Chapter 5

Zeon looked at the hourglass in his hand.

"What is this?"

He hadn't chosen the hourglass out of impulse or by chance.

From the moment he entered the room filled with junk, he had felt a strange pull.

And the source of that pull was this very hourglass.

It was smaller than his palm, covered in intricate patterns.

If the world hadn't fallen into ruin, it would've been an item collectors coveted.

Zeon flipped the hourglass. Fine sand began to trickle down smoothly.

"About ten minutes?"

That was how long it took for all the sand to fall.

In other words, once flipped, it would run for ten minutes.

For some reason, Zeon felt a surge of vitality spreading through his entire body.

"What is this…? Is it related to my awakening?"

He flipped the hourglass again.

The grains of sand began to fall once more.

Come to think of it, the sand was unusually fine.

Finer and redder than the crimson desert sand that filled the world.

He had never seen sand like this before.

Just in case, Zeon tried using his ability on the hourglass.

If it was truly connected to him, it might respond.

'Move.'

He commanded the red sand inside the hourglass.

But it simply continued to fall indifferently.

He focused again, trying to move it—but the result was the same.

"Damn it! Was I mistaken?"

Irritated, Zeon shoved the hourglass into his pocket.

No matter what, it was something he had traded a precious magic stone for.

He couldn't just throw it away because it didn't behave as expected.

Zeon thought the start of his day was already unlucky.

But the real worst was yet to come.

When he returned to the lodging, a man was waiting for him.

A large, intimidating figure.

His face and bare upper body were covered in scars, as if proving he had lived a harsh life.

The moment their eyes met, the man spoke.

"You the brat who came yesterday?"

"Yes. And who are you?"

"You little bastard! Why didn't you show up at the mine this morning?"

"What are you talking about—"

"If you came to work, you should've run to the mine on your own! Why the hell does Park Manho have to come all the way here to find you, you piece of shit?!"

The man's name was Park Manho.

An E-rank Awakened and the overseer of the mine.

The magic stone mining city operated under two main systems:

The mine itself, which was the core facility, and the security force that managed and protected the city.

Park Manho was in charge of the mine's operations.

He deployed miners into the tunnels and managed all the magic stones they extracted.

He was one of the five most powerful figures in the mining city.

Zeon tried to explain.

"Well, no one called for me—"

"What a joke. Why would anyone call you? If you came to work, you should come on your own."

"But still—"

"Enough. Just follow me. And don't try anything funny, you little shit."

Park Manho had spent his entire life in the mining city.

He had seen countless people and knew exactly how to handle others efficiently.

Dealing with a rookie like Zeon was nothing to him.

In fact, it wasn't just him.

Everyone in this magic stone mine was the same.

They were like a school of piranhas waiting for prey to fall into the water.

The moment an easy target appeared, they would swarm it and gnaw it down to the bone.

And to them, someone like Zeon was exactly that—easy prey.

Zeon realized it too.

From Old Man Clexi to Park Manho, they were all soaked in greed.

The problem was that he currently had no way to escape their grasp.

He couldn't publicly reveal that he had awakened, and he couldn't defy Park Manho either.

Above all, he wasn't given time to think.

They pressed him relentlessly, not allowing even a moment to plan.

Zeon felt like he had been thoroughly screwed over.

If it were up to him, he would resist and avoid entering the mine—but he knew it was impossible.

Once you entered the mining city, you couldn't defy Park Manho.

Moreover, Park Manho was an E-rank Awakened.

The insignia on his wrist made that clear.

And he was of the combat type.

The most common—but not someone to be taken lightly.

They were the kind who could use their strength most efficiently in a fight.

Someone Zeon couldn't handle right now.

'Damn it! The overseer himself came looking for me…'

If the bus had arrived safely yesterday, none of this would have happened.

There would have been plenty of miner recruits, and one missing person wouldn't have stood out.

But unfortunately, everyone had died to the Sandworm—except Zeon.

It would've been stranger if he hadn't stood out.

When Zeon hesitated instead of following, Park Manho's expression hardened.

"You little bastard, seriously!"

Thud!

Park Manho struck him.

"Ugh!"

Zeon cried out as he was sent flying.

Park Manho stepped on him and began stomping him repeatedly.

"You son of a bitch! I told you not to think, didn't I?! Huh?!"

Thud! Thud!

Zeon couldn't even scream as he was beaten.

Perhaps because of his awakening, the pain wasn't as bad as he expected.

If he wanted to, he felt like he could fight back.

But he endured it.

Now was not the time to resist.

This was the time to endure—and grow stronger.

Revenge could come later.

Zeon curled his body like a shrimp and endured all of Park Manho's violence.

Once his anger had somewhat subsided, Park Manho stopped beating him.

"If you try to be clever again or talk back to me, I'll really kill you next time. Got it?"

"Yes!"

"Then follow me."

Without even waiting for a proper response, Park Manho turned and walked off.

Struggling to his feet, Zeon silently followed behind him.

Grit…

Zeon clenched his teeth.

His face was a mess, and bruises had formed all over his body.

If not for his awakening, he would've been bedridden for days.

Staring at Park Manho's back, Zeon thought,

'If not anyone else, I'll definitely kill you.'

Park Manho didn't care about Zeon's injuries in the slightest.

In this place, miners were nothing more than consumables.

Tools to be used until worn out or broken—and discarded at any time.

There was no reason to care about the well-being of consumables.

Park Manho brought Zeon to the entrance of the tunnel.

A miner was waiting there.

Park Manho spoke to him,

"Give this bastard his equipment."

"Yes, sir."

The miner hurriedly handed Zeon a pickaxe, a helmet with a lamp, and a backpack filled with a few days' worth of food.

Park Manho said,

"The cost of the pickaxe and food will be deducted from your pay. When you mine magic stones, put them in that bag and bring them out."

"That's it? You're not even going to explain how to mine them?"

"The hell? Do you need to learn how to swing a pickaxe? Just hit it down."

His voice rose again.

The miner who had handed over the equipment flinched and stepped back.

Park Manho's nickname was "The Tyrant of the Tunnels."

At the slightest irritation, he resorted to violence.

All the miners feared him.

Zeon was dumbfounded.

Being shoved into the tunnel without preparation was bad enough—but not even being taught the basics?

It was practically the same as pushing him in to die.

Park Manho turned to the miner.

"Hey! Throw this bastard into Tunnel 972."

"Tunnel 972… that's—"

"Stop talking and do it."

"Y-Yes! Understood."

As Park Manho's voice rose again, the miner quickly complied.

He grabbed Zeon's arm.

"Hey, let's go."

"Huh? O-Okay."

And just like that, Zeon was sent into the tunnel with no preparation at all.

From behind, Park Manho shouted,

"You bastard! Don't even think about coming out until you've mined a magic stone. Remember that."

Something surged up in Zeon's chest.

'That son of a bitch…'

He swore that once he gained power, he would take revenge on Park Manho.

Now Zeon clearly understood how the magic stone mine worked.

There was no one on his side here.

If you looked weak or easy, you got eaten.

Everyone had to be treated as an enemy—and watched carefully.

Zeon blamed himself for the brief complacency he had shown after arriving.

Steeling his resolve, he walked into the tunnel.

Even near the entrance, it was extremely narrow.

Since the tunnels were dug entirely by human labor without machinery, they couldn't help but be cramped.

Then the miner spoke.

"Just think of it as bad luck. You ran into the boss when he was in a bad mood."

"What do you mean?"

"He lost all his money at the gambling den."

"There's even a gambling den here?"

"Not just that. Prostitutes, alcohol, drugs—there's nothing this place doesn't have. Word of advice: don't get caught up in that stuff. You'll just end up working hard for nothing."

The miner had been here for five years.

Everyone who had come with him had either been broken or lost their lives.

No matter how strong one's will was, once swept up in the atmosphere, it didn't take long to collapse.

"If you want to save money and leave, keep your head straight."

"What kind of place is Tunnel 972?"

"I'll show you when we get there."

The miner trailed off.

Zeon instinctively realized that the tunnel he had been assigned to was no ordinary place.

'Damn it…'

For a moment, he considered running away—but quickly gave up.

An endless desert stretched around the mining city.

If he tried to flee recklessly, he would likely dry out and die under the sun.

'First, I need to grow stronger.'

Everything had happened so quickly that he hadn't even had the chance to properly test his abilities.

Once he was alone, he needed to confirm his powers first. Only then could he make a plan.

Countless forks in the tunnel appeared before him.

The miner explained how to distinguish them.

"If you look closely, you'll see arrows carved at each fork. Red arrows point deeper underground, and blue arrows show the way back up. So when you come out, just follow the blue arrows. Got it?"

"Yes!"

By his estimation, they had descended at least several hundred meters underground.

Only then did the miner stop.

"This is Tunnel 972."

Zeon looked at the tunnel the miner pointed to.

The deep darkness inside seemed to writhe, as if inviting him in.

"You just go in there and work."

"…I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Four people have already died in there. Be careful."

"Died?"

"That's right. Dead."

"What?"

"No one knows why. Everyone assigned to this tunnel has come out dead. That's why no one wants to go into Tunnel 972. So the boss threw a newcomer like you in."

"Son of a bitch…"

Zeon's expression twisted in disbelief.

The miner looked at him with understanding.

He, too, felt guilty about sending someone as young as Zeon in there—but there was nothing he could do.

He was just a miner who had to follow orders.

"Pray you make it out alive."

With that, the miner left for his own tunnel.

Left alone, Zeon stared at Tunnel 972.

"Everyone died in there, huh? And they deliberately threw me into a place like that? Just because he was in a bad mood… Park Manho, you're going to die by my hand."