Chapter 270

Chapter 270

Zeon looked at the gauntlet Kaylee held out to him.

A faint red light flowed over the entire gauntlet, and its parts had become far more complex.

When he clenched his fist tightly, sharp spikes protruded like dragon claws.

The awl-shaped spikes served to focus destructive power onto a single point.

They were parts created by combining Exrium with the Ghost Beetle’s shell. As two different substances fused, their hardness had become absurdly solid.

But the greatest change was on the back of the hand.

It was the part where the Dragon’s Eye was embedded.

In the past, he had felt powerful mana from the place where the Dragon’s Eye was embedded. The unique fire energy possessed by the Red Dragon had been faintly emanating from it. But now he could not feel that energy at all.

With a puzzled expression, Zeon put on the gauntlet.

In that instant, a tremendous energy surged from the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet.

Zeon’s expression changed without him realizing it. Seeing that, Kaylee spoke excitedly.

“Before, its mana conduction efficiency was low, so a lot of it was being lost. To other people or monsters, it might have felt intimidating, but from the wearer’s perspective, mana was being wasted for no reason. While improving it, I increased its mana conductivity severalfold. Thanks to that, you can now exert far more power with less mana. Can you feel it?”

“Yes! Definitely......”

“The second thing is the Skill using the Dragon’s Eye. As for that...... check it yourself later. You’ll probably be shocked.”

“I think I will be.”

Zeon nodded.

When he had first returned to Neo Seoul, people had mistaken him for a magic-type Awakened who used Flame Magic.

The reason was the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet.

He had used flame Skills through the Dragon’s Eye embedded in the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet.

Dragons possessed infinite mana, and the Red Dragon’s Eye also contained that authority.

Thanks to that, Zeon had been able to use flame Skills easily.

A far stronger energy than before could be felt from the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet.

That was because Kaylee had increased the efficiency of mana while improving it.

He would have to test it directly to be certain, but at this level, he felt he might even be able to unfold Skills he had not been able to use before.

He wanted to check as soon as possible, but if he used a Skill in Steel Fortress, its interior would become an inferno.

That was why Kaylee had told him to check it later.

Kaylee smiled brightly at Zeon.

“Well, is there anything else I should be surprised by?”

“There is.”

“What is it?”

“Subspace!”

“Subspace?”

“Check it yourself.”

Subspace had been enchanted into the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet.

It had been added as an additional option when Kaylee first made the gauntlet.

Until now, Zeon had used the subspace efficiently.

He usually carried an enormous amount of sand inside it, using it as a weapon in emergencies.

Thanks to that, he had overcome several crises.

Zeon opened the subspace as Kaylee had told him.

“Wow!”

The moment Zeon checked the subspace, an exclamation burst from his mouth on its own.

That was because the already wide space had expanded to an unbelievable degree.

“Insane, right?”

“This is......”

“I didn’t know the subspace would expand this much either. Isn’t it almost big enough to fit a whole village?”

“It seems even bigger than that. With a little exaggeration, it’s about the size of the interior space of Steel Fortress.”

“Exactly......”

“Thank you, Sister!”

More than anything else, the expansion of the subspace delighted him.

That was because the larger the subspace became, the more sand he could put inside it.

Sand was the source of his power.

The more he had, the stronger the power he could exert.

The subspace had expanded by at least ten times compared to before.

That meant it could hold ten times more sand as well.

At this level, he would be able to use all his Skills without difficulty even after entering Neo Seoul.

For Zeon, it was good news beyond compare.

Kaylee cutely wrinkled the tip of her nose.

“I’m glad. I’m glad I could improve its performance...... I was so worried that I might ruin it after talking so big.”

The gauntlet Kaylee had first made and the current Ultra-Heat Gauntlet had evolved beyond comparison in everything from appearance to performance.

At this level, it did not fall behind most Grade S items found in dungeons. In some respects, it could even be considered far better.

“Thank you, truly.”

“You came running here to help us without any compensation. I should at least repay you this much.”

“You worked hard, so rest. I’ll go outside for a bit.”

“Okay!”

Zeon went out to the entrance of Steel Fortress.

The world was dark because the sun had not risen yet.

“Huh, Mr. Zeon?”

“What brings you here at this hour......?”

The Awakened guarding the entrance recognized Zeon.

“I’ll go outside for a bit.”

“Then we will lower the basket for you.”

“Ah, it’s fine. There’s no need.”

Zeon smiled and simply launched himself outside the fortress.

In that instant, sand rose and gently supported his body.

Zeon landed on the desert as softly as a feather.

Looking at Zeon’s retreating back, the Awakened shook their heads.

“No matter how many times I see it, that ability is cheating.”

“Doesn’t it feel like the sand loves him?”

“That must be why he can handle sand so freely. Anyway, I’m jealous. If I had that kind of ability, I’d build my own kingdom in the desert.”

“And fill every resident of the kingdom with women?”

“Why even ask?”

“Khehe! Just imagining it is nice.”

The voices of the Awakened laughing and chatting reached Zeon’s ears clearly.

Zeon chuckled.

‘Build my own kingdom?’

Of course, it was not impossible.

If Zeon used his ability, he could find water sources in the desert and create an environment where people could live. But people could not live simply because there was water.

Walls to block monsters, enough food for people to eat, goods needed for daily life, a refined system, and countless other requirements had to be considered.

That was why Zeon thought Jin Geum-ho was remarkable.

Starting from bare ground and creating the current Neo Seoul was something Zeon could never dare do.

It was not a matter of ability, but a matter of will.

Even Zeon felt respect for Jin Geum-ho’s will, which had carved out a human domain once more in a world of monsters and allowed civilization to bloom.

That was how remarkable Jin Geum-ho’s will was.

It even made him wonder what Jin Geum-ho, with a will harder than steel, would do next. But what mattered to Zeon right now was not Jin Geum-ho’s will.

It was the performance of the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet, which had evolved to another level.

“First, the subspace......”

Zeon opened the subspace wide.

As the subspace entrance opened, a terrifying suction force formed.

SHHHH!

The sand in the area was sucked into the subspace.

Sand surged in like waves and filled the subspace.

In the past, it would have filled the subspace in less than a minute. But the subspace, now expanded more than tenfold, greedily devoured the sand like a starving ghoul.

In the end, only after about ten minutes did the subspace become almost completely filled with sand.

The remaining space was the area Zeon had set aside to store items.

“Good!”

Zeon smiled in satisfaction.

With the expansion of the subspace, the space for storing items had also gained room. Thanks to that, he could now organize the items he had piled up haphazardly without order.

“I can sort the items later......”

Zeon closed the subspace and injected mana into the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet.

In that instant, the Dragon’s Eye embedded in the back of his hand opened, and terrifying heat flowed out.

It felt as if a volcano were erupting from the back of his hand.

At the mana explosion he was feeling for the first time, Zeon felt a tremendous sense of exhilaration.

Zeon forced down his excitement and maintained his composure.

Now was not the time to be excited. It was the time to calmly check the Ultra-Heat Gauntlet’s performance.

The easiest way to check its performance was to unfold a Skill.

“Let’s see......”

The moment Zeon formed an image, hundreds of Fire Missiles rose around his body.

The power of each individual Fire Missile was not that great, but the story changed if hundreds of them unfolded at once.

Zeon launched the Fire Missiles into the middle of the desert.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG—!

Explosions occurred one after another.

It was a scene like bombers from the old era bombing a target.

Its power could not be compared to the Fire Missile of the past.

A satisfied smile appeared on Zeon’s lips.

By feel alone, its power seemed to have increased by at least twice.

“Next......”

There was still plenty of time.

Zeon intended to unfold every Skill he had mastered, one by one.

---

CRASH! BOOM, BOOM—!

At the explosions coming from the desert, Lee Jung-ho opened his eyes.

“What is that?”

He put on his robe and stepped outside.

The interior of Steel Fortress was sunk in darkness.

Unlike Neo Seoul, this place did not have generators using Mana Stones as fuel.

Naturally, it could not even imagine keeping the lights on all night like Neo Seoul.

When the sun set and darkness fell, people returned to their homes and rested on their own. Naturally, productive activity could not be expected.

That was the difference between Neo Seoul and Steel Fortress.

Neo Seoul operated twenty-four hours a day without its lights ever going out, researching or producing something.

For more than a hundred years, Neo Seoul had developed its civilization that way.

As a result, it had created an ultra-advanced civilization that no colony could follow.

Logically speaking, for Steel Fortress to catch up to Neo Seoul, it would need at least a hundred years. If one considered that Neo Seoul would continue developing during that time, it would need far more time than that.

Of course, that assumed Steel Fortress spent as much time and effort on research as Neo Seoul.

Lee Jung-ho thought it was impossible.

Steel Fortress was a colony built in a fairly safe place, but it was enclosed, so there were limits to its expansion.

‘Becoming a satellite city of Neo Seoul is this place’s limit.’

Of course, that alone was remarkable.

Even becoming a satellite city of Neo Seoul would allow this place to achieve tremendous development.

It would be a win-win situation in which both sides benefited.

Lee Jung-ho could not understand why Zeon opposed it.

‘He may be strong, but he is a naïve brat who knows nothing of the world. To oppose this without knowing what a tremendous opportunity it is.’

If he had more time, he would have carried out a plan step by step. But the mission Jin Geum-ho had given him came first.

‘Let us think about this after obtaining Moby Dick’s heart.’

The place Lee Jung-ho headed to was the entrance of Steel Fortress.

That was because the explosions he had heard since dawn bothered him.

When he arrived at the entrance, the Awakened blocked his path.

“Please stop there.”

They looked at Lee Jung-ho with wary eyes.

Lee Jung-ho was a guest who had first entered the fortress yesterday.

Naturally, they had no choice but to be on guard.

“What is happening at this hour?”

“Explosions have been sounding from the desert for a while. Is everything all right?”

“It is all right.”

“All right?”

“Yes!”

“Are you certain?”

“This is not something a guest needs to concern himself with.”

“Hmm!”

Lee Jung-ho’s gaze turned cold.

The Awakened guarding the entrance flinched.

They had been overwhelmed by the sudden change in Lee Jung-ho’s atmosphere.

It was impossible for ordinary Awakened to withstand the blade-like presence of Lee Jung-ho, a Grade A Awakened.

The Awakened did not dare meet Lee Jung-ho’s eyes and turned their heads away. The fact that they did not flee and held their ground was admirable in itself.

“What is going on?”

At that moment, Zeon’s voice came from outside the entrance.

When Lee Jung-ho turned his head and looked, Zeon, who had ridden up on sand, was landing at the entrance.

Lee Jung-ho frowned.

“So it was you. The one who woke me from sleep......”

“I apologize. There was something I wanted to check personally......”

“So did you gain anything?”

“Well, a little.”

Zeon smiled faintly.