Scavenger's Prey
Choi Su-wan was an Awakener.
And not just any Awakener—a mechanized one.
Both his legs and one arm were mechanical.
Mechanized Awakeners were exceedingly rare compared to martial or magic types.
For starters, the awakening rate itself was low, and even if one did awaken, the chances of successfully integrating with machinery were slim.
This was the greatest disadvantage for mechanized Awakeners.
They could bond with machines, but they lacked the ability to create them.
Only upon successfully merging with existing machinery could they match or surpass martial or magic Awakeners of the same rank.
Thus, the quality of the machine they bonded with determined a mechanized Awakener's success or failure.
In that regard, Choi Su-wan was pretty lucky.
He served under Kim Hyun-soo, the overlord of Neo Seoul's West District.
Kim Hyun-soo was a pure-blooded Korean.
He believed that since Neo Seoul's roots lay in Korea, pure Koreans should rule this land—and he worked tirelessly toward that end.
The West District worshipped an ultra-advanced mechanical civilization.
They had recreated computers lost over a century ago and used them to produce all sorts of machinery.
As a result, mechanized Awakeners were especially common there.
Choi Su-wan was one such Awakener.
Though his low rank meant he couldn't get top-tier gear, he still had prosthetic legs and arm equivalent to an E-rank Awakener's power.
His mechanical legs could hit speeds over seventy kilometers per hour, and his steel prosthetic arm delivered destructive force on par with a same-rank martial Awakener.
The best part about being a mechanized Awakener was that as your rank rose, you could upgrade to better bodies.
The West District had machines—or even bodies—prepared for high-rank Awakeners. Rise in rank, and you could grow stronger indefinitely.
Choi Su-wan dreamed of one day becoming a high-rank Awakener and swapping into a powerful new body.
But first, he had to survive.
"Huff... huff!"
Choi Su-wan raced through Neo Seoul's outskirts at top speed.
Sweat drenched his face, and bewilderment filled his eyes.
Thwip!
Suddenly, the air whistled with the sound of something slicing through it.
"Fuck!"
Choi Su-wan spat a curse and swung his mechanical arm.
Clang!
The metallic clash sent an arrow ricocheting away.
But he couldn't relax yet.
Whirr!
A steel chain followed, coiling around his leg.
He stumbled and crashed to the ground.
"Damn it all!"
Choi Su-wan snapped the chain and sprang back up in an instant.
Chains couldn't hold him. The problem was the delay.
"Fuckin' gotcha now."
"Damn, he's fast."
"Mechanized bastards are always the worst. They never tire out."
The attackers were three men in ragged clothes, faces masked.
Choi Su-wan shouted.
"What the hell? Who are you? Why're you chasing me?"
"You pretending not to know?"
"Scavenger, huh."
Choi Su-wan gritted his teeth.
Scavengers didn't just prowl the deserts.
They lurked in Neo Seoul too.
They hid their identities meticulously, ambushing Awakeners and stripping them of everything.
The scavengers encircled him, sneering.
"Now that you know, give up without a fight? Better for both sides."
"Yeah! No need to sweat it out. We'll spare your life."
"Heh heh heh!"
Choi Su-wan roared.
"Like hell! You think I'll go down easy?"
He charged the lead scavenger.
Outnumbered, he'd fled at first—but he was confident in his raw power.
'Just land one solid hit. One is all I need...'
A clean strike would cripple them instantly.
That's when it happened.
The lead scavenger grinned and hurled something from his pocket.
Shhrrk!
The object unfurled midair into a net that enveloped Choi Su-wan.
"What the—?"
A translucent net bound his entire body.
Made of unknown material, it constricted like massive tentacles.
"I'll rip this shit apart."
Choi Su-wan thrashed wildly, roaring.
Explosive energy surged into his mechanical limbs, unleashing tremendous power. But the net only stretched impossibly—no damage at all.
"What is this thing?"
"Heh heh! Item from the White Bear Caravan. Wasn't sure, but it works like a charm."
"Perfect for scavengers like us."
The scavengers smirked in satisfaction.
Choi Su-wan couldn't hide his panic.
"From the caravan?"
"Yep! They say in Akutsuk Colony, they hunt monsters with these. Figured it'd work for human hunters like us. And damn, does it."
"Gah!"
He strained again to tear the net, but it was futile.
Crafted from vampire weasel hide—a small monster—the net's tensile strength was insane.
Physical force alone couldn't break it.
For low-rank Awakeners like Choi Su-wan, who relied on brute strength, it was a nightmare.
One scavenger drew a small rod from his belt.
"One more thing to test."
"What's that?"
"Heh heh! Near Akutsuk Colony, there's this one-horned electric moray eel. Its body has an organ that generates high-voltage electricity—top-shelf stuff. Produces a massive surge instantly. This rod's got one embedded inside."
"So...?"
"Yeah, like a stun baton. Just a bit stronger."
The scavenger jammed the rod into Choi Su-wan's chest.
Crackle!
Electricity arced, convulsing his body violently.
The high-voltage current locked his muscles; he couldn't even scream.
Moments later, Choi Su-wan blacked out.
"Hey! It's working."
"Fuck, solid performance."
"Great. Rip off his limbs."
The scavengers laughed as they swarmed him.
They detached his mechanical legs and arm from his flesh.
Normally, a mechanized Awakener's prosthetics were inseparably bound, recognized as part of the body.
But the caravan's stun device weakened the bond. The high-voltage surge shorted the system momentarily.
Click! Click!
Sure enough, they removed the prosthetics effortlessly.
"Done."
"Jackpot."
"This'll fetch a fortune. Heh heh!"
Mechanized prosthetics sold for top coin.
They could be transplanted onto other mechanized Awakeners or disassembled for parts.
"What about this guy?"
One pointed at Choi Su-wan, now just a torso and one arm, unconscious but alive.
His comrade's reply was curt.
"What else? Kill him. Can't have him coming back for revenge."
"Right. End him."
Choi Su-wan's fate was sealed.
Splat!
Air fist pulverized his skull.
He twitched briefly, then went still.
"Hey, tell the others to snag White Bear Caravan gear. It's a goldmine."
"Where'd these lucky breaks come from? Heh heh!"
"Let's go!"
The scavengers melted into the darkness.
"It's chaos out there."
"Pardon?"
Zeon shot Clexy a puzzled look at the old man's abrupt words.
"Some of the White Bear Caravan's goods ended up with scavengers."
"Aren't their items only sold to vetted buyers?"
"Probably resold to scavengers after the fact."
"Could be."
Zeon nodded thoughtfully.
The White Bear Caravan had been trading for a week now.
Their wares had spread across Neo Seoul's districts. Apparently, some had trickled to scavengers.
"Scavengers are hunting other Awakeners with caravan items."
"Casualties heavy?"
"Dozens confirmed so far, from what I've gathered."
"That many?"
"Unreported victims push it higher."
Clexy's face was grave.
Scavengers mainly operated in the deserts.
They struck anonymously, targeting Awakeners and travelers.
They had desert bases but some lived inside Neo Seoul.
They'd stayed low-key before because using skills left traces.
Traces led to capture, so they avoided action inside the walls.
Now, caravan items had unleashed them.
Monster-hunting gear worked just as well on humans.
Vampire weasel nets and one-horned electric moray stun rods caused the most damage.
These let them subdue Awakeners without skills.
Low-rankers fell helplessly.
Scavengers adapted other items too, testing combos on Awakeners despite non-human designs.
Casualties mounted.
"Neo Seoul must be in uproar."
"Every district's on high alert."
"Who'd guess scavengers would weaponize caravan goods?"
"Creative bastards. Hunting inside the walls with items—who thinks of that?"
"Psychos exist everywhere."
"Too many psychos. It's just Neo Seoul now, but slums'll see the same soon."
Clexy's biggest fear was the slums suffering likewise.
Neo Seoul had decent security; the slums had none.
It would amplify the damage.
Deaths were inevitable, but he didn't want slum-wide chaos.
"What about city hall?"
"Hm?"
"Caravan items sparked this—city hall just sitting idle?"
"No response."
"Really?"
"Not ignorance. They're deliberately looking the other way."
Clexy furrowed his brow.
He'd cut his teeth in Neo Seoul and the magistone mines.
Dealt with countless people, fought many—but none as inscrutable as Mayor Jin Geum-ho.
Jin Geum-ho was an enigma.
Neo Seoul's core, yet he rarely stepped forward.
Had he acted like in the early days, the districts never would've splintered.
His power was absolute.
Yet for some reason, he'd withdrawn completely, becoming a hermit.
That allowed districts to rise and warlords to emerge.
"Can't fathom what he's thinking. Frustrating."
Clexy sighed heavily.
Zeon gazed toward city hall beyond the barrier.
'He's orchestrating all this. But why? Using the chaos to reorder Neo Seoul?'