Chapter 114
The countless sand spikes that had pierced through the Armored Great Horn Bear’s body collapsed as if they had never existed.
There was no trace left behind that the sand had ever formed into massive spikes.
All that remained was sand stained crimson with blood.
Even that was quickly covered by fresh sand carried by the wind, disappearing without a trace.
“What… was that?”
“How the hell…?”
Kim Kyungsoo’s party blinked in disbelief.
It wasn’t an illusion or a trick of the eyes.
They had clearly seen Zeon shaping the sand into spikes.
It was neither a lie nor a hallucination.
It was Zeon’s ability.
He was definitely using fire-based skills before…
And now he controls sand too? Then… a dual Awakened?
A chill ran down their spines.
Being dual-awakened was shocking enough—but one of those abilities being control over sand?
They immediately understood just how powerful and dangerous Zeon was.
They couldn’t determine his exact rank, but the mere fact that he could freely manipulate sand meant his potential was limitless.
Zeon’s gaze turned toward the four of them.
“You understand you need to keep this a secret, right?”
All four nodded heavily.
Invisible chains were tightening around their hearts.
The moment they broke the oath and spoke out, those chains would crush their hearts—this they instinctively understood.
We’ve… become his slaves.
Damn it…
Fuck…
My life is ruined.
They lowered their heads.
A single moment of greed had reduced them to slaves.
There was no one to blame.
It was the consequence of their own greed.
Zeon spoke to Kim Kyungsoo,
“You’re their leader, right?”
“Y-yes.”
“Then it’s your responsibility to keep them in line.”
“Yes! I will.”
Kim Kyungsoo lowered his head.
His face was filled with resignation.
The others weren’t any different.
No one had expected that a single bad decision would lead to such a terrifying outcome.
At least… we’re still alive…
Just then, Zeon asked,
“Which district do you live in?”
“We live in Central District, Block 13.”
“Block 13… near City Hall?”
“That’s right.”
“That works out well.”
Zeon smiled.
The reason he had used the Oath Scrolls to force them into submission was simple—
He needed people inside Neo Seoul to handle various tasks.
Kim Kyungsoo’s party had excellent conditions.
They were born and raised in the Central District and were familiar with Neo Seoul’s inner workings.
All four were Awakened, making them highly useful.
For Zeon, this was an ideal outcome.
Slave 1, 2, 3, and 4.
In his mind, their roles were already assigned.
Kim Kyungsoo asked cautiously,
“What should we do now?”
“Nothing changes.”
“…Pardon?”
“You four live your lives as usual. When I give orders, you carry them out.”
“What kind of orders…?”
“That will depend on the situation.”
“…I see.”
“Do you feel wronged?”
“Well…”
“I didn’t start this. This is the result of your greed. If you don’t want to follow my orders, then there’s only one option left.”
Kim Kyungsoo and the others trembled slightly.
They could feel the cold killing intent hidden beneath Zeon’s calm tone.
The man smiling before them was anything but soft or easygoing.
If he were, he would never have dared to use Oath Scrolls against their attack.
Behind that smiling face was someone cold, ruthless, and utterly merciless.
Only now were they beginning to understand his true nature.
We picked a fight with someone like this…
Regret came too late.
They could no longer act against him.
“We will follow your orders.”
Kim Kyungsoo bowed his head.
The others followed suit.
Zeon smiled.
He knew their obedience wasn’t sincere.
He didn’t expect loyalty.
To him, they were merely tools that would carry out his commands.
And that was all he needed.
Zeon asked,
“Do you have any communication items?”
“We have a two-way communicator for dungeon use.”
Kim Kyungsoo took out an earring.
It was a workshop-made item.
Each member of the party had one, used for communication during dungeon raids.
Zeon put the earring on and said,
“Good. We’ll use this to stay in touch.”
“Understood.”
“Take that and return to Neo Seoul first. I’ll contact you later.”
Zeon pointed at the corpse of the Armored Great Horn Bear.
“But our vehicle’s engine is…”
“Take my car. The engine’s still in good condition, so you should be able to tow your vehicle. Once you arrive in Neo Seoul, return the car to a butcher named Muel in the Sinchon slums.”
“Then… M-Master…”
“Just call me Master.”
“Yes! Master. Then how will you return?”
“You seem to have forgotten what my ability is. The sand of the desert is no obstacle to me.”
“…I see.”
Kim Kyungsoo let out a quiet breath and turned away.
He spoke to his companions.
“You heard the Master. We’re taking the Armored Great Horn Bear’s corpse back to Neo Seoul.”
“You’re calling him ‘Master’ that easily?”
“And if I don’t?”
“I mean… we still have our pride. How can we call someone ‘Master’?”
Lee Junsu replied while glancing nervously at Zeon.
Kim Kyungsoo glared at him.
“Is your head just for decoration? Our lives are in his hands, and you’re talking about pride?”
“B-but still…”
“If he tells us to die, we have to at least pretend to die, you idiot! Wake up to reality already. Don’t make things worse.”
“Damn it!”
“And you all know, right? What happens if you open your mouths about today. If you don’t want to die, keep it shut.”
“…Got it.”
In the end, Lee Junsu and the others answered weakly.
They had fallen from confident Awakened to slaves in an instant—of course they were drained.
Still, they had to take comfort in the fact that they were alive.
“Let’s go.”
At Kim Kyungsoo’s command, the three loaded the Armored Great Horn Bear’s corpse onto their vehicle and hooked it up to the buggy.
After finishing all preparations, they set off for Neo Seoul as soon as dawn broke.
Left alone, Zeon took out a piece of jerky and began chewing.
“Good. I needed someone inside Neo Seoul to feed me information anyway.”
They were all official citizens.
That alone gave them far more freedom of movement.
Their usefulness was limitless.
It was unfortunate for Kim Kyungsoo’s party to fall into slavery overnight, but Zeon felt no guilt.
If you try to kill someone, you should be prepared for the same to happen to you.
That was simply how the world worked.
“Now I just have to wait for Levin to come out.”
Rumble—
A faint vibration rose from beneath his feet.
It was the tremor caused by Levin fighting the vampire bats.
Proof that Levin was still alive.
Zeon lay back on the sand, chewing his jerky.
“Aaaah!”
A violet glow burst from Levin’s entire body.
Crackle! Crackle!
Levin, now floating like a ghost, had purple currents flickering all over him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The purple electricity spread through the air, burning and blowing apart the vampire bats surrounding him.
Dozens of bats dropped at once.
Levin floated in midair and muttered,
“My rank… went up.”
The violet glow had been the phenomenon of his advancement.
Levin had now reached C-rank.
He had become D-rank while fighting a killer, and not long after, reached C-rank.
It was an unprecedented, explosive rate of growth.
The moment he reached C-rank, he could feel it—
A power completely on a different level from D-rank.
Now, the bats’ ultrasound no longer affected him.
He had achieved perfect intangibility.
On top of that, his offensive ability—Lightning—had evolved further.
The purple current, Purple Lightning, possessed several times the destructive power of his previous white lightning.
Before reaching this level, Levin had faced death dozens of times.
At times, he ran out of mana and fought the bats with his bare hands.
He tore through their throats with his teeth and blocked attacks with his limbs.
The accumulated wounds covered his entire body.
He had lost so much blood that his mind had grown hazy.
At one point, he wanted to give up and die.
But he resisted that temptation and kept fighting desperately.
After days of continuous battle, just as he reached his limit—he suddenly broke through.
The moment he became C-rank, all his wounds healed as if washed away.
His entire body was filled with vitality.
There were still countless vampire bats remaining—
But he no longer felt afraid.
Levin shouted,
“Come at me, you damn bats!”
Bzzz—
His voice echoed through the underground space.
The remaining bats, provoked, rushed at him all at once.
But their attacks no longer had any effect.
They passed uselessly through Levin’s ghost-like body.
Even their ultrasound did nothing.
A cold smile formed on Levin’s lips.
“You’re all dead.”
Crackle!
At that moment, a web of purple electricity spread out from his body.
It was his skill—Purple Lightning.
Only the color had changed, but the power was incomparable.
The cavern filled with Purple Lightning, incinerating and exploding every vampire bat.
The cave was soon filled with the stench of burning flesh.
“Ugh… I can’t stand this.”
Even in his ghost state, he could still smell.
In fact, his senses were even sharper, making it worse.
Without canceling his intangibility, Levin rose straight to the surface.
He quickly passed through the sand and emerged into the desert.
“You’re here.”
As expected, Zeon was waiting.
Looking at Levin, whose body shimmered with violet energy, Zeon said,
“You ranked up after all. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, hyung!”
Levin returned to his physical form.
Looking around, he asked,
“Where’s the car we came in? I don’t see it.”
“Something came up.”
“…Huh?”
“And it doesn’t matter anymore. Most magical beasts won’t be able to harm you now.”
“Yes!”
Unless they had special skills or were of the same spectral type, no magical beast could injure Levin now.
He might not be able to use the desert as freely as Zeon, but at least near Neo Seoul, there was nothing that could threaten him.
“Let’s head back to Neo Seoul.”
“Yes, hyung!”
Levin gladly followed behind Zeon.