Legion of Sand
The Sand Soldiers' attacks were straightforward.
From Dayton's perspective, they were yawn-inducing. But Zeon was on the brink of death.
'My sand control doesn't work on them.'
Whether because they were made of the same sand or some special power was at play, attacks like Sand Blaster or Sand Mixer had no effect on the Sand Soldiers.
On the contrary, the more sand he used, the more they absorbed, growing larger and stronger.
'What the hell...'
Zeon's face twisted in disbelief.
The Sand Soldiers clearly drew their power from sand, just like him.
'What about Exion, then?'
Zeon hurriedly channeled Exion into his fist and struck a Sand Soldier.
Bam!
One of its shoulders shattered. Until moments ago, it would have absorbed nearby sand and regenerated instantly, but now it didn't.
'Exion can't be absorbed, as expected.'
Unlike regular sand, Exion was practically one with him. That had to be why the Sand Soldiers couldn't take it in.
Zeon condensed Exion around his gauntlet.
Crash!
One punch reduced the Sand Soldier to scattered grains. But there was no time to celebrate.
Shrrk!
A new Sand Soldier emerged.
This time, there were two.
"Alright! Let's do this."
Zeon unleashed Sand Step to close in and attacked with Exion.
Boom! Boom!
The explosive impacts shattered them in succession.
Disbelief flickered across Zeon's face.
Now four Sand Soldiers appeared.
"What the—? They double every time I take them down?"
If his hypothesis held, defeating these four would summon eight next.
And sure enough, his prediction came true.
Eight Sand Soldiers materialized for real.
The problem was, unlike the first ones, these new ones moved with smoother, deadlier precision.
"Ho! They're learning?"
Dayton let out an exclamation of admiration.
The fresh Sand Soldiers compensated for the flaws of their predecessors, moving as if analyzing Zeon's tactics.
Dayton watched the fight with keen interest.
Of course, he had zero intention of helping.
This was Zeon's dungeon to conquer—he had to do it himself, just like always.
Bam! Bbam!
Behind the crumbling Sand Soldiers, more rose up.
They assaulted Zeon with even greater ferocity.
Zeon bit his lip.
"Fine! Let's see who wins."
By now, his competitive fire was blazing.
He threw everything he had into the fray against the Sand Soldiers.
They shattered into sand, only to reform and charge again.
It felt endless.
But learning and adapting wasn't just the Sand Soldiers' domain.
Zeon was doing the same.
Through the brutal exchanges, he honed his Exion usage and refined his techniques to a razor's edge.
Thus, Zeon and the Sand Soldiers rapidly evolved, studying each other.
The key difference between them?
Exion.
Zeon wielded it for versatile strikes, while the Sand Soldiers were limited to close-quarters brawls.
"Hyaah!"
Boom!
A dozen or so Sand Soldiers exploded into fragments amid the blast.
Zeon bolted toward the cave tunnel beyond them.
Even as he sprinted along it, endless Sand Soldiers spawned to hound him.
He smashed through every one, pressing on.
Before long, he burst into a vast underground cavern.
At its center loomed a massive altar.
A mysterious cluster of light hovered above it.
Undoubtedly the dungeon core item.
"Hoo!"
Instinct told Zeon there was something meant for him within that glow.
Hummm!
Suddenly, the light flared brighter, vibrating intensely. The cavern filled with Sand Soldiers.
Over a thousand, by rough count.
"Damn it!"
Zeon's face contorted.
He'd barely reached the goal, only to face more than ever before.
The curse slipped out.
Then Dayton's voice echoed from behind.
"Bitchin', you givin' up?"
"Who said anything about giving up?"
Zeon snapped back, bristling.
If he'd planned to quit, he wouldn't have dragged himself this far. He'd have turned back to Neo Seoul ages ago.
He took a deep breath.
'I can do this. I can.'
At that moment, the Sand Soldiers lunged.
They blackened the cavern like a tidal wave.
Zeon's body shimmered with fine particles swirling around him.
Exion, formed into a rotating hemisphere—that was the phenomenon.
It guzzled mana like crazy.
With his current reserves, he couldn't sustain it long. But he trusted in Elura's Tear.
The cheat item that restored all mana once per day.
Enveloped in it, Zeon hurled himself into the heart of the legion.
Krunch!
Sand Soldiers shredded apart in the Exion storm.
The remnants crumbled to harmless sand.
Dozens fell, yet the horde didn't hesitate, swarming him relentlessly.
Boom! Boom!
They pounded the spinning Exion with bare fists.
It rippled as if on the verge of breaking.
Each hit jolted Zeon hard.
Blood trickled from his mouth. Still, he kept the Exion spinning.
After pulverizing around three hundred, his mana bottomed out.
That's when Elura's Tear worked its miracle.
Mana flooded back in an instant.
The faltering Exion roared to life again.
Rrrumble-crunch!
Zeon charged straight ahead.
His target: the altar.
Sand Soldiers threw themselves in his path.
Far more rushed in than he could shred. Soon, he vanished under the pile.
Made of sand, they knew no human fear.
Arms severed, legs crushed—they barreled toward their goal.
If not for his Exion arsenal, any normal Awakener would have been swept away without a trace.
Zeon fought like a madman.
Eventually, mana shortages forced him to drop the storm rotation.
By then, he'd cleared most of them.
He switched to close combat.
Minimal Exion, maximum martial arts—the wild techniques he'd picked up battling golems in that nameless dungeon.
No formal skill, no system—just raw, instinctive brawling he'd internalized.
Crack!
A Sand Soldier's head exploded.
No breather—Zeon kneed another's torso.
He scrapped like a beast against the sand-forged troops.
Dayton muttered at the spectacle.
"What a shitshow! Not bad, though."
That was the spirit needed.
No teeth? Rip with gums.
No mana, no skills? Don't stand idle or retreat—that's just flaunting your weakness.
To survive, do something.
Zero struggle was dereliction of life's duty.
That mindset had carried Dayton through this brutal world.
Neo Seoul had walls and Awakeners enforcing some order, but the wastes? Nothing.
Survive or die.
The battle was winding down.
Thud!
The last Sand Soldier dissolved into sand.
"Hah! Hah!"
Zeon heaved, on the verge of collapse.
His body was wrecked.
A miracle he still stood on two legs.
Swaying, he staggered to the altar.
The light pulsed as if welcoming him.
Zeon reached out.
It surged into his hand like it had been waiting.
He accepted it calmly. His battered body healed, mana brimmed full.
His breathing steadied.
Eyes closed, he lingered in the sensation.
Dayton waited silently.
"Hoo!"
Zeon finally exhaled and opened his eyes.
Dayton asked,
"Get anything worthwhile?"
"Wanna see?"
Zeon channeled mana.
Two Sand Soldiers materialized at his sides.
"You can command sand soldiers now?"
"I've just grasped the principle. Mana limits me to two for now, but as I get stronger, I can summon more."
"Troops of sand? Useful for swarm tactics."
He probably couldn't summon a thousand at once like in here.
This dungeon was optimized for it.
Outside, it'd be pure mana drain—two was his limit currently.
A new tattoo snaked up Zeon's left arm.
Two spears crossed like coiled snakes climbing upward.
The absorbed light had become this mark.
Dayton probed,
"Any other info?"
"None."
Zeon shook his head.
No clue who built this place or why.
Then—
Rumble rumble!
The cavern quaked violently.
The dungeon was collapsing.
Zeon had claimed the core item.
Crack!
Fissures spiderwebbed the space around them like cracked glass. Their forms erased like smudged ink.
Moments later, they reappeared at the dungeon entrance.
Teleported outside.
The entry had vanished seamlessly. They weren't surprised.
Conquered dungeons ended like this.
Dayton scanned around and blinked.
"Sandstorm's stopped. Barrier's down."
The thick gale that had blocked his path was gone. The barrier shattered.
Now they could proceed.
"Let's move!"
Dayton strode forward.
Zeon stared, a mix of exasperation and amusement.
After all that hell in the dungeon, a day's rest seemed fair—yet off he went.
'Well, I did all the suffering. He didn't lift a finger, so he's fresh as ever. Really...'
Swallowing 'that dog of an old man,' Zeon followed.