Chapter 339

If one were to summarize Zeon’s life over the past few days in a single word, it would be: recluse.

He had literally shut himself inside his house and hidden away.

Without stepping outside even once, he spent all his time at home.

When he got sleepy, he slept on the sofa. When he got hungry, he cooked something to eat. Then he rested, slept again…

He simply repeated the same cycle inside the house like a hamster wheel.

Meanwhile, Brielle and Levin had gone out several times.

Brielle had even told him multiple times that he should stop hiding indoors and go outside already.

But Zeon ignored even Brielle’s words and remained at home.

“Yaaawn!”

Zeon stretched for the first time in a while as he got up.

It felt like he had slept for nearly twelve hours.

Having slept so much, his entire body creaked in protest.

—Be?

Gaia looked at Zeon with a worried expression.

Zeon chuckled softly and stroked Gaia’s head.

“I was already thinking of moving around today anyway.”

—Beii?

“I’m serious.”

Zeon finally dragged himself off the sofa with great effort.

Honestly, it felt a bit disappointing.

He had spent so much time lying on the sofa lately that it almost felt like they had become one, so leaving it behind felt strangely empty.

Still, Zeon quickly shook off the attachment and put on the robe hanging from the wall.

Neither Brielle nor Levin were around, apparently having gone out.

Zeon spoke to Gaia.

“I’m heading outside. Want to go into the subspace?”

—Be!

Gaia immediately opened the subspace and entered it.

Watching Gaia casually use his subspace like its own home naturally made Zeon smile.

Stepping outside after so long made the blazing sunlight sting his eyes.

But after a moment of adjustment, the pain quickly faded.

The place Zeon headed to after finally coming out was the Goblin Market.

It wasn’t because there was anything special he needed to buy.

It was simply a place he habitually ended up visiting whenever he went outside.

“The streets really are emptier. Looks like a lot of people left for the new mana stone mine.”

Even though it was broad daylight, there were far too few people on the streets.

It felt as though the population had dropped by more than half.

Of course, the number probably hadn’t decreased that dramatically.

Not everyone who wanted to go to the mana stone mine could actually do so.

They needed the capability to survive there.

And people with that level of ability were rarer than one might think.

In the end, most people were filtered out, leaving only a small number who could actually go to the mana stone mine.

“This is a newly developed rock drill. A brand-new model powered by low-grade mana stones!”

“Durable and sturdy pants! Made from magical beast leather, so they’ll never tear no matter how rough the work gets!”

The Goblin Market Zeon visited after so long overflowed with energy.

The merchants were enjoying an unprecedented boom.

Just like during the old Gold Rush, where the people who sold goods to gold miners became richer than the miners themselves.

No matter how open the mana stone mine was, equipment like drills and transport vehicles were absolute necessities.

Because of that, many people came here to buy supplies.

Thanks to it, the merchants here were experiencing prosperity unlike anything before.

“Nice.”

Zeon smiled faintly and continued walking.

That was when—

“Zeon!”

A familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

Turning toward the source of the voice, he saw Yoo Sehui hurrying toward him.

Behind her followed Black Lion and Akashi from the Helbrin Mercenary Corps.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“As you can see, I’ve been insanely busy.”

Yoo Sehui shrugged.

The prosperity of the Goblin Market had become an enormous source of power for her as well.

She was already influential to begin with, but now that the Goblin Market was flourishing, tremendous influence had become concentrated in her hands.

It was a time when merchants couldn’t keep up with demand no matter how much they sold.

In the past, powerful raid groups were the ones merchants had to fear.

But now the situation had reversed.

Raid groups and mining companies were the ones who had to keep her pleased.

As a result, her shoulders were practically overflowing with confidence.

Zeon’s gaze shifted toward Akashi behind Yoo Sehui.

“Looks like you’re doing well too.”

“Ah, yes! I can only feel grateful toward you, Zeon-nim.”

Akashi bowed his head respectfully.

He was extremely satisfied with his current life.

Due to the nature of the Goblin Market, he occasionally had to travel to dungeons being cleared by raid groups in order to secure goods in advance.

Akashi only needed to work during those times.

Since his role was merely to detect magical beasts beforehand and avoid them, there was honestly very little danger.

And even traveling across the desert only happened once or twice a month at most.

The rest of the time, he simply relaxed and waited around, to the point he felt like he was gaining weight.

He even found himself thinking that if he had known life would become this easy, he would have left the Helbrin Mercenary Corps and joined the Goblin Market much earlier.

Zeon said,

“You look good. Keep living like this.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Zeon-nim. Thank you.”

Akashi bowed again in gratitude.

“It’s nothing.”

“I’ll definitely repay this debt someday.”

“That’s unnecessary. What debt?”

Zeon made an awkward expression and looked at Yoo Sehui.

Yoo Sehui snorted softly with amusement.

“Need anything? Just say the word and I’ll get it for you.”

“No. I just came out to get some fresh air. If I think of something later, I’ll let you know.”

“Do that. I’m busy, so I’ll get going now.”

“Alright.”

“See you next time.”

Yoo Sehui waved her hand and walked past Zeon.

Black Lion and Akashi both gave Zeon slight bows.

It was the greatest display of courtesy they could offer.

Zeon watched their backs as they disappeared before resuming his walk.

He wandered around the Goblin Market for quite a while.

But nothing particularly caught his interest.

Since he hadn’t expected much in the first place, he wasn’t disappointed either.

Leaving the Goblin Market, Zeon headed toward Old Man Clexi’s shop.

Just as he was about to arrive—

“Zeon-nim!”

The cover of a manhole leading into the sewer lifted slightly, and someone called out to him.

The one poking his head out was none other than Jeto.

“Jeto!”

“I thought it was you after all, Zeon-nim.”

Jetoya climbed out of the manhole and closed the cover again.

Zeon asked with a puzzled expression,

“What brings you here?”

“There’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Really? Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s talk while we eat.”

“You don’t have to do that…”

“I’m hungry.”

Zeon brought Jetoya into Old Man Clexi’s shop.

“Welcome back. Looks like you rested well. Your face is practically glowing with health.”

“Yes! I rested without doing anything. This kid’s eating too, so please make plenty of food.”

“Alright! We just got some excellent meat too. Lucky brat. Heh heh!”

Old Man Clexi let out a strange laugh as he looked at Jeto.

Faced with the old man’s gaze—which seemed capable of seeing through everything—Jetoya unconsciously shrank his shoulders.

Though he had awakened as a D-rank martial artist, Jetoya was still just a young boy.

It was still too much for him to withstand the gaze of a crafty old fox who had experienced every hardship in the world.

While waiting for the food to arrive, Zeon asked Jeto,

“So, what exactly brought you to me? Are the other crocodiles causing trouble again?”

“The other crocodiles don’t even come near our village anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ve gotten a bit of a reputation as a real bastard…”

What Jetoya said was true.

Though still young, his abilities were exceptional even among the crocodiles.

Very few people—not even awakened individuals—could overpower Jetoya by force.

And beyond that, Jetoya was viciously relentless.

He had the tenacity of a true crocodile, to the point that once he bit down, he never let go.

If someone became his enemy, he would chase them to the ends of hell itself and kill them.

That brutality had already become Jeto’s trademark.

Because of that, even the outlaws of Crocodile Den avoided invading the village where Jetoya stayed.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Huh? It’s not exactly a problem… it’s just bothering me…”

“Tell me.”

“Actually, a child awakened recently.”

“That sounds like something worth celebrating.”

“Yes! But the problem is that this child’s ability is way too powerful… She’s a Healer, and she instantly saved someone who was dying.”

“Wait! A Healer?”

Old Man Clexi, who had been cooking, suddenly interrupted in shock.

“Yes! And she started as A-rank.”

“She’s insane! An A-rank Healer from the very beginning?”

Clexi’s jaw dropped so far from shock that he couldn’t close it again.

It was that unbelievable.

After the Great Cataclysm, countless awakened individuals had appeared.

Naturally, many people had awakened as Healers as well.

But compared to the total number of awakened individuals, the proportion of Healers was absurdly low.

That was why Healers were treated like treasures by every raid group.

Even an E-rank Healer would be fought over.

At present, the highest-ranking known Healer was probably only B-rank.

And even that had only been achieved through enormous experience and support.

But an A-rank Healer from the moment of awakening—

Nothing like that had ever happened since Neo Seoul was founded.

Zeon muttered with a serious expression,

“If she started at A-rank, she’ll probably reach S-rank before long.”

“Of all places, an A-rank Healer had to appear in a sewer dump like that. If the people above find out, they’ll tear each other apart trying to take her.”

“Probably.”

“This isn’t an ordinary matter.”

Even Old Man Clexi’s expression had turned grave.

Jetoya said she had instantly saved someone who was on the verge of death.

If her abilities were truly at that level, every raid group and guild would willingly descend into Crocodile Den to claim her.

An A-rank Healer was worth that much.

Especially one almost guaranteed to become S-rank in the future.

Zeon asked,

“Who else knows about this?”

“For now, only the people in the village and me.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Crocodile Den was almost completely isolated from the outside world.

Only awakened individuals like Jetoya could travel between the surface and underground, so information rarely spread.

Old Man Clexi hurriedly spoke.

“W-Wait a minute! If she’s really an A-rank Healer, then we should protect her—”

“Since when did the Goblin Market and Argos’s Eye ever care about Crocodile Den?”

“The situation is different! We’re talking about an A-rank Healer here. We could protect and treat her far more humanely than those other awakened groups.”

“I’ll see her myself and make that judgment.”

Zeon coldly cut off Clexi’s words.

No matter how close he and Clexi were, there were still boundaries between them that had to be respected.

Normally, Clexi understood those boundaries well.

But faced with the first A-rank Healer ever seen, even he seemed unable to maintain his composure.

At times like this, Zeon had to draw the line clearly himself.

After all, the person Jetoya had come to seek out was Zeon.

Fortunately, Clexi understood that as well.

“Tch… I got impatient and lost my reason for a moment. If you need help, tell me anytime.”

“Understood.”

Zeon gave a short reply and looked at Jeto.

Jetoya was staring at him anxiously.

“First, let’s eat. Then we’ll head underground.”

“You’re personally coming with me, Zeon-nim?”

“That’ll make you feel more at ease too, won’t it?”

“Exactly! I’m only D-rank, and trying to think about a problem involving an A-rank awakened feels like my head’s about to explode.”

“Alright. Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Thank you.”

Jeto’s face brightened instantly.

Zeon was the only person on the surface whom he truly trusted.

Just having him there made Jetoya feel much more reassured.

At that moment, Old Man Clexi placed a huge bowl in front of Jetoya and said,

“Here, eat as much as you want. I put in plenty of meat. Heh heh!”

Suddenly, the grin exposing Clexi’s yellow teeth felt strangely burdensome to Jeto.

“Tch.”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

He could clearly see what was going on inside Clexi’s head.

‘Still… an ultra-high-tier Healer being born in the underground sewers. I just hope this doesn’t end up affecting the surface world.’