Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 175

“Finally, we’re here.”

Levin wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, letting out a sigh of relief.

They had finally reached the base after much hardship.

The Awakeneds on the rampart noticed Zeon and the West District Awakeneds approaching and shouted.

“Open the gate!”

The protective barrier briefly dissipated, and the gate in the wall opened.

Zeon, his group, and the West District Awakeneds hurried inside.

“Wow!”

“They set this up already?”

Levin and Brielle gaped at the sight inside the base.

What had been just a walled-off area now featured tents and facilities for sleeping and eating.

Jeloei’s team had quickly turned it into a fully functional base.

Now they could rest and plan their strategy here.

At that moment, an Awakened from the Pegasus Raid Force approached Zeon.

“The Captain wants to see you, Zeon.”

“Right now?”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go.”

“Please follow me.”

The Awakened led Zeon to the largest tent.

Inside, a large table dominated the space, with Lee Ji-ryeong seated at its center.

“You made it back safely.”

“Did you wait long?”

“No, you came at the right time. But I hear there’s already been a casualty?”

“Yes.”

“And that casualty is Cha Jin-cheol?”

“Yes.”

“How did that happen?”

“We encountered the Grim Reaper.”

“The Grim Reaper? You mean the reaper from old tales?”

“Yes.”

Lee Ji-ryeong furrowed his brow deeply at Zeon’s response.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Zeon; it was just so unbelievable.

“All kinds of things are showing up. So, is the Grim Reaper the master of this dungeon?”

“I’m not sure. But this dungeon is definitely connected to the item Cha Jin-cheol had.”

“The Warden’s Rope?”

“Yes.”

“An item from another dungeon, yet it’s related to this one? So, the dungeons appearing on Earth might be interconnected?”

Lee Ji-ryeong’s intuition was sharp.

Zeon knew that the dungeons on Earth were fragments of Kurayan, but most Awakeneds thought they were naturally occurring phenomena.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s deduction was impressive under such circumstances.

“So, if it’s the Grim Reaper, the master of this dungeon is likely an undead.”

“Did you bring any undead-specific items?”

“Are there any items that specific? We’ll just have to crush them with force.”

Very few Neo Seoul Awakeneds had experience with undead dungeons, making them quite rare.

This was Lee Ji-ryeong’s first time in an undead dungeon as well, but he wasn’t overly worried.

Just because they were undead didn’t mean they were truly immortal.

They could be destroyed through brute force, and their regeneration could be stopped by breaking the core.

Finally, the core itself must be destroyed to end it all.

A simple yet brutally effective method.

However, this method required overwhelming power to be effective.

“There will be many casualties.”

“It’s a risk we have to take. The greater the danger, the greater the reward. Everyone in the Raid Force understands that.”

Conquering a dungeon without being prepared to die was impossible.

You could never know what dangers lay inside.

Some dungeons were conquered easily, while others claimed many lives.

Being an Awakened dungeon raider meant constantly facing mortal peril.

No matter how good your armor or weapons, survival wasn’t guaranteed.

You could lose your life at any moment.

But the rewards were assured if you survived.

Even if you died, your family would receive enough compensation to live comfortably.

This is why Awakeneds joined Raid Forces.

“Anyway, good work. Rest until the Expedition Team returns.”

“Are you planning to proceed with the raid as soon as they return?”

“The sooner, the better.”

“Understood.”

“Have you recovered much of your mana?”

“To some extent.”

“I hope you recover quickly. It seems your power is crucial for this dungeon raid.”

“I thought my role was just to find the entrance?”

“Situations change. I’m sure you don’t want to see many casualties either.”

“True, but it’s not my responsibility. Well then…”

Zeon gave a slight nod and left.

As soon as he was gone, Bronson entered from the opposite side of the tent.

Lee Ji-ryeong addressed Bronson.

“Put him in as many dangerous situations as possible. That way, he’ll become dependent on us emotionally.”

“Understood.”

“He hasn’t fully recovered his mana yet, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

For now, Zeon was too formidable to confront directly, but as he weakened, opportunities would arise.

Lee Ji-ryeong was adept at seizing such opportunities.

* * *

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Zeon returned to the tent where Brielle, Levin, and Eloy were resting.

They each sat in chairs, taking a break.

Brielle looked Zeon up and down and asked.

“Are you alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did that guy do anything to you?”

“Who? Lee Ji-ryeong?”

“Yeah!”

“No.”

“Be careful! He gives me a bad feeling.”

“I’m being careful.”

Zeon smiled slightly as he replied.

Brielle had been on edge since they entered the dungeon.

Zeon figured it was due to her High Elf nature.

With her heightened senses, she reacted more acutely to the ominous atmosphere of the dungeon.

Eloy asked Zeon.

“What’s our next move?”

“First, we eat.”

“Eat?”

“Once we start the dungeon raid in earnest, we won’t have much time to eat. We need to eat while we can. Levin!”

“Yes, hyung!”

Levin pulled out pre-prepared food from his subspace backpack.

The bag was filled with food prepared by the skilled Old Man Klexi. Levin placed some of it on the table.

“Come on, let’s eat.”

At Levin’s words, everyone gathered around and began to eat.

“This is delicious.”

Eloy’s eyes widened as she tasted the food.

She knew how incredible it was to have such high-quality food in the dungeon.

“This is really good.”

“There’s plenty more, so we can eat whenever we get a break.”

“Great job, kid! Your skills and preparation are impressive.”

“Hehe!”

Levin beamed at Eloy’s praise, only to get nudged in the side by Brielle’s elbow.

“Just eat your food. Don’t let yourself get charmed by a fox.”

“Mm!”

Levin nodded and focused on eating again.

Just as they were finishing their meal, they heard commotion outside.

“The Expedition Team is back.”

“Open the gate.”

They hurriedly finished their food and stepped outside. They saw the Expedition Team returning to the base.

But the Expedition Team looked worse for wear.

They seemed to have gone through a fierce battle, their armor battered and their hair disheveled, with traces of blood visible.

Hearing of their return, Lee Ji-ryeong rushed over.

“Are you alright?”

“Huff… Huff… Just a moment…”

Gesling, breathing heavily, raised his hand.

Lee Ji-ryeong waited patiently for him to catch his breath.

Finally, Gesling managed to speak.

“We have identified what we believe to be the core.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s the fortress.”

“As expected.”

“It’s an unfamiliar style of fortress, reminiscent of medieval Earth, but with a powerful force field around it, preventing us from approaching.”

“A force field? Around a fortress, not a boss?”

“Yes!”

Lee Ji-ryeong frowned.

This increased the difficulty significantly.

Deactivating a force field was no simple task.

Typically, it required numerous magic-type Awakeneds, especially those proficient in dealing with force fields.

The Pegasus Raid Force had such Awakeneds, but not in large numbers.

“It won’t be easy to deactivate it normally. We’ll have to force our way through…”

“The problem is…”

“There’s another problem?”

“Yes, there’s a quicksand area.”

“What?”

“There’s a vast quicksand area on the way to the fortress with strong gravitational forces, making it impossible to cross by normal means.”

“So, how did the Expedition Team get past it?”

“We didn’t. I’m sorry. We couldn’t get across.”

Gesling shuddered at the memory.

A giant mole monster had emerged near their hiding spot and approached the quicksand area.

An invisible force pulled the struggling monster into the quicksand.

What happened after was unknown.

The Expedition Team only heard the giant mole’s horrific screams and saw the quicksand area shaking violently.

It was a terrifying sight.

Unable to advance further, the team had only observed the fortress and its force field from a distance.

“So, you didn’t gather much information.”

“I apologize.”

It was the first time the Expedition Team had returned without substantial information.

This dungeon was turning out to be the worst.

Ideally, they would take a few more days to gather detailed information, but they didn’t have that luxury. The longer they delayed, the more likely Cha Jin-cheol would die in the hands of the Grim Reaper.

The West District was the primary sponsor of this raid.

If Cha Jin-cheol died, their relationship would deteriorate. To prevent this, they had to rescue him.

“We have no choice. We’ll have to confront it directly…”

“Are you planning to proceed with the raid as is?”

“If Cha Jin-cheol dies, Kim Hyun-soo will raise hell. We must move even if it’s risky. Plus, we have him.”

“But he hasn’t fully recovered his mana. Can he manage the quicksand area?”

“He’ll manage. He’s capable and determined.”

Leading dungeon raids had given Lee Ji-ryeong a keen eye for people. He was confident Zeon had hidden strengths.

“Even if his mana is depleted, he must have something up his sleeve. He wouldn’t be this confident otherwise. This raid will force him to reveal his hand.”

“Understood.”

“Leave only the Base Team here and move out.”

“Yes!”

Bronson relayed Lee Ji-ryeong’s orders.

The gate opened, and the Awakeneds set out towards the fortress.

The dungeon raid had truly begun.

Zeon gazed in the direction of the fortress and murmured,

“How many of them will make it back alive?”

[Translator – Peptobismol]