Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

"Lord Zeon! Forgive me!"

The first person to greet Zeon when he returned to the surface was none other than Eaton.

Seeing him waiting in front of his house made Zeon frown.

Instinctively, he realized Eaton had come with some sort of request.

"Is it urgent?"

"Yes!"

"Shall we talk inside?"

"Forgive me, but I'd like to take you to my office."

"Your office?"

"Yes! There's something you need to see for yourself."

"Let's go."

For even someone like Eaton—who feared Zeon—to come like this, it had to be a truly serious matter.

Zeon followed him to his office.

Inside were two men sitting on chairs, their bodies wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. The extent of their wounds was obvious.

The two tried to stand as Zeon and Eaton entered, but their injuries were too severe.

Eaton stopped them.

"Stay seated. Move around and the stitches will tear open again."

"Th-thank you."

"Yes, sir."

Zeon silently observed them.

He felt no flow of mana—these were not Awakened.

His gaze shifted to the object lying before them.

Something about the size of a child, covered with a waterproof tarp.

Zeon asked Eaton,

"What is that?"

"This is why I called you here."

Eaton pulled back the tarp—revealing an all-too-familiar sight.

Beneath it lay the corpse of a one-meter-long Crimson Locust.

"Isn't this… a Crimson Locust?"

"As expected, you recognize it."

"Why is this here?"

"Our team ran into it… and was wiped out. These two are the only survivors, and they brought this corpse back."

"So these are the survivors."

"Yes. They were part of the support squad. By sheer luck, they made it out alive."

The men swathed in bandages were from the support squad assisting Kang Namsu's 5th Team.

Because of Kang Namsu's consideration, the support group had been ordered to retreat first. But the Crimson Locusts pursued them, nearly annihilating them as well.

Only two men survived by a miracle, managing to bring back a single carcass.

The fact that they had returned alive at all was almost miraculous.

Zeon looked at them for a moment before speaking.

"Where did you encounter the Crimson Locusts?"

"We don't know the exact coordinates, but it was roughly a hundred kilometers north of the Mana Stone Mine."

"So, a swarm of Crimson Locusts to the north."

"Yes."

"Tell me in detail what happened."

The two men grimaced painfully.

Just recalling the memory made it hard to breathe.

Zeon waited for them to compose themselves.

Normally, he wouldn't push like this. But the situation demanded it.

"I apologize for forcing you to relive it. But this is too important."

"No… it's fine. I'll explain."

One of them steadied his breath, then recounted everything:

How they had set out from the Mana Stone Mine to hunt beasts, only to be caught in a sandstorm.

How they lost their bearings and ended up a hundred kilometers away.

How Captain Kang Namsu ordered the support squad to escape first.

He left out nothing.

"So, it was by chance you ran into the Crimson Locust swarm. Do you know roughly how many there were?"

"I can't say for sure, but… at least several hundred."

"That's no small number."

Zeon's brows furrowed.

A swarm of hundreds might seem manageable now—but once they fed, they could multiply rapidly. That was the terrifying trait of the Crimson Locusts.

'Are the Crimson Locusts steadily migrating south?'

Even before the Mana Stone Power Plant espionage incident, Zeon had destroyed a migrating swarm.

For another swarm to appear so soon, in nearly the same place, was anything but normal.

Eaton cautiously spoke up.

"Currently, Team 1 and Team 3 are deployed in the desert. Given the situation, I want to recall them… but there's no way to contact them."

"That's why you came to me."

"Yes! There's no one else I can trust. Lord Zeon, please—could you?"

Eaton's face was desperate.

Unaware that 5th Team had already been annihilated, two more teams had been dispatched.

If they ran into the Crimson Locusts, it would be only a matter of time before they too were wiped out.

Eaton pleaded,

"I beg you. Please, find them."

"They also headed north?"

"Yes. They would have used the Mana Stone Mine as a base camp—so they're definitely to the north."

Though the old mine had declined in importance since the development of the new open-pit, it was still a vital forward base for beast hunts.

Raid parties and hunting teams alike stopped there to resupply before venturing out.

The Shincheon hunting squads also operated primarily from there.

"Then it's not just the hunting teams. The Mana Stone Mine itself may be at risk."

Small-type beasts that moved in swarms were harder to defend against than a single large beast.

Individually, they were weak—but hundreds moving as one were overwhelming.

And there was no way of knowing how much their numbers had grown already.

At this rate, the swarm would explode in size.

Zeon gathered his thoughts, then said,

"Understood. I'll go."

"Thank you, Lord Zeon!"

Eaton bowed deeply.

Zeon, however, let out a faint sigh.

The moment he solved one problem, another was already waiting for him.

---

＊＊＊

Leaving Eaton's office, Zeon went straight to Old Man Kleksi's shop.

"Please pack me some food."

"What, you heading out again?"

"Yes. Looks like I'll be gone for a few days."

"You really don't know how to sit still, do you?"

Kleksi chuckled and immediately set to work.

Whenever Zeon planned to leave Neo Seoul for an extended period, he always came here first.

With storage space, spoilage was never an issue, so he asked Kleksi to prepare as much variety as possible.

The old man knew the drill and was already chopping and frying with practiced ease.

Tat-tat-tat!

His knife pounded against the cutting board like a machine gun. Vegetables and meat shredded as if run through a grinder.

In moments, ingredients were stir-fried or blanched, transformed into three or four different dishes.

"I made ten portions of each. Rotate through them and you'll last ten days easily."

"Much appreciated."

"Don't thank me—it's all paid for. So, what's dragging you out this time?"

"One of Eaton's hunting teams got wiped out."

"Wiped out? Why?"

"Seems it was the Crimson Locust swarm."

"Never heard of them… but from the name, I'd wager they swarm like real locusts?"

"Yes."

As expected, Kleksi immediately grasped their nature.

Beast names almost always reflected their traits.

"If they really swarm like locusts, then every Awakened in the desert is in danger."

"That's why I'm going myself."

"Good. Need anything else?"

"While I'm gone, could you check in on Levin and the underground city?"

"Expanding it, are they? Is it finished?"

"More or less."

"Alright. I'll drop by now and then."

Kleksi nodded.

"Then I'll be off."

"Travel safe."

"Yes, sir."

Zeon stored the food in his subspace and returned home.

Sitting for a moment in his living room, he glanced around.

Briel had gone to the High Elf village, and Levin had taken the young Awakened out for training in the desert.

The empty house felt strangely lonely.

There had always been at least one of them around. Now, with both gone, the silence pressed in.

"Guess this trip, I'm on my own."

Zeon packed a few essentials from his room and headed into the desert.

Whooosh!

The harsh sandstorm wrapped around his body.

After so long in the underground city, the desert winds almost felt nostalgic.

"Nice."

He felt vitality surge through him.

As a Sand Mage, the desert's embrace filled him with energy.

With no companions to hold back for, Zeon unleashed his full speed.

The grains of sand themselves pushed him forward, carrying him smoothly.

With every step, his body shot ahead ten meters at a time. Dust flared in his wake, his figure streaking across the desert like a beast.

In less than half a day, he arrived at the Mana Stone Mine.

Not the new open-pit mine, but the original one.

Though its importance had waned, it still housed many stationed forces.

As Zeon approached, guards called out,

"Stop! Identify yourself!"

"I'm Zeon."

"Huh?!"

Hearing his name, their eyes widened.

Even here, Zeon was a known figure—especially after overturning the underground gambling den.

It was impossible not to know him.

"Lord Zeon, what brings you here?"

"I plan to rest here for the night. May I enter?"

"Of course! Please, right this way."

"Thank you."

Zeon bowed lightly and entered the mine settlement.

The sight was little changed from his last visit—except there were far fewer miners.

Where once they crowded the streets, now Awakened dominated the scene.

Most miners had moved to the new open-pit, where mining was far easier.

The vacancies they left were filled by Awakened.

Raid parties, beast-hunting teams—all of them passed through here to check equipment and resupply.

So despite the new mine's rise, this place retained its strategic value.

Glancing around briefly, Zeon moved to secure lodging.

BOOM!

"Gahh!"

Suddenly, an explosion echoed, followed by a scream.

"A fight!"

"Yaaahhh!"

The people in the street cheered excitedly.

Awakened had clashed, and fists were flying.

Zeon stopped and looked toward the commotion.

Two men were locked in a brutal fistfight.

Having discarded their gear, they fought barehanded, like beasts.

One was enormous, built like a bear.

The other was slightly smaller.

Zeon's eyes narrowed in interest.

Against all expectation, the smaller man was absolutely dominating the giant.

BAM! BAM! KWAANG!

With each punch, the massive man crumpled like tin.

"Ughhh!"

Finally, the giant collapsed with a scream.

The smaller man rolled his eyes wildly as he glared around.

"Who's next?!"