Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Cha Dong-seok was a Grade D martial-type Awakened dispatched from Neo Seoul to the Mana Stone Mine.

His mission was to patrol the area around the Mana Stone Mine, identify threats, and eliminate them.

“Damn it!”

Dust had settled thickly over his goggles, making it hard to see ahead.

It was because of the sand that blew in without warning at all hours.

Cha Dong-seok took off his goggles, roughly wiped them with his sleeve, and grumbled.

“Can’t someone do something about this damn sand? I have to wipe my goggles every ten minutes.”

“The whole world’s turned into sand, so what can anyone do? It’s not like we can scoop it all out. Just put up with it, Captain. Heh-heh!”

His subordinate looked at Cha Dong-seok and snickered.

“Fuck! If I could, I’d scoop out even more myself. I just can’t.”

“If that were possible, would you even be human? Even a god couldn’t do it.”

“The gods are probably all dead too. If gods existed, would the world have ended up this ruined?”

Cha Dong-seok put his goggles back on and looked up at the sky.

They said the sky had once been that blue, but now it was only yellow.

Thinking about it, he had never once seen a blue sky. That was why he could not believe the stories that the sky had once been blue.

“I’d like to see a blue sky before I croak.”

“Heh-heh! You think that’s possible? Just wake up from that dream already.”

“You son of a bitch! Am I not allowed to dream?”

SLAP!

Cha Dong-seok struck the back of his subordinate’s head. Even so, the subordinate only grinned.

The subordinate said,

“Shouldn’t we start heading back soon? The sun looks like it’ll set in a little while.”

“Fine. Turn the wheel.”

“Yes, sir!”

It was when the subordinate was about to turn the wheel.

Something alien entered Cha Dong-seok’s eyes.

“Wait! Stop.”

“What is it?”

“Over there. Isn’t that a person?”

“What? What kind of nonsense is that? A person in the middle of the desert....... Fuck! There is someone.”

The subordinate’s eyes went round.

Far away, beings were walking over the top of a sand dune.

They were still too far away for their faces to be visible, but at least he could tell they were human.

“Scavengers?”

“There shouldn’t be any Scavengers operating around here.”

“We still don’t know. Get ready to fight at any time and drive over there.”

“Yes!”

There were five people in the buggy, including Cha Dong-seok.

They prepared to attack at any time, then drove the vehicle forward at high speed.

A moment later, they were able to meet the unknown people.

There were two men and one woman, and one Bactrian Camel, a means of transportation mainly used by Scavengers.

Dust had piled thickly over their heads and shoulders.

Cha Dong-seok stopped the buggy in front of them and shouted.

“This is the Mana Stone Mine managed by Neo Seoul. Stop and identify yourselves.”

“The Mana Stone Mine? Then we found the right place.”

The woman looked at Cha Dong-seok with delight.

She was a beautiful woman with blond hair and blue eyes.

The gazes of the men in the buggy focused on her.

It would have been enough to make anyone uncomfortable, but the woman revealed her identity as if it were nothing.

“My name is Mandy Sistain. I’m a Supervisor belonging to Neo Seoul, dispatched south with Pathfinder Team 7 for a monster ecology survey.”

“Pathfinder Team 7’s Supervisor?”

Cha Dong-seok’s pupils shook.

Pathfinder teams were elite armed groups.

Their military power, meant for exploration, was incomparably stronger than people like him, who merely patrolled around the Mana Stone Mine.

If she truly was a Supervisor attached to a Pathfinder team, then she was certainly his superior.

“Can you prove your identity?”

“If you contact Neo Seoul, they’ll answer immediately.”

“Mm!”

At that moment, the man riding the Bactrian Camel opened his mouth.

“I will verify her identity.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Kim Sang-sik, a Mechanic dispatched with the Pathfinder teams. Here is my access card.”

Kim Sang-sik had an access card.

Unlike Mandy, he frequently entered major facilities, so he always carried it with him.

Cha Dong-seok checked Kim Sang-sik’s access card.

‘It’s genuine!’

An access card could not be stolen or forged.

That was because it responded to the holder’s biometric waves to allow entry into major facilities.

Cha Dong-seok’s gaze turned to the last man.

“And you?”

“He’s with us. I’ll vouch for his identity.”

Mandy stepped forward and vouched for Zeon.

Zeon pushed back the hood he had been wearing and looked at Cha Dong-seok.

“I’m Zeon. I’m from the slums.”

“The slums?”

At that instant, contempt appeared on Cha Dong-seok’s face.

He had reacted to the word “slums.”

In Neo Seoul, people from the slums were treated like criminals.

Awakened from the slums, in particular, were viewed with even more prejudice.

It was not true of all of them, but a considerable number belonged to criminal organizations. On top of that, because they did not register as Awakened in Neo Seoul, their identities were uncertain.

Awakened from the slums were at the center of many crimes.

Because of that, the perception of them was poor.

Kim Sang-sik said,

“This man is not dangerous. I will vouch for him too.”

“Mm! I understand for now. Even so, once you enter the Mana Stone Mine, he must be isolated first. I ask for your understanding on that point.”

“Understood.”

Kim Sang-sik nodded.

Cha Dong-seok pointed to the back seat of the buggy and said,

“All three of you, get in. We’ll go to the Mana Stone Mine.”

“We’re finally riding in a car.”

“We’re saved.”

Joy appeared on Mandy’s and Kim Sang-sik’s faces.

They had walked for more than half a month.

They had conserved their strength by taking turns riding the Bactrian Camel along the way, but that did not change the fact that it had been painful.

Their whole bodies ached and hurt.

They wanted to enter the Mana Stone Mine as quickly as possible and rest comfortably.

The two hurriedly climbed into the buggy.

Unlike them, Zeon did not get in right away and approached the Bactrian Camel.

“You’ve worked hard all this time. Live freely now.”

Zeon whispered as he removed the saddle tied to the Bactrian Camel’s back.

The Bactrian Camel quietly closed its eyes and leaned its face against Zeon’s.

It looked as if they were communing.

In truth, they had spent quite a long time together. But now that Zeon was going to enter Neo Seoul, it was right for them to part.

“Go well!”

At Zeon’s words, the Bactrian Camel snorted loudly, then soon ran off into the desert.

After watching the Bactrian Camel’s back for a moment, Zeon climbed into the buggy.

One year traveling with Deioden, and seven years wandering alone.

It had been eight full years since he had ridden in a car. Perhaps because of that, the feeling was strange.

“We’re leaving.”

At Cha Dong-seok’s order, the buggy started.

Zeon closed his eyes and felt the vibration of the vehicle.

Mandy and Kim Sang-sik looked at Zeon with complicated expressions.

‘We really made it all the way near Neo Seoul safely.’

‘Does this even make sense?’

The half month they had spent with Zeon felt like a dream.

They had faced countless dangers on the way here.

Sometimes they had encountered gigantic monsters, and at other times, they had nearly fallen into shifting sands. But as if Zeon had sensed all those threats in advance, he had avoided them by a single step.

Although walking over sand had been hard, they had not faced a life-threatening situation even once.

The two knew very well how absurd that was.

The fact that they had returned alive and unharmed was practically a miracle. And Zeon was the one who had created that miracle.

It was only natural that the two looked at him with awe.

Whether Zeon knew of their gazes or not, he stuck his head out the window and looked ahead.

Far away, he saw a rocky mountain rising tall over the desert.

It was the Mana Stone Mine.

Seeing it for the first time in eight years filled him with new emotion.

‘To think I came back here.’

When he had left this place, he had not thought he would ever return.

Back then, simply following Deioden had been overwhelming.

The enormous gate opened, and the inside of the Mana Stone Mine city came into view.

The Mana Stone Mine city he saw for the first time in eight years was exactly the same.

Almost nothing had changed.

Cha Dong-seok got out of the car and said to Mandy and Kim Sang-sik,

“I will escort you two to your quarters.”

“What about him?”

The person Mandy pointed at was Zeon.

“There is a separate place for people from the slums to stay.”

“He’s with us.”

“I’m sorry. It is the Mana Stone Mine’s regulations.”

Cha Dong-seok was firm.

Mandy tried to say something, but Zeon spoke first.

“I’m fine, so go rest comfortably.”

“But.......”

“You don’t need to worry about me. As you know, I sleep well anywhere.”

“All right.”

Since Zeon said that, Mandy had no choice.

She and Kim Sang-sik followed Cha Dong-seok to their quarters.

One Awakened said to Zeon,

“You follow me.”

His attitude, tone, and gaze toward Zeon were all sharp.

“Let’s do that.”

Zeon smiled and followed the Awakened.

The Awakened did not say a single word the entire way.

The situation would have made most people uncomfortable, but Zeon’s expression did not change at all.

The place the Awakened brought him to was a shabby lodging house deep inside the mining city.

CREEEAK!

When the door opened and he went inside, he saw people waiting in the lodging house.

They were all Cha Dong-seok’s subordinates.

THUD!

When the door closed, the Awakened who had brought Zeon opened his mouth.

“You said you’re from the slums?”

“What about it?”

“How did someone from the slums come here with them? What was your purpose in entering the Mana Stone Mine?”

“My purpose?”

“Aren’t you connected to Scavengers?”

He treated Zeon like a criminal.

The other Awakened surrounded Zeon and created a murderous atmosphere. But Zeon answered without shrinking in the slightest.

“I have nothing to do with Scavengers.”

“Then why did you enter the Mana Stone Mine?”

“Did you get permission to do this?”

“What?”

“I’m asking whether you can handle the consequences, even if I’m from the slums, when I’m technically a Supervisor’s companion.”

“What the fuck is this bastard saying? You think that bitch can protect you? To put it bluntly, if we throw you underground in the Mana Stone Mine, no one will ever find you. So while we’re still being nice, you’d better answer honestly. No, forget that. Show me your Rank Insignia.”

The Rank Insignia on one’s wrist was the surest way to determine the other person’s class and grade. That was also why it was something one must never do among Awakened.

Right now, they were violating a taboo among Awakened.

That was how much they looked down on Zeon.

The Awakened roughly grabbed Zeon’s wrist.

“What’s this? You’re wearing a gauntlet? Aren’t you going to take this off?”

He tried to forcibly remove Zeon’s gauntlet.

It was something he would never have done if he had considered Zeon an equal opponent.

The other Awakened merely watched his actions without stopping him.

They looked down on Zeon because they knew he was from the slums.

“Haha!”

Zeon laughed at the absurd situation. Then the Awakened gripping his wrist scowled even harder.

“What? You bastard! You’re laughing? Do I look funny to you?”

“Yes. You look funny.”

“You son of a bitch.......”

CRACK, CRUNCH!

At that instant, a chilling bone-breaking sound rang out.

The Awakened stopped cursing and looked down at his own wrist.

The arm with which he had tried to remove Zeon’s gauntlet had been snapped cleanly and was dangling loose. Zeon had broken it before anyone realized.

Only belatedly understanding his situation, the Awakened screamed.

“Kraaaagh!”

“Didn’t you learn that if you try to expose someone else’s Rank Insignia carelessly, you get your wrist broken? That’s disappointing.”

At Zeon’s words, the air inside the room turned cold.

“This bastard.......”

“He’s lost his mind.”

The Awakened inside drew their weapons.

Zeon looked at them and smiled.

“Looks like none of you learned.”