Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 229

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Gah!”

“Argh!”

The Fire Missiles struck the Awakeneds mercilessly.

They screamed in agony as they collapsed.

They were all Awakeneds of the martial arts class.

Their bodies, enhanced by their skills, were tough enough to withstand most attacks.

Fire Missile was a low-level skill.

It was the most basic skill available to those who had Awakened to fire magic. Naturally, its power was nothing special.

It might be threatening to regular people, but even D-rank or E-rank Awakeneds could easily block it. So they were confident they could handle it without much difficulty. However, reality was different from what they had imagined.

Zeon’s Fire Missiles had power on a completely different level from those cast by ordinary Awakeneds.

They were strong enough to pierce through D-rank martial arts-class Awakeneds. Fortunately for them, Zeon had slightly reduced the power, so they didn’t die. But they still had to endure intense pain from the impact and searing heat.

“Ugh!”

“Damn it! Give me a potion—this burns too much!”

The Awakeneds rolled on the ground, writhing in agony.

Seeing their subordinates fall so quickly, the expressions on the twin brothers’ faces changed completely.

“Damn it! He’s strong.”

“Did you bring this troublemaker here on purpose?”

The twins glared at Park Man-ho with murderous intent.

Park Man-ho couldn’t even come up with an excuse and kept his mouth shut.

‘Shit! How was I supposed to know he was this strong? What rank is he? Taking down all those guys… he must be at least C-rank! Damn it, we’re screwed.’

His face turned pale.

The twin brothers looked at Park Man-ho in disgust before turning their attention back to Zeon.

“You’ve got some skills. Why don’t you work for us? We’ll treat you well.”

“That’s right. If you join us, no one in the Mana Stone Mines will dare mess with you.”

Zeon couldn’t help but laugh at their offer.

“Goran said the same thing before I killed him. And now you, who are even weaker than him, are asking me to work under you? Are you out of your minds?”

“Goran? You mean Goran, the ruler of Shinchon? Then you’re…?”

The older twin finally realized who Zeon was and was shocked. But the younger brother, less perceptive, charged at Zeon like an enraged bull.

“Damn it! Who cares about Goran? I’ll just beat you to death! That stupid fire magic doesn’t scare me one bit.”

He trusted in the toughness of his body, which was harder than steel.

Even if Zeon fired dozens of Fire Missiles, he was confident he could withstand them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A barrage of Fire Missiles flew toward him.

The younger brother crossed his arms in an X-shape to protect his head.

This level of defense should be enough.

Once he endured the pain, he would grab Zeon and snap him in two, securing his victory.

He was convinced of his triumph.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

But the moment the Fire Missiles struck his body, he realized how foolish his confidence had been.

Each Fire Missile was more powerful than the average martial arts-class skill.

It felt like parts of his body were being torn away with every hit. His insides felt like they were being shredded, and the immense pain nearly drove his soul out of his body.

“Aaagh!”

With a desperate scream, the younger brother was sent flying backward.

He tumbled to the ground, covered in blood, yet the older brother couldn’t bring himself to move.

The reason was Zeon.

Behind Zeon, dozens more Fire Missiles floated in the air, ready to be unleashed.

Even fire-type Awakeneds couldn’t summon an endless stream of Fire Missiles like this.

There was always a limit to their mana.

But Zeon was clearly abnormal, producing countless Fire Missiles as if he had infinite mana. Yet the older brother didn’t find this strange.

If the rumors about Zeon’s abilities were true, this was as easy for him as clipping his nails.

“The Sand Mage Zeon, who defeated Goran, the ruler of Shinchon. That’s you, isn’t it?”

Zeon simply shrugged. That alone was enough of an answer.

“Damn it!”

The older brother cursed as he glared at Park Man-ho.

Park Man-ho’s face had already turned ghostly white.

Even though he hadn’t realized Zeon’s identity like the older brother, seeing Zeon take down all the Awakeneds in the gambling den had left him terrified.

There was no way the gambling den’s Awakeneds could take on someone like Zeon. To deal with him, they would need the Mana Stone Mine’s security forces. But they didn’t answer to Park Man-ho.

At that moment, the older brother raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“It seems we’ve made a mistake. Our apologies.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course not. We’ll open Park Man-ho’s vault for you.”

“That’s a given. What else?”

“We’ll open our vault as well. Take whatever you want.”

When it’s time to bow, bow completely.

Trying to save face at the wrong moment only leads to disaster.

Luckily, neither the younger brother nor their subordinates were dead.

Even if they lost everything, as long as they were alive, rebuilding wouldn’t be difficult.

The Mana Stone Mines was overflowing with gambling addicts. There was no shortage of suckers lining up to hand over their money, so there was no point risking their lives to fight Zeon.

Zeon was on a different level.

Killing Goran, the ruler of Shinchon, was one of the least impressive things he’d done.

A mage who could freely control sand.

If he wanted to, no one in the Mana Stone Mines would be able to return to Neo Seoul. If Zeon manipulated the sand at the mine’s entrance to cause a landslide, no vehicle would be able to escape.

Antagonizing someone with such overwhelming power was pure folly.

There was no shame in surrendering now.

The older brother turned his gaze to Park Man-ho.

“And as for you…”

“Ugh!”

“Don’t think you’re getting away with this. You’re going to pay for what you’ve done today, down to the last bit.”

Park Man-ho lowered his head, unable to meet the older brother’s furious glare.

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

His mind was consumed with despair.

No solution came to mind, and he didn’t even have the nerve to attempt one.

In the Mana Stone Mines, he might have some power, but outside it, he was nothing.

Click! Clack!

The older brother opened all the vaults.

Both Park Man-ho’s personal vault and the gambling den’s vault.

Zeon first inspected Park Man-ho’s personal vault.

Inside was a rather large mineral.

‘Is this really a mineral?’

It was about the size of a child’s torso.

It resembled a Mana Stone, but no mana could be felt from it. Yet, for some reason, Zeon couldn’t take his eyes off it.

When he touched it, warmth radiated from it.

It wasn’t the feeling of mana.

The warmth and comfort spread through his palm.

Zeon asked Park Man-ho.

“You’re saying this was mined from the Mana Stone Mines?”

“Yes! It was dug up from the same tunnel where the top-grade Mana Stone was found.”

Park Man-ho answered politely.

“Hmm.”

“It’s not a Mana Stone, but it must have great value. These guys didn’t recognize its worth, so they wouldn’t accept it…”

Something mined from the Mana Stone Mines that wasn’t a Mana Stone.

No wonder the twin brothers didn’t see its value.

It was likely that a thorough investigation would reveal what this mineral was worth. But they had no reason to bother.

Instead of wasting time analyzing the mineral, it was more profitable to collect money from other gambling addicts.

‘This is no ordinary item. It was found in the Mana Stone Mines, after all.’

Even Zeon couldn’t identify the mineral. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep it.

More than anything, he liked the warmth it exuded.

“I’ll take this.”

Zeon stored the mineral in his subspace.

He then moved on to the gambling den’s vault.

Inside the large vault was a mountain of money. At a glance, it seemed to be worth several million sols. But Zeon only took a few tens of thousands of sols.

That amount was more than enough.

Instead, what caught Zeon’s attention were the items piled in one corner.

They were collateral items left behind by gambling addicts.

Most of them were worthless, but one item stood out.

It was a cauldron with three legs.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, that’s something from a dungeon raid, an Awakened left it as collateral. It’s from a dungeon, but no one knows what it’s used for, so it was abandoned.”

“Do you know which dungeon it came from?”

“Sorry, the bastard who left it died, so we couldn’t find out.”

The Awakened who used it as collateral got into a fight with another Awakened and ended up dead.

Since then, the cauldron had been gathering dust in the vault.

“I’ll take this.”

“Of course. You can take everything if you want.”

“I was planning to, even if you hadn’t said so.”

Zeon stored all the items in the vault into his subspace.

Most of them were far below what Zeon would consider useful, but they would be valuable to Brielle or Levin.

The older brother watched as Zeon stored all the items in his subspace without showing a hint of displeasure.

He knew that paying this price was the only way to be forgiven.

Fortunately, Zeon had no intention of causing further trouble.

“I’m heading back now. Will today’s events be a problem?”

“You have my word—they won’t be.”

“It’s nice dealing with someone who’s reasonable.”

“It’s one of my strengths.”

“Good.”

“Thank you.”

“Well then, I’ll be going. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Have a safe journey.”

The older brother bowed at a ninety-degree angle as he saw Zeon out.

By the time he raised his head, Zeon had already left the gambling den.

Once he confirmed Zeon was gone, the older brother’s expression turned vicious.

“Park Man-ho, you bastard! Were you trying to ruin us?”

“No, that’s not what I—”

“How are you going to make up for this loss?”

“How was I supposed to know he was that strong? I’m a victim too!”

“You think he’s just strong? He’s a walking disaster, you idiot!”

“But—”

“You piece of shit! From today, you’re banned from the gambling den. You’re going to have to dig up Mana Stones yourself to pay for this.”

“Y-You want me to go back to the tunnels?”

“Yeah, you bastard. You’re no longer the overseer. You’re nothing now—just a miner. I’ll make sure of that.”

The older brother had the power to make that happen.

Park Man-ho’s face turned deathly pale.

The road to hell was opening up right before his eyes.

---

“What happened? You seem in a good mood.”

Brielle tilted her head as she looked at Zeon.

A smile was on his face.

Zeon sat down and replied.

“I ran into someone I knew and got a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Wanna see?”

“Yeah!”

Brielle eagerly nodded and sat beside him.

Zeon poured out all the items he had taken from the gambling den.

“What is all this? These are items!”

“Do any of them look good?”

“Wait a minute!”

Brielle stopped Zeon’s words as she picked up one of the items.

It was the three-legged cauldron.

“Why is this here?”

“You recognize it?”

“It’s the Cauldron of Siela.”

“Siela?”

“She’s the deity who protects the High Elves.”

“So, this is something that belongs to the High Elves?”

“Yeah! It’s a treasure they used when performing alchemy. I can’t believe I’m seeing it on Earth. I’ve only ever heard about it in stories.”

Brielle hugged the Cauldron of Siela tightly.

At that moment, the cauldron emitted a brilliant light.

It awakened upon coming into contact with a High Elf.

A holy light enveloped Brielle warmly.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]