The Ruler of Shinchon
Thump thump!
Woken by the sound of someone pounding on the door from early morning, Zeon opened his eyes.
Pulling on his robe, he walked to the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, hyung!"
He'd thought it might be Goran's gang, but unexpectedly, it was Levin's voice.
When Zeon opened the door, there stood Levin.
Levin stared straight at Zeon and said,
"You're still in one piece, huh?"
"What's up?"
"I heard a rumor that one of Goran's underlings got into a scuffle with you, so I came over."
"To help?"
"To let you know."
"Know what?"
"Can I come in?"
Zeon stepped aside, and Levin slipped naturally inside.
"This place really is the best. Feels like a hideout."
"What about your revenge?"
"I've got the kids out searching, but it's not easy. That bastard went completely underground after killing my family."
"Yeah?"
"I think the son of a bitch caught wind of something."
Levin's voice sank low.
Ever since that day, he'd been wandering the streets searching for the murderer.
His friends had stepped up to help, and his eyes and ears were spread across the slum streets. Yet the killer hadn't shown himself.
He'd stopped his murders as if it were all a lie and vanished.
"But I'll find him no matter what. A dog can't hold in its shit forever—he won't be able to stay quiet and murder-free indefinitely."
"Probably not. Anyway, what'd you come barging in early morning to tell me?"
"About Goran."
"What about him?"
"Hyung, you really don't know anything, do you?"
"So spill it."
"His ability."
"You know something?"
"Not in detail, but I've heard things."
Only then did Zeon show a flicker of interest.
"Like what?"
"They say there were a ton of explosion accidents right when Goran took over Shinchon."
"Explosions?"
"Don't know the details, but apparently several buildings nearly collapsed because of it."
It had been twenty years since Goran seized control of Shinchon.
No one knew exactly how he'd done it for sure—most of the people there at the time were dead.
But that legend was still etched in people's minds as pure terror.
"Not sure exactly what his power is, but it's definitely related to explosions. So be careful."
"Thanks. That's helpful."
"Sorry I can't do more to help, hyung."
Levin didn't want to pick a fight with Goran.
Even with his special awakening, he was still a greenhorn.
His rank was low, and he couldn't even use his abilities at full capacity.
On top of that, he had a duty to avenge his family.
Nothing else came before that.
Zeon chuckled.
"This is plenty."
"I'll be rooting for you to survive for real."
"You too—get your revenge."
"Yeah! Let's both hang in there. I'm outta here."
Levin slipped out of Zeon's house discreetly, wary of prying eyes.
Left alone, Zeon muttered,
"An ability related to explosions, huh..."
Most people thought there were only four types of Awakeners: magic, martial, curse, and machine-fused. But outliers like Zeon or Levin popped up sometimes with something else.
Goran might be one of those.
"Kinda curious now."
Well, he'd find out when they clashed directly.
He wasn't about to freak out and prepare overkill this early.
Zeon had a simple meal, then boiled some water.
What he pulled from his subspace was a plant leaf.
Not just any plant—a leaf from a plant-type monster.
This one took the form of a cactus, luring and devouring other monsters that passed by.
Oddly, it sprouted leaves all over its body, and brewing them made for an insanely good tea.
Zeon had nearly gotten eaten the first time he'd cluelessly approached one. After a desperate struggle, he'd barely taken it down and saved his skin.
Studying the dead monster, he'd discovered that brewing its leaves as tea had amazing effects. So he'd stripped all the leaves and stored them in his subspace.
Zeon poured boiling water into a cup and steeped the monster leaf. A rich tea aroma soon filled the room.
He picked up the cup and headed to the window.
Sipping slowly, he gazed down at the street.
The tea from the monster leaf calmed the mind and boosted mana.
Zeon drank it whenever he had time.
It was a shame he was running low now.
That's when a man standing smack in the middle of the four-way intersection caught Zeon's eye.
A bald guy built like a gorilla.
The bald man was grinning right at Zeon.
Instinct told Zeon the guy had come for him.
The bald man pointed his fist straight at Zeon's location.
His fist was oddly metallic.
Machine?
Then—
Boom!
A explosive blast erupted from the man's fist aimed at Zeon's house. The entire building shook as if it'd been bombed.
Rumble!
Zeon frowned at the man.
"Shock Wave, huh."
The man had fired a Shock Wave with his mechanical prosthetic arm.
Whether it was his innate skill or the arm's power, it was clearly aimed at Zeon.
But what the man didn't know was that Zeon's house was protected by a barrier.
The Watching Eye's barrier perfectly shielded his home from external impacts.
Boom!
The man fired another Shock Wave, but it was blocked again by the Watching Eye.
He could fire a hundred more, and it'd be the same.
The man's Shock Waves couldn't pierce the Watching Eye. He'd surely realized that by now.
Yet he kept firing relentlessly.
Quake!
The whole building shook like there was an earthquake.
Zeon looked incredulous.
He'd figured out the man's game.
"Not bad, baldy. Using your head."
Zeon's house was safe under the Watching Eye's protection, but the others weren't.
The apartments above, below, and next to his were in chaos.
Walls crumbled, pillars cracked.
The people inside screamed in shock at the sudden assault.
A few more Shock Waves, and the entire building housing Zeon's place could collapse.
Even with the Watching Eye, if the structure itself gave way, Zeon's home wouldn't hold.
So the bald man had switched tactics the moment he spotted the barrier.
"Tch. What a pain..."
Zeon opened the window.
His place was on the eighteenth floor—over fifty meters up from the ground.
A normal person would get dizzy just looking down. But Zeon leaped out without hesitation.
His body plummeted at terrifying speed.
Just before hitting the ground, his descent slowed sharply.
Invisible fine sand particles were cushioning him.
But the bald man couldn't see that.
Zeon had vanished before even touching down.
Landing safely, Zeon immediately tracked the bald man.
It wasn't hard.
The guy had left traces everywhere, like he was bragging.
Zeon soon spotted him.
The bald man stood in front of a building resembling the Shinchon Colosseum.
He jerked his head as if beckoning Zeon to follow, then entered.
Zeon eyed the colosseum briefly.
First time here, but he knew what it was.
This was the arena run by Shinchon's ruler, Goran.
"One of Goran's men, after all."
He'd figured as much from the start.
Without a second thought, Zeon stepped into the arena.
"Woooah!"
"Kill him!"
An explosion of heat and roars hit him the moment he entered.
Countless people screamed with bloodshot eyes, while two men fought for their lives in the center.
They were clearly ordinary folk with no abilities.
One swung a sickle, the other an axe, hacking at each other.
Their bodies were drenched in blood, faces twisted in agony.
Yet they attacked like madmen.
Zeon could feel their desperate, do-or-die terror.
He knew exactly what had driven them to this cliff's edge.
Zeon's gaze shifted to the highest point in the arena.
The bald man was watching him from there.
Zeon headed straight up toward him.
"You came."
A deep bass voice greeted him upon arrival.
Zeon turned to the source.
A massive black man in a baseball cap and leather jacket.
Behind him stood the bald man who'd lured Zeon here.
The black man said to Zeon,
"Finally meeting. Your name is..."
"Zeon!"
"Right! Zeon. We haven't met before, have we?"
"Probably not."
"You know me, then?"
"Goran, right?"
"Spot on."
A satisfied smile crept across the black man's lips.
He was Goran, ruler of Shinchon.
Goran introduced the bald man behind him.
"This is my friend, Dolkhan."
"No need for intros. Thanks to him, my house nearly collapsed."
"It didn't?"
"Lucky for me."
"Pretty sturdy, then."
"Disappointing, huh?"
"Kinda. I told him to bring it down."
Goran bared his white teeth in a grin.
Dolkhan spoke up defensively.
"There was a barrier on the house. Fired several Shock Waves, and it didn't budge."
"Oh? Talented guy. I don't like talented guys."
Goran's scorching gaze pierced through his sunglasses.
Zeon smirked.
"Happy to get your approval."
"Have a seat first."
Goran nodded, and an underling brought a chair.
Zeon sat without refusing.
Goran pointed at the two fighters in the arena with his finger.
"See 'em?"
"Yeah!"
"Pushed to the edge of the cliff. Feel that fear and desperation they're giving off?"
"Sure do."
"I love that scent of terror they emit. Gets the blood pumping."
"Bad taste."
"Bad taste? Maybe. But once you get used to it, you won't wanna stop."
"Doubt it. Not my thing."
"Better not say that for sure. Human values change easy."
Goran tapped his temple with a finger and laughed.
Zeon watched him silently. Goran shrugged and said,
"Mood's getting stiff. Let's eat first."
No sooner had he spoken than attendants brought out food.
The table was soon laden with fancy dishes.
Goran picked up fork and knife.
"Steak. Real beef, not cultured meat. Real steak. Tastes good."
Zeon still didn't touch his fork, so Goran glanced at the Neo Seoul walls visible through the window.
"Guys in Neo Seoul eat this stuff. Follow me, and you could have it every day."