Chapter 421

Chapter 421

“What the hell?”

“It’s a fire skill.”

“Everyone, scatter!”

Recognizing the skill Zeon had unleashed, Uslann and his men leapt away like grasshoppers.

In an instant, they retreated beyond the range of the undead—and into the space they’d vacated, Zeon’s skill exploded.

FWOOSH!

The undead caught in the Fire Rain ignited, flames clinging to their rotting torsos.

KUWAAAAH!

The undead shrieked, thrashing in vain to put out the flames.

But it was useless.

The fire born from the power of the Inferno Gauntlet was their natural nemesis.

No matter how endlessly the undead revived, once their flesh was reduced to ashes, there was no coming back.

That was why the undead harbored instinctive fear of fire.

They tried to flee from the flames—but there was no escape.

With fire pouring from the heavens like rain, there was nowhere to run.

FWOOSH! CRACKLE!

The blaze soon engulfed the entire horde.

Countless undead writhed and screamed as fire consumed them.

Their vaunted regenerative powers were utterly meaningless before the hellfire.

The searing flames conjured by the Inferno Gauntlet burned them down to the bone.

“Woooah!”

“Unbelievable…”

Jupiro, Alonso, and the others who had camped with Zeon stared blankly at the sight of undead burning.

They were genuinely awed—Zeon was wielding overwhelming force against the very monsters that had driven them to such desperate struggle.

They had suspected he possessed unusual ability, seeing him camp alone in the desert… but they had never imagined he carried such a devastating fire skill.

‘So he’s a fire-type Awakener.’

‘If he holds fire-based skills, he’ll be useful in more ways than one.’

Even the warriors of other races—who had looked down on Zeon until now—regarded him with new expressions.

Not that they feared him.

Zeon’s power against the undead was overwhelming, yes, but it was only due to elemental advantage.

Even if he used stronger fire skills, they were confident they could overcome him.

‘Still… he has value.’

‘At least he won’t be a burden.’

Their evaluation of Zeon rose by a notch.

Just then, Corin’s voice rang out.

“The boss.”

He pointed toward the heart of the undead swarm.

Where he pointed, a particularly small beast stood—an undead goblin.

The goblin was already aflame, writhing in pain. But the instant Corin called it out, it casually brushed its hands across its body—and the fire vanished.

Flames that could never be extinguished by normal means were snuffed out with a mere flick.

“That cunning bastard!”

“A goblin… using its head like that?”

Everyone was stunned by the sudden change.

None had expected the dungeon’s master—the boss of the undead—to be the weakest of creatures, a goblin.

No one knew why a goblin had become the dungeon’s boss. But now that its identity was revealed, its end was inevitable.

“Haaah!”

Shaping, transformed into a werewolf, lunged at the goblin.

His long mane whipped through the air as he closed the distance in an instant.

KREEEEK!

The undead goblin let out a sickening screech, swinging its staff.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Dark energy burst forth, shooting like arrows.

But Shaping ignored it.

What made the undead terrifying was their endless resurrection, not their paltry attack power.

Whatever the reason this lowly goblin had become dungeon master, its attacks couldn’t hope to wound his hardened body.

And as a werewolf, Shaping also possessed terrifying regenerative power—though not equal to the undead.

Minor injuries would vanish after only a few breaths.

The undead goblin’s eyes widened in shock at that resilience.

At that moment, Shaping’s massive hands clamped down on the goblin’s head.

KREEE!

The goblin thrashed wildly, but it was useless.

RIP!

With brute force, Shaping tore the undead goblin’s body in two.

Unlike the others, blood spilled from its wound—perhaps because it was the boss, its nature differed from ordinary undead.

Shaping hurled the bisected goblin at Zeon’s feet.

“You finish it, human!”

Left alone, the goblin would only revive.

Already its torn flesh writhed with signs of rebirth.

Zeon smiled faintly.

“Gladly.”

FWOOSH!

Flames surged over the goblin’s corpse.

The pure white fire swallowed it whole.

The goblin writhed to resurrect—but it was useless. The fire of the Inferno Gauntlet was beyond its ability to endure.

In moments, the dungeon’s master was reduced to nothing but ash, erased from the world.

As the goblin perished, the giant undead beasts still burning collapsed one by one.

Dempleton the dwarf let out a satisfied laugh.

“Khahaha! Pathetic trash gave us that much trouble.”

“They weren’t pathetic. It was thanks to the human that we resolved this so easily.”

Aronia countered sharply.

Dempleton sniffed dismissively.

“Hmph! If we hadn’t guarded him, would that human have had the leisure to cast spells?”

“That’s…”

“Bah! Enough. Even if I die, I’ll never thank a human.”

“Suit yourself.”

Aronia waved him off and walked away.

Then Uslann approached Zeon.

“My thanks. We cleared the undead easily because of you. Leave the rest to us—you should rest.”

“Fine by me.”

Zeon stepped back.

Uslann then called out to Aronia.

“Check it!”

“Okay.”

She approached the spot where the dungeon had stood, closed her eyes, and focused.

Moments later, her eyes opened.

“It was Derode. He forced the dungeon open with the Queen’s Horn—that’s what caused this mess.”

“He used the Queen’s Horn?”

“Yes. The unique mana wavelength is still lingering.”

“So Derode has learned how to wield it.”

“Looks like it.”

“Then we must pursue him quickly. If he keeps meddling with dungeons, sooner or later he’ll reach the Queen’s Cradle.”

At the unfamiliar term, Zeon tilted his head.

‘Queen’s Cradle?’

He instinctively sensed that Uslann’s slip—the mention of the Queen’s Cradle—was the true key to all this.

Realizing too late what he had said, Uslann glanced at Zeon. But Zeon only crouched, rummaging through the goblin’s ashes as if he hadn’t heard.

There, he found a magic stone.

Holding it up, he asked:

“The boss dropped a magic stone. Anyone need it?”

“…You should take it. You contributed the most in wiping out the undead.”

Uslann spoke, brow furrowing slightly.

Zeon didn’t refuse.

“Really? Then I’ll make good use of it.”

Truthfully, the goblin hadn’t been that high-ranked—at best D-grade.

Its magic stone wasn’t worth much. Still, if sold in the Goblin Market, it would fetch a decent price.

Since they were offering it freely, there was no reason to decline.

Uslann turned back to his men.

“The undead are finished. Move out.”

“Yes, Captain!”

---

After that, three more dungeons erupted.

Two were suppressed by Uslann and his men alone. But the last one was of higher grade—beyond their strength to handle.

Only when Zeon joined in were they able to stem the flood of beasts pouring forth.

By then, Uslann and his men were exhausted, forced to make camp.

Even with Uslann’s presence holding them together, humans and other races still sat apart, unwilling to mingle.

“Haaah…”

Uslann sighed as he looked between the divided groups.

Even his charisma couldn’t bind them into one.

They were only nine in number—yet they couldn’t unite.

‘No wonder Neo Seoul leaves us behind.’

After parting ways with Zeon, he had explored the magic stone mines, meeting many people and seeing the advanced civilization Neo Seoul had built.

Centered around Jin Geum-ho as a clear focal point, Neo Seoul advanced in one unified direction.

Even other races who had crossed over from Kurayan lived there without issue, blending seamlessly into Neo Seoul.

Half-elves, dwarves—even in the mines, they mingled naturally with humans.

Conflicts surely existed, but never openly hostile like this.

Uslann sighed again, eyes drifting to Zeon.

He sat apart, far from both groups, eating alone.

Normally, someone isolated like that would seem pitiful.

But with Zeon, it exuded an odd, oppressive weight.

‘He has a subspace item.’

Uslann had seen him draw both tent and food from it.

He didn’t know which item it was, but just possessing a subspace proved Zeon’s extraordinary standing.

‘To him, how pathetic must we look?’

The thought left him bitter.

Whether Zeon understood or not, he only ate in silence.

Then Aronia approached.

She eyed the container in his hands.

“What’s that?”

“A lunchbox.”

“From Neo Seoul?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I try it?”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“Sure.”

Zeon handed it over without hesitation.

Official source is novel※fire.net

Inside was a rice bowl prepared by old man Kleksi.

Zeon ate slowly, so plenty remained.

Aronia scooped a spoonful carefully, raising it to her lips.

The aroma hit her nose.

“Smells good.”

“Tastes even better.”

“Really?”

“You’ll know once you try.”

“Alright.”

She placed it in her mouth, chewing.

Her eyes widened.

“It’s… delicious!”

“Of course. It was made by the best chef in Neo Seoul.”

“Really? The best chef made this?”

“Out of everyone I know, his cooking is the finest.”

“Can I meet him too?”

“Doubtful.”

“Why?”

“They won’t allow it.”

Zeon glanced at her companions.

They glared with sharp hostility at the two of them.

Aronia instantly understood their meaning.

“Tch! They’re so rigid. That’s why they never progress—just eating tasteless food all the time.”

“El Harun’s food is bad?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“They’re too busy fighting each other to care about cooking.”

“I see.”

Zeon nodded slowly.

It was a careless remark on her part—but within it lay the stark reality of El Harun’s state.