Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 47

Exion transformed freely at the command of Zeon’s fist.

At times, it became a spear, piercing through the chimera snakes, and at other times, it turned into an axe, beheading them instead.

There was no time to even catch his breath.

Zeon knew very well that the moment the connection was severed, he would die. Therefore, he exerted desperate efforts to ensure Exion’s flow remained uninterrupted.

Flash!

In that instant, another lightning bolt struck.

The special monster launched another attack.

It was a skill called ‘*Lightthein’, which gathered lightning at a single point to strike it’s target.

[*This was originally written in English]

The Lightthein relentlessly targeted Zeon.

Zeon created a shield using Exion to block Lightthein.

Pieces of pure white lightning were blocked by Exion’s shield and dispersed in all directions.

Zzzeek!

Crack!

Chimeras were electrocuted, their flesh bursting or charred black.

‘Ohh!’

Zeon’s eyes gleamed.

A brilliant idea had come to him.

It wasn’t always necessary for him to personally engage in combat; using the enemy’s power was also a viable option.

At that moment, the special monster launched Lightthein again.

Zeon molded Exion into a shield and tilted it at an angle.

Shiiing!

The lightning collided with Exion’s shield, spreading in all directions.

Zeon adjusted the tilt to allow the lightning to spread more effectively.

The arena turned into chaos in an instant.

More chimera snakes died than when Zeon fought directly.

As more and more chimera snakes died due to its attacks, the special monster realized that it was being used by Zeon. However, this realization only came after a gap had formed between the special monster and Zeon.

Zeon swiftly shortened the distance and reached the special monster.

“Take this!”

Zeon focused Exion on his gauntlet and struck.

Boom!

The special monster’s head exploded.

Zeon moved in search of the next special monster.

In this way, Zeon located and destroyed the special monsters, sweeping through the surrounding mobs, until he was left standing alone.

“Haah! Haah!”

Zeon leaned against the wall, catching his breath.

The exertion of power in such a short time brought a rush of exhaustion. However, there was no time to leisurely recover stamina and mana.

Daeodon would likely be advancing towards the dragon at this very moment.

If Zeon wanted to be of any help, he too had to keep moving without rest.

Zeon resumed his journey.

The corridor seemed to stretch endlessly.

Fortunately, no chimeras appeared this time. However, Zeon remained vigilant, not allowing himself to become complacent.

It was a dragon’s lair.

It wouldn’t have been composed of mere chimeras at this level.

Something larger and more powerful was undoubtedly waiting ahead.

Zeon checked his physical condition once again.

Fortunately, his condition wasn’t bad.

He had more stamina than he thought, and his mana was steadily recovering, albeit slowly.

With this level of strength, he wouldn’t be completely helpless against any enemy he might encounter.

Zeon heightened his senses to be ready to react at any moment. Yet, it was strangely quiet.

It wasn’t that the enemies weren’t moving; it felt like they didn’t exist at all. Still, Zeon didn’t let his guard down and moved cautiously.

After walking for a while, a wide space suddenly appeared before Zeon.

It was a huge circular area, reminiscent of an ancient colosseum.

Filling the space, towering tens of meters high with a diameter exceeding hundreds of meters, was unexpectedly sand.

‘What is this?’

Zeon furrowed his brows.

As a Sand Mage, his most significant weapon was spread all over the arena, so he should have welcomed it, but Zeon knew that things didn’t always go smoothly.

Certainly, there must be a reason why the floor of this giant colosseum-like space was filled with sand.

Zeon exerted his dominance to grasp the situation within the sand.

Swoosh!

Something suddenly emerged, parting through the sand.

“What?”

Zeon was taken aback and attempted to move the sand, but the next moment, his body froze as it had been cursed.

He wasn’t actually cursed, but the monster emerging from the sand was so unexpected that it left him stunned.

“A woman?”

It was also a woman, but there was not a single piece of clothing adorning her.

Her hair undulated like mysterious blue seaweed, and her eyes descended on her snow-like white skin, emitting a subtle glow.

Her large eyes and lips shone red, as if crafted from polished rubies.

The woman exuded a captivating sensuality.

Zeon’s face turned red in an instant.

Zeon, who had never been near a woman since he was born.

He was so busy struggling to survive that he had never even held a woman’s hand, let alone dated one.

Making him completely vulnerable to women.

Moreover, the woman that suddenly appeared was completely naked, not wearing a single piece of clothing.

Zeon’s pupils wandered dizzyingly, with nowhere to go.

“Uh!”

His mind turned blank, as if he had truly fallen under a curse.

Even at that moment, the naked woman was approaching Zeon.

Smiling, the woman gazed at Zeon with seductive eyes and expressions that captivated him.

The red glow in the woman’s eyes deepened, and Zeon stared at her with his mouth wide-open.

To an adolescent boy who had never been close to a woman, the naked woman was a very strong temptation.

Unconsciously, tension filled his lower abdomen, and his lips dried up.

His hands fumbled in the air, unsure where to go.

“Hehe!”

The woman chuckled, seemingly finding Zeon cute.

Her actions drove Zeon even crazier.

He couldn’t think of anything.

An intense desire to embrace that woman filled his mind.

This was the first time he had experienced such a strong desire.

Zeon reached out his hand.

He faced the woman, smiling brightly.

For a moment, it felt like an electric current flowed through his entire body.

The desire intensified, and the urge to bite and suck her womanhood quickly tormented him.

The woman, as if to tease Zeon, circled around him for a moment. Zeon followed her movements.

Before he knew it, his eyes had lost focus.

Only then did her woman come closer to Zeon.

So close that their faces were about to touch.

The woman looked closely at Zeon’s face and leaned towards his lips.

Her sweet breath stimulated Zeon’s sense of smell.

Suddenly, just as the woman was about to kiss him, Zeon’s focus returned.

The scent emanating from the woman’s breath awakened his senses.

A faint rotten smell that comes from dead insects.

Certainly, it was a scent he had smelled not long ago.

“A chimera!”

Zeon shouted, delivering a punch to the woman’s chest.

Bang!

With a loud noise, the naked woman staggered backward. Her face contorted fiercely.

“How dare a human…!”

“Damn it! I almost did that with a chimera. My first experience with a chimera… Ugh!”

Zeon’s body shuddered.

It was horrifying even to imagine.

Fortunately, there was no one around, but if there had been, they would’ve made fun of him for the rest of his life.

“I can’t forgive this!”

Zeon erupted in anger.

The woman was equally furious.

“I’ll kill you.”

Swoosh!

The woman’s body soared into the air. It was then that the hidden truth was revealed.

“What? Does that make sense?”

Zeon’s eyes widened.

Piercing through the sand, the revealed form was a nine-headed Hydra. The part that Zeon thought was the woman was actually the tail of the Hydra.

A giant chimera, a combination of a Hydra and a Succubus.

This chimera’s name was Kaeshu.

Kaeshu was one of the three guardians meticulously created by the Gold Dragon Haeltoon, placed within his rare domain.

Haeltoon positioned the three guardians in his lair.

Kaeshu, among them, boasted powerful regenerative abilities, venom, and formidable physical strength.

The scales surrounding its body possessed tremendous anti-magic properties, rendering it resistant to magical attacks.

The Hydra was classified as an A-rank monster, a significant threat.

For Zeon, who was barely at C-rank, facing such a being seemed insurmountable.

“Haah! This is insane!”

Despite Zeon’s recent rapid progress to C-rank, he was still far from reaching A-rank.

The gap between C-rank and D-rank was dwarfed by the chasm between A-rank and B-rank.

Considering he was up against an A-rank opponent, and Zeon was only at C-rank, there was a huge gap that could never be bridged by sheer effort or grit.

Moreover, by merging with a Succubus, it had gained exceptional intelligence and charm skill, as evidenced by the Succubus’s enchantment skill that nearly ensnared him in desire earlier.

The unique scent of the chimera was the only thing that prevented Zeon from losing all his vital energy as well as his life.

The Hydra, combined with the Succubus, reached A-rank but possessed a power closer to S-rank.

Facing such a formidable foe, Zeon had no idea how to fight.

“Die!”

At that moment, Kaeshu launched an attack.

Its nine heads spewed venom.

“Damn!”

Zeon bit his lips and hastily dodged.

Sizzle!

The sand touched by the venom melted instantly.

Had Zeon been hit directly, he would have suffered the same fate.

The thought alone sent shivers down his spine. However, it also gave him a glimmer of hope.

The fact that the massive underground complex was filled with sand worked to his advantage.

Sand was his essence and his weapon.

Although the rank difference was significant, the narrative changed in this context.

“All right! Let’s give it a try.”

Snap!

Zeon snapped his fingers.

Gaaaah!

Sand around the Hydra spun rapidly.

The Sand Mixer had been unleashed.

Kwagak!

Coarse sand particles scratched the surface of the Hydra at a terrifying speed. However, the Hydra’s scales remained unscathed, thanks to the force shield possessed by monsters of B-rank or higher.

Rather than causing any damage, the Sand Mixer only further angered the Hydra.

Kuwaaah!

The nine heads attacked Zeon.

Zeon detonated the Claymore in front of him.

Baang!

Explosions and thousands of sand beads clustered like iron balls struck the Hydra’s heads.

It was a skill with enough power to send even a decent Awakened to their death. However, it was not enough to stop Hydra.

Kuuuuk!

The Hydra’s heads emerged through the dust and debris.

“Shit!”

Zeon swiftly unleashed his Sand Strides.

Snap!

One of the Hydra’s heads snapped in the space where Zeon had been a moment ago.

If he had been a bit slower, he would have been torn apart by those massive jaws.

The nine heads raced together to attack Zeon.

Zeon launched Sand Missiles, successive Claymores.

Kwakwakwak!

With a series of explosions, a dense dust cloud rose.

However, there was not a single scratch on the massive heads of the Hydra.

‘What should I do?’

Zeon desperately dodged Kaeshu’s attacks, pondering his next move.

Despite the hopeless situation, he believed as long as he didn’t give up, there must be a way to turn the tide.

“Hehe! Die.”

The Succubus fused with the Hydra’s tail mocked Zeon.

For an instant, Zeon’s eyes lit up.

‘Does that woman also have the same strength as the Hydra?’

Although the Hydra was surrounded by incredibly tough scales, the Succubus was completely naked

‘If that’s the case…’

Zeon adjusted his target.

Behind the Succubus, Sand Soldiers made of thousands of sand grains rose silently.

While Zeon distracted Kaeshu and the Succubus, the Sand Soldiers attacked the Succubus discreetly.

“Kyaaaah!”

Taken by surprise, the Succubus screamed at the unexpected attack.