Chapter 581

At the appearance of the gigantic turtle, over a hundred meters long from head to tail, Serion and the Black Lake Guardians held their breath.

It was because this was the first time they had ever seen such an enormous monster.

The sheer sight of the colossal turtle was enough to make one wet themselves from the overwhelming pressure it exuded.

Thud! Thoom!

With every step it took, the sand churned as if an earthquake had struck.

Despite the massive turtle approaching, Zeon and Levin showed no sign of vigilance at all.

That gigantic turtle was none other than the mobile fortress, Arkelon.

They had never expected to encounter Arkelon here, which made the reunion all the more welcome.

—Kuuwooo!

Upon seeing Zeon, Arkelon let out a loud cry.

Arkelon had recognized Zeon and was greeting him.

At Arkelon’s roar, Kailey and Pabilsa, who were inside the shell fortress, poked their heads out.

“Oh! It’s Zeon?”

“Hah! To meet Zeon in a place like this.”

They waved their arms upon seeing Zeon and Levin.

The two of them smiled and approached Arkelon.

Arkelon stopped in place and quietly waited for them.

In the meantime, Pabilsa and Kailey came down from the shell fortress.

Zeon greeted them.

“It’s been a while.”

“Haha! Have you been well?”

“As you can see, I’ve been doing fine. You look healthy as well, elder.”

“Thanks to this fellow recovering his vitality, I’ve been doing well too.”

Pabilsa replied as he lightly tapped Arkelon’s leg.

“Arkelon looks well too.”

“It’s lost a bit of strength, but there’s no problem with walking.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Zeon smiled and looked up at Arkelon.

Just seeing Arkelon in good condition made him feel better.

Kailey also greeted Zeon.

“You still look well. Where are you headed today? Judging by the group you’ve brought along, it seems you’re going far.”

“Yes.”

“Want a ride?”

“Would that be alright?”

“For you, Zeon, it’s always welcome.”

“You’ll take my companions as well, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then that’s perfect.”

Zeon nodded.

He then spoke to Tesserina, Serion, and the others.

“From here on, we’ll travel aboard Arkelon.”

“This is exciting.”

Tesserina replied enthusiastically.

The experience of traveling on such a massive monster was not something one could easily have.

She immediately used flight magic and went up to the village inside Arkelon’s shell.

In contrast, Serion’s attitude was extremely cautious.

“Is it really alright for us to ride on that monster’s back?”

“Yes. Lady Kailey and Lord Pabilsa have permitted it, so it’s fine.”

“Then we’ll accept your hospitality.”

Zeon guided her and the Black Lake Guardians onto Arkelon.

“Wow!”

“My goodness!”

“There’s a village inside the shell… I can’t believe it.”

Shock filled their faces as they saw the interior of Arkelon.

They had never even imagined that such a space could exist inside the shell of a colossal turtle.

Inside the shell village, the residents were busily moving about.

“It’s Lord Zeon.”

“Welcome.”

The people who noticed Zeon greeted him warmly.

To the villagers, Zeon was no different from a benefactor.

If not for him, Arkelon would have already died.

Thanks to Zeon, Arkelon had regained its health, and because of that, the villagers were able to keep their home.

Seeing the way the people treated Zeon like an honored guest, Serion was once again astonished.

Just how many connections has this man built in the desert?

From the Steel Fortress to the mobile fortress Arkelon, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what other ties Zeon had formed.

Raphael shook his head with a weary expression.

“To think people live inside a turtle’s shell. Even in Kurayan, I’ve never seen such a sight.”

“Neither have I.”

“Hoo… I thought there was nothing left to surprise me, but I was mistaken.”

“Let’s first take a look around the village. You must never act out of line. If we maintain ties with them, it will greatly benefit our district as well.”

“I will make sure to warn the subordinates.”

Raphael replied with a firm expression.

Thud! Thoom!

Once everyone had boarded, Arkelon began to move again.

Despite a massive monster over a hundred meters in size moving, no shock was transmitted to the people inside the village.

The shell completely blocked out the impact.

Thanks to that, those riding on Arkelon were able to travel comfortably.

At that moment, Arkelon stretched out its long neck and looked at the people inside its shell.

Serion and her subordinates, seeing Arkelon’s enormous eyes for the first time, flinched without realizing it. However, Arkelon’s gaze simply passed over them indifferently.

The place where Arkelon’s gaze stopped was where Tesserina stood.

A smile appeared on Tesserina’s lips.

“Hello!”

—Kuuwooo!

“Yes! I’m happy to see you too.”

—Kuuong! Kuuong!

“You’re right.”

—Kuuwoo!

“It’s okay. I’m fine now. I actually like this form more, so there’s no need to worry.”

Tesserina continued conversing with Arkelon without hesitation.

As a high-ranking monster, Arkelon had recognized Tesserina’s true nature and spoken to her.

Seeing Tesserina chatting so affectionately with Arkelon as if meeting an old friend, Pabilsa let out a small chuckle.

“As expected of your companion, that woman is no ordinary being. This is the first time I’ve seen Arkelon talk for so long.”

“She’s certainly not an ordinary person.”

“I won’t ask about her identity. It might put you in a difficult position for no reason.”

“Thank you. But aren’t we causing you to detour because of us?”

“Not at all. We haven’t set our next destination yet.”

“What? Why?”

Zeon looked at Pabilsa with a puzzled expression.

The Mote tribe, led by Pabilsa, lived by wandering the desert aboard Arkelon and conducting trade.

In other words, they lived as nomads of the desert.

After finishing trade, they would immediately move to find their next destination. So it was strange to hear that they had no next trading target.

“As I said earlier, Arkelon’s vitality has declined quite a bit.”

“Did its injuries reopen?”

“That’s not it. It’s simply old. Whether human or monster, aging cannot be delayed.”

“I see.”

“So we’re moving while searching for a place where Arkelon can rest properly.”

“Then that works out even better.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you’re looking for a place where Arkelon can rest comfortably. The place we’re heading to is exactly that kind of place.”

“Really?”

Color returned to Pabilsa’s face.

What mattered most to him was Arkelon’s well-being.

If Arkelon could rest comfortably, it didn’t matter where it was.

“Thank you.”

“We should be the ones thanking you. Thanks to you, we can travel comfortably to our destination. We’ll be in your care until we arrive.”

“We’re the ones in your care as well.”

After that, Pabilsa provided rooms for Zeon’s group.

After unpacking, Serion and the Black Lake Guardians began to explore the village in earnest.

They were once again astonished by how well-organized it was, to the point that it was hard to believe it existed inside a monster’s shell.

Serion muttered,

“We were frogs in a well. There are so many incredible things in the world, yet we stayed only within the safety of Neo Seoul.”

Without realizing it, she let out a deep sigh.

---

Tesserina seemed to have taken a liking to Arkelon, as she settled herself right on top of its head.

Arkelon also seemed to enjoy carrying Tesserina on its head as it walked.

—Kuuong!

At times, the way it conversed with Tesserina looked incredibly friendly.

Watching this, Kailey muttered,

“Was Arkelon always this talkative?”

“It must be because it met a friend it connects with.”

“Is that so? Anyway, it’s fascinating. By the way, what happened to your gauntlet? I don’t see it.”

Kailey looked at Zeon’s right hand.

The Scorching Heat Gauntlet, which he always wore, was nowhere to be seen.

It was originally an item Kailey had made for him, and it had helped him overcome countless dangers.

Zeon gave a bitter smile.

“Sorry. It broke.”

“Really? An item embedded with the Red Dragon’s Eye broke? How did that happen?”

Zeon honestly explained how the Scorching Heat Gauntlet had been destroyed.

After hearing everything, Kailey let out a sigh.

“So that’s what happened. Still, it’s a relief. You can still use your subspace and authority.”

“I was lucky.”

“Lucky? No. It’s the result your persistence brought about.”

At Kailey’s words, Zeon only smiled silently.

After staring at his face for a moment, Kailey suddenly spoke as if something had come to mind.

“Oh! Let me show you something I obtained this time. I had a feeling it might be related to you, so I kept it.”

“Related to me?”

“It was just a feeling. Wait a moment.”

Leaving Zeon behind, Kailey went into the storage of her workshop.

After a short while, she came back out holding something familiar in her hand.

“A clock?”

What Kailey held was clearly an hourglass.

Shaking the hourglass, she said,

“I got it from a survivor village in the east. They said they obtained it from a dungeon.”

“Is that so?”

Zeon’s gaze changed.

He could feel a strangely familiar energy from the hourglass.

Instinctively, he knew.

Just as Kailey had said, this hourglass was related to the Sand Mage.

The Exion within his pores was reacting to the hourglass.

“They got this from a dungeon?”

“Yeah. They said they got it while clearing a dungeon, but since the sand doesn’t fall even when flipped, they just left it sitting around.”

Kailey turned the hourglass upside down.

If it were a normal hourglass, the sand should have fallen.

But the sand did not move at all, as if it were a solid rock.

Zeon held out his hand.

“You’ll give it to me, right?”

“Of course.”

Kailey handed the hourglass to Zeon.

Psssh—

The moment it entered Zeon’s hand, the sand inside the hourglass began to fall as if by magic.

Kailey made an expression as if she had expected it.

“See? I told you it was meant for you.”

Zeon nodded.

“I think you’re right. I’ll go to my room and examine it more closely.”

“Okay. Do that.”

Zeon immediately returned to his room.

The moment he was alone, as if it had been waiting, the hourglass shattered on its own.

Crash!

As the glass broke, black sand from inside spilled out.

“As expected… it was Exion.”

The sand inside the hourglass was identical to the Exion within his body.

For some reason, the Exion that had been split into two and stored separately had now all come into Zeon’s possession.

Patzzt!

The Exion within his body reacted to the Exion flowing out of the hourglass and was released.

The two Exions soon merged into one and swirled around Zeon’s body.

Exion was Zeon’s strongest trump card.

The Exion from the hourglass Kailey had given him merged seamlessly with the Exion he originally possessed.

After circling his body for a while, the Exion particles were absorbed back into his pores.

A smile formed on Zeon’s lips.

He felt better now than when he had embraced the authority of flame within his body.

Because the true power of a Sand Mage had grown stronger.