Chapter 6

Chapter 6

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 6

It was incredibly dark inside the 972nd tunnel.

The light from the hat alone was not enough to completely illuminate the darkness of the tunnel.

Zeon stood facing the wall at the end of the tunnel.

Marks from pickaxe strikes were still visible.

They were traces left by the people who had entered before Zeon.

It seemed like a vivid image of miners laboring tirelessly in the sunless underground to dig through solid rock for precious stones.

Four miners had met their end in this place.

“Why?”

Miners wouldn’t have died without a reason.

There had to be something that led them to their demise in this place.

There was no such thing as an effect without a cause.

Zeon propped the pickaxe against the wall and began scrutinizing the interior of the tunnel.

“The mana concentration here is thick, but...”

There was a significant accumulation of mana inside the tunnel.

If it had been before he awakened, Zeon might not have noticed.

“Why is mana gathering only here?”

He recalled stories of the side effects prolonged exposure to mana had on ordinary individuals.

From cellular necrosis due to mana oversaturation to rapid organ aging, the side effects were numerous and severe.

If what he sensed was true, it was evident that the miners died due to the mana in this place.

Park Manho was also an Awakened individual, so if he had entered here, he would have surely sensed the excessive concentration of mana. But he had been immersed in gambling and hadn’t entered the tunnel for a long time. That was undoubtedly why he hadn’t noticed.

The issue was why mana concentrated only in this place.

Zeon glanced at the tunnel’s wall.

At this moment, the wall was the only suspicious point.

Zeon grasped the pickaxe and struck the inner wall of the tunnel.

Clang! Bang!

The pickaxe struck the wall and sparks flew everywhere.

With each swing of the pickaxe, rocks crumbled weakly.

Thud!

The pickaxe felt notably stuck at one point.

“What’s this?”

Furrowing his brows in puzzlement, Zeon struck the wall forcefully again.

Crash!

The wall collapsed with a loud noise.

In its place appeared an elliptical space, eerily dark and alien, much like the throat of a beast.

“What in the...?”

Swish!

In an instant, a powerful force pulled Zeon.

Before Zeon could resist, he was sucked into the dark space.

“Argh!”

The moment he entered the dark space, an enormous amount of pressure engulfed him.

Pain struck him as if his whole body was being crushed.

His mind went blank, pain overtook him, and he could not continue thinking.

All he wanted to do was get out of this moment quickly.

Fortunately, that moment came swiftly.

Boom!

The dark space expelled Zeon.

He tumbled on the ground a few times before swiftly getting back up.

“What the... this hellish landscape...”

Just a moment ago, he was undoubtedly deep underground in the tunnel. Yet now, an entirely different scene unfolded before his eyes.

In the distance loomed a colossal mountain.

Like obsidian, the black mountain spewed dark smoke and viscous lava. The sky was thick with volcanic ash, and rivers of molten lava flowed across the land.

All vegetation had turned to ash, and the air was laden with the scent of sulfur.

The intense heat from the solidified lava on the ground was overpowering. The heat of a desert paled in comparison.

In an instant, Zeon’s face reddened, sweat pouring down like rain.

His clothes were drenched with sweat in no time.

“A dungeon?”

Zeon glanced at the entrance of the dungeon that had expelled him.

As if its duty was fulfilled, the entrance was rapidly closing, leaving no trace behind.

“Shit, no!”

Zeon rushed toward it, but it was completely shut, leaving no trace of its existence.

“This is insane!”

“Phew!”

Zeon paused momentarily, taking a deep breath.

Physically, he might have been capable of making the jump. However, if he made even the slightest misstep or lost balance in mid-air, he’d plunge into the river of lava, dissolving into it instantly.

He had no choice but to prepare for the jump.

Observing the river of lava for a moment, Zeon sprinted forward with all his might.

“Hyaa!”

Right at the edge of the lava river, he leapt with all his might.

Zeon’s body soared through the air, reminiscent of a bird in flight.

At that very moment, Zeon reached the peak of his jump.

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, something surged through the lava, shooting towards Zeon.

“What’?”

Zeon glanced down in terror.

A wide-open, gigantic maw.

Rough, scaly skin soaked in flames.

Short four legs attached to a snake-like long body.

It was a crocodile.

A gigantic crocodile lurking in the river of lava, hunting for prey.

Each tooth was as large as a human forearm.

If caught by those teeth, Zeon’s body would be torn apart instantly.

There was nowhere to escape in mid-air.

He attempted to use the Sand Blaster skill, but the sand was too far away. He’d surely lose his life before gathering the sand.

Twisting his body in mid-air while gathering sand instinctively, Zeon narrowly evaded the crocodile’s attack. However, he lost balance and was plummeting towards the river of lava.

The crocodile widened its massive jaws, ready to devour Zeon if he couldn’t prevent the fall.

In that moment, floating sand caught Zeon’s eye.

It was the sand he had gathered a while ago.

Instinctively, Zeon visualized creating a foothold with the floating sand.

His imagination became reality.

Underneath his falling body, a platform made of sand materialized.

Thud!

Without further thought, Zeon propelled himself off the sand platform, barely managing to reach the opposite side—not with his feet, but by landing on his back.

“Urgh!”

Zeon groaned from the shock that felt as if his entire body was being shattered. But he didn’t even have the time to feel pain from fall.

Swoosh!

The gigantic crocodile emerged from the river of lava, advancing towards Zeon.

“Shit! Such a monster...”

Zeon desperately stepped back, but the crocodile was closing in rapidly.

Its short legs were dwarfed compared to the massive body, yet they were thicker than most logs.

Naturally, it had an incredibly fast walking speed.

“Sand Blaster!”

Zeon launched the Sand Blaster. However, the high-pressure sand stream was futile against the giant crocodile and ended up melting before making contact due to the intense heat it emitted, almost equivalent to that of lava.

“Crazy!”

Zeon widened his eyes.

He never expected his attack to be so futilely blocked.

The crocodile lunged towards Zeon at an unbelievably swift pace.

As Zeon looked at the wide-open jaws, he found himself unable to react.

At that moment....

“Using sand, huh? Quite an interesting ability you’ve got.”

Suddenly, a rough and hoarse voice resonated in the air.

Zeon involuntarily looked towards the direction the voice came from.

Someone pierced through the volcanic ash, descending from the sky at a frightening speed.

In the person’s hand was a massive sword.

With the sword held forth, the person collided directly with the gigantic crocodile.

Kwaang!

Like a meteor crashing down, an explosive sound erupted, and an immense shockwave swept through the area.

The impact caused the lava that had been flowing calmly to splash in all directions.

“What?”

Zeon covered his ears with both hands, displaying an expression of disbelief.

The threatening gigantic crocodile was crushed like tofu. Atop the subdued crocodile was a huge old man.

The old man’s eyes emitted a gaze so terrifying that it was hard to perceive him as human.

The old man asked.

“What’s your name?”

His voice resounded in a menacing tone, and reverberated within Zeon’s stomach. It was more intimidating than the gigantic crocodile itself.

[Translator – Peptobismol]