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Chapter 11

‘It’s good!’

Zeon thought as he chewed on the jerky.

It was jerky from a Giant Horned Hyena.

The desert was devoid of almost any moisture.

The meat, wrapped in cloth, had lost all its moisture and shrunk, becoming edible jerky.

The slight odor was a flaw, but it was bearable enough to eat.

The important thing was not having to worry about an empty stomach anymore.

There was plenty of jerky, and Zeon nibbled on it whenever he felt hungry. It wasn’t a lavish meal, but it provided enough nutrients for his growth.

The only thing that was lacking was drinking water.

Since he quenched his thirst with dew every morning, heI had no choice but to suffer from thirst for the rest of the day.

At first, not being able to drink water all day was agonizing, but with time, he learned to conserve every drop of moisture.

Zeon refrained from speaking to conserve moisture expelled through sweat, even restricting upper body movements when walking through the sand.

Eventually, even leg movements were minimized.

Because of this, when viewed from a distance, it looked as if the sand itself was carrying him around even though he was staying still.

Later, Dyoden grumbled.

“The idiot has managed to acquire some useful skills. While some struggle, he strolls through the desert comfortably.”

In the desert, Zeon’s abilities were absolute.

Despite his low rank since awakening, if he gradually realizes his potential, it would grant him absolute power in the desert.

Dyoden trudged along, as he thought the world was terribly unfair.

What he didn’t know was that Zeon was thinking the same thing when he saw him.

Zeon glanced up at the sky.

‘Humidity? Is there a water source nearby?’

He sensed a faint moisture in the air.

In the past, he wouldn’t have noticed, but after awakening and following Dyoden for a while, it had heightened his senses drastically.

His sharpened senses didn’t miss the subtle moisture in the desert air.

Zeon looked at Dyoden.

Whether by chance or not, Dyoden seemed to head towards a place with strong moisture.

Zeon smiled bitterly.

‘It can’t be a coincidence. There’s no way that monster wouldn’t know what I noticed…’

The term “monster” wasn’t enough to describe Dyoden.

Dyoden’s power was beyond imagination, to the point where it was even doubtful whether he was a human.

Zeon wondered how much more Dyoden was capable of, perhaps suspecting that even the skills he had displayed so far might be just the tip of the iceberg.

‘I really want to know what the limitations of that monster are.’

Soon, a massive sand dune appeared. The sand swirled away like waves in the wind.

‘It’s a recently formed dune.’

The desert always seemed unchanged, but in reality, it’s constantly shifting and changing.

Thanks to his awakening as a Sand Mage, Zeon could gather various information just by observing the surface of the sand.

After struggling to climb over the colossal sand dune, a breathtaking sight unfolded.

A vast pond filled with water.

It was undoubtedly an oasis.

“Ah!”

Zeon exclaimed.

Thinking that he could drink as much water as he wanted, he ran to the oasis without hesitation.

He had been good at holding back his thirst until now, but when he saw the sight full of water, he lost all control.

“Tsk!”

Dyoden clicked his tongue, watching Zeon rush recklessly towards the oasis.

Zeon reached the oasis in no time.

He put his head into the water and drank it like crazy.

As the water rushed into his mouth, it brought him overwhelming happiness.

As he was mindlessly drinking the water, a faint glimmer caught Zeon’s eye underwater.

A spherical shape was softly emitting light like a lamp from the depths.

Forgetting that he had plunged his head into the water, Zeon stared at the spherical light source.

Zeon stared blankly as the spherical light source got closer.

His eyes were out of focus, as if he had been possessed.

As the light drew closer to his face, Dyoden snapped,

“Snap out of it, you idiot!”

With a curse, Dyoden grabbed Zeon’s back and pulled him away.

Unable to resist Dyoden’s power, Zeon fell backwards.

And then it happened.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, something enormous pierced through the water.

A massive monster with a body that could engulf even a Giant Horned Hyena in one bite, an oversized mouth occupying more than half of its frame, and an antenna-like thorn on its forehead with a round, sizable flesh attached.

What Zeon mistook for a light source earlier was that rounded flesh emitting a faint light.

Dyoden explained.

“It’s a Sand Angler. It lures its prey with the light on its forehead and devours them.”

“Ah!”

Zeon, who had narrowly escaped with his life, looked at the Sand Angler sinking back into the pond, his expression dazed.

Had Dyoden not saved him, he would have been swallowed whole.

Dyoden took out Kreion and said.

“Fools like you get reckless once they’ve started to adapt a bit. Do you understand? You idiot!”

“…”

“Answer!”

“Yes!”

Dyoden didn’t wait for Zeon’s response;

His body had already shot out onto the surface of the water.

He swung Kreion towards the Sand Angler that was trying to dive below the surface.

Boom!

As Kreion swung down, a column of water shot up as if a bomb had exploded.

Frightened, the Sand Angler attempted to flee deeper into the water. But Dyoden wouldn’t allow it.

“Kwaah!”

Dyoden led with Kreion, diving into the water.

Swoosh!

Like a torpedo, Dyoden shot forward at a terrifying speed.

The Sand Angler, giving up on escaping, turned its body, attempting to devour Dyoden. But that was the Sand Angler’s downfall.

Splash!

Kreion and Dyoden pierced straight through the Sand Angler.

The enormous monster ceased to move, floating lifelessly above the water.

Dyoden grabbed its tail and walked out of the oasis.

Thud!

Dyoden threw the Sand Angler’s massive body under Zeon’s feet.

“Whoa!”

Zeon took a step back in surprise.

It felt as if the Sand Angler could still strike at any moment.

Even in death, the Sand Angler’s awe remained.

It was unbelievable that such an enormous monster lived in an oasis.

As Dyoden inserted Kreion into the monster’s body, he said.

“Consider this monster as the inhabitant of oases occasionally found in deserts. It lures in fools like you with the light on its forehead and devours them in a single gulp. So, don’t stick your head into an oasis you see in the desert so carelessly. You empty-headed bastard!”

“Yes!”

Guilt-ridden, Zeon responded weakly.

“Skin it.”

“What?”

“Are you deaf? I said, skin it. The Sand Angler is a C-rank monster. Its skin is soft and flexible, perfect for making robes. So, cut it up and make a robe.”

“Do you by any chance need a robe?”

“Not for me, idiot! It’s for you! How is your intelligence deteriorating more and more? It’s not like you’ve been cursed with petrification magic on your head.”

“Oh!”

Finally understanding Dyoden’s intention, Zeon quickly flipped the Sand Angler.

The back had numerous brownish, uneven protrusions, while the belly was black and smooth. However, it was incredibly tough; even a dagger didn’t penetrate easily.

In the end, Zeon infused mana into the dagger and managed to cut the skin.

“Huff! Huff!”

Zeon’s whole body was drenched in sweat. But the job wasn’t done yet.

He still had to make the robe.

There was no needle. Even if there were, it wouldn’t fit the Sand Angler’s massive skin.

After thinking for a while, Zeon crafted a needle-like tool from one of the Sand Angler’s bones. For the thread, he thinly sliced the Sand Angler’s back shell.

Fortunately, Zeon was very dexterous.

It was his first attempt at making a robe, but after struggling for half a day, he managed to create something reasonably similar.

While Zeon crafted the robe, Dyoden dismantled the Sand Angler’s carcass.

Every part of the Sand Angler’s flesh was useful.

There was barely any poison in the monster meat, and it tasted quite good.

Among them, the best part, the gallbladder, was currently in Dyoden’s hands. He threw the palm-sized gallbladder to Zeon.

“Eat it!”

“Huh? Are you telling me to eat it raw?”

Zeon looked bewildered.

“Yes! It’s the best thing for weaklings like you. So, eat every bit of it.”

“……”

“If you don’t eat it, I’ll force it down myself.”

“I’ll eat. I’ll eat it.”

Zeon knew Dyoden always meant what he said.

With a deeply furrowed brow, he bit into the Sand Angler’s gallbladder,

Using every bit of effort, fearing someone might accuse him of not eating it thoroughly.

‘Damn it!’

Zeon was exasperated, having exhausted all his pride.

The fortunate thing was that there was no need to chew the gallbladder. Once Zeon took a bite and put it in his mouth, it melted and went down his throat. Yet, he didn’t feel satiated.

Even after consuming the entire gallbladder of an enormous Sand Angler, Zeon’s stomach remained unchanged.

“It’s fascinating! Heh!”

Zeon, murmuring to himself, suddenly wore a different expression.

He felt an intense surge of heat suddenly processing in his stomach.

“Aaaah!”

In unbearable agony he hadn’t imagined, Zeon collapsed, rolling around on the ground.

“Hmph!”

Dyoden ignored Zeon’s plight, and expertly cut up the Sand Angler’s meat.

Sizzle!

Flames erupted from his hands, cooking the meat to perfection in an instant..

Chewing on the well-cooked Sand Angler, Dyoden glanced at the oasis.

“This too will disappear soon.”

Desert oases are like illusions.

They appear one day and disappear the next, relocating to random places through desert mirages.

Humans cannot predict these changes.

Although the ruler of the oasis, the Sand Angler, had died, another would surely appear.

Sand Anglers always lay eggs in the oases they inhabit.

When the ruler of an oasis dies, new Sand Angler offspring are born automatically.

Thus, the cycle of life never ceases.

But to grow as large as the Sand Angler Dyoden had captured would take at least a hundred years.

“Aaaah!”

Meanwhile, Zeon was still screaming in pain, rolling on the ground.

Dyoden muttered, sneering at his pitiful state.

“You idiot!”

***

It was already the next morning when Zeon regained consciousness.

“Huh?”

Opening his eyes, Zeon was surprised.

A vitality he had never felt before coursed through his entire body.

But that wasn’t all.

His body was full of muscles.

The muscles weren’t as bulky as balloons.

Zeon’s original physique had been rather thin.

Yet now, his previously thin body had transformed entirely into muscles.

Every single muscle was as defined and tough as interwoven wires.

Zeon was speechless at the change in himself.

Looking beside him, he saw Dyoden sitting and eating the Sand Angler’s meat.

He asked

“What happened to me?”

“Seems like your body took the medicine well.”

“Is the Sand Angler’s gallbladder a medicine then?”

“It’s a rare and valuable medicine. There’s nothing better for strengthening muscles and bones.”

“Thank you… for giving me such a precious thing.”

“Hmph! Carrying around a weakling like you, what else could I do? Eat this and get ready to leave.”

Dyoden tossed a piece of meat to Zeon.

First, Zeon wore the robe he made yesterday.

The moment he put it on, he felt a chilling sensation.

The Sand Angler’s skin was perfectly insulated against the desert heat and radiated cold.

“Woah!”

Zeon exclaimed in surprise at the unexpected efficacy.

Dyoden said.

“We will stay here for a while and eat the Sand Angler meat.”

“Are you saying we should eat it all?”

“Meat with this much nutrition is hard to find in the desert. So, we have to eat everything.”

“Alright..”

Zeon nodded.

Now, even if Dyoden lied about a beanstalk growing in the desert, Zeon might believe it.

Zeon ate the Sand Angler with Dyoden.

It took just four days for the enormous Sand Angler to disappear, leaving only bones behind.

They consumed every bit of it except the bones.

At that moment, the oasis disappeared as if it had all been a lie.

Without a trace of regret, the two left the oasis behind.