Chapter 320
When Zeon returned home for the first time in a while and hung his robe on the coat rack, Gaia immediately came out as if she had been waiting for him.
—Bey!
“Gaia! Have you been well?”
—Beyii!
“Really? You must’ve been lonely.”
Zeon stroked Gaia’s head.
Gaia closed her eyes and enjoyed his touch.
Perhaps because she was happy, her tail swayed gently from side to side.
While Zeon had been dealing with matters in the North District, Brielle had apparently been too busy creating the mana generator to properly play with Gaia.
That was why Gaia was whining about being lonely.
Zeon glanced toward Brielle’s room.
Normally, she would have noticed his return immediately and come out first, but judging from the fact that she hadn’t shown her face at all, she seemed completely absorbed in her work.
Zeon deliberately chose not to call for her.
He knew very well that when she was this immersed, it was best to leave her alone if he wanted the best results.
Zeon sat down on the sofa and blankly stared out the window.
Gaia floated over beside him and leaned against him.
—Be! Bbii!
The way she chattered nonstop made her seem like a puppy complaining to its owner after being left home alone for a long time.
Zeon gently scratched under Gaia’s chin. Only then did her chattering stop.
And so, Zeon and Gaia quietly gazed out the window together for quite some time.
Their peace was suddenly shattered when Brielle burst out of her room.
“It’s complete!”
Brielle shouted while raising both hands triumphantly into the air.
“You finished the mana generator?”
“Huh, Zeon? When did you get back?”
“A little while ago.”
“And you didn’t call me?”
“You looked completely absorbed in your research.”
“That was the right call. I was at a really important stage.”
“So you completed the mana generator?”
“Yes!”
Brielle answered with a confident expression.
Zeon patted her head as he spoke.
“You worked hard.”
“Hehe! Still, I’m glad all the hard work paid off. Want to see it?”
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“Sure. Let’s take a look.”
Zeon followed Brielle into her room.
Inside stood a generator even larger than the one outside.
“It’s pretty big.”
“Well, if we want to supply electricity to a lot of people, the power output has to be larger too. So I scaled it up.”
“That was a good decision.”
“As long as we periodically supply magic stones, hundreds of households should be able to use electricity without any issues. We’ll operate one for now, and if it works well, I’ll make a few more.”
“Then shall we head underground?”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“Great!”
Brielle immediately put on her pointed hat and got ready to head out.
After storing the mana generator inside his subspace, Zeon put on his robe and stepped outside.
Suddenly, Brielle seemed to remember something and asked,
“Oh right, what happened with that?”
“With what?”
“The hunters.”
“Ah! I took care of all of them.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s good.”
Brielle looked relieved.
“You’re not curious?”
“About what?”
“What happened to the hunters?”
“I’m not curious. I’m sure you handled it properly.”
Brielle knew well that while Zeon was generous to those on his side, he could become utterly merciless toward those he considered enemies.
Without even asking, she could imagine how miserable the Helbrin Mercenary Corps’ end must have been.
Zeon said,
“I dealt with all of them, but I left one alive.”
“Why?”
“He has magical beast detection abilities.”
“That’s a useful ability.”
“So I handed him over to the Goblin Market.”
“That was a good choice.”
“Are you okay with it?”
“I’m fine! Maybe the old me wouldn’t have been, but now I’m not shaken by something like that anymore. I’ve grown stronger.”
Brielle smiled brightly at Zeon.
At her sincere smile, Zeon nodded.
When they had first met, Brielle had been addicted to drugs and looked fragile enough to break at any moment. But now, both her body and mind had become strong enough that ordinary things no longer shook her.
Seeing Brielle change like that made Zeon genuinely happy, and his steps toward the underground felt lighter because of it.
The two entered the underground world through a sewer passage hidden deep within a slum alley.
As expected, a foul musty smell welcomed them.
When they first came here, the stench had been unbearable enough to make them sick, but now that they had already adapted once, it wasn’t nearly as difficult to endure.
After walking through the maze-like underground sewers for quite some time, they finally reached the area where Jetoya and the others were staying.
“Ah!”
Jetoya was the first to notice them.
Brielle waved her hand.
“It’s been a while. Have you been doing well?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.”
“Um… what happened to the mana generator?”
“It’s complete.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course.”
Brielle smiled brightly and looked at Zeon.
Without delay, Zeon pulled the mana generator out of his subspace and placed it in the center of the underground area.
“That’s……”
“Is that really a mana generator?”
The people who had been looking at Zeon with fearful expressions gathered around the mana generator as if entranced.
It was something they had desperately wanted all this time, yet had never possessed even once.
Some people even had tears welling up in their eyes.
Brielle looked at Zeon.
“To run the generator, we’ll need a magic stone.”
“I’ll provide the first magic stone as a gift.”
Zeon opened his subspace and pulled out a large magic stone.
It wasn’t one mined from a magic stone mine, but one obtained after killing a B-rank magical beast.
Naturally, its purity and capacity were incomparable to ordinary magic stones.
As Zeon inserted the magic stone into the mana generator, he spoke.
“With just this one magic stone, you should be able to use it for years without worry.”
Click!
With a metallic sound, the magic stone locked perfectly into place within the mana generator.
Brielle placed her hand on the generator’s button and spoke.
“Then I’m turning it on?”
“Yes.”
“Start up.”
Brielle pressed the button with all her strength.
Wooooong!
The generator began operating with a thunderous roar, like a magical beast awakening from slumber.
“Ahhh!”
“It’s really working!”
“My god……”
The underground residents, who had been watching with equal parts anticipation and anxiety, widened their eyes in shock.
Some people collapsed to the ground where they stood, sobbing.
“Hic! We can finally use electricity too.”
“Is electricity really coming out of that thing?”
“Can we finally live like actual people now?”
Zeon pulled several items out of his subspace.
Light bulbs and electrical wires.
He hung the bulbs from the ceiling and connected the wires.
The people watched with expressions full of hope.
After finishing the installation, Zeon spoke.
“Then I’ll connect it.”
He plugged the wires directly into the generator.
In an instant, the dark underground became as bright as if the sun itself had risen.
“Waaah! Light!”
“There’s really light!”
The people burst into cheers all at once.
The children jumped around excitedly, while the adults dropped to their knees and prayed as though gazing upon the sun itself.
Even Jetoya ’s eyes reddened as tears welled up in them.
“It’s really a generator. We can finally live like human beings now.”
“So? Do you like my gift?”
“Absolutely! I’ll definitely repay this light someday.”
Jetoya nodded in response to Brielle’s words.
Even then, his gaze remained fixed on the mana generator and the electric lights.
At that moment, something began changing within him.
The first person to notice was Zeon.
Taking Brielle’s hand, Zeon stepped back and said,
“That kid’s awakening.”
“W-What? Seriously?”
Brielle looked at Zeon in shock.
“Mana is gathering around him. It’s the precursor to awakening.”
Some people awakened without any warning signs at all, while others awakened in dramatic fashion like this.
So as not to interfere with Jetoya ’s awakening, Zeon and Brielle moved farther away and watched.
The underground residents also sensed that something unusual was happening and distanced themselves from Jetoya .
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Jetoya ’s awakening continued.
Just as the people were beginning to grow restless, the mana density in the surroundings suddenly surged.
Puh!
An explosion only Jetoya himself could feel erupted within his heart.
“Hoo!”
Jetoya exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.
Only then did Zeon approach him and say,
“Congratulations on awakening.”
“I awakened?”
“Look at your wrist. You should have rank marks now.”
“Ah!”
Startled, Jetoya quickly looked at his wrist.
Seven red rank lines were clearly engraved there.
Three of them were glowing.
It was proof that he had awakened as a D-rank Martial-type.
Only he himself knew the details of his abilities, but regardless, starting at D-rank meant his starting point as an Awakened was overwhelmingly superior to most others.
“I really became an Awakened……”
Jetoya muttered in disbelief.
Brielle patted him on the shoulder.
“Congratulations! You finally awakened.”
“Thanks! I’m so overwhelmed I still don’t really understand what’s happening.”
“That’s normal. Later, if you calmly observe your inner self, you’ll be able to understand your skill.”
“Skill?”
“Not all Martial-types are the same. Everyone has skills that match their individual disposition. If you focus on yourself, you’ll naturally come to understand what kind of skill you should use. Once you discover your own skill, that’s when you need to train and use it relentlessly to raise your proficiency.”
“I understand. So proficiency is the key?”
“It’s even better if you can hunt magical beasts. Martial-types like you grow stronger much faster the more they fight.”
“I’ll do that.”
Jetoya clenched his fist tightly.
A tremendous power surged from his small fist, as though he were holding the sun itself within it.
It was an overwhelming strength he had never even imagined before.
‘With this power, I can protect these people from the other raiders.’
He could feel the people staring at him.
Their gazes contained both hope and fear.
Jetoya understood their feelings.
If he were in their place, he would feel the same way.
Even in this filthy underground world, Awakened continued to appear. But many Awakened began treating people like slaves the moment they gained power.
That was why they feared Jetoya might become the same.
As a D-rank Martial-type, if Jetoya wanted to, he could easily rule over them like slaves.
But he had absolutely no intention of doing that.
He didn’t want to use the power he had finally obtained to trample on others.
‘With this power, I’ll drive out those who throw the underground world into chaos and restore peace.’
Making that firm vow, Jetoya looked at Zeon.
The man who had not only saved him and the others, but had even brought them a mana generator.
He might not trust the other people on the surface, but he could trust the man standing before him.
“I swear it.”
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“Hm?”
“If you ever call for me, no matter what happens, I’ll rush to the surface and help you.”
“Good.”
“I swear on my life that I’ll keep this promise.”
The young boy’s vow was unwavering.