Chapter 4

That night, the miners did not return to the lodging.

Thanks to that, Zeon had the entire spacious quarters to himself and was able to sleep comfortably.

"Uhaah!"

Stretching his body, Zeon got up from his spot.

Perhaps because of his awakening, he didn't feel tired at all—only refreshed.

"Nice!"

Zeon was satisfied with his physical condition.

The vitality he felt from the morning was clearly different from yesterday.

He opened the door and stepped outside. Intense sunlight greeted him immediately.

Even though it was still early morning, the sunlight poured down as if it would scorch his skin.

Before, he would have hurriedly covered any exposed skin. But now, there was no need.

This too was thanks to his awakening.

Enjoying its benefits, Zeon wandered through the mining city.

It was far too cramped and shabby to be called a proper city, but it still had most of what it needed.

The magic stone mine also served as a major hub in the desert.

Caravans crossing the desert would stop by to resupply, and merchants sold goods brought from other cities.

It was also a mandatory stop for people like Jang Yongbeom's party—those who raided dungeons—to inspect their equipment.

Because of that, a fairly large market had formed inside the city.

'I need to learn everything about this place first.'

A lot of information about the inside of the mine had already spread through those who worked there and returned. But there was a big difference between hearing things from others and seeing and judging for oneself.

Zeon trusted only what he saw and confirmed personally.

That, too, was a habit he had learned in the slums.

There were only a few people in the shabby market.

It was still very early, and most of the main customers—the miners—had not yet come out of the tunnels.

The tunnels were so deep and complex that miners brought several days' worth of food and went inside. Even then, they might or might not manage to mine a single magic stone after days of digging.

Even the time spent going in and out of the tunnels was considered a waste, so the miners chose to live and sleep inside.

It was truly a rock-bottom existence.

When Zeon first heard about it, he had been utterly disgusted.

Fortunately, he had awakened—but if he didn't find a way to grow his abilities soon, he might one day end up in those tunnels himself.

That was a situation he absolutely had to avoid.

Grrr…

Zeon frowned.

Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten anything properly since lunch yesterday.

He needed to deal with his hunger first.

He headed into the market to find something to eat.

There was no way a proper restaurant existed in a place like this. Still, it wasn't a complete loss.

Deep inside the market, he found a stall selling some kind of unidentified meat.

The meat was skewered and grilled, and the smell was quite savory.

The one grilling it was a shabby old man.

It was impossible to guess his age—his face was full of deep wrinkles, he had a long beard, and he wore cracked glasses on one side.

Zeon plopped down in front of him and asked,

"What kind of meat is this?"

"No need to know. Heh heh!"

"Fair enough…"

Zeon nodded.

They used to raise cows and pigs and eat meat freely, but in this world, such luxury was unimaginable.

At least inside Neo Seoul, they could produce artificial meat—but in the slums, it was common to eat rats, cockroaches, or scraps of magical beasts.

Naturally, Zeon picked up a skewer and took a bite.

The old man watched him through his cracked glasses.

"Never seen you before."

"I arrived yesterday. It's pretty tasty."

Zeon replied while chewing the meat.

"Yesterday? Then you must be the survivor who made it out alive from the Sandworm."

"That news spread already?"

"Heh heh! The only secret in this place is the color of the underwear you're wearing. Even that'll be common knowledge by tomorrow."

"Tch!"

"Heh heh! Anyway, with that pale skin and good looks, quite a lot of people are going to take an interest in you."

Zeon immediately caught the meaning behind the old man's words and glared at him.

Even under Zeon's rather fierce gaze, the old man continued as if nothing mattered.

"I'm telling you to be careful. I don't know why you chose this place as your refuge, but it's not an easy place to live."

"Refuge? I came here to make money."

"Heh heh! Sure, sure. But for someone here to make money, you're not prepared at all."

"What do you mean?"

"You came to a magic stone mine without even bringing a pickaxe. That's not how someone looking to earn money behaves."

Zeon frowned deeply at the old man's sharp observation.

The old man looked amused.

Zeon changed the subject.

"You've been here a long time, I suppose?"

"I've been here since the magic stone mine was first discovered. You could say I'm one of the old-timers."

"That long?"

"Of course! Just look at those. I've collected them since the early days."

The old man pointed inside his stall.

Inside, there was a pile of miscellaneous junk of unknown origin.

"What are those?"

"The ones who first come here try to hold out. Just like you."

"…What?"

"They struggle not to enter the mine. But once they run out of money, they start selling what they have. First the worthless stuff, then eventually even their most valuable possessions. When there's nothing left to sell, that's when they finally go into the mine. That's the order of things."

"Crazy…"

"Anything useful gets sent to Neo Seoul, and anything worthless is just left behind. So you could say those are the traces left by people at the very bottom. Heh heh!"

The old man's laughter sent a chill down Zeon's spine.

His gaze seemed to say, you'll end up like that too.

Zeon lost his appetite.

He forced himself to swallow the rest of the meat and stood up.

"How much?"

"Ten sol."

"Are you insane? Did you sprinkle gold on that meat? Ten sol for this garbage?"

Zeon shouted without realizing it.

In Neo Seoul Colony, the standard currency was based on magic stones.

One kilogram of magic stone was the reference unit.

One sol was worth one-thousandth of a kilogram of magic stone. That meant ten sol was equivalent to one-hundredth of a kilogram.

Even in Neo Seoul, prices weren't gouged this badly.

Zeon's anger was completely justified.

But the old man remained calm.

It was as if he had already expected this kind of reaction.

"In this place, everything is valuable. Food, clothes—even something as simple as a pickaxe. That's why everyone ends up selling everything."

"And if I refuse to pay?"

"Heh heh! There's a reason an old, powerless man like me has been able to run a business in a place this rough for so long."

"What reason?"

At that moment—

Nearby shop owners turned their heads and looked at Zeon.

Their sharp gazes made him grit his teeth.

'So that's what he meant by an old-timer…'

Now he understood.

The old man must be connected, one way or another, to the other shops inside the magic stone mine. He might even be at the center of the market.

This wasn't a place where someone could survive long just by luck. It required ability—and backing.

If Zeon didn't pay for the food, there was a high chance no shop would deal with him.

"Damn it. I picked the wrong place."

"Still, you've got a decent head on your shoulders. Some idiots just start throwing tantrums without thinking."

"Hah… I don't have any money right now…"

"Then you've got something else. A magic stone, perhaps?"

"…."

"So it is a magic stone. Hand it over. I'll give you a fair price."

Zeon tried to refuse until the end.

He didn't want to hand over the magic stone—something he had protected even at the cost of killing someone—for the price of a single skewer.

The old man smirked at him.

"Youngster! The rumor that you have a magic stone will spread through the mine in less than an hour. Do you think you'll still be able to keep it then?"

Of course, the source of that rumor would be the old man himself—but he didn't bother saying that aloud.

Zeon glared at him.

He prided himself on having gone through all kinds of hardships, but the old man before him had clearly endured something far harsher—no, dozens of times worse.

In both awareness and nerve, he was no match.

Compared to the old man, Zeon was nothing but a greenhorn.

Now that it was known he had a magic stone, he no longer had the option to refuse.

"Damn it!"

Zeon pulled out a small magic stone he had hidden inside his pants.

The old man's eyes gleamed sharply.

"Oh! That size… worth about a hundred sol."

"Are you joking? In Neo Seoul, this would fetch over three hundred sol."

"This isn't Neo Seoul."

"You're really going to do this?"

"Youngster! Without the strength to protect it, even a treasure becomes a disaster. Heh heh!"

The old man chuckled.

Zeon felt the urge to punch him in the face—but he couldn't.

Subduing the old man wouldn't be difficult, but the consequences would be.

Someone who had survived here for so long would surely have connections with the awakened ones guarding the mine.

The old man looked completely unconcerned whether Zeon accepted or not.

From him radiated the composure and experience of someone who had lived here for decades.

Zeon felt himself shrinking under that pressure.

"Haah…"

In the end, Zeon let out a sigh.

He had drifted all the way here because of this small magic stone, yet it was only worth a hundred sol. Everything he had done until now suddenly felt meaningless.

"What did I go through all that for…?"

In the end, he handed the magic stone over to the old man.

"Heh heh! Don't be too discouraged. I'm not that bad or rigid of a person. I'm not so unreasonable as to strip a newcomer of everything on the first day."

"What?"

"I'll give you ninety sol in change. Keep it safe. There are plenty of pickpockets and thieves around here."

"Like a cat pretending to care about a mouse…"

Grumbling, Zeon stuffed the ninety sol into his pocket.

The old man smirked and pointed inside.

"As a reward for our first transaction, I'll let you take one item from the pile inside."

"You're telling me to take that junk?"

"If you don't want it, forget it…"

"Damn it!"

Zeon stood up and went inside.

He didn't want to leave empty-handed—it felt like he would be admitting defeat.

If he took at least one thing, it felt like he could make up for what he'd lost.

Of course, he didn't expect to find anything truly valuable.

Anything useful would've already been sent to Neo Seoul—only junk would remain.

Zeon rummaged through the pile.

"What the hell? It's all trash. What am I supposed to take from here?"

"Heh heh!"

The old man watched him with a grin.

He was quite an interesting one.

Most people who came here became timid and hesitant, but Zeon showed no such signs.

That meant he still had something he believed in.

This was a place that wore things down.

Even something whole would become worn out here.

People, objects—everything.

And in a world worn down like that, someone with such raw energy stood out.

That's why the old man smiled at Zeon.

Even the way he grumbled while rummaging through junk felt lively.

The way his eyes burned with determination not to take a loss was almost endearing.

At that moment, Zeon pulled something out from the pile.

"What is this?"

What he held out to the old man was a very small hourglass.

"An hourglass."

"That's not what I'm asking. Why is this here?"

"No one takes it, so it's still here."

The old man answered indifferently.

It was true.

He had obtained that hourglass a long time ago.

It came from a caravan heading to Neo Seoul.

He had bought it along with other goods, but it had no use, so he had tossed it into the junk pile.

No matter how ruined the world had become, no one would carry around an hourglass.

It was nothing more than a decorative item.

And the only people who would spend money on such decorations were the elites of Neo Seoul—and they would never set foot in a place like this.

"You'd be better off picking something else."

"Hmph! Even if I dig deeper, I doubt I'll find anything better than this."

"Don't regret it."

"I won't."

Taking the hourglass, Zeon left the stall.

"Heh heh! Come by again sometime."

"No thanks."

"I have a feeling we'll see each other often."

"Don't say something so unlucky…"

Zeon shuddered and walked away.

The old man continued to watch him with a smile.

Then Zeon suddenly turned back and asked,

"What's your name, old man?"

"Clexi."

"Then I'll call you Old Man Clexi. Let's never meet again."

Zeon left the market.

The old man watched his departing figure and chuckled.

"That won't happen. Looks like there's still plenty left to squeeze out of you. Heh heh!"

In this place, once you caught a mark, you drained them down to the marrow.

Clexi knew that rule of the magic stone mine city better than anyone.