Chapter 103
The hotel where Zeon was staying offered room service.
That meant he could have meals delivered without ever leaving his room.
Ding-dong!
A hotel staff member rang the bell to Zeon’s room.
Soon, the door opened, and Zeon—wearing a robe—appeared.
‘What a strange guy.’
The staff member clicked his tongue as he looked at him.
Even inside his own room, Zeon had his hood pulled low over his face, which seemed odd.
There were always guests like that—
people who insisted on staying fully dressed instead of relaxing once inside the hotel.
The hotel’s security was flawless.
It was protected by barriers, and awakened individuals stood guard, making external intrusion nearly impossible.
Yet someone who couldn’t relax even inside their room was usually either a criminal or someone with something to hide.
Zeon silently gestured with his finger.
The staff member pushed the cart loaded with food into the room and set the dishes on the table.
“Enjoy your meal.”
After the staff member left and closed the door—
The hunched Zeon slowly raised his head.
Beneath the hood, his face was made entirely of sand.
It wasn’t Zeon.
It was a Sand Soldier.
In the next moment, the Sand Soldier collapsed, turning back into a pile of sand.
All that remained in the room was the cooling food—and a mound of sand.
***
Magical beasts were a threat to humanity.
The territory once ruled by humanity had shrunk drastically, leaving most of the land under the control of magical beasts.
Even Neo Seoul struggled to expand its domain, but had achieved little so far.
Its influence extended only as far as the mana stone mines.
Beyond that, the distant desert remained unconquered.
It was common knowledge that the farther one went into the desert, the stronger the magical beasts became.
No one knew what might be lurking beneath the sands.
Though dangerous, magical beasts were also valuable resources.
The stronger the beast, the more valuable its body.
Skin, scales, bones, blood, internal organs—nothing went to waste.
And if a mana stone happened to be found inside, it was like hitting the jackpot.
Compared in efficiency, mining mana stones was better—but those obtained from magical beasts had vastly superior performance.
Sometimes, mana stones taken from boss-level beasts even contained skills.
The type of skill was random, but if luck favored you, it could drastically increase combat power.
That was why Neo Seoul mobilized countless parties and raid teams to hunt beasts and clear dungeons.
The beasts hunted by awakened individuals were brought back to Neo Seoul and dismantled.
Claaang!
A massive rotating saw tore through a beast’s corpse.
The magically reinforced blade was incredibly durable—yet even cutting through a single limb dulled it completely.
“Damn it! The blade’s shot.”
“Replace it quickly!”
They had no choice but to swap out the blade and continue.
After countless replacements, the massive beast was finally dismantled.
The workers carefully handled every piece, making sure not to waste even a drop of blood or a scrap of flesh.
Tajik stood with his arms crossed, meticulously observing the process.
The most important enterprise to him was still Condor SSC.
After all, his military strength depended on it.
But that didn’t mean he could neglect his other businesses.
His master, Xiaolun, was a terrifying man.
At first glance, it seemed like he left everything to his subordinates—
but in reality, he watched everything closely.
He granted great authority, but if results didn’t match that authority, he eliminated them without hesitation.
Knowing this, Tajik constantly inspected all his operations for flaws.
After the monster-processing facility, he headed to a chemical dye company.
At first glance, it didn’t seem like much.
But the dyes produced here were special.
They had properties like stealth, concealment, and energy shielding.
Applied to an awakened’s armor, they significantly increased survival rates.
That was why extensive research was conducted here to improve the dyes.
Tajik watched a large vat where dye bubbled intensely.
It was made using blood extracted from a B-rank magical beast—the Mane-Lizard.
The Mane-Lizard possessed highly acidic blood.
Even a drop or two could burn through metal.
If it touched human skin, it was even worse—
a person would melt in an instant.
Hunting one wasn’t easy either.
They were excellent at stealth and extremely cunning, requiring careful preparation to capture.
That was why they rarely appeared in the factory.
This time, they had simply been lucky.
After observing the process for a while, Tajik left.
He headed toward his residence.
It was located in a skyscraper not far from the factory—
a privilege granted to one of Xiaolun’s trusted subordinates.
“…Hm?”
As he walked through an alley, Tajik suddenly looked up.
He felt something strange.
It was a path he walked every day.
Yet something felt different.
Unnaturally dark. Oppressive.
“…The streetlights are gone.”
Even the quietest alleys in Neo Seoul had streetlights.
This one always had them too.
But today, there were none.
“…A barrier?”
“Not a barrier. Just isolated from the outside with a layer of sand.”
A low voice echoed from one side of the alley.
“Who’s there?”
Tajik turned toward the source of the voice.
From the shadows, someone stepped forward.
The moment he saw the figure, Tajik’s brow furrowed deeply.
“…You’re Zeon?”
“We meet again.”
The one greeting him with a friendly smile was none other than Zeon.
Tajik looked at him in disbelief.
He had never imagined he would run into Zeon inside Neo Seoul.
“How did you even get into Neo Seoul?”
“By luck. I managed to get a temporary pass.”
“A temporary pass?”
“Yes. An acquaintance gave it to me recently, and it came in handy.”
“If someone issued you a temporary pass, they must be fairly high-ranking. Impressive—you’ve got connections.”
“I just got lucky.”
Tajik spoke casually, as if chatting with an old friend.
But his eyes never stopped probing, constantly observing his surroundings.
“That’s quite an unusual ability. A sand barrier… I assume that’s your skill?”
“Yes.”
“Very useful.”
Tajik’s eyes gleamed.
He immediately grasped the utility of Zeon’s ability.
“What’s your rank? How wide is the range? How long can you maintain it?”
“…You’re expecting me to answer all that?”
“You’re asking me to reveal my cards. Would you do it?”
“Fair point. No one would give that up so easily.”
Tajik scratched his head.
Then, suddenly, his expression changed.
His eyes turned cold—like a snake’s.
“I’ll make one last offer. Join under Master Xiaolun. You’ll receive the best treatment.”
“If that were my intention, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of entering Neo Seoul like this.”
“As expected—you’re the type who prefers action over talk. Coincidentally, so am I.”
“Good.”
Zeon smiled.
The sand barrier completely sealed off the inside from the outside.
No one outside would know what was happening here.
But it wouldn’t last long.
Dragging things out wasn’t an option.
If someone passed by and noticed, it would raise suspicion.
At that moment, a sinister blood-red aura rose from Tajik’s entire body.
Proof that he was a martial-type awakened.
Tajik was a B-rank fighter.
Shing—
He drew a small dagger from his waist.
It was curved like a crescent moon, barely thirty centimeters long.
Yet the blade emitted an overwhelming killing intent.
“A dungeon item, I see.”
“I call her Bloody Elena. Once she’s drawn, she always tastes blood—and takes a life.”
Tajik had given the dagger a personality—and a name.
That alone showed how deeply he was enamored with its power.
Bloody Elena possessed the effect “Amplification.”
It boosted his abilities by roughly thirty percent.
Though it sounded modest, it was a tremendous increase in power.
Licking the blade, Tajik spoke.
“I won’t kill you. You’re too valuable.”
As long as Zeon didn’t die, there were many ways to use him.
He could sever his limbs, preserve his body in a specialized container, and keep him alive—reduced to something that obeyed only his commands.
Such inhumane methods would have been unthinkable before.
But under Xiaolun, anything was permissible.
Zeon let out a quiet sigh.
“This is why abilities like yours are dangerous.”
“No. They’re useful. You’ll contribute greatly to Neo Seoul’s development—whether you want to or not.”
Flash!
The moment he finished speaking, Tajik lunged.
Closing the distance instantly, leaving only an afterimage behind.
Zeon flicked his finger.
In that instant, dozens of sand tendrils shot out like lightning from the barrier surrounding them.
Sand Blaster.
“Not enough.”
Slash!
Tajik swung Bloody Elena, cutting through the sand streams.
The crimson aura coating the blade could slice through anything.
“I’ll start with your legs.”
Whoosh!
Lowering his stance, Tajik aimed for Zeon’s legs.
Just before the blade struck, Zeon’s body slid backward.
As if pulled by invisible strings.
Retreating, Zeon flicked his finger again.
Shhhk! Shhhk!
Countless sand streams shot toward Tajik.
He swung Bloody Elena again and again.
The Sand Blasters were cut apart, shattered—
Yet no matter how many he destroyed, more followed.
“Damn it! How much mana do you have?!”
Tajik’s eyes widened.
Zeon was like a mirage.
Right in front of him—yet impossible to grasp.
Every time he got close, a downpour of sand followed.
It was like being caught in a storm made of sand.
Grains cut by his blade flew into his eyes and mouth.
Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Tajik unleashed his trump card.
“Damn it—Elena Blade!”
Shhhk! Shhhk!
Dozens of crimson aura blades formed from Bloody Elena and shot toward Zeon.
A finishing move—once used, it guaranteed death.
By now, Tajik had completely forgotten about capturing Zeon.
All he wanted was to kill the irritating opponent in front of him.
The red blades sealed off every possible escape route.
“It’s over.”
Just as Tajik became certain of Zeon’s death—
Dozens of soldiers suddenly appeared, surrounding Zeon.
Sand Soldiers.
They threw themselves forward, blocking the attack with their bodies.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, the soldiers and the aura blades shattered together.
“What the—?!”
Tajik’s eyes widened in shock.
He was so stunned that he didn’t even notice Zeon closing in behind him.
Zeon reached out and grabbed Tajik by the neck.
In an instant, all strength drained from Tajik’s body, and he collapsed.
“Ghk—!”
Zeon carefully caught him as he fell.
Damaging such a valuable body would be troublesome.
He had dragged the fight out precisely to subdue him without injury.
“What did you do to me? Undo it now!”
“What I’m going to do… starts now.”
“…What?”
Instead of answering, Zeon pulled out a glass bottle from his subspace.
Inside was something resembling a thin piece of wire.
“What is that?”
“…Would you like a drink of water?”
Zeon smiled.