Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Great-Horned Hyenas lived and hunted in packs.

The leader of the pack was a female, much larger and stronger than the males. Like a lion, she even had a mane around her neck.

She was a monster whose height from forepaw to shoulder alone exceeded two meters, and whose length from head to tail reached five meters.

They lived in packs ranging from as few as dozens to as many as hundreds. And a considerable number among them were cubs born from the alpha female.

It was a matriarchal bloodline society.

Naturally, all the Great-Horned Hyenas obeyed the alpha female’s commands absolutely.

Great-Horned Hyenas were nocturnal.

In order to survive in the scorching desert, they had naturally come to move at night.

KROOOAR!

The Great-Horned Hyenas charged in with terrifying force.

As befitting creatures that hunted in enormous packs, they had neither fear nor caution.

That was because in the face of their large-scale wave tactics, most monsters or Awakened were swept away in an instant.

Most of the Great-Horned Hyenas targeted the large Deioden, but some charged at Zeon.

“Damn it!”

Zeon hurriedly unleashed Sand Blaster.

SHOOOK!

The sand fired at high pressure smashed the head of the Great-Horned Hyena in the lead. Even though their companion died right in front of them, the Great-Horned Hyenas did not care at all.

“Haaah!”

Zeon fired Sand Blaster in succession.

The power of Sand Blaster was tremendous.

One shot sent one beast away for certain.

The problem was that there were far too many Great-Horned Hyenas to kill them one at a time like that.

Killing them one by one would not let him escape this crisis.

While firing Sand Blaster, Zeon thought desperately.

‘One isn’t enough. I have to fire at least five. Only then can I roughly balance things out.’

The problem was mana.

He had to fire many Sand Blasters while managing his mana efficiently.

‘Can I do it?’

No, it was something he had to do.

There was no time to think or hesitate.

Zeon swung his hand.

Then five streams of sand rose from the desert and flew toward the Great-Horned Hyenas.

YELP!

With screams, five Great-Horned Hyenas tumbled across the ground.

All of them had holes the size of coins in their heads.

He had divided one Sand Blaster into five.

It was to manage his mana.

Instead, in order to maximize its power, he compressed the five divided Sand Blasters thinly.

That was why the Great-Horned Hyenas’ heads had not burst apart, but had holes pierced through them instead.

The first time was difficult, but from the second time onward, it became easier.

That was because he only had to walk along the path he had already opened.

SHSHSHK!

Sand Blasters were fired one after another.

Five Sand Blasters at a time pierced holes through the heads of five Great-Horned Hyenas.

It seemed he could barely hold on.

Only then did he have the luxury of looking at Deioden.

When Zeon turned his head toward Deioden, his eyes widened.

“Insane!”

“Hehehe! More, more......”

Deioden was swinging Crayon while letting out madness-filled laughter. Around him, more than a hundred Great-Horned Hyenas had already died.

He was not using any special Skill like Zeon.

He was merely swinging Crayon, then swinging it again.

Each time, three or four Great-Horned Hyenas were sliced apart.

Blood sprayed, and chunks of flesh flew.

The red sand of the desert, already crimson, was stained with blood.

CRUNCH!

At times, a Great-Horned Hyena succeeded in biting Deioden’s forearm or calf. However, their teeth could not sink into Deioden’s flesh.

Deioden’s body was harder than steel.

Instead, the Great-Horned Hyenas’ teeth broke.

“Heh-heh! That tickles.”

Deioden grabbed the head of the Great-Horned Hyena biting his thigh with his hand. Then he squeezed hard.

CRACK!

The tough skull of the Great-Horned Hyena broke like a cracker.

He threw the Great-Horned Hyena in his hand at the other Great-Horned Hyenas.

YELP!

BARK!

The Great-Horned Hyenas tangled together and rolled across the ground.

Their legs bent unnaturally, and their bellies burst, spilling their entrails.

Filled with madness, Deioden slaughtered the Great-Horned Hyenas.

Not a single Great-Horned Hyena dared to fight against Deioden.

With the situation having reached this point, the alpha female, who had only been watching until now, stepped forward.

A blue force field hung over the alpha female’s entire body.

It meant she had a magic-type ability and was at least Grade B or higher.

CRACKLE!

Sparks flew from the horn on the alpha female’s head.

It seemed that among magic types, she knew how to use Lightning Magic.

FLASH!

At that instant, lightning shot out from her horn.

The lightning that split through space reached Deioden in an instant.

“Heh-heh!”

Deioden swung his hand as though snatching a fly and caught the lightning.

The lightning that had brightly illuminated the night sky vanished inside his palm.

Only then did an intense sense of crisis assault the alpha female.

She had realized that he was on a different level from any opponent they had hunted until now.

Awoooo!

The alpha female roared and gave the order to retreat.

There was nothing more foolish than struggling against an existence one could not handle.

Half the pack had already been swept away.

If more of them died, she could not guarantee the survival of the pack.

The alpha female’s judgment was extremely appropriate.

The problem was that Deioden had no intention of letting the Great-Horned Hyena pack go.

“All of you, fucking die!”

SHRIIIK!

Deioden threw Crayon.

Crayon spun at a terrifying speed and cut down everything it caught.

The mournful screams of the Great-Horned Hyenas echoed through the night sky.

Zeon froze at the sight, too gruesome to bear. But Deioden’s event was not yet over.

TAP!

Deioden kicked off the desert and flew into the air.

Crayon, which had slaughtered countless Great-Horned Hyenas, flew back to Deioden.

Holding Crayon, Deioden plunged straight down toward the alpha female.

Deioden fell like a meteor.

Its power, too, was as tremendous as a meteor striking the earth.

KABOOM!

KWEEEEEK!

Together with the alpha female’s desperate scream, the sand in the area exploded.

A moment later, the sand that had risen like waves settled, and the scene was revealed.

The alpha female had been crushed so badly that her shape could not even be recognized. The only thing intact was the great horn on her head.

Deioden stood with one foot on the alpha female’s corpse.

Even after going through such an intense battle, there was not a trace of fatigue on Deioden’s face.

Instead, he was smiling as if refreshed.

That sight did not seem human at all.

Zeon froze.

He did not dare even breathe loudly.

He had been overwhelmed by Deioden’s strength.

‘Is he really human? It didn’t seem like he used any special Skill.’

When one awakened, one learned unique Skills.

An Awakened displayed their greatest ability precisely when using their unique Skills.

Naturally, using a Skill against a powerful monster like the alpha female would be far more effective.

But Deioden denied such common sense entirely.

Without using any Skill, he had crushed the alpha female to death with only the strength of his own body.

Zeon trembled.

He could not believe that a human could be this strong.

No Awakened in Neo Seoul could display this kind of power with their physical strength alone.

That was when it happened.

Deioden turned his head and looked at Zeon.

“Heh-heh! You somehow survived.”

“......”

Zeon did not dare answer and merely nodded.

Deioden smirked, then collected the alpha female’s horn.

“A Great-Horned Hyena’s horn is hard, so it has many uses. Since it even has a lightning trait, if it is refined well, it should become a fine weapon.”

He looked at the horn for a moment, then reached his hand into the air. Then the horn in his hand vanished as if it had been a lie.

‘Subspace? He isn’t a martial type, but a magic type?’

Zeon was shocked.

Everything Deioden had shown until now had been the fighting style of a martial type. Yet that same man was using subspace, which only an extremely small number of magic-type Awakened were said to be able to use.

He felt as if his common sense were being denied from the ground up.

At the same time, he was puzzled.

Did Deioden, who already had a weapon called Crayon, really need another weapon? But he did not dare ask.

Deioden put Crayon away, then took out a small sword instead.

He tossed a dagger to Zeon as well and said,

“From now on, prepare what you will eat yourself.”

“What?”

“Most of a Great-Horned Hyena’s muscles are poisonous. The only exception is the flank meat. There is no poison here, so it can be dried and eaten.”

Slice, slice!

He skillfully carved away part of the Great-Horned Hyena’s flank meat.

There was not much of it.

It was barely the size of an adult’s palm.

Zeon watched closely the part Deioden cut out, then copied him.

From experience, he knew that Deioden would not explain any more than this. He had no choice but to pick it up by watching.

He realized that the jerky he had eaten until now had actually been monster meat.

‘So he hunted monsters like this and made jerky.’

He felt no particular repulsion.

He had grown up in the slums, where food had always been scarce.

If something was edible, he ate it without discrimination. That was more advantageous for survival.

Zeon imitated Deioden as best as he could.

Deioden cut off only enough meat to eat for a few days.

That was because when it ran out, he could simply hunt again.

Zeon was different.

He was not strong like Deioden, so he had to prepare thoroughly.

It was advantageous to secure as much meat as possible.

Zeon obtained nearly thirty pieces of meat.

He wanted to cut out more, but he had nowhere to store it, so he stopped there.

Zeon took off his upper garment and wrapped the meat in it. Then he made it into a bundle and carried it on his back.

“Ha! You’re using your head somewhat.”

Deioden smirked.

Perhaps because he had put him through harsh treatment for two days, Zeon was finally using his head a little. But he still had far to go.

To become truly useful, he had to be worked much longer.

And very harshly at that.

Deioden said,

“If you have gathered everything, let’s go. Before the others smell the blood and come......”

He was not leaving because he was afraid.

He was leaving because it would be annoying.

Zeon nodded and followed behind Deioden.

He also did not want to remain any longer in this place filled with the smell of blood.

Before he knew it, the sun was rising.

The carnage revealed beneath the sunlight was even more horrifying.

Birds that had already caught the scent of corpses were circling in the sky. And still more monsters would gather to enjoy the feast.

That was the law of the desert.

The strong devoured the weak, and the dead became food for other beasts.

No being could escape this law.

While following Deioden, Zeon was learning the laws of the desert one by one.

As always, Deioden went ahead without even glancing at Zeon.

To catch up to him, Zeon used Sand Walk.

Because he had consumed a great deal of mana during the night, he had thought it would be difficult to use Sand Walk.

But unexpectedly, it was not that hard.

He had more mana left than expected, and operating it had become far smoother.

‘It’s because of last night’s battle.’

The experience of fighting with the resolve to stake life and death, combined with mana operation pushed to the limit, had clearly brought about rapid growth.

‘I’ve grown stronger. And I’ll keep growing stronger from now on.’

Zeon looked at Deioden’s back as he walked ahead.

He did not know why Deioden was taking him along. But one thing was clear.

As long as he followed him, he would definitely grow stronger.

As long as he survived.

Zeon diligently followed him.