Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 99

Zeon was sitting on a street in the slums.

There wasn’t any particular reason.

He just felt like it.

Squatting on the steps of some building, he blankly watched the passing people, and no one paid him any attention.

Thanks to that, Zeon could finally enjoy some leisure time.

The scorching sun, the stuffy air, everything felt good.

As Zeon was enjoying his midday leisure, a loud noise shattered the peace.

“Hurry up!”

“We need to dispose of the corpse before it rots.”

“Get out of the way! Move! You beggar scum!”

Dozens of Awakeneds were seen entering the main road leading to Neo Seoul.

They all looked battered and bruised, as if they had just finished a fierce battle, covered in sand and monster bodily fluids.

What caught Zeon’s eye was the large truck they were dragging along.

Inside the truck’s cargo hold was a massive monster carcass.

“A Crown Bear? It’s rare to see one.”

The Crown Bear was a gigantic monster with horns resembling a crown on its head.

It’s capable of walking on both four and two legs like a bear, and could use its front legs like a human, making it extremely challenging to deal with.

Its adult skin was so tough that it couldn’t be scratched by ordinary weapons, and it also had strong resistance to magic.

As a result, most ordinary Awakeneds couldn’t handle a Crown Bear.

To hunt a Crown Bear, you needed a party with a combination of melee and magic-type Awakeneds or a raid team.

It was worth forming a group like that.

As a Crown Bear’s carcass itself was a tremendous treasure.

The gallbladder, commonly referred to as a talisman, increased mana, and its internal organs became essential ingredients for various potions.

Even its meat and bones became alchemical ingredients, so capturing just one could earn a tremendous amount of money.

What mattered most was time.

Crown Bear carcasses decayed incredibly quickly, so they needed to be disposed of quickly.

That’s why those who hunted Crown Bears were rushing like that.

“Get out of the way! Beggar bastards!”

They shouted loudly as they ran madly towards Neo Seoul.

People on the street avoided them on their own.

Knowing that even if they were hit by the truck, no one would care about them.

To them, the people in the slums were no better than stones on the side of the road.

Stones were used to build buildings, but even if people from the slums were brought in, there was no place to use them.

Like a sandstorm in the desert, the Awakeneds who hunted Crown Bears disappeared into Neo Seoul in an instant, and the streets became a mess.

“How much do you think they’ll give for a Crown Bear?”

“Do you have any Crown Bears hidden away?”

Then, a voice was heard from one side of the street.

When Zeon turned his head, he saw a man who didn’t fit in with the slums.

In a neat suit with neatly combed hair, the impressive-looking man was none other than Tajik.

Zeon didn’t hesitate to answer.

“I wish there were. But what’s a clean person like you doing in a dirty place like this?”

“I came to see you.”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

Zeon blinked his eyes as if he really didn’t know the reason.

Tajik felt disgusted by Zeon’s natural response. But he calmly disguised his boiling anger and spoke.

“It’s because of the Inazuma raid team.”

“Ah! The Inazuma raid team. They were quite competent, so it’s regrettable what happened to them.”

“Regrettable?”

“If only I had a bit more power, I could’ve brought them out with me. I’m sorry.”

Tajik’s eyes trembled slightly at Zeon’s natural response.

It happened inside the dungeon.

No one other than the parties involved knew what happened inside.

Once a dungeon was destroyed, it disappeared completely from the world.

It left no evidence of its existence.

Tajik couldn’t know exactly what happened inside the dungeon.

‘Koji is very ambitious. And he never disobeys my orders. He must have challenged him.’

He ordered the Inazuma raid team to find out Zeon’s rank.

The most accurate way to assess an opponent’s rank was to fight them directly.

So Koji and the Inazuma raid team must have fought Zeon.

The problem is that the Inazuma raid team couldn’t escape the dungeon, while Zeon survived alone.

“So, the Inazuma raid team fell behind and couldn’t escape the dungeon?”

“It’s regrettable.”

Zeon replied nonchalantly without changing his expression.

Tajik tried to discern the truth from Zeon’s subtle facial expressions, but it was futile.

‘This bastard…’

For a moment, Tajik’s anger surged.

He quickly suppressed his urge to act but couldn’t avoid Zeon’s gaze.

Rather, he had his true intentions figured out by Zeon.

Unaware of that fact, Tajik continued.

“So, you’re saying the Inazuma raid team didn’t make it out and perished along with the dungeon. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“It’s hard to believe.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Inazuma raid team isn’t a bunch of fools who wouldn’t be able to escape a collapsing dungeon.”

“Is that so? Maybe they just had bad luck. The dungeon did collapse suddenly.”

“Ha!”

Tajik let out a sigh without realizing it.

There was no loophole in Zeon’s words.

He couldn’t gauge Zeon’s rank, and he lost the Inazuma raid team in vain.

‘Should I just be honest and try to recruit him?’

Someone was needed to replace the Crocodiles.

Based on what he had observed so far, Zeon seemed like a perfect fit.

But as Tajik conversed with Zeon, his feelings changed.

‘No, he’s not someone who listens to orders blindly. Judging by how he dealt with the Inazuma raid team, he’s cunning and resilient. He’s not someone who will be under someone, and he certainly won’t obey orders.’

Having organized his thoughts, Tajik smiled coldly.

“I’ve heard enough.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No.”

“Understood.”

“Until next time. Goodbye then…”

Tajik nodded slightly and disappeared.

Watching Tajik vanish, Zeon murmured softly.

“I guess letting it go quietly isn’t an option.”

Zeon knew people like Tajik well.

Men with eyes full of ambition and confidence never tolerated even a single failure.

They saw failure as a blow to their pride.

There would be no thought of using Zeon in his mind.

All that was left was the determination to restore his pride.

“Letting it go quietly would only lead to more trouble, huh?”

Zeon sighed lightly.

***

A massive fortress wall that seemed overwhelming just to look at.

This wall was the barrier that separated Neo Seoul from the slums.

Standing fifty meters tall and thicker than five meters, this massive fortress wall was covered with various magic circles and weapons.

Erected to protect Neo Seoul from giant monsters, this massive fortress wall prohibited unauthorized human access.

Especially at the giant gate connecting to the slums, Awakeneds stood guard, preventing slum dwellers from approaching.

Even slum dwellers who approached from afar were only a handful.

They only watched from a distance out of curiosity but didn’t dare to get closer.

Awakeneds mocked such slum dwellers.

“Hah! The beggars are staring again.”

“Let them be. They’re just curious.”

“They must have a lot to be curious about what’s inside.”

“Oh my! The smell…”

The Awakeneds pretended to cover their noses.

Although they were all humans, they didn’t treat the slum dwellers as such.

To them, humans were only those residing in Neo Seoul.

Even within Neo Seoul, there was a distinction in status.

Between Awakeneds and ordinary people.

But being an ordinary person didn’t necessarily mean being lower than an Awakened.

Even among ordinary people, there were successful individuals.

People who operated businesses like slaughterhouses or Mana Stone processing companies, or those who showed their prowess in their respective fields often received better treatment than most Awakeneds.

Anyway, those living within Neo Seoul played roles according to their capabilities.

The system of the human society that collapsed hundreds of years ago still exists here intact.

What the Awakeneds disdain are those outside of this system.

That is, the humans in the slums.

Even without them, Neo Seoul could function without any major issues.

So, their well-being is not a concern.

In the view of the chuckling Awakeneds, a man approached the main gate.

He was walking briskly, wearing a robe with a hat pulled down deep.

An Awakened halted him.

“Who are you? Identify yourself.”

“My name is Zeon.”

The man was indeed Zeon.

“Zeon? Are you from the slums?”

The Awakened looked puzzled.

People who left Neo Seoul were usually known to most. But Zeon was a face they had never seen before. Hence, they suspected he was from the slums.

“Yes.”

“Why would a slum dweller be here? Without being from Neo Seoul or having an entry pass, you can’t enter.”

“I have one. An entry pass.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

Zeon took out a temporary entry pass from his pocket and threw it to the Awakened.

He had received it after saving Mandy a long time ago.

It was a temporary pass valid for only a month.

The Awakened examined the pass with an impressed expression.

“The issuer is Mandy Systein, and the guarantor is Mechanic Kim Sang-sik? Let me check this.”

He passed it to another Awakened, who checked it with a scanner.

A blue light lit up on the scanner.

It meant it was genuine.

Although Neo Seoul’s entry passes were magically processed to be impossible to forge, the Awakened still eyed Zeon suspiciously.

“What is your purpose in entering Neo Seoul?”

“I’m here to meet Mandi Systein.”

“You mean the issuer?”

“Yes. Any problem?”

“No. You may pass.”

Since the identities of the issuer and the guarantor were confirmed, there was no reason to stop him.

With a dull sound, the thick gate opened.

“Go in. You can stay in Neo Seoul for only a month. If you stay beyond that, the guards will find you and kill you.”

The temporary entry pass Zeon received had a tracking spell on it. Even after the permit expired, if he stayed in Neo Seoul, the magic would trigger, allowing the guards to find him.

“I won’t stay that long. I’ll leave as soon as my business is done.”

Zeon smiled and passed through the main gate.

As he entered Neo Seoul, the air changed.

The air itself felt refreshing, as if turning on an air purifier.

It was completely different from the stuffy outside air.

It felt like even the deepest parts of his lungs were being cleansed.

There were no pebbles rolling on the streets, and no common sand was visible outside.

Sleek buildings soared high into the sky, and the attire of people walking the streets was neat and stylish.

Cars and various modes of transportation moved without a sound.

The sights Zeon had only heard about in stories were unfolding before his eyes.

It was the most advanced city in the world.

A state-of-the-art colony defying comparison with any colony he had encountered ever before.

Perhaps he didn’t even realize that this place might be the pinnacle of current human civilization.

Zeon took his first steps into a city that surpassed any colony he had ever seen.