Chapter 161
The Pegasus Raid Team was based in a thirty-story ultra-modern building located between the western and central districts.
They occupied the top seven floors of the building.
As expected, property prices in Neo Seoul were extremely high.
There was no land left inside Neo Seoul to build new structures.
With high demand and no supply, building prices had skyrocketed.
They had risen so high that even the Pegasus Raid Team—one of the top groups in Neo Seoul—couldn’t afford to buy an entire building.
In the end, they had to settle for using just seven floors of the thirty-story building.
Even though the world had changed and become one ruled by awakened individuals, capitalism still dominated.
Money stood above even the awakened.
Lee Jiryung stood by the window with his arms crossed, looking out over Neo Seoul.
Countless lights spread out beneath his feet.
“It took twenty years just to get this far. But once we successfully clear this dungeon, the Pegasus Raid Team will rise even higher.”
His gaze shifted toward City Hall.
The tallest building in Neo Seoul, visible from anywhere.
That was his ultimate destination.
Of course, countless obstacles still remained.
Other competing raid teams, and the rulers of each district.
Only after overcoming all of them would he earn the chance to stand before Jin Geumho, the master of City Hall.
He had no idea how many more wounds he would suffer or how much more blood he would have to shed.
Still, Lee Jiryung was confident that he could overcome it all and stand on equal footing with Jin Geumho.
“Though first, I need to escape this hell of paperwork…”
He gave a bitter smile and looked at his desk.
It was covered with piles of documents.
Profiles of the personnel for the raid, operational plans, transportation to the dungeon, budget allocations—
All of it had to be reviewed by Lee Jiryung.
Preparing for the dungeon was even more exhausting than actually conquering it.
“Sigh…”
Just as he let out a quiet breath—
—Commander!
His secretary’s voice suddenly came through the intercom.
“What is it?”
—You have a visitor.
“At this hour?”
—Yes. He says he’s from the western district.
Lee Jiryung frowned.
Someone from the western district couldn’t be ignored.
“Send him in.”
—Yes, sir.
A moment later, the door opened and a man as well-built as Lee Jiryung walked in.
At first glance, he looked like an ordinary human—but there was something unmistakably metallic about him.
Lee Jiryung knew why.
‘He replaced a perfectly fine body with machinery… no wonder he feels like metal.’
Most awakened in the western district replaced parts—or even most—of their bodies with machines.
Some openly displayed their mechanical bodies, but many, like the man before him, disguised themselves to resemble humans as much as possible.
Especially high-ranking awakened—there was almost no visible sign they were mechanical.
Still, that faint metallic presence couldn’t be completely hidden.
The man in front of him was no exception.
There was a strong metallic aura about him.
The man spoke first.
“It’s been a while, Commander Lee.”
“What brings you here?”
Lee Jiryung immediately recognized him.
The man who had appeared late at night was none other than Cha Jin-cheol from the western district.
Lee Jiryung’s gaze toward him was far from friendly.
Cha Jin-cheol glanced at the documents scattered across the desk.
“Looks like you were working.”
“I haven’t heard your reason for coming yet.”
“These are documents related to the dungeon you’re about to raid, right?”
“I asked why you’re here.”
“We’d like to participate in this dungeon raid.”
“The nerve!”
Lee Jiryung’s expression turned cold.
It was a dungeon they had discovered and planned for themselves.
They had poured in countless personnel and enormous funds.
It was guaranteed to yield tremendous profits if successful—and now the western district wanted to swoop in and take a share.
His anger was only natural.
“Who gave you the right to join?”
“We’re not asking to join for free. We’ll cover half the cost of the raid. We’ll also provide transportation and supplies.”
“I refuse.”
“Even if Kim Hyunsoo has shown interest?”
At that moment, Lee Jiryung’s eyes trembled slightly.
Kim Hyunsoo was the ruler of the western district.
Though publicly known as an A-rank, Lee Jiryung actually possessed abilities close to S-rank.
Even so, he couldn’t ignore Kim Hyunsoo.
Kim Hyunsoo himself was an S-rank awakened and commanded numerous subordinates.
Among them were individuals not far behind Lee Jiryung in strength.
Cha Jin-cheol was one of them.
With a smile, Cha Jin-cheol continued,
“Don’t take it too badly. In return, we’ll split the items obtained from the dungeon seven to three. Of course, you take the seven, we take the three.”
“What about priority over the items?”
“That can be negotiated.”
Cha Jin-cheol gave a sly smile.
“Why come now? You refused when we proposed investing earlier.”
“At the time, we thought the chances of success were low.”
“And now?”
“Because a sand mage has joined, hasn’t he?”
“…So it’s because of Zeon.”
Lee Jiryung’s expression hardened.
Dungeons were graded based on difficulty—just like awakened.
The problem was that their exact rank couldn’t be determined until someone actually entered.
There was no technology capable of assessing a dungeon’s level from the outside.
It had to be judged by awakened individuals during the raid itself.
That was why the true grade of a dungeon was usually assigned only after it had been cleared.
Still, a rough estimate was always possible…
There was a way to roughly estimate a dungeon’s rank.
It was by measuring the amount of mana flowing out from the dungeon’s entrance.
The higher the mana level, the higher the dungeon’s rank—and the greater the potential rewards.
The newly discovered dungeon was located deep beneath the sand. Even so, it emitted an overwhelming amount of mana.
That alone suggested it was highly likely to be a high-level dungeon.
The Pegasus Raid Team had staked everything on conquering this dungeon.
All members of the team were mobilized.
Their total personnel numbered three hundred.
Out of those, over a hundred were non-awakened individuals.
They handled support roles such as administration, logistics, and planning.
As a result, the number of awakened actually participating in the raid was around two hundred.
For most dungeons, that would have been more than sufficient.
But this time, it wasn’t enough.
They even recruited mercenaries from outside.
Because of that, not only Neo Seoul but even the slums were thrown into an uproar.
The Pegasus Raid Team was one of the most renowned raid teams in Neo Seoul.
This was the first time they had ever recruited external personnel.
People couldn’t help but wonder just how extraordinary this dungeon was for Pegasus to prepare so thoroughly.
Awakened individuals not affiliated with any district or guild volunteered as mercenaries.
Even awakened from the slums joined in.
Levin clicked his tongue as he entered the house.
“Ugh! It’s so noisy out there. Anytime more than two people gather, all they talk about is the Pegasus Raid Team.”
“Humans, honestly…”
Brielle shook her head.
Last time, the White Bear Caravan had swallowed up all attention—now the Pegasus Raid Team was doing the same, like a black hole.
Levin asked Brielle,
“Did you finish preparing?”
“No idea! The Goblin Market’s been completely wiped out.”
“Tch! I figured. Same everywhere else.”
A dungeon raid required a massive amount of supplies and items.
Anything even slightly useful had been bought up by the Pegasus Raid Team.
Even the Goblin Market had been stripped clean of valuable goods.
Because of that, Brielle’s research had also been significantly hindered.
“Are you ready for departure?”
“Oh! Perfect timing.”
“Huh? What?”
“Take this.”
Brielle tossed a backpack at Levin.
“A backpack? Why this?”
“Put your hand inside.”
“Okay…”
Though puzzled, Levin did as she said and reached into the bag.
Suddenly, a cold sensation ran across his hand, making him jump.
“Whoa! What is this?”
“Hehe! Scaredy-cat.”
“What is this thing?”
“Try reaching in again. Don’t you feel something?”
“Ah! Yeah, I do.”
Levin pulled something out of the backpack.
It was a large shovel.
“A shovel? No, wait—how did this even fit inside?”
Levin stared at the backpack in confusion.
The bag itself was barely a meter long, but the shovel he had taken out was easily over one and a half meters.
It was physically impossible.
“Wait… is this a spatial storage bag?”
“Yep! I finally succeeded yesterday.”
“That’s insane! You actually made a spatial bag?”
“It’s still very basic, though…”
“You’re incredible. Even in Neo Seoul, there are only a handful of people who can create items with spatial enchantments.”
Levin spoke with genuine admiration.
Items with spatial enchantments never reached the open market.
High-ranking awakened or guilds would secure them in advance.
Because of that, Levin had never even seen one before.
“But you’re an alchemist—how did you make a spatial item?”
“I just got lucky. I couldn’t do it again if I tried.”
“Lucky?”
“Yeah. I was experimenting with different things, and it just happened.”
Brielle answered honestly.
She wasn’t a professional enchanter.
She could imitate the process, but she couldn’t consistently create high-performance items like a true master enchanter.
“I’ll give this to you, Levin.”
“Really?”
Levin’s eyes widened.
Spatial items were something you couldn’t obtain even with money.
Receiving such a rare item without any conditions was overwhelming.
“Like I said, the space inside isn’t that big. It’s about the size of a small room.”
“That’s more than enough. I can store everything I need for the expedition.”
“Yeah! Focus on packing water and food.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already prepared everything. I just need to put it in. Wow! Thanks to you, this expedition’s going to be so much easier.”
Levin hugged the backpack like it was a treasure.
His face was full of happiness.
“Wait, I shouldn’t just stand here.”
“Huh?”
“I got such a valuable item—I need to test it out. I’ll put all my supplies into the spatial bag.”
Levin rushed into his room.
At that moment, Zeon stepped out.
“What’s gotten into him?”
“He’s excited because he got the spatial bag.”
“The one you made yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“So you gave it to Levin.”
“I couldn’t give it to you. A bag should be carried by the porter.”
“Pfft!”
Zeon burst out laughing.
While Levin was overjoyed at receiving such a precious item, to Brielle, he was nothing more than a convenient pack mule to carry the burden.