Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Screeech!

The large transport vehicle came to a noisy halt.

Those who had been riding inside started to grumble as they got off.

“Fuck! Again?”

“What’s the point of having a vehicle if it breaks down every few miles?”

As the large transport vehicle broke down, the other vehicles following it also came to a stop.

At that moment, a stout middle-aged man got out of the vehicle right behind it.

“What’s going on? Stopped again?”

“Yes! It seems the gear has corroded.”

“Damn it! This cursed sand. Even with magical treatment, it breaks everything. How many times has this happened already?”

The stout middle-aged man spat on the ground, cursing. It was a somewhat comical sight.

He was only about as tall as an adult man’s chest, but his shoulders were much broader, making him look like a gorilla.

Despite this ridiculous appearance, no one laughed because he was not an ordinary person but a dwarf.

Even in the North District where the otherworldly races gathered, dwarves were a rare sight, and this stout middle-aged man was one of them.

At that moment, Lee Ji-ryeong appeared, pushing through the crowd.

He spoke to the dwarf.

“Did the vehicle break down again?”

“Yeah, the gear is completely busted and needs to be replaced.”

“How long will it take?”

“It won’t be done today.”

“It can’t be helped. We’ll rest here for the day, so fix the vehicle during that time.”

“Damn it! I have to work while everyone else rests.”

“Someone might think you’re the only one working, Jeloei. If the Base Team helps out, it should only take two hours, right? We’ll make sure there’s plenty of food and drink left for you.”

“Tsk! Fine.”

Jeloei grumbled as he pulled out tools from his work apron.

The tools were clearly too large to have come from the apron pocket. The mercenaries participating in the operation widened their eyes at the sight of the large tools that seemed to ignore physical laws.

“What the? How did that come out of his apron…?”

“Could it be that the apron is enchanted with a subspace?”

As they suspected, Jeloei’s work apron was enchanted with a subspace to store tools.

Thanks to this, he could carry all the tools he needed for the job in his apron.

Lee Ji-ryeong gave orders to the Pegasus Raid Force.

“We’ll rest here today. Set up a perimeter and prepare meals.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Pegasus Raid Force responded and moved in perfect unison.

The Awakened members assigned to guard took their positions, and food that had been prepared in advance was taken out of the transport vehicle.

The food prepared by the Pegasus Raid Force was preserved food that required no cooking. It was perfectly prepared so that they only needed to open the lid to eat, like a lunchbox.

Thanks to this, everyone could sit and eat comfortably.

Zeon and his group also gathered in front of the buggy to eat.

Levin and Mandy chatted as they ate their lunchboxes.

“This is pretty good. Do raid forces always eat such tasty food?”

“Only teams like the Pegasus Raid Force can prepare meals like this. Smaller teams usually eat tasteless canned food.”

“Canned food?”

“It’s the simplest way to store food.”

“So, do the Pathfinder Teams run by Neo Seoul also eat canned food?”

“Of course. After a trip to the desert, you won’t want to see canned food for a while.”

“I can see that.”

Levin nodded in agreement.

For Levin, who was participating in a raid force for the first time, even this trivial information was valuable.

At that moment, Brielle suddenly asked Zeon.

“Is it okay for so many people to gather here?”

“What do you mean?”

“If we get attacked by a monster like a Sandworm, wouldn’t there be a lot of casualties?”

“This area has coarse and hard sand, not the type that Sandworms like.”

“Sandworms care about the type of sand? Wait, there are different types of sand? I thought it was all the same.”

“It varies by terrain. Some places have fine particles, while others are coarse. Sandworms prefer fine sand because it’s easier to burrow into than coarse, rough sand.”

“I see.”

Brielle’s eyes sparkled.

Learning new information always made her happy.

But then her expression suddenly twisted. Her already unfocused eyes started to shake violently.

“Again?”

Brielle hurriedly rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a medicine bottle. However, her hands trembled so much that she couldn’t open the cap.

“Damn kid…”

Mandy smirked as she opened the medicine bottle for her.

When Mandy handed her the medicine, Brielle quickly put it in her mouth.

“Haa! Haa!”

Brielle collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.

“Are you okay?”

Levin smiled wryly as he looked after Brielle.

“Why do people make drugs anyway? I just can’t understand the human race.”

At that moment, a rough voice cut in.

“What about dwarves then?”

The voice belonged to Jeloei.

He approached, holding a beer bottle in his hand.

“Dwarves?”

“Just call me Jeloei, Supervisor.”

“Is the vehicle fixed?”

“Haha! This isn’t the first time. Fixing it is no big deal.”

Jeloei drank his beer and sat down in front of Zeon.

“You’re the famous Sand Mage, Zeon, right?”

“Do you have business with me?”

“Not really. I just wanted to see your face. I’ve never seen a Sand Mage before. Want a sip?”

Jeloei thrust the beer bottle towards Zeon.

Zeon shook his head slightly as he answered.

“I don’t drink.”

“Not drinking this fine stuff? It’s not quite as good as real barley beer, but it’s close enough.”

“You must really like alcohol.”

“Haha! For a race like ours that works for a living, work beer is essential.”

“That makes sense.”

“By the way, you didn’t seem surprised to see me. Have you met our kind before?”

“A few times.”

“Where?”

“Not around here.”

Jeloei frowned at Zeon’s ambiguous answer.

“Is it that hard to tell me where you’ve seen us before?”

“It’s not a memory I cherish.”

“So, you don’t like our kind?”

Jeloei’s face hardened. He knew many in Neo Seoul didn’t like races like dwarves or elves, but it was the first time he encountered someone who was so blatant about it.

“I’ve been betrayed too many times by dwarves…”

Zeon shrugged.

His words were true.

The dwarves he met in the desert were all selfish and tried to take advantage of him.

Because of these experiences, Zeon didn’t like dwarves much.

“Ahem! I apologize on their behalf. But you have to understand how tough life is. They probably had no choice but to act that way to survive.”

“Everyone has a hard time surviving. Not just dwarves…”

Jeloei’s face flushed, realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with this conversation.

“It seems today isn’t the best time to talk. We’ll continue this later.”

Jeloei stood up without waiting for Zeon’s response.

For him, this was a loss.

Zeon didn’t even glance at Jeloei as he walked away.

From the start, Jeloei was never of any interest to him. As mentioned before, Zeon didn’t trust dwarves as a race.

Despite their seemingly open and hearty exterior, they were narrow-minded and cunning.

Brielle chuckled.

“You really don’t like them.”

* * *

“Ugh! Ptooey!”

“Damn this sand.”

All the Awakeneds cursed the sand as they woke up in the morning. During the night, sandstorms had covered them in sand.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was just sand covering them, but it had gotten into their respiratory systems and tormented them.

However, Zeon’s group didn’t experience this. Zeon had used his power to prevent sand from piling up on them, allowing the three to wake up comfortably.

“That was a good sleep.”

“I’ve never slept this well in the desert.”

They quickly prepared to leave.

There was no time for a proper breakfast; they had to manage with simple meals in the car.

As soon as the four got into the buggy, the vehicles started moving. The convoy was on the move again.

At the front of the convoy were Lee Ji-ryeong and Jeloei.

Jeloei, who had replaced Kelda, looked discontented.

Lee Ji-ryeong smirked.

“Looks like things didn’t go well.”

“That arrogant prick.”

“Well, he has the skills to back it up.”

“Bastard! I wanted to ask him to keep the sand out of the vehicle, but I couldn’t even bring it up. He just said he doesn’t trust our kind. Do you feel the same way?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t have included you in our raid force.”

“Fuck! If he weren’t a Sand Mage, I’d break his back.”

“Please bear with him. We need him for this mission.”

“I’m holding back because you said so.”

“Ha ha!”

Lee Ji-ryeong laughed.

Jeloei had a childlike side.

He was honest with his feelings, and his words always reflected his true thoughts. This made him easy to deal with.

Moreover, he was very capable.

Lee Ji-ryeong hadn’t entrusted the Base Team to Jeloei for no reason.

“By the way, the dungeon is about 300 kilometers from here, right?”

“That’s right!”

“Isn’t this the first time we’re tackling a dungeon so far away?”

“Yes!”

“Man! I’m nervous. I wonder what kind of monster we’ll face this time. It feels like we’re walking into a beast’s maw.”

“After so many dungeon raids, you’re still nervous? That’s not very dwarf-like.”

“Do you think dwarves don’t get scared? People say the dwarves in Kurayan were fearless, but I grew up here.”

“So, you don’t know much about Kurayan.”

“Right. My father talks about the homeland, but to me, it’s just a foreign land. My home is here.”

“It’s the home for all of us.”

“Exactly! Our home. Yet, they discriminate against me just because I’m a dwarf.”

Jeloei ground his teeth, clearly still angry.

“Are you sure he’s a Sand Mage?”

“I’m certain! I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Damn it! Why did god give such a rare ability to a bastard like him?”

“Were Sand Mages rare in Kurayan too?”

“If there was such a being, my father would’ve told me. As far as I know, no Sand Mage has ever appeared in Kurayan.”

Lee Ji-ryeong furrowed his brows.

‘All the awakened abilities that appear on Earth existed in Kurayan. There are no exceptions to this rule.’

This wasn’t just a hypothesis.

It was a conclusion reached after long-term research by the City Hall.

The accepted theory was that abilities not existing in Kurayan didn’t exist on Earth either. Yet, for the first time, someone who contradicted this theory appeared.

It was Zeon.

‘Is he an anomaly? Or an impurity outside the rules of this world?’

At that moment, a voice interrupted Lee Ji-ryeong’s thoughts.

“Monsters ahead. We’ve got monsters in our path.”

A massive dust cloud was rising from the direction the convoy was heading.