Episode 12
A sand wind blew in.
The desert wind was exceedingly dry and contained sand, so even brief exposure left severe wounds on the skin.
This had nothing to do with Jeon.
The sand could not harm him.
Because the sand was no different from his own body.
His dominion was weak, and the area he could call forth was limited, but even that was enough to protect himself in the desert.
The robe draped over his body took care of the scorching sun and the night's chill.
The robe made from the belly hide of the Sand Demon was thin and light, yet its heat-retention ability was outstanding.
During the day it blocked the heat and kept him cool; at night it prevented his body heat from leaking out.
Thanks to that, his stamina drained slower.
Jeon, who had been walking behind Deiodeun, suddenly looked around.
No matter where he looked, there was only sand.
There were no terrains or structures worth using as landmarks.
Standing in the middle of the vast desert, one realizes anew how insignificant human existence is.
Jeon looked at Deiodeun, who was walking far ahead.
Deiodeun walked only forward, never once resting or looking back.
Someone wandering the desert without any goal could not walk so straight.
Only one with a clear goal could advance in such a straight line.
Many days had passed since they began traveling together, but Deiodeun had never once spoken of his goal or his past.
When the sun set and they took rest, he always stuck Crayon in the ground before him and conversed.
At first, Jeon had thought of Deiodeun as a crazy old man.
Because by his common sense, conversing with a sword itself was incomprehensible.
He knew that Ego Swords existed, but such items were so extremely rare that he knew there were almost none even in Neo Seoul. Because of that, he hadn't believed that Deiodeun's sword was a real Ego Sword.
But as this situation repeated every day, he now truly felt that Deiodeun was conversing with the sword.
Deiodeun, who was so ferocious toward the demonic beasts of the desert, would have his expression soften gently when conversing with Crayon.
And sometimes he would have eyes moist with sorrow. But when the sun rose and he walked the desert, he returned to his usual savage gaze.
In his eyes dwelled tremendous madness and a rage great enough to tear apart everything in the world.
What had made Deiodeun that way was unknown, but today too he pushed through the desert's harsh sand winds and went forward.
Jeon chewed on jerky and followed behind Deiodeun.
After eating the gallbladder and meat of the Sand Demon, Jeon's body underwent a great change.
All useless excess fat disappeared, and he came to possess a muscular physique.
No matter how long he walked, he did not tire, and even during grueling marches he did not know hardship.
If it hadn't been for Deiodeun, he wouldn't have known of the existence called the Sand Demon, nor would he have known the gallbladder of the Sand Demon had such effects.
‘What kind of person is he? What circumstances does he have that he's crossing this desert alone? And why is he taking me along?’
The questions continued endlessly.
The best way to resolve his curiosity was to ask Deiodeun. But it was safe to say the possibility of that was almost none.
‘Nothing is straightforward.’
Gulp!
Jeon swallowed the jerky he had been chewing for a while.
His mouth was parched.
Jeon fumbled inside his robe and pulled out a leather waterskin filled with water.
This too was made from Sand Demon leather.
It was light and elastic, so it could hold an incredible amount of water.
Jeon had filled the waterskin to the brim before the oasis disappeared.
He only drank sparingly, a little at a time, when truly necessary.
“Kuh!”
Just one sip of water made his thirst disappear.
Just as he was fastening the waterskin to his waist again.
Sss!
A secret movement was detected by his senses.
Something was approaching from deep within the sand toward him.
Jeon focused his senses.
The objects caught by his senses were ten in total.
They were approaching him from all directions.
Movement was detected about ten meters in all directions with Jeon at the center.
It was proof that Jeon's detection range had now increased to ten meters. But he couldn't simply rejoice that his detection had increased.
Now was the time to prepare rather than rejoice.
They were slow but steadily tightened the encirclement. Then they suddenly popped out.
Glossy titan-grade shells as if clad in iron armor, powerful pincer jaws split in two, six legs, and a pair of antennae.
They were ants.
However, what differentiated them from ordinary ants was that their bodies were much larger than a person.
Their name was Wolf Ant.
They moved in packs like wolves, and were just as fierce and savage.
Wolf Ants were the most threatening existence to caravans crossing the desert.
If even one Wolf Ant appeared nearby, one had to assume there was a nest close by.
Commonly called an ant den.
Inside an ant den existed at least several hundred ants and larvae.
Once they caught prey, they dragged it to the ant den to feed the queen and larvae.
Wolf Ants injected a unique venom when they bit prey.
The frightening thing about this venom was that while the body couldn't move, the mind remained perfectly clear.
Therefore, those bitten by Wolf Ants had to endure the feeling of being eaten alive with a clear mind.
So in the desert, the saying went that if you met Wolf Ants, you might as well kill yourself.
Jeon too had heard stories about Wolf Ants to the point of sickness when he was in the slums. Because of that, he recognized what they were the moment he saw them.
Click clack!
The Wolf Ants approached Jeon, clashing their mandibles.
Their inorganic gazes and shells reflecting sunlight dazzled his vision.
Without panicking, Jeon unleashed Sand Blaster.
Shoo shoo shoo!
Five streams of Sand Blaster struck the Wolf Ants' heads.
The Wolf Ants staggered from the great impact. But unlike the Great Horned Hyena, their heads weren't pierced with holes.
Thanks to the titan-grade shells protecting them.
One of the frightening aspects of Wolf Ants was precisely their defensive power.
Ordinary attacks were deflected by their titan-grade shells.
The Wolf Ants' defense was so powerful that D-grade Awakened attacks didn't work on them at all.
Because of that, D-grade or lower Awakened would choose to flee rather than face Wolf Ants.
Not knowing such facts, Jeon attacked the Wolf Ants.
Enraged by Jeon's attack, the Wolf Ants rushed at him with even more ferocious momentum.
“Chyaat!”
Jeon stepped back and unleashed Sand Blaster in rapid succession.
Boom boom crash!
Sand Blaster struck the Wolf Ants' heads in succession.
They staggered from the great impact but still appeared intact.
Jeon felt there was no chance of victory like this.
He quickly used Sand Step to retreat while simultaneously targeting just one and unleashing Sand Blaster.
Boom!
Only then did the targeted Wolf Ant's head explode.
“Nice!”
Jeon clenched his fist tight and unleashed Sand Blaster repeatedly.
Boom! Peroong!
Every time Sand Blaster struck, Wolf Ant heads burst like fireworks.
While traveling with Deiodeun, Sand Blaster's power had increased exponentially. To the extent that it overcame the difference in rank and inflicted damage.
Jeon gained confidence in Sand Blaster's power.
It was then.
Kiiii!
Suddenly one Wolf Ant emitted a bizarre high-frequency sound.
It looked exactly as if Jeon himself were screaming in terror.
“Shut up!”
Jeon launched Sand Blaster at the head of the Wolf Ant emitting the high frequency.
Peroong!
This time too the Wolf Ant's head shattered into pieces.
Now only three Wolf Ants remained.
Jeon thought he needed to finish them quickly and follow Deiodeun.
It was then that an unexpected event occurred.
Sssss!
Suddenly, the approach of countless lifeforms was detected by Jeon's senses.
“What?”
While Jeon was startled, Wolf Ants poked their heads through the sand.
Their numbers exceeded one hundred.
“Insane!”
Jeon was horrified by the number beyond imagination.
Only then did he realize that the high frequency one Wolf Ant had emitted earlier was a call to its comrades.
The Wolf Ants approached, having completely surrounded Jeon.
Kaka kaka!
The Wolf Ants let out bizarre sounds.
It was the sound of beastly ferocity exploding forth.
The Wolf Ants rushed at Jeon at high speed.
“Fuck!”
Jeon used Sand Step to dodge the Wolf Ants' attacks.
Tak! Ttaak!
Jeon, having escaped the Wolf Ant's mandibles by a hair's breadth, unleashed Sand Blaster and blew its head apart.
Jeon was covered in Wolf Ant flesh and blood.
Seeing that, the other Wolf Ants rushed even more fiercely.
“Iyaaaah!”
Jeon let out a wild cry and fought the Wolf Ants.
Then in his vision, the figure of a huge old man sitting atop a high sand dune suddenly appeared.
It was Deiodeun.
He had stuck Crayon beside him and was watching the desperate fight between Jeon and the Wolf Ants.
“Wolf Ants have the habit of swarming all together when one of their kind is attacked.”
You mustn't think the Wolf Ants attacking now are all there is.
Even now, they are emitting that unique high frequency to call comrades even as they die.
Soon the rest will swarm here too.
Indeed, Deiodeun's senses detected a horde of Wolf Ants approaching this direction at high speed.
There seemed to be a nest—an ant den—nearby.
Pung! Peroong!
Jeon unleashed Sand Blaster with all his might.
Each time, Wolf Ant heads burst apart.
“Still insufficient. That is woefully inadequate.”
Deiodeun made a dissatisfied expression.
Jeon had awakened an excellent trait, one unmatched in the world.
Awakening an authority over sand in this world where most of it is desert was an unparalleled blessing.
But Jeon had yet to grasp how great his potential was, how high his versatility.
Such things had to be learned by clashing with one's own body.
The world defined an Awakened's strength solely by their rank badge.
Combat classes are one thing, magic classes are another, F-grade is weaker than D-grade…… S-grade is the best.
By only what is visible, they establish hierarchy and define potential.
When an Awakened acquired a skill, rather than letting them realize its utility and direction for development on their own, they were guided to develop only through standardized, safe methods.
Doing so made it impossible to utilize one's potential one hundred percent.
One must clash with one's body, cross the boundary between life and death, realize one's own deficiencies, and ponder how to fill them.
That was the proper way for an Awakened to grow, according to Deiodeun.
But the powers that be in Neo Seoul thought differently.
Because Deiodeun's method took far too long and was not very efficient.
Therefore, the powers that be in Neo Seoul disdained him.
“Thick-headed bastards! They don't even know why the world ended up like this, crazy as they are for power struggles.”
One hundred years had passed since the Sixth Great Extinction occurred.
Most survivors of that time had died; only a handful remained.
Deiodeun was one of the few survivors who remembered the horrors of that time.
He had witnessed with his own two eyes how the Sixth Great Extinction started and how many people died miserably and futilely.
Civilization collapsed overnight, and crossed-over demonic beasts ravaged the Earth.
No one knew how great a rage he had felt toward his powerless self as he watched his family and acquaintances disappear, becoming nothing more than food for demonic beasts.
Thankfully he had awakened and survived until this day, but Deiodeun had never forgotten the horrors of that time, not for a single day.
Someone had told Deiodeun to forgive himself.
Nonsense.
How could he forgive himself?
Even now, a hundred years later, he could not forgive himself for having watched his wife die in helplessness.
He called everyone a worthless bastard, but in truth, the biggest worthless bastard was himself.
Deiodeun watched Jeon with a gaze filled with madness.
Jeon was entangled in a desperate struggle with the Wolf Ants.
Dodging with Sand Step, attacking with Sand Blaster.
A standardized approach.
Jeon might think that was the best, but it fell far short of Deiodeun's expectations.
“Prove that you are useful by surviving on your own, you bastard!”