Chapter 291
“Where is this?”
“Who am I?”
Aaron and Dominic looked around blankly in a daze.
All they could see was scorching hot sand.
Just half a day ago, they had still been in the slums.
It couldn’t compare to Neo Seoul, but the slums were still a place where people could live.
Now that they’d been dumped into a desert with absolutely nothing around, they realized that fact clearly.
They had been swept up by Zeon’s words about “making them stronger,” and by the time they came to their senses, they were standing in the middle of a desert.
“I definitely remember getting caught in a sandstorm…”
“Me too…”
Awoooo!
At that moment, the howl of a wolf echoed from the distance.
The expressions of the two men changed instantly.
“What was that?”
“Don’t tell me… a magical beast?”
Shuddering, the two hurriedly checked their bodies.
Fortunately, all the equipment they had painstakingly bought at the Goblin Market was still with them.
Aaron drew his sword, while Dominic gripped his staff tightly with both hands.
Both of their hands trembled violently around their weapons.
“Sh-Shit…”
“Fuck, I feel like I’m gonna piss myself.”
Awoooo!
Even as they spoke, the howling drew closer.
And the closer it came, the harder the two trembled.
Then, from beyond the sand dunes, the owner of the howl appeared.
Large rounded ears.
Pitch-black eyes.
Spotted fur covering its body.
It resembled a dog, though its fangs were far larger.
“What kind of magical beast is that?”
“It looks like some kind of wild dog…”
For a moment, the two relaxed slightly because it looked weaker than expected.
But then—
Dozens more magical beasts identical to it appeared behind the first one.
“Hhk!”
“Fuck! There’s a whole pack?”
Kwaaang!
At that moment, the dog-like magical beasts charged at the two of them.
They were magical beasts called Lycaons, named after African wild dogs.
Rank: F-rank.
Among magical beasts, they were considered some of the weakest.
Any E-rank awakened one could deal with them as long as they stayed calm.
But to Aaron and Dominic, who were already half out of their minds with fear, they looked more terrifying than Cerberus.
As the Lycaons lunged, Aaron reflexively swung his sword.
“Hyaaaah!”
Kyaeng!
The leading Lycaon was wounded by his blade and collapsed.
But there were still many Lycaons left.
Even after one of their own died, the Lycaons showed no fear and continued charging.
“Uwaaaah!”
Driven solely by the desire to survive, Aaron swung his sword wildly like a madman.
Dominic, the mage, stared blankly at the scene.
Watching his friend desperately fighting magical beasts with blood spraying everywhere felt strangely unreal.
Then Aaron’s shout snapped him back to reality.
“Fuck! You attack too. I can’t hold them all back alone.”
“You bastard! Get your head straight.”
“Ah! O-Okay!”
Only then did Dominic hurriedly raise his staff.
It was the staff he had bought using every bit of money he had saved.
Though workshop-made, it still had decent mana conductivity and even a bonus option that increased skill activation speed.
Dominic slammed the base of his staff into the ground and shouted,
“Shock Wave!”
Jjeoooong!
An explosive shockwave burst forth and swept over the pack of Lycaons.
Kyaeng!
Kraaaang!
The Lycaons attacking Aaron screamed as they were blasted backward by the shockwave.
“Nice!”
Aaron immediately stabbed his sword into the throats of the Lycaons writhing from the impact.
Dominic tightly gripped his staff while gasping for breath.
“Huff! Huff!”
Just using a single skill felt like it had consumed nearly half his mana.
He had recklessly poured too much mana into the spell.
If he had been an experienced awakened one, he would have controlled the mana properly.
But this was his first real battle, and he was too overwhelmed to regulate anything.
Dominic looked down at his staff.
‘So this is magic… the power of an awakened one…’
The overwhelming exhilaration he felt for the first time in his life left him speechless.
Seeing the fallen Lycaons made the reality of his awakening finally sink in.
Then Aaron shouted again.
“Fuck! Are you seriously spacing out after casting one skill?”
“Huh?”
“More magical beasts are coming again.”
“Again?”
Dominic hurriedly looked ahead.
Another pack of Lycaons was rushing toward them.
Kwaaang!
Kkeong! Kkeong!
As though something were chasing them, dozens of Lycaons charged toward the two once more.
Aaron pointed his sword toward the incoming pack and said,
“Stay focused. I don’t think this is going to end with just this.”
“You mean more are coming?”
“That’s what my gut tells me. So when you use your skills, control your mana properly. If you screw up and run out of mana completely, you could die without being able to cast another spell.”
“O-Okay!”
Dominic clenched his teeth and answered.
He couldn’t keep relying on Aaron forever.
He too was a proper mage now.
Strengthening his resolve, Dominic prepared to cast another skill.
***
“Looks like they’ve finally calmed down a little.”
“Those little bastards nearly scared the soul out of me…”
Zeon and Levin were talking atop a sand dune.
From where they stood, they had a perfect view of Aaron and Dominic fighting below.
The one who had brought Aaron and Dominic here was Zeon himself.
Though the two boys didn’t know it, this place was quite far from Neo Seoul.
For ordinary awakened ones, it would take several days to travel here.
But for Zeon and Levin, distance wasn’t a problem.
The reason Zeon brought them here was simple.
This place happened to be the habitat of the F-rank magical beasts known as Lycaons.
There was no magical beast more suitable than Lycaons for training rookie awakened ones.
They were appropriately threatening and appropriately strong.
Just enough for novices like Aaron and Dominic to handle.
Watching the two fight with sharp eyes, Zeon spoke.
“They’re starting to get the hang of it.”
“Already?”
“Aaron’s holding out better than expected, and Dominic’s skill power is pretty decent. More importantly, the two of them work well together.”
“Those bastards! Just what I’d expect from my friends.”
Levin smiled proudly.
“Stop grinning and go herd over another pack of Lycaons.”
“Yes, sir!”
Levin transformed into a ghostly form and soared into the air.
After scanning the area from high above, he soon spotted another pack of Lycaons.
“This time, I choose you guys.”
Levin flew toward the Lycaon pack.
The Lycaons panicked at the sight of the transparent, ghost-like Levin flying toward them.
“This might sting a little.”
Smiling, Levin activated Purple Lightning.
Flash!
If he unleashed it seriously, a mere pack of Lycaons would be annihilated instantly.
So he carefully controlled the power—
just enough not to kill them.
Of course, that was only from Levin’s perspective.
Kyaeng!
Kkeeng!
The Lycaon pack, suddenly struck by electricity, shrieked in terror and fled.
“Not that way. This way, please.”
Flash!
Levin casually fired another electric burst, driving the Lycaons toward Aaron and Dominic.
The Lycaons ran exactly where Levin intended—
and soon encountered Aaron and Dominic.
Then they vented the frustration of being bullied by Levin onto the two boys.
Kwaaang!
Kkeong! Kkeong!
Seeing yet another pack of Lycaons appear, Aaron and Dominic widened their eyes.
“Again?!”
“Fuck! Let us catch our breath.”
But the Lycaons had no intention of listening.
Aaron stepped forward to block the charging beasts baring their huge fangs, while Dominic cast spells from behind him.
After fighting together several times already, their coordination had become surprisingly synchronized.
Aaron held the line.
Dominic attacked.
It was the most orthodox teamwork between a martial-type awakened one and a magic-type awakened one.
The more Aaron swung his sword, the sharper his attacks became.
At first, he had been too panicked to do anything except swing wildly.
But now he could occasionally mix actual skills into his attacks.
Dominic was the same.
Unlike before, when he recklessly dumped huge amounts of mana into every spell, he had started learning how to regulate his mana depending on the situation.
Of course, that didn’t mean things became easy for them.
Every time they wiped out a charging pack of Lycaons and barely had time to breathe, another pack would appear from somewhere and attack again.
By this point, even they had figured out what was going on.
“This is hyungnim and Levin’s doing, isn’t it?”
“Who else would it be?”
“Shiiit. They say there’s nobody in the world you can trust.”
“Stop whining and raise your sword. It’s about time another pack showed up.”
“How’s your mana?”
“It’s hanging by a thread, but I think I can still handle one more pack.”
“Then get ready to suffer.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Thunk!
The two bumped fists before preparing for battle again.
***
“They’ve gotten pretty skilled now.”
“Even idiots get used to things if you grind them hard enough. Want another piece of jerky?”
At Zeon’s response, Levin immediately took out another strip of jerky and handed it over.
It was jerky bought from Old Man Clexi’s shop.
Compared to the jerky from other stores, it was much softer and tasted far better.
Zeon intentionally never asked what it was made from.
‘Well, as long as it tastes good.’
Chewing the jerky, Zeon looked toward Aaron and Dominic.
Kyaeng!
Aaron killed the final Lycaon, bringing the brutal battle to an end.
Seeing the two collapse onto the ground while gasping for breath almost made them look pitiful.
But Zeon had no intention of going easy on them.
Even this was an extremely comfortable way to gain experience.
Zeon himself had been forged through brutal training under Deion, and Levin had also grown stronger through Zeon’s methods.
Compared to the paths those two had walked, this was practically child’s play.
“Let those two rest a little for now. Let’s look for different magical beasts.”
“Something other than Lycaons?”
“Lycaons aren’t a threat to them anymore. You can’t expect growth against opponents that no longer threaten you.”
“Then what would be good?”
“Find something slightly stronger than Lycaons.”
“Still F-rank magical beasts, right?”
“F-rank is still their limit for now.”
Not all F-rank magical beasts possessed the same level of strength.
Even within the same rank, differences in power existed.
That was what Zeon meant when he told Levin to find another type of beast.
Levin nodded as though he understood perfectly and stood up.
“Got it.”
This was about helping his own friends grow stronger.
Levin truly intended to do his absolute best to drive magical beasts suited perfectly to his friends’ level toward them.
Dudududu!
A short while later, just as Aaron and Dominic barely managed to recover some mana, another group of magical beasts came charging toward them in a cloud of dust.
Thanks to their friend’s heartfelt devotion, Aaron and Dominic were forced to experience hell itself.
Eventually, all that could be heard were their desperate screams.
“Fuck! Levin!”
“Why the hell are you doing this to us?!”
Hearing their cries, Levin chuckled and muttered,
“This is all hyungnim’s desperate wish to keep you alive.”