Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 4

That night, the miners didn’t come back to the lodge.

Thanks to that, Zeon had the spacious room all to himself and could sleep comfortably.

“Hnnggh!”

Zeon got up from the bed and stretched.

Thanks to his awakening, he felt no fatigue whatsoever, only refreshing energy.

“Nice!”

Zeon was satisfied with his physical condition.

Despite it being early morning, the sunlight was glaring, almost as if it would scorch the skin.

In the past, Zeon might have hurriedly covered his skin. But now, there was no need.

This was also thanks to his awakening.

Zeon strolled through the mining city, enjoying the benefits of awakening.

While small and shabby, the city had most of everything one would need.

The Magic Stone Mine was a crucial base in the desert.

Caravans crossing the desert stopped by for supplies, and also sold goods they had purchased from other cities.

Additionally, adventurers like Jang Yong-beom’s party visited to check and prepare their equipment before dungeon raids.

Because of this, a relatively significant market had formed within the city.

‘First, I need to learn everything about this place.’

While information about the inner workings of the Magic Stone Mines had been gathered through the tales of those who worked there, firsthand observation differed greatly from hearing through others.

Zeon trusted only the information he could personally verify, a habit he learned in the slums.

There weren’t many people visible in the shabby market.

Given the early morning hour and the fact that most miners hadn’t come out of the mines, it was quite deserted.

Since the mine was deep and intricate, miners took several days’ worth of food with them, as digging even a single Magic Stone took several days.

Since it was a waste of time to enter and leave the mines, the miners chose to stay and eat inside.

It was truly a miserable life.

When Zeon first heard about it, he couldn’t believe it.

Fortunately, he had awakened, but if he didn’t find a way to develop his abilities soon, he might eventually have to enter the mine.

That was something he needed to prevent.

Grumble!

Zeon frowned.

He realized he hadn’t eaten properly since lunchtime yesterday.

He needed to address his hunger first.

Zeon entered the market to find a place to eat.

There wasn’t likely a proper restaurant in the market, but he did have some income.

He found a shop selling meat skewers at the back of the market, offering a scent that was incredibly savory.

The person grilling the meat was a shabby old man.

He was an impressive old man with deep wrinkles, a beard, and glasses that were cracked on one side, making it difficult to guess how old he was.

Sitting down in front of the old man, Zeon spoke hesitantly.

“What kind of meat is this?”

“It wouldn’t be good to know. Hehe!”

“I’m just…”

Zeon nodded his head.

In the past, he had raised cows and pigs and ate meat to his heart’s content, but now, that luxury was unattainable in the current world.

Even in Neo Seoul, they relied on lab-grown meat. But in the slums, people often resorted to eating rats, cockroaches, or scraps left by the monsters.

Zeon casually took a skewer and put it into his mouth.

Through the broken glasses, the old man looked at Zeon.

“Are you a new face around here?”

“I arrived yesterday. This tastes pretty good.”

Zeon answered while munching on the meat.

“Yesterday? You must be the survivor from the Sandworm attack.”

“Has that news spread already?”

“Hehe! There’s hardly any secrecy here except for the color of your underwear. By tomorrow, everyone will know.”

“Tsk!”

“Hehe! Anyway, a lot of people will be targeting someone who’s pure and has a good personality.”

Zeon immediately recognized the meaning of the old man’s words and glared at him.

Even though his eyes were quite ferocious, the old man paid no heed to him and continued his words.

“Be cautious. I don’t know why you chose this place as a refuge, but it’s not a comfortable place.”

“A refuge? No, I came here to earn money.”

“Hehe! Well, that might be the case. But you’re not prepared for something like that at all.”

“Prepared what?”

“Someone who came to the Magic Stone Mines to make money didn’t even bring a pickaxe. That’s not the attitude of someone here to make money.”

The old man’s piercing words made Zeon furrow his brow deeply.

The old man found Zeon’s reaction amusing.

Zeon changed the subject.

“I guess you’ve been here a long time?”

“Since the discovery of the Magic Stone Mines, so I could say I’m one of the old-timers here.”

“That long?”

“Yeah! You can tell by looking at them. It’s something I’ve collected since the beginning.”.”

The old man pointed inside the shop.

Inside the shop, there were piles of miscellaneous items that were unidentifiable.

“What are those?”

“Those who first came here and held on. Just like you.”

“Me?”

“They resist going into the mines at all costs. When they run out of money, they sell whatever they have. Starting with worthless items and eventually the most valuable. When there’s nothing left to sell, only then do they finally enter the mines. That’s the routine.”

“Insane!”

“The useful stuff gets sent to Neo Seoul, while the worthless ones are left behind. So, those are traces left behind by the desperate ones in the end. Hehe!”

The old man’s laughter felt eerie.

His gaze seemed to tell Zeon that he might end up like them too.

Zeon’s appetite vanished.

He forced down the remaining meat and stood up.

“How much?”

“Ten sols!”

“Crazy! Did you sprinkle gold on this meat? Ten sols for a piece of meat like this?”

Zeon couldn’t help but exclaim.

The standard currency in Neo Seoul Colony was Magic Stone.

It was based on one Magic Stone per kilo.

One sol equated to one-thousandth of a Magic Stone. Therefore, ten sols corresponded to one-hundredth of a Magic Stone.

Even in Neo Seoul, such profiteering wasn’t common.

It was natural for Zeon to be angry.

But the old man remained indifferent.

As if he already expected this level of a reaction.

“Everything here is precious. Food, clothes, even a pickaxe. That’s why everything is sold here.”

“What if I refuse to pay?”

“Hehe! There is a good reason why a helpless old man like me was able to do business in such a rough place for so long.”

“What reason?”

Then it happened.

Nearby shop owners turned their heads and looked at Zeon.

Their sharp glares made Zeon grit his teeth.

‘He said he’s an old-timer.’

Now he seemed to understand the meaning.

The old man might have some connection with other shops inside the Magic Stone Mines. Perhaps the old man was the center of this market.

This place wasn’t just a walk in the park to survive this long. It required skills and a background to achieve this.

If Zeon refused to pay for the food, there was a high chance no other shop would trade with him.

“Damn it! Got myself into trouble.”

“Still, your wits seem to be working. Some folks can’t tell the difference and run wild.”

“Hah! I don’t have money right now…”

“Then you must have something else. Maybe a Magic Stone?”

“…”

“A Magic Stone, huh? Hand it over. I’ll give you a fair price.”

Zeon tried to resist to the very end.

He didn’t want to hand over the Magic Stone even by killing another person, just for the price of a meat skewer.

The old man smirked at Zeon’s stubbornness.

“Kid! The rumor that you have a Magic Stone will spread throughout the mine within an hour. Do you think you can protect that Magic Stone by then?”

Of course, the origin of the rumor would be the old man. But he didn’t bother mentioning that.

Zeon glared at the old man.

He was proud of having gone through a lot of hardships, but the old man in front of him had gone through much more, several times over.

In perceptiveness and audacity, Zeon couldn’t compare.

Compared to the old man, Zeon was just a little brat.

Once it was revealed that he had a Magic Stone, he had no right to refuse the demand.

“Damn it!”

Zeon pulled out a small piece of Magic Stone hidden in his pants.

The old man’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Ah! If it’s that size, it’d be worth about a hundred sols.”

“Are you kidding? In Neo Seoul, it would fetch over three hundred sols.”

“But this isn’t Neo Seoul.”

“Is this really happening right now?”

“Kid! Even a treasure can become a disaster if you don’t have the strength to protect it. Hehe!”

The old man chuckled.

Zeon felt the urge to punch the old man in the face, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Subduing the old man wouldn’t be difficult, but he feared the consequences.

If the old man had survived here for so long, he surely had connections with the Awakened Ones who guard the Magic Stone Mines.

The old man’s attitude suggested that even if Zeon left, it wouldn’t matter to him.

The old man, who had lived in this place for decades, exuded a sense of superiority and ease that overwhelmed Zeon.

Zeon felt himself shrinking in front of the old man for some reason.

“Haa!”

Finally, Zeon sighed.

He had come to this place for this tiny piece of Magic Stone, and now it was worth just a hundred sols. Everything he had done so far felt like a futile effort.

“Why did I go through all that trouble…”

In the end, he handed the Magic Stone to the old man.

“Hehe! Don’t be disheartened. I’m not that bad or ignorant. I won’t fleece a newcomer I just met to the bone.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you ninety sols. Keep it safe. There are quite a few pickpockets and thieves around here.”

“Pretending to care about a mouse as a cat, huh…”

Grumbling, Zeon pocketed the ninety sols the old man handed over.

The old man chuckled and gestured inside.

“In return for our first transaction, I will give you one of the items piled up inside.”

“You mean that junk?”

“If you don’t want to…”

“Damn it!”

Zeon stood up and went inside.

He felt a sense of defeat just walking away like that.

He felt he needed to take something to redeem himself for being swindled by the old man.

However, he didn’t expect to find anything valuable inside. Since all useful items were sent to Neo Seoul, only odds and ends remained.

Zeon rummaged through the junk items.

“What? There’s nothing but junk here. What am I supposed to take from here?”

“Hehe!”

The old man laughed as he watched Zeon.

He found Zeon quite amusing.

Most people who came here ended up feeling disheartened and hesitant, but Zeon didn’t seem to show any signs of that.

Still, it meant that there was something he believed in.

This place was worn out.

Anything normal that came here would wear out too—people, objects, and everything else.

So, when someone exuded such raw energy in this worn-out world, they stood out.

Hence, the old man smiled as he watched Zeon.

Just watching him rummage through the junk while grumbling exuded a lively energy.

His determination never to incur any losses was rather endearing.

At that moment, Zeon pulled something out from the miscellaneous items.

“What’s this?”

What he held out to the old man was a very small hourglass.

“An hourglass.”

“No shit. That’s not what I’m asking. Why is this here?”

“No one took it, so it’s left here.”

The old man said nonchalantly.

His words were true.

He had obtained that hourglass a long time ago from a caravan entering Neo Seoul.

He bought it along with other items, but it ended up being useless, so he stashed it away among the junk items.

Even in a world that had gone to ruins, there was no one who would bother carrying around an hourglass.

It was nothing more than a decoration.

In today’s world, only the high-ups in Neo Seoul would spend money on such decorations. And such people never set foot in this place.

“How about choosing another item instead?”

“Hmph! Even if I search further, I don’t think I’ll find anything more intact than this.”

“Don’t regret it.”

“Fine.”

Zeon left the shop with the hourglass in hand.

“Hehe! Stop by again sometime.”

“No thanks.”

“I think we might cross paths often.”

“That’s an unfortunate thought…”

Zeon, visibly annoyed, started to leave.

The old man continued to watch Zeon with a smile on his face.

Then, Zeon turned back and asked the old man.

“What’s your name?”

“Klexi.”

“Then, I’ll call you old man Klexi. Let’s not see each other again.”

Zeon straight walked out of the shop.

The old man chuckled while watching Zeon walk away.

“I can’t do that. It seems there’s still a lot more left to peel off and eat up. Hehehe!””

If a sucker bites the bait, they’ll be sucked completely dry to down the bones—that was the law of this Magic Stone Mines.

And Klexi was more familiar with the rules of this Magic Stone Mines city than anyone else.