The Sand Mage Revealed
Briel's face lit up with joy.
Turning around, she saw Zeon and Levin standing there, though she hadn't noticed their arrival.
“Zeon! Levin!”
“Get over here!”
At Zeon's gesture, Briel quickly ducked behind him.
Levin asked,
“You okay?”
“Yeah! But Levin, something's different about you.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely!”
Levin just smiled silently at Briel's confident reply.
He wanted to keep chatting like this, but Lee Ji-ryeong's aura was too ominous to ignore.
Fuck!
Levin ground his teeth.
In the past, he wouldn't have recognized the sheer power of the man before him.
But now that he was C-rank, his perception had sharpened, revealing things he'd never noticed before.
One of those was his ability to gauge other Awakeners.
To Levin's eyes, Lee Ji-ryeong was a monster.
Sharing the same lightning-based attack skills made it even clearer.
Lee Ji-ryeong wielded mana far more savage and ferocious than his own. No wonder his skills packed such devastating punch.
Even at the same rank, Levin wouldn't stand a chance.
The realization filled him with misery.
Forcing a calm expression, Levin told Briel,
“Fall back for now.”
“Okay!”
Lee Ji-ryeong didn't spare the two a glance.
His eyes were locked on Zeon.
“You're Zeon?”
“Yes!”
“You know who I am, right?”
“Yes!”
“Knew it. We've finally met.”
Lee Ji-ryeong grinned, baring his white teeth in a smile brimming with chilling madness.
Zeon's expression, in contrast, remained utterly composed.
Lee Ji-ryeong.
A lightning Awakener renowned in the magic world, rivaling the top two in raw destructive power.
And the older brother of the man Zeon had killed eight years ago.
The thief who'd invaded for Zeon's magic stone and lost his life instead. His fault, yet Zeon had been forced to flee.
Because the man before him now sought vengeance for his brother.
That's why Zeon had abandoned the slums, fleeing to the magic stone mine and spending eight long years in the desert.
Zeon asked Lee Ji-ryeong,
“Here for revenge for your brother?”
“Someone tipped me off, at least. Told me you'd entered Neo Seoul.”
“I see.”
“So I came to see for myself. Figured if you were nothing special, I'd rip your head off. But...”
“But?”
“You're not what I expected. You're strong.”
A white light flickered in Lee Ji-ryeong's retinas.
Lightning flashing within his eyes.
Zeon watched with intrigued curiosity.
As far as he knew, Lee Ji-ryeong was B-rank.
But up close, he seemed even higher.
Did he rank up in the meantime? Well, eight years isn't short.
Zeon himself had risen from the lowest F-rank to his current level.
Abnormally fast, thanks to his mentor Dayton and his cheat-class Sand Mage powers.
Bzzt!
Pure white lightning crackled across Lee Ji-ryeong's body.
Unlike Levin's, it was pristine and unadulterated.
But Zeon showed no fear, speaking calmly.
“If we fight here, the whole area will collapse. Let's take it outside.”
“That your style?”
“Pardon?”
“Worried about bystanders getting hurt?”
“Not that noble.”
“Hypocrite, then?”
“More like I don't want my house wrecked.”
“What attachment to this shithole slum?”
“It's still where I live.”
“You're a weird one.”
“I hear that a lot.”
Zeon's nonchalant reply turned Lee Ji-ryeong's gaze even colder.
He was the first to face him with such utter lack of tension.
Lee Ji-ryeong stepped forward.
“Follow me. Run, and I'll demolish your house.”
“Won't happen.”
Zeon followed calmly.
Then Briel called out.
“Zeon!”
“Go home with Levin.”
“But...”
“I'll be back soon.”
“Okay!”
Zeon flashed her a smile, then eyed Lee Ji-ryeong's retreating back.
He was already leaving the slums, heading into the desert.
He strode across the sand without hesitation.
Only when Neo Seoul vanished from sight did he stop.
Turning, Lee Ji-ryeong faced Zeon.
“This far enough?”
“Farther than I thought.”
“Fight near Neo Seoul, and those old bastards will notice.”
“Old bastards?”
“You know. Jin Geum-ho, Shaorun, those geezers.”
“Neo Seoul's power players.”
“Yeah. Inevitable—they'd get involved. You don't want that either.”
“Scared of them?”
“Not scared. Annoying. They meddle in everything.”
Contempt for the power holders laced his words.
Neo Seoul's elite craved total control.
Always watching young Awakeners like hawks.
Lee Ji-ryeong hated it.
He was young and powerful.
The old guard was stronger now, but in time, he'd surpass them.
The issue was his faction.
They'd seized Neo Seoul's infrastructure completely, while his was puny by comparison.
Though puny only next to titans like Jin Geum-ho or Shaorun.
In truth, it was substantial.
The Pegasus Raid Team.
Three hundred Awakeners strong.
More guild than pure raid team, with support staff intertwined.
Guilds thus had greater reach.
Flash!
Suddenly, pure white lightning erupted from Lee Ji-ryeong.
The intense discharge scorched the surrounding sand black.
Lightning cloaking his body, he said,
“Survive this and prove your worth.”
A massive bolt shot toward Zeon.
Thicker than a man's torso.
One of his skills: Lightning Spear.
Direct hit would burst the body like fireworks in gruesome death.
Zeon swung his fist lightly, unleashing Fire Missiles.
BOOM!
Dozens collided with the spear, exploding spectacularly.
Fireworks of flames and lightning painted the sky.
Amid it, the two moved.
Lee Ji-ryeong unleashed lightning skills relentlessly.
“Try this!”
Blade-shaped lightning rained down.
His mainstay: Lightning Blade.
Zeon countered with his favorite: Fire Rain.
Meteors clashed with electric blades, detonating.
BOOM!
Sparks and bolts scattered.
Sand ignited and flew.
The clash of the mightiest magic affinities: lightning and fire.
The desert upheaved, sand pillars rocketing skyward, followed by a shower of grains.
They fought on through the downpour.
Suddenly, Lee Ji-ryeong remarked,
“You're not a fire mage.”
“What? Out of nowhere.”
“Your flames lack life. Just programmed output.”
“...”
“Am I right? Not your innate skill—some item assist.”
Lee Ji-ryeong's senses were terrifyingly acute.
Zeon thought,
Not a pushover.
No opponent had ever clocked his fire skills as item-derived.
That alone proved Lee Ji-ryeong's caliber.
He'd raided countless dungeons pre-awakening, battling beasts.
His instincts were peerless from the experience.
He caught subtle incongruities others missed.
High rank didn't guarantee strength.
True power came from honing skills in the crucible of combat.
They might start low-rank but inevitably rose.
Lee Ji-ryeong was one such.
A rare real deal in this era.
He said,
“Why hide your true skills? Fear?”
“Not fear. Hassle.”
“That confident? Show me.”
“If you insist...”
Zeon's eyes and aura shifted.
Now it gets real.
Lee Ji-ryeong's shoulders trembled with excitement.
First time feeling such tension against another Awakener.
Bzzt!
His lightning expanded: ten meters, twenty, thirty.
A thirty-meter radius storm of bolts around him.
His domain: Lightning Field.
Monstrous mana drain, but he could handle it.
Zeon was now inside.
Ferocious bolts crackled around him, yet his face stayed impassive.
Then—a massive bolt struck him dead-on.
He couldn't dodge.
Any normal Awakener would die instantly. But Lee knew Zeon wasn't normal; he expected no fatal wound.
And indeed.
Zeon stood unscathed, unburnt.
A charred sand wall encircled him.
Erected at the last second to block.
Lee Ji-ryeong's eyes widened.
“Sand wall? You're a... Sand Mage?”
“Yes!”
“Impossible! No such power...”
“But it exists.”
Sand swirled around Zeon like a living vortex.
Lee Ji-ryeong's face hardened at the storm encircling him.
“It's real. A real Sand Mage.”
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
With countless Awakeners, a Sand Mage wasn't impossible in theory.
But seeing one? First time.
He extended his hand.
“Join me. Together, we'll rule Neo Seoul. United, no one can stop us.”
He hid no ambition.
From awakening, he'd dreamed of dominating Neo Seoul.
His power seemed destined for it.
But reality bit hard.
Current rulers outmatched him, with vast forces.
His couldn't even dent their walls.
But with Zeon—a Sand Mage commanding sand—maybe.
“Take my hand, Zeon!”
“Pass. Not into holding men's hands...”
The Sand Mage rejected the ambitious offer.