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Chapter 45
“W-wait!” Esil urgently called out to Suho. “You’re not going in right now, are you?”
“What’s the point in waiting?”
“That’s nonsense!” Esil said sternly as she pointed at the red sand pouring down from the gate. “Can’t you feel the heat? You need the necessary protection, or you’ll end up with more than just burns all over your body—You could suffocate from the heat and die!”
He could feel the scorching heat coming off the red sand by just standing next to it. It seemed that entering without any precautions would indeed be dangerous.
“Store.” Suho opened the store window and selected an item.
[Item: “Fire Demon’s Necklace” has been purchased.]
[Item: Fire Demon’s Necklace]
[Acquisition Difficulty : D
Type: Accessory. contemporary romance
A necklace imbued with the protection of a fire demon.
Wearing it around your neck shields you from the heat.]
Suho casually hung the oddly-shaped necklace around his neck.
[Item: “Fire Demon’s Necklace” has been equipped.]
The necklace gradually turned transparent before disappearing completely. His body suddenly felt refreshed—the item had blocked the heat emanating from the red gate.
“Huh?” Esil, who had been enthusiastically lecturing Suho, was left dumbfounded by the sudden change that had occurred.
Hey, this is better than I thought. Satisfied, Suho purchased another necklace and handed it to Esil. “Here.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks?” The demon took the necklace absentmindedly. Her face lit up due to the mysterious energy coming from the necklace. “Fire Demon’s Necklace? Where did you find such a treasure?”
“Treasure?”
“Yes, treasure! Items that are imbued with such protection are rarely known to non-demonkind. It seems like it might be from a clan that perished during the Monarchs War.”
Esil examined the necklace curiously and then casually wore it around her neck. She also felt a refreshing sensation, and her eyes widened in surprise. “This is great. I wouldn’t mind wearing this every day. This will protect me from being burned... Ahem.”
Having emphasized the danger of the red sand, Esil now felt embarrassed. “W-well, it’s still just as dangerous! Fine. Since I’ve received such a nice gift for once, I’ll teach you something useful in return.”
“Something useful?”
Esil raised her hand toward the puzzled Suho. “Situations like this call for mana.”
Whoosh!
Waves of translucent energy rippled across Esil’s hand. “Now, like so.” She covered her face with the energy as if it were a mask. “It’s like wearing a thin protective layer on your face. This will keep sand out of your eyes or mouth. You can also use this underwater.”
“Oh?” Suho was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected yet valuable skill. He had been looking for a helmet in the shop window, but now, he no longer needed one.
“Of course, the skill might be a bit challenging at first. The key is to keep the protective layer as thin as possible, which requires precise mana control. Let me demonstrate a few more times...”
“Oh, I think I just did it,” Suho said.
“I see...” Esil watched him perfectly replicate the skill after just one demonstration, looking somewhat vexed. “Y-yes. That’s it. Perfectly thin. Good job...” He’d displayed perfect mana control. It took me years to make it that thin. This isn’t fair!
“Ahem.” Beru poked his head between them with a sly grin and said, “It’s amusing to see you get surprised by something as trivial as that. The Young Monarch has always been extraordinary. He flew before taking his first step on land.”
“Did I ask you for a history lesson?” Esil quipped.
“That’s not all. He learned the Korean alphabet at the age of five, addition and subtraction at six...”
“Take a break, chatterbox.”
Beru seemed to believe that Suho’s childhood development was precocious, but it was actually on par with the average child.
***
Once all the preparations were complete, Suho climbed onto Arachne’s back with Esil. Fortunately, the spider’s scales were as sturdy as armor yet comfortable enough for the journey ahead.
“Okay, let’s go!”
Arachne began to ascend by sweeping away the sand pouring from the gate with her massive claws. The sound of her swiping echoed throughout the dungeon. Her method of excavation was rather unique: The spider used her enormous claws to make an opening while simultaneously shooting black spider silk to solidify the scattered sand. This process formed a tunnel in the shape of the falling grains of sand that Arachne could travel through. The falling sand above the tunnel would collapse the structure sooner than later, but it was durable enough to allow time for Arachne to move through it.
Suho was impressed by the spider’s method. “Wow. Her true insect instincts are coming out.”
“Well, she is an insect,” Beru responded instead of Arachne, who couldn’t speak.
Screech!
Her claws continued to dig with great industry. Arachne began to climb the sand waterfall with ease with Suho and Esil on her back.
Beru, perched confidently on the spider’s head, directed their path with a determined fist. “Forward, Spider Ship!”
The historical drama buff had been engrossed lately in a series about Admiral Yi Sunsin.
***
They navigated through the sand for some time.
Devoid of light, Suho felt like they were swimming aimlessly through a sea of darkness. But his plan remained unchanged. “Keep going up no matter what!”
Following her summoner’s command, Arachne continued to ascend vertically through the sand with more vigor.
Just then, a strange feeling raced up Suho’s spine. What’s this? His senses alerted him with a tremendous warning. Overwhelmed by an intense sense of imminent danger, he instinctively yelled out, “Move to the side!”
Shriek!
Arachne immediately changed direction. As they moved across, a huge insect burst through the tunnel wall created just moments ago. The thick and elongated creature rushed past them with tremendous force like a train.
“Wh-what is that?!” Esil was shocked beyond belief.
The darkness was so dense that they couldn’t discern what it was. Fortunately, Suho’s eyes had managed to catch the system message revealing the identity of the insect.
[Venomtooth Sand Centipede]
“It’s a centipede!”
“A centipede?!” Esil’s complexion turned rapidly pale upon hearing the name.
She wasn’t afraid of bugs, but encountering a gigantic magic insect underground wasn’t her idea of safety. Especially one so massive in size.
Suho knew there was no time for further contemplation. “Duck!”
As the word left his lips, Arachne began digging through the sand like a maniac to escape the creature’s range.
A shiver ran down Suho’s spine as he heard the sound of moving sand approaching directly behind them.
“Move to the side!”
Shriek!
Guided by his Sense stat, Suho urgently directed Arachne’s path, and narrowly evaded the gigantic subway-like centipede. Fortunately, the sand insect was too long to make rapid turns once it chose a direction.
“I shall try to block it!” Beru rushed desperately toward the sand centipede and kicked it, but he only managed to bounce backward. “It wasn’t my best, but I still diverted it a little!”
“No matter what, just go up! Up to the surface!”
Suho’s call proved to be right.
Eventually, Arachne successfully crawled through the red sand and emerged to the surface. Suho and Esil were immediately blinded by beams of sunlight, but their vision returned after a moment. Before them was an endless expanse of red desert.
“I guess we were in a desert this whole time,” Suho said.
“I might have been roasted to death without the Fire Demon’s Necklace,” Esil said.
However, there was no time to let their guard down as a colossal column of sand shot up behind them.
Arachne was pushed back by the intense pressure and tumbled over, taking Suho and Esil on her back with her. The two riders rolled over a few times on the sand before regaining their balance. Their eyes widened at the sight before them—a giant centipede piercing through the sand.
[Venomtooth Sand Centipede]
The repulsive creature’s two prominent fangs, each the size of a young child, poked out of its mouth. Just by looking at its name, Suho easily guessed what might happen if he was bit by it. The centipede’s jaws snapped repeatedly like a shutter, exposing its fangs every time.
“It looks like it’s working up its appetite,” Esil said.
The centipede’s jaws opened wide as it swam across the sand to attack them.
“Run!” Esil and Suho simultaneously shouted. They turned their backs and sprinted across the desert.
The gigantic centipede raised waves of sand as it chased them.
Gasping for breath, Esil bit her lip in frustration. “If only my powers were intact...”
Her pride was wounded. She was a demon noble, but she was threatened by an unintelligent magic beast with nothing but its enormous size to boast. But now wasn’t the time for her to cling on to her fragile pride.
We’re no match for that creature with our current strength! We must retreat to the World of Shadows! Esil turned to Suho and shouted, “Shall we retreat?”
However, Suho had somehow suddenly grown larger and was delivering an uppercut to the giant centipede’s jaw.
[Skill: “Giant’s Armor” has activated.]
Suho had broken a runestone and learned a new skill. He used this skill to double his size and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the giant centipede. He repeatedly slammed his giant fists into the centipede’s face and squeezed its thick neck with both arms, applying immense pressure.
The centipede wriggled its long body in pain before trying to coil around Suho’s body. The battle was a show of two immense powers.
Good heavens. Esil was shocked by the ensuing battle between the enlarged Suho and the enormous monstrosity. When did he become this powerful? He wasn’t this strong the day before.
“Ahem. This is our Young Monarch’s—”
Beru was interrupted by another pillar of sand that emerged right in front of them.
“Oh, this is not good.” Esil’s face scrunched up at the sight.
To make matters worse, the centipede was joined by seven more as they rose out of nowhere and encircled them.
Despite being surrounded, Suho remained unyielding. His cold gaze swept over each of them.
Suho... His insurmountable fierceness made Esil tense up. How much have you grown...
Suho nodded his head, as if he had come to an important realization, and turned around airily. “Should we just run?”
Realizing everything was an act, Esil stared silently back at him.