—-
After his battle against Deserea and the other Desertborn Brigand mbers, Kieran’s first action was to check on Head rchant Penni and the other rchants. Although the caravans were unhard by the battle, Kieran doubted these rchants remained unaffected.
After all, the battle was far more fearso than the previous one. The battlefield was still in a dreadful state even though it had concluded.
“Head rchant Penni, are you alright?” Kieran asked while knocking against the main caravan.
A whimper sounded from inside. “I-is it safe out there? Is the horror finally over?!”
Naturally, the source of this terrified whimper was Head rchant Penni, who barely peeked his head out from the small gap in the caravan.
“Correct, it’s ti for us to resu our travels,” Kieran said.
Afterward, he looked around in search of the Obsidian Criollo he sent away. Kieran wasn’t sure how far it had run off; however, he inhaled and released a loud whistle that traveled for several kiloters.
The response was slow, but a distant neigh sounded from their initial direction.
While the Obsidian Criollo returned, Kieran turned toward his party mbers and gestured for them to co. “We’ll need to assu that we’re close to the brigand’s main hideout since we’re approaching the desert territory.”
“I supposed as such. The ability to control sand should only arise in individuals or animals indigenous to that environnt. At least… that’s what I assu,” Alice murmured beside Kieran. The subtle Mana activity embedded in the sand control ability told Alice the brigands exhibited abilities were natural and not the result of countless years of arduous training.
Brigands typically weren’t the type to adhere to strict training regints to grow stronger. They relied upon their naturally bestowed power to accomplish acts that allowed them to live comfortably or satisfactorily. In a sense, brigands lived a bare minimum lifestyle. This was at least true for the lower mbers.-.
The circumstances of the leaders were unknown because the objective of a group’s creation was never to be confined to diocrity. A leader’s prevalent logic behind establishing a group was to grow, expand, strengthen and finally conquer.
“Is this entire area the Desert of Crumbling Sands?” Altair asked. While behind them was a type of forested oasis, the stretch of land spanning as far as they could see was barren with thinning visibility in the far distance.
“The fact we haven’t received a notification yet ans we have yet to reach the true border of the Barren Mountain Range. There is still a predominant amount of dirt beneath our feet. We’ll know we’ve hit our destination when this turns into harsh sand,” Kieran answered while placing his hand against the ground.
He rubbed his fingers together, noticing discrepancies with the sand’s grain texture. ‘The sand is deteriorating without Deserea’s Mana to sustain it. She must have possessed a natural ability to convert Mana into a sand-like texture.’
“We move,” Kieran suddenly exclaid.
The Obsidian Criollo returned with a slow trot, allowing Kieran to straddle it. Afterward, Kieran extended his hand to Alice and pulled her up. Everyone else took identical seating before resuming their travels.
Throughout the journey, Kieran seed lost in thought as he skimd through his status nu. ‘Finishing this quest will grant access to the War Deity Council, I suppose. But, will it really be that simple? The War Deity Council is known to be tricky because they’re difficult to please. They chase perfection, but such a thing is immaterial and virtually nonexistent.’
Kieran’s current Quest Log consisted of two SSS Rank Quests and one B Rank Main Quest. Even if he wanted to slack off, he couldn’t. His journey would be forever stocked with action if he wished to accomplish these quests before their deadline.
What’s more, sothing Scar said to Kieran stuck in his mind—beco strong quickly. It wasn’t an arbitrary suggestion; there was a aning behind it that Kieran had yet to grasp. His tiline wasn’t as long as he believed it to be because the gears of destiny would beco unstoppable once they began to turn.
Nevertheless, Kieran soon shifted his attention from his quest log to his skill arsenal. ‘I should activate Sanguine Slashes more often and beco comfortable with the rapid loss of Health to inflict heavier damage. The more natural the usage of Sanguine Slashes, the higher the damage I can achieve with Wrath Eruption. Blood Blind also needs more utilization since I tend to ignore its usage after learning of its lackluster effects. But, I may be wrong.’
Kieran’s opinion of Blood Bind was based on a monstrous opponent like Rautori and not more practical experiences. To understand the actual effects of Blood Bind, he’d have to experint on suitable opponents.
Lastly, Kieran noted his two most basic skills—Crimson Current and Crimson Barrage. Their quick activation and relatively low cooldowns earned them their title as his two most practical skills.
Kieran eventually ca up with a rotation of skills that included his entire active arsenal. His passives were ignored for the ti being because they were primarily situational with severe drawbacks. Kieran’s primary objective was to beco proficient enough at wielding his power to reduce the need for his passives.
In the best case scenario, he wished to keep them as a last resort.
“Hey.”
Kieran’s pondering was broken by a soft voice as he glanced forward. “What happened?”
“Nothing really. I was just wondering why you were so quiet? But I saw that you were unusually focused, and your face looked tense,” Alice said.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out my class. It’s not as simple as I thought. I can’t just smash things and pray for the best. My power is corrosive, and I don’t an to others,” Kieran muttered.
“Is that why you were so cruel to that NPC earlier?” Alice whispered so only Kieran could hear the question.
However, Kieran gave a bitter smile in the end. He could only truthfully shake his head while withholding the reason. How could he explain that he was a reincarnator with troubles strong enough to largely influence his actions?
“No, I suppose not. That’s… that’s another matter altogether. But, there may be a link that I haven’t established,” Kieran scratched his head when a sudden notification appeared before everyone’s eyes.
〈System: You have entered the Desert of Crumbling Sands.〉
〈System: You have received 100 World Fa as the first players to enter the leveling zone.〉
“We made it!” Nean exclaid.
“Are you fucked in the head or what? How could we have made it? We’ve just made it to the desert, and that’s it! Does this look like a kingdom to you?!” Bastion barked.
“Watch your tone with , boy. You want this daddy to show you a thing or two?” Nean barked back.
“Nah, you’ve already shown enough,” Bastion snickered. Nean only took a second to realize what Bastion was insinuating. This caused his anger to flare, but Kieran’s sharp whistle broke it up.
“Did that reward give enough fa to reach Knight standard World Fa?”
“Yes!” Everyone replied in unison.
In the beginning stages of the ga, where the fa paraters remained reasonable, the additional World Fa rewarded upon first explorations was invaluable. Players would realize this once they started to visit large organizations or take on extrely difficult quests.
“Excellent. That much fa will do for now. Your main focus shouldn’t be to acquire more reputation through nial quests. Instead, we’ll begin our skill training when we return to the Aeredale Kingdom,” Kieran instructed.
“Oh boy, who doesn’t like a good training,” Bastion groaned.
He could already guess how dreadful Kieran’s training would be based on how he fought. After all, it seed like Kieran intended to train them himself rather than employ the training ntors at the training center.
“Hold on… why is it called the Desert of Crumbling Sands? What does that even an?” Nean remarked in confusion.
In response, Kieran extended his finger towards a specific point. “You see that right there? That small recess in the sand. Go over there and step on it.”
Nean imdiately grew skeptical of this suggestion, giving Kieran an odd look. “Why?”
“I don’t know? Go and see why, why don’t you? You’re the curious one, not .” Kieran smiled before adding, “You don’t trust ?”
“I don’t know…” Nean said in an unsure tone. Kieran’s expression was too odd. Still, he couldn’t resist his brimming curiosity. He walked into the distance and cautiously tapped his foot on the indented area, but nothing happened.
As a result, he put his entire weight on the area before he noticed a sinking sensation followed by the inability to move.
“Oi! Oi! Oi! You set up!” Nean scread at the top of his lung as the sand continued to swallow him up.
‘Oh, it’s a quicksand pit. I thought it would have been a decaying sand pocket. Damn, he got lucky,’ Kieran thought. However, he pulled Nean out of the quicksand before it could swallow him. If that were to happen, Nean would suffer instant death.
“You’ve got your answer. That phenonon is why this place is called the Desert of Crumbling Sands, so be careful where you travel. Remain vigilant at all tis and pay close attention to avoid any abnormalities in the sand,” Kieran responded.
However, there was another matter on Kieran’s mind. ‘The Desert of Crumbling Sands isn’t the only leveling zone here. I can’t recall its specific location, but there should be a zone rich with minerals and ore nearby, which is why I had everyone acquire the mining tradeskill. It’s saddening, but it’ll have to wait.’
The last thing Kieran wanted to do was reveal a hidden mine while in the presence of rchants. They’d undoubtedly want a share of any materials gathered. Kieran would much rather complete the quest first and then retrace his steps.
…
anwhile, a few thousand kiloters behind Kieran…
Despot stepped into the Barren Mountain Range while receiving a call from Autr.
“Boss, I think this guy is on a quest of so sort. He’s fought with several marauders or sothing. I couldn’t get close enough to reveal the specifics without risking exposure. But, they are traveling westward into a desert where I can’t follow.”
“You can’t follow them? What do you an?!” Despot asked coldly.
“W-well, there’s nothing to use as concealnt or cover.”
The line went silent for a mont as Despot’s frown deepened. “Are you telling you can’t find a solution? How can you be a Thief subclass without a single skill to conceal yourself? Useless!”
“I can, boss. It’s just not perfect. The chances of another Thief detecting is very high, and they have one on their team. I’m sure you rember how skilled that particular thief was. He was like a demon reaping lives!” Autr protested.
Despot could only groan in frustration while turning toward Horizon Break. “They’re on horseback, so they’ll travel much faster than we can. It might be quite so ti before we catch up with them.”
“What’s a little more wait ti when we’ll inevitably pull them up from their roots. The path will be cleared as a result of their actions. So while their battles stunt their progress, we’ll be unobstructed. We’ll take them by surprise and ruin their day!”
“Oh, you an like they did to us? I love the poetic justice, you sick freak. Let’s go,” Despot wore an unsettling grin as he excitedly resud his attempt to catch up with Kieran and the others.
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