Chapter 286

Chapter 286

Zeon and Pathfinder Team 3 stood atop a high sand dune and looked down.

Below, they saw a huge basin that was especially sunken compared to the surrounding area.

Zeon frowned.

The Mana Stone Mine near Neo Seoul lay in the middle of a rocky mountain. Even someone unfamiliar with it could tell from the terrain that it was a mine.

But this place was different.

Zeon asked carefully,

“Is it an open-pit mine?”

“Yes! The problem is that this place is a monster habitat.”

“A monster?”

Before she could finish speaking, the sand in the basin stirred, and something slid into view.

It was long and sleek like a snake, and beneath it, something that looked like a sucker could be glimpsed.

The creature swept through the basin once, then vanished back beneath the sand. But in the place it had churned up, minerals the size of an adult’s fist could be seen rolling about.

“Mana Stones?”

“Yes! As you can see, Mana Stones are buried beneath the sand.”

“It’s worth checking. But......”

“Yes! The monster is the problem. As you saw, it only showed part of itself, so we can’t even guess what kind of monster it is.”

There were more unknown monsters in the world than known ones.

Most of the monsters inhabiting the area around Neo Seoul had already been identified, but unfortunately, this place was a full three hundred kilometers from Neo Seoul.

The monster ecosystem here had not yet been fully mapped.

On top of that, for some unknown reason, the monster ecosystem had changed greatly.

The Great-Horned Hyenas that had nearly annihilated them were not originally creatures that lived here either.

Sometimes, the monster ecosystem fluctuated violently like this. For Pathfinder teams, those were the most dangerous moments.

Zeon asked Eun So-young,

“Have you approached it?”

“We were planning to build the shelter first, then approach it carefully.”

“So you haven’t approached it yet.”

“Embarrassing as it is, yes.”

Eun So-young lowered her head.

It felt as though she were exposing their shame.

Pathfinders were supposed to be brave by default.

They also had to be filled with curiosity and a spirit of inquiry.

In other words, it was a profession that required the courage to risk any danger before curiosity.

Eun So-young and Team 3 all satisfied those conditions. But that did not mean they were reckless without countermeasures.

They were not the type of people who would blindly enter the front yard of a monster they had never seen before in their lives.

Taking time to observe calmly was Eun So-young and Team 3’s style.

Just as she wondered if Zeon might think of them as cowards—

“You did well.”

“What?”

“Charging blindly into the territory of an unknown monster isn’t a good choice. You did well.”

“R-Right?”

“Yes! Then let’s confirm what kind of monster it is ourselves.”

“How?”

“Like this.”

Before he even finished speaking, Zeon moved the sand.

WHIRRRR!

The sand in the basin rotated at high speed.

He had unfolded Sand Blender.

Clang, clang, clang!

At that instant, sparks flew from the sand with metallic sounds.

It was a reaction caused by the sand colliding with a metallic object.

Fwoosh!

In that moment, a massive beast with eight legs revealed its body from beneath the sand.

The giant monster, which strongly resembled an octopus, had legs that seemed to stretch dozens of meters long.

“Is that a Kraken?”

A gigantic monster said to have resembled an octopus and ruled the ancient seas.

The monster that appeared before them looked exactly like a Kraken.

Even under the fiercely rotating Sand Blender, the Kraken did not seem to have taken much damage.

Zeon realized why and frowned.

“It’s not taking much damage because of the Mana Stones.”

“What?”

“As you said, this is an open-pit mine. That means Mana Stones are spread under the sand. Because there are more Mana Stones than sand, my Skill isn’t affecting that thing much.”

“No......”

Mana Stones were extremely hard minerals.

If there had only been a small amount, it would have been one thing, but a large quantity of Mana Stones occupied nearly everything beneath the sand, dispersing Sand Blender.

Because of that, he was unable to inflict much damage on the Kraken lurking inside the Mana Stone Mine.

Moreover, a distinct force field lingered around the Kraken’s body.

That meant it was at least a Grade A monster.

It might even be above Grade S.

Of course, if Zeon decided to do it properly, it was not impossible to catch it. But there was no reason for him to go that far.

Securing and stabilizing the Mana Stone Mine was ultimately City Hall’s job.

Zeon moved the sand and secretly shifted one Mana Stone to where he was.

The Kraken-like monster rolled its huge eyes and looked around, but it did not discover Zeon or the Awakened.

When Zeon stopped Sand Blender, the Kraken disappeared back into the sand.

“Ugh! To think a monster like that had occupied the Mana Stone Mine.”

“If we’d gone in without knowing......”

As if even imagining it was horrifying, every member of Pathfinder Team 3 shuddered.

Meanwhile, Zeon picked up the Mana Stone.

“For now, its purity seems quite good. We’ll only know the details after analyzing it in Neo Seoul.”

Under the sunlight, the Mana Stone shone brilliantly without a single flaw.

At least on the outside, its purity looked quite high.

Mana Stones like this were scattered everywhere beneath that sand.

Naturally, it was something Neo Seoul would covet.

‘Still......’

Zeon looked around.

The terrain was not good.

Unlike the existing Mana Stone Mine, which lay inside a rocky mountain that served as a naturally blessed fortress, this place was wide open on all sides, making it difficult to defend against monster attacks.

‘Well, that’s not my problem to worry about.’

This was something City Hall had to consider.

By confirming evidence of both the monster and the Mana Stones for Pathfinder Team 3, Zeon had done more than enough to earn his keep.

Zeon tossed the Mana Stone to Eun So-young.

“That should serve as proof that there’s a Mana Stone Mine here, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s head back.”

“Yes!”

Eun So-young answered as she put the Mana Stone into her backpack.

Now that the mission had been completed, she too wanted to leave this dangerous place and return to Neo Seoul as quickly as possible.

Zeon and Pathfinder Team 3 left the Mana Stone Mine area where the monster lurked.

After they walked a little farther, they saw the vehicle Pathfinder Team 3 had ridden here.

It was a vehicle covered in thick armor plating.

But the armored vehicle was crumpled like a sheet of paper.

It had likely been attacked by monsters.

“Damn it! We’re stuck walking now.”

“Hoo!”

The Awakened sighed.

The thought of walking back to Neo Seoul through the blazing desert made them sigh first. But because this happened so often, their disappointment did not last long.

Even when they left Neo Seoul in a vehicle, returning with it intact was rare.

Most of the time, sand damaged the drive axis, or the vehicle was destroyed by monster attacks.

If they had a Mechanic with them, they could repair the vehicle and ride it, but unless it was a long-distance expedition, Mechanic rarely accompanied them.

“Still, this time, Mr. Zeon is with us, so it’ll be a little better.”

The Pathfinder team members basically knew how to find their way. But they could not compare to a Navigator.

Everyone knew that Zeon was an even better guide than a Navigator.

Since they were traveling with him, they thought they might return more comfortably than when they came. And their imagination became reality.

“There seems to be a Sandworm up ahead. Let’s circle around here. It looks full, so as long as we don’t provoke it, it shouldn’t attack us.”

At Zeon’s sudden words, the Awakened looked puzzled. They could not see anything.

But when they looked carefully at the place Zeon had pointed to, they saw the sand moving little by little.

As if something beneath the sand were breathing.

Only then did the Awakened realize that Zeon’s words were true.

From then on, they never doubted Zeon’s words.

They only walked in the directions Zeon told them to go, and not once did they encounter monsters.

“This is really comfortable.”

“So this is why people keep calling him a Sandmancer.”

Zeon also chose the place where they would camp.

At first glance, it seemed wide open on all sides, where they would be defenseless if monsters attacked at night. But Zeon thought differently.

“This is where monster territories overlap.”

“Then isn’t that more dangerous?”

“Monsters don’t attack each other much unless there’s a clear difference in fighting power. Of course, they stay very vigilant.”

“You mean they’ll keep each other in check and won’t approach any farther?”

“Yes.”

At Zeon’s answer, Eun So-young frowned slightly.

That was because she still had many questions.

What she was most curious about was how Zeon could distinguish monster territories so accurately.

Monster ecosystems were extremely complex and changed from moment to moment, making it impossible to divide territories precisely.

That was what Eun So-young had learned after working as a Pathfinder for a long time. So when Zeon spoke so decisively, she could not help feeling a little doubtful. But since Zeon’s words had not been wrong so far, she decided to trust him this time too.

A few Awakened stayed awake all night out of anxiety, but just as Zeon had said, no monsters attacked them.

From then on, Pathfinder Team 3 completely trusted Zeon.

They simply went where Zeon told them to go and rested where he told them to rest. As a result, they reached Neo Seoul without fighting monsters even once.

“What the hell? We’re already here?”

“I feel like I just dreamed all of this.”

The Awakened looked dazed.

Normally, traveling three hundred kilometers took about a week.

It was not because their walking speed was slow, but because they were attacked by monsters that often.

If they wanted to secure safety while traveling, it inevitably took that much time. But traveling with Zeon meant they did not waste any time like that and could spend it entirely on walking.

Thanks to that, even though they had rested sufficiently along the way, they arrived at Neo Seoul in three days.

“Do you think Mr. Zeon might be interested in becoming a Pathfinder?”

“Would he?”

“You never know.”

“What do you mean, you never know? Why would someone like him do such hard work as a Pathfinder? Say something that makes sense.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course.”

“Tsk!”

At Eun So-young’s scolding, the Awakened who had brought it up smacked his lips in disappointment.

At that moment, Zeon approached Eun So-young.

“You’re going straight to City Hall, right?”

“Yes! That’s right.”

“That works out. I also have business at City Hall, so let’s go together.”

“You, Mr. Zeon?”

“Yes! I have something to discuss with the Mayor.”

“Ah, understood. Then let’s go together.”

Eun So-young nodded.

They no longer needed Zeon’s guidance or protection, but the fact that he was going with them to City Hall still made her feel reassured.

As Zeon walked with Eun So-young, he thought,

‘How will he respond?’

Lee Jung-ho and Claire, whom Jin Geum-ho had sent with him, were both dead, and only Zeon had returned.

If it were an ordinary ruler, this would be a situation where they might grow angry, or detain and punish Zeon under the pretext of investigating the truth.

Zeon was curious how Jin Geum-ho would respond.

Through this reaction, he wanted to gauge where the bottom of the man called Jin Geum-ho lay.

It was when Zeon arrived in front of City Hall with Eun So-young.

“I have been waiting for you.”

Seo Tae-ran, dressed in a red suit, was the first to greet Zeon.

She did not even glance at Eun So-young and greeted Zeon instead.

“It has been a long time, Mr. Zeon. The Mayor is waiting for you.”

“Is that so?”

“Please go up immediately.”

“Yes!”

Zeon followed her into the elevator.

The ultra-high-speed elevator reached the top floor of City Hall in an instant.

Ding!

When the doors opened, Jin Geum-ho could be seen staring intently at Zeon.

A faint radiance lingered in Jin Geum-ho’s blue eyes.