Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 114

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 114

Countless sand thorns that pierced through the body of the Giant-Horned Bear collapsed like lies.

There was no evidence left that the sand had turned into huge thorns.

All that remained was sand stained with blood.

Even that quickly disappeared under the new sand brought by the wind.

“What was that?”

“What on earth?”

Kim Kyung-soo’s party blinked.

They hadn’t seen a mistake or a hallucination.

They had clearly seen Zeon using sand to create thorns.

It was neither a lie nor an illusion.

Zeon’s ability was clear.

‘Surely he used a fire-type skill?’

‘And he used sand as well? Then is he a dual Awakened?’

A chill ran down their spines.

Just being a dual Awakened was astonishing, but the other ability to control sand was something else.

They immediately realized how formidable and dangerous Zeon’s abilities were.

They felt the weight of the unspoken chain around their hearts.

While they couldn’t determine his exact rank, the fact that he could manipulate sand at will alone showed the limitless potential of Zeon’s abilities.

Zeon’s gaze fell upon the four of them.

“You know you have to keep it a secret, right?”

The four nodded heavily.

An invisible chain was tightening around their hearts.

They instinctively realized that if they broke the pact and opened their mouths, the chain would burst their hearts.

‘I… I’ve become his slave.’

‘Damn it!’

‘Shit!’

‘We’re screwed this time.’

They bowed their heads.

Their greed had turned them into slaves.

There was no one to blame.

Their greed had brought this upon themselves.

Zeon spoke to Kim Kyung-soo.

“You’re their leader, right?”

“Uh… yes.”

“Then it’s your job to keep them in line.”

“Yes! I’ll do just that.”

Kim Kyung-soo nodded his head.

His face was filled with resignation.

The others were no different.

No one had expected that one wrong choice would lead to such terrifying consequences.

‘Is it fortunate that at least we’re still alive?’

Then Zeon asked,

“Where is your residential area?”

“We live in Block 13 of the Central District..”

“If it’s Block 13, is it near the City Hall?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Good.”

Zeon smiled.

He had forced them into involuntary servitude using the Scroll of Covenant because he needed someone to handle chores within Neo Seoul.

Kim Kyung-soo’s party had quite favorable conditions.

Being natives of the Central District and familiar with Neo Seoul’s affairs, they were advantageous.

Moreover, all four of them were Awakeneds, so their utility was limitless.

This was arguably the best deal Zeon could get.

Slaves No. 1, 2, 3, 4.

Their status was determined in Zeon’s mind.

Kim Kyung-soo asked cautiously,

“What should we do now?”

“Nothing will change.”

“Huh?”

“You four just live as usual, and when I give orders, you follow them.”

“What kind of orders…”

“They’ll vary.”

“Vary?”

“Do you think it’s unfair?”

“That…”

“It’s not a dispute I raised. It’s the consequence of your greed. If you don’t want to follow my orders, there’s only one choice left.”

Kim Kyung-soo and his colleagues’ eyes trembled.

Because they felt the coldness hidden behind Zeon’s gentle tone.

The man smiling in front of them was definitely not a soft or easy-going person.

If he were, he wouldn’t have dared to use the Scroll of Covenant using their ambush.

The real face hidden behind that smiling face was terrifyingly cold-blooded and ruthless.

Now they seemed to know a little about Zeon’s true nature.

‘I can’t believe we messed with someone like him.’

Regret surged belatedly, but it was useless.

They couldn’t possibly act against Zeon.

“We will follow your orders.”

Kim Kyung-soo bowed his head.

The others followed suit.

Zeon smiled.

He knew they weren’t sincere.

He didn’t expect genuine loyalty.

They were merely tools to faithfully execute his orders.

That was all Zeon expected from them.

Zeon asked Kim Kyung-soo,

“Do you have a communication item?”

“We have two-way communication devices for dungeons.”

Kim Kyung-soo took out an earring from his pocket.

It was a crafted item.

It was made for communication between party members in dungeons, and all members of Kim Kyung-soo’s party had one.

Zeon put on the earring and said,

“Good. From now on, we’ll use this for communication.”

“Understood.”

“Take that and go into Neo Seoul first. I’ll contact you separately.”

Zeon pointed to the corpse of the Great-Horned Bear.

“But our vehicle’s engine…”

“Take my buggy. The buggy’s engine is strong enough to tow yours. When you arrive in Neo Seoul, return the vehicle to Will, the owner of the butcher shop in the slums of Sinchon.”

“Then, My Lord…”

“Just call me Master.”

“Yes! Master. How will you go back?”

“You seem to have forgotten what my ability is. The sands of the desert are no obstacle to me.”

“Uhm!”

Kim Kyung-soo turned around, sighing.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

He said to his colleagues,

“Did you hear Master? We’re taking the corpse of the Great-Horned Bear back to Neo Seoul.”

“Master… How can you say that so easily?”

“Why can’t I?”

“Well, I still have some pride. How can we call him Master so easily?”

Lee Joon-soo replied, watching Zeon’s reaction.

Kim Kyung-soo glared at Lee Joon-soo.

“Is your head just for decoration? Our lives are in his hands, and you’re talking about some petty pride?”

“But, still…”

“If he tells us to die, you should at least pretend to die, you idiot! Please, wake up to reality. Don’t provoke others.”

“Damn it!”

“And you know what? What’d happen if today’s events leaked out? If you don’t want to be screwed, keep your mouths shut.”

“Got it.”

In the end, Lee Joon-soo and his colleagues answered weakly.

They had fallen from confident Awakeneds to slaves in an instant, so they couldn’t help but feel powerless. Still, they had to take solace in the fact that they had saved their lives.

“Let’s go!”

At Kim Kyung-soo’s command, the three loaded the corpse of the Great-Horned Bear onto the vehicle and connected the buggy.

After completing all preparations, they left for Neo Seoul as soon as the day broke.

Left alone, Zeon took out a piece of jerky and ate it.

“Good. I needed a straw to know about Neo Seoul anyway.”

They were all legitimate citizens.

That meant they had a wide range of connections.

Their utility was limitless.

It was a regrettable event for Kim Kyung-soo’s party to have fallen into slavery overnight, but he didn’t feel any guilt.

If they tried to kill others, they must be prepared to face the same fate.

That was the nature of the world.

“Now, do I just wait for Levin to come out?”

Brrr!

A faint vibration was felt beneath his feet.

It was the vibration caused by Levin fighting with the Vampire Bats.

It was evidence that Levin was still alive.

Zeon lay on the sandy ground, chewing jerky.

***

“Ahhh!”

A purple glow burst from Levin’s body.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

A purple electric current flickered from Levin’s whole body, which turned into a ghost and was floating in the air.

Zap! Zap! Zap!

The purple currents of electricity spread through the air, engulfing and exploding the Vampire Bats surrounding Levin.

Dozens of Vampire Bats fell down at once.

Levin murmured as he floated in the air,

“My rank has gone up.”

The purple glow from earlier was a phenomenon that occurred when he ranked up.

With this, Levin became C-rank.

He had become D-rank when facing the murderer, but he had quickly risen to C-rank. It was an extremely rapid rank up, almost impossible to find a precedent for.

Upon becoming C-rank, he could tell immediately.

He had gained a power that was on a different level from D-rank.

Now the ultrasonic waves of the Vampire Bats could no longer affect him.

He had completely turned into a ghost.

Furthermore, his lightning ability was enhanced even further.

The purple currents had several times more destructive power than regular white lightning.

Before his rank went up, Levin had narrowly escaped death several times.

Sometimes, his mana ran out, and he had to fight the Vampire Bats barehanded.

He used his teeth to sever their throats and his arms and legs to block attacks.

His body was covered in accumulated wounds.

He almost lost consciousness from losing too much blood.

He just wanted to give up and die comfortably.

But Levin fought desperately, shaking off temptation.

After fighting for several days, when he felt his limit, he suddenly ranked up.

When he became C-rank, all the wounds on his body healed as if washed away by water, and his body was full of vitality.

Even though there were still many Vampire Bats left, he no longer felt afraid.

Levin shouted,

“Come on! You little bat bastards.”

Woom!

His voice echoed in the underground space.

The remaining Vampire Bats were provoked by him and attacked him together.

But the attacks of the Vampire Bats could no longer harm Levin.

The Vampire Bats futilely pierced through Levin’s body, transformed into a ghost.

Even their ultrasonic attacks were useless.

A cold smile formed on Levin’s lips.

“You’re all finished.”

Sizzle!

At that moment, a mesh of purple currents spread throughout Levin’s body.

It was his skill, Purple Lightning.

Although only the color had changed, its power was incomparable.

The Purple Lightning that filled the cave burned or exploded all the Vampire Bats.

The smell of burning meat filled the cave.

“Ugh! I can’t stand this anymore.”

Even though he had turned into a ghost, it didn’t mean he couldn’t smell.

Rather, his senses became more sensitive and tormented him.

Levin decided not to undo his ghost form and rose to the surface as it was.

He easily passed through the sand and rose above the desert.

“You’re here.”

The one who greeted him was Zeon, as expected.

Looking at Levin shimmering with purple, Zeon said,

“Your rank has indeed risen. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Hyung!”

Levin reverted to his physical form, looking around.

“Where did the buggy we came in go? I don’t see it.”

“There was a bit of an issue.”

“Yes?”

“And now, it doesn’t matter if there’s no vehicle. Most monsters won’t be able to harm you.”

“Yes!”

Unless they have special skills or belong to the same Specter category as Levin, they couldn’t inflict any harm on Levin’s body.

While he couldn’t manipulate the desert like Zeon, there were no monsters near Neo Seoul who could harm Levin.

“Let’s go back to Neo Seoul.”

“Yes, Hyung!”

Levin willingly followed behind Zeon.

[Translator – Peptobismol]