Chapter 286
Zeon and Pathfinder Team 3 stood atop a high sand dune and looked down below.
A massive basin, far more deeply sunken than the surrounding terrain, came into view.
Zeon frowned slightly.
The magic stone mine near Neo Seoul had been located in the middle of a rocky mountain. Even a complete outsider could tell at a glance that it was a mine.
But this place was different.
Zeon cautiously asked,
“An open-pit mine?”
“Yes! The problem is that it’s a habitat for magical beasts.”
“Magical beasts?”
Before he could finish speaking, the sand in the basin stirred, and something briefly revealed itself.
It was long and slick like a snake, and for a moment, suction cups could be seen underneath it.
The creature churned through the basin once before disappearing back beneath the sand. But in the place it had torn through, fist-sized minerals could be seen scattered around.
“Magic stones?”
“Yes! As you can see, magic stones are buried beneath the sand.”
“It’s definitely worth confirming. But…”
“Yes! The magical beast is the problem. As you saw, it only revealed part of itself, so we can’t even guess what kind of creature it is.”
There were far more unknown magical beasts in the world than known ones.
Most of the magical beasts inhabiting the area around Neo Seoul had already been identified, but unfortunately, this place was nearly three hundred kilometers away from Neo Seoul.
The ecosystem of magical beasts here still hadn’t been fully studied.
On top of that, for some reason, the local ecosystem had changed drastically.
The giant horned hyenas that had nearly wiped them out earlier weren’t originally creatures native to this place either.
Sometimes the magical beast ecosystem would undergo violent upheavals like this. Those periods were the most dangerous times for Pathfinder teams.
Zeon asked Eun Suyoung,
“Have you tried approaching it?”
“We were planning to build a shelter first and then approach carefully.”
“So you haven’t gone near it yet.”
“I’m ashamed to admit it, but yes.”
Eun Suyoung lowered her head deeply.
It felt as though she were exposing their weakness.
Pathfinders were supposed to be courageous by nature.
They also needed to possess endless curiosity and a spirit of exploration.
In other words, it was a profession that demanded the courage to risk any danger in pursuit of curiosity.
Eun Suyoung and Team 3 all fulfilled those requirements. But that didn’t mean they were recklessly foolhardy.
They weren’t the type to blindly charge into the territory of an unfamiliar magical beast.
Taking time to calmly observe was the style of Eun Suyoung and Team 3.
Just as she began worrying that Zeon might see them as cowards—
“You did well.”
“…Huh?”
“Charging blindly into the territory of an unidentified magical beast is not a good choice. You did the right thing.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Now let’s confirm what kind of magical beast it is ourselves.”
“How?”
“Like this.”
Before he even finished speaking, Zeon manipulated the sand.
Gaaaaang!
The sand within the basin began spinning at tremendous speed.
He had unleashed Sand Mixer.
Tadadadang!
In the next instant, sparks burst out from within the sand alongside metallic clanging sounds.
It was the reaction caused by the sand colliding against something metallic.
Puwahk!
At that moment, a gigantic monster with eight legs emerged from beneath the sand.
The enormous magical beast looked exactly like an octopus, and each of its legs appeared to be dozens of meters long.
“A Kraken?”
The gigantic octopus-like monster said to have once ruled the ancient seas.
The magical beast now standing before them looked exactly like a Kraken.
Even while caught inside the violently rotating Sand Mixer, the Kraken didn’t appear to have suffered much damage.
Zeon realized the reason and frowned.
“It isn’t taking much damage because of the magic stones.”
“…What?”
“As you said, this is an open-pit mine. The area beneath the sand is packed with magic stones. Because there are more magic stones than sand, my skill isn’t affecting it very much.”
“That’s…”
Magic stones were incredibly durable minerals.
A small amount would have been different, but the massive quantity of magic stones beneath the sand was dispersing the power of Sand Mixer.
As a result, it couldn’t inflict much damage on the Kraken lurking inside the mine.
Moreover, a clearly visible force field surrounded the Kraken’s body.
That meant it was at least an A-rank magical beast.
It might even have been S-rank or higher.
Of course, if Zeon truly put his mind to it, he could kill it. But there was no reason for him to go that far.
Securing and stabilizing the magic stone mine was ultimately the responsibility of City Hall.
Zeon manipulated the sand and secretly moved a single magic stone toward himself.
The Kraken-like beast rolled its massive eyes around suspiciously, scanning the surroundings, but it failed to detect Zeon and the awakened ones.
When Zeon stopped Sand Mixer, the Kraken disappeared back beneath the sand once more.
“Ugh! To think a monster like that was occupying the magic stone mine.”
“If we’d gone in without knowing…”
Every member of Pathfinder Team 3 shuddered as though the mere thought was horrifying.
Meanwhile, Zeon picked up the magic stone.
“For now, the purity seems quite high, but we’ll only know for certain after it’s analyzed in Neo Seoul.”
Under the sunlight, the magic stone shone brilliantly without a single blemish.
At least on the surface, its purity appeared extremely high.
And countless stones like this were scattered beneath the sand.
It was no wonder Neo Seoul would covet the place.
‘Still…’
Zeon glanced around the area.
The terrain wasn’t particularly favorable.
Unlike the existing magic stone mine, which had been located within a rocky mountain that served as a natural fortress, this place was completely exposed on all sides, making it difficult to defend against magical beast attacks.
‘Well, not my problem.’
That was an issue for City Hall to worry about.
Simply proving to Pathfinder Team 3 that both magical beasts and magic stones existed here meant Zeon had already done more than enough.
Zeon tossed the magic stone to Eun Suyoung.
“This should be enough proof that there’s a magic stone mine here, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s head back now.”
“Yes!”
Eun Suyoung replied as she placed the magic stone into her backpack.
Now that the mission was complete, she too wanted to leave this dangerous place and return to Neo Seoul as quickly as possible.
Zeon and Pathfinder Team 3 left the territory of the magic stone mine where the magical beast lurked.
After walking a little farther, they spotted the vehicle Pathfinder Team 3 had arrived in.
It was a vehicle covered all over with thick armor plating.
However, the armored car had been crumpled like a sheet of paper.
It looked as though it had been attacked by a magical beast.
“Damn it! Looks like we’ll have to walk after all.”
“Haa…”
The awakened ones sighed heavily.
Just imagining walking back to Neo Seoul through the scorching desert was enough to make them groan. Still, since it happened so often, their disappointment didn’t last long.
Even if they drove out from Neo Seoul, it was rare for the vehicles to return intact.
Most of the time, the drive shafts were ruined by the sand, or the vehicles were destroyed by magical beast attacks.
If they had a mechanic with them, they could sometimes repair the vehicle, but unless it was an especially important mission, mechanics rarely accompanied them.
“Still, this time we have Zeon with us, so it’ll be easier.”
The Pathfinder team members also knew how to navigate to some extent. But they couldn’t compare to a Navigator.
And everyone knew that Zeon was an even better guide than a Navigator.
Since he was traveling with them, they felt the return journey might actually be easier than before.
And their expectations soon became reality.
“It looks like there’s a Sandworm up ahead. Let’s turn here. It seems full, so unless we provoke it, it probably won’t attack us.”
The awakened ones looked puzzled at Zeon’s sudden words.
They couldn’t see anything.
But when they looked carefully toward the direction Zeon pointed, they noticed the sand shifting slightly.
As though something beneath the sand were breathing.
Only then did the awakened ones realize Zeon had been telling the truth.
From that point onward, they never doubted his words again.
As they continued walking only in the directions Zeon indicated, they never once encountered a magical beast.
“This is unbelievably comfortable.”
“So this is why they call him the Sand Mage.”
Even the place where they camped for the night was chosen by Zeon.
At first glance, it looked like a completely exposed area where they would be defenseless if magical beasts attacked during the night.
But Zeon thought differently.
“This is where the territories of several magical beasts overlap.”
“Wouldn’t that make it even more dangerous?”
“Magical beasts rarely attack one another unless there’s an overwhelming difference in strength. Of course, they stay wary of each other.”
“So they’ll keep each other in check and avoid coming closer?”
“Exactly.”
At Zeon’s answer, Eun Suyoung slightly furrowed her brows.
She still had many questions.
The biggest one was how Zeon could distinguish magical beast territories so accurately.
The ecosystem of magical beasts was incredibly complicated and constantly changing, making it practically impossible to clearly define territorial boundaries.
That was what Eun Suyoung, who had spent years working as a Pathfinder, had always believed.
Yet Zeon spoke with absolute certainty.
Honestly, it made her doubtful.
Still, Zeon’s words had never once been wrong so far, so she decided to trust him again this time.
A few awakened ones stayed awake all night out of anxiety, but just as Zeon had predicted, no magical beasts attacked them.
From that moment on, Pathfinder Team 3 trusted Zeon completely.
They simply traveled and rested according to his instructions, and they managed to reach Neo Seoul without fighting a single magical beast.
“What? We’re already here?”
“It feels like a dream.”
The awakened ones stared blankly in disbelief.
Normally, traveling three hundred kilometers would take around a week.
Not because walking was slow, but because they were attacked by magical beasts so frequently.
Traveling while securing safety inevitably took a long time.
But with Zeon accompanying them, none of that time was wasted.
As a result, even while resting properly, they managed to reach Neo Seoul in just four days.
“Do you think Mister Zeon would ever consider becoming a Pathfinder?”
“As if.”
“You never know.”
“What do you mean, you never know? Why would someone like him choose such exhausting work as being a Pathfinder? Don’t say ridiculous things.”
“You think so?”
“Obviously.”
“Tch.”
At Eun Suyoung’s scolding, the awakened one who had brought it up smacked his lips in disappointment.
At that moment, Zeon approached Eun Suyoung.
“You’re heading straight to City Hall, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“That works out well. I also have business at City Hall, so let’s go together.”
“Mister Zeon too?”
“Yes. I have something to discuss with the mayor.”
“A-Ah, understood. Then let’s go together.”
Eun Suyoung nodded.
They no longer needed Zeon’s guidance or protection, but just the fact that he was accompanying them to City Hall made her feel reassured.
As Zeon walked beside Eun Suyoung, he thought to himself,
‘I wonder how he’ll react.’
Both Lee Jeongho and Claire, whom Jin Geumho had sent along, were dead, and only Zeon had returned alive.
A typical ruler would become furious, imprison Zeon under the pretext of investigating the truth, or punish him outright.
Zeon was curious how Jin Geumho would respond.
Through this reaction, he wanted to gauge the true nature of the man called Jin Geumho.
Just as Zeon arrived in front of City Hall with Eun Suyoung—
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
Seo Taeran, dressed in a red suit, was the first to greet Zeon.
Without even sparing Eun Suyoung a glance, she greeted only Zeon.
“It’s been a while, Mister Zeon. The mayor has been waiting for you.”
“Has he?”
“Please come this way immediately.”
“Alright.”
Zeon followed her into the elevator.
The ultra-high-speed elevator reached the very top floor of City Hall in an instant.
Ding!
As the doors opened, Jin Geumho could be seen staring directly at Zeon.
A faint glow shimmered within Jin Geumho’s blue eyes.