Chapter 342

Chapter 342

“Ohhh!”

“It’s a miracle.”

People’s exclamations burst from deep underground.

Countless people were gathered in an open space beside a waterway where sewage flowed.

At the center of them, an intense light was bursting forth.

A small girl stood at the center of that light.

Light was radiating from the girl as she held out both arms and focused her mind.

At that sacred sight, many people fell to their knees and shed tears.

“That cursed skin disease is healing.”

“This is a miracle.”

An old man lay in front of the girl.

The wounds on the old man’s body, where the skin had festered and pus had been flowing out, were healing rapidly before the sacred light.

The sight of that terrible skin disease healing in an instant and fresh flesh filling in was more than enough for the people to believe it was a miracle.

“That’s…… enough.”

The girl, Remura, opened her eyes and spoke.

Exhaustion was plain on her face.

No matter how much she was a Grade A Healer, she was still a young child.

She had never learned how to properly control her power.

Because of that, every time she used a Skill, she poured out all her strength and quickly reached a state of exhaustion.

Remura broke out in cold sweat as she said to Heather,

“Mom! I want to rest now.”

“There are still people left to heal. Why would you rest?”

“But, Mom.”

“Enough. Let’s heal this person too.”

Heather pointed to a man lying behind them.

He was a man with an unusually large physique.

Like Croker, whom Zeon had once faced, his skin was rough and bumpy like a crocodile’s.

His condition was worse than Croker’s.

That was because he had contracted a disease where his skin had not merely hardened, but his entire body had stiffened like stone.

The man’s name was Bakum.

Before his illness worsened, he had been the leader of this crew.

He was a Grade C martial-type Awakened.

With his powerful leadership, he had expanded his influence at a frightening pace.

Weapons did not work on his tough skin. His body possessed such tremendous hardness that most weapons bounced off the moment they struck him. But even Bakum could not escape the shackles of that heaven-sent affliction.

His skin hardened, and then even his muscles stiffened like stone, leaving him unable to move at all.

That was why Bakum was lying there.

Heather asked Bakum,

“If my child heals you, what will you do for us?”

“Lo…… loyalty…….”

Bakum barely answered in a completely hoarse voice.

His whole body had stiffened like stone, and now even his vocal cords were petrifying.

In just a little more time, his vocal cords and lungs would lose function.

There was not much time left for him.

If he could not receive treatment from Remura now, it would be difficult for him to survive the day.

Because he knew that, Bakum spoke of loyalty.

The corners of Heather’s mouth curled upward.

“You must keep that promise.”

“I…… swear!”

“Good. Remura! Please heal Mr. Bakum.”

“Yes!”

Remura let out a deep sigh and placed one hand on Bakum’s forehead.

‘Cure!’

When she activated her Skill, the familiar bright light burst forth.

In that instant, Remura felt an intangible force drain out from her heart like a receding tide.

Her complexion turned pale, and cold sweat flowed without end.

In contrast, Bakum’s condition visibly improved.

The body that had been stiff as stone softened, and vitality circulated through his entire form.

The heaven-sent affliction that had rendered the born warrior powerless was being healed.

“Rooooar!”

A moment later, Bakum sprang to his feet and roared.

A tremendous presence flowed from Bakum, who had been fully healed.

Thud!

Bakum knelt on one knee before Remura and swore,

“From this moment on, you are my master. If you wish it, I, Bakum, will leap even into hellfire.”

But Remura did not hear his words.

She had lost consciousness the moment Bakum was healed.

“Hohoho!”

Instead, Heather burst into a frivolous laugh.

---

“Haaah! Hah!”

Jetoya lay sprawled on the sand, gasping roughly for breath.

Countless monster corpses were scattered around him, and Jetoya’s entire body was stained red with monster blood.

They were the monsters he had faced all day.

They were Big-Molar Badgers, the lowest-grade monsters.

Big-Molar Badgers, Grade F monsters, moved in packs of at least several dozen.

They were monsters that even a Grade E Awakened could easily deal with. But the problem was their numbers.

Several dozen was only the minimum. Usually, they moved in groups of hundreds.

Despite being only Grade F, their temperament was so ferocious that they did not back down easily even when facing Awakened or monsters stronger than themselves.

Because they charged in viciously without caring for their own lives, most monsters avoided packs of Big-Molar Badgers on sight unless they were fairly powerful.

Jetoya had fought a bloody battle against such a pack of Big-Molar Badgers all day.

It was not what he had wanted.

Levin had driven a pack of Big-Molar Badgers to where he was, so he had no choice but to fight.

The Big-Molar Badgers were truly vicious.

The little things were so stubborn it sent shivers down his spine.

Jetoya fought desperately.

His grade was far higher than theirs, but he had never experienced this kind of battle before, so he struggled.

Later, Jetoya became just as furious and fought like a Big-Molar Badger himself.

He used both hands and feet, and even bit with his teeth.

That was the kind of opponent they were.

Naturally, Jetoya had no choice but to suffer wounds both large and small.

“Hah! Hah!”

After bringing down the entire pack of Big-Molar Badgers, Jetoya was truly battered from head to toe.

Beside Jetoya, Levin and Briel were talking.

“As expected, this level is too weak, right?”

“I think so.”

“We’ll have to drive in something a little stronger.”

“I’ll have Gaia check whether there are any Grade E monsters nearby.”

“He needs to fight before he recovers, so tell it to find them as fast as possible.”

“Mm!”

Listening to their conversation, Jetoya realized demons truly existed.

He could not help gritting his teeth at the fact that the two of them, who clearly knew he was suffering from the aftermath of fighting the Big-Molar Badgers, were already trying to drive other monsters toward him.

Jetoya opened his mouth with difficulty.

“N-no!”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because that’s how you get stronger.”

“That makes no sense!”

“It does. When humans are driven into a corner, they’ll do anything to survive.”

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“Why would I kill you?”

Levin answered with a smile.

That expression felt even more chilling.

“Then why the monsters…….”

“I was the same. When Brother Zeon threw me into a cave full of monsters, I resented him. I wondered why he was putting me through such a trial. I wondered if he hated me. But that wasn’t it. After I overcame every trial Brother Zeon threw at me, I got stronger. So you will too.”

“I’m different from you, Brother.”

“You’re not different. You, and those guys too…….”

Levin smiled and looked into the distance.

A fierce battle was also unfolding there.

It was Levin’s friends, Aaron and Dominic.

They, too, were locked in fierce battle against lower-ranked monsters.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Just kill me instead, you demon bastard!”

They screamed at the tops of their lungs as they fought the monster pack.

Briel gave a small laugh and said,

“They’re calling you a demon.”

“Then I should show them what a real demon is. Send another pack over there too.”

“Okay!”

Briel nodded and spoke to Gaia.

“You heard him, Gaia?”

—Pii?

“You’re asking if that isn’t too much? No! Humans don’t die from just this much.”

—Pii?

“Zeon said it. Trials that don’t kill humans make them stronger. Don’t tell me you doubt Zeon, do you?”

—Pii! Piii!

“Right! Then hurry and drive the monsters over.”

—Piiii!

With a long cry, Gaia disappeared beyond the horizon.

A little while later, Gaia reappeared, and behind it countless monsters were charging forward.

Thud, thud, thud!

At the sound of the monsters’ footsteps shaking the earth, Jetoya, Aaron, and Dominic’s faces turned deathly pale.

But they did not know.

This was only the beginning.

The trials Levin and Briel had prepared for them had only just begun.

---

Zeon looked at the map of Neo Seoul hanging on the wall, his brow furrowed.

Because his efforts over the past few days had not been in vain, he had managed to identify most of the sewer entrances in Neo Seoul and the slums.

It was not one hundred percent, but he had still identified over seventy to eighty percent of the entrances.

Based on that, Zeon drew a map.

He drew the underground sewers by connecting each entrance.

The underground sewer system completed that way was complex beyond imagination.

It was tangled so intricately that most mazes or labyrinths could be wrapped up and eaten beside it.

The problem was that this was not a perfect map.

There were still another twenty to thirty percent of sewers somewhere that Zeon had not yet identified.

Even Jin Geum-ho probably did not know that such a complex sewer system existed beneath Neo Seoul.

When he had built Neo Seoul with Deioden, the sewers had not been this complicated.

After that, extensions had been made again and again, and those who went underground dug out more sewers, causing the Crocodile den to expand to a degree where its end could not be guessed.

Now, the underground sewers could be considered another world entirely.

Zeon rubbed his chin with his hand and looked at the map he had made.

“For now, this is as far as I can figure out. That means I’ll have to learn the rest by going in myself.”

The problem was that even if he went in personally, there was no guarantee he would find Remura.

Remura and her mother, Heather, were people born and raised in the Crocodile den.

If they made up their minds to go into hiding, even Zeon would have difficulty finding them.

There was only one conclusion.

“I have no choice but to raise Jetoya.”

Fortunately, Jetoya’s potential was very high.

It was only because Remura had Awakened as Grade A, but Awakening as Grade D was already impressive enough.

If someone started at Grade D, their chances of growing into Grade C or Grade B were dozens of times higher than someone who started at Grade F.

Right now, he was merely a green Grade D martial artist, but if he was put through the wringer harshly, he would quickly grow to Grade C.

Fortunately, Zeon had know-how for rapidly growing Awakened, and that know-how had been passed on to Levin and Briel.

Even if Zeon did not specifically instruct them, the two of them would be putting Jetoya through harsh training on their own.

“I’d like him to grow as quickly as possible……”

Zeon muttered as he put on his robe.

After shutting himself inside his home for several days to figure out the maze, his head hurt.

He wanted to go out for a short while and get some air.

When he stepped outside, a dry, stifling wind blew in.

It was a wind mixed with sand, but it caused no problem for Zeon. That was because the sand avoided Zeon on its own.

Thanks to that, Zeon could breathe in only fresh air.

After getting some wind, his mood improved a little. But the moment he saw the people walking from the other side of the street, Zeon’s mood cooled at once.

The man wearing priestly robes and walking under the escort of Paladins was Johan, the ruler of Dongdaemun.

Johan must have discovered Zeon as well, because he came straight toward him.

“It has been a long time, Zeon!”

“You must be lost. This isn’t Dongdaemun.”

“No, I came to the right place. I met you like this, after all.”

Johan looked at Zeon with an eerie smile.