Chapter 270

Zeon looked at the gauntlet Kaylie was holding out to him.

A faint crimson glow flowed across the entire gauntlet, and its parts had become far more intricate.

When he clenched his fist tightly, sharp protrusions resembling a dragon’s claws extended outward.

The spike-like protrusions served to concentrate destructive power into a single point.

They were parts created by combining Exrium and the shell of the Ghost Beetle. As two completely different materials fused together, their durability had become unbelievably strong.

But the greatest change was on the back of the hand.

The area where the dragon’s eye was embedded.

Previously, powerful mana could always be felt from the section containing the dragon’s eye. The unique fire energy of the Red Dragon had constantly leaked out. But now, none of that aura could be sensed at all.

With a puzzled expression, Zeon put on the gauntlet.

The instant he did, an overwhelming energy surged from the Blazing Heat Gauntlet.

Zeon’s expression unconsciously shifted into one of shock. Seeing that, Kaylie excitedly explained:

“Before, the mana conductivity efficiency was low, so there was a lot of energy loss. To other people or magical beasts, it might’ve felt intimidating, but from the user’s perspective, it was just wasting mana. After the improvements, the mana conductivity has increased several times over. Now you can unleash far greater power with far less mana. Can you feel it?”

“Yes! Definitely…”

“The second thing is the skill connected to the dragon’s eye. That one… check it out yourself later. You’ll probably be shocked.”

“I think so too.”

Zeon nodded.

When he had first returned to Neo Seoul, people believed he was a magic-type awakened who used fire magic.

The reason was the Blazing Heat Gauntlet.

He had used fire skills through the dragon’s eye embedded within it.

Dragons possessed limitless mana, and the Red Dragon’s Eye carried a fragment of that authority.

Thanks to it, Zeon could easily use fire-based skills.

The aura emanating from the Blazing Heat Gauntlet was far stronger than before.

That was because Kaylie had greatly improved its mana efficiency.

He would need to test it himself to know for certain, but at this level, it felt like he might even be able to use skills he had previously been incapable of activating.

He desperately wanted to test it immediately, but if he used such skills inside the Iron Fortress, the entire interior would turn into a blazing inferno.

That was why Kaylie had told him to check it later.

Kaylie grinned brightly as she looked at Zeon.

“Well? Is there something else surprising too?”

“There is.”

“What is it?”

“The subspace!”

“The subspace?”

“See for yourself.”

The Blazing Heat Gauntlet had a subspace enchantment.

It had originally appeared as a bonus option when Kaylie first created the gauntlet.

Up until now, Zeon had used the subspace very efficiently.

He normally carried massive amounts of sand inside it and used them as emergency weapons.

Thanks to that, he had overcome danger many times.

Following Kaylie’s suggestion, Zeon opened the subspace.

“Wow!”

The moment he checked it, an exclamation burst from his lips.

The already spacious area had expanded to an unbelievable extent.

“Crazy, right?”

“This is…”

“Even I didn’t expect the subspace to expand this much. Isn’t it almost the size of a village?”

“I think it’s even bigger than that. Exaggerating a little, it’s almost as large as the interior of the Iron Fortress.”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

“Thank you, noona!”

More than anything else, the expansion of the subspace thrilled him.

The larger the subspace became, the more sand he could store inside it.

Sand was the source of his power.

The more he had, the stronger he became.

Compared to the original subspace, this one had expanded by at least ten times.

That meant he could carry ten times more sand.

At this level, he would probably be able to use all of his skills freely even after entering Neo Seoul.

For Zeon, it was news more precious than anything else.

Kaylie scrunched up her nose cutely.

“That’s a relief. I’m glad I managed to improve it… I was honestly worried after talking so confidently that I might ruin it instead.”

The gauntlet Kaylie had first created and the current Blazing Heat Gauntlet were incomparable in every aspect, from appearance to performance.

At this point, it was no inferior to most S-rank dungeon items.

In some respects, it could even be considered superior.

“Thank you so much.”

“You rushed over to help us without asking for anything in return. The least I could do was repay you this much.”

“You worked hard, so get some rest. I’ll head outside for a bit.”

“Okay!”

Zeon stepped out toward the entrance of the Iron Fortress.

The world was still dark since the sun had not yet risen.

“Oh, Lord Zeon?”

“What brings you out at this hour…?”

The awakened guarding the entrance recognized him immediately.

“I’m just stepping outside for a little while.”

“Then we’ll lower the basket for you.”

“Ah, it’s fine. There’s no need.”

Smiling faintly, Zeon launched himself directly out of the fortress.

At that instant, sand rose up and gently supported his body.

Zeon landed softly upon the desert as lightly as a feather.

Watching his retreating figure, the awakened shook their heads.

“No matter how many times I see it, that ability is completely broken.”

“Doesn’t it feel like the sand itself loves him?”

“That’s probably why he can control it so freely. Seriously, I’m jealous. If I had an ability like that, I would’ve built my own kingdom in the desert.”

“And fill the entire kingdom with women?”

“What else?”

“Kuhuhu! Just imagining it sounds amazing.”

The awakened’s laughter and chatter reached Zeon’s ears clearly.

Zeon smirked.

‘Build my own kingdom?’

It wasn’t impossible.

If he used his abilities properly, he could probably locate water sources in the desert and create an environment where people could live.

But water alone wasn’t enough for people to survive.

There had to be walls to block magical beasts, enough food for the people to eat, supplies necessary for daily life, a sophisticated system, and countless other considerations.

That was why Zeon thought Jin Geumho was truly remarkable.

Starting from absolutely nothing and building Neo Seoul into what it was today was something Zeon himself could never accomplish.

It wasn’t a matter of ability, but of will.

Even Zeon could not help but respect Jin Geumho’s determination to reclaim human territory in a world overrun by magical beasts and make civilization flourish once again.

Jin Geumho’s resolve was truly extraordinary.

It was enough to make Zeon wonder what someone with a will harder than steel planned to accomplish next.

But what mattered to Zeon right now was not Jin Geumho’s ambition.

It was the performance of the newly evolved Blazing Heat Gauntlet.

“First, the subspace…”

Zeon fully opened the subspace.

The moment the entrance opened, a terrifying suction force was generated.

Fwoooosh!

Sand from the surrounding area was sucked into the subspace.

The sand surged inward like ocean waves, filling the subspace.

Previously, it would have taken less than a minute to completely fill it. But now, the subspace, expanded more than tenfold, greedily devoured sand like a starving monster.

In the end, nearly ten minutes passed before the subspace was almost completely filled with sand.

The remaining space had been categorized separately for storing items.

“Excellent!”

A satisfied smile spread across Zeon’s face.

Thanks to the expanded subspace, there was now plenty of room for storing items as well.

As a result, he could finally organize the miscellaneous items that had previously been piled together without order.

“I’ll sort the items out later…”

Zeon closed the subspace and infused mana into the Blazing Heat Gauntlet.

At that moment, the dragon’s eye embedded in the back of the hand opened, releasing an overwhelming heat.

It felt as though a volcano had erupted from the back of his hand.

Experiencing such an explosive surge of mana for the first time, Zeon felt an immense exhilaration.

Still, he forcefully calmed himself and maintained his composure.

Now was not the time to get excited.

It was time to calmly verify the gauntlet’s performance.

The simplest way to test its capabilities was by using a skill.

“Let’s see…”

The moment Zeon formed the image in his mind, hundreds of Fire Missiles appeared around his body.

Each individual Fire Missile wasn’t especially powerful.

But when hundreds were unleashed simultaneously, it became an entirely different story.

Zeon launched the Fire Missiles toward the center of the desert.

Boom! Boom boom boom!

Continuous explosions erupted one after another.

It resembled the bombardment of a target by bombers from the distant past.

The power was incomparable to the Fire Missiles he had used before.

A pleased smile formed on Zeon’s lips.

By his estimation, the destructive force had increased by at least twofold.

“Next…”

There was still plenty of time remaining.

Zeon intended to test every single skill he had mastered one by one.

Boom! KABOOOM!

Lee Jeongho opened his eyes at the explosive sounds echoing through the desert.

“What is that?”

Throwing on his robe, he stepped outside.

The interior of the Iron Fortress was submerged in darkness.

Unlike Neo Seoul, this place had no generators powered by magic stones.

Naturally, illuminating the night the way Neo Seoul did was unimaginable.

Once the sun set and darkness descended, people returned to their homes to rest.

Productive activities at night were impossible.

That was the difference between Neo Seoul and the Iron Fortress.

Neo Seoul never stopped for all twenty-four hours of the day. People constantly researched and created things around the clock.

For well over a hundred years, Neo Seoul had continued advancing civilization in that manner.

As a result, it had developed into a hyper-advanced civilization that no other colony could rival.

Logically speaking, even if the Iron Fortress tried to catch up to Neo Seoul, it would take at least a hundred years. Considering that Neo Seoul would continue progressing during that time, it would realistically require far longer.

And that was assuming the Iron Fortress could devote the same amount of time and research effort.

Lee Jeongho believed that was impossible.

Though the Iron Fortress was a fairly safe colony, it was closed off and had severe limitations when it came to expansion.

‘A satellite city of Neo Seoul—that’s this place’s limit.’

Even so, that alone would still be remarkable.

If it became a satellite city of Neo Seoul, this place would experience tremendous development.

It would be a mutually beneficial arrangement for both sides.

Lee Jeongho couldn’t understand why Zeon opposed it.

‘He may be powerful, but he’s still an ignorant brat who doesn’t understand how massive this opportunity is.’

If he had more time, he would have proceeded with the plan gradually.

But Jin Geumho’s mission came first.

‘I’ll think about this after obtaining Moby Dick’s Heart.’

Lee Jeongho headed toward the entrance of the Iron Fortress.

The explosions that had echoed since dawn bothered him.

As soon as he arrived at the entrance, the awakened guards blocked his path.

“Please stop there.”

They stared at Lee Jeongho with wary eyes.

Lee Jeongho was a guest who had only entered the fortress yesterday.

Naturally, they had no choice but to remain cautious.

“What’s going on this early in the morning?”

“We’ve been hearing explosions from the desert for a while now. Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain?”

“It’s not something our guest needs to concern himself with.”

“Hmph.”

Lee Jeongho’s eyes turned cold.

The awakened guarding the entrance flinched.

They had been overwhelmed instantly by the sudden change in his aura.

It was impossible for ordinary awakened to withstand the blade-like pressure of an A-rank awakened like Lee Jeongho.

The awakened couldn’t even bring themselves to meet his gaze and turned their heads away.

The fact that they didn’t flee and still held their positions was impressive in itself.

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, Zeon’s voice came from outside the entrance.

When Lee Jeongho turned his head, he saw Zeon riding atop flowing sand as he descended at the gate.

Lee Jeongho frowned.

“So it was you. The one who interrupted my sleep…”

“My apologies. There was something personal I needed to check.”

“And? Did you get any results?”

“Well… somewhat.”

Zeon smiled faintly.