Chapter 285: Desert Journey |
As the first night in the desert gave way to dawn, the sun began its slow ascent into the sky. Although it was still early morning, it was starting to warm up and it would be very hot during the day. It could be said that the temperature was best for traveling at this time of day. Since everyone was convinced of this, there was no objection to leaving.
At first, moving through the desert was smoother than I expected. The fact that it was a gravel desert, not a sand desert, meant neither the hooves of cattle and horses nor the wheels of our carriages were trapped.
“Hmm…”
“Is there something out there?”
As we continued our journey south while frequently consulting our compass, I sensed the presence of life. When I looked carefully in the direction of the sensation, I saw a slender, weasel-like creature standing on its hind legs and watching vigilantly. It seemed that despite the harsh conditions, life had found a way to thrive in the desert.
For the moment, the small creature had no value to warrant stopping. There was no need or value in capturing it. So we decided to leave it alone, but I decided to communicate telepathically with Lorenz just in case. It might at least make for an interesting story in his travelogue.
From above, the gravel desert seemed narrower compared to the sand desert, but walking through it now, it felt vast. I wonder just how immense the sand desert might be if this gravel desert felt so vast. The thought was dizzying, yet I wasn’t reckless enough to voice it aloud.
“Antares, I don’t sense any strong presence like that snake from yesterday.”
“Indeed… Well, I believe that snake mainly resides in the sand desert. It wouldn’t be able to hide its huge body without burrowing into the sand, and it would be too conspicuous otherwise.”
“Hmm… Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
I had responded without much thought about the Sovereign Dragon Snake, but Chris’s counterargument left me at a loss for words. My reply had been based on the perspective of someone who couldn’t use illusions.
Perhaps coming from the desert myself, I had underestimated the creatures that lived there. During my time as a scorpion, I often engaged in close combat, using my pincers, sand spiritual arts, and exoskeletal defenses. The only weapon I possessed that could surprise an enemy was my deadly poisonous stinger.
On the other hand, the Sovereign Dragon Snake didn’t just rely on its formidable physique; it also possessed the means to debilitate its enemies. This ability might well be the source of its dominance at the top of the desert’s food chain.
“The creatures of the desert might be more ferocious than I had thought.”
“Are you just realizing that now?”
Chris giggled as she watched me say such things. I was so embarrassed that all I could do was grunt. Chirik started chuckling after he heard our interaction.
Despite feeling ashamed for showing such a pitiful side to my disciple, I also felt a sense of relief. It was clear that Chirik, who had seemed so sad that day, was now laughing genuinely. I wished he could always smile like this.
“Chirik. Big brother is your teacher. You shouldn’t laugh too much.”
“Wha-!?”
The one who had hugged Chirik from behind while he laughed was Lappy, who was supposed to have been sleeping in the carriage until now. It seemed she had timed her exit from the carriage perfectly and moved silently enough that only I could hear her.
Chris had become so accustomed to Lappy’s unpredictable antics that she showed almost no reaction, but Chirik who was still unaccustomed to such surprises was genuinely shocked. Chirik’s heightened senses compensated for his poor eyesight, so it was understandable that he would be startled by someone approaching silently.
“Um, teacher…”
“Don’t take it too seriously, Chirik. Your teacher isn’t so narrow-minded.”
“Yeah, let’s take it easy~”
Next to appear was Woodsorrel in her transformed state, holding a limp Gardenia. The sun was already clearly visible, and the temperature was steadily rising. It seemed that the heat had become unbearable for Gardenia.
Thanks to Gardenia, I became aware of the temperature. I quickly used my spiritual power to create sand and spread it thinly over our formation like an umbrella. This should shield us from the direct sunlight. Even this small measure should make a big difference.
However, it still seemed to be too hot. Gardenia wriggled out of Woodsorrel’s arms and quickly made her way back to the carriage. I had thought she might settle on Chirik’s lap, but it seemed she didn’t have the luxury for such comfort.
“This should do it.”
“It wasn’t like this in the past, but your spiritual power is almost monstrously vast. Not quite as much as the Great Mother’s, though.”
“Well, I’ve been through my fair share of rough patches.”
The Great Mother, in other words Button, seemed to have a far greater amount of spiritual power than I did. I wonder how much training it would take to reach such heights. In order to protect my comrades and fulfill my mission to live for a hundred years, I knew I couldn’t be satisfied with my current state; I had to continue to accumulate power.
However, my immediate focus had to be on navigating the desert. So far, there have been no unusual sounds or vibrations in our surroundings. But after yesterday’s incident with the Sovereign Dragon Snake, I couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility of another attack. We would get tired if we thought about it all the time, but we should maintain a moderate level of tension.
“Big brother, isn’t it time for a break?”
“Hey, hey. We’ve only just started.”
“I’m bored too! Let’s play, shall we!?”
It seemed Lappy had already grown tired of the monotonous desert landscape. Not that it was a scene one could enjoy visually…but this was becoming a problem. She was making Chirik uncomfortable by hugging him too tightly and swaying her body.
And it wasn’t just Lappy who was bored. Woodsorrel seemed to have grown tired as well and was leaning against my shoulder and rocking my body with her weight. Stop it, the reins are shaking. Even Apao looked back at us, wondering what was going on.
Just as I was telepathically reassuring Apao that everything was fine, Chris’s hand came crashing down on Woodsorrel’s head. She didn’t seem to use much force, but since she used her prosthetic hand, Woodsorrel writhed in pain before collapsing into the carriage.
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“You won’t stop unless I do that much, will you?”
“I suppose so, but…”
Woodsorrel often ran wild, driven by her curiosity, so physical intervention seemed the quickest way to stop her antics. Although I understood this, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Such actions were only possible because Chris and Woodsorrel shared a close bond.
Our journey continued without incident, and we decided to take a break when we reached a small hill. While some were visibly exhausted from the heat, others still had plenty of energy. However, waiting until we were completely exhausted to rest was risky. This made me realize once again that we shouldn’t take the desert lightly.
“Mika, Tigar. Sorry, but come with me.”
“Understood.”
“Hey, hey, where are we going during the break?”
To answer Tigar’s question, I simply raised my finger upwards. Tigar seemed to grasp my meaning and responded with a short “Alright.”
After receiving Tigar’s approval, I created a sand platform beneath us, and together we climbed onto it. I then made the sand platform float in the air and we ascended straight into the sky.
“You’re checking for the oasis’s location, right?”
“Yes. It’s important to keep tabs on our destination regularly.”
The purpose of our flight was to determine the location of the oasis, which was our destination. With each stop, we aimed to redirect ourselves, striving to reach the oasis with minimal effort.
I didn’t rush our ascent, which allowed Mika who had transformed into his demon form to easily catch up. It seemed that Mika was well prepared as he was carrying a compass separately from me. The three of us continued to climb together until the oasis came into view.
“Hmm, it’s coming into sight.”
“We’ve come up quite high… That oasis, it’s bigger than we thought, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s quite large.”
Although the oasis was quite far away, it seemed quite large. This meant that we wouldn’t struggle for a water source. It was at this moment that our resolve to reach that place strengthened even further.
After measuring our bearings with the compass, we were set to go in that direction. By repeating this process and making fine adjustments, I believe we will eventually arrive at our destination.
After descending to the ground, we ended our short break and immediately set off in the direction confirmed by the compass. After some time, as it was approaching noon and the temperature was about to peak, we decided to take another break to avoid traveling during the hottest part of the day.
At noon, we took another look from the sky to confirm the direction of the oasis. To our surprise, the deviation was greater than expected. Even though we were following the compass, there were some inevitable errors, which we corrected before resuming our journey as the temperature began to cool.
At this point, I was quite optimistic about the start of our desert journey, but… If only my future self could tell the current me about the challenges that lay ahead, he would say, “This is where it gets truly hard.”