Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Zeon was sitting on a street in the slums.

There was no particular reason.

He simply felt like it.

As he squatted in front of a building’s stairs and stared blankly at the people passing by, no one paid him any attention.

Thanks to that, Zeon was able to enjoy a rare moment of leisure.

The blazing sunlight and even the stuffy air felt pleasant.

Just as Zeon was thoroughly enjoying the quiet of midday, a loud commotion broke the peace.

“Hurry!”

“We have to process the carcass before it rots.”

“Move! Move, you beggar bastards!”

Dozens of Awakened could be seen entering the main road leading to Neo Seoul.

Perhaps they had just returned from a fierce battle, because all of them were covered in sand and monster bodily fluids, looking utterly battered.

What caught Zeon’s eye was the large truck they were dragging.

In the truck bed lay the carcass of a massive monster.

“A Crown Bear? That’s not something you see easily.”

The Crown Bear was a giant monster with crown-shaped horns growing from its head.

Like a bear, it could walk on both four legs and two, and because it could use its front paws like human hands, it was extremely difficult to deal with.

An adult’s hide was so tough that ordinary weapons could not leave even a scratch on it, and it also had strong resistance to Magic.

Because of that, ordinary Awakened were no match for a Crown Bear.

To hunt a Crown Bear, one needed either a party or a raid team with a balanced mix of martial-type Awakened and magic-type Awakened.

It was worth going that far.

An adult Crown Bear was an enormous treasure in itself.

Its gallbladder, commonly called bear bile, increased mana, and its internal organs became important ingredients for various potions.

Since its flesh and bones were also used as alchemy materials, one could earn an enormous amount of money from catching just one.

The important thing was time.

A Crown Bear’s carcass decomposed extremely quickly, so it had to be processed in a hurry.

That was why the people who had hunted the Crown Bear were rushing like that.

“Move, you filthy beggars!”

They shouted loudly and rushed madly toward Neo Seoul.

The people walking along the street moved aside on their own.

That was because they knew no one would care even if they were hit by the truck.

To those people, the residents of the slums were worth less than stones by the roadside.

Stones could at least be used to build buildings, but there was nowhere to use slum residents even if they dragged them in.

Like a sandstorm in the desert, the Awakened who had hunted the Crown Bear vanished into Neo Seoul in an instant, leaving the street in chaos.

“I wonder how much they’d pay for something like a Crown Bear.”

“Do you have a hidden Crown Bear somewhere?”

At that moment, someone’s voice came from one side of the street.

When Zeon turned his head, he saw a man whose appearance did not suit the slums.

The man, impressive in a neat suit with neatly combed-back hair, was Tajik.

Zeon answered without showing any surprise.

“I mean, it would be nice if I did. But what brings you to a filthy place like this?”

“I came to meet you.”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

Zeon blinked as if he truly had no idea.

Tajik found that look of his hateful. Still, he suppressed his boiling anger and continued speaking as if calm.

“It is because of the Inazuma Raid Team.”

“Ah! The Inazuma Raid Team. They were extremely capable people. It’s regrettable that things turned out that way.”

“Regrettable, you say?”

“If I had been a little more capable, we might have made it out together. I’m sorry.”

At Zeon’s shameless answer, the corner of Tajik’s eye twitched.

It had happened inside a dungeon.

No one but the people involved could know what had happened there.

Once a dungeon vanished, it disappeared completely from the world.

It left behind no evidence that it had ever existed.

For Tajik, there was no way to know exactly what had happened inside the dungeon.

‘Koji has a strong desire to fight. On top of that, he never disobeys my orders. He must have picked a fight with him.’

He had ordered the Inazuma Raid Team to determine Zeon’s grade.

The most accurate way to assess an opponent’s level was to fight them directly.

Therefore, Koji and the Inazuma Raid Team had undoubtedly fought Zeon.

The problem was that the Inazuma Raid Team had failed to leave the dungeon, while Zeon alone had returned alive.

“So you are saying the Inazuma Raid Team fell behind and could not escape the dungeon in time?”

“It’s a shame.”

Zeon replied calmly, without the slightest change in expression.

Tajik tried to read the truth from the subtle changes in Zeon’s expression, but it was useless.

‘This bastard......’

For a moment, killing intent surged within him.

He quickly suppressed it as if nothing had happened, but it did not escape Zeon’s eyes.

Rather, Zeon had read what was inside him.

Unaware of that, Tajik continued.

“To summarize one last time, the Inazuma Raid Team failed to escape and vanished together with the dungeon. Is that what you are saying?”

“Yes!”

“That is difficult to believe.”

“What is?”

“The Inazuma Raid Team was not made up of fools who would fail to escape a vanishing dungeon.”

“Is that so? Then perhaps they were unlucky. The dungeon’s disappearance happened suddenly.”

“Haa!”

Tajik let out a sigh despite himself.

That was because he could not find a single opening in Zeon’s words.

He had failed to determine Zeon’s level and had lost only the Inazuma Raid Team in vain.

‘Should I just be honest and recruit him?’

He needed someone to replace the Crocodiles.

Based on what he had learned so far, Zeon was exactly the right person.

But as he spoke with Zeon now, his mind changed.

‘No. He isn’t someone who will listen to anyone. Just from how he dealt with the Inazuma Raid Team, I can tell how meticulous he is and how much of a rebel he is. He isn’t someone who will stand beneath anyone, and he certainly isn’t someone who will follow orders.’

Having organized his thoughts, Tajik smiled coldly.

“I have heard you clearly.”

“Do you need anything else?”

“No.”

“Understood.”

“I will see you again next time. Then......”

Tajik lowered his head slightly and disappeared.

Watching the direction Tajik had vanished in, Zeon murmured,

“It doesn’t look like this will pass quietly.”

Zeon knew people like Tajik well.

Men like that, with eyes full of ambition and confidence, could not tolerate even a single failure.

That was because they believed failure was tied to their pride.

The thought of using Zeon probably no longer existed in his head.

All that remained was the obsession to recover his pride.

“I suppose if I leave him alone, he’ll keep becoming a headache.”

Zeon let out a slight sigh.

***

A massive wall that seemed overwhelming just to look at.

This wall was the barrier that divided Neo Seoul from the slums.

The enormous wall, no less than fifty meters tall and over five meters thick, was covered with all kinds of magic circles and various weapons.

Built to protect Neo Seoul from giant monsters, the massive wall did not allow unauthorized humans to approach.

In particular, Awakened stood guard at the enormous gate connected to the slums, so the poor could not even approach it.

Even though the Awakened stood guard all day, the number of slum residents who approached this place could be counted on one hand.

Even they merely looked on from afar out of curiosity and did not come close.

The Awakened mocked those slum residents.

“Hah! The beggars are loitering again.”

“Leave them alone. They must be curious about what’s inside.”

“There’s plenty for them to be curious about.”

“Ugh! The smell......”

The Awakened pretended to pinch their noses.

They were the same humans, but they did not treat the people of the slums as human.

To them, the only humans were the people who lived in Neo Seoul.

Even within Neo Seoul, there were social divisions.

Between Awakened and ordinary people.

But ordinary people were not necessarily beneath the Awakened.

Among ordinary people, there were those who had succeeded.

Those who operated businesses like butchering companies or Mana Stone processing companies, or those who distinguished themselves in their respective fields, were treated better than most Awakened.

In any case, the people living inside Neo Seoul lived while fulfilling roles suited to their abilities.

The system of human society that had collapsed nearly a hundred years ago still existed intact here.

What the Awakened despised were the people outside that system.

The humans of the slums.

Even without them, Neo Seoul would function without the slightest problem.

That was why no one cared about their safety.

As the Awakened snickered, a man approaching the main gate entered their view.

With the hood attached to his robe pulled low, he came walking with a loose stride.

An Awakened stopped him first.

“Who are you? Identify yourself.”

“My name is Zeon.”

The man was Zeon.

“Zeon? Are you from the slums?”

The Awakened looked puzzled.

He knew most of the people who had left Neo Seoul. But Zeon was a face he had never seen before. That was why he assumed Zeon was from the slums.

“Yes!”

“What business does a slum beggar have here? You cannot enter unless you are from Neo Seoul or have an entry permit.”

“I have one. An entry permit.”

“You have one?”

“Yes!”

Zeon took out a temporary entry permit from his chest and tossed it to the Awakened.

It was the one he had received after saving Mandy in the past.

He had taken out the temporary entry permit that allowed him to enter for only one month.

The Awakened frowned as he examined the temporary entry permit.

“Issued by Mandy Sistine, guarantor Mechanic Kim Sang-sik? Check this.”

When he handed it to the Awakened beside him, the other man checked it with a reader.

A blue light appeared on the reader.

It meant it was genuine.

Neo Seoul’s entry permits were treated with special magic, so they could never be forged. Even so, the Awakened looked at Zeon suspiciously.

“What is your purpose for entering Neo Seoul?”

“I came to meet Mandy Sistine.”

“The issuer?”

“Yes! Is there a problem?”

“No. Pass!”

Since the identities of the issuer and guarantor were certain, there was no reason to stop him.

The Awakened guarding the main gate allowed Zeon through.

GRRRRNG!

With a heavy sound, the thick entrance door opened.

“Enter. The time you may stay in Neo Seoul is one month. If you remain in Neo Seoul after that, the Guards will find you and kill you.”

Tracking magic had been placed on the temporary entry permit Zeon had received. If he remained in Neo Seoul after the permitted period passed, the magic would activate and allow the Guards to find him.

“I won’t be staying that long. I’ll leave as soon as I finish my business.”

Zeon smiled as he passed through the main gate.

As he entered Neo Seoul, the air changed.

The air itself felt fresh, as if an air purifier had been turned on.

It was on an entirely different level from the always-stuffy air outside.

It felt as if even the deepest parts of his lungs were being cleansed.

The streets were clean, without even a single stone rolling around, and the sand that was common outside was nowhere to be seen.

Stylish buildings rose high enough to pierce the sky, and the clothes of the people walking the streets were also neat and fashionable.

Cars and various forms of transportation moved without a sound.

A scene Zeon had only heard about in stories unfolded before his eyes.

It was the most developed city in the world.

A state-of-the-art colony incomparable to any other colony Zeon had seen until now.

Perhaps this place was the peak of present human civilization.

Into such a city, Zeon took his first step.