Chapter 275

Reconstructing territory into an environment better suited for itself was called territorialization.

Territorialization was a type of authority.

Not every S-grade magical beast could use territorialization.

Only a tiny minority among S-grade magical beasts—

Beings born fundamentally different from the rest possessed such a power.

Any area undergoing territorialization transformed into the most optimal environment possible for the magical beast.

Which meant that within the black domain stretching across the horizon, Moby Dick’s power would be maximized.

They did not know exactly what abilities or skills Moby Dick possessed, but one thing was certain — inside that domain, its abilities would be amplified tremendously.

Zeon crossed his arms and muttered,

“This is going to be troublesome.”

“What exactly is troublesome about it?”

“Exactly what I said. Inside a territorialized zone, a magical beast’s combat power doubles, while we can’t properly use our own abilities.”

“Well, without sand your power is cut in half, isn’t it?”

“To some extent.”

“But I’m different. My power isn’t affected by the environment.”

Lee Jeongho gripped the hilt of his sword, confidence evident in his voice.

His only weapon was his sword.

He had never wielded anything else.

Though an awakened one, he had walked the path of a martial warrior.

Rather than relying solely on skills, he had endlessly honed his own ability to reach his current level.

He existed on a completely different level from awakened ones who depended entirely on skills or special weapons.

Even inside a domain where a magical beast’s authority was amplified, his skill would remain unchanged.

That was the source of Lee Jeongho’s confidence.

“No matter how powerful a magical beast is, it dies the same once a sword pierces its throat. Moby Dick is no exception.”

“You’re certainly confident. I hope it really will be as easy to kill Moby Dick as you say.”

“It will.”

Even after hearing Lee Jeongho’s words, Zeon’s expression did not relax.

Unlike Lee Jeongho, he had fought magical beasts capable of territorialization before.

Not once had those battles ended easily.

Magical beasts capable of territorialization were truly special existences.

Creatures that had transcended the limitations of ordinary magical beasts and become something closer to divine spirits.

Moby Dick was probably one of those beings.

Battles against such creatures never unfolded as simply as expected.

Zeon stared intently at the blackened domain.

At first glance it seemed close, but it would still take at least three or four more days to reach it.

Assuming no other incidents occurred in the meantime.

But from experience, incidents always happened at times like this.

Zeon turned to Pabilsa and asked,

“How is Arkelon’s condition?”

“Not good.”

“Will it endure until we arrive there?”

“It should manage that much.”

Pabilsa’s words sounded more like a wish than certainty.

He was simply hoping Arkelon would somehow endure.

“I understand. Cast Cure in advance and preserve as much stamina as possible. Once we enter that domain, Cure probably won’t work anymore.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“In places where territorialization has occurred, ordinary skills stop functioning properly. The magical beast’s authority dominates the laws themselves. So cast your Cure skills before entering the territorialized zone.”

“I understand.”

Pabilsa nodded with a hardened expression.

Zeon was the only person here who had experienced magical beast territorialization before.

Even Pabilsa, who had wandered the desert alongside Arkelon for a hundred years, had never encountered anything like it.

Naturally, they had no choice but to thoroughly prepare according to Zeon’s advice.

That was why they had sought his help in the first place.

Kaylie spoke to Zeon.

“What should I do?”

“The moment we enter the territorialized area, the magical beast’s energy will begin eroding everything. We need to prepare so Arkelon doesn’t get corrupted.”

“Corrosion… Got it.”

Kaylie nodded.

She was a high-ranking enchanter.

No one could rival her when it came to upgrading item performance or adding entirely new options.

Whenever she had time, whenever she obtained new materials, she constantly used her abilities without rest.

There were many failures, but occasionally there were tremendous successes.

And when those great successes occurred, unexpected options would sometimes appear.

Like the subspace option that had manifested on Zeon’s gauntlet.

As it happened, she possessed another item like that.

Kaylie hurried toward the storage room.

Thud! Thud!

Arkelon trudged forward with difficulty.

It had been four days since they discovered Moby Dick’s domain.

Throughout that time, Arkelon had continued walking steadily.

Yet they still had not reached Moby Dick’s territory.

“At this rate, we should arrive in about a day.”

Zeon stood atop Arkelon’s shell, estimating the distance.

Crackle!

Sparks burst around him and Arkelon.

Even though they were still far from the domain, its influence had already begun affecting them.

It felt as though the domain itself was rejecting both Arkelon and Zeon.

Then an unusual sight caught Zeon’s eye.

“What is this?”

A massive shadow loomed over him and Arkelon.

Something enormous enough to block the sunlight floated above their heads.

When he looked up, he saw a gigantic magical beast gliding across the sky with its wings spread wide.

It resembled a dragon, though much smaller.

Yet it was larger and far more ferocious-looking than a wyvern.

“A drake.”

And not just any drake, but a massive one covered in blood-red scales.

A drake that large was already extremely rare.

A crimson-red drake was even rarer.

But Zeon had seen such a drake before.

“Crimson Drake.”

The creature soaring through the heavens as though the sky itself belonged to it was unmistakably the Crimson Drake — a boss-class magical beast from a dungeon.

Zeon recognized the Crimson Drake because he had encountered it once already.

In fact, it had been in the very first dungeon he entered after awakening.

The boss of the ghost dungeon Zeon had first been dragged into was the Crimson Drake.

He had nearly died there, and it was also where he met Deioden.

Had he not met Deioden, he would have become food for the Crimson Drake and ceased to exist in this world.

A blue force field shimmered around the Crimson Drake’s blood-red body, completely at odds with its appearance.

It clearly possessed the same trait as the boss Zeon had encountered inside the dungeon.

However, judging by its far larger size and the much denser force field surrounding it, this was obviously a far more powerful specimen.

‘At minimum, an A-grade magical beast. Why is something like that here?’

A magical beast powerful enough to rule over a dungeon usually had a strong sense of territory.

Not only would it refuse to allow other creatures into its domain, it also would not casually trespass into another magical beast’s territory.

And it especially never approached the territory of a superior magical beast.

That was the law of the magical beast ecosystem as Zeon understood it.

There were almost no exceptions to that rule.

At least, not within Zeon’s experience.

Moreover, this was not an environment suitable for Crimson Drakes.

Crimson Drakes normally lived in volcanic regions.

They were creatures that swam through lava itself.

For such a creature to leave its habitat and appear here was unquestionably abnormal.

Zeon frowned.

Because another gigantic magical beast had appeared besides the Crimson Drake.

Thud! Thud!

A massive bipedal magical beast wandered forward lazily.

The muscular creature carrying an enormous club was an Ogre.

And not just any Ogre, but a Gray Ogre — considered the strongest among Ogres.

Gray Ogres were medium-sized magical beasts standing nearly seven meters tall.

Though classified as medium-sized, their strength and abilities rivaled large-class magical beasts.

Worse still, they possessed humanlike cunning, making them even more troublesome than many large magical beasts.

The force field of an A-grade Gray Ogre repelled most forms of magic, making it extremely difficult to fight.

For magic-type awakened ones, Gray Ogres were a disaster incarnate.

Any ordinary magic-user caught by one would become prey before they could even put up proper resistance.

Gray Ogres also had preferred habitats.

This was not terrain they favored.

Yet a Gray Ogre had appeared here anyway.

“So that one was drawn in by Moby Dick’s domain too.”

Moby Dick was a magical beast Zeon had never encountered before.

Its nature, its traits — everything about it remained unknown.

That was why he could not understand what exactly about Moby Dick had drawn these A-grade magical beasts here.

“The problem is that those two probably won’t be the only ones showing up.”

Only those two were visible for now, but as time passed, more magical beasts could appear.

They needed to enter the domain before that happened.

The only fortunate thing was that both the Crimson Drake and the Gray Ogre were completely focused on Moby Dick’s territory and paid no attention to Arkelon.

Had they encountered those monsters anywhere else, they would have been forced into a life-or-death battle.

“Moby Dick… a magical beast resembling the giant whale from myth. What exactly is it about that creature that attracts monsters like these?”

Neither Lee Jeongho nor Claire shared any information about Moby Dick.

Of course, neither of them had personally seen it yet, so they probably knew little themselves.

Still, they must have obtained at least some information from Neo Seoul’s Pathfinder Team, yet they shared absolutely none of it with Zeon.

That meant they were maintaining strict secrecy.

“What are they trying to do with Moby Dick’s heart?”

Until now, Zeon had never particularly questioned Jin Geumho or City Hall’s events.

But this time was different.

Moby Dick was simply too extraordinary a magical beast.

He would soon meet it himself, but he could not help wondering what kind of creature could attract so many monsters and humans alike.

Thud! Thud!

Even while Zeon pondered, Arkelon continued steadily onward.

Though it looked exhausted enough to collapse at any moment, it persistently advanced toward Moby Dick’s domain.

Zeon even began to wonder whether Arkelon, like the other magical beasts, was instinctively drawn toward Moby Dick’s territory.

Otherwise, its current behavior made no sense.

At that moment, Claire and Pabilsa emerged from inside Arkelon’s shell.

It was time to cast Cure one final time.

Until now, the two had alternated using the Cure skill, but that was no longer necessary.

Using the skill together would not double the effect, but it would still undoubtedly be more effective than one person casting it alone.

That was why Pabilsa and Claire activated Cure simultaneously.

Fwoooosh!

A brilliant light burst from both of their bodies and was absorbed into Arkelon.

After absorbing the light, Arkelon’s expression visibly brightened.

In contrast, the two who had cast Cure looked utterly drained.

Naturally so, since every use of Cure consumed an enormous amount of mana.

As though expressing gratitude, Arkelon lowered its head to meet their eyes.

Pabilsa and Claire stroked Arkelon’s head, silently sharing their emotions with it.

Though their objectives differed, the sincerity of their affection for Arkelon was genuine.

Just as Pabilsa and Claire withdrew their hands from Arkelon’s head—

Craaack!

The surrounding sand suddenly convulsed violently.

Zeon sensed the anomaly first and shouted,

“Everyone, get back!”

At the same moment, he manipulated the sand to erect a massive wall before the two of them.

An instant later, something slammed into the sand wall.

Boooom!

The wall exploded apart with a deafening roar.

An enormous cloud of sand scattered in every direction.

Pabilsa and Claire were showered completely in sand.

Neither of them even understood what had happened.

The sudden attack had left them stunned.

Zeon immediately manipulated the sand beneath them and dragged them backward.

Boom!

The very next instant, a gigantic tentacle slammed down where they had been standing.

Only then did Pabilsa and Claire recover their senses.

“Hah!”

“What is that?!”

Both stared with pale faces at the writhing tentacle before them.

As Zeon leapt down from Arkelon’s back, he shouted,

“It’s the Black Sea Anemone!”

Fssshhh!

The moment his words ended, a monstrous creature with countless waving tentacles burst upward from beneath the sand.

A chimera resembling a sea anemone—

The Black Sea Anemone.

Standing atop it was the curse sorcerer Pantsy.

Pantsy shouted,

“Bessie! Devour that old turtle!”