Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

The Pegasus Raid Force occupied a thirty-story ultra-modern building situated between the West and Central Districts.

They used the top seven floors of the building.

It’s quite obvious, but the real estate prices in Neo Seoul were exorbitantly high.

There was no more land available for building within Neo Seoul, leading to a severe supply-demand imbalance that caused property prices to skyrocket.

Even the highly renowned Pegasus Raid Force couldn’t afford to purchase an entire building.

Ultimately, the Pegasus Raid Force had to be content with using seven floors of a thirty-story building.

The world had changed, ushering in an era dominated by Awakeneds, but capitalism still ruled this land.

Money still reigned supreme over Awakeneds.

Lee Ji-ryeong stood by the window with his arms crossed, gazing out at Neo Seoul.

A multitude of lights lay beneath his feet.

“It took twenty years just to get here. But if we successfully clear this dungeon, the Pegasus Raid Force will reach even greater heights.”

His gaze turned towards the City Hall.

The tallest building visible from anywhere in Neo Seoul. That was Lee Ji-ryeong’s ultimate goal.

Of course, countless obstacles still lay ahead.

Competing Raid Forces and the rulers of each district.

He would have to overcome all of them to finally have a chance to confront Jin Geum-ho, the owner of the City Hall.

He couldn’t predict how many more wounds he would suffer or how much more blood he would spill. Still, Lee Ji-ryeong was confident he could overcome all obstacles and stand as an equal to Jin Geum-ho.

“But first, I need to escape this paperwork hell…”

Lee Ji-ryeong looked at his desk with a wry smile.

Piles of documents were strewn across it.

Personal histories of the personnel to be deployed for this mission, operational plans, transportation methods to the dungeon, and budget allocations.

Lee Ji-ryeong had to review all of it.

Preparing for the mission was more exhausting for him than actually tackling the dungeon.

“Whew!”

Lee Ji-ryeong let out a light sigh.

―Captain!

Suddenly, the voice of his secretary came through the intercom.

“What is it?”

―You have a visitor.

“At this hour?”

―Yes! They say they’re from the West District.

Lee Ji-ryeong frowned.

Someone from the West District couldn’t be ignored.

“Let them in.”

―Yes!

Shortly after, the door opened, and a burly man entered. He appeared human on the surface, but there was an unmistakable metallic aura about him.

Lee Ji-ryeong knew why this man felt this way.

‘Replacing his healthy body with machinery would naturally give him a metallic vibe…’

Most Awakeneds from the West District had parts, or sometimes most, of their bodies replaced with machinery.

Some openly displayed their mechanical bodies, while others, like the man before him, disguised them to look as human as possible.

The higher the rank of the Awakened, the less obvious their mechanical parts were. But they could never completely hide the subtle metallic feel.

The man before him was no exception.

He had a pronounced metallic presence.

The man greeted him first.

“Long time no see, Captain Lee Ji-ryeong.”

“What brings you here?”

Lee Ji-ryeong immediately recognized the man’s identity.

The man who had suddenly appeared at midnight was Cha Jin-cheol from the West District.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s gaze was far from friendly as he looked at Cha Jin-cheol.

Cha Jin-cheol glanced at the documents scattered on the desk.

“You seem to be working.”

“You haven’t stated your purpose for visiting yet.”

“Is this paperwork related to the upcoming dungeon raid?”

“I asked you why you’re here.”

“We want to join this dungeon raid.”

“You dare!”

Lee Ji-ryeong’s expression turned icy.

This was a dungeon they had discovered and meticulously planned to conquer.

A significant amount of manpower and an enormous budget had been invested.

Clearing the dungeon was certain to yield substantial rewards, and now the West District wanted to piggyback on their efforts. It was infuriating.

“Who gave you permission to participate?”

“Of course, we don’t expect to join for free. We’ll cover half of the raid costs. We’ll also provide transportation and supplies.”

“Rejected.”

“Even if Kim Hyun-soo shows interest?”

Lee Ji-ryeong’s eye twitched.

Kim Hyun-soo was the ruler of the West District.

Though Lee Ji-ryeong was publicly known as an A-rank Awakened, his actual abilities were closer to S-rank. However, even he couldn’t disregard Kim Hyun-soo.

Kim Hyun-soo was an S-rank Awakened himself and had numerous Awakeneds under his command.

Some of them had powers comparable to Lee Ji-ryeong’s.

Cha Jin-cheol was one of them.

Cha Jin-cheol smiled.

“Don’t be too upset. In return, we’ll split the items found in the dungeon seventy-thirty. Of course, you get the seventy, and we take the thirty.”

“What about the priority of the items?”

“That will need to be negotiated.”

Cha Jin-cheol smiled slyly.

“Why are you coming now? You refused our investment proposal before.”

“At that time, we didn’t see much chance of success.”

“And now?”

“The Sand Mage joined, didn’t he?”

“So it’s because of Zeon.”

Lee Ji-ryeong’s expression hardened.

* * *

Dungeons are graded based on their difficulty level.

Just like Awakeneds, they are assigned grades.

The problem is that the exact grade of a dungeon can’t be known until you enter it.

There is no technology that can determine a dungeon’s grade from the outside. An Awakened has to enter the dungeon and start the raid to make that judgment.

Therefore, the precise grade of a dungeon is only assigned after the raid is completed. However, there are means to roughly estimate a dungeon’s grade in advance.

It was the mana readings emanating from the dungeon entrance.

The higher the mana readings, the higher the likelihood of a high-tier dungeon, which also meant a higher probability of valuable rewards.

The newly discovered dungeon was deep within the sands. Despite its location, it boasted overwhelming mana readings.

This indicated a high chance of it being a high-tier dungeon.

The Pegasus Raid Force bet everything on this newly discovered dungeon raid.

All the Awakeneds affiliated with the Pegasus Raid Force were mobilized.

The total number of members in the Pegasus Raid Force was three hundred.

Over a hundred of them were non-Awakeneds.

These individuals were responsible for administrative tasks, supply logistics, and planning the raid.

Thus, the actual number of Awakeneds deployed for the dungeon raid was about two hundred.

For a typical dungeon, this number would have been more than sufficient. However, judging that this wouldn’t be enough for this raid, they recruited additional mercenaries from outside.

This caused a stir not only in Neo Seoul but also in the slums.

The Pegasus Raid Force was one of the most prestigious raid forces in Neo Seoul. This was the first time they had recruited additional personnel from outside.

People wondered just how extraordinary this dungeon must be for the Pegasus Raid Force to prepare so thoroughly.

Independent Awakeneds and those from the slums volunteered as mercenaries.

Levin shook his head as he entered the house.

“Ugh! All this buzz is killing me. Everyone’s talking about the Pegasus Raid Force.”

“Humans, as usual…”

Brielle shook her head.

Previously, the White Bear Caravan had absorbed all the attention, and now it was the Pegasus Raid Force that was like a black hole for all the issues.

Levin asked Brielle.

“Are you ready?”

“I don’t know! The Goblin Market has run out of goods.”

“Tsk! Figures. It’s the same elsewhere.”

Dungeon raids require a vast array of supplies and items.

The Pegasus Raid Force bought anything that might be useful. This resulted in the Goblin Market running dry of useful items.

This also significantly impacted Brielle’s research.

“Are you ready for the departure?”

“Oh! Just in time.”

“Huh? For what?”

“Take this.”

Brielle tossed a backpack to the puzzled Levin.

“A backpack? Why?”

“Put your hand inside.”

“Huh?”

Levin, curious, did as Brielle instructed and reached into the backpack.

He was startled by the sudden cold sensation on his hand.

“Whoa! What’s this?”

“Ha ha! Scaredy-cat.”

“What is this?”

“Put your hand back in. Don’t you feel anything?”

“Oh, oh! I do.”

Levin pulled out the object he felt inside the backpack.

It was a large shovel.

“A shovel? But how did it fit in here?”

Levin stared at the backpack in confusion.

The backpack was at most about one meter long. But the shovel he pulled out was at least one meter and fifty centimeters long.

This was physically impossible.

“Is this a subspace backpack?”

“Yep! I finally succeeded yesterday.”

“No way! You actually made a subspace backpack?”

“It’s still in its basic stage, though…”

“You’re amazing. There are only a handful of people in Neo Seoul who can create enchanted subspace items.”

Levin looked genuinely impressed.

Enchanted subspace items were never released to the public.

High-ranking Awakeneds or guilds always acquired them first. Levin had never even seen an enchanted subspace item before.

“But how did you, an alchemist, create a subspace item?”

“I got lucky. I couldn’t do it again if I tried.”

“Lucky?”

“Yeah! I stumbled upon it while trying various things.”

Brielle admitted honestly.

She wasn’t a specialized enchanter.

While she could imitate, it was impossible for her to create items with desired features as precisely as high-ranking enchanters could.

“I’m giving this to you, Levin.”

“Really?”

Levin’s eyes widened.

Enchanted subspace items were priceless. It was touching to be given such a valuable item without any conditions.

“As I said, the space inside isn’t very large. It’s about the size of a small room.”

“That’s more than enough. I can pack all the supplies we need for this expedition.”

“Yeah! Focus on water and food.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already prepared everything; we just need to pack it. Wow! Thanks to you, this expedition will be much easier.”

Levin hugged the backpack like a precious treasure.

His face was filled with happiness.

“Wait, I shouldn’t just stand here.”

“Hmm?”

“I need to test this precious gift. I’ll pack all the prepared supplies into the subspace backpack.”

Levin hurriedly ran to his room.

At that moment, Zeon came out of his room.

“What’s up with him?”

“He’s thrilled to get a subspace backpack.”

“The one you made yesterday?”

“Yep!”

“You gave it to Levin.”

“I couldn’t give it to Zeon. A backpack is for porters to carry.”

“Pfft!”

Zeon burst into laughter.

Levin might be thrilled to receive a rare item, but to Brielle, he was just a porter meant to carry their load.