With a crashing sound, the massive body of a worm fell, scattering sand everywhere.
I fell as well and sat on its hardened surface, staring at the surroundings.
There were three scattered corpses of these worms around us.
After we killed the first one, our battle attracted two more. They didn’t come at the same time, but even so, we struggled greatly to bring them down.
I looked at Izel, who was panting as she leaned against one of the corpses. Her clothes were torn in many places, with several visible injuries.
The last two battles hadn’t been easy for her this time, so she had to endure quite a bit.
Well, the important thing was that she hadn’t received any serious injuries. Otherwise, that might have been a problem for her without any healing abilities.
While sitting on the worm’s body, I placed my hand on it, and essence began flowing into my body in large quantities.
I closed my eyes to focus more.
Raw essence flowed into my body, and with every passing moment, I felt my strength increasing.
It was true that the increase seemed small and insignificant, but it was proof that I was getting closer to Rank 3.
With the energy flowing through my body, my wounds healed quickly, and my skin returned to its original state.
I opened my eyes and looked at Izel. "Start absorbing the essence to recover and raise your rank... quickly. We need to move as soon as we’re done with these three."
She turned her head and looked at me tiredly. "...I know, no need to tell me."
It was obvious she was exhausted, but there was nothing I could do.
...
Time passed, and we continued moving without stopping.
Every few hours, we encountered another worm, and of course, after an annoying struggle, it ended up falling lifeless to the ground.
Sometimes we faced two at once, but not all of them were the same in strength and size.
Still, it seemed that sandworms were the only monsters in this desert—or at least in this part of it.
Now I was climbing one of the sand dunes while hearing many complaints beside me.
"I can’t keep going like this. I need some rest... so let’s rest here."
Izel complained beside me.
I looked at her while observing her miserable state after a long day of battles. Her clothes were torn, and many bruises and wounds were visible on her skin.
But there was nothing serious so far, because I had borne most of the burden of the fights.
After all, I even had the ability to regenerate my limbs, but she didn’t.
We reached the top of the sand hill, and I stared at the horizon. There, I saw some large rocks.
I pointed at them for Izel, who was lagging behind me. "We’ll rest there."
It seemed my words restored some spirit to her. She nodded silently as she caught her breath.
With that, we continued walking until we reached those stacked rocks rising several meters high.
I didn’t sense anything nearby, so I searched for a suitable place to rest until I found what looked like an open cave between two rocks leaning against each other.
I walked there and sat down, and Izel followed me in silence.
She reached there and collapsed onto the sand. When I saw that, I smiled. "It seems the spoiled princess is tired."
She didn’t respond, simply staring at the rocky ceiling before extending her hand toward me.
I looked at her open palm directed at me. "Don’t tell me you want me to hold your hand."
But her reply was quick. "Give me the water and food, you idiot." She spoke in a tone almost lifeless, devoid of spirit.
Well, that was natural because we hadn’t taken any moments to rest until now.
I sent some essence into my ring and pulled out two bottles of water and two sealed cans, handing one to Izel, who sat up and held herself upright.
She opened the water bottle and drank its contents eagerly before opening the can that contained a complete meal that could remain edible even after years.
I had hundreds of these in my ring, along with many different options.
I turned the can in my hand as I read some of the instructions written on it.
"It’s better to heat it for improved taste."
...
After heating the food with Izel’s flame and eating it, we sat there in silence.
I looked at Izel, who was leaning against the rocks, exhaustion clear on her face. "If you want to sleep, then do it. Who knows when you’ll get the next chance... I’ll stand guard."
Izel narrowed her eyes at me. "You’re not planning to do anything once I fall asleep?"
I laughed a little. "Maybe if we weren’t in a desert full of worms trying to eat us, I would’ve considered it."
Izel clicked her tongue. "Fine. Just wake me up if anything happens."
With that, she walked to the corner, pulling a long coat from her ring and wrapping herself in it before lying down on the ground.
I had blankets and even a portable bed, but looking at her, I didn’t want to disturb her, so I left her in that state.
I pulled the phone from my ring and looked at the time.
[21:22]
With that, more than a day and a half had passed since we started moving, and two and a half days since we arrived here.
According to my estimates, we had crossed about 60 kilometers so far.
Well, our movement had been slow because of the sand and the repeated battles.
I sighed as I hid my phone, then pulled out an essence stone and began absorbing it.
One stone after another without stopping.
I was getting closer to Rank 3 faster than ever.
I closed my eyes and sank into the slow progress while my senses enveloped the area.
Hour after hour, I didn’t feel the flow of time until something moved behind me and reached the back of my head.
It was about to strike me.
But at the last moment, I tilted my head slightly and allowed it to pass by.
I opened my eyes again and looked at Izel, who had just woken up. "It seems you’ve regained your energy, since you’re trying to hit me."
A faint smile formed on her lips. "Oh... sorry about that. I thought you were sleeping instead of standing guard, so I did that."
I sighed as I stared outside...
That black sky studded with stars... or so it had been.
Now signs of its fading had begun to appear, and the outside had grown brighter.
I stood up and walked outside, and it seemed Izel had noticed as well and followed me.
There, I could see it on the horizon—a line of white light forming at the edge.
"The sun is rising," Izel muttered beside me.
So there was still daytime after all, and according to my estimate, the night lasted at least three days.
So who knew how long the day would be... perhaps three days as well, or more.
I looked at Izel. "Are you ready? We’re moving again."
She showed some surprise when I said that. "I’m fine now, but what about you? Aren’t you going to sleep?"
I shook my head. "No... I’m still in excellent condition, and I don’t think moving during the day will be as comfortable as it is now... It’s a desert after all."
"So it’s better to make use of the remaining hours before sunrise."
Or we might regret it.
...
Step by step.
That was how Izel and I moved through the desert, and with each passing hour, the light grew brighter.
I turned my head and looked to the right. There, the sun began to reveal itself, driving away the night that had lasted so long.
But with the sun, not only light came... but heat as well.
It had only partially appeared, yet the air had already grown hot—not unbearable, but I was sure this was only the beginning.
As we moved, I felt another worm enter the range of my senses. I drew my swords while alerting Izel as usual. "There’s a monster coming toward us from the left."
Each of us prepared for the upcoming battle, and we caught sight of the worm as it rose above the sand and headed toward us from dozens of meters away.
But suddenly, I noticed a shadow from the corner of my eye.
A massive, enormous shadow covering a vast area of the desert.
It was far away... yet as if that distance meant nothing to it, it closed it in moments.
Until the shadow reached us and covered us. Then the source of the shadow entered my senses, heading toward us at insane speed.
All I could do was raise my head to the sky to see it there.
Wings spread wide, blocking my entire vision. A body covered in gray feathers, and legs with sharp claws several meters long.
More than that, its head—a long beak extending forward and six horns protruding above it.
Its sharp eyes stared at us with clear hunger.
As the larger monster closed the distance between us.
But just when I thought we were finished, its massive feet plunged into the sand, erasing the sand dune we were standing on.
In the next moment, it began rising again—but this time it wasn’t empty. Instead, the sandworm dangled and thrashed in one of its feet, trying to break free without success.
Each beat of its wings stirred a small sandstorm around us.
In the end, the bird rose toward the sky while holding the sandworm and turned, flying north.
It didn’t notice us—no, it ignored us.
I stared at it as it flew away—
But in the same direction we were heading.