A Damned World
Whoosh.
A biting wind whipped against him the moment he stepped onto the rooftop.
Jeron instinctively pulled his collar tight.
He had bundled up thoroughly before coming, but there was no escaping the bitter cold.
It felt as though his ears were about to freeze and snap off.
Earmuffs would have helped, but he chose to leave his ears uncovered to keep his senses sharp while moving.
Having stepped onto this ruined Earth, his immediate priority was to scout the surroundings.
Jeron had grown strong enough to handle a single mutant on his own, but facing two evolved mutants at once would still push him into a desperate struggle.
Safety first, safety second—he had to keep that mantra drilled into his head.
Jeron first scanned the industrial park with his bare eyes.
"..."
Only a bleak wind and decaying, crumbled leaves drifted across the desolate streets.
There was no sign of the enemy, but he raised his binoculars to search for any hidden traces just in case.
On Earth, one had to beware of humans just as much as mutants.
This was a place where people would smile to your face and stab you in the back, meaning every living creature had to be treated with suspicion.
Half-collapsed fences, bloodstains trailing here and there, and partially destroyed storefronts met his gaze.
It seemed no survivors had ventured this far during the time Jeron had been living on the Karen Continent.
Only then did Jeron descend to the first floor and make his way through the minefield of traps.
He had to maintain absolute focus here as well.
With so many traps laid out, a single misstep would send him straight to the grave.
Jeron slipped out of the narrow alleyway and strapped his backpack onto the bicycle's rack.
Click, click, click.
The spinning of the bicycle pedals sounded loud in the quiet air.
It was a terrifyingly silent land.
If not for the howling of the wind, he might have forgotten he was even on Earth.
Jeron headed toward the mountain rising behind the industrial park.
Simply looking around from the rooftop of Mr. Kang's temporary shelter wasn't enough to put his mind at ease.
The two evolved mutants that had fled earlier might still be loitering nearby, and he also needed to check the studio apartment district where they had vanished.
The hiking trail was similarly filled with nothing but a chilly breeze.
The trail stretched all the way up to the observatory. The slope was gentle enough to ride a bicycle up.
Jeron's physical strength was incomparable to his days as an ordinary Earthling, and with his recent acquisition of mana, his endurance had skyrocketed.
Even though he was pedaling hard up the incline, he barely felt out of breath.
Crunch!
Perhaps due to the dry weather, the fallen leaves made a crisp, rustling sound as the bicycle tires rolled over them.
In less than ten minutes, he reached the observatory.
Jeron parked his bicycle beneath the structure, climbed up, and scanned the area.
He felt no presence of survivors or mutants. If there were any living creatures nearby, his expanded mana sensory perception would have picked them up instantly.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Jeron adjusted his binoculars to check the studio apartment district first.
—Skreeeech!
At that moment, a piercing shriek echoed from somewhere.
The mutant's roar carried a significant amount of mana.
It was undoubtedly a mutant's battle cry.
Specifically, an advanced specimen known as an evolved mutant.
The shriek was coming from the studio apartment district.
Crash!
The sound of collapsing buildings echoed clearly.
Four mutants were locked in a fierce struggle.
Jeron watched the spectacle, dumbfounded.
"Those bastards are still fighting."
A lanky mutant and a muscular, hulking one had teamed up to attack another pair.
Both sides were evenly matched, making it difficult for either to claim victory.
Black blood splattered in all directions as they fought as if determined to tear the entire district down.
There was no need to worry about them.
Knowing that there were no other mutants in the immediate vicinity put his mind at ease.
Rustle!
Jeron unfolded a map.
It was a complete map of Seosan, with the mountainous area near Eumyang-myeon marked in red marker.
This was the bunker Mr. Kang had mentioned.
Jeron had been told that once he reached the bunker, he would be able to obtain various parts, including crossbows.
Even if it weren't for the crossbows, it was a place worth visiting.
When describing the bunker, Mr. Kang had added that it was located so deep in the mountains that few people ever went there, and since the mutants had all migrated to the cities, it should be safe.
There was a small chance someone else might have occupied the bunker and lived there, but the probability was low.
Jeron cross-referenced the map with the actual roads, scanning the path ahead with his binoculars.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
It was then.
The sound of gunfire echoed.
"Are they insane?"
The noise was coming from the direction of the city center.
A group was driving a modified truck, firing wildly out of the windows as if deliberately drawing out the mutants.
It was a group of four, and the interior of their vehicle was filled with thick smoke.
"Right. You'd have to be high on something to pull a stunt like that."
No matter how ruined the world was, who in their right mind would lure mutants that bullets could barely pierce?
It was not something a sane person would do.
Clicking his tongue, Jeron realized this wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him.
Yujin Industries was located in the city center.
He had found the key at the Offrin wheat farm, and beneath the company headquarters lay a massive food storage bunker.
If he could plunder that place?
There would be no greater jackpot.
If some crazy bastards were willing to lure the mutants away, Jeron couldn't be more grateful.
Perhaps those lunatics were drawing the enemies out so they could scavenge the city center themselves.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The gunfire erupted once more.
Dozens of mutants shrieked and chased after the truck.
But no matter how fast the mutants were, they couldn't keep up with a speeding vehicle.
Sometimes mutants would leap out directly in front of the truck, but the driver swerved and maneuvered, leading the horde away.
"To pull off something like that, they must belong to a larger group."
Either way, it didn't hurt him.
They were driving the mutants toward the west.
Jeron was heading east, so it didn't concern him.
Jeron tucked the map away.
"I should arrive in about an hour."
It was a straight-line distance of twenty kilometers.
If he followed the road, he would reach the foot of the mountain where the bunker was located in an hour.
Click! Click, click!
The sound of his pedaling echoed loudly on the empty road.
Thirty minutes had passed since the intermittent gunfire had stopped.
It seemed they had cleared out all the mutants in this area, but he still had to remain cautious.
Threats in this world weren't limited to mutants.
Jeron kept his eyes peeled while letting his mind wander.
What Jeron needed most right now was 2nd Circle magic.
Even 1st Circle magic boasted considerable power.
Since he could perform double casting, its utility was beyond imagination.
What if Jeron reached the 2nd Circle?
His efficiency would at least double, and he was confident he wouldn't be pushed back even in a fight against an evolved mutant.
To reach the 2nd Circle, he had to split his mana circle.
Not long ago, Jeron had attempted to cast a shield around his heart and split the circle, but he had failed. The reason was that the shield hadn't been sturdy enough.
Do I need to go beyond double casting and use triple casting to form the shield?
It was a plausible hypothesis.
Splitting a circle exerted immense pressure on the heart, which was why a protective shield was necessary.
If one shield wasn't enough, he would use two. If that still failed, he would use three.
If even triple casting failed, he would either have to seek help from Count Hanes or attempt quadruple casting.
Jeron was studying mathematics diligently, but quadruple casting seemed out of reach for now, making it faster to seek out the Count.
But if I ask the Count for help, he might be shocked. It might even invite jealousy.
It was a highly realistic concern.
Even if Jeron was Langton's ward, if he advanced that quickly in magic, wouldn't the Count feel envious?
Of course, Count Hanes was a fairly broad-minded man, so he might just laugh it off.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
As Jeron pedaled toward his destination, the sudden sound of gunfire nearby made him immediately veer off the road.
Were those crazy bastards from earlier leading the mutants all the way here?
"Ah, those motherfuckers. Of all the places to come."
Jeron quickly stashed his bicycle in the brush and sprinted up the mountainside.
Judging by how the gunfire was steadily drawing closer, they were likely to pass right along the national highway he had been traveling on.
If it were just a vehicle passing by, he wouldn't need to be this cautious, but the problem was the mutants trailing behind it.
"What are they doing? I thought they headed west."
If dozens of mutants swept through this area, it would spell trouble.
It meant the outskirts of Seosan could be crawling with them.
If that happened, it might be better to give up on scavenging the bunker and head toward the city center instead.
Jeron quickly reached the midway point of the low hill and observed the situation through his binoculars.
It was a different truck from the one he had seen earlier. And this time, they weren't leading mutants.
The truck was chasing a sedan.
Jeron zoomed in further to see who was inside the sedan.
It was an elderly couple and a young man and woman.
The desperate looks on their faces made it clear who was pursuing them.
"Scavengers."
It was a common sight in this ruined world.
This was why one had to be extremely cautious when moving locations.
If possible, it was safer to travel on foot rather than in a vehicle.
Driving often led to running into mutants or crashing after slipping on debris and corpses.
Screeech!
Of all places, the sedan crashed into the guardrail right below the hill Jeron was standing on.
Looking closer, he saw bullet holes riddling the sedan's windshield.
A large amount of blood was splattered across the glass.
It appeared the driver had been shot and lost control.
The elderly driver was dead, and the elderly woman, likely his wife, had been thrown from the vehicle and died instantly.
The young man and woman in the back seat weren't in good shape either.
They coughed up blood as they crawled out of the car, looking as though they were on the verge of death.
Amidst a clamor of voices, the scavengers stepped out of their truck.
There were three of them in total, one of whom was a woman.
Clack!
Jeron instinctively raised his crossbow.
It might be a damned world, but this is crossing the line.
Jeron was no saint, but he couldn't just stand by and watch someone pump bullets into a man desperately crawling along the road to survive.
People like that would inevitably become a threat to him as well.
It was best to eliminate them here.
First shot.
Thwip!
Jeron targeted the man keeping watch at the rear.
Thwack!
The bolt flew with terrifying speed and embedded itself in the man's skull.
Unaware that their companion was dead, the remaining scavenger man and woman giggled as they conversed.
He couldn't hear what they were saying, nor did he care to know.
Jeron reloaded his crossbow and aimed at the scavenger man's neck.
Thwip!
Thwack!
Blood erupted from the man's neck like a fountain, spraying across the woman's face.
A scream pierced the air.
"Aaahhh!"
The scavenger woman fell to the ground in a panic.
It was pathetic.
They had no qualms about committing atrocities, yet they shivered in terror the moment they became the prey.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Hysterical, the woman fired her gun blindly in all directions.
Naturally, Jeron was not foolish enough to get hit by stray bullets.
He simply slipped behind a tree to avoid any unfortunate accidents.
The gunfire ceased.
A gun didn't have infinite ammunition. Once the bullets ran out, it had to stop.
Jeron aimed at the head of the panicked woman and loosed a bolt.
Thwack!
As the bolt struck the woman's head, silence returned to the area.
Jeron lowered his crossbow and let out a long sigh.
"Ha... What a truly damned world."