Chapter 75
"You really can't let your guard down."
Jeon glanced back.
He saw Old Man Clexy looking at him with a gaze still full of lingering attachment.
If he had listened to all of his stories, he would surely have been led around by the nose.
Those old foxes burrowed in like venomous snakes the moment they spotted the slightest gap, tightening the noose until you couldn't escape.
The best thing would have been not to get entangled at all, but since he already was, he had to keep an appropriate distance.
This kind of relationship was the most difficult thing in life.
Fighting demonic beasts was rather better.
Because friend and foe were clear-cut.
To live mixed in among human society, there was far too much to think about and be wary of.
Jeon, who had been lost in thought for a while, stopped in front of his house.
It was because of the unfamiliar gazes he felt around him.
"Hoo!"
Jeon let out a sigh without realizing it.
No sooner had he thought he'd shaken off one troublesome pest than another seemed to have latched on.
Since Jeon didn't move at all, someone approached.
A man in a neat suit with a ponytail—an unusual sight in the slums—was none other than Iteun.
Iteun opened his mouth.
"You're Jeon, right?"
"And who might you be?"
"So I was right."
"I haven't heard an answer yet, though?"
"My name is Iteun."
"Iteun?"
"I serve Lord Goran."
Jeon slightly furrowed his brow at Iteun's answer.
Iteun didn't know, but Jeon knew Goran.
He lived in Sinchon, so it was stranger not to know the ruler of Sinchon.
"So what business do you have?"
"The mana generator."
"Pardon?"
"Where is it?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I know you recovered a mana generator. Where is it?"
"......."
Jeon furrowed his brow.
Only a few people knew he possessed a mana generator. The merchant who had sold it, and those who had seized it.
The merchant was already dead, so the only ones left were those who had seized the mana generator.
"You leaked the information to the Crocodiles."
Iteun flinched in surprise at Jeon's words.
He was surprised by Jeon's deductive reasoning, having inferred that far from a single phrase.
Estimated combat strength: C-rank or higher.
And his mind was excellent too.
He was clearly a rare talent hard to find in the slums.
The word "recruitment" surfaced in Iteun's mind.
"You, hand over the mana generator and come under us. Then we'll treat you well enough."
"Hand over the mana generator and become your dog, you mean."
"A dog's fortune changes depending on its master. Lord Goran treats capable people generously. You'll never regret it."
"I'll pass."
"How resolute. You'd better think again."
"No matter how many times you ask, my thoughts won't change."
"Then at least hand over the mana generator. Hand over just that, and we'll withdraw quietly."
It was then.
Zzzzt!
The alarm in his subspace rang.
It was the signal that someone was trying to break into his house.
"You've already sent people to my house?"
"You installed an alarm?"
"That's basic."
"Then this conversation will go more smoothly. Anyway, even if you don't permit it, our boys will bring out the mana generator. So accept it as fate."
"Fate, you say..."
"That'll be better for you. No matter how much of a C-rank Awakened you are, you can't survive after falling out of Lord Goran's favor in this district. Just live quietly. Like a nobody......"
Iteun spoke as if the mana generator was already his property.
He had sent several subordinates to Jeon's house.
Two of them were Awakened.
Although their rank was only F-rank, that level of ability was more than enough to easily break down the door of a shabby building or whatever.
Even if Jeon didn't bother to open the door, getting his hands on the mana generator wouldn't take long.
"It's sincere advice, so you'd better accept it. I'm saying all this for you."
"I don't see how that's for my benefit."
"I told you. The mana generator is as good as already in our hands. It's no use even if you struggle."
"Is that so? I don't think so."
"What?"
It was then.
Several men ran out of the building where Jeon's house was.
They were Iteun's subordinates who had gone to retrieve the mana generator.
Their faces clearly showed flustered defeat.
Iteun instinctively sensed something had gone wrong.
"What's the matter?"
"Well, we can't open the door."
"What?"
"We don't know what the door is made of, but it won't open."
"Just break it, you idiots!"
"It won't break either. Not just the door, but the walls and windows too—our attacks don't work on any of them. This bastard definitely used some trick."
Iteun's face contorted at his subordinate's words.
At first, he thought his subordinate was lying. But there was no reason for him to lie.
Iteun glared at Jeon.
"Was this your doing?"
"Isn't securing your door basic?"
"You'd better open it obediently. If you don't want to die......"
"Does the Dokkaebi Market know about this too?"
"What?"
"That you extracted their information. I don't think they'd be too pleased if they found out."
In an instant, Iteun's expression hardened stiffly.
The fact that they had stolen information from the Dokkaebi Market was top secret.
Since it was a matter of trust with the Dokkaebi Market, they definitely wouldn't stay still if they found out.
War with the Dokkaebi Market.
It wasn't impossible, but if that happened, their side would suffer tremendous damage too.
"That you would tell the Dokkaebi Market will never happen."
Before he knew it, Iteun's subordinates had completely surrounded Jeon.
"It would have been nice if you'd handed over the mana generator quietly, but you're needlessly escalating things."
The look in Iteun's eyes as he gazed at Jeon was as sharp as a blade.
His subordinates were already holding weapons in their hands.
Butcher knives for demonic beasts.
They were the easiest weapons to procure in this district.
Blades made to dismantle demonic beasts could slice through a human's frail flesh in an instant.
Iteun gave the order.
"Kill him!"
"Yaaaah!"
"Die!"
Before his words even finished, his subordinates swung their butcher knives at Jeon.
Shhhhk!
Butcher knives flew at him, accompanied by a chilling sound of tearing air.
In that instant, Jeon let out a low sigh.
"Hoo!"
His opponent's attack felt like the signal that his rest had ended. But that didn't mean he intended to just stand there and take it unsightly.
Fwoosh!
Dozens of fireballs rose simultaneously around his body.
They were flame spheres created by the Scorching Gauntlet.
The fireballs crashed directly into the bodies of the men swinging their butcher knives.
"Kuaaack!"
"H-h-hot!"
"Save me!"
Those whose bodies caught fire screamed and rolled on the ground. But the flames clinging to them showed no sign of going out.
Among those who caught fire were Awakened as well.
They tried to use their abilities to extinguish the flames, but to no avail.
The flames instead blazed fiercely and burned them.
"Kuaaargh!"
"W-w-ater!"
Their desperate screams echoed through the streets.
But not a single person stepped forward.
"Damn it!"
Iteun bit his lips tightly.
He had heard that Jeon possessed strength of C-rank or higher, but he hadn't known Jeon could handle fireballs to this degree.
Iteun spoke to Jeon.
"Withdraw the flames."
"Pardon?"
"If you're a fire-element Awakened, you should be able to control flames at will. Put out the fire on my subordinates. Then I'll at least spare your life."
"You still don't seem to grasp the situation. You're not in a position to give me orders."
"Running wild, believing in a rat-tail-sized ability."
"Rat-tail? I think it's at least a dragon's tail."
"A mere brat dares to mock me?"
Iteun's gaze changed.
In that instant, Jeon twisted his body.
Shwaak!
Something brushed past his hair by a hair's breadth.
If his evasion had been even slightly slower, his head would have been pierced straight through.
What had brushed past Jeon was a steel ball.
The steel ball that had flown far away gradually circled back and orbited around Iteun's body like a satellite.
The source of the steel ball was Iteun's pocket.
Jeon said.
"A psychokinetic? That's a rare ability."
"That's right! My ability is psychokinesis."
More than ten steel balls floated up softly from Iteun's pocket.
They were steel balls made of a special metal.
They were several times heavier and harder than other metals of the same size.
Muscles burst and bones shattered like crackers when struck by steel balls launched by psychokinesis.
Iteun had sent dozens of Goran's competitors to their graves with this ability.
"Try blocking this if you can, brat!"
Shushushushuk!
The steel balls flew at terrifying speeds as if fired from a gun.
The target was naturally Jeon.
In Iteun's eyes, he saw the illusion of huge holes being bored into Jeon's body.
Every ability had a counter.
Though fire-element magic boasted tremendous destructive power, it couldn't block steel balls fired at tremendous speeds.
Tadadadadang!
As the steel balls struck Jeon's body at terrifying speeds, metallic sounds burst out.
'Metallic sounds?'
In that instant, Iteun instinctively sensed something had gone wrong.
Because it was far from the sound of flesh being pierced and bones breaking.
As he suspected, the steel balls couldn't penetrate Jeon's body.
They bounced off in all directions the moment they hit Jeon's body.
The robe he wore was made of Leviathan's hide.
It wouldn't even get scratched by attacks of this level.
Naturally, not a single wound appeared on Jeon's body either.
"Eeek!"
Iteun tried to move the steel balls that had fallen to the ground again.
This time the target was Jeon's head.
He thought he could pierce it in one go since there was no protective gear on his head.
But the next moment, he had to widen his eyes.
Fwoooosh!
His steel balls were melting and dripping down as if molten iron were flowing from a blast furnace.
Drip! Drip!
The sound of molten metal falling to the ground felt eerie.
"Crazy!"
Iteun shouted without realizing it.
There was no way a mere C-rank Awakened could produce enough heat to melt his steel balls in an instant.
His opponent was higher than that.
"Damn it!"
Iteun hurriedly stepped back.
Realizing his opponent's strength was greater than his own, he planned to retreat for now and inform Goran.
But Jeon had no intention of letting Iteun retreat peacefully.
Jeon charged several times faster than Iteun's retreating speed.
He had used Sand Step, but Iteun didn't even know that.
Jeon appeared in front of Iteun in an instant as if he had used Blink and swung his hand. Then dozens of fireballs appeared and were fired at Iteun.
The fireballs flew faster than the steel balls Iteun had launched and detonated against him.
Boom boom boom boom!
Flames exploded in succession.
"Kuaaaack!"
Iteun's scream burst out from within the blazing red flames.