Seven Years in the Desert
The man was Zeon.
Seven years had stripped away his youthful softness.
The baby fat was gone from his face, and his eyes burned with a deeper intensity.
Every movement exuded a relaxed poise, the unmistakable dignity of a true powerhouse.
Zeon pulled a leather waterskin filled with water from inside his robe.
"You must be thirsty. Here, drink."
"Ah! Thank you."
Mandy, parched as if her throat were on fire, accepted it without hesitation.
She took a swig first, then passed the waterskin to Kim Sang-sik.
The water restored some of their strength.
"Whew! Thank you."
"Truly, thank you. I thought we were done for."
The two expressed their gratitude to Zeon.
Zeon smiled faintly.
"Glad you're all safe."
"But are there no others with you?"
"No companions, if that's what you mean."
"So you've been crossing the desert alone?"
Mandy's eyes widened.
Even the elite Pathfinder team had struggled in groups to reach this point. The desert was that perilous.
No one knew where monsters lurked.
Especially after the massive mana explosion seven years ago, the ecosystem had shifted dramatically, rendering old data useless and making it even deadlier.
Nowhere was safe outside Neo Seoul's vicinity. Yet Zeon claimed he'd traversed it solo without a care.
Mandy had every reason to doubt.
Zeon chuckled.
"I've got good instincts. A bit of a knack for sensing monsters ahead of time too. If it feels off, I take another route. Dodges their habitats that way."
"No formal detection skill, then?"
"Nah."
"If that's true, that's some incredible intuition. Must be a huge survival edge."
"It's kept me alive this long."
Zeon carried the air of a seasoned survival expert.
A nonchalance only someone who'd endured the desert for years could possess.
Mandy bit her lip thoughtfully.
She knew nothing about him. But right now, he was their only lifeline.
She asked cautiously.
"Mind if I ask your destination?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"If you're heading near Neo Seoul, could you take us along?"
"Neo Seoul?"
"Yes! We'd repay you, I swear. Please, get us there."
"Not an easy ask. You might not know, but seven years back, monster habitats shifted big-time."
"That's why we're begging. Kim Sang-sik and I hold solid positions inside Neo Seoul. Bring us, and we'll make it worth your while there."
She didn't know Zeon's identity or origins.
Normally, she'd never entrust herself to such an unknown.
But Zahar's betrayal had cost her everything. No choices left.
She didn't even know Neo Seoul's exact location.
Heading north naively wouldn't cut it.
The desert's uniformity made precise navigation impossible.
And they'd lost their trucks. Ditch Zeon now, and they'd wander until they mummified.
He was their sole hope.
Kim Sang-sik dropped to his knees before Zeon.
"We're begging you. Don't abandon us."
Mandy was an Awakener at least; Kim Sang-sik was utterly ordinary.
Left here, he'd last a day at most.
Zeon sighed.
"Fine. Can't be helped. I'll get you to Neo Seoul."
"Really? Thank you! We'll repay you once we're there."
Kim Sang-sik's face lit with emotion.
＊＊＊
Exhausted from the grueling day, Mandy and Kim Sang-sik fell into deep sleep.
Zeon gazed at them quietly.
"From Neo Seoul, as expected."
They didn't know, but he'd been watching since the start.
Precisely when Zahar and Team 7 arrived at the goblin village.
Shortly after he'd massacred the goblins.
Zahar and his team's gear screamed sophistication—far beyond desert scraps.
Civilization's grime on their clothes stirred nostalgia for Neo Seoul.
Seven years ago, Dayton had vanished with Hai Elton.
Gone without a trace.
The shock reshaped the desert and unleashed a mana storm unprecedented.
Zeon was the only witness to their end.
When both perished, a profound void hit him.
After, he wandered aimlessly, like Dayton once did.
No goals, no plans.
That's how he spent seven years.
Add the year with Dayton, and it was eight in the wastes.
Plenty happened; those trials forged him.
He'd been mulling a return to Neo Seoul anyway.
Meeting them ignited that spark.
Same destination? Taking them along was practical—easy entry to the city.
Decision made, Zeon lay down.
He burrowed into his robe and slept.
Kieeeek!
Next morning, a eerie cry from afar woke Zeon.
Mandy and Kim Sang-sik jolted up in fright.
"What was that?"
"What sound...?"
Terror etched their faces.
The cry reeked of malice and murder.
Zeon replied nonchalantly.
"Wyvern call. Nest nearby, looks like."
"W-Wyvern?"
"God no!"
Their faces drained white.
Wyverns were B-rank monsters, but their threat level hit A or higher.
Unlike ground-dwellers, they ruled the skies.
Impossible to predict their dives.
Zeon packed the awning and poles left out overnight.
"Better move before it hunts this way."
He swiftly loaded the double-humped camel and departed without pause.
Mandy and Kim Sang-sik scrambled after.
Kim Sang-sik's face twisted pitifully.
The distant cry alone hammered his heart.
He feared it might burst.
'This place is hell. Cyclops, now wyverns? How's he survived here?'
His eyes fixed on Zeon ahead.
Zeon strode calmly, as if nothing.
Sand swallowing ankles? No issue.
Mandy lagged, already winded.
Even Awakeners burned stamina on sand.
Neo Seoul on foot? Dizziness loomed.
"Huff! Huff!"
Sweat poured soon; breaths ragged.
Face flushed crimson, ready to pop.
Zeon glanced back.
"Won't work."
"Huh?"
"Take turns on the camel. Saves energy."
"What about you?"
"Sand's my home. I can walk all day."
Unlike their sweat-soaked selves, Zeon was crisp.
Face serene, breaths even.
Proof he wasn't bluffing.
"Thank you."
Kim Sang-sik climbed aboard gratefully.
Heat persisted, but survivable now.
He truly appreciated Zeon.
Zeon resumed his steady pace.
Mandy admired his back.
'His gait's unique. How does he glide without sinking? Like the sand's pushing him.'
Unprecedented walk.
'Awakener for sure. Magic? Martial? Rank?'
Curiosities piled.
Definitely Awakened—no way he'd stay so cool otherwise.
She wondered his type.
Wrist badge would tell, but gauntlets covered his hands.
They reached forearms, with a round red gem on the back—eye-catching.
Gauntlets suggested Martial.
Typical for them.
But his vibe didn't match.
Martial types were red—fiery, passionate.
Mages blue—cool, rational.
Easy to spot usually.
Zeon blurred the lines: Martial garb, Mage demeanor.
'Time will tell.'
Over a thousand kilometers to Neo Seoul.
Traveling together, powers would show.
Mandy conserved energy, using her wind to cool herself.
Tougher than Kim Sang-sik on the camel.
Then Zeon's voice ahead.
"Rain's coming. Up to that ridge."
"Huh?"
"Rain?"
Absurd faces.
Clear skies, blistering sun.
Zeon mad?
But he led uphill undeterred.
No choice; they followed.
At the tallest dune's peak—
Krarung!
Storm clouds boiled; thunder cracked.
Torrents poured.
"It... really?"
"My god!"
Jaws agape at the miracle.
Flash floods filled lows.
Without him, they'd drown.
Grateful for heeding—
Zeon eyed the pooling water, smiling.
Chillingly eerie.
"Rain pools here, wakes certain things. Perfect terrain for them."
"Wakes? What?"
"Those."
Bubbles rose; wiry horrors slithered out.
Twisted metal-wire bodies wriggled grotesquely.
Mandy and Kim Sang-sik retched.
Mandy clutched her stomach.
"W-what are they? Never seen."
"Ghost Wireworms. Dormant in drought; water revives them to hunt."
"Ghost Wireworms?"
"Burrow in, hijack brains to seek water."
"Water in the desert?"
"That's the terror. Wander till exhaustion, die. They feed on corpses, sleep. Rain restarts."
Desert's true horror: unseen threats.
Shivers gripped them.
Zeon headed toward them.
"Wait here."
"Why go there?!"
"Wanted one for ages."
Zeon grinned.