Chapter 45

“W-wait!” Esil called urgently to Suho.

“You're not going in right now, are you?”

“I am, actually.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Esil pointed gravely at the red sand pouring from the Red Gate like a landslide.

“Can't you feel that heat? If you go in unprotected, burns will be the least of your worries. The heat could suffocate you!”

Indeed, simply approaching the red sand was enough to feel its searing heat. In short, charging in without taking precautions would be dangerous.

But then Suho spoke.

“Shop.”

He opened the Shop window and selected an item.

CLINK.

[You have purchased ‘Item: Fire Spirit's Necklace.’]

[Item: Fire Spirit's Necklace]

Acquisition Difficulty: D-rank

Type: Accessory

A necklace imbued with a fire spirit's blessing.

Protects you from heat when worn around the neck.

Suho promptly slipped the suspicious-looking necklace that appeared in his hand around his neck.

[You have equipped ‘Item: Fire Spirit's Necklace.’]

The necklace immediately grew transparent and vanished from sight. At the same time, his body suddenly felt refreshed. The outside heat had been blocked.

“Huh?”

Esil, who had been busily lecturing him, stared blankly.

‘Works pretty well.’

Looking satisfied, Suho went ahead and bought another necklace, handing it to Esil.

“Here.”

“Ah! Huh?”

Esil accepted it reflexively, then looked bewildered by the mysterious energy she sensed from it.

“A f-fire spirit's blessing? Where did you get a treasure like this?”

“Treasure?”

“Yes, a treasure! Items imbued with blessings like this hardly ever make their way into outsiders' hands. It seems to belong to a tribe wiped out during the War of the Monarchs... Hmm.”

Fascinated, Esil examined the Fire Spirit's Necklace from every angle before promptly putting it on. Her eyes widened as she immediately felt refreshed.

“Wow. This would be nice to wear all the time. At least we won't get burned now— Ahem.”

After making such a fuss about the danger, she felt rather embarrassed.

“B-but it's still dangerous! All right. Since you've given me such a nice present, I'll teach you something useful, too.”

“Something useful?”

Esil raised a hand before the puzzled Suho.

“A trick for using mana in situations like this.”

Transparent energy began to shimmer around her hand.

“Here, like this.”

She brought the energy to her face, covering it like a mask.

“You wrap a thin barrier around your face. That keeps sand out of your eyes and mouth. You can use it underwater, too, by the way.”

“Oh?”

Suho's eyes lit up at the unexpected tip. He had just been searching the Shop window for something like a helmet, but now there was no need.

“Of course, it'll be a little difficult at first. The key is keeping the barrier as thin as possible, so it requires precise mana control. I'll show you a few more—”

“Oh? Got it.”

“Huh?”

Energy shimmered into place, and Esil looked deflated as Suho perfectly reproduced the technique after seeing it just once.

“Y-yes. That's how you do it. Nice and thin...”

His mana control was absolutely flawless.

‘It took me years to make it that thin.’

It felt somehow unfair.

Just then, Beru poked his head in from beside her, putting on an air of importance.

[Ahem.]

[How laughable, being surprised by so little. Our Young Monarch has always been a prodigy. As an infant, he walked through the sky instead of learning to toddle.]

“I didn't ask.”

[And that isn't all! He mastered the Korean alphabet at five, and addition and subtraction at six...]

“I said I didn't ask, you doting fool.”

And that was a perfectly ordinary pace.

* * *

Once everything was ready, Suho climbed onto Arachne's back with Esil. Fortunately, its carapace was hard as armor, making for a reasonably comfortable ride.

“All right, let's go!”

[Krrraak!]

At Suho's command, Arachne began climbing against the cascade of sand, furiously digging through it with its enormous pincers.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSH!

Its method was rather intriguing. First, it pushed the sand aside with its enormous pincers. At the same time, it sprayed black silk from its body, binding the displaced grains together. The sand hardened in its excavated shape, forming a tunnel Arachne could move through.

Of course, the sand continuously pouring down from above soon collapsed the tunnel, but it held long enough for Arachne to move forward.

Suho marveled at the technique.

“Oh. That really makes you look like a bug!”

[Well, it is a bug.]

Beru answered for Arachne, which couldn't speak.

[Krrraaak!]

SHSHSHSHSHSHSH!

And so Arachne steadily made its way up the sand cascade with Suho and Esil on its back. Beru stood proudly atop its mouth with his arms folded, directing its course.

[Sail forth, O Spider Ship!]

Lately, Beru had been engrossed in historical dramas about Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

* * *

How long had they been plowing through the sand? Sand or not, they were effectively swimming blindly through pitch darkness. But Suho had a plan.

“Just keep heading up!”

[Krrraak!]

Following his command, Arachne dug straight upward through the sand. Then, suddenly, a chill ran through him.

‘What was that?’

His Perception stat sent him an overwhelming warning. A sense of danger so powerful it raised goose bumps struck him, and he shouted before he had time to think.

“Dodge to the side!”

[Krrak!]

Arachne immediately changed direction at his command.

BOOM!

The wall of the tunnel they had just occupied suddenly burst apart, and something enormous shot out. It was like a subway train racing along its tracks.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSH!

Something huge, thick, and long hurtled past them with incredible force.

“...!”

“Wh-what is that?!” Esil cried in alarm.

It was far too dark to tell what it was.

But Suho could see the red name tag attached to it.

[Venomfang Sand Centipede]

“It's a centipede!”

“A centipede?!”

Esil went pale at the name. It wasn't because she was afraid of bugs. Encountering a giant magic beast underground like this was never a good thing—especially one so enormous it was beyond their ability to handle.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSH!

There was no more time to think.

“Dodge!”

[Krrrraak!]

Before Suho finished speaking, Arachne began digging frantically through the sand to escape it.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH!

A chill ran down his spine. The sound of something burrowing through sand was drawing closer by the second, right behind them.

“Dodge to the side!”

[Krrak-krak!]

Relying on his Perception stat, Suho desperately directed Arachne. Each time, the enormous train(?) missed them by a hair. Thankfully, the sand centipede seemed too long to change direction immediately once it committed to a course.

[I shall try to stop it!]

Beru urgently charged at the sand centipede and delivered a mighty kick.

BOING!

He was the one who bounced off.

[I still altered its course ever so slightly!]

“Whatever! Just head up! To the surface!”

[Krrak-krraak!]

SHSHSHSHSHSH!

And that proved to be the right decision.

FWOOOSH!

[Krrraa!]

At last, Arachne broke through the red sand and crawled onto the surface. Light flooded over them.

“Ugh.”

Dazzling sunlight struck Suho and Esil's eyes.

Once their vision adjusted, they could see a red desert stretching endlessly before them.

“It really was a desert.”

“We would've died of heat without the Fire Spirit's Necklaces.”

... But there was no time to relax and chat.

SHAAASH!

An enormous pillar of sand erupted right behind them.

[Krrak?!]

The tremendous pressure knocked Arachne flat onto its back, sending Suho and Esil tumbling off. After rolling several times, they barely regained their footing on the sand—and their eyes widened at the sight before them.

SHAAAA!

“Kieeeee!”

The sand centipede had burst through the sand.

[Venomfang Sand Centipede]

Its grotesque, repulsive form stood revealed before them.

In that instant, Suho caught sight of two fangs beneath its head, each the size of a small child. Its name alone was enough to tell him what would happen if one pierced him.

Watching those enormous fangs and jaws open and close incessantly, it almost looked like...

“I-is it licking its chops?”

Esil was right. The sand centipede immediately opened its mouth and charged through the sand toward them.

SHSHSHSHSH!

KIEEEEEE!

“Aaaah!”

“Run!”

Shouting simultaneously, Esil and Suho turned and began sprinting across the desert.

FWOOOSH!

The enormous centipede pursued them, throwing up waves of sand. As she ran frantically, Esil bit her lip, her expression bitter.

‘If only I had my full strength...!’

Her pride was wounded. A demon noble, running for her life from a stupid magic beast whose only merit was its size! But the past was the past. Now was no time to cling to her paltry pride.

‘With our current strength, we don't stand a chance against it! We have to return to the shadow world for now!’

Esil urgently turned toward Suho and shouted.

“Suho! Let's retreat for—huh?”

KABOOM!

For some reason, the Suho she turned to see had suddenly become enormous and was driving an uppercut into the sand centipede's jaw.

[Using ‘Skill: Giant’s Armor.’]

At some point, Suho had broken the Rune Stone and learned the new skill. He had used it to double his size and was now fighting the giant centipede hand to hand.

CRASH! THUD-THUD-THUD!

He drove his massive fists into the centipede's face one after the other, then wrapped both arms around its thick neck and squeezed.

KIEEEEK!

As if in agony, the centipede thrashed its train-long body and coiled around Suho. It was a clash of sheer strength against strength.

‘Good heavens.’

Witnessing the battle between the gigantic Suho and the enormous monster right before her eyes left Esil stunned.

‘When did he get so strong?’

She could swear he hadn't possessed that kind of strength even yesterday.

[Ahem. This is precisely our Young Monarch's...]

Beru was just seizing the opportunity to puff himself up when—

SHAAAA!

Another pillar of sand suddenly shot up before them.