Night Raid on the Fortress
Deep into the night, a group approached the fortress built by the White Bear Caravan.
There were fifty of them in total.
All awakeners.
Each one hid their face behind a mask or cloth.
A minimal precaution to keep their identities secret from one another.
They were all slum-born awakeners, hastily assembled into a plunder squad for tonight's raid on the White Bear Caravan.
Leading the attack squad was Yi Beom-ho.
A D-rank magic-type awakener.
The moment he got word that a caravan had arrived after decades, he hatched a plan to rob them blind.
Akutsuk's location is unknown, but they've gotta be loaded with rare goodies.
He'd scraped together ten subspace backpacks from the Dokkaebi Market with great difficulty.
Each one enchanted with a small room-sized subspace.
Items that were damn near impossible to buy even if you had the cash—and he didn't.
No choice but to borrow them from a Dokkaebi Market merchant, promising to split the loot.
He didn't expect to take everything the White Bear Caravan had. But filling even some of those backpacks would make it a hell of a score.
A gamble with their lives on the line. But worth the shot.
If this one big haul works out, I can get into Neo Seoul. Live it up high and mighty there.
Yi Beom-ho and every other awakener in the plunder squad shared the exact same thought.
A small fortress came into view.
Stacked cargo trucks formed walls that looked sturdy as hell. But they weren't too worried.
They trusted the gear they'd brought.
Yi Beom-ho shouted.
"Use the Explosion Scrolls!"
"Okay!"
The awakeners slapped Explosion Scrolls onto the fortress's outer walls.
Moments later, the glowing red scrolls detonated.
Kaboom!
A massive explosion rocked the air.
Yi Beom-ho and the awakeners expected a huge hole blasted through the outer wall—the cargo trucks.
Slip in through the breach, grab the goods in a flash, and bolt. That was the core of the plan.
But things don't always go according to plan.
"Fuck! Why the hell is it still intact?"
"Isn't the Explosion Scroll defective or some shit?"
The awakeners gawked at the blast site, eyes bulging.
Even after such a powerful explosion, the fortress wall stood unscathed.
Not even a scorch mark from the flames.
"What the hell's it made of?"
"Does that matter right now? Fuck! We're screwed."
No sooner had one awakener spoken than White Bear Caravan awakeners poured out from inside the fortress.
"Plunderers!"
"Kill 'em all."
They attacked without a second's hesitation.
Caught off guard by how far this deviated from his plan, Yi Beom-ho couldn't hide his panic. But he quickly regained his composure.
"Fuck it! Kill 'em all and take everything!"
"Wooo!"
It was do or die anyway.
Go home empty-handed without spoils? Might as well be dead.
"Hyaah!"
Yi Beom-ho unleashed his skill, Magic Missile.
Whoosh!
Five Magic Missiles streaked toward the White Bear Caravan awakeners.
The other plunderers poured everything they had into their main skills.
Kaboom!
"Agh!"
"Ngh!"
Explosions and screams erupted everywhere.
But the ones dying were mostly the plunderers.
The White Bear Caravan awakeners were all elites.
They'd fought off countless threats and monster ambushes just to get here.
Slum lowlifes posed no threat to them.
Aleksandr, the caravan leader, watched the attacking plunderers with a look of utter disbelief as his awakeners fought back.
He'd anticipated something like this.
Other colonies had pulled similar stunts.
But on the first night? That he hadn't expected.
"Kill every last one. Let Neo Seoul know the White Bear Caravan isn't some easy mark."
"Don't let a single one escape."
"They're all dead meat, you bastards! Think we've never dealt with this shit before?"
"No one's taking White Bear Caravan goods for free. This is our lifeline."
The White Bear Caravan awakeners rampaged like blood-mad beasts.
The cargo in those trucks was gathered with blood, sweat, and tears by everyone in Akutsuk.
The caravan's trade success meant life or death for Akutsuk Colony and its people.
Naturally, their resolve dwarfed that of the plunderers.
"Grah!"
"Guh!"
Plunderers screamed and dropped.
Over half wiped out in moments, the survivors hesitated.
"Fuck! They're way stronger than we thought."
"At this rate, we're all done for."
Deserters started breaking away from the plunderers.
They peeled off, trying to flee toward Neo Seoul. But the White Bear Caravan awakeners had no intention of letting even one go.
"You scavenging dog bastards!"
"Die!"
They pursued relentlessly, cutting them down.
"No way! They're this strong?"
Even Yi Beom-ho, who'd organized the raid, faltered.
He'd figured a desert-crossing caravan would have tough awakeners. But not this big a gap.
That miscalculation doomed them.
"Damn it all!"
Yi Beom-ho bolted for escape. But someone blocked his path.
Unlike the others, a slender, pretty boy.
"You cause all this mess and think you can just leave?"
"Outta my way, kid!"
Yi Beom-ho bellowed and fired Magic Missiles.
The five missiles hurtled toward Demian at terrifying speed. But just before impact, someone intercepted.
Aleksandr, leader of the White Bear Caravan.
Thud thud thud!
The missiles slammed into him instead. But not a scratch on his body.
"Impossible!"
Yi Beom-ho's eyes went wide.
In that instant, Aleksandr reached out with a massive hand and crushed his skull.
"Impossible, my ass..."
Crunch!
Yi Beom-ho's head burst like a watermelon.
Aleksandr shook the gore from his hand and turned to Demian.
"You okay?"
"I could've handled it myself."
"I've told you time and again: you're the core of this caravan. Take care of yourself."
"Haha! No need to baby me like that."
"We wouldn't have made it here without you, Demian. Please, recognize how incredible and valuable you are."
"Got it."
Demian flashed a bright smile.
＊＊＊
Word of the nighttime raid on the White Bear Caravan spread through the slums like wildfire.
"Yi Beom-ho, a D-rank awakener, led the plunder squad—and they got totally wiped out?"
"Didn't snag a single item? Insane!"
"Guess the White Bear Caravan's got more firepower than we thought."
Any two people together gossiped about last night's fiasco.
Yi Beom-ho wasn't some powerhouse, but he wasn't weak enough to fold without a fight. Otherwise, he couldn't have led the squad.
The news that he and his crew got annihilated without resistance shocked everyone.
Plenty of others had been organizing their own raids. But after hearing about Yi Beom-ho's instant wipeout, they disbanded.
After flexing their muscle once, the White Bear Caravan stayed put in their fortress outside Neo Seoul.
It was like they were saying, "If you want something, come to us."
Sure enough, reports came in of people from all over heading there officially.
Zeon figured it was only natural.
The White Bear Caravan had the goods.
They controlled supply.
Anyone who needed stuff had to go to them and beg for a deal.
That was the way of the world, and the caravan knew their power and influence well.
With demand everywhere, why bother going out to meet buyers?
Sit tight, and they'd come crawling. Easy.
The problem? One of those walking right in was Briel.
"Let's go to their caravan!"
She burst in on Zeon out of nowhere and blurted it.
Zeon blinked.
"Why?"
"I'm dying to know what kinda stuff they brought. Aren't you curious, Zeon?"
"Not really."
"Come on, let's go together. Dokkaebi Market's fresh out of anything good anyway."
Securing alchemy materials was never easy.
Grab 'em when you could.
No guarantee the White Bear Caravan had what she needed, but visiting cost nothing.
Problem was, Briel couldn't go alone.
The White Bear Caravan didn't allow solo visitors.
That'd open the floodgates to every tom, dick, and harry. So they restricted access strictly.
Minimum qualification: leader of an organization.
That was why Briel was begging Zeon.
Iton, ruler of Shinchon, fell under Zeon's influence.
More than qualified.
Briel looked up at him pleadingly.
"Huh? Let's go."
"Haa... Fine, let's go."
"For real? Yay!"
Zeon relented, and Briel bounced around in excitement.
Zeon donned his robe.
He was only going because Briel nagged, but truth be told, he was curious about the White Bear Caravan too.
Just seeing their cargo could clue him in on Akutsuk Colony's environment and monster distributions.
Before heading there, they stopped by Iton's place first.
Iton, naturally, dreaded Zeon's visit.
He asked with a stiff face.
"You want to visit the White Bear Caravan?"
"Yes!"
"Right now?"
"Yes!"
Zeon smiled as he answered.
Iton fantasized about punching that smile off his face. But do that, and his own head would roll.
He coveted the caravan's goods too. Just timing his visit.
But Zeon beat him to it.
And he wasn't remotely prepared.
As Iton hesitated, Zeon smiled and said,
"Can't do it?"
Iton suddenly felt the chill of death.
Don't fall for that soft tone.
This guy was a wolf in sheep's clothing—no, a monster.
Lower your guard, and he'd devour you in seconds.
Iton stood and said,
"Of course we can. We were planning to go anyway."
"Right now?"
"Yes! Right now."
"Perfect. I was worried it'd be a bother."
"Nonsense. Shinchon's peaceful thanks to you, Zeon-nim. Of course we'd accommodate."
Iton smiled as he spoke.
But inside?
You're a walking bother, you bastard!