Chapter 77
Thud! Thud!
The sound of knocking early in the morning woke Zeon.
He threw on his robe and walked toward the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, hyung!”
He had expected Goran’s gang, but instead he heard Levin’s voice.
When Zeon opened the door, Levin stood there.
Levin stared at him and spoke.
“You’re still alive, I see?”
“What brings you here?”
“I heard rumors you got into trouble with one of Goran’s subordinates, so I came.”
“To help?”
“To inform you.”
“About what?”
“Can I come in?”
Zeon stepped aside, and Levin naturally walked in.
“Yeah, this place really is the best. Feels like a hideout.”
“What about your revenge?”
“I’ve got people out searching, but it’s not easy. After killing my family, that bastard disappeared completely.”
“Is that so?”
“Looks like the dog caught a scent or something.”
Levin’s voice sank low.
Since that day, he had wandered the streets searching for the murderer.
His friends offered to help, spreading his eyes and ears throughout the slums, but the killer never appeared.
As if it were a lie, the murders stopped and the culprit vanished.
“But I’ll find him. A dog might quit eating shit, but there’s no way he’ll stop killing forever and live quietly.”
“Probably not. Anyway, what did you come to tell me this early?”
“It’s about Goran.”
“What about him?”
“Hyung, you don’t know anything, do you?”
“Know what?”
“His ability.”
“You know something?”
“Not in detail. But I’ve heard things.”
Only then did Zeon show interest.
“What is it?”
“When Goran became the ruler of Sinchon, there were a lot of explosions.”
“Explosions?”
“I don’t know the specifics, but I heard several buildings almost collapsed because of it.”
It had already been twenty years since Goran took control of Sinchon.
Exactly how he did it was unclear—most of the people present back then had died.
Still, the legend remained, etched into people’s minds with fear.
“I don’t know exactly what his ability is, but it’s definitely related to explosions. So be careful.”
“Thanks. That helps a lot.”
“Hyung… I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
Levin didn’t want to make an enemy of Goran.
Even though he had awakened a special ability, he was still just a rookie.
His rank was low, and he couldn’t fully utilize his power.
More than that, he had a duty to avenge his family.
Until he did, he couldn’t focus on anything else.
Zeon let out a faint chuckle.
“That’s more than enough.”
“I truly hope you survive.”
“I hope you get your revenge too.”
“Yes! Let’s both do our best. I’ll get going.”
Making sure no one saw him, Levin quietly left Zeon’s house.
Left alone, Zeon muttered,
“So… an explosion-related ability.”
People usually thought that awakened individuals fell into four categories: magic, martial, curse-based, or those fused with machines.
But like him and Levin, there were occasionally others who awakened entirely different types.
Perhaps Goran was one of those.
“Now I’m curious.”
Either way, he’d find out when they clashed.
He didn’t feel like making a big fuss preparing in advance.
After a simple meal, Zeon boiled some water.
What he took out from his subspace was a plant leaf.
Not an ordinary one—but a leaf from a plant-type magical beast.
It had taken the form of a cactus, luring nearby magical beasts and devouring them.
Strangely, its entire body was covered in leaves, and when brewed, those leaves produced an incredible flavor.
The first time Zeon encountered it, he had nearly been eaten alive. After a desperate struggle, he barely managed to kill it and survive.
While studying the corpse, he discovered that the leaves made into tea had remarkable effects, so he harvested them all and stored them in his subspace.
Zeon poured the boiling water into a cup and steeped the leaves.
A rich aroma quickly filled the room.
Holding the cup, he walked to the window.
As he sipped the tea, he looked down at the street.
The tea made from the magical beast’s leaves calmed the mind and enhanced mana.
Whenever he had time, Zeon would brew and drink it.
It was just a pity that he was running out.
At that moment, a man standing in the middle of the intersection caught his eye.
He was bald, with a build like a gorilla.
The man was staring straight at Zeon, smiling.
Instinctively, Zeon realized the man had come for him.
The bald man raised his fist and pointed it at Zeon’s location.
His fist was strangely metallic.
“A machine?”
Then—
BOOM!
An explosive blast erupted from the man’s fist, aimed directly at Zeon’s house.
The entire building shook as if it had been bombarded.
Rumble!
Zeon frowned as he looked at the man.
“A shockwave, huh.”
What the man fired from his mechanical prosthetic arm was a shockwave—Shock Wave.
Whether it was the man’s own skill or the power of the prosthetic, it was clearly aimed at Zeon.
What the man didn’t know, however, was that Zeon’s house was protected by a barrier.
The barrier created by the Watching Eye perfectly shielded his home from external impacts.
Boom!
The man fired another shockwave. But once again, his attack was blocked by the Watching Eye.
No matter how many more times he attacked, the result would be the same.
There was no way his shockwaves could break through it—and he must have realized that.
Even so, he continued firing one after another without hesitation.
Krrrr!
The entire building shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Zeon frowned slightly.
He had figured out the man’s intention.
“That bald bastard’s got a brain, after all.”
His own house was protected, but the surrounding ones weren’t.
The apartments above, below, and beside his descended into chaos.
Walls crumbled, pillars cracked.
The people inside screamed in terror at the sudden assault.
If a few more shockwaves were fired like this, the entire building could collapse.
And if the building itself fell, even Zeon’s protected home wouldn’t survive.
That was why the bald man had changed tactics the moment he realized there was a barrier.
“Tch. What a hassle…”
Zeon opened the window.
His apartment was on the 18th floor—over fifty meters above the ground.
For an ordinary person, just looking down would make their head spin.
But Zeon leapt without hesitation.
His body plummeted at terrifying speed.
Just before hitting the ground, his descent slowed drastically.
Invisible grains of sand were supporting his body.
But the bald man had no way of knowing that.
Because Zeon had already concealed himself mid-fall.
Landing safely, Zeon immediately began tracking the man.
It wasn’t difficult.
The man had left traces everywhere, as if showing off.
Before long, Zeon found him.
The bald man stood in front of a building resembling a colosseum.
He tilted his head, as if beckoning Zeon to follow, and went inside.
Zeon stared at the structure for a moment.
It was his first time here, but he knew exactly what it was.
This was the arena run by Goran, the ruler of Sinchon.
“As expected… Goran’s subordinate.”
He had suspected it from the beginning.
Without hesitation, Zeon stepped inside.
“Waaaaah!”
“Kill him!”
The moment he entered, a wave of heat and roaring cheers engulfed him.
Countless people shouted with bloodshot eyes, and in the center of the arena, two men were fighting for their lives.
At a glance, they were just ordinary people with no special abilities.
One wielded a sickle, the other an axe, swinging wildly at each other.
Their bodies were already drenched in blood, their faces twisted in pain.
Yet they continued attacking like madmen.
The desperation of knowing that losing meant death was unmistakable.
Zeon knew exactly what had driven them to such a cliff.
His gaze shifted to the highest point of the arena.
The bald man was standing there, watching him.
Zeon walked straight up toward him.
“You’ve come.”
As soon as he arrived, a deep voice greeted him.
Zeon looked at its owner.
A large Black man wearing a baseball cap and leather jacket.
Behind him stood the bald man who had lured Zeon here.
The man spoke.
“So we finally meet. Your name was…”
“Zeon.”
“Right! Zeon. First time meeting, huh?”
“Seems that way.”
“So you know who I am?”
“You’re Goran, aren’t you?”
“Sharp.”
A satisfied smile spread across the man’s lips.
He was none other than Goran, the ruler of Sinchon.
Goran gestured to the bald man behind him.
“This is my friend, Dolkan.”
“No need for introductions. Thanks to him, my house almost collapsed.”
“Oh? It didn’t?”
“Fortunately.”
“Must be sturdier than it looks.”
“Disappointed?”
“Actually, yes. I told him to bring it down.”
Goran grinned, showing his white teeth.
Dolkan spoke as if making an excuse.
“There was a barrier on the house. I fired several shockwaves, but it didn’t budge.”
“Really? Then you must be quite capable. I like capable people.”
Goran’s intense gaze pierced through his sunglasses.
Zeon smirked.
“I’m glad to be acknowledged.”
“Have a seat first.”
At Goran’s nod, one of his subordinates brought over a chair.
Zeon didn’t refuse and sat down.
Goran pointed toward the two men still fighting in the arena.
“See them?”
“Yes.”
“They’re people pushed to the edge. Can you feel their fear and desperation?”
“I can.”
“I like the scent of that fear. It excites me.”
“Quite the twisted taste.”
“Twisted? Maybe. But once you get used to it, you won’t be able to escape it either.”
“I doubt it. I’m not interested in that kind of thing.”
“Better not be so sure. Human values change easily.”
Goran tapped his temple with a finger and chuckled.
Zeon watched him silently.
Goran shrugged.
“Things have gotten a bit tense. Let’s eat first.”
As soon as he finished speaking, attendants brought out food.
In no time, a lavish spread covered the table.
Picking up a fork and knife, Goran said,
“Steak. Not lab-grown—real beef. You’ll find it worth eating.”
When Zeon still didn’t move, Goran glanced toward the wall of Neo Seoul visible through the window.
“People in Neo Seoul eat things like this. If you follow me, you could eat like this every day.”