Chapter 98

Chapter 98

In that instant, old man Clexi felt the blood throughout his body run cold.

A chill washed over him as if he had been doused in ice water, and alarm bells rang endlessly inside his head.

He had sensed the ominous atmosphere contained in Zeon’s brief words. Even so, he forced himself to keep a calm expression and answered.

“I came to my senses a little while ago.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I heard you joined the raid party too.”

“Guildmaster Yu Se-hee asked me to.”

“In any case, thank you. Thanks to you, I made it out alive.”

“I’m glad I was of help.”

Zeon smiled.

That smile felt chilling, like a blade pressed against Clexi’s throat.

Old man Clexi changed the subject.

“Did you...... come out of the dungeon alone?”

“Yes!”

“What about the Inazuma Raid Team?”

“I suppose they couldn’t make it out.”

“Weren’t you with them?”

“I was.”

“Then?”

“I suppose they couldn’t find the way out.”

“Mm!”

Old man Clexi let out a groan without realizing it.

Koji, the captain of the Inazuma Raid Team, was a Grade B Awakened.

His subordinates Yuri, Bai Lun, and Comaine were Grade C, while Shu Han was Grade D.

They were by no means a force that could be underestimated.

With that much strength, they could erase any slum raid party in an instant.

And yet that force had gotten lost and failed to come out of the dungeon?

It was a story no one would believe.

‘Did he wipe out the Inazuma Raid Team by himself?’

He would need to look more closely to know for sure, but Zeon did not seem to have even a common scratch anywhere on his body.

‘After Goran, even the Inazuma Raid Team......’

Gulp!

Old man Clexi swallowed dryly without realizing it.

At this point, he had to admit it.

The man standing before him possessed tremendous ability.

Behind that handsome face, he was clearly hiding unimaginable ferocity and cruelty.

“Did the dungeon disappear completely?”

“Yes!”

“I see.”

When a dungeon disappeared, naturally, everything inside it disappeared as well.

The Inazuma Raid Team had effectively been erased from this world.

Zeon said,

“It’s unfortunate.”

“What...... is?”

“That such high-grade personnel as the Inazuma Raid Team couldn’t escape the dungeon.”

“That is true.”

“There won’t be any particular problem, will there?”

“Probably...... not.”

“That’s a relief. I really can’t stand troublesome things.”

“Mm!”

Old man Clexi realized that he had clenched his fists without noticing it.

His tightly clenched palms were damp with sweat.

Zeon said to him,

“Then let’s head back now.”

“Let’s do that.”

Old man Clexi answered with difficulty.

Zeon moved lightly, like someone out for a stroll. But the footsteps of those following behind him were as heavy as if weights had been tied to them.

***

At the news of old man Clexi’s return, Yu Se-hee ran out barefoot.

“Grandfather!”

“Se-hee!”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m a little short on strength, but I’m fine.”

“Haa! Thank goodness.”

Yu Se-hee let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“Then why did you go into a dungeon? You should have left dungeon clearing to the young people......”

“Tsk!”

“Anyway, if you ever go into a dungeon again, you won’t be seeing me anymore. Do you understand?”

“I don’t want to go through that hardship again either. I’ll never go in personally again.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“All right. You must be tired, so I’ll let it pass for today.”

“Thank you.”

Old man Clexi gave a faint smile.

Even without that, he was so exhausted that he was on the verge of collapsing.

If he had to listen to any more scolding, he might actually collapse.

That was when it happened.

“I hope I’m not interrupting this reunion between grandfather and granddaughter.”

An unfamiliar voice struck old man Clexi’s eardrums.

In that instant, old man Clexi’s eyes turned cold.

That was because he had instinctively realized the identity of the voice’s owner.

“Tajik?”

“It has been a long time.”

The man smiling as he greeted old man Clexi was Tajik.

At his appearance, old man Clexi’s expression hardened.

“I’m glad you returned safely.”

“Thanks to you.”

“But I don’t see the Inazuma Raid Team. Did they return to Neo Seoul first?”

“They couldn’t make it out of the dungeon.”

“What do you mean?”

In that instant, the smile vanished completely from Tajik’s face.

Old man Clexi knew that Tajik’s dry face was his true face.

“Are you saying the Inazuma Raid Team was wiped out?”

“Unfortunately, after helping this old man escape, they seem to have lost their way inside the dungeon. They couldn’t get out in time.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“What can I do when it is the truth?”

Old man Clexi spoke calmly without changing expression.

Tajik glared at him with terrifying eyes. But his gaze could not shake old man Clexi.

“What about Zeon?”

“He went home.”

“You mean he’s safe?”

“Without a single wound......”

“......”

Tajik pressed his lips tightly together.

Old man Clexi smiled discreetly.

‘Seeing that bastard flustered is rather entertaining.’

But public and private matters had to be kept separate.

In any case, he owed Tajik a debt.

That debt had to be repaid.

Old man Clexi said to Tajik,

“Take this Mana Stone to Xiao Lun. It is payment for saving me.”

“......”

Old man Clexi handed a Mana Stone to Tajik.

It was one of the top-grade Mana Stones he had kept.

It was a Mana Stone taken from a boss-level monster, something that could not be obtained on the market.

The Mana Stone, gleaming with a black luster, looked extraordinary at a glance. But Tajik did not even spare it a look.

The way he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists showed just how furious he was.

‘Of course he would be. The Inazuma Raid Team must have been the best card Tajik could play.’

Though Tajik was a close aide of Xiao Lun, the overlord of southern Neo Seoul, there was a limit to the troops he could command.

Xiao Lun never concentrated his authority in one person.

He kept everything important clenched tightly in his own hand and threw only the leftover crumbs to his close aides.

The Inazuma Raid Team had been the best card Tajik could play.

It was only natural that Tajik was enraged now that such a best card had vanished in the blink of an eye.

‘He’ll be raging for a while.’

This was the best Clexi could do to settle the matter.

How Tajik would move from here on, and how Zeon would respond, were matters beyond his control.

Of course, that did not mean he could simply sit back and watch either.

“Whew!”

The heavy sigh that escaped him unconsciously spoke for his state of mind.

***

“You’re back?”

When Zeon opened the door and came in, Briel spoke without even turning her head.

Perhaps she had stayed up all night, because Briel’s face was hollow.

Her eyes were bloodshot red, and dark circles were cast heavily beneath them.

Zeon asked,

“What happened to you?”

“I failed......”

“Hm?”

“I said I failed. I stayed up for two whole nights and focused, but......”

Briel looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

While Zeon had been gone, she had devoted herself entirely to alchemy.

She had thrown in every ingredient she had bought at the Goblin Market.

The result had been a complete failure.

She had used up all the ingredients she had bought, and all that remained was terrible fatigue and helplessness.

“Hiiing!”

Tears gathered in the corners of Briel’s eyes.

Zeon asked her,

“What exactly are you trying to make?”

He had been curious for a while.

He had asked her a few times in passing, but Briel had never told him what she was trying to make.

“A mana amplification potion.”

“An amplification potion?”

“Yes! A drug that temporarily increases mana capacity.”

“Isn’t that a drug?”

“It’s different from that.”

Briel snapped back.

She knew the harm caused by drugs better than anyone.

After all, her body had been ruined while making them.

The mana amplifier she was making had been inspired by the drugs she had made.

Back then, she had hidden it tightly away, but now that she was free, things were different.

“Hiiing! What should I do? I really want to make it.”

Briel watched Zeon’s expression carefully.

She had used up all the ingredients she had bought last time, so she needed to buy more.

But to buy them again, she needed money.

At present, Zeon was the only place money could come from, which was why she was watching him so carefully.

Zeon took a jewel from his chest.

In that instant, Briel’s eyes widened.

She had recognized it as a Mana Stone.

A very precious one, at that.

With that size and luster, it had clearly come from a boss.

“A Mana Stone?”

“Do you want it?”

“Yes! Yes!”

Briel’s head shook frantically up and down.

“Then tell me. What can be made with the wings of a Queen Ghost Dragonfly?”

“Is that by any chance the Queen Ghost Dragonfly’s Mana Stone?”

“That’s right!”

“But why the wings?”

“Don’t ask why. For reference, the Queen Ghost Dragonfly had been forcibly molted.”

“Forcibly?”

Briel frowned.

Forcibly molting a Queen Ghost Dragonfly was not as easy as it sounded.

“You would need either a Grade S Tamer or a Grade S item......”

“It already happened. So don’t argue over whether it’s possible or not. Just tell me what can be done with the wings.”

“There are many things you can do. First, since they aren’t affected by gravity, you can make a flight item.”

“To what extent are they unaffected by gravity?”

“In theory, they can rise endlessly.”

“Without being affected by altitude at all?”

“Yes! With Queen Ghost Dragonfly wings, you could probably float something hundreds of kilometers into the sky. But is there any meaning in that?”

“Why?”

“There are flying monsters in the sky. There’s no way those things would just leave alone something humans launched up there.”

“Mm!”

“I don’t know who did it, but in my opinion, they wasted their effort for nothing.”

Zeon did not agree with Briel’s opinion.

‘There’s no way someone who found a dungeon with two bosses and accurately forced only the Queen Ghost Dragonfly to molt wouldn’t know that. They must either be confident they can neutralize the flying monsters, or have a countermeasure prepared well enough that it won’t matter even if they’re interfered with.’

It was only Zeon’s speculation.

But Zeon believed his speculation was correct.

Zeon said to Briel,

“If it were you, organize how the Queen Ghost Dragonfly’s wings could be used and give it to me.”

“Got it.”

“Here.”

Zeon handed the Mana Stone to Briel.

A bright smile appeared on Briel’s face.

“Yes!”