that, Zeon’s group was able to head comfortably toward Steel Fortress without needing to deal with monsters.

It was so comfortable that even Duduyan, who was highly vigilant, lay on the Thunder Buffalo’s back and spent her time leisurely.

“This is nice! How wonderful would it be if every day were like today?”

“Agreed.”

Aslan agreed with her opinion.

Although they had gone through many twists and turns, these past few days heading toward Steel Fortress were the most leisurely time in their lives.

At that moment, Zeon said,

“The sun will set soon. Let’s rest over there today.”

The place he pointed to was beneath a large sand dune.

It was a terrain sunken like a volcanic crater, making it good for blocking the wind.

“Let’s do that.”

Lee Jung-ho agreed with Zeon’s opinion.

On the way here, he had not opposed Zeon’s opinion even once.

It meant that, since Zeon knew the desert best, Lee Jung-ho trusted him and left it to him.

The Thunder Buffalo stopped at the place Zeon had pointed to.

Everyone climbed down from the Thunder Buffalo’s back and prepared to stay.

Preparing the meal was Aslan’s job.

While they had been in the slums, he had diligently obtained ingredients and filled a large backpack with them.

Duduyan looked at Aslan, who was sweating heavily as he prepared the meal, and muttered,

“I suppose even dog shit has its use as medicine.”

Duduyan did not bother helping Aslan.

She had no talent for cooking, and she was not picky about food.

To her, a Dark Elf, cooking was merely a source of energy to keep moving.

As long as she could eat and regain strength, that was enough. She never bothered worrying about taste. Naturally, she had no interest in cooking itself.

In the end, preparing food in one way or another became Aslan’s responsibility, and he carried out his role splendidly.

“It’s ready. Everyone, let’s eat.”

Calling it food, it was merely a stew made by throwing miscellaneous ingredients into a large pot and boiling them. Even so, he had put in plenty of hard-dried meat, so it had a fairly rich flavor.

The group settled dinner simply with the stew, then each went to sleep.

Duduyan and Aslan, who were used to sleeping in the desert, fell asleep the moment they put their heads to the ground.

Zeon also made a simple shelter beneath the sand and tried to sleep.

Seeing that, Claire grumbled,

“That really is an ability I’d love to have. Some people sleep while getting hit by the sand-laden wind, and someone else sleeps comfortably inside the sand......”

“You would be better off sleeping even a little more instead of grumbling.”

“Don’t you envy it?”

“I barely have enough time to hone my own ability. Why would I bother coveting someone else’s?”

“Honestly......”

Claire shook her head.

He was a man who had blinded himself to obtain Mind’s Eye. There was no way a man like him would care about other people’s abilities.

Claire carefully asked,

“What is the world you see with Mind’s Eye like? Is it as clear as seeing with your eyes?”

“If it were the same as seeing with eyes, there would have been no reason to become blind.”

“Then is it different?”

“It is.”

“How?”

“......”

“Ah! I’m sorry. I asked carelessly about someone else’s secret......”

“It is not because it is a secret. I simply cannot answer because I cannot explain it.”

The world seen through Mind’s Eye was like transparent glass.

An incomplete world, precariously supported as though it might shatter at any moment.

Perhaps the scene he saw was the true form of the world.

And within it, humans were......

Lee Jung-ho shook his head and erased the useless thoughts.

Claire stared quietly at Lee Jung-ho, who said nothing, then looked up at the sky.

At some point, deep darkness had settled over the sky.

A pitch-black sky where not even starlight could be seen.

Claire’s shoulders naturally shrank.

“Hoo!”

---

The next day, the group once again rode the Thunder Buffalo toward Steel Fortress.

Under the scorching sun beating down on the Thunder Buffalo’s back, Claire was the first to become exhausted.

“Haa! I really want to turn on cold water and shower to my heart’s content.”

“Endure it a little longer. Once we arrive at Steel Fortress, you can wash as much as you want.”

“Really? I can really use cold water as much as I want?”

At Duduyan’s words, Claire’s eyes widened.

Lee Jung-ho was just as surprised.

“A colony should not have that much water to spare, so how can you shower as much as you want?”

“I don’t know what other colonies are like, but our fortress has a little extra water. Thanks to Mr. Zeon.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just know that much.”

With those words, Duduyan firmly closed her mouth.

The fact that there was a lake beneath Steel Fortress was a secret.

Since she could not hide that they had abundant water, she had said that much, but she absolutely had to hide the existence of the lake.

If the underground lake became known, not only Scavengers but even Neo Seoul would surely covet it.

Lee Jung-ho came to his own conclusion.

“It seems you succeeded in drawing up groundwater.”

Most colonies secured water that way.

Neo Seoul also obtained drinking water for twenty million people that way, so there was nothing strange about it at all.

The expectation that she would be able to shower once they reached Steel Fortress brought color back to Claire’s face.

Lee Jung-ho asked Zeon,

“Can you detect water as well?”

“It is impossible if it is deep underground.”

“Then you mean you can detect groundwater near the surface.”

“It is not that I detect groundwater. I detect sand that has become wet.”

“That is the same thing. In any case, it is a useful ability.”

For the first time, he felt envious of Zeon’s ability.

With that ability, one would never die from being unable to drink water in the desert.

Unlike himself, who could only kill, Zeon’s ability helped many people.

‘Why does the Mayor not recruit Zeon? He is someone who could be useful in many ways......’

Suddenly, he became curious about Jin Geum-ho’s thoughts.

If Lee Jung-ho possessed Mind’s Eye, which saw the essence of things, Jin Geum-ho possessed the Heavenly Eye, which pierced through the principles of the world.

Lee Jung-ho had obtained the Skill called Mind’s Eye because he had accepted Jin Geum-ho’s advice. If not for Jin Geum-ho, he would never have obtained Mind’s Eye.

If someone was useful to him and Neo Seoul, Jin Geum-ho recruited them by any means necessary. There was only one reason he would not recruit someone whose ability he coveted.

‘Could it be that the Mayor has judged Zeon to be harmful to Neo Seoul? If so, it makes sense that he did not recruit him.’

What was visible was not everything.

Even with the same ability, the result changed completely depending on who used it and how.

In the end, the problem was not the ability, but the human being known as Zeon himself.

Leaving aside his humanity or his ability, the human being named Zeon clearly did not fit Jin Geum-ho’s plan.

Thinking that way, he understood Jin Geum-ho’s actions.

‘Let us think no further. I should focus only on the mission. Whatever Zeon is, all I need to do is obtain Moby Dick’s heart.’

Just then—

“Wait! If we keep going this way, there will be a monster horde two kilometers ahead. Steer the Thunder Buffalo to the right. We will make a wide detour.”

“Yes!”

Claire immediately asked the Thunder Buffalo to go in the direction Zeon indicated.

The Thunder Buffalo turned right according to her command.

Lee Jung-ho and Claire did not doubt Zeon’s words.

That was because, on the way here, Zeon had proven his ability several times.

If they went in the direction Zeon indicated, no monsters appeared.

This time was no different.

Just in case, Lee Jung-ho used the Skill called Presence Sense, and he felt countless life reactions far away. As Zeon had said, monsters were clearly there.

‘Flawless.’

Lee Jung-ho clicked his tongue.

Thanks to Zeon detecting monsters for them like that, the group was able to arrive on a sand dune overlooking Steel Fortress.

When they climbed the sand dune, they saw a massive mountain made of sandstone in the distance.

At the majesty of the red sandstone mountain, Claire let out a groan.

“Hmm!”

She had never imagined that such a massive red mountain would exist in the middle of the desert.

Duduyan said to the surprised Claire,

“That is Steel Fortress, our home.”

“Steel...... Fortress.”

“Yes! And that is Archelon.”

Her finger pointed to a gigantic hill beside the red sandstone mountain.

“Huh? My God!”

“Hmm!”

Not only Claire, but even Lee Jung-ho, who rarely reacted to anything, could not hide his surprise.

That was because the hill they had simply thought was a sand mountain was actually the shell of an enormous turtle.

It was a shell so enormous that an entire small village could fit inside.

Zeon knew that a village actually existed inside it.

“The mobile fortress Archelon. I see you again like this.”

After hearing Zeon’s words, Claire asked,

“You call that a mobile fortress? My God! How did they tame that? I’ve never seen one that large before.”

Her face was flushed red as if she had met her first love.

The moment she saw Archelon, she had fallen in love.

“I want to see that child right away.”

Before anyone could stop her, Claire climbed down from the Thunder Buffalo’s back and ran toward Archelon.

Zeon tried to drive the Thunder Buffalo toward Archelon. However, the frightened Thunder Buffalo refused to move.

Even the Grade C monster Thunder Buffalo had been frightened by Archelon’s immense majesty.

With no other choice, Zeon and the others also climbed down from the Thunder Buffalo’s back and walked toward Archelon.

With every step they took closer, everyone was overwhelmed by Archelon’s tremendous majesty.

Even Zeon could not help being impressed by Archelon’s appearance after seeing it again after so long.

“You seem to have grown even larger.”

In just eight years, Archelon seemed to have grown even larger.

If Archelon were given infinite time, it seemed as though it might grow larger than Neo Seoul.

Claire was already stroking Archelon.

But her expression was unusual.

She looked at Zeon with an expression as though she were about to cry.

“This child is dying......”

Large tears flowed from her eyes.

Others might not know, but she, as a Tamer, could tell.

She could tell that this enormous turtle was slowly dying.

As if sensing her emotions, Archelon, which had been hiding inside its shell, extended its head.

Its eyes, larger than people, were filled with murky energy.

Zeon spoke to Archelon.

“It has been a long time.”