Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 28

Whizz!

In the eyes of the Queen Bee, busy with her movements, Zeon’s figure appeared.

The Queen Bee was aware.

She knew that Zeon was the one who had dealt a serious blow to her colony.

Although she was a Queen Bee, she possessed intelligence close to that of a human.

That’s why she wasn’t recklessly attacking like Go Duwon; she was carefully assessing the situation.

Zeon found it fascinating.

Facing a huge monster like the Queen Bee didn’t fill him with great fear.

Despite his recent awakening, he had fought numerous other monsters.

Those he’d faced were never inferior to the Queen Bee. In fact, some were even more dangerous.

The Queen Bee’s true terror was unleashed when she commanded countless Exploding Bees. But having lost most of her retinue, she was less menacing now.

Zeon didn’t make that decision because he was conceited. He was incredibly composed at the moment.

Skills were the blossoming of talents harbored by those Awakened. When conditions, timing, personal effort, and intuition harmonized, evolution occurred.

Initially, the Awakened had realized and developed their skills in that manner. Yet, as time passed and experience accumulated, a more efficient way of skill development emerged.

A sort of formula had been established.

Most Awakened followed this path because it minimized waste.

But this method had a significant drawback; it limited one’s thinking due to adhering to a set formula.

Believing that the formula was the most efficient way, there seemed little reason to explore alternative methods.

However, Zeon was different.

As the only Awakened who could manipulate sand.

He walked a path no one had ventured before, prompting him to earnestly seek the optimal way to grow.

Thanks to his efforts and contemplation, Zeon gained an unshakable, rational mindset in any situation.

Of course, the guidance from Dyoden played a significant role in this.

‘I have the upper hand in this matchup.’

The issue now was how to safely rescue Har, suspended on the Queen Bee’s abdomen.

Even if he killed the Queen Bee, it would be futile if he could not save her.

This posed a sort of handicap for Zeon.

He drew a mental picture.

When the picture of saving Har was completed, the Queen Bee’s grew impatient and attacked.

Shiing!

At nearly the speed of sound, the Queen Bee’s huge body lunged at Zeon.

In an instant, Zeon erected a sand barrier.

It was taller and thicker than what he’d previously created.

It was evident that the Queen Bee, about to collide with this thick barrier, would experience significant impact.

Yet, no impact sound echoed.

Just before hitting the sand barrier, the Queen Bee adjusted her trajectory, as if she had anticipated it.

She abruptly changed her trajectory after coming to a sudden stop, shooting vertically upward.

Swooosh!

Hovering high in the air, the Queen Bee that had been observing Zeon descended right upon him.

The initial attack was a feint; this time, it was the real strike.

But Zeon remained unfazed.

It was all within his expected range.

“Aaah!”

Shoosh! Shoosh! Shoosh!

The sand around Zeon’s feet condensed and shot towards the Queen Bee.

It was the Sand Blaster, projecting sand at high pressure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Sand Blaster consecutively hit the Queen Bee’s body.

Each blast wasn’t excessively powerful, but enough to slightly destabilize the Queen Bee’s balance.

As a result, the Queen Bee’s flight speed slightly diminished.

In that moment, Zeon maneuvered away from the Queen Bee’s flight path using Sand Strides.

Swoosh!

The Queen Bee narrowly grazed past him.

At that instant, Zeon launched Sand Missiles.

Bang!

With a thunderous noise, a Sand Missile hit the egg Har was hanging from.

Both the egg and Har fell due to the impact.

‘Alright!’

Zeon smiled.

The thrill of seeing the mental picture he’d drawn becoming a reality exhilarated him. Yet, he refrained from celebrating just yet.

His mana had bottomed out.

It was the price for relentlessly using his skills.

Keeik!

The Queen Bee, now stripped of the egg and Har, shrieked in frustration.

She flew back to retrieve them, devoid of the malicious cunningness from before. Impatience had overridden her rationale.

Quietly murmuring, Zeon enacted his plan.

“Sand Mixer!”

A flash erupted from Elura’s Tear hanging around his neck, instantly replenishing his depleted mana.

In that moment, an immense amount of sand surged, enveloping the Queen Bee and rotating at a high speed.

Kwaaah!

The sand rotated at high speed and gnawed away the Queen Bee.

Kieek!

Struggling, the Queen Bee screamed as she attempted to break free from the Sand Mixer. However, Zeon skillfully controlled it, keeping the Queen Bee entirely contained.

The high-speed rotating sand tore off the Queen Bee’s wings and shattered her exoskeleton.

Her continuous screams summoned the surviving few Exploding Bees to save her.

Some attacked Zeon while others plunged into the sand to rescue the trapped Queen Bee.

In that moment of clarity, Go Duwon shot arrows to protect Zeon.

Pheew!

Explosions ensued around Zeon, caused by the Exploding Bees.

Thanks to this, Zeon maintained his concentration to sustain the Sand Mixer.

Explosions reverberated within the sand continuously.

The sound of Exploding Bees caught in the Sand Mixer exploding echoed.

The blasts severely wounded the already weakened Queen Bee. The loyalty of Exploding Bees rushing to save her inadvertently inflicted further harm.

Boom!

Finally, a large hole pierced through the Queen Bee’s head.

The sand dug into the hole gnawed at her brain and internal organs.

The sand, spinning at high speed, was now stained blood red.

“Okay! That’s enough.”

The moment Zeon halted the skill.

Although he spoke calmly, his face was completely white.

His mental power and mana had been completely exhausted.

Thud!

The Sand Mixer stopped, the Queen Bee crashed to the ground.

Her condition was truly pitiful.

Her head was missing, and traces of sand abrasions marred her body. The wings that enabled her high-speed flight had vanished without a trace.

The ultimate end of a mighty creature that had long ruled the Black Forest was far from dignified.

“Har!”

With the threat gone, Go Duwon rushed to his daughter.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

“Dad?”

Har looked at Go Duwon while holding onto the egg.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!”

Har replied with difficulty.

Go Duwon’s gaze shifted to the egg cradled in her arms.

“Why are you holding the Queen Bee’s egg? Hurry and throw it away.”

“Do you know what this is?”

“What?”

“It’s not an egg laid by the Queen Bee.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do.”

“What?”

“This child called out to me.”

“The egg called out to you?”

“Yeah!”

Har nodded.

While playing in front of her house, she felt an intense attraction.

The egg was calling out to her.

Guided by the call, she found herself standing in front of the Queen Bee. Despite being attacked by Exploding Bees on the way here, she emerged unscathed.

It was because the egg protected her.

Go Duwon looked at the egg Har was holding with a new expression.

A faint blue light was emanating from the egg.

It had the same shape as an egg, but there was no shell. It seemed as though a condensed blue light had been compressed into a rounded shape.

Something came to Go Duwon’s mind.

“Could this be a spirit’s egg?”

His wife had mentioned it before.

She had said that the land was so damaged that spirits couldn’t survive in it any longer, hence the absence of spirits. Yet, she hoped for the birth of a spirit someday.

Go Duwon asked out of curiosity.

“How are spirits born?”

“It’s the will to exist, guided by the natural elements. When combined with the desires of humans or elves, a spirit is born somewhere. The primordial spirits exist in egg form, nourishing themselves on the wishes of life until they break out of their shells.”

So, it was evident that the egg Har held was born by itself in the Queen Bee’s nest. It deemed that advantageous for survival and called out to Har.

‘Because Har is a half-elf.’

Elves were said to be born with a strong affinity for spirits. Since there were no other elves around, it was evident that the half-elf Har was the one called by the spirit.

“Right! This is undoubtedly a spirit’s egg.”

“A spirit’s egg? Does that mean a spirit will be born from this?”

Zeon looked with fascination.

It was a world where Awakened individuals were dominated.

The addition of spirits wouldn’t be entirely out of the ordinary. However, Zeon had never even heard the word ‘spirit’ before.

Without any hesitation or wariness, Har extended the spirit’s egg to Zeon.

“Wanna touch it?”

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah!”

Zeon cautiously reached out to the spirit’s egg.

For a moment, he felt a strange warmth in his palm.

The warmth spread from his hand to his heart.

“Mmm!”

Feeling the odd sensation, Zeon withdrew his hand. At that moment, Har smiled and said.

“Thank you.”

“Who? The egg?”

“Yeah!”

“Can you hear the egg’s voice?”

“Yeah! It’s been waiting for someone to hear its voice for a long time, ever since it was born in the Queen Bee’s nest.”

“So, it was you.”

“Yeah! It said if you left, it wouldn’t have another chance, so it hurriedly called out to me.”

“Hmm.”

Har replied with an innocent expression.

He didn’t think she was lying.

At that moment, Go Duwon took Zeon’s hand.

“Thank you so much! Thanks to you, my daughter is safe, and we can revive the Black Forest. It’s all because of you. I don’t know how to repay this favor.”

“It’s okay. This is enough.”

Zeon replied, looking at Elura’s Tear hanging around his neck.

The more he looked at it, the more remarkable it seemed.

An item that completely replenished mana once a day.

It alleviated his mana worries.

That alone was a significant gain.

“Let’s go now. If we don’t return by morning, Dyoden will leave me behind.”

“Why not stay here instead? It’d be a hundred times better than following Dyoden. I don’t know if you are aware of this, accompanying Dyoden on his path is tantamount to self-destruction.”

“I know.”

“Then are you going to stay here?”

“I’ll still follow him.”

“Why on earth?”

“I just feel like it.”

Zeon chuckled.

That was all he could say for now.

Go Duwon looked at Zeon with a slightly pitiful expression. But he didn’t try to convince him any further.

Even though Zeon’s abilities were enticing, with the Exploding Bee threat eliminated, it wasn’t necessary.

The Black Forest, now rid of the Exploding Bees, was incredibly quiet.

The towering shadows formed by charred trees created an otherworldly scene.

At least there was space to escape the sun, making the Black Forest a valuable place.

But it wasn’t the place for Zeon.

He belonged on the sands of a desert, basking under the scorching sun.

As they exited the Black Forest, Dyoden greeted them warmly.

“You’re late. Idiot!”

‘This old dog!’

Zeon responded with a smile.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

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