Chapter 320

Chapter 320

When Zeon returned home after a long while, took off his robe, and hung it on the coat rack, Gaia came out as if it had been waiting.

Squee!

“Gaia! Were you doing well?”

Squeeee!

“Really? You must’ve been bored.”

Zeon stroked Gaia’s head.

Gaia closed its eyes and enjoyed Zeon’s touch.

As if it felt good, Gaia’s tail swayed gently.

While Zeon had been handling the matter in the North District, Briel seemed to have been too busy making the magic power generator to play with Gaia much.

That was why Gaia had whined that it had been bored.

Zeon glanced toward Briel’s room.

Normally, she would have been the first to notice Zeon had come home and come out, but since she did not even show her nose, it seemed she was properly absorbed.

Zeon did not bother calling Briel.

He knew well that when she was absorbed like this, leaving her alone produced the best result.

Zeon sat on the sofa and blankly looked out the window.

Gaia floated beside Zeon and leaned its body against him.

Squee! Squeeee!

Its endless chattering made it seem like a puppy whining at an owner who had been away from home for a long time.

Zeon gently scratched under Gaia’s chin. Then Gaia’s chatter stopped.

Like that, Zeon and Gaia looked out the window together for quite a while.

Their peace broke when Briel suddenly flung open the door and came out.

“It’s dooone!”

Briel shouted while throwing both hands into the air.

“You finished the magic power generator?”

“Huh, Zeon? When did you get here?”

“A little while ago.”

“You didn’t call me when you came?”

“It looked like you were absorbed in your research.”

“That was a good call. I was at an important point.”

“Then you finished the magic power generator?”

“Yeah!”

Briel answered with a confident expression.

Zeon stroked her head and said,

“You worked hard.”

“Hehe! Still, I’m glad I got results after all that work. Want to see?”

“Sure! Let’s take a look.”

Zeon followed Briel into her room.

Inside her room was a generator larger than the magic power generator outside.

“It’s quite big.”

“To supply electricity to a lot of people, the generation capacity has to be big too. So I made it much bigger.”

“That was a good choice.”

“As long as Mana Stones are supplied regularly, hundreds of households should be able to use electricity without any problem. I’m going to operate one first, and if it works well, I’ll make a few more.”

“Then should we go underground?”

“Right now?”

“Yeah!”

“Good!”

Briel immediately put on her pointed hat and prepared to go out.

Zeon stored the magic power generator in his subspace, put on his robe, and came outside.

Suddenly, as if she remembered something, Briel asked,

“Ah, what happened with that?”

“That?”

“The hunters.”

“Ah! That’s all taken care of.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Then that’s fine.”

Briel looked relieved.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“What happened to the hunters?”

“I’m not curious. I’m sure you handled it properly.”

Briel knew well how cold Zeon could be toward those he defined as enemies, even though he was lenient toward those on his side.

Even without confirming it, she could guess how miserable the Helbrin Mercenary Corps’ end had been.

Zeon said,

“I handled them all, but I left one alive.”

“Why?”

“He’s someone who can detect monsters.”

“That’s a useful ability.”

“So I handed him over to the Dokkaebi Market.”

“That was the right call.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“I’m okay! Maybe I would’ve been different before, but now I’m not shaken by something like that. I’ve gotten stronger.”

Briel smiled brightly at Zeon.

At her smile, without even a trace of affectation, Zeon nodded.

When they first met, Briel had been addicted to drugs and looked so fragile that even seeing her made him uneasy. But now, both her mind and body were healthy enough that most things did not shake her.

Zeon was glad for that change in Briel, so his steps toward the underground felt light.

The two entered the underground world through a sewer in a shadowy corner of a slum alley.

As expected, the musty smell greeted them.

When they had first entered, it had been so disgusting that it was difficult to endure, but perhaps because they had adapted once already, this time it was not that painful.

After walking for quite a while through the underground sewer, which was complicated like a maze, they arrived at the space where Jetoya and the others stayed.

“Ah!”

Jetoya was the first to discover the two.

Briel waved her hand.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good.”

“Um, what happened to the magic power generator?”

“I finished it.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course.”

Briel smiled and looked at Zeon.

Zeon immediately took the magic power generator from his subspace and placed it in the center of the underground space.

“That’s......”

“Is that really a magic power generator?”

The people, who had been looking at Zeon with expressions full of fear, gathered around the magic power generator as if enchanted.

It was something they had wanted so desperately, yet had never once possessed.

Tears welled in some people’s eyes.

Briel looked at Zeon.

“To run the generator, we need a Mana Stone.”

“I’ll give the first Mana Stone as a gift.”

Zeon opened his subspace and took out a large Mana Stone.

It had not been mined from a Mana Stone Mine, but obtained by hunting a Grade B monster.

Naturally, its purity and capacity were so tremendous that ordinary Mana Stones could not dare compare.

As Zeon installed the Mana Stone into the magic power generator, he said,

“With this one Mana Stone, you should be able to use it for several years without worrying.”

Click.

With a metallic sound, the Mana Stone fit into the magic power generator without the slightest gap.

Briel placed her hand on the button of the magic power generator and said,

“Then I’m starting the generator?”

“Yeah!”

“Run.”

Briel pressed the button hard.

Vwoooom!

The generator began running with a deep, powerful sound, like a monster waking from sleep.

“Ah!”

“The generator is really running.”

“Good heavens......”

The underground people, who had been watching with half expectation and half worry, widened their eyes.

Several of them sank down where they stood and sobbed.

“Hic! Now we can use electricity too.”

“Is electricity really coming out of that?”

“Can we finally live like people too?”

Zeon took out several items from his subspace.

They were lightbulbs and electric wires.

He hung the lightbulbs from the ceiling and connected the electric wires.

People watched him with expressions full of anticipation.

At last, after finishing all the installation, Zeon said,

“Then I’ll connect it.”

He connected the electric wires directly to the generator.

In that instant, the dim underground brightened as if the sun had risen.

“Waaah! It’s light.”

“There really is light.”

The people burst into cheers all at once.

The children jumped up and down in joy, while the adults knelt and prayed as if they were looking at the sun.

Jetoya’s eyes also grew red, as if tears were about to spring out.

“It’s really a generator. Now we can live like humans too.”

“How is it? Do you like my gift?”

“Completely! I’ll definitely repay this debt.”

At Briel’s words, Jetoya nodded and answered.

Jetoya’s gaze was still fixed on the magic power generator and the electricity.

At that moment, something began changing inside Jetoya.

The first one to notice his change was Zeon.

Zeon grabbed Briel’s hand and stepped back as he said,

“That kid is Awakening.”

“What, really?”

Briel looked at Zeon in surprise.

“Mana is gathering in him. It’s the omen of Awakening.”

Some people Awakened with no omen whatsoever, while others Awakened noisily like this.

Zeon and Briel watched from a good distance away so that they would not interfere with Jetoya’s Awakening.

The underground residents also sensed that the atmosphere was unusual and moved far away from Jetoya.

Under everyone’s attention, Jetoya’s Awakening continued.

Just as people were beginning to feel bored, the mana density around him rose sharply.

Thump!

An explosion that only Jetoya could feel occurred in his heart.

“Hoo!”

Jetoya let out a breath and opened his eyes.

Only then did Zeon approach Jetoya and say,

“Congratulations on Awakening.”

“I Awakened?”

“Look at your wrist. You should have a Rank Insignia.”

“Ah!”

Jetoya looked at his wrist in surprise.

Seven red lines of Rank Insignia were clearly marked on his wrist.

Three of them were shining.

It was proof that he had Awakened as a Grade D martial type.

Only Jetoya himself could know his detailed abilities, but in any case, starting at Grade D meant that his starting point as an Awakened was so excellent that others could not follow.

“To think I really became an Awakened.”

Jetoya muttered with an expression of disbelief.

Briel patted Jetoya’s shoulder.

“Congratulations! You finally Awakened.”

“Thanks! I’m so dazed that I still don’t know what’s what.”

“That’ll happen. Later, once you calmly observe your inner self, you’ll learn your Skills.”

“Skills?”

“Not all martial types are the same. Each person has Skills that match their tendencies. If you focus on yourself, you’ll naturally come to know what kind of Skills you should use. Once you learn your own Skills like that, from then on, you have to practice and use them like your life depends on it to raise your proficiency.”

“Got it. So proficiency is the key?”

“It’s even better if you can hunt monsters. Martial-type Awakened like you grow stronger quickly the more they fight.”

“I’ll do that.”

Jetoya clenched his fist tightly.

Powerful strength could be felt in that small fist, as if it held the sun.

It was a tremendous power he had never dared feel before.

‘With this power, I can protect them from other raiders.’

He could feel people’s gazes on him.

They were gazes where expectation and fear coexisted.

Jetoya understood their feelings.

That was because he would have felt the same way.

Even in the filthy underground world, Awakened continued to be born. But many Awakened, as soon as they gained power, treated people like slaves and handled them however they wished.

That was why they feared Jetoya might become the same.

If Jetoya, who had Awakened as a Grade D martial type, set his mind to it, he could use them like slaves as much as he wanted.

But Jetoya had no such intention at all.

He did not want to use the power he had gained with difficulty to trample others.

‘With this power, I’ll drive out those who disturb the underground world and bring back peace.’

Jetoya made a firm vow and looked at Zeon.

The man who had not only saved him and his people, but had even brought them a magic power generator.

He did not know about the other people on the surface, but he could trust the man in front of him.

“I swear.”

“Hm?”

“If you call me, no matter what’s going on, I’ll set it aside, come up to the surface, and help you.”

“Sure!”

“I’ll stake my life on keeping this oath.”

The young boy’s oath was resolute.