Chapter 473

Chapter 473

“Hehe!”

Levin looked at Zeon with an awkward grin.

The moment he’d closed the door behind him, Zeon had caught him and dragged him right back inside.

Levin glanced at Tesserina.

“So you’re saying you met Zeon hyung for the first time today?”

“That’s right. My name is Tesserina.”

“I’m Levin. Sorry about before, it’s just, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Zeon hyung alone with a woman in his house. I misunderstood.”

“It’s fine.”

“Still… you’re really beautiful.”

“Am I?”

“The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“You’ve got good eyes, kid.”

“Hehe.”

Levin rubbed the side of his nose with a finger, smiling without realizing it.

And then he thought, this was strange.

He wasn’t the kind of person who smiled easily.

Unless it was someone really close, like Brielle, he rarely showed that kind of grin.

But for some reason, in front of Tesserina, it just came naturally.

He didn’t realize it was a defense mechanism kicking in, his instincts recognizing the overwhelming power of the being before him, forcing his body to act pleasant, to survive.

But since he’d never experienced anything like it before, Levin simply thought he was awestruck by her almost inhuman beauty.

Zeon spoke first.

“So what’s going on? It’s not your usual time to be home.”

“Oh, right! I came to tell you, the lair’s finished!”

“The lair?”

“Your building. We decided to call it the Lair.”

“You mean you named it after a dragon’s lair?”

“Yeah! Because the defense system we built is as perfect as one.”

Levin’s face was full of pride.

Zeon, on the other hand, was speechless.

Even if she was just a chimera, the being standing beside him was a dragon’s avatar, a real dragon.

Bragging about a “lair” in front of her… he could only imagine how absurd that must sound to her.

But to his surprise, Tesserina’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

“Could I take a look at that lair of yours?”

“Eh?”

Levin glanced toward Zeon for permission.

They couldn’t just show the interior of the lair to an outsider.

Zeon nodded.

No matter how advanced the lair’s defenses were, they would be meaningless before a dragon like her.

If she wanted, she could unravel and disable the entire system in seconds.

It was better to just show her, to satisfy her curiosity than to offend it.

“When we’re done with the mana-stone generator, we’ll go together.”

“Thanks!”

Tesserina immediately turned her attention back to the mana-stone generator.

There was no need to take it apart. She simply placed her hand on it and let her mana flow in.

Mana coursed through the internal circuits, mapping the entire structure in her mind.

“Ah, I see now. The principle isn’t complicated, but the components and circuitry require precise craftsmanship.”

She could easily replicate a mana-stone generator if she wished, except for one crucial part: the converter that transformed mana into electricity.

That was something beyond her, a purely scientific creation, not magical.

And it was precisely such technology that allowed humanity to build Neo Seoul.

She could, of course, mimic the process using dragon magic, but that would be like summoning a thunderstorm just to swat a fly.

When she finally finished her analysis, she said,

“All right. I’m done. We can go now.”

“Satisfied?”

“Yeah. The key lies in efficiency. Don’t worry, I doubt any other race could reproduce this even if they understood it.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“You really are an unusual human. You look cold on the outside, but you care deeply for your kind.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“It’s… attractive.”

“What?”

“That kind of personality. It’s charming. Makes me want to have it.”

Tesserina smiled at him.

Even Levin, watching from the side, found himself momentarily entranced by her allure.

Zeon, however, didn’t so much as flinch.

“Cut the nonsense. Let’s go to the lair.”

“I’m serious.”

He ignored her completely.

After all, she was a chimera. He wasn’t the kind of man to be swayed by a fragment’s flirtation.

As he walked ahead indifferently, Tesserina’s lips curved again.

“You really are tempting.”

There was one thing she hadn’t told Zeon. This body wasn’t an ordinary chimera.

Normally, chimeras were pieced together from different monsters and creatures, blending their strengths to create the ultimate life form.

But Tesserina’s purpose had been different. She couldn’t step into the world in her true form, so she poured everything she had into this vessel.

She’d extracted her own bones and muscles to serve as the base, then used her blood and even part of her heart to cultivate it in an artificial womb.

So though it was technically a chimera, not a single piece of another creature was mixed in.

It was, in essence, a pure dragon’s body, simply shaped to look human.

If she were to sleep with Zeon, she could even bear a child.

What kind of being that child would become, she didn’t know.

But she had no intention of mentioning that, not now.

“Let’s go.”

she said, hurrying to catch up with him.

Levin watched her follow behind Zeon with a puzzled expression.

‘Who the hell is she? If someone like that lived in the slums, there’s no way I wouldn’t know. Is she even from Neo Seoul?’

Silver hair, silver brows, silver eyes —too beautiful, too unreal.

If a woman like that lived in the slums, rumors would have spread instantly.

But he’d never once heard of her.

She’s not an elf either…

Her ears were proof, not a trace of elven blood. And yet, her beauty was beyond anything human.

The more he thought about it, the more tangled his mind became.

By then, Zeon and Tesserina were already some distance ahead.

“Wait up!”

Levin called, running after them.

* * *

The twelve-story building, now officially called the Lair, looked the same from the outside.

The appearance didn’t matter, so they’d left it as it was.

The inside, however, had changed completely, so much that even its original owner might not recognize it.

When the door opened, they saw rows of towering shelves filling the four-story-high space.

Every shelf was packed with supplies for the underground city.

Soft lighting was installed to prevent any damage to the eyes of those who came up from below.

“We reinforced the walls and columns and added a barrier. No one can enter without prior authorization,” Levin said proudly.

Zeon nodded.

The lair’s barrier worked by recognizing mana signatures.

Every awakened person had a unique mana pattern, like a fingerprint.

The barrier detected that pattern and opened only to authorized individuals.

At the entrance, guards from the underground city stood watch.

With these layered defenses, the lair had become a fortress.

Zeon looked around and murmured, “Nice work.”

The place felt cleaner, wider than before.

“With just the supplies stored here, the people underground could survive for at least a month,” Levin said.

“Impressive.”

“This is only the beginning. Once the Dungeon Raiding Squad moves in upstairs, we’ll have a steady inflow of materials. We might even run out of space soon.”

Even now, the underground city was expanding, new residents arriving every day from the sewers.

To feed them all, this much wasn’t enough. They’d need to keep running raids, earning money, and trading it for resources.

Tesserina reached out and brushed her hand against a steel column, one that had been reinforced with layered metal and engraved with magic circles.

“Enhancement and mana interference… not bad. You put some thought into this.”

From a dragon’s perspective, it was basic, elementary-level work.

The magic circles and barriers in her own lair were far beyond this.

A single ward from her domain could vaporize intruders instantly. If she installed even one of those here, the building would become an impregnable fortress.

But with only twenty percent of her full power available, she couldn’t manage such complex magic.

Still, she could help, a little.

“Mind if I reinforce this?” she asked.

“Reinforce?”

“Yeah. Just a little. It’ll strengthen the barrier.”

Her calm tone made Levin’s jaw drop.

Countless awakened mages had spent weeks fortifying the entire building, layer by layer.

And now she wanted to “touch it up” alone?

He expected Zeon to refuse, but Zeon merely shrugged.

“If you’re willing, I’d appreciate it.”

“Then I’ll start right away.”

Tesserina placed her hand on the column and began to weave her magic.

A soft silver light spread from her hand, running along the steel beams, then flooding through the entire building.

“Holy—”

Levin’s mouth hung open.

Not even dozens of mages working together could produce such a sight.

Tesserina alone radiated more power than all of them combined.

Rumble—!

The whole building shook as if struck by an earthquake.

Startled, people from the lower floors rushed upstairs.

“What’s happening?”

“Did someone attack?”

They scanned the area, ready for battle.

Levin raised a finger to his lips, motioning for silence.

“Huh?”

“Uh… okay?”

They obeyed, baffled.

Moments later, the glow faded.

Tesserina withdrew her hand and said,

“It’s done. The barrier’s defense has been reinforced. It should now withstand an A-class beast’s attack.”

“Seriously?”

Levin’s eyes widened. He knew exactly how powerful an A-class beast was.

Tesserina just nodded, expression calm.

“Yes. That’s about my limit for now.”

“You’re insane, noona.”

“Insane? Me?”

“Well yeah. Strengthening an entire barrier like that isn’t something anyone can just do. Don’t tell me you’re a dragon or something?”

“Eh? I—”

At the word dragon, Tesserina froze.

Did he figure it out?

But thankfully, Levin’s guess missed the mark completely.

“Oh, I get it! You must be one of Neo Seoul’s hidden S-class Awakened. Incredible. So the city really does have monsters like you on its side.”

“R-right.”

“I knew it! To think someone like you exists here… unbelievable. Thank you, noona. Thanks to you, our lair’s safer than ever.”

“Uh, sure. I’m glad you’re happy.”

Tesserina answered with a faintly awkward smile.

It was just another small commotion, on an otherwise peaceful afternoon.