White Bear Caravan
The Magic Stone Mine was the most critical strategic facility in Neo Seoul's eyes.
If the supply of magic stones from the mine were cut off, every facility in Neo Seoul would grind to a halt immediately.
While magic stones could sometimes be harvested from monsters, it was extremely dangerous, and not every monster carried one.
Killing dozens of monsters might yield just one or two stones. The efficiency was abysmal.
The only place capable of steadily providing large quantities on a regular basis was the Magic Stone Mine.
As such, Neo Seoul managed the mine with particular care.
They dispatched Awakeners to exterminate monsters inhabiting the surrounding area and any spontaneously spawning dungeons, reducing risks wherever possible.
This led to the ironic rumor that, outside of Neo Seoul itself, the Magic Stone Mine was the safest place around.
"Fuck! It's goddamn hot."
A blond man with a rough, delinquent-like face scowled and grumbled, his brows furrowed deeply.
The man's name was Logan.
He was an Awakener dispatched from Neo Seoul.
A C-rank martial-type Awakener, his main weapon was a massive greatsword.
Behind him, about a dozen Awakeners rode in two buggies.
They were all under Logan's command.
"No sign of any great-horn hyenas today."
"Heard their habitats are shifting southward bit by bit."
"For real?"
"Other teams mentioned it."
The team members' faces grew serious.
Great-horn hyenas lived and hunted in packs.
The pack leader was a female, far larger and stronger than the males, complete with a lion-like mane around her neck.
Standing over two meters from forepaw to shoulder, and five meters from head to tail, it was a true monster.
Packs numbered anywhere from dozens to hundreds, many sired by the leader female herself.
It was a matriarchal bloodline society.
Naturally, every great-horn hyena obeyed the leader female's commands without question.
Individually, they weren't that strong. But in dozens or hundreds, under the leader's command, they wielded dozens or hundreds of times the power.
They used to be spotted far from the Magic Stone Mine, but lately, lone scouts had appeared nearby.
"Scouts mean the main pack isn't far off. We might have a real shitstorm on our hands soon."
"Ugh, I hate pack hunters like great-horn hyenas or flame wolves. Fighting them one by one just drains you..."
The Awakeners already looked exhausted at the thought.
Logan smirked at his subordinates.
He felt the same way.
Better to face one strong beast than whittle away at endless pack fodder like great-horn hyenas. Before you knew it, you'd be covered in cuts and gashes.
Get isolated in the pack, and even survival wasn't guaranteed—which was why most Awakeners dreaded them.
Logan himself had once been cut off from a great-horn hyena pack and barely escaped with his life. The rumors of their southward migration didn't sit well with him.
"If a full great-horn hyena pack relocates near the Magic Stone Mine, we won't handle it alone. We'd need every Awakener stationed here."
"Damn right, boss! Can't let us take all the heat."
"Misery loves company. Heh."
His team laughed at Logan's words.
Then Logan's face hardened.
A massive dust cloud had risen into view.
He shouted.
"Cut the chatter! Battle stations, everyone."
A cloud that size meant either a huge pack or some massive monster on the move.
"Fuck! Not a great-horn hyena pack, please?"
"No way, right?"
Tension etched across the Awakeners' faces.
They gunned the buggies toward the dust cloud, weapons at the ready.
As it drew nearer, their nerves peaked. When it finally closed in, someone let out a deflated groan.
"What... the hell is that?"
"No fucking way..."
Absurdity replaced their fear.
At the heart of the dust was a monster—a mammoth, over five meters at the shoulder.
But the real shock was the cargo carts trailing behind it like candy on a string.
Wheel-only, engineless behemoths the size of warehouses—dozens of them, hitched in a line.
Logan muttered unconsciously.
"A... caravan?"
"Caravan?"
"Heard the stories, but first time seeing one."
Caravans arrived unannounced.
Never on schedule, so ordinary folk rarely saw them.
Even Awakeners had seldom laid eyes on one.
Lately, they'd stopped coming altogether.
Cutting off contact with other colonies.
Caravans weren't just traders; they were messengers, ferrying news between colonies.
No caravans meant no word from elsewhere.
Years without them led folks to assume nearby colonies had been wiped out.
Sending scouts from Neo Seoul to check was no easy task.
Navigators were essential for inter-colony travel, but Neo Seoul lacked any.
And there was no real reason to waste manpower verifying others' survival.
Neo Seoul stood fine on its own.
Logan gaped at the long-absent caravan.
"A caravan... so other colonies are still out there?"
His voice trembled.
In this godforsaken world, knowing he wasn't alone—somewhere, other human groups endured—filled him with strange relief. A profound fullness.
The caravan halted upon spotting Logan and his team.
Warriors who looked like Awakeners appeared atop the cargo roofs.
They wore gear and clothes utterly unlike Neo Seoul's standard issue.
Logan bellowed.
"I'm Logan, dispatched from Neo Seoul! Caravan leader, step forward and state your origin!"
A man in black robes emerged atop the mammoth's head.
He spoke.
"We are the White Bear Caravan from Akutsuk Colony. Is this Neo Seoul territory? Then we've found the right place."
"Zeon! Zeon!"
Briel burst into the house, dashing about in search of him.
Zeon, lounging on the sofa, merely turned his head.
"I'm not deaf. Call me quietly."
"Zeon, you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"You haven't yet."
"What's got you so worked up?"
"A caravan's coming."
"Caravan?"
Zeon's expression finally sharpened with interest.
"Yeah! They hit the Magic Stone Mine the day before yesterday. Supposed to reach Neo Seoul this afternoon."
"Where'd you hear that?"
"Uh, Dokkaebi Market."
"Figures. Sounds legit then."
Zeon stood.
Caravans weren't unfamiliar to him.
He'd encountered one in the desert seven years back. But for most, they were myths.
Everyone knew other colonies existed in theory, but with no direct contact, no one knew how they built, defended, or advanced their cities.
When caravans stopped, that fragile link severed completely.
Folks assumed colonies fell to monsters.
Unlike Neo Seoul, shielded by its anti-monster field, others relied on raw human strength—a brutal uphill battle.
They couldn't rebuild modern civilization, stuck somewhere between medieval and industrial eras.
No surprise if monster hordes crushed them.
If a caravan truly came from another colony, it was first contact in years.
No wonder people were buzzing.
"This afternoon? We could catch it if we head out now."
"Yeah! Let's go watch."
"Levin?"
"He went out earlier. He'll show when the caravan arrives."
"Yeah, probably."
Zeon nodded, donning his robe.
They stepped into the street together.
Most hadn't heard about the Magic Stone Mine contact yet; the streets were quiet.
Zeon and Briel claimed a high vantage at the Slum entrance.
As Briel swung her legs beside him, she suddenly pulled dried meat from her pocket.
"Here, eat this. Got it at Dokkaebi Market."
"Jerky?"
"Yep!"
Zeon took a piece and chewed.
Rat or monster meat? Hard to tell. But he had no qualms.
Slum fare was predictable anyway.
Though Neo Seoul proper would offer better.
Mid-chew, a sandwind kicked up.
"Ugh! This damn wind."
Briel pressed down her conical hat, grumbling.
Zeon watched her, thinking.
She's come a long way, though.
Drug withdrawal still blurred her eyes sometimes, but this was progress.
Her personality had brightened too.
Positive signs.
Good or bad, she'd stick close awhile; her cheer was a bonus.
Then—
"Ah! There."
Briel pointed to the desert's heart.
Zeon followed her gaze. Far off, a dust cloud rose.
To his eyes, a mammoth over five meters tall charged through it, oppressive even at distance. Trailing carts evoked ancient trains.
"Whoa!"
Briel gasped in awe.
"What's that?"
"Mammoth. Caravan."
"The caravan's here?"
Latecomers buzzed as they spotted it.
Mammoths were rare sights.
None near Neo Seoul before. Its appearance stunned the crowd.
But the carts clinched it: a tamed monster beast of burden. Caravan confirmed.
"The caravan's here."
"Real caravan!"
"Woooah!"
The Slum entrance filled fast.
Rare spectacle after so long.
The road to Neo Seoul packed with onlookers.
They awaited the mammoth-pulled caravan. But kilometers out, it halted.
"Why'd it stop?"
"Some issue?"
Murmurs rose.
Briel frowned too.
"Why isn't the mammoth moving?"
"Neo Seoul's anti-monster field."
"Anti-monster field? What's that?"
"Force that repels monsters. They hate approaching. Like that mammoth."
"No idea. News to me."
Briel blinked her big eyes.
Mammoth stopped, caravan followed suit.
Instead, who looked like the caravan leader and a few Awakeners approached on foot, escorted by buggies.
They finally entered the Slum's main avenue toward Neo Seoul.
First unknown contact in years.
"Waaaaah!"
Cheers thundered down the street.