Chapter 187

The power of Thunder God’s Hammer was indeed tremendous.

Even the robe made from Leviathan’s hide—known for its strong resistance against most magical attacks—had failed to completely block it, leaving Zeon severely wounded.

Still, he could move.

That was thanks to the extreme training his body had undergone.

Zeon looked over at the fallen.

Brielle and Eloi looked as if they might stop breathing at any moment.
Only Levin, who—like Lee Jiryung—could use lightning, seemed relatively intact. Even so, he appeared dazed, his eyes still unfocused from the shock.

Zeon reached into his coat.

His hand grasped a glass vial filled with a transparent liquid.

He took a sip first, then made Brielle, Eloi, and Levin drink it in turn.

Color quickly returned to Brielle and Eloi’s faces, who had been gasping for breath, and Levin’s eyes regained focus.

Zeon himself felt it become much easier to breathe.

It was a medicine he had made himself.

A mixture of monster blood and several herbs, it proved highly effective in emergency situations.

Levin, now back to his senses, asked,

“Hyung… what just happened?”

“Lee Jiryung attacked us.”

“Why would he attack us?”

“That’s not important right now. Getting out of here is what matters.”

“Ah!”

The portal had closed, and the dungeon was on the verge of collapsing.

If they delayed even a little longer, they would vanish along with it.

Zeon stood up.

“Carry Eloi. I’ll carry Brielle.”

“Yes, hyung!”

Thanks to the medicine Zeon had given them, Brielle and Eloi’s conditions had improved, though they were still not fully conscious.

Each of them lifted one of the two.

Levin asked,

“What are we going to do now?”

“I’ll force open an exit. Stay sharp and follow me.”

“Is that even possible?”

Instead of answering, Zeon pulled something out from his subspace.

It was a blue orb about the size of a child’s fist.

‘Leviathan’s core. With this, I should be able to tear open a crack in the dungeon.’

It was the core that contained all of Leviathan’s power—

and thus held immense energy.

‘A dungeon’s strength corresponds to its boss. Leviathan surpasses the Knight King as a magical beast. If I overload the core containing its power, I should be able to create a fissure in the dungeon.’

In theory, it was possible.

But theory and reality were never the same.

If things didn’t go according to plan, the only outcome would be death.

By his calculations, the success rate was about ten percent.

But Zeon had no other choice.

He poured mana into Leviathan’s core.

Rumble—!

The core, infused with foreign mana, went berserk.

A tremendous force burst forth from it.

The power emitted by the core clashed violently with the dungeon itself.

Boom! Boom! KABOOM!

Explosions erupted throughout the dungeon.

It looked as if the world itself were coming to an end.

Levin looked at Zeon anxiously.

“Hyung…?”

“Wait a little longer.”

Without even blinking, Zeon focused on the changes in the dungeon.

Then—

A strange crack appeared about a hundred meters away.

“There! Follow me!”

“Yes, hyung!”

Without hesitation, they leapt into the fissure.

The overwhelming pressure they had never experienced before made Levin’s mind go blank.

Grabbing Levin’s hand, Zeon spoke,

“If you lose consciousness, it’s over. Stay focused.”

“Y-yes!”

Levin barely managed to hold onto his senses and looked at Zeon.

Inside the crack, it was pitch black.

The endless darkness felt like it would never end, filling Levin with fear.

But Zeon showed no sign of fear at all—his eyes were wide open, fixed straight ahead.

Seeing that gave Levin courage.

Then Zeon spotted something and shouted,

“There!”

In the direction he was looking, a pure white light could be seen.

The light was shrinking.

If it disappeared, they would become lost between dimensions forever.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Zeon threw himself toward the light, and Levin followed close behind.

Swoosh!

By a hair’s breadth, they passed through the light.

What greeted them on the other side was red sand.

Thud!

They crashed into the ground.

“Haah… haah… are we… outside?”

Levin panted heavily as he looked around.

Never before had a landscape of nothing but sand felt so welcoming.

“Whew…”

Zeon let out a sigh of relief and lay flat on the sand.

Having pushed his injured body too far, a pain like his entire body was being torn apart surged through him.

He closed his eyes, letting his body sink into the sand.

Levin lay down the same way and muttered,

“Haah… we survived…”

Even the gritty sandstorm felt pleasant, and the scorching sand felt strangely comforting.

Because they had survived, even the pain felt acceptable.

“Damn it! To be taken down without even putting up a fight… Lee Jiryung, that bastard! When I get back to Neo Seoul, I won’t let him off!”

“I knew from the start I couldn’t trust him.”

Eloi and Brielle vented their anger.

This was their reaction after regaining consciousness and hearing what had happened.

Eloi swung her mad nine-tailed fox wildly through the air, while Brielle swore she would create the worst poison in existence and force it down Lee Jiryung’s throat.

Zeon and Levin simply waited for their outburst to pass.

Fortunately, after about an hour, they finally calmed down.

Once somewhat composed, Eloi asked Zeon,

“By the way, where are we? If we got out of the dungeon, shouldn’t we have come out at the entrance?”

“We forced a crack in the dungeon to escape, so the exit was probably generated randomly.”

“So… you’re saying you don’t know.”

“That’s right.”

Zeon nodded.

A dungeon was a byproduct of Kurayan, drifting between dimensions.

If you exited from somewhere other than a proper entrance, you could easily become lost between dimensions.

The fact that they had safely returned to Earth at all was a miracle—
even if they didn’t know where they had ended up.

Brielle asked cautiously,

“But… we can still return to Neo Seoul, right?”

“Of course. Do you know who this guy is? The best guide in the desert. No navigator can find their way better than him. I guarantee it.”

Eloi, who had seen Zeon’s sense of direction firsthand, knew better than anyone how skilled he was.

Returning to Neo Seoul wasn’t the problem.

The real question was how long it would take.

Looking around, Zeon said,

“First, we need to figure out where we are. Once we know our exact location, finding Neo Seoul won’t be too difficult.”

Even for Zeon, identifying their location based solely on the scenery was impossible.

Deserts all looked more or less the same.

“If everyone’s recovered enough, let’s move.”

Zeon took the lead, with Brielle, Levin, and Eloi following behind.

They walked across the scorching desert sand.

At first, they chatted here and there, but as time passed, they gradually fell silent.

Walking through the desert drained far more stamina than walking on flat ground.

Even Levin and Eloi, not just Brielle, found themselves too exhausted to speak.

Brielle, with the weakest stamina, was struggling the most.

“Haah… haah…”

Her face was flushed red, and she was breathing heavily.

Seeing her staggering as if she might collapse, Levin reached out his hand.

“Take my hand.”

“I—I’m fine… I can walk…”

“Stop being stubborn.”

Levin grabbed her hand anyway.

“Thanks…”

“Just a little more. Hang in there.”

“O-okay…”

Levin supported Brielle as they continued across the sand.

Though he didn’t look back, Zeon knew Brielle was struggling.

Even so, he didn’t offer help.

He knew that such kindness would only harm her in the long run.

The greatest enemies in the desert weren’t the scorching sand or the blazing sun.

They were one’s own patience and belief.

The desert constantly tested people, pushing them to their limits.

Those who couldn’t endure or believe in themselves would never survive.

Zeon knew that better than anyone.

For both Brielle and Levin, this was their first real journey through the desert.

They had to overcome this hardship on their own.

Zeon maintained a pace they could follow.

Fortunately, Brielle endured and continued after him without falling behind.

Eventually, the sun began to set.

Only then did Zeon stop.

“Let’s rest here for today.”

“Haah…!”

“We survived…”

Brielle and Levin collapsed onto the ground at the same time.

Eloi sat beside them, her face showing clear exhaustion.

Even though she hadn’t said it, the long march had worn her down as well.

Among them, only Zeon remained unaffected.

Crack!

Zeon moved the sand, forming walls.

In an instant, a shelter that could block the sandstorm was created.

“There don’t seem to be any monsters nearby, so we should be able to rest safely tonight.”

“It’s a relief you’re with us. If we had been stranded on our own…”

Levin shuddered at the mere thought.

With a faint smile, Zeon said,

“You’ll manage just fine once you gain a bit more experience. Now then, take out the food from the subspace.”

“Yes!”

Levin pulled out the food and water he had packed.

Fortunately, they had brought enough to last several days.

“You prepared well. Good job.”

“Hehe…”

Levin smiled awkwardly at Eloi’s praise.

What he had brought were lunchboxes from slum street stalls.

Since time didn’t pass inside subspace, it was a practical method.

Thanks to that, the group was able to eat their fill.

“Ah… I feel alive again.”

“Whew…”

“This feels more like camping than being stranded.”

Brielle, Levin, and Eloi all looked satisfied.

All of them were awakened.

Though they were exhausted for now, with a full meal, they would recover quickly.

Levin took out backpacks from subspace and handed them out.

“You even brought backpacks? You really came prepared.”

“Looks like giving you that subspace bag was worth it.”

Levin gave a bitter smile at their praise.

“I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it… I never thought Lee Jiryung would stab us in the back like that.”

“Yeah… I thought he was at least someone who kept his word.”

Eloi clenched her teeth.

In Neo Seoul, Lee Jiryung had a fairly good reputation.

He was known as a cold and ruthless leader, but one who always kept his promises.

Because of that, many awakened lined up to join the Pegasus Raid Team.

Even though they had suffered massive losses this expedition, the amount of loot they obtained would allow them to recover quickly.

“As soon as I get back to Neo Seoul, I’m going to expose him. I’ll show everyone that the city hall’s supervisor isn’t someone to be taken lightly.”

Eloi ground her teeth, vowing revenge.

After that, they talked about how they would get proper revenge on Lee Jiryung—until they eventually fell asleep.

Once everyone was asleep, Zeon quietly stood up.

The sky was obscured by sand, and no stars were visible.

One way to navigate the desert was by using the stars.

Zeon’s body slowly rose into the air without a sound.

The sand lifted and carried him upward.

Riding the sand, Zeon ascended high into the sky.

Breaking through the sand-filled atmosphere, he was greeted by a dazzling sea of stars.

It was a breathtaking sight—one that no one in Neo Seoul had ever seen.

A world permitted only to Zeon, the sand mage.

He stood there, gazing at it for a long time.