Episode 71
The man with the tattoo on his face made a dumbfounded expression.
“You’re laughing? I guess you find this situation funny.”
“Am I not allowed to laugh?”
“You’ve got guts spilling out of your stomach, you bastard. Well, I suppose that’s why you crawled all the way here without so much as a tremor.”
The man stood up, sheathing the dagger he had been using to clean his nails.
The man’s frame was massive as he rose.
Jeon looked at the man with an intrigued gaze.
It was because the man’s physique was peculiar.
What caught his eye was the man’s skin.
It was bumpy, like a crocodile’s.
At a glance, its texture was completely different from human skin.
The man spoke.
“What, does my skin look strange? If you live a long time in a damp place that doesn’t see a single ray of sunlight, you’ll end up like this too.”
“So it changed naturally over time, rather than you being born with it.”
“Exactly!”
“It certainly is fascinating. This is the first time I’ve encountered a case like this.”
The man’s expression hardened at Jeon’s nonchalant reply.
It was a different reaction from most people he knew.
Anyone who saw his skin and body would usually be terrified and avert their eyes, but Jeon’s eyes were sparkling as if he had found an amusing toy.
This was the first time he had seen such a reaction.
“You’re an interesting guy.”
“Then will you return the mana generator?”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that. That thing is quite the rare item, hard to get your hands on.”
“A rare item?”
“Yeah! Despite being small, its power output is tremendous. As long as you supply it with high-quality mana stones, it can stably provide an enormous amount of electricity.”
“Why do you need electricity?”
“Why do you think? It’s needed because there are people who use it. Electricity isn’t supplied down here.”
“Do many people live underground?”
“Far more than you think.”
“I see.”
Jeon wagged his head.
“So give up. It’ll be put to much better use than by you.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I happen to have quite the possessive streak.”
“So I’ve been spewing bullshit this whole time. Disgusting. Hack! Ptoo!”
The man spat a sticky gob of phlegm onto Jeon’s shoe.
When Jeon looked at the phlegm on his shoe, the man laughed.
“What, feeling filthy?”
“It’s not pleasant.”
“That level of filth won’t cut it. We’re only just getting started.”
The smirk on the man’s lips deepened.
Jeon stared intently at the man’s face.
Saffron-yellow pupils and bumpy skin.
“You really are like a crocodile.”
“That’s why my name is Crocodile too.”
“It suits you.”
Jeon nodded.
At that moment, Crocodile stomped on the floor.
His fist punched through the darkness and exploded toward Jeon.
*Boom!*
Jeon’s body shook with the explosion. But Crocodile’s fist never touched Jeon’s face.
Because he had blocked it with his right hand, clad in a gauntlet.
Even though his attack was blocked, Crocodile didn’t wipe the smile off his face.
“You’ve got skills.”
“You’re no pushover either. I’d say you’re at least C-rank.”
“Hmph!”
Crocodile attacked instead of replying.
*Pabababang!*
The air burst violently from his continuous attacks.
As Jeon had guessed, Crocodile was a C-rank martial-class Awakener.
He pressed Jeon like a storm. But Jeon deflected all of his attacks without exerting much effort.
Crocodile was certainly strong.
He had perfectly adapted to the environment known as the underground sewers.
His eyes pierced through the darkness as if it were broad daylight, and his skin was extremely tough and resilient.
He was sturdy enough to withstand ordinary attacks without using skills. But this time, his opponent was not favorable.
None of those Jeon had faced were weaker than Crocodile.
Crocodile himself thought he was attacking brilliantly, but to Jeon’s eyes, all of his movements were clearly visible.
When Jeon refused to be hit no matter how much he attacked, a flustered expression rose on Crocodile’s face.
“You bastard! How long are you going to just dodge?”
It was then.
As if to contradict Crocodile’s words, Jeon unleashed a powerful straight punch.
Crocodile failed to evade the attack that came like lightning.
He had no choice but to cross his arms to block Jeon’s straight punch.
*Boom!*
“Kuh!”
A groan burst from Crocodile along with the explosion.
Crocodile’s face turned deathly pale as he was pushed backward, scraping the ground.
Both of his arms were broken and dangling.
Crocodile simply couldn’t believe this fact.
His bones and muscles were vastly stronger than other Awakeners. Yet they had broken, unable to withstand a single blow from Jeon.
Only then did Crocodile realize.
That Jeon was a far greater Awakener than he had thought.
*A martial-class, at least C-rank.*
Someone equal to, or slightly stronger than, himself.
If he used his hidden skills, he might be able to win. But his opponent hadn’t revealed his true skills either.
Which meant there was a chance he would lose.
His judgment was swift.
To fight an opponent like this, he needed more preparation.
“Damn it!”
His choice was retreat.
The mana generator was important, but not as important as his life.
Crocodile and his subordinates hurriedly retreated toward the exit in the back.
Fortunately, Jeon did not pursue them further.
Before disappearing from sight, Crocodile said:
“Countless people will fall into distress because of you. If those who could have been saved with the mana generator die, it will all be your fault.”
“That would be due to your incompetence, not mine. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t shift your responsibility onto me.”
“Kuh!”
Jeon simply refuted Crocodile’s words.
One should blame oneself for failing to acquire the mana generator even with fair compensation; shifting that responsibility to Jeon was not right.
Jeon’s convictions weren’t so weak as to fall for this kind of gaslighting.
“We will definitely meet again.”
With those words, Crocodile and his men completely concealed themselves.
Jeon stood still, gazing at where they had disappeared.
A sewer carrying deeper, filthier waste stretched into the darkness.
Jeon had no intention of entering that place.
He had spent a full eight years wandering in deserts and all kinds of dungeons.
Now he wanted to live in a somewhat clean environment.
There were many items that Crocodile and his men had plundered in the underground space, but he didn’t spare them a glance.
He stored only the mana generator and the alarm device in his subspace and came outside.
“Whew!”
Jeon, who had exited the sewer, took a deep breath.
Outside air was indeed good.
Jeon looked around briefly and returned to his home.
Having to walk up to the eighteenth floor was a problem, but for Jeon, it wasn’t very difficult.
Fortunately, it seemed no one had broken in while he was away.
Jeon immediately installed the mana generator in his home.
Jeon gazed briefly at the pyramid-shaped mana generator, then took out a mana stone from his subspace.
When he inserted the fist-sized mana stone into the mana generator, an intense light burst forth momentarily.
The mana generator had begun extracting electricity from the mana stone.
After a moment, the intense light gradually subsided. It was evidence that electricity was being supplied stably.
The mana stone Jeon had inserted was obtained by hunting a C-rank magical beast.
It contained several times the purity and far more energy than mana stones mined from quarries.
Naturally, electricity was bound to be supplied stably.
“Great!”
A smile formed at Jeon’s lips.
Now that he had found a stable source of electricity, it was time for the next task.
Jeon took out a black gemstone from his subspace.
It was a gemstone he had obtained by conquering a dungeon around three years ago.
It appeared ordinary on the outside, but this black gemstone was actually the dungeon’s core.
The dungeon from which this black gemstone was obtained was extremely peculiar.
The dungeon itself was a powerful barrier.
It detected and blocked intrusions from the outside in advance.
Furthermore, it completely isolated the interior from the exterior, so external shocks were hardly transmitted inside.
In a way, the inside of the dungeon was practically the safest space in the world.
To raid this dungeon, Jeon had stayed for a whopping three months.
He could have broken through with force like other dungeons.
But if he did that, the dungeon would be completely destroyed.
That was not what Jeon wanted.
He wanted to take the dungeon’s barrier intact.
So he investigated the barrier’s weak points and found a way to raid it while leaving it whole.
The period of deliberation was three months, and eventually, he was able to obtain this black gemstone, the dungeon’s core.
Only then did he learn.
The true identity of the black gemstone.
‘The Watching Eye.’
That was the black gemstone’s official name.
It was the core of a barrier used by the royal family of Kurayan.
It was used only in core locations such as the royal secret archives or the king’s residence.
It was so difficult to make that only a few existed.
One among them had crossed over to Earth without being destroyed.
However, the regrettable part was that while the Watching Eye had safely crossed over to Earth and become a dungeon, the items inside had been lost and no longer existed.
Jeon placed the Watching Eye atop the mana generator. Then, the electrical power generated by the mana generator was supplied to the Watching Eye.
As power flowed in, red lines extended from the Watching Eye.
The red lines spread like rose vines, filling Jeon’s home.
Jeon stood in the middle of his house, watching the sight.
It was the process of the barrier recognizing the space.
The red lines filling the house soon disappeared.
Though invisible to the eye, it definitely existed. And it protected this house, recognized as its own space, perfectly.
The only person who could enter or exit this house was Jeon.
As long as mana stones were supplied to the mana generator, the Watching Eye would now defend this place perfectly.
Next, Jeon installed the alarm device on the door.
The Watching Eye’s barrier was added to a door reinforced with bloodsucking wood and the hide of a sand angler.
An ordinary Awakener wouldn’t be able to so much as scratch the door, let alone break it. With the alarm device added, Jeon would be able to notice an intruder immediately even if he was outside.
A satisfied smile rose to Jeon’s lips.
“Now the house is finally complete.”
＊＊＊
The Black Lion reported to Yusehui.
“He has returned home.”
“If he entered the sewers at dawn, did he stay about three or four hours?”
“Yes!”
“What do you think, Oppa? Does it seem like he found the mana generator?”
“According to the scout’s report, he was empty-handed.”
“Empty-handed?”
“Yes! It seems he was unable to find the mana generator.”
“I wondered because he went in with such gusto. I suppose it was too much after all.”
Yusehui stroked her chin with her fingertips.
She had also received word that the mana generator had been stolen by the Crocodiles.
It was an incident where items from the Dokkaebi Market had been plundered.
Naturally, she couldn’t help but be concerned.
If the opponent hadn’t been the Crocodiles, she would have already sent troops to reclaim the plundered goods.
The problem was that the Crocodiles were lurking in the underground sewers.
The underground of the slums was far more complex than the surface.
No one knew exactly what facilities lay beneath the ground they stood on, or how complexly the waterways were intertwined.
Even Yusehui, who prided herself on being the slums’ information broker, knew almost nothing about the underground.
No Awakener wanted to enter the foul-smelling underground.
That was also why they had been unable to find out what Jeon had done after entering the underground.
The surveillance that Elder Kleksi had placed on Jeon couldn’t bear to enter the sewer due to the foul smell and air.
He had no choice but to wait for Jeon to come out of the sewer entrance.
When Jeon emerged again after several hours, he was empty-handed, so the watcher judged that he had failed to recover the mana generator.
The Black Lion spoke cautiously.
“Lately, the Crocodiles’ movements have been unusual. The number of times they’ve come above ground has noticeably increased. They must be under someone’s protection.”
“Of course.”
Results do not occur without cause.
Yusehui gave an order.
“For now, strengthen the vigilance over the Dokkaebi Market. It’s obvious where those bastards are aiming.”
“Understood.”
There was no prey as tempting as the Dokkaebi Market in the slums.
All sorts of valuable goods were traded through the Dokkaebi Market.
Countless people had targeted the Dokkaebi Market until now. But no faction had ever laid hands on it, and that was for good reason.
“We’ll show them exactly what happens when you mess with the Dokkaebi Market.”