Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The captain’s name was Jang Yong-beom.

Jang Yong-beom was a martial artist-type Awakened.

His weapon was a massive claymore.

His fighting style was to pour aura into the claymore and tear his enemies to shreds.

The name of the woman who had briefly frozen the scorching-hot sand was Giselle.

She was an ice-type magic Awakened.

The Awakened who had used Super-Vibration was Aiden. He was the party’s second-in-command, a man with sharp eyes and an excellent mind.

Lastly, the giant who had smashed the sandworm’s head had the name Mountain.

At first glance, he seemed to have a gentle impression, but his true personality was extremely cruel.

His brutality in tearing desert monsters apart alive was quite famous even within Neo Seoul.

The party led by Jang Yong-beom had happened to be on its way from Neo Seoul to the Mana Stone Mine.

The look in Jang Yong-beom’s eyes as he gazed at Zeon was as sharp as a blade.

“How did you survive?”

“Pardon?”

“I am asking how you alone survived when all the others became the sandworm’s food.”

“I-I do not know. When I came to my senses, I was on top of the sand.”

At Zeon’s answer, Jang Yong-beom’s gaze grew even colder.

“Did he perhaps awaken? Check the rank insignia on that bastard’s wrist.”

“Okay! Captain.”

The blue-haired woman, Giselle, answered and seized Zeon’s wrist.

“Ghk!”

At the pain of his wrist being twisted, Zeon let out a groan without realizing it.

Giselle examined Zeon’s wrist closely.

“Huh? There’s no rank insignia.”

“Are you sure?”

“Look! There isn’t one.”

Giselle showed Zeon’s wrist to Jang Yong-beom.

Just as she said, Zeon’s wrist was clean.

Jang Yong-beom muttered,

“So he did not awaken. Was he simply lucky?”

When someone awakened, seven thin lines appeared on their wrist like a tattoo.

Their appearance resembled the rank insignia of an old army. That was why the Awakened called the tattoo a rank insignia.

If light glowed around the lowest line, it meant Grade F. If light glowed around the second line as well, it meant Grade E.

Three lines meant Grade D, and if the fourth line lit up, it meant Grade C.

Also, the color of the rank insignia’s light differed depending on the type awakened.

The magic type was blue.

The martial type was red.

The shamanic type was gray.

Those fused with machines were black.

Occasionally, there were also those who awakened into other types. However, they were an extremely small minority.

Those who fell outside the mainstream were called Irregulars. However, even Irregulars had rank insignia on their wrists.

The rank insignia was both proof of awakening and a shackle.

There was no more certain evidence for identifying an Awakened.

A red light glowed around the rank insignia on Jang Yong-beom’s wrist. It was clear proof that he was a martial type.

Giselle, Aiden, and Mountain all had rank insignia on their wrists.

By contrast, Zeon’s wrist was clean.

Not only was there no rank insignia, the mark of an Awakened, there was no evidence of awakening whatsoever.

Giselle said,

“He’s just a man with absurdly good luck.”

“Everyone died, and he alone survived. That is no ordinary luck.”

“What should we do, Captain?”

“We have to stop by the Mana Stone Mine anyway, so put him in the car.”

“Ho-ho! He really is a lucky man.”

At Jang Yong-beom’s words, Giselle burst into laughter. But Zeon could not laugh.

‘They can’t see this?’

In Zeon’s eyes, the rank insignia on his wrist was vividly visible.

Although only the lowest line, proof of Grade F, was glowing, it was clearly a rank insignia.

And yet it seemed that other people could not see his rank insignia at all.

‘What is this? Why can’t they see my rank insignia? Come to think of it, the light is a little different too.’

It was a deep orange light, like the color of sand stained by a blood-red sunset.

He had never heard of an Awakened with a rank insignia of this color.

Moreover, the ability he had awakened was the power to control sand.

In that moment of crisis, the surrounding sand had moved according to his will.

Although his control was not great because he was only Grade F, he could still move sand within a certain radius as he pleased.

Zeon suddenly looked around.

Everything he could see was a desert made of sand.

After the five great mass extinctions that had occurred at the end of the Ordovician, the end of the Devonian, the end of the Permian, the end of the Triassic, and the end of the Cretaceous, a sixth mass extinction had suddenly arrived.

In a sense, the sixth mass extinction could truly be called the end.

That was because ninety percent of living creatures had gone extinct, and most of Earth had turned into a desert.

Even rivers and seas had disappeared, and the whole world was covered in sand.

Nature continued trying to recover, but there was no telling when it would regain its former greenery.

And in such a situation, he had gained an authority that allowed him to move sand freely.

The entire desert was no different from his own stage.

Only then did Zeon clearly realize that his ability was not ordinary.

From his long experience in the slums, Zeon knew it well.

An ability beyond one’s station became a disaster.

‘If my ability becomes known, I don’t know what will happen to me. I might be dragged to a laboratory and dissected.’

He had awakened by luck, but he was only Grade F.

In the world of the Awakened, that was no different from being lowborn.

He had to develop and improve his ability to raise his grade. Only then would his chances of survival increase, even if only a little.

‘One mountain after another. Damn it!’

Zeon bit down hard on his lip.

The reality that he could not reveal his awakening freely was suffocating, but it was still better than when he had been powerless.

Zeon decided to think positively.

Mountain said to Zeon,

“Hey, kid! You ride in the cargo bed.”

“The cargo bed?”

“Why, you do not like it?”

“Of course not. I like cargo beds.”

“Then get in.”

“Yes!”

Zeon answered and swiftly climbed into the cargo bed. After him, everyone else got into the car as well.

The car, which ran on Mana Stones as fuel, cut powerfully across the desert.

Zeon crouched in the cargo bed and watched the desert scenery.

Before he knew it, the sun was approaching the western horizon.

The desert after sunset was several times fiercer and more frightening than it was during the day.

Even a party made up of remarkable Awakened could not guarantee their survival if they were stranded in the desert at night.

Because of that, Jang Yong-beom also hurried toward the Mana Stone Mine.

Thanks to that, they were able to arrive at the Mana Stone Mine just before the sun set.

“This is the Mana Stone Mine?”

Zeon rose from the cargo bed and looked at the Mana Stone Mine.

In the middle of the desert, a huge rocky mountain towered up.

Deep within that rocky mountain was the Mana Stone Mine. A high wall had been built at the entrance to the rocky mountain to block the approach of monsters.

Awakened stood guard atop the wall.

The only way into the rocky mountain was through the gate at the front of the wall.

When the Awakened saw the vehicle carrying Jang Yong-beom’s party, they opened the gate.

The vehicle slipped through the gate and went inside.

Inside the wall, a small city had formed.

Since it was a major base that supplied Mana Stones to Neo Seoul, quite a number of facilities and people were stationed inside the rocky mountain.

Although it was incomparably smaller than Neo Seoul, it still had most of the things one might need.

When the vehicle carrying Jang Yong-beom’s party stopped, an Awakened approached.

The moment he confirmed Jang Yong-beom’s face, the Awakened’s expression twisted.

That was because he recognized his identity at once.

‘Why is this piece of human trash here?’

Jang Yong-beom’s nickname was the Butcher.

His infamy was widespread not only in Neo Seoul, but also at the Mana Stone Mine.

“It has been a long time. What business brings you here?”

“None of your concern.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, mind your own business. What are you going to do with knowing why I came here?”

At Jang Yong-beom’s contempt, the Awakened’s face flushed bright red.

Mountain blocked the path of the Awakened, who had clenched his fist tightly.

“Why? Want to try me?”

“Grrgh!”

Before Mountain’s enormous presence, the Awakened had no choice but to quietly unclench his fist.

Just as his name suggested, Mountain was not only gigantic, but also possessed tremendous brute strength.

He was not someone a low-grade Awakened could do anything about.

The Awakened stepped back and said,

“I hope you will not cause trouble while you are staying here.”

“I’m not that interested in the mine, so don’t worry.”

Jang Yong-beom smirked.

No matter how strong Jang Yong-beom was, strong enough to be called the Butcher, he was not foolish enough to cause a disturbance at the Mana Stone Mine, which was directly managed by Neo Seoul.

His target was not inside the mine, but out in that desert.

This place was only a midway base for operating in the desert.

“Oh, right. Take that guy with you.”

Jang Yong-beom pointed at Zeon.

“Who is he?”

“A bus headed here was attacked by a sandworm. He is the only survivor.”

“You mean a bus carrying miners?”

“That’s right. When we arrived, everyone had been eaten by the sandworm, and only that guy was still alive.”

Jang Yong-beom pointed to Zeon in the cargo bed.

The Awakened furrowed his brow.

“Ha! We were already in chaos because we’re short on manpower......”

The Mana Stone Mine was always suffering from a labor shortage.

There were many volunteers, but there were also many who died.

Since they worked deep underground, it was difficult to endure without considerable stamina.

Because of that, they were always racking their brains over the problem of securing manpower.

That was why they accepted people regardless of identity.

The Awakened approached Zeon.

“Hey, kid!”

“Yes?”

“You volunteered to be a miner, right?”

“Yes!”

“Then follow me. I’ll show you to the dormitory.”

“Understood.”

Zeon got out of the car.

“Thank you for saving me.”

He bowed to Jang Yong-beom, then followed the Awakened.

Jang Yong-beom watched Zeon’s back with a sharp gaze.

“What is it, Captain?”

Giselle asked with a puzzled expression.

Zeon was an ordinary person, so she could not understand why Jang Yong-beom was looking at him like that.

“He bothers me for some reason.”

“What does?”

“Do you not think it is strange? Everyone else died, but that guy survived alone.”

“We confirmed he hadn’t awakened, didn’t we?”

“A sandworm isn’t a monster you can escape from with luck alone.”

“Mm!”

Giselle let out a low hum.

Looking at Zeon’s receding back, Jang Yong-beom muttered,

“If not for the Massacrer, that crazy old man, I would have looked into him properly. What a shame.”

---

The place the Awakened took Zeon was the dormitory where the miners stayed.

Pointing to an empty room with not a single piece of furniture, the Awakened said,

“This is your dormitory.”

“It is spacious. How many people sleep here?”

“Twenty.”

“Eek? Twenty...... people?”

Zeon opened his mouth in surprise.

The room was fairly spacious, but it still seemed too narrow for twenty people to sleep in.

On top of that, if they worked in the mine, the stench of sweat would be no joke.

Just imagining twenty men sleeping in one room while reeking of sweat was horrifying.

Seeing Zeon’s distorted expression, the Awakened smirked.

“I say twenty, but there will never be a time when all of them sleep in one room.”

“Why not?”

“Why? Because several bastards die every day. A few of the ones who were in this room probably won’t come back today.”

“Is working in the mine that dangerous?”

“That’s why we grind up powerless people like you and throw you in.”

For a moment, Zeon wanted to put his fist into the Awakened’s face. But if he did that, he would surely be killed or thrown out immediately.

At any rate, right now was the time to keep his head thoroughly lowered.

The Awakened said,

“Keep quiet and behave. If you cause trouble, I’ll cut you to pieces and throw you to the monsters as food.”

“Are there many monsters nearby?”

“They’re swarming. If this place were not a rocky mountain, it would have become a world of monsters too.”

He was not simply saying it to frighten Zeon.

The appearance of an enormous sandworm had been an exceptional event. However, smaller monsters than that often appeared even in ordinary times.

Among them, the ones that appeared most frequently were great-horned hyenas. They wandered nearby, constantly watching for an opportunity.

If a corpse was thrown out into the desert, they would smell it from somewhere like ghosts and appear. Then they would devour everything without leaving even a single bone fragment behind.

All corpses from those who died in the Mana Stone Mine became food for the great-horned hyenas. They were disposed of cleanly, without leaving even the smallest trace in the world.

The Awakened gave a cold smile.

“You must have your own circumstances, so you chose this place as a refuge. But you will soon learn just how foolish that choice was.”

With those words, the Awakened left.

Left alone, Zeon stared blankly at the door.

“That might be true, right? If I hadn’t awakened, that is.”

Zeon flicked his finger.

The sand scattered across the floor moved in rhythm with him.

The sight looked just like sand dancing.