Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 75

“I can’t let my guard down.”

Zeon glanced back discreetly.

There was old man Klexi staring at him with a gaze full of regret.

If he had heard his story, he would surely have stuck his nose in.

Old foxes like him, at the slightest hint of a gap, will slither in like poisonous snakes and trap you so that you can’t escape.

The best thing was not to get entangled in the first place, but now that he was already involved, he had to keep an appropriate distance.

The most difficult thing in life was precisely this kind of relationship.

It was better to fight monsters, honestly.

At least, bloodshed was clear.

To survive in the human world, there were too many things to consider and be wary of.

Lost in thought, Zeon halted his steps in front of his house.

It was because of the unfamiliar gazes he felt around him.

“Hah!”

Zeon sighed unconsciously.

He thought he had rid himself of one nuisance, but it seemed another had attached itself to him.

As Zeon remained motionless, someone approached.

It was a man dressed in a slick suit with a ponytail, rarely seen in the slums — *Ethan.

[*”Eaton” will be changed to “Ethan”.]

Ethan spoke up.

“You’re Zeon, right?”

“And who might you be?”

“That’s a yes, then.”

“But I haven’t heard an answer yet.”

“My name is Ethan.”

“Ethan?”

“I serve Goran.”

Zeon furrowed his brow slightly at Ethan’s response.

Though Ethan didn’t know, Goran was familiar to him.

Living in Sinchon, not knowing the ruler of Sinchon would be even more strange.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“Mana generator.”

“Pardon?”

“Where is it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We know you’ve confiscated a mana generator. Where is it?”

“….”

Zeon frowned.

There were few who knew he owned a mana generator: the merchant from whom he bought it, and those who had tried to steal it.

The merchant was already dead, leaving only those who had attempted to steal the mana generator.

“You’ve leaked information to the Crocodiles.”

At Zeon’s words, Ethan was taken aback.

Zeon’s deduction from just the word “mana generator” astonished Ethan with his reasoning skills.

At least C-rank, if not higher.

And a sharp mind to match.

It was clear he was a rare talent, such individuals were hard to come by in the slums.

The word “lure” came to Ethan’s mind.

“You, hand over the mana generator and come under ours. We’ll treat you well.”

“You’re telling me to hand over the mana generator and become your dog?”

“The treatment of a dog varies depending on its master. Master Goran favors capable individuals. You won’t regret it.”

“I’ll pass.”

“You’re firm. You should reconsider.”

“No matter how many times you ask, my answer won’t change.”

“Then at least hand over the mana generator. If you do that, we’ll leave quietly.”

Then it happened.

Beep! Beep!

An alarm sounded from the subspace.

It signaled an attempt to intrude into his house.

“Did you already send someone to my house?”

“Did you set up an alarm?”

“It’s the basics.”

“Then the conversation will go better. Even if you don’t allow it, my kids will surely come out with the mana generator. So, just accept it as fate.”

“Fate, you say…”

“It’ll be good for you. Even if you’re a C-level Awakened, you can’t survive out of Master Goran’s sight in this area. Just live quietly. Like you don’t exist…”

Ethan spoke as if the mana generator was already in his possession.

He sent some of his subordinates to Zeon’s house.

Two of them were Awakened.

Though only F-rank, their abilities were enough to easily break through the door of the rundown building.

Zeon didn’t open the door; acquiring the mana generator would be easy enough for them.

“This is sincere advice. It’d be better to accept it. I’m saying this for your own good.”

“How is that for my own good?”

“I told you. The mana generator is as good as in our hands. Struggling is futile for you.”

“Is it? I don’t think so.”

“What?”

Then it happened.

Several men rushed out of the building where Zeon’s house was located.

They were Ethan’s subordinates who had gone to get the mana generator.

Their faces displayed signs of defeat.

Ethan sensed that something was wrong.

“What are you doing?”

“We… we can’t open the door.”

“What?”

“We don’t know what the door is made of, but it won’t open.”

“Just break it down. You idiots!”

“It won’t break. Not only the door but also the walls and windows; our attacks don’t work. That bastard must have used some means.”

Ethan’s face twisted in frustration.

At first, he thought his subordinate was lying. But he had no reason to lie to him.

Ethan looked at Zeon.

“Is this your doing?”

“Isn’t it common sense to lock your door?”

“It would be wise for you to just open the door obediently. If you don’t want to die…”

“Is the Goblin Market aware of this?”

“What?”

“I’m talking about how you stole their information. I don’t think they’ll be happy if they found out.”

At that moment, Ethan’s expression hardened.

The fact that they stole information from the Goblin Market was highly confidential.

Given its relevance to the trust of the Goblin Market, if they were to find out, they wouldn’t just sit idly by.

A war with the Goblin Market.

It was inevitable, but if it happened, it would deal a significant blow to them as well.

“The Goblin Market won’t find out.”

Suddenly, Ethan’s subordinates had completely surrounded Zeon.

“It would have been better if you had just handed over the mana generator peacefully, but you’re unnecessarily making a fuss.”

Ethan’s gaze towards Zeon was as sharp as a knife.

His subordinates now held weapons in their hands.

Butchering knives for handling monsters.

It was the easiest weapon to obtain on the street.

Such knives, made to dismantle monsters, could easily shred through a human body.

Ethan gave an order.

“Kill him!”

“Yaah!”

“You’re dead!”

Before his words even finished, Ethan’s subordinates swung their butcher knives at Zeon.

Shi-ak!

Chilling sounds accompanied the flying butcher knives.

At that moment, Zeon let out a soft sigh.

“Hah!”

The attacks felt like a signal that his peaceful time had come to an end. But that didn’t mean he would accept it laying down.

Whoosh!

Dozens of fireballs instantly appeared around his body.

They were fireballs created with the Inferno Gauntlet.

The fireballs struck the bodies of the men who were wielding the butcher knives.

“Argh!”

“It’s hot!”

“Help me!”

The men whose bodies caught fire screamed as they writhed on the ground. But the fire clinging to their bodies showed no sign of extinguishing.

Among those engulfed in flames were Awakened.

They tried to extinguish the fire using their abilities, but to no avail.

Instead, the flames raged fiercely, consuming them.

“Put it out!”

“Water, where’s the water!”

Their desperate screams echoed through the streets.

But no one stepped forward.

“Damn it!”

Ethan gritted his teeth.

He had heard that Zeon possessed abilities beyond C-level, but he had never expected him to handle fireballs to this extent.

Ethan spoke to Zeon.

“Put out the fire.”

“What?”

“If you’re a fire-type Awakened, you should be able to control fire at will. Put out the fire on my men. Then I’ll spare your life.”

“I guess you still haven’t figured out the situation yet. You are in no position to order me.”

“You’re running rampant with just a measly rat’s tail ability.”

“Rat’s tail ability? I think it’s at least dragon’s tail level.”

“How dare you mock me?”

Ethan’s gaze changed.

Suddenly, Zeon twisted his body.

Shawak!

By a hair’s breadth, something brushed past his head.

If he dodged even a moment later, his head would have been pierced right through.

It was a steel bead.

The steel bead that flew from afar gradually floated around Ethan’s body like a satellite.

The origin of the steel bead was Ethan’s pocket.

Zeon said.

“You’re a Telekinetic? It’s a rare ability.”

“Yeah! My ability is Telekinesis.”

Dozens of steel beads floated around Ethan’s body from his pocket.

They were made of a special metal.

Compared to other metals of the same size, they were several times heavier and harder.

If struck by the steel beads propelled by Telekinesis, muscles would tear and bones would shatter like cookies.

Ethan had sent dozens of Goran’s rivals to their deaths using this ability.

“Try to stop it if you can. You brat!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The steel beads flew at terrifying speeds as if fired from a gun.

The target was naturally Zeon.

In Ethan’s eyes, he saw a vision of massive holes piercing Zeon’s body.

There was always an opposite force no matter what ability was used.

Although fire magic boasted tremendous destructive power, it couldn’t stop steel beads flying at an incredible speed.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

A metallic sound erupted as the steel balls struck Zeon’s body at an alarming speed.

‘Metal sound?’

For a moment, Ethan instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

Because the sound of flesh being pierced and bones breaking didn’t sound distant.

His guess was correct. The steel beads didn’t pierce Zeon’s body.

They were terrifyingly repelled in all directions upon hitting Zeon’s body.

They were repelled by his robe made of Leviathan hide.

An attack of this scale didn’t even leave a scratch.

Naturally, Zeon’s body didn’t receive a single scratch.

“Keuk!”

Ethan attempted to move the fallen steel beads on the ground once again.

This time, his target was Zeon’s head.

Since there was no protective gear on his head, Ethan thought he could easily pierce through it in one go.

But in the next moment, he had to widen his eyes in astonishment.

Swoosh!

As if molten metal flowing from a blast furnace, his steel beads were melting and flowing down.

Thud!

The sound of molten metal hitting the ground sent a chilling sensation through the air.

“Unbelievable!”

Ethan exclaimed involuntarily.

There was no way a mere C-level Awakened could melt his steel beads in an instant.

The opponent was beyond that.

“Damn it!”

Ethan quickly retreated.

He realized that the opponent’s power was stronger than his own, so he decided to retreat and inform Goran.

But Zeon had no intention of letting Ethan retreat easily.

Even faster than Ethan’s retreat, Zeon lunged forward.

Zeon had used Sand Strides, Ethan didn’t even know this fact.

In an instant, Zeon, who appeared in front of Ethan as if he had used Blink, swung his hand. Then dozens of fireballs appeared and shot towards Ethan.

The fireballs, faster than the steel beads Ethan had shot, exploded onto Ethan.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flames erupted in succession.

“Araaaghh!”

In the burning bright red flames, Ethan’s scream erupted.