Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 124

128

KWA-AAA!

What burst through the sand was a massive, worm-like monster.

Desert Worm.

A worm that dwells in the sand, these monsters can grow from a small 2 meters to over 10 meters in size.

The ones here seemed to be about 5 meters.

However, judging from the faint vibrations felt through the ground, there seemed to be more than ten of them.

“I’ll take the front! Cover me from behind!”

Yasha drew her curved sword.

She must have thought Se-un was an archer after seeing his bow skills.

However, Se-un ignored her words, dismounted the sand panther, and placed his hand on the sand.

She looked bewildered, but what could he do? This was the most efficient way to deal with Desert Worms.

-Due to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Ground Wave’ is enhanced.

Kugugugu!

“…Magic?”

Centered on Se-un’s palm, undulating ripples spread across the sand.

The power of Ground Wave is insignificant in the desert.

Even on solid ground, shaking the sand wouldn’t inflict significant damage on the monsters within.

However, by amplifying mana and increasing the wave.

“Kiek!”

It was possible to force the hidden creatures out of the sand.

The reason Desert Worms are threatening is because they hide beneath the sand.

Forcing them above ground meant.

-Through internal energy, the first stance of the Blood Wolf Sword Technique, Blood Wolf Claw, is enhanced.

It was no different than exposing their weaknesses.

As he weaved through the wriggling monsters, twelve of them instantly stopped moving.

Yasha couldn’t even swing her sword once before the battle ended.

“…Archery, magic, and swordsmanship. What exactly are you?”

“Isn’t it better for you if I’m strong?”

Yasha, who had a surprised expression, quickly composed herself and nodded.

In any case, Se-un was essentially a mercenary. From the employer’s perspective, the most important thing was the mercenary’s ability, not their identity.

-You have devoured ‘Desert Worm.’

-Absorbing nutrients increases your Stamina by 2.

-The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ deeply savors the rich essence of the prey.

Afterward, the monster attacks continued.

Not only the Desert Worms they first encountered but also various monsters from previous trials ambushed them.

The closer they got to the source, the stronger and more numerous the monsters became.

“Is it even possible to travel by camel with so many monsters?”

“It wasn’t usually this bad. And the trade routes are secured, so monsters rarely appear.”

“Trade routes….”

“However, recently, monster attacks have been occurring even on the trade routes. That’s one of the reasons I’m concerned about the source.”

Before his regression, the clan Se-un joined didn’t even have time to fulfill this request.

So, Se-un didn’t know what existed at the source.

If he had to guess….

‘Either the boss monster that was the core of the trial or the cause of the sandstorm.’

The latter seemed more likely since they wouldn’t let him hunt the boss monster before the trial even started.

“Even now, it’s like this. Originally, there weren’t this many monsters until the sandstorm appeared.”

“The sandstorm appearing means?”

“Ah, the soldier must have been lacking in his explanation besides the location of the source. The sandstorm that hits our fortress every year isn’t a natural disaster.”

“I know that.”

“That sandstorm is….”

The moment she trailed off, the sand dune ended, and a stinging sandstorm fiercely blew.

Se-un, who hadn’t felt any discomfort due to the cloak covering his respirator, had to close his eyes this time.

As the wind subsided slightly, he barely managed to open his eyes.

“It’s just remnants that have broken off from that.”

KWA-AAAA-!!

The sight of the desert from the sand dune was overwhelming.

Instead of a horizon made of sand, a massive sandstorm connecting the ground and sky was in place.

Its range was so vast that it filled the left and right of his vision.

It felt as if he had entered a completely different world as soon as he crossed the sand dune.

‘This is more than I expected.’

It was just the 10th floor trial, no less.

He didn’t think the difficulty would be low since it was a commander’s request, but the sandstorm before him was beyond Se-un’s expectations.

Just considering the environment, it seemed like one of the worst environments, existing at least on the 20th floor or higher.

The terrifying sandstorm that hit the fortress was just one of the remnants that had broken off from that.

It was an overwhelming sight.

“It seems more serious than I thought.”

“What are you referring to?”

“The sandstorm. It’s much larger and more violent than what we scouted before.”

It probably wasn’t usually this bad.

With this, it was confirmed that the sandstorm had grown larger and that more monsters were appearing around, but this was just confirmation.

Such information had already been rumored.

The most important fact now was why the sandstorm had grown larger and why the monsters’ activity range had expanded.

Without identifying the cause, just looking at the sandstorm was meaningless.

“Let’s get closer.”

“Yes.”

“Krrreung-”

The sand panther growled lowly, as if groaning.

Even for creatures adapted to the desert, approaching the sandstorm seemed burdensome.

“Kieeeek!”

Even while moving towards the sandstorm, the monster attacks didn’t stop.

All sorts of worms, scorpions, or plant-type monsters. Those with atrophied eyes or covered in hard shells were moving freely within the sandstorm.

At first, he could easily deal with them as before, but the fight gradually became more difficult.

Rather than the monsters getting stronger, the sandstorm was intensifying.

“…I don’t think we can go any further. It’s better to turn back for now.”

“We haven’t found the cause yet.”

“Just confirming the information is a great gain. The storm is too strong to move forward any further.”

Listening to her, it seemed like the request would end here. No player would be able to break through this sandstorm.

However, Se-un had no intention of stopping here.

If there was a compass for his journey, it would surely point towards the storm.

Soon, Se-un’s circle rotated, and a new magic manifested.

-The Vault of Greed has been opened.

[Wind Curtain]

– A defensive magic from the Green Tower, it creates a curtain of wind to protect the user from surrounding disasters.

Whooong-

Unlike the harsh sandstorm, a gentle wind enveloped his skin and spread out.

A wind barrier unfolded around Se-un, as well as Yasha and the two sand panthers.

The sand grains that stung the skin lost their force and fell to the ground. The sharp wind sounds that seemed to tear the air disappeared as if dead.

Wind Curtain.

It was difficult to block physical attacks, but it was an effective defensive magic for blocking weak but continuous and widespread attacks like hail or sandstorms.

“…You knew how to use this kind of magic too?”

“I was saving mana just in case, so please don’t misunderstand.”

“How long can you maintain it?”

“If I don’t use other magic and only maintain this… about two or three hours.”

“Considering the round trip, we can only go in for about an hour.”

“That’s right. So, let’s hurry in.”

“Understood.”

With the wind barrier blocking the sandstorm, the sand panthers’ expressions also lightened.

Their movement speed naturally increased, and they were able to approach the storm faster than expected.

‘Still, the closer we get, the more unexpected it is.’

The sandstorm was enormous.

Without the wind barrier, sand grains would have been embedded in his skin by now.

The wind’s force had also intensified, and no monsters appeared.

However, there was one problem.

‘How far does she plan to go?’

Even though this was the source, he didn’t know where the cause of this anomaly was.

He tried using scanning magic, but the mana was blurred like it was filled with noise due to the strong sandstorm.

It was impossible to find anything like this.

Then.

“Isn’t that a little strange?”

Yasha pointed to the left.

Se-un stopped searching and turned his head to check the left side.

At first, he didn’t know what she meant, but as he focused his vision, he could see why she felt something was off.

‘The wind’s flow is different.’

He had been so focused on mana, maintaining the wind barrier, and using searching magic that he hadn’t noticed.

It seemed he had been relying too much on mana since becoming a 5-circle mage.

Feeling remorse, Se-un maintained only the barrier and moved towards that direction.

The closer he got, the more clearly he could feel the changed wind flow.

“But I thought some investigation had been done on the source?”

“Most of the investigated information is based on external observations. The interior couldn’t be investigated because of this environment.”

“Still, they could have come this far somehow.”

“There are records of quite deep investigations during the weakest period of the sandstorm, but I heard they didn’t find anything significant.”

“I see.”

“Above all, more than half of the personnel sent to observe the interior were swept away by the sandstorm and didn’t return, so recently, they haven’t been conducting reconnaissance at all.”

To investigate the interior of the sandstorm, skilled individuals were needed.

However, more than half of those people didn’t return, and they didn’t find any useful information, so from the higher-ups’ perspective, it was no different from a meaningless waste of manpower.

“However, there is one legend.”

“A legend?”

“A long time ago, they created a storm to trap a monster in the desert… that kind of legend.”

Se-un listened to her words.

Even if it was a legend, the words spoken by a key figure while progressing through a trial were no different from a big hint.

‘A monster….’

If that was true, this massive sandstorm was like a barrier to trap a single monster.

Could Se-un face such a monster?

The answer was skeptical.

No matter how strong Se-un was, it was only in relation to the lower-floor players.

Even reaching the middle floors, there were plenty of skilled individuals who could clash swords with the current Se-un.

Listening to Yasha’s words, the monster inside the sandstorm probably had the power to be active on at least the middle floors or higher.

Even if he used Mammon’s treasures, it would be impossible for the current Se-un to face it.

Whooong-

“As expected.”

“It feels like we’ve entered the eye of the storm.”

“There were no records of an eye of the storm existing in this area. In the first place, this isn’t a location where an eye of the storm should exist yet.”

“That means….”

“Perhaps, this is the place we were looking for.”

The fierce sandstorm subsided as if it were a lie.

Turning around, he could see that the wind was dying down, centered on a constant barrier similar to Se-un’s barrier.

To save mana, he removed the wind barrier and looked around.

Soon, he realized that the wind had stopped, centered on the sand dune in the middle.

And in that center….

‘Found it.’

Along with a massive statue presumed to be the cause of the anomaly, he could see a man kneeling in front of it, praying with his hands clasped together.