Episode 54
The man was Jeon.
Seven years had stripped the boyishness from him.
The baby fat had disappeared from his face, and his gaze had deepened.
A sense of composure filled his every movement, exuding the dignity of a true powerhouse.
Jeon pulled out a leather waterskin from inside his robe.
“You must be thirsty. Drink.”
“Ah! Thank you.”
Mandi, who was suffering from a burning thirst, did not refuse and accepted the waterskin.
She drank first, then handed it to Gim Sangsik.
Drinking the water brought some of his stamina back.
“Whew! Thank you.”
“Thank you so much. I thought I was going to die for sure.”
The two expressed their gratitude to Jeon.
Jeon spoke with a smile.
“I’m glad everyone is safe.”
“But aren’t there any others?”
“If you mean companions, there are none.”
“Then you’re crossing the desert alone?”
Mandi’s eyes widened.
Even the elite Pathfinder teams had barely made it this far by traveling in groups. That was how dangerous the desert was.
No one could know where or what kind of demonic beasts lurked.
Especially after the mana explosion seven years ago, the ecosystem of demonic beasts had changed dramatically and existing data had become useless, making the desert even more dangerous.
Aside from the vicinity of Neo Seoul, no safe places existed. Yet Jeon had said he was calmly crossing the desert alone.
It was only natural for Mandi to be suspicious.
Jeon said with a laugh.
“I have good instincts. I also have a bit of an ability to detect demonic beasts in advance. So if something feels off, I unconditionally take another path. That way, I avoid their habitats.”
“So you don’t possess a separate detection skill?”
“I do not.”
“If that’s true, you really have incredible instincts. That must be a great help for survival.”
“Thanks to that, I’ve been able to survive until now.”
Jeon exuded the air of a seasoned survival specialist.
He possessed a composure that only someone who had survived in the desert for a long time could have.
Mandi bit her lip tightly for a moment.
She knew nothing about Jeon. Even so, right now, there was no one else she could rely on.
She cautiously asked.
“Could you tell me what your destination is?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I was wondering if you could take us along if you’re heading near Neo Seoul.”
“Neo Seoul, you say?”
“Yes! We will definitely repay you. Please, take us to Neo Seoul.”
“That won’t be easy. I’m not sure if you know, but the habitat topography of demonic beasts changed greatly seven years ago….”
“That’s exactly why we’re asking. Mr. Gim Sangsik and I both hold fairly decent positions inside Neo Seoul. If you take us there, we’ll repay you generously in Neo Seoul.”
They didn’t know Jeon’s identity, nor where he had come from.
Normally, she would never have entrusted a request to someone so entirely shrouded in uncertainty.
But with everything lost due to Jahareu’s betrayal, she had no other choice.
She didn’t even know where Neo Seoul was right now.
It was best not to entertain the naive notion that it would simply appear if they went north.
The desert landscape was so monotonous that moving in an accurate direction was impossible.
Moreover, they had lost all the trucks they had come in. If they lost Jeon in this situation, they would wander the desert and die shriveled up like mummies.
Jeon was the only hope they had for survival.
Gim Sangsik also knelt before Jeon.
“I beg you. Please, do not abandon us.”
At least Mandi was an Awakened; Gim Sangsik was truly an ordinary person.
If abandoned here, he clearly wouldn’t last a day.
Jeon sighed and spoke.
“Hoo. It can’t be helped. Very well. I’ll take you to Neo Seoul for now.”
“Really? Thank you. If you take us to Neo Seoul, we will surely repay you.”
Gim Sangsik put on an expression full of emotion.
＊＊＊
Perhaps because the day had been so grueling, Mandi and Gim Sangsik fell into a deep sleep.
Jeon watched the sleeping pair steadily.
“So they were from Neo Seoul after all.”
Unbeknownst to the two, Jeon had been watching them from the beginning.
Precisely, from the time when Jahareu and Team 7 had arrived at the goblin settlement.
It was not long after he had annihilated the goblins.
Even at a glance, Jahareu and Team 7’s clothing and equipment were refined. They were incomparable to people barely surviving in the desert.
Looking at the attire stained with the trappings of civilization, he yearned for Neo Seoul.
Seven years ago, Deiodeun had disappeared along with Haielteun.
Literally, it had perished without leaving a single trace.
From the shock, the desert’s terrain was completely overturned, and an unprecedented mana storm occurred.
Jeon was the only one who had witnessed their final moments until the end.
When both disappeared, Jeon had felt an immense sense of loss.
After that, he had wandered the desert aimlessly.
Just as Deiodeun had done.
He had no particular purpose, nor any special thought of what he needed to do.
He had lived like that for seven years.
Adding the one year he had spent with Deiodeun, he had wandered the desert for eight years.
Many things had happened during that time, and those experiences had allowed Jeon to grow.
He had already been feeling that it was about time to return to Neo Seoul.
Meeting the two had lit a fire in Jeon’s heart.
If their destination was the same anyway, taking them along wasn’t a bad idea. He would be able to enter Neo Seoul with ease.
Jeon organized his thoughts and lay down.
He buried himself deep in his robe and fell asleep.
Screeeeech!
The next morning, Jeon opened his eyes at the strange sound coming from afar.
Mandi and Gim Sangsik sprang up in shock.
“What is it?”
“What sound is that….”
Fear was clearly plastered all over their faces.
Because they could feel the hostility and murderous intent contained in the distant sound.
Jeon answered with an expression showing it was no big deal.
“It’s the cry of a wyvern. It seems there’s a wyvern’s nest not far from here.”
“A… wyvern?”
“Good heavens!”
The two’s faces turned pale.
Wyverns were B-grade demonic beasts. But their danger level was evaluated as above A-grade.
Because unlike other demonic beasts, their main stage was the sky.
Since they could appear and attack suddenly from anywhere at any time, they felt even more threatening.
Jeon got up and collected the canopy and wooden poles he had set up overnight.
“We should leave before the wyvern comes this way to hunt for prey.”
He skillfully packed his unpacked load and loaded it onto the Bactrian camel’s back. Then he left without a moment’s hesitation.
Mandi and Gim Sangsik hurriedly followed behind Jeon.
In particular, Gim Sangsik’s face was contorted pitifully.
Just from the wyvern’s distant cry, his heart was beating violently.
It was worrying enough that he felt his heart might burst.
‘This place is hell. First a cyclops, and now a wyvern. How on earth has that man survived in a place like this?’
His gaze was fixed on Jeon walking ahead.
Jeon moved his steps calmly as if nothing was wrong.
Even the sand that sank up to their ankles seemed to pose no problem for him.
He looked to the side just in case and saw that Mandi was already struggling.
No matter how much of an Awakened she was, walking on sand inevitably consumed extreme amounts of stamina.
Just thinking about walking to Neo Seoul like this made his mind go blank.
“Huff! Huff!”
They hadn’t walked far when sweat poured like rain, and rough breathing escaped them.
Their faces were flushed red, seeming like they might burst at any moment.
Then Jeon looked back.
“This won’t do.”
“Yes?”
“The two of you should take turns riding the camel. It will help a little with conserving your stamina.”
“What about you?”
“I’m used to sand, so I can walk all day without issue.”
Unlike the two who were already soaked in sweat, Jeon was perfectly dry.
His face was exactly the same as usual, and not a single breath was labored.
It was proof that his words were not a lie.
“Thank you.”
Gim Sangsik dared not refuse and climbed onto the Bactrian camel’s back.
Although he was still exposed to the scorching heat, he didn’t feel like he was going to die like before.
Gim Sangsik was sincerely grateful to Jeon.
Jeon moved his steps calmly again as if it was nothing.
Mandi admired Jeon’s retreating figure.
‘His gait is truly unusual. How can he walk like that, sliding without his feet sinking in? It’s almost like the sand is pushing him forward on its own.’
It was a truly peculiar way of walking.
She had never seen anyone walk in such a manner before.
‘He must be an Awakened too. Magic class, or perhaps martial class? What rank?’
She was extremely curious about many things.
It was certain that Jeon was an Awakened.
Because there was no way he could remain so calm under this blazing sun otherwise.
What Mandi was truly curious about was what kind of Awakened Jeon was.
She could have simply checked the rank insignia on his wrist, but Jeon was wearing gauntlets.
The gauntlets he wore covered up to his forearms.
Uniquely, round-cut red gems were embedded on the back of the hands, drawing the eye.
Going by the gauntlets, he seemed to be of the martial class.
Because such weapons were mainly used by martial-class Awakened.
But to definitively call him a martial-class Awakened, the atmosphere Jeon exuded was strange.
The color symbolizing martial-class Awakened was red.
Because they were active and passionate under the influence of their awakening ability. That was why their rank insignia were also red.
On the contrary, magic-class Awakened were symbolized by blue, the color of coldness.
Because reason took precedence over instinct.
For that reason, distinguishing between magic-class and martial-class Awakened was not very difficult. But strangely, such characteristics were not clearly apparent in Jeon.
Judging by attire alone, he was clearly martial class, but his bearing and gaze were closer to that of the magic class.
‘I’ll find out if I watch long enough.’
The distance to Neo Seoul was well over a thousand kilometers.
Traveling such a long distance together, he would inevitably reveal his abilities.
Mandi tried her best to walk while conserving as much stamina as possible.
Fortunately, she possessed the ability to wield wind.
When her body temperature rose from the hot sunlight, she would stir up a breeze to cool down. Thanks to that, she was more tolerable than Gim Sangsik, who was riding the Bactrian camel.
Then they heard the voice of Jeon walking ahead.
“It seems it’s going to rain. Let’s head to higher ground.”
“Yes?”
“Rain?”
Mandi and Gim Sangsik made bewildered expressions.
Not a single cloud was visible, and the sun was beating down so fiercely, yet he spoke of rain.
They thought Jeon had gone mad.
However, Jeon paid no heed to their reactions and led them upward.
Since they had no choice anyway, the two had no option but to follow Jeon.
Just as they reached the summit of the tallest sand dune in the area.
Rumble!
In an instant, dark clouds gathered and thunder and lightning struck.
Then a downpour began.
“It… was real?”
“Good heavens!”
At this unbelievable reality, the two couldn’t close their gaping mouths.
The rain poured down with tremendous force, pooling in the lower areas.
If they hadn’t listened to Jeon and had stayed below, they would be floundering in the water by now.
Just as they were thinking it was good they had climbed to higher ground listening to him.
Jeon smiled as he looked at the flooded area.
That smile felt strangely horrifying.
He spoke.
“There are things that wake up when it rains in the desert like this and water pools. This place happens to have the optimal terrain for them to inhabit.”
“Wake up? What do you mean?”
“Those things.”
At that moment, bubbles rose bubbling from the pooled water, and something appeared.
Grotesque creatures with thin, elongated bodies like twisted wire writhed and squirmed.
At that grotesque sight, Mandi and Gim Sangsik felt nauseous.
Mandi held her stomach and asked.
“Wh-what are those? I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“They’re Ghost Hairworms. They sleep when it’s dry, and when moisture is supplied, they awaken and search for prey.”
“Ghost Hairworms?”
“They burrow into the victim’s body and manipulate the brain, making them seek water.”
“Water? In the desert?”
“That’s what makes them terrifying. If parasitized by a Ghost Hairworm, you wander the desert ceaselessly until you eventually die of exhaustion. Then they suck nutrients from the corpse and fall asleep. And when it rains, they wake up again.”
The most frightening thing in the desert isn’t a demonic beast like the wyvern.
It’s invisible threats like these that are far more terrifying.
Mandi and Gim Sangsik trembled without realizing it.
Jeon began walking toward the place where the Ghost Hairworms were.
“Wait here.”
“No, why are you going down there where those terrifying things are?”
“Because I’ve wanted to catch one for a while now.”
Jeon answered with a smile.