Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 2

Thud! Thud!

The heavily armored bus, covered in thick gloves, crumpled up like a piece of paper due to the massive impact.

“Ugh!”

“Cough!”

People screamed as the bus rolled and tossed them around.

Since where were no seat belts or anything like that, they bounced around like ping pong balls.

Zeon was no exception.

“Ugh!”

Dazed and tumbling, Zeon finally regained his senses and got up.

Blood streamed from his forehead, but there was no time to wipe it off.

The unbelievable sight outside the window had captured everyone’s attention.

Swoosh!

Everything in sight was red sand.

The enormous armored bus had been swallowed whole by the desert sands.

“Shit! The sandworm’s dragging the bus into the sand.”

“We’re all dead.”

“Fuck! Isn’t there an Awakened One among us?”

The atmosphere inside the bus turned frantic.

Thud-thud-thud!

Even at that moment, pieces of the bus’s armor were falling apart like paper scraps.

After a little more time passed, all the armor would fall off, and the people inside would become the sandworm’s food.

Perhaps they wouldn’t even survive until then, suffocating under the sand. Dying from suffocation might be less painful.

That’s when it happened.

“You damn bug…”

One of the miners shouted, waving his hand toward the window.

Shoosh!

At that moment, a gust of wind carrying a blade soared out of the miner’s hand.

Zeon’s eyes widened.

‘He is an Awakened One.’

Judging by the wind-blade, he was undoubtedly from the magic world.

However, the power was underwhelming.

Poof!

The wind-blade couldn’t pierce through the sand burying the bus and disappeared.

There was no damage to the sandworm’s body at all.

Disappointment flashed across the faces of those who briefly had hope.

“It’s an F-rank.”

“Damn it! That explains it. A proper Awakened One would never go to the Magic Stone Mines”

Even among Awakened Ones, there was a sky-high difference in abilities based on their ranks.

F-rank Awakened Ones were like pebbles at the bottom of the Awakened ecosystem.

Although he was much stronger than ordinary people, it was not enough to deal with huge monsters like the sandworm.

Though Zeon wasn’t sure why an F-rank Awakened One had boarded the bus headed to the Magic Stone Mines, his ability, the wind-blade, couldn’t harm the sandworm at all.

Moreover, it wasn’t a favorable matchup.

Trying to penetrate the sand surrounding the sandworm’s body with a wind-blade was impossible.

“Die! Just die!”

The Awakened One lost control and repeatedly launched wind-blades. But he couldn’t penetrate the sand and only depleted his mana.

That’s when it happened.

After tearing off the armor where the Awakened One was, a colossal tongue suddenly appeared.

It was the sandworm’s tongue.

The tongue snatched the Awakened One like a whip, and in an instant, they vanished into the sand.

“Aaaah!”

The scream of the Awakened One echoed through the sands.

Though the scream vanished quickly, it was clear without needing visual confirmation of what had happened.

“We’re all going to die. We’re going to die!”

“What do we do?”

“Sob!”

Sand poured into the bus like a flood. And once again, someone disappeared.

“Argh!”

Zeon bit his lip hard.

Blood flowed, but Zeon couldn’t afford to feel the pain.

The sand had already risen to his waist.

Suffocating under the sand or becoming the sandworm’s meal?

Neither of those was what Zeon wanted.

His mind, usually buzzing with thoughts, had frozen like a petrification spell had been cast, rendering him thoughtless.

Thud!

At that moment, a massive impact split the bus in two.

“Aaah!”

“Cough!”

A considerable number of passengers vanished into the sand.

“Damn it!”

Zeon cursed, scanning the area.

With the sand already reaching his shoulders, he couldn’t even make out the nearby people’s shapes.

Zeon made a decision.

‘If it continues like this, I’ll die.’

Swoosh!

Zeon urgently tore his clothes, making a long cloth. He tightly wrapped it around his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

It was an emergency measure to block the sand.

Having prepared in an instant, Zeon launched himself into the sand.

‘Gasp!’

The desert sand pressed down on Zeon with tremendous pressure, making it difficult to even move a finger, let alone breathe.

Zeon did not resist the pressure and surrendered himself to the sand.

Creak!

The sound of metal collapsing could be faintly heard.

It was the final shriek of the armored bus.

Without needing to see, Zeon knew the fate of those inside.

Swoosh!

The sand surged like waves.

Something enormous was swimming through the sand and approaching.

‘It’s coming.’

Zeon tried to move from his spot by wriggling his limbs, but escaping the immense pressure surrounding his entire body was impossible.

Even at that moment, the sandworm was getting closer and closer.

‘I don’t want to die. I can’t die yet.’

His heart was pounding.

It felt like his heart was going to explode before he was eaten by the sandworm.

He felt his bloodstream raging through his body like a runaway train hurtling towards his head.

Bang!

At that moment, something exploded inside Zeon’s mind.

It was an explosion only he could feel.

Simultaneously, seven lines appeared on Zeon’s wrist.

The bottom of these lines, akin to tattoos, lit up with an orange hue.

Though he couldn’t see the insignia on his wrist, Zeon instinctively knew what had happened to him.

‘It’s an Awakening.’

The Awakening, a blessing that visited only an extreme minority, had unquestionably found its way to Zeon.

It was not yet known what his abilities were.

This was because he could not check the rank insignia that had appeared on his wrist.

The seven lines on an Awakened One’s wrist resembled military insignias.

The distinction lay in having precisely seven bars. That’s why people referred to them as an Awakened One’s rank insignia.

Breathing became easier the moment he awakened, and the immense pressure on his body vanished.

The sand that had been crushing him now felt as comforting as amniotic fluid in a womb.

Although no one taught him, Zeon knew instinctively that his ability was connected to the sand.

Zeon swiftly waved his hand, and inexplicably, his body, which hadn’t budged until then, moved forward.

Whoosh!

A colossal mouth appeared in the spot where he’d been standing.

Numerous teeth spun like gears in the sandworm’s maw. The teeth were stained red—a testament to the blood of the victims it had consumed moments ago.

Roar!

The sandworm’s mouth swallowed the space where Zeon had been just moments before.

If he had hesitated for even a second, Zeon would’ve also turned into fodder inside the sandworm’s belly.

‘Insane!’

Chills ran down his spine.

Thanks to his recent Awakening, Zeon had narrowly avoided the sandworm’s attack. Yet, the fundamental problem remained unsolved.

Even with his newfound Awakening ability, capturing the desert tyrant, the sandworm, was impossible.

Just seeing how the F-rank Awakened One had become the sandworm’s meal confirmed this fact.

‘At this moment, using my abilities to escape the sand is the top priority.’

Zeon extended his hands forward.

Instantly, his body swam through the sand like a fish, thousands, maybe millions of grains parting to guide him.

Zeon swiftly carved through the sand, aiming for the surface.

Then, a powerful tremor surged from behind.

The sandworm was tracking Zeon.

While Zeon’s speed forward was rapid, the sandworm’s pursuit was faster. It was evident; it wouldn’t be long before it caught up.

‘Damn it, do I not have any other abilities other than swimming in the sand?’

Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine.

The sandworm was almost upon him.

He sensed its gaping maw behind him.

Suddenly, he thought it would be nice to throw a bunch of sand into the mouth of that sandworm that had swallowed so many people.

At that moment, the flow of sand around Zeon’s body changed strangely.

Some of the sand gathered in front of Zeon and condensed.

Zeon muttered as he looked at the highly condensed sand.

‘Sand Blaster.’

No one had taught him this. The name just came to mind.

Most skills were like that—as if they had been engraved in the mind from the beginning and only surface when certain conditions were met.

Fwoosh!

In an instant, the condensed sand sprayed out like a water jet.

The high-pressure stream pierced into the sandworm’s mouth.

The Sand Blaster created a small hole in the sandworm’s mouth ceiling.

Although it looked like an insignificant wound on the outside, the Sand Blaster ripped open the inside of the sandworm’s mouth like a rag.

The sandworm screamed in agony.

Kwaaagh!

The massive sandworm thrashed about, the sand in the area shook as if there had been an earthquake.

Zeon took advantage of the opportunity and increased his speed.

Thanks to that, he managed to get away from the sandworm and emerge from the sand.

“Puh-ha!”

Zeon let out the breath he had been holding until now.

As soon as the fresh air entered his lungs, he felt alive.

Just then.

“Survivor! Look, there’s a survivor.”

“It was indeed a sandworm. Everyone, get ready.”

Suddenly, voices reached Zeon’s ears.

Raising his head, he spotted a small vehicle.

The compact car, armored thickly, was fitted with large wheels suitable for traversing the desert.

Despite the sandworm’s presence, the individuals inside the vehicle showed no signs of fear.

Men with an unusual aura approached Zeon in the car.

‘They’re Awakened Ones.’

At a glance, Zeon recognized them as Awakened Ones.

Being able to walk so confidently across the desert despite being aware of the sandworm’s presence, indicated their confidence in their prowess.

Then it happened.

Whoosh!

The enormous sandworm that had chased Zeon through the sand revealed itself.

A middle-aged man, appearing to be the leader, shouted.

“Catch it! Don’t let it escape into the sand.”

“Okay, Captain.”

A woman with blue hair reminiscent of the blue sky answered in a sweet tone and extended her hand in the direction of the sandworm.

In an instant, a freezing chill spread rapidly, cooling the sand around where the sandworm was about to submerge. This prevented the sandworm from diving into the ground, causing it to writhe momentarily.

The blue haired woman said.

“It’s too big, I can only hold it for a few seconds.”

“That’s more than enough.”

The Captain smiled coldly.

Drawing a large claymore sword, he charged towards the sandworm. His subordinates followed suit.

“Waaah!”

The claymore fell like a guillotine towards the sandworm’s body.

Crush!

The sandworm’s hard skin was torn apart like a sheet of paper, exposing its red flesh.

The sandworm writhed in pain.

Then, one of the Captain’s subordinates approached the sandworm, pressing his palm against its body.

“A sandworm coming up to the surface; It’s a really rare occurrence.”

Sandworms surfacing were exceptionally rare, making them difficult to hunt.

Wuuung!

The man’s palm vibrated at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

His name was Aidan, and his Awakening ability was Ultra-Vibration.

Boom!

The sandworm’s body that Aidan touched exploded like a firecracker.

The finishing blow came from the last to arrive, a giant.

The giant, who was two heads taller than an average person, jumped into the air and slammed straight into the sandworm’s head.

Bang!

Accompanied by a thunderous sound, the sandworm’s head exploded.

“Haha!”

The giant laughed uproariously, reveling in the sandworm’s blood and flesh.

Zeon’s jaw dropped at the sight.

‘Crazy bastards!’

In a matter of seconds, the sandworm that had devoured countless individuals had turned into mere flesh.

It was a sight one wouldn’t believe if they didn’t see it with their own eyes.

Swoosh!

The Captain sheathed his claymore and looked at Zeon.

At that moment, Zeon felt a shiver run down his spine.

This was because the Captain’s cold, sunken eyes were quite scary.

“So out of all the people on that bus, you are the only one who survived?”