Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 32

The sandstorm raged fiercely.

Despite walking for several days, the sandstorm not only failed to weaken but intensified, whipping more savagely.

Zeon and Dyoden pressed on, braving the onslaught of the sandstorm.

Dyoden covered his nose and mouth with a cloth. Without doing so, he would inhale sand with every breath.

It was a challenging situation for any traveler in the desert, not just Dyoden. However, Zeon was an exception.

Unlike Dyoden, Zeon walked with his bare face exposed.

The flying sand, like fine powder, couldn’t affect him at all.

It wasn’t a conscious effort on Zeon’s part to protect himself; it was a phenomenon that naturally occurred as his abilities heightened and talents evolved.

As his power increased, he seamlessly became attuned to the sand, much like breathing.

Despite the limited visibility due to the swirling sandstorm, Zeon was aware of the situation beyond several meters as if he had a bird’s eye view.

In Zeon’s heightened senses, something unfamiliar caught his attention.

It wasn’t sand; it was a different object.

‘What’s this?’

Zeon furrowed his brows in confusion. However, Dyoden, as if knowing what was there, walked straight toward it.

Before them stood a pillar shaped like a hexahedron.

The surface of the black pillar was covered with inscriptions of unintelligible characters.

Dyoden murmured as he touched the black pillar.

“I see you again.”

“Have you been here before?”

“I discovered it by chance thirty years ago. It’s the first time since then.”

“What is this?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I discovered it by chance.”

It was literal.

At that time, Dyoden was much more consumed by anger than he is now.

He maintained his senses somewhat now, but back then he had none of that.

He was driven by madness and ended up committing a massacre in Neo Seoul, slaughtering the other races within Neo Seoul.

People in the slums may not know it, but there were other races living in Neo Seoul as well.

Those who were disowned from their own communities for various reasons, settled in Neo Seoul.

They built their own territories and lived as part of Neo Seoul.

Their roles were crucial in achieving the harmony of magic and science in Neo Seoul.

However, for some reason, Dyoden slaughtered most of them overnight.

Not many members of the different races survived.

Naturally, Neo Seoul was turned upside down.

Dyoden gained the nickname “Slaughterer ” due to this incident.

A substantial bounty was placed on Dyoden, and Neo Seoul went all out to track him down. However, everyone who pursued him lost their lives.

Afterward, Dyoden wandered the desert until he reached this place, where he accidentally discovered the giant pillar emerging from the sand.

“This pillar is the center of the barrier.”

“Barrier? What kind of barrier are you talking about?”

“Do you think this sandstorm is normal? No matter how much of a desert it may be, can the wind blow this fiercely without a break?”

“Hmm!”

Zeon looked around.

The intense wind, blowing relentlessly, made it impossible to see even a step ahead.

It was thanks to Dyoden, who had surpassed human limits, and Zeon, awakened as a Sand Mage, that they could endure. Most Awakened individuals would lose their sense of direction, wander around, and eventually collapse.

“It’s definitely not natural.”

“Exactly. It’s clear that the barrier is preventing humans from approaching.”

“So, should we destroy this pillar to break the barrier?”

“Physical attacks won’t work on that pillar. It’s the center of the barrier and also a dungeon.”

“A dungeon?”

“That’s right. It’s one of the reasons I brought you here.”

“Why?”

“You’ll find out once you go inside.”

Dyoden infused mana into the massive pillar.

Instantly, light began to shine through the inscriptions on the pillar, and soon the entire pillar glowed brightly.

The light engulfed Dyoden and Zeon.

A moment later, Zeon cautiously opened his eyes.

“Where is this?”

“Alright! It’s a desert.”

Beside him, Dyoden responded.

Indeed, the landscape unfolding before Zeon’s eyes was a desert, much like Dyoden had said.

However, the one stark difference here was the absence of the raging sandstorm.

“So, the environment inside the dungeon is a desert.”

“Yeah! It’s entirely identical to the scenery outside.”

Dyoden couldn’t fathom how absurd it was when he first entered this place.

After finally discovering the dungeon and stepping inside, only to find a desert.

It made it impossible to discern what differed between the world outside the dungeon and within.

“What’s inside this place?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“One thing different from the desert outside in this desert here is that it causes sensory confusion, making it impossible to determine direction.”

“Hmm!”

Zeon looked up at the sky.

However, there was no sight of the sun.

Despite feeling the scorching heat similar to the desert outside, the only distinguishing factor between the inside and outside of the dungeon was the presence and absence of the sun.

“There’s definitely something here. But I can’t seem to find it.”

Dyoden’s intuition was whispering.

Whatever was inside was evidently crucial.

The problem was, within seven days, they had to find and destroy the dungeon’s core, whether it was a boss or an item.

If not, on the eighth day, they’d be teleported outside the dungeon.

Despite multiple attempts, he ran out of time on every attempt.

No matter how terrifying the adversaries were, they didn’t scare Dyoden. However, within this mysterious dungeon, he felt powerless.

“We have to conquer this dungeon. Only then can we advance beyond that barrier.”

Even the outer barrier rejected Dyoden.

Simply passing by the black pillar led them to wander in the sandstorm, only to return to their starting point.

That’s when Dyoden realized.

Unless he conquered this dungeon, there was nowhere for him to move forward.

Zeon was the only hope to conquer this dungeon.

This sand-filled dungeon was the optimal environment for Zeon’s abilities to shine.

If he couldn’t find the dungeon’s core, no Awakened in the world could conquer it.

“From now on, you lead the way. I’ll follow behind.”

“Ha! Heavy responsibility on my shoulders. If I find the core, will you stop calling me an idiot?”

“I might just call you a slightly talented idiot.”

“You damn old man.”

Zeon grumbled and took the lead.

Though he said so, his expression was more serious than ever.

It was a dungeon that not even Dyoden, the ruler of the desert, had conquered.

Certainly not due to abilities but perhaps due to compatibility, yet even so, being entrusted with a dungeon Dyoden couldn’t solve was subtly exhilarating.

Zeon exerted his dominance to its limit. With that, his senses extended through the sand.

“What’s this?”

Zeon was taken aback.

The range of his extended senses was immense, reaching hundreds of meters.

While his abilities had been rapidly expanding recently, they hadn’t been this overwhelmingly vast.

It seemed likely due to the dungeon’s influence.

Zeon checked Exion while he was at it.

The activation level was undoubtedly different inside the dungeon than outside.

‘What is this dungeon? Is it somehow related to being a Sand Mage?’

Dyoden had mentioned something similar before.

Occasionally, dungeons associated with specific Awakened classes emerged.

For Awakened of other classes, conquering such dungeons were several times more challenging than regular ones.

Perhaps this dungeon was related to his class as a Sand Mage, but Zeon wasn’t sure.

‘Well, I’ll find out as I go.’

Zeon used his Sand Strides and ventured forward.

Even though he’d been traveling with Dyoden for the past few months, this was the first time he took the lead.

Dyoden followed, arms crossed, indicating he’d leave all decisions to Zeon.

‘Blindly moving forward won’t help. We need to determine a direction first.’

There was no need for a compass.

If this truly was a dungeon related to him, the sand would guide him in the direction he needed to go.

Sshhh!

Fine particles of sand flowed out from his entire body, hovering around him.

Zeon, adorned with Exion, looked like a black phantom.

For a moment, Exion floated aimlessly but soon began to ripple in a specific direction.

Following Exion’s indication, Zeon unleashed his Sand Strides, and Dyoden followed suit.

As Zeon activated Exion, his senses expanded even further.

He could detect the movement of sand, even at a distance of almost a kilometer.

Though he knew that the heightened senses he felt at the moment would disappear once he left the dungeon, for now, it was quite exhilarating.

It felt like he had become a deity of this dungeon.

Zeon moved forward, savoring the sense of control.

He walked for a staggering two days.

The desert within the dungeon was vast to an unbelievable extent, making the concept of a world inside a dungeon seem implausible.

It felt as if he were walking in the outside world rather than a dungeon.

Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but sand.

The terrain lacked distinctive features.

There was no element to pinpoint a direction.

Not only Dyoden but any Awakened entering this place would have their senses disrupted, making them wander aimlessly.

Zeon stopped his Sand Strides and murmured to himself.

“Looks like this is the place.”

Exion ceased guiding him and floated around his body as if its task were complete.

Zeon absorbed Exion once again and surveyed his surroundings.

The landscape was no different from where he had been walking.

But it was different.

Dyoden sensed nothing unusual, but Zeon could feel that something was different, something he could sense on his skin.

The flow, color, and particles of the sand—all of it was distinct.

“Haa!”

Zeon took a deep breath, raising his dominance.

Swoosh!

Instantly, a shockwave occurred beneath his feet.

As sand formed a circular wave, spreading outward.

“Hmm!”

Dyoden observed Zeon with an intrigued expression.

It seemed as if the sand were alive and moving.

As the surrounding sand pushed outwards, Zeon’s body slowly sank into the ground, already hundreds of meters below.

The amount of displaced sand was enormous.

Even with all the advanced equipment in Neo Seoul, it would be impossible to disperse this much sand in such a short time.

A massive cavern appeared hundreds of meters underground.

Zeon, without hesitation, walked into the cave, with Dyoden following behind.

Once they concealed themselves in the cave, the sand that had rushed out flowed back, restoring the original landscape.

Dyoden clicked his tongue.

“No wonder even after wandering around so much, I couldn’t find it.”

Even with Dyoden’s capabilities, he couldn’t grasp the situation hundreds of meters below the surface.

If it weren’t for Zeon, he wouldn’t have found such a space even after entering multiple times.

It was undoubtedly a dungeon designed for a Sand Mage.

“What could be inside here?”

Having traversed numerous dungeons until now, including ones with S-rank bosses, none had been a match for Dyoden.

He had acquired everything useful in dungeons. This dungeon, if indeed designed for a Sand Mage, would undoubtedly provide something beneficial to Zeon.

Then it happened.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, the sand on the cave floor began to rise and clump together.

In an instant, the sand formed together into a humanoid.

Since it was made of sand, the figure was crude, with all blocky features.

Eyes, nose, mouth, fingers, and toes—all were rough.

Though no one had taught him, the moment Zeon saw the sand figure, he recognized its identity.

“Sand… Soldier!”

It was indeed a Sand Soldier.

As if hearing Zeon’s voice, the Sand Soldier attacked.