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Chapter 118

The Mana Stone Mine was the most strategically important facility in Neo Seoul.

If the supply of Mana Stone from the mine were to be cut off, all facilities in Neo Seoul would come to a halt immediately.

While it was possible to obtain Mana Stones from monsters, it was extremely dangerous, and not all monsters possessed Mana Stones.

Even after killing dozens of monsters, only one or two pieces of Mana Stones would come out. The efficiency was not very good.

The only place where a stable supply of a large quantity could be periodically provided was the Mana Stone Mine.

Because of this, Neo Seoul paid special attention to the management of the Mana Stone Mine.

They sent Awakeneds to subdue the monsters inhabiting the vicinity of the Mana Stone Mine and to eliminate any dungeons that might pose a threat, reducing the risk factors.

Because of this situation, even the rather ridiculous rumor that the Mana Stone Mine was the safest place outside of Neo Seoul circulated.

“Damn it! It’s damn hot.”

A man with blond hair and a delinquent look grumbled, furrowing his brow.

The man’s name was Logan.

He was an Awakened dispatched from Neo Seoul.

As a C-rank Martial Arts Awakened, his main weapon was a large sword.

Behind him, several Awakeneds, divided into two buggies, were visible.

They were all Awakeneds led by Logan.

“There’s not a single Big Horn Hyena in sight today.”

“There is a rumor that their habitat is moving south.”

“Really?”

“That’s what other teams say.”

The team members’ expressions turned serious.

Big Horn Hyenas lived in groups and hunted together.

The leader of the pack was a female, much larger and stronger than the males. It had mane-like fur around its neck like a lion.

Standing over two meters tall from its front paws to its shoulders, and reaching up to five meters in length from head to tail, it was a true monster.

They formed groups ranging from tens to hundreds. And many of them were offspring born to the alpha female.

It was a matriarchal kin-centered society.

Naturally, all Big Horn Hyenas obeyed the commands of the alpha female without question.

Individually, they weren’t that strong. But when tens or hundreds gathered, it was a different story.

Under the command of the alpha female, the Big Horn Hyenas exerted tens or hundreds times their strength.

They used to be mainly found quite far from the Mana Stone Mine, but nowadays, one or two would appear near the mine.

It was clearly a scout.

“If there’s a scout, it means their main base isn’t far away. We might soon have to deal with a full-blown outbreak.”

“Ugh! I always hated those Big Horn Hyenas or Flame Wolves, creatures that gather in packs. Dealing with them one by one… it just drains the life out of you…”

The Awakeneds already looked exhausted at the mere thought.

Logan smirked as he looked at his subordinates.

He shared their sentiment.

Dealing with a strong individual was preferable to dealing with creatures like Big Horn Hyenas, which gather in packs. Engaging with them one by one would inevitably result in numerous large and small wounds all over your body.

He had experienced being isolated and fighting to the death against a pack of Big Horn Hyenas. That’s why the rumor that the Big Horn Hyena pack was moving further south was not comforting.

“We won’t be able to handle it alone if the Big Horn Hyena pack really moved their habitat near the Mana Stone Mine. We’ll have to mobilize all the Awakeneds dispatched to the Mana Stone Mine.”

“That’s right, Captain! We can’t just handle it on our own.”

“Pain shared is pain halved. Keke!”

Logan’s words made his subordinates laugh.

At that moment, Logan’s expression hardened.

An enormous amount of dust clouds rose into his view.

Logan shouted.

“Everyone, stop the chatter and prepare for battle.”

Raising such a dust cloud meant either a large group or a big monster was on the move.

“Shit! It’s not really a pack of Giant Horn Hyena, right?”

“No way?”

A look of tension appeared on the faces of the Awakeneds.

They positioned themselves for battle as the dust cloud approached in the direction of buggies.

As the dust cloud drew nearer, the tension among the Awakeneds reached its peak. And finally, as the dust cloud approached, a voice of disbelief escaped someone’s lips.

“What… is that?”

“Th-That…”

A look of incredulity crossed their faces.

The cause of the dust cloud was a monster.

A massive mammoth, standing over five meters tall.

Behind the mammoth, there were rows of wagons piled up like candies.

The wagons, without any power but with wheels, were as huge as warehouses. Dozens of such wagons were attached behind the mammoth.

Logan muttered to himself.

“A… Caravan?”

“A caravan?”

“I’ve heard stories, but… seeing it in person is a first.”

Caravans arrived without notice.

Since they didn’t come regularly, ordinary people rarely saw caravans.

Even among Awakeneds, not many actually saw a caravan in person.

Recently, the footprints of caravans had disappeared.

As a result, contact with other colonies was also lost.

Caravans not only conducted trade but also served as messengers, delivering news between colonies.

With no caravans arriving for years, people thought that the nearby colonies had been wiped out.

However, it wasn’t easy for Neo Seoul to dispatch people to check the survival of the colonies.

To travel between colonies, an excellent navigator was needed, but unfortunately, Neo Seoul lacked such a person.

Moreover, there was no reason to pour resources into confirming the survival of other colonies.

There was no problem with Neo Seoul surviving without other colonies.

Logan was shocked to see the caravan appear after a long time.

“If that’s a caravan. Does that mean there are surviving colonies?”

His voice trembled involuntarily.

In this damned world, the fact that there were intact colonies other than Neo Seoul gave him a strange sense of relief.

He wasn’t alone.

The fact that there were other human groups somewhere in this world gave him a strange sense of fulfillment.

The caravan, seeing Logan and the Awakeneds, gradually came to a halt.

One by one, warriors who seemed like Awakeneds emerged on the cargo wagon rooftops.

They were wearing protective gear and clothing that was significantly different from the Neo Seoul Colony uniform.

Logan shouted.

“I’m Logan, dispatched from Neo Seoul. We request the leader of the caravan to step forward and identify yourselves and your origin.”

At that moment, a man in a black robe appeared atop the mammoth’s head.

The man spoke up.

“We are the White Bear Caravan from the Yakutsk Colony. Is this the territory of Neo Seoul? If so, then we have indeed arrived at the right place.”

* * *

“Zeon! Zeon!”

Brielle burst into the house and went straight to find Zeon.

Zeon, who was sitting on the sofa enjoying some leisure, turned his head to look at Brielle.

“I’m not deaf. Please call me quietly.”

“Zeon, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“It seems you haven’t heard yet.”

“What’s the news that’s got you so excited?”

“They say a caravan has come in.”

“A caravan?”

Only then did Zeon’s expression show interest.

“Yeah! They say a caravan entered the Mana Stone Mine the day before yesterday. They’re supposed to arrive in Neo Seoul this afternoon.”

“Where did you hear this information?”

“Oh, at the Goblin Market.”

“Is that so? Then it must be true.”

Zeon stood up from his seat.

Caravans were not that unfamiliar to him.

That’s because he had met one of them once in the desert seven years ago. But most people hadn’t.

Although they knew other colonies existed, since they hadn’t had direct contact, they had no way of knowing how those cities were built, defended, or developed.

With caravan’s visits halted, what little fragile communication existed had been completely severed.

People thought the reason was that colonies had been trampled by monsters.

Unlike Neo Seoul, which was protected by an anti-magic barrier, other colonies had to rely solely on human strength for defense, which was extremely difficult.

As a result, these colonies hadn’t been able to rebuild modern civilization like Neo Seoul, and their development was stuck somewhere between the medieval and modern ages.

It wasn’t strange at all for such vulnerable colonies to be wiped out by monster attacks.

If indeed a caravan came from another colony, it would be the first contact with another civilization in years.

It was no wonder people were excited.

“They’re coming this afternoon? Then we can see them if we go out now.”

“Yeah! Let’s go check it out.”

“Where’s Levin?”

“He went out a while ago. When the caravan arrives, he’ll show up on his own.”

“Right.”

Nodding, Zeon put on his robe.

The two of them walked out onto the street together.

Most people still seemed unaware of the fact that a caravan had made contact with the Mana Stone Mine, so the streets were quiet.

Zeon and Brielle found a spot high above with a good view near the entrance to the slums and sat down.

As they sat side by side, Brielle suddenly pulled out a piece of dried meat from her pocket as if she had just remembered.

“Here, have this. I bought it at the Goblin Market.”

“Jerky?”

“Yeah!”

Zeon accepted the jerky and put it in his mouth.

It was hard to tell whether it was dried rat meat or dried monster meat, but he didn’t have any aversion to it.

After all, most of the food available in the slums was predictable.

As they chewed on the jerky, a gust of wind blew.

“Ugh, this damn wind.”

Briel grumbled as she pressed her hand against her hat, which was about to fly off.

Seeing Briel like that, Zeon thought to himself.

‘She’s really brightened up.’

Although she still couldn’t completely shake off the aftereffects of the drugs, and there were moments when her vision blurred, but overall, she had improved a lot.

In turn, her personality had become somewhat brighter.

It was a positive sign.

It was good for him to be around Briel, who had brightened up, even if it was only for a while.

Then it happened.

“Oh! Look over there.”

Brielle suddenly pointed into the desert.

Instinctively, Zeon turned his head to where she was pointing. There, he saw a dust cloud rising in the distance.

In Zeon’s eyes, he saw the looming figure of a giant mammoth, raising a dust cloud as it approached.

The mammoth, towering over five meters tall, was intimidating just to look at. Behind it, a line of wagons trailed, reminiscent of an old train.

“Woah!”

Briel exclaimed in admiration.

“What is that?”

“That monster? It’s the caravan.”

“The caravan is here?”

People who had belatedly noticed the existence of the caravan began to chatter.

A mammoth was not an easily seen creature.

At least, they had never been spotted near Neo Seoul. The appearance of such a huge monster was enough to surprise people.

But what was even more surprising was the line of wagons trailing behind the mammoth.

With that, people realized that the mammoth was being driven by the caravan.

“The caravan has arrived.”

“It’s a real caravan.”

“Wooahh!”

People gathered at the entrance to the slums.

It was a rare sight to see.

The street leading to Neo Seoul quickly filled with people.

People eagerly awaited the caravan led by the mammoth to arrive. However, for some reason, the mammoth stopped several kilometers away from Neo Seoul.

“Why isn’t it coming?”

“Is there something wrong?”

People murmured in confusion.

Brielle was also puzzled.

“Why isn’t the mammoth moving?”

“It’s because of Neo Seoul’s anti-magic barrier.”

“Anti-magic barrier? What’s that?”

“It’s the opposite energy of the monsters. That’s why the monsters hesitate to approach Neo Seoul. Like that mammoth.”

“Was there something like that? I didn’t know.”

Brielle blinked her big eyes in surprise.

As the monster stopped, naturally, the caravan didn’t move either.

Instead, a person who appeared to be the leader of the caravan and several Awakeneds approached Neo Seoul under the escort of a buggy.

Finally, they stepped onto the main street of the slums leading to Neo Seoul.

It was a meeting with the unknown that hadn’t happened in years.

“Wooahh!”

The people’s cheers echoed loudly through the streets.