Chapter 292
“Haah! Haah! It’s Neo Seoul.”
“Fuck! We finally made it back.”
Aaron and Dominic looked at the distant Neo Seoul Mall with emotional expressions.
Both of them looked absolutely terrible.
Their clothes were torn to shreds, their hair was a mess, and they were covered in wounds, looking like defeated soldiers.
The past four days had been hell for them.
Other than the time spent recovering mana and snatching brief naps, magical beasts had continuously attacked them.
Zeon and Levin had viciously timed the attacks to coincide with the moments their mana recovered.
Because of that, they had barely rested and had to keep fighting nonstop.
They had compressed months’ worth of combat experience into just four days.
Thanks to that, their bodies were in tatters, but their confidence had risen to the highest level.
“We’re combat veterans now.”
“Yeah! We’re not scared of F-rank magical beasts anymore.”
At that moment, a voice from behind sent chills down their spines.
“Then I guess you can fight E-rank magical beasts now?”
“Hrk!”
The two men turned around in shock and saw Levin approaching like a ghost.
Levin smiled brightly as he spoke.
“So? Want me to send some E-rank magical beasts your way even now?”
“That’s crossing the line.”
“Hey! Why are you like this again?”
Aaron and Dominic grabbed both of Levin’s arms in panic.
On the way here, Levin had endlessly driven magical beasts toward them like a sheepdog herding livestock, and thanks to that, the two had suffered like hell.
To them, Levin looked like a demon.
Levin had only done it under Zeon’s orders, but he had no intention of making excuses.
Only by doing this could he slightly increase his friends’ chances of survival.
Patting the two on the shoulders, Levin spoke.
“I did it all for you guys. You know that, right?”
“Of course.”
“Yeah! We know.”
Aaron and Dominic nodded frantically.
Watching them, Zeon smirked and said,
“Let’s go in now.”
“Yes, hyung!”
The three answered in unison.
Together, they entered the slums.
In just a few days, the atmosphere of the slums had changed again.
The subjugation of the mana stone mine had officially been announced.
Awakeners and small parties who had obtained the information late were now scrambling to secure supplies.
The smaller parties that couldn’t obtain the supplies they wanted in Neo Seoul searched through the shops in the slums as well.
Because of that, the entire slum district was noisy and chaotic.
Looking at the two, Levin said,
“It’ll stay loud until the assault force departs. You guys shouldn’t get excited and wander around either. Just rest.”
“I don’t even have the strength to walk around.”
“I’m going to sleep all the sleep I missed.”
Indeed, thick dark circles hung beneath both of their eyes. Their eyes were full of drowsiness, and they looked like they might collapse at any moment.
Then they bowed deeply toward Zeon as well.
“Thank you, hyungnim!”
“We caused you trouble because of us. We’ll definitely repay this debt.”
“Yeah! You must be exhausted, so hurry inside and rest.”
Zeon gestured for them to go in.
The two immediately headed toward their own homes without even looking back.
Zeon spoke to Levin.
“Let’s head in too.”
“Yes, hyung. I really need to wash up and rest.”
Levin had suffered just as much as Aaron and Dominic.
For four days, he had searched for magical beasts suitable for the two and herded them around like a sheepdog, so fatigue had piled up considerably.
He desperately wanted to take a cold shower and rest in a soft bed.
Nodding, Zeon replied,
“Yeah. Let’s hurry home and get some rest.”
“Brielle’s doing well, right?”
“What, do you miss her?”
“Haha.”
Instead of answering, Levin gave an awkward smile.
The two walked side by side.
“Welcome back!”
The moment they returned home, Brielle enthusiastically welcomed them.
Levin smiled and was about to say something when Brielle brushed right past him and stopped in front of Zeon.
Looking into Brielle’s sparkling eyes, Zeon spoke.
“Gaia?”
“Yong!”
“Alright.”
Zeon nodded and opened the subspace.
Gaia then peeked its head out.
“Gaia!”
–Beii!
“I missed you.”
Brielle immediately hugged Gaia tightly.
Gaia also seemed happy to see Brielle after so long, wagging its tail excitedly.
Zeon smirked and said to Levin,
“Looks like we’ve been pushed down the priority list.”
“Seems that way. I should hurry and wash up and rest.”
“Go ahead.”
“You should rest too, hyung.”
“Alright.”
Levin entered the room first.
Holding onto Gaia, Brielle chattered endlessly about what she had been researching.
“I’m sleepy!”
Home really was the best.
***
Aiden stared at the warehouse with a grim expression.
The massive warehouse was only half full.
“Goddammit!”
“Why?”
Standing beside him, Giselle looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Do you really need to ask? We’re seriously lacking stockpiled supplies.”
“But it’s usually filled around this much. What’s the problem?”
“If it were normal times, there’d be no problem. But the mana stone mine subjugation is coming up.”
“Oh?”
“The amount of supplies consumed will be several times higher than usual. And our group’s gotten bigger too. Damn it! I should’ve paid attention to this sooner.”
Aiden belatedly cursed himself for the mistake.
A lot had changed after Jang Yongbeom became an S-rank Awakener.
The biggest change was that Jang Yongbeom’s party had grown dozens of times larger.
Originally, Jang Yongbeom’s party had consisted of only Jang Yongbeom, Aiden, Giselle, and Mountain.
Because of that, there had been no need to stockpile supplies.
Since they were a small elite group, they didn’t require many supplies.
But now the situation had changed.
Not only had Jang Yongbeom become an S-rank Awakener, but after the Pegasus Assault Force collapsed, quite a few Awakeners had joined them.
The party that once had four members now exceeded a hundred people.
They had effectively become a mid-sized assault force.
The problem was that their administrative capacity hadn’t kept up with the increased manpower.
Most of the people they accepted from the Pegasus Assault Force were Awakeners specialized in combat.
They were far removed from the work of managing an assault force.
As a result, the administration of Jang Yongbeom’s party had become a complete mess.
By the time Aiden realized it, things had already become difficult to fix.
Giselle cautiously asked Aiden,
“Then what should we do?”
“We need to secure the missing supplies first.”
“The supplies released onto the market have probably already been swept up by the other assault forces.”
“What’s the thing you need most when dealing with magical beasts?”
“Potions, obviously. Antidotes, healing potions, mana potions! Other supplies can still be obtained if you pay extra, but the problem is that there’s such a shortage of potions that you can’t get them at all.”
“Exactly! Securing potions is the top priority.”
“So how are you planning to get them?”
“We’ve got the brat, don’t we?”
“The brat?”
“Forget this. I should go see the boss.”
Aiden immediately left the warehouse.
Following after him, Giselle asked,
“You should explain first. What do you mean, the brat?”
“You know, the brat who hangs around Zeon.”
“That arrogant little brat?”
“Yeah! The potions that brat made were incredibly effective.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Giselle realize why Aiden had mentioned Brielle.
Brielle had never openly bragged about her abilities, but everyone in Jang Yongbeom’s party knew.
They all knew what an outstanding alchemist she was.
“But will that brat even listen to our request? She’s unbelievably arrogant.”
“Still, we have to talk to the boss about it first.”
“Well, it’s our only option right now. I don’t like it, though…”
“This mana stone mine subjugation is extremely important to us. If we make a major contribution this time, we’ll also be recognized as an official assault force.”
Even though Jang Yongbeom had become S-rank and the group had evolved from a party into an assault force, their foundation was still weak.
If they wanted to soar higher, they needed to achieve a major accomplishment during this opportunity and carve the name of the Jang Yongbeom Assault Force into people’s minds.
“If things go well, we might even secure a share in the new mana stone mine.”
“You think that’s possible?”
“We have to make it possible. That’s my role.”
Burning with determination, Aiden went to find Jang Yongbeom.
After hearing the whole story, Jang Yongbeom let out a sigh.
“Huu… Looks like I’ll have to bow my head to that bastard again.”
“There’s nothing shameful about bowing your head to him, is there?”
At Aiden’s words, Jang Yongbeom’s expression twisted.
“Hey! Are you looking down on me? I’m S-rank too, you know.”
“But he’s the Sand Mage, isn’t he?”
“Goddammit!”
“If you just accept it, you’ll feel a lot better.”
“I do accept it. I admit it, alright? But I’m not someone who should be looked down on either!”
“Who would dare look down on our boss?”
“Right? They wouldn’t, would they?”
“Of course not.”
“Keut!”
Jang Yongbeom burst into hollow laughter.
The pointless conversation with Aiden had helped organize his thoughts.
Jang Yongbeom immediately sprang to his feet.
Aiden blinked in surprise.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“If I have to bow my head eventually anyway, why put it off?”
“You mean we’re going right now?”
“Yeah!”
“Let’s go.”
“I’m coming too.”
Giselle joined Jang Yongbeom and Aiden.
The three left Neo Seoul and entered the slums.
As soon as they entered, even the air felt different.
Their throats already felt dry and stuffy. Still, none of them felt particularly uncomfortable.
They were used to this level of environmental change.
They headed straight for Zeon’s house.
Since they already knew where Zeon’s house was, there was no problem finding it.
Bang! Bang!
After they knocked, Zeon appeared a moment later.
He looked at the three with a puzzled expression.
“What brings the three of you here?”
“We came because we have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yeah. A favor. Would it be alright if we came inside for a moment?”
Zeon hesitated briefly.
At that moment, a loud crashing sound came from inside the house.
It was Brielle, who had realized guests had arrived, running into her room together with Gaia.
After confirming the two had entered the room, Zeon opened the door.
“Please come in.”
“Thank you.”
Jang Yongbeom, Aiden, and Giselle cautiously entered Zeon’s house.
It was Zeon’s house, rumored to be a fortress.
Even Johan of Dongdaemun and his fanatics had failed to breach it.
That was why everyone had been curious about what the inside of Zeon’s house looked like.
What they saw with their own eyes was ordinary.
It looked no different from any normal home.
But that thought changed the moment they saw the mana-powered generator sitting in one corner of the living room.
An unusual flow of mana could be felt from the generator.
‘So it’s not an ordinary generator?’
By instinct, Jang Yongbeom realized Zeon had modified the mana generator somehow.
But he couldn’t tell exactly what had been done to it.
Zeon subtly stepped in front of him.
He intentionally blocked his line of sight.
“What’s the favor?”
“Give us some potions.”
“Potions?”
“Yeah! We need the potions made by the brat.”
“Hmm.”
“We’ll pay whatever price you want. So supply us with the potions the brat made.”
At Jang Yongbeom’s request, Zeon slightly furrowed his brow.
But he soon realized that the request wasn’t necessarily bad for him either.
“There’s no need for payment. Instead, I’ll ask for one favor in return.”
“A favor?”
“It’s nothing too difficult.”
Zeon replied with a smile.