Chapter 338

Ever since the open-air mana stone mine had been developed, Neo Seoul seemed filled with an unusual vitality.

Neo Seoul poured enormous amounts of money into transforming the open-air mana stone mine into a fortress.

Everything involved in constructing, stabilizing, and maintaining the fortress required money and manpower.

Not only did it demand massive funding, but it also consumed manpower at the same rate.

Naturally, countless people were needed.

Construction workers to build the fortress, awakened individuals to handle security, miners to extract mana stones, supervisors—an enormous number of people were required.

The raid groups that had contributed greatly to conquering the open-air mana stone mine were granted shares and voluntarily dispatched personnel.

Even then, there still weren’t enough people, so recruits were gathered from the slums.

Awakened individuals were preferred, but even ordinary people were accepted.

Everyone had their own use.

Countless people headed toward the open-air mana stone mine.

Those who liked grand expressions called it the second Gold Rush.

Just as people had once flocked westward in America searching for gold, now people were rushing toward the mana stone mine in hopes of changing their lives.

So many people had left that the streets of the slums looked almost empty.

“So many people really left? The streets are completely deserted.”

A boy muttered those words while looking around the slum streets.

It was nighttime, long after the sun had fully set.

This was normally the time when people who rested during the scorching daytime heat became active.

Yet even now, hardly anyone could be seen.

That meant only one thing—

A huge number of people had gone to the open-air mana stone mine.

Thanks to that, the boy could wander the streets freely without worrying about attracting attention.

To the people living here, it may have looked like an ordinary scene, but to a boy who had spent his entire life underground, the surface world was practically another paradise.

The boy’s name was Jeto.

The boy who had spent his entire life in the sewers had finally come up to the surface.

Over the past few days, Jetoya had secretly traveled back and forth between the surface and the underground, buying necessary supplies and transporting them below.

Because of that, he barely had any time to rest, but not once did Jetoya think it was difficult.

If enduring this much hardship could make life even a little easier for the people living in the underground sewers, he was willing to work as hard as necessary.

The backpack Jetoya carried was filled with items he had struggled to obtain on the surface.

“Whew! Guess it’s time to head back.”

It was time to return to the filthy, foul-smelling underground world—the Crocodile Den.

Jetoya started walking toward an entrance he had secured in advance.

That was when—

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Someone suddenly called out to Jetoya from across the street.

Jetoya frowned and turned his head.

Two men clad in heavy armor were approaching him.

Jetoya recognized who they were instantly.

‘Paladins?’

There were many awakened individuals in Neo Seoul, but only one group strutted around the streets wearing shining heavy armor like that.

The Paladins of Dongdaemun.

And the place where Jetoya currently stood was also a secluded street in Dongdaemun.

Though technically, it was outside the usual patrol range Jetoya had identified for the Paladins.

He had never imagined he would encounter Paladins in a place like this.

The Paladins approached Jetoya with sharp eyes.

“You. Come here. We’re conducting an inspection.”

“An inspection for what?”

“You don’t look like someone who lives in Dongdaemun.”

“You really stopped a busy person just to say that?”

Jetoya grumbled.

At his calm reaction, the Paladins exchanged uncertain looks.

Jetoya didn’t miss that opening.

He launched himself forward instantly.

Thud!

Like a squirrel, Jetoya kicked off the ground and darted into an alley.

“Ah!”

“Catch him!”

The Paladins lunged after him, but Jetoya narrowly slipped past their grasp.

The moment he entered the alleyway, Jetoya opened the iron bars leading into the sewer without a moment’s hesitation and jumped inside.

The Paladins arrived a second too late and clicked their tongues.

“So he really was one of those crocodile brats.”

“Fuck! No wonder he reeked.”

The Paladins glared at the sewer entrance with hostile expressions.

The fanatics of Dongdaemun dreamed of a world like heaven.

They firmly believed their leader, Johan, would guide them there.

To such fanatics, crocodiles like Jetoya were nothing more than filthy waste polluting their pure world.

That was why they hated them so much.

The Paladins didn’t even consider entering the underground sewers.

To them, it felt like contaminated land—or hell itself.

“Seal it shut properly so that bastard can never crawl back out again.”

“Fuck! This isn’t the first or second time. What the hell is this? They keep crawling out like cockroaches.”

Sssss—

The Paladins used skills to melt the lock on the iron bars entirely.

But they already knew.

No matter how much they did this, they could never completely block the crocodiles crawling up from underground.

“Fuck! What are we, some kind of plague? Why’re they sealing it so tightly? We’ll just find another entrance.”

Jetoya grumbled while listening to the sound of the lock melting.

An ordinary boy would have trembled in fear, wondering whether the Paladins might chase him underground.

But Jetoya knew.

They would never enter this underground world.

To those who considered themselves the chosen people, this place was no different from hell.

And Jetoya freely roamed that hell.

With his backpack still on, Jetoya attached himself to the ceiling and walked upside down.

A strange adhesive force emerged from the soles of his bare feet, sticking him firmly in place.

It was an ability he had possessed from birth, but after awakening, it had become even stronger.

Thanks to that, Jetoya could cling to walls and ceilings like a lizard and move through any environment.

“Hmm~ Hmm~”

Jetoya even hummed cheerfully while walking upside down along the ceiling.

He finally descended from the ceiling when he was nearly at his destination.

Flash!

A brilliant light suddenly burst forth from ahead.

“What the—?”

Startled, Jetoya stared forward.

At the place where the light had burst forth, there was a small village.

People lived together in an area untouched by flowing sewage.

Recently, the village had grown larger after Jetoya joined them.

Rumors about the mana generator had spread, causing many people to gather there.

As a result, the population of the underground village had now exceeded two hundred people.

The one responsible for the village’s safety was Jeto.

Though still young, he had awakened as a D-rank martial artist, and because of his connection with Zeon, everyone trusted and followed him.

Naturally, protecting the people of the village fell to Jeto.

The sudden burst of light made him quicken his pace.

A large crowd had gathered in the center of the village.

“What happened?”

Jetoya asked urgently as soon as he arrived.

One of the villagers hurriedly answered.

“R-Remura performed a miracle.”

“A miracle?”

Jeto’s eyes widened at the unexpected response.

Pushing through the crowd, he saw a blonde, freckled girl who looked about eight or nine years old.

The blonde freckled girl stared at her own hands with an expression that looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

In front of her sat a middle-aged woman with a dazed expression.

The woman’s abdomen was soaked in blood as though she had been stabbed by something sharp.

And yet she was breathing perfectly fine.

She merely blinked in disbelief at her own condition.

Jetoya asked,

“What kind of miracle did Remura perform?”

“W-Well, my daughter Remura saved someone who was practically dying.”

The one who answered was a plump middle-aged woman standing beside the freckled girl.

Jetoya asked again,

“What do you mean she saved someone?”

“Auntie Mallang got badly injured, and then suddenly light burst from my daughter’s hands and everything healed.”

The middle-aged woman with the blood-covered abdomen was named Mallang.

Mallang had gone deep underground when she slipped and fell, suffering severe injuries.

Unfortunately, sharp debris where she landed had pierced her abdomen, leaving a massive hole.

The fact that she managed to make it back to the village alive at all was already miraculous.

But that was the limit of it.

There was absolutely nothing in the underground village capable of treating injuries like hers.

No hemostatic medicine, no potions—nothing.

All Mallang could do was lie down and wait for death.

The real miracle happened then.

Light suddenly burst from Remura’s hands beside Mallang, and the terrible wound healed completely.

Remura’s mother spoke excitedly.

“Did you see it? My daughter performed a miracle. My daughter saved someone who was dying!”

“Wait, Aunt Heather. So you’re saying Remura saved Aunt Mallang?”

“That’s right! Light flashed from her hands, and she came back to life.”

Heather, Remura’s mother, explained while practically spraying spit in excitement.

Despite her loud outburst, no one complained.

Everyone present had clearly witnessed Remura’s miracle.

Jetoya frowned.

‘Light appeared and healed the wound? Then did Remura awaken as a Healer?’

Healers were an extremely rare class.

Even among magic-type awakened individuals, they were exceptionally difficult to find.

As far as Jetoya knew, even in Neo Seoul, Healers were rare enough to count on one hand.

“Wait a second. Aunt Mallang, let me see the wound.”

Jetoya carefully examined Mallang’s injury.

When he lifted her clothing to inspect it, he was shocked.

She had lost so much blood, yet there wasn’t even the slightest trace of a wound remaining.

It was proof that she had been healed perfectly.

As though she had never been injured in the first place.

Jetoya turned toward Remura, who still looked utterly bewildered.

“Remura!”

“Ah, Jetoya oppa!”

“Did you awaken?”

“I… think so.”

“Can I check your wrist for a moment?”

“O-Okay!”

Remura held out her wrist.

Jetoya examined the insignia on it.

There were six pure white lines glowing brightly around Remura’s wrist.

“My god… Six lines means she started as A-rank?”

He knew better than anyone because he himself had awakened before.

The starting rank at the moment of awakening made an enormous difference.

If someone began at A-rank, the probability of becoming an S-rank awakened was incredibly high.

Jetoya didn’t know exactly how powerful an A-rank Healer was, but judging from what Remura had just demonstrated, she could clearly save people who were nearly dead.

‘This is insane.’

Jetoya grabbed his head and shook it.

Remura simply looked at him with an innocent expression, seemingly unaware of how extraordinary her new ability truly was.

Her mother Heather, however, was completely different.

Her face was filled with greed.

She clearly understood just how incredible her daughter’s awakened power was.

“My child awakened! She’s an awakened with incredible powers. You all better treat me well from now on. If you want healing, you’d better stay on my good side.”

She shouted excitedly, spit flying from her mouth.

Jetoya carefully spoke.

“Auntie…”

“What?”

“You need to be careful from now on.”

“Careful about what?”

“If other people find out Remura has such an incredible ability, they’ll definitely become greedy.”

“So what if they do?”

“Excessive power always brings disaster. Remura’s ability is too dangerous right now.”

“Don’t make me laugh! You’re saying all that because you want to take advantage of my daughter’s power too, aren’t you?”

Heather glared fiercely while pulling Remura behind her protectively.

Watching her blinded by greed, Jetoya let out a sigh.

‘Haah… damn it.’

Heather’s face was already deeply stained with avarice.

No matter what Jetoya said, she clearly wouldn’t listen.

There was no way of knowing what kind of upheaval Remura’s awakening would cause in this underground world.

‘This won’t do. I need to discuss this with Zeon-nim.’