Clash at the Dokkaebi Market
The merchant eyed Zeon closely.
Zeon was on fire, hunting for goods worth three thousand sol. He completely ignored worthless junk and zeroed in on valuable items like a ghost sniffing out treasure.
Zeon picked up a box.
"What's this?"
"That? It's a kind of alarm device. Lets you know if someone unauthorized breaks into your shelter or home."
The merchant opened the box on the spot to show the contents.
A detector-like gadget and a necklace were paired inside.
"It's pretty standard in Neo Seoul."
"I see."
"Should go for five thousand sol, but specially for you, three thousand. Deal?"
"Feels like I'm getting ripped off, but sure."
"Heh heh! Smart choice. You carrying it yourself, or want delivery?"
"Delivery fee?"
"Two thousand sol!"
Zeon frowned slightly at the ridiculous price.
He could toss it straight into his subspace and haul it without paying a dime. But that would expose the fact that he had one.
Subspaces were incredibly rare items.
Even in Neo Seoul, hardly anyone owned one—and everyone coveted them.
If people found out Zeon had one, trouble was guaranteed.
"Tsk! You guaranteeing safe delivery?"
"Of course!"
"Fine."
Zeon pulled one more small Magic Stone from his pocket and tossed it to the merchant.
The merchant inspected it and let out a gasp of admiration.
"Whoa! This from a monster too, huh? You got a hunting team or something? Why not sign a regular supply contract with us?"
"That's all the Magic Stones I have."
"Don't say that—think it over. No one in Dokkaebi Market pays better for Magic Stones."
The merchant was dead certain Zeon ran a hunting team. How else could he keep pulling out top-quality stones like this?
Everyone knew Magic Stones extracted from monsters were way more efficient than ones mined from quarries.
A steady supply of these would skyrocket Dokkaebi Market's influence.
Zeon shut it down cold.
"No more Magic Stones. Cut the fantasies and ship to this address."
"Tsk! Change your mind, hit me up anytime. My door's always open."
"Won't happen."
"Delivery by end of day."
"I trust you won't fuck around."
"Credit's lifeblood for Dokkaebi merchants. I'll handle transport myself—no worries."
"See ya."
Zeon gave a slight nod and stepped out.
He wandered Dokkaebi Market for quite a while after that.
It was way bigger than it looked from outside—plenty of fun just browsing.
Zeon was deep into his market stroll when—
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted from deeper inside.
Voices followed immediately.
"Fight!"
"Crazy fuckers! In Dokkaebi Market?!"
No disputes or brawls tolerated in Dokkaebi Market.
That was the iron rule.
Rule-breakers had no foothold left in the slums. Starting a fight anyway meant either they were strong enough to scoff at the market or too clueless to know better.
Zeon headed toward the commotion.
A huge crowd ringed the scene where two men faced off.
One had an ice-cold demeanor and average build. The other was a hulking brute in heavy plate armor that stole the breath just looking at it.
The air around them grew oppressively heavy.
The ice-cold man spoke first.
"Looks like you've lost your balls, Brikston!"
"Long tongue on you, Taeo! Scared? Just bite it off and kill yourself."
The giant called Brikston drew the massive hammer slung on his back.
Madness laced with killing intent poured from his entire body.
In an instant, Taeo's eyes sharpened further.
"Arrogant prick!"
What he drew was a small dagger with a triangular blade etched in lotus patterns.
A Diamond Claw, the ritual weapon from ancient religions.
A chilling sharpness radiated from the Diamond Claw in Taeo's grip.
The two glared at each other like blood-sworn enemies.
Taeo raised his Diamond Claw to chest height.
"Everything from here on is Dongdaemun's responsibility. You psycho berserker fuck!"
"Hanging with Goran stretched that tongue. One day I'll smash his skull with this hammer."
"Arrogant..."
Red energy exploded from Taeo's furious Diamond Claw.
Aura—only high-rank Awakeners could wield it.
Pure white light flowed from Brikston's hammer.
Not ordinary aura—divine power, usable by a tiny elite.
Dongdaemun's ruler, Yohan, had uniquely awakened divine power and granted similar abilities to his inner circle.
Brikston the berserker was one—Yohan's prime tool for smashing foes.
His opponent, Taeo, was a key subordinate of Shinchon's ruler, Goran.
Goran kept four elite Awakeners under him; Taeo was the ice-cold rational one.
Brikston and Taeo were infamous rivals who'd clashed multiple times.
Evenly matched, no decisive win yet.
Of all places, they crossed paths in Dokkaebi Market.
Forgetting the unspoken taboo, they burned with mutual hate.
"I'll smash your head to nothing."
"This Diamond Claw rips out your heart."
They charged each other.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning crashed between them right before impact.
"Gah!"
"Shit!"
They recoiled in shock and confusion.
"Both of you, stop it. Any more noise, and we'll file a formal complaint with Goran and Yohan. Won't end with just punishing you two."
A woman in form-fitting leather emerged with a low voice.
Her fiery red hair contrasted strikingly with her white leather— a stunning beauty.
Trailing her was a man radiating lion-like ferocity. Black cloth masked his nose and mouth, but his eyes under wild hair alone dominated the crowd.
The street fell deathly silent at their appearance.
Even Taeo and Brikston shut up, no more racket.
Their status and presence were that exceptional.
The red-haired beauty was Dokkaebi Market's owner herself.
She rarely showed her face.
Taeo and Brikston's clash threatened the market's stability.
Located near Shinchon on Yeonnam-ro, it was fundamentally neutral ground.
No faction clashes allowed.
No sides taken.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have lasted.
Shinchon and Dongdaemun were top slum powers.
These two were core figures.
Fine to brawl outside, but casualties here? Headache for Yuse-hui.
She had no choice but to intervene.
The man behind her was her guard—and Dokkaebi Market's strongest: Heuksa-ja.
Only she knew his real name.
One thing certain: his power matched or exceeded Yohan and Goran's.
They didn't dare act out.
Yuse-hui's lightning was a nuisance, but Heuksa-ja's overwhelming presence crushed them.
Yuse-hui stepped between them, red hair fluttering.
"Compensate the broken stuff, and we're good. Call it here."
A radiant smile lit her face.
Red hair and smile could enchant any man there. But Taeo and Brikston saw past the facade.
If Yuse-hui were just a pretty face, she never could've run the market this long.
Its current clout was all her doing.
Even Yohan and Goran didn't underestimate her.
Taeo backed off first.
"Apologies. We'll cover damages separately."
"Thanks. As expected from you, Taeo."
Taeo gave her a slight bow and left without a backward glance.
Brikston watched a moment, then spoke to Yuse-hui.
"Someday outside, I'd love to see you, Yuse-hui."
"Oh? Asking me out? Trouble is, I prefer Dokkaebi Market. Date inside? I might consider."
"Yohan wants to meet you."
"Then definitely inside. Yohan scares me too."
Her words dripped mockery, no fear shown.
Brikston knew it but didn't snap or escalate.
Push her further, Dongdaemun banned from Dokkaebi Market forever.
Yohan wouldn't want that.
Brikston bowed to her and withdrew.
"Send the damage list—paid by tomorrow. Until next time."
"Hoho! Safe travels."
Yuse-hui waved.
Once Brikston vanished from sight, her smile evaporated completely.
"Fucking assholes! Coming to my turf to brawl and make a mess. Tally every broken item meticulously and report."
"Yes!"
She snapped at one merchant.
"What? No business today? Shop done?"
"Yes!"
"We'll do it!"
"Hurry and clean."
Startled merchants scattered like cockroaches to tidy up.
The chaotic market snapped back to normal in seconds, resuming trade like nothing happened.
Yuse-hui bellowed.
"Always glued to fights. Sell one more to make money, you morons!"
"They get it by now."
Heuksa-ja stepped in to calm her, unable to watch.
"Fine. I'm good now."
"Tone it down outside. Lots of eyes."
"Whatever. When have I ever cared about stares? Slap a 'mysterious' label on me, and it just cramps my style."
Yuse-hui grumbled.
Her unexpected side drew an involuntary chuckle from Zeon.
"Pfft!"
"Who? Still gawking instead of shopping?"
Yuse-hui caught the laugh and glared daggers.
She scanned around and spotted Zeon standing blankly.
She marched straight to him.
"You? Was that you laughing?"
"Sorry."
Zeon finally clocked his mistake and apologized.
Yuse-hui scanned him head to toe intently.
"Not a merchant. Customer?"
"Yes!"
"New face. Who sent you?"
"Clexy sent me."
She suddenly shoved her face close to his.
"Clexy? That damn old fart gave you the card?"
Her unexpected reaction made Zeon blink.