Chapter 189

Levin suffered from extreme pain and eventually fainted, only opening his eyes the next morning.

“Ugh! I almost died.”

Just imagining the pain from last night made Levin shudder in horror.
It was the first time in his life he had experienced such agony.

He never wanted to go through something like that again.

Eloi, who had been observing Levin, said in surprise,

“Huh? Your body changed.”

“Pardon?”

“Why did your physique get so good all of a sudden?”

“Really?”

Levin slightly lifted his shirt.
Immediately, sharply defined abs came into view.

Not just that—his chest, arms, and legs were all packed with muscle.

Originally, Levin had a slim build. He didn’t have much muscle.

But overnight, he had transformed into a muscular physique.

And not just any muscles—they were firm and full of strength.

Levin asked Zeon,

“Is this because of the sand angler’s gallbladder?”

“That’s right!”

“Wow! Just eating one gallbladder did this?”

“That’s the effect of the sand angler. It’s hard to hunt, but once you consume its gallbladder, it brings your body to its optimal condition.”

“Thank you, hyung! I can’t believe you gave me something this valuable.”

Levin looked at Zeon with a deeply moved expression.
Eloi and Brielle grumbled from the side,

“Tch! If I knew this would happen, I would’ve eaten it.”

“Same here! What a waste.”

They said that, but neither of them actually looked envious.
Eloi had already trained his body to the point where he didn’t need the sand angler’s gallbladder, and Brielle, not being a martial-type awakened, didn’t need physical conditioning.

Zeon said,

“Let’s eat all the sand angler meat while we’re here.”

“Yes!”

Having already experienced the gallbladder’s effects, Levin answered without hesitation.

After that, Zeon’s group stayed at the oasis for another day.

During that time, Brielle made a robe using the sand angler’s belly hide.

From her pointed hat, materials for crafting seemed to come out endlessly.

She cut the hide using magically treated scissors and coated it with an unknown liquid.

Then she engraved magic circles and infused mana into it.

The three silently watched her work.

All the liquids Brielle used were created by herself through alchemy.

They were substances with properties that had never existed before.

Using these self-made alchemical liquids, she attempted to grant new attributes to the robe.

Not only in alchemy, but she had also reached a high level as an enchanter.

Knowing how incredible that was, Eloi looked at her in astonishment.

‘This kid… she’s no joke.’

As mana was infused and the magic circle activated, the robe emitted light.

New properties had been successfully added.

“Alright! It’s complete.”

Brielle held up the robe and smiled brightly.

Levin cautiously asked,

“What kind of properties does it have?”

“Wind resistance, water resistance, insulation against cold and heat, fatigue recovery, and protection. That’s a pretty stacked set of options.”

“As expected, that’s amazing.”

“Hehe!”

Brielle put on the robe.
Immediately, the intense heat was blocked, making it much easier to breathe.

It had all the functions she needed.

For something made in a rush, it was quite a success.

Brielle then went on to make shoes as well.

After several attempts, she managed to grant them a lightweight property.

If her body became lighter and prevented her from sinking into the sand, it would save a huge amount of stamina.

By the time Brielle finished the robe and shoes, the oasis vanished as if it had been an illusion.

Since they had also eaten all the sand angler meat, Zeon’s group left the place where the oasis had been.

Following behind Zeon, Brielle muttered,

‘This is great. It’s not hard anymore. It’s not even hot. When we get back to Neo Seoul, I should find ways to improve this robe’s performance.’

Even after walking for a long time, she didn’t feel tired, nor did she feel the heat—it was comfortable.

At this rate, it felt like she could walk all day without getting exhausted.

Without realizing it, Brielle began humming.

Levin felt the same—it wasn’t difficult for him either.

The group’s movement speed became incomparably faster than before.

Because of that, Eloi no longer needed to watch over them from the rear.

He moved up to walk beside Zeon at the front.

“You wandered the desert for a long time, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then there must be nowhere you haven’t been. Have you been around here too?”

“I haven’t been everywhere. I’ve never been west of Neo Seoul.”

Eight years wasn’t that long.

It was far from enough to traverse the entire Earth.

The places Zeon had visited so far were limited to the southern and eastern regions of Neo Seoul.

The west was unknown territory even to him.

He didn’t know what kind of monsters lived there, what the environment was like, or what kind of people resided there.

Looking around, Zeon said,

“I don’t know how far we are from Neo Seoul, but if we’re lucky, we might find a colony.”

“A colony in a place like this? No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like an environment people could live in.”

“I’ve seen people survive in even harsher conditions than this. There must be survivors somewhere.”

There was strong conviction in Zeon’s voice.

He believed deeply in humanity’s resilience.

‘Even if Earth becomes more ruined than this, humans will survive. Individually we’re weak, but together, we show incredible strength.’

However, contrary to his expectations, even after walking for several days, they found no trace of human presence.

All they could see was an endless, vast desert.

The never-ending ordeal was wearing the group down.

Still, Zeon did not tire and continued leading them from the front.

“Wait.”

Zeon suddenly stopped the group.

The three looked at him with puzzled expressions.

“Why?”

“There are demonic beasts ahead.”

“Demonic beasts? I’ll go check.”

Levin stepped forward.
In an instant, he turned into a ghost and flew off.

Eloi smirked.

“Told you—he’s perfect as a scout.”

Whenever Zeon sensed danger, Levin would step up to scout like this.

Repeatedly using his ghost form had increased both his speed and the duration he could maintain it.

Levin finished scouting in no time and returned.

“They look like wolves.”

“Wolves?”

“Yes. They have large horns on their heads, and they’re big. At least around D-rank.”

“If they’re D-rank, they’re not that dangerous.”

Eloi chuckled.

“But…”

“What?”

“They have saddles on their backs.”

“Saddles? Like the kind people ride?”

“Yes.”

“Then does that mean there are humans who tamed those wolf beasts?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see any humans nearby.”

“If humans really tamed demonic beasts, that’d be incredible.”

Eloi’s expression filled with anticipation.

They quickly headed toward where the wolf-like beasts were.

As they crossed a large sand dune, a wide basin came into view.

Just as Levin had said, wolf-like demonic beasts were there. Large saddles were strapped to their backs.

Zeon said,

“The saddles are too big for humans.”

“Yeah. It looks like they were made for something much larger than a human.”

At that moment—

The wolf beasts suddenly let out a howl.

Awooooo!

At the same time, the sand dozens of meters away began to stir, and the ground split open.

What emerged was a humanoid monster, about two to three meters tall.

A grotesque face, large fangs protruding from its lips, clothes made of beast hide, and a massive sword.

It looked human—but it wasn’t.

“What is that?”

“Oh… it’s big.”

The one who recognized them was Brielle.

Levin asked,

“Are those orcs?”

“They are! Only orcs have that kind of foul stench. But why are orcs here?”

Brielle frowned, unable to understand.

The one who answered her was Zeon.

“It seems there’s something underground here that attracted the orcs’ interest.”

“What could that be?”

Brielle tilted her head.

The orcs she knew were nothing but brute force and stupidity.

Born with powerful bodies, they didn’t have the concept of adapting to environments.

If it was cold, they endured the cold. If it was hot, they endured the heat.

They also hated confined spaces, so they rarely went underground.
There was only one reason orcs would go beneath the surface.

“Don’t tell me… there’s food or humans down there…”

Brielle shuddered at the thought.

The orcs that emerged approached the wolf beasts.
The beasts, in turn, glared toward Zeon’s group and growled.

Brielle frowned.

“It seems they caught our scent and called the orcs.”

“Those wolves are that intelligent?”

“They’re not ordinary wolves. They’re Blood Wulfs—ridden by orc riders.”

“Blood Wulfs?”

“Yeah. They’re fierce, brutal, and said to have intelligence comparable to a child. It’s my first time seeing them in person too.”

It was something she had heard long ago from a High Elf elder.
The memory had been faint, but seeing the orcs brought it back.

“Sniff! Humans!”

“I smell them.”

As if understanding the Blood Wulfs’ signals, the orcs climbed onto their backs.

Surprisingly, the orcs spoke a language.

Though mixed with unpleasant breathing sounds, their pronunciation was nearly identical to humans.

The Blood Wulfs, carrying the orc riders, charged forward at terrifying speed.

“They are humans.”

“Food. Capture them.”

The orcs shouted upon spotting Zeon’s group.

At that, Eloi flared up.

“Arrogant orc bastards! Who are you calling food?”

She drew her Mad Nine-Tailed Fox weapon and charged at them.

“Sniff! Elf.”

“Elves taste bad. Kill.”

Recognizing Eloi’s identity, the orcs released killing intent.

Boom! Boom!

Eloi clashed with the orc riders.

Against more than a dozen Blood Wulfs and their riders, she rampaged like a madwoman.

“Graaagh!”

“That elf is insane!”

Watching the orc riders being slaughtered by Eloi, Zeon began to move.

His destination was the underground passage the orcs had emerged from.

A rotten stench rose from below, but Zeon entered without hesitation.

It was like an ant tunnel.

The sand walls somehow held their shape without collapsing.

Along the walls were several small rooms.

Zeon opened one of them.

At that moment, the smell of blood rushed out.

Seeing what was inside, Zeon’s face hardened.

The room was filled—piled high—with human corpses.

Bodies that hadn’t been dead long were tangled together like garbage, reeking of blood.

“…Ha.”

A sigh escaped him.

Orcs wouldn’t dig a place like this beneath the sand themselves.
This had clearly been built by humans.

They must have been discovered by passing orc riders—and killed.

Clear bite marks from orcs remained on the bodies.

It was obvious they had been killed and eaten before Zeon’s group arrived.

All of them were emaciated, pitiful corpses.

People who had tried to survive in this hellish world by hiding beneath the sand…
But the orcs had found them anyway.

There was no place left for humans who gave up fighting.

“May you be reborn in a peaceful place in your next life…”

Zeon offered a silent prayer and ignited flames.