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Just as the Expedition Team had described, the distant fortress was visible.

A faint force field shimmered around it.

“It really is a fortress.”

“I’ve never seen architecture like that.”

The Awakeneds murmured among themselves.

While dungeons could contain anything, none of them had seen a fortress like this before.

Levin turned to Zeon and asked.

“Is it possible for a castle like that to exist in a dungeon?”

“If it exists here, it’s possible.”

“Haha! But still, that…”

“In dungeons, human logic doesn’t apply. Anything humans can imagine can become real in a dungeon.”

“Oh…”

“So, never let your guard down, not even for a moment. If you want to survive…”

Gulp!

Levin swallowed hard, unable to respond to Zeon’s serious tone.

At the same time, Brielle also tensed up.

Zeon was feeling a powerful sense of foreboding.

‘It’s similar to Akaruk’s castle.’

Akaruk, the Death Knight.

The atmosphere of this castle was similar to the one Akaruk resided in.

The presence of undead was identical as well.

This made Zeon suspect that the master of this place might be a similar entity.

‘Whatever it is, it’s dangerous.’

Zeon glanced at Lee Ji-ryeongg.

He must have realized by now that this dungeon was no ordinary place. Yet, his face still radiated confidence.

A look only someone who had conquered countless dungeons could have. However, there was a more immediate concern: crossing the vast quicksand that lay before them.

Hiss!

A barely audible sound could be heard if one focused intently.

It was the sound of the flowing quicksand.

The sight of fine sand particles moving like a giant river was enough to instill fear in the Awakeneds.

One of the Awakeneds spoke up.

“At this distance, couldn’t we just jump across?”

His words sparked interest among several Awakeneds.

The quicksand was about 200 meters wide.

Advanced Martial Arts Awakeneds or those with abilities like leaping could potentially make it across.

The Awakened who had spoken stepped forward.

“I’ll go first.”

He was a C-rank Martial Arts Awakened.

Despite his lower rank, his skill, Triple Leap, gave him confidence that he could cross 200 meters in a single bound.

‘If I can leap over the quicksand, everyone will notice me.’

He was participating as a mercenary, hoping to get scouted by the Pegasus Raid Force by standing out.

None of the others tried to stop him.

They were curious to see the attempt.

Under the watchful eyes of the others, the Awakened moved forward.

Hiss!

The sound of the flowing sand was terrifying, but he maintained a confident facade.

‘Phew! I can do this. This is nothing. I’ve jumped over wider gaps before.’

After taking a deep breath, he sprinted several meters and leaped over the quicksand.

Whoosh!

His body soared over the quicksand like a bird, covering about seventy to eighty meters in a smooth arc.

At that moment, his skill, Triple Leap, activated, making it look as if he was stepping on an invisible platform and jumping again.

“He did it.”

“He can make it.”

The Awakeneds clenched their fists in anticipation of his success.

Then, suddenly,

“Ugh!”

The Awakened groaned and stumbled in mid-air, falling rapidly.

“Huh, what?”

“What? Why is he falling?”

The others cried out in shock.

The falling Awakened tried to activate his skill again.

‘Triple Leap!’

The skill activated, but he continued to fall.

An invisible force from the quicksand area was pulling him down, making it impossible to maintain his leap.

It was as if he were tied down by a powerful noose, unable to exert his strength.

‘Damn it! What is this?’

Thud!

In the end, he crashed into the quicksand.

Though the soft sand cushioned his fall, the real problem was just beginning.

“Ugh!”

His body began sinking into the sand.

Struggling to climb out, he only sank faster.

“Damn it! Throw him a rope.”

“Hang in there.”

As the others scrambled to save him, he suddenly screamed.

“Ahhhh!”

Looking closer, they saw something black covering his body.

“What is that?”

“There’s something in the sand.”

“Damn it! Leeches.”

The things covering him were leeches, each the size of a human arm.

The area around him was swarming with leeches. They latched onto his skin, sucking his blood.

As the leeches drank, his body shriveled, quickly turning into a mummy-like husk.

That was his end.

“Oh my god!”

“Those monsters were hiding in the sand.”

“If we had tried to cross…”

The other Awakeneds shuddered, horrified at the thought.

The leeches, having drained him dry, disappeared back into the sand.

Lee Ji-ryeongg muttered.

“It’s not just quicksand. There are monster leeches in there.”

“If we had gone in without knowing, we’d have ended up like that too.”

Gesling, the leader of the Expedition Team, breathed a sigh of relief.

If they had attempted to cross the quicksand recklessly, they would have ended up in the same dire situation.

“We need to abandon the idea of crossing the quicksand. There’s an unseen force at work here.”

“Whether it’s gravity or something else, it’s definitely pulling people into the quicksand.”

Crackle!

Suddenly, bolts of lightning struck the quicksand from the sky. Lee Ji-ryeongg had unleashed his power.

Bzzzt!

The sand turned black under the impact of millions of volts.

It was a formidable display of power.

However, even this powerful lightning couldn’t halt the flow of the quicksand.

As soon as the electricity dissipated, leeches emerged from the sand, looking around as if to assess what had happened before disappearing back into the sand.

Seemingly unharmed by the lightning.

“Looks like we can’t get through this area by ordinary means.”

Lee Ji-ryeongg muttered, biting his lip in frustration at his power’s ineffectiveness.

The sand itself was the problem, conducting the lightning and preventing it from harming the leeches at all—a worst-case scenario.

Following Lee Ji-ryeongg’s lightning attack, other Awakeneds unleashed their own skills.

Various magical attacks exploded against the sand, but the leeches remained untouched.

Individually, the leeches weren’t terrifying—they were E or D-rank at best.

Outside the sand, even mercenaries could easily kill them.

The problem was that the leeches showed no intention of leaving the sand, and no one knew how many were hidden within it.

Gesling looked at Zeon.

“We have no other choice.”

“Indeed.”

Lee Ji-ryeongg nodded.

His pride was a bit wounded, but the current situation could only be resolved by Zeon.

Lee Ji-ryeongg approached Zeon.

“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“There are monsters hiding in the quicksand. It would take us considerable time and effort to deal with them.”

“I can handle it more easily than you can.”

Zeon stared back at Lee Ji-ryeongg.

Lee Ji-ryeongg didn’t avoid Zeon’s gaze as he continued.

“That’s why I’m asking you. Only you can open a path through the quicksand here on Earth.”

“But that would exhaust the rest of my mana.”

“Are you saying you can’t do it?”

Lee Ji-ryeongg’s eyes bore into Zeon’s, challenging him.

Anyone could see that it was a clear provocation.

Zeon chuckled softly.

“Alright. I’ll open the path.”

With such a provocation, Zeon had no choice but to comply.

He walked past Lee Ji-ryeongg and approached the quicksand.

“Huu…”

Standing before the quicksand, Zeon took a deep breath and gathered his power.

Whoosh!

His senses extended into the sand, spreading out like a neural network, allowing him to perceive the situation within the sand as clearly as the lines on his palm.

The leeches, as numerous as the grains of sand, were scattered throughout the entire quicksand area.

It was a truly hellish environment.

But it didn’t matter to Zeon.

After glancing briefly at Lee Ji-ryeongg, Zeon closed his eyes and began to exert his control.

Rumble!

The quicksand began to shake violently as Zeon’s power clashed with the force that kept the sand moving.

The sand churned even more furiously.

Roar!

The sand started to flow out of the quicksand area, carrying the leeches with it.

“Ahhh!”

“Leeches! Fall back!”

The nearby Awakeneds recoiled in horror.

“These damn leeches…”

“Die!”

The Awakeneds quickly regained their composure and began attacking the leeches.

While terrifying within the sand, the leeches weren’t much of a threat outside it.

Thud!

Leeches burst open under the Awakeneds’ attacks.

However, their blood was the real problem.

Splatter!

“Argh!”

“Help me!”

Wherever the leech blood splattered, it corroded the skin as if it had been dipped in strong acid.

Other Awakeneds widened their eyes in horror, realizing that if they had been closer, they could have suffered the same fate.

Those who had been splashed with leech blood writhed in agony. Their comrades tried to heal them with potions, but it was futile. Eventually, their bodies dissolved, and they died.

“Damn it!”

“To think these creatures were swarming in the sand.”

The Awakeneds went pale as they witnessed their comrades’ deaths.

All eyes turned to Zeon, now their only hope.

If he couldn’t open the quicksand, they wouldn’t even get a chance to attempt the dungeon raid.

Roar!

Despite the violent shaking of the sand, Zeon remained focused.

His concentration was unbreakable, not even the churning sand or the hidden leeches could deter him.

As the sand’s movement reached its peak, Zeon opened his eyes.

With his power at its height, his eyes looked like they were made of the same red sand.

Zeon extended his hands, moving them apart as if parting the sand.

Rumble!

Like the parting of the Red Sea, the quicksand began to split at his command.

Lee Ji-ryeongg clenched his fist.

“The path… is opening.”

“Wow!”

Cheers erupted from the Awakeneds.

Before them, a path to the fortress was opening.

It was a miraculous feat accomplished by Zeon, the sole Sand Mage in the desert.