Chapter 44 : Chapter 44

Chapter 44 : Master of the Desert (1)

"Kiyot, Siriel. Let's go."

Having finished communicating with Polarin, Blaze spoke to the members assigned to his team.

All three were dressed in the attire of the Crows.

The black uniforms, crafted from tanned beast hide, gleamed under the sunlight.

Kiyot, who had grown to over 2 meters tall in no time, stretched his arm toward the axe he had placed on the ground.

Siriel, donning a Crow-style coat over her uniform, sheathed her sword into the scabbard at her waist.

A serious atmosphere hung among the Crows.

Kiyot and Siriel mirrored that gravity with their stern expressions, but Blaze saw something different.

Having been with them even before they were formed into an investigation team, Blaze could tell.

He noticed the slight upturn of Kiyot and Siriel’s lips, catching a glimmer of anticipation on their faces.

Blaze gently chided them.

"Don’t get too excited. We’re not going on a picnic."

"I know, leader. We’re tracking that demon, right?"

"…Right. So, where are we headed?"

Of course, it wasn’t that Siriel and Kiyot lacked any sense of solemnity.

Though their time as Crows had been short, they had fought beasts, sacrificing even sleep.

Blaze looked at his two teammates, who had ranked higher than him at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

The distance he once felt from them was gone.

They were now comrades who shared life and death.

Blaze mentioned the name of the person they had been longing to see.

"We’re joining Polarin. He’s also tracking a demon right now."

Kiyot and Siriel’s lips twitched.

"Oh!"

"…Alright."

Blaze turned away, pretending not to notice their excited expressions.

Unaware of the smile creeping onto his own face.

"To Hamdel."

Blaze took the lead, and the two quickly followed.

* * *

Whoosh!

I burned an approaching beast with [Flame of the Spirit], then began moving, stepping through the sinking sand.

The blue flames clinging to the beast’s body didn’t extinguish, even as it writhed, rubbing itself against the sand dunes, until its life was snuffed out.

Even after defeating Lukadi, Hamdel remained a dangerous place.

Untamed beasts and dark mages roamed freely.

Following Nofen’s advice, I decided to rest.

Thanks to the dense mana emanating from the Dragon Heart, I didn’t feel physical fatigue, but the aftermath of my actions so far wasn’t entirely absent.

Moreover, the minor wounds from my fight with Alkmyon still lingered.

Finding a place to rest was the top priority.

Like when I first arrived, I planned to carefully survey the surroundings to find a suitable spot.

If I could escape the desert, there were a few villages nearby.

But my options were limited.

- For now, rest somewhere out of the Empire’s sight. By now, the Empire likely knows about the demon’s message… and we don’t yet know how they’ll react to Polarin-nim.

Nofen’s words made sense.

But places beyond the Empire’s reach were few.

Most areas touched by human hands belonged to the Empire.

It might be better to seize another dark mage’s atelier to hide in, or head to the city-state of Turoko near Hamdel.

Alternatively, there was the land of those once called the old masters of Hamdel.

The territory of a minority tribe that had settled here before Hamdel became a playground for dark mages.

Narrowing my options to these three, I continued to ponder.

‘First, I’ll head to Turoko or make contact with the minority tribe to go to their settlement. If possible, I’d rather avoid drawing more attention from dark mages and conserve my strength.’

I had already expressed my intent to meet the demon cooperating with Tello, but no response had come.

I hadn’t decided what to do if I met that demon.

If I chose to fight, I needed to be in peak condition.

A mid-tier demon by birth, who had been amassing power for over 300 years, wasn’t someone I could face hoping for luck.

Thus, I abandoned the idea of raiding and seizing a dark mage’s atelier.

I didn’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest and waste my strength.

Dark mages obsessed with their research likely didn’t have cozy hideouts prepared.

For now, I wanted a softer bed or a place with a healer.

So, I set out toward Turoko.

To avoid unnecessary fights, I refrained from spreading my wings and attracting attention in the desert, even detouring around areas where I faintly sensed the dark mages’ mana.

But failing to account for the desert’s harsh climate was a mistake.

* * *

The desert’s scorching heat seemed to swallow me whole, and the sand carried by the wind stung painfully.

Even with a hood, I couldn’t fully block the relentless heat of the sun.

To anyone watching, I must have looked like a traveler lost in the desert.

I was considering giving up and spreading my wings when I spotted a group of hooded figures climbing a ridge in the distance.

In such a sparsely populated area, hiding or avoiding their gaze was difficult.

We stood frozen, staring at each other.

After a tense standoff, one of the group trudged through the sand toward me.

A man in a bright, ornate robe, his face mostly covered by an elaborate mask.

From the exposed skin around his eyes, I could see his dark complexion, and his broad shoulders suggested he was physically fit.

From his attire and the curved blade at his waist, I could guess their identity.

‘The old masters of Hamdel, the Hamudalun tribe.’

But the man, unaware of my identity, approached with wary eyes.

"You look quite young. You don’t seem to be from around here. Are you lost?"

"Yes, it’s just sand everywhere I go."

Though he spoke the continental common tongue, his unfamiliar accent prompted me to nod politely in response.

For now, he was only showing caution.

But if they mistook me for a lost dark mage?

A fight I wanted to avoid might break out.

The man didn’t seem like a pushover.

His boldness in approaching alone despite not knowing my identity, and the aura emanating from him, suggested he was a formidable warrior.

"If you’re looking for a nearby city, it’s that way."

He pointed in a direction that, according to a map I’d taken from a dark mage, led to a small village in the Empire’s territory.

"Thank you for telling me… but I’m looking for a place outside the Empire’s reach."

At that moment, his eyebrow shot up.

I hadn’t explained why, but mentioning my desire to avoid the Empire’s reach seemed to spark several possibilities in his mind.

I quickly added,

"I’m not a dark mage. Definitely not."

"I know. They smell like rotting sand."

"Ah…"

He could identify someone by the smell of sand?

I couldn’t hide my surprise at this new information.

The man burst into hearty laughter at the foreigner’s comical expression.

"Hahaha, I don’t know what’s going on, but this desert is dangerous. Your scent isn’t soft, but when night falls, this desert becomes even more perilous."

He pointed to the pillow and sleeping bag strapped to his back.

"You don’t even seem to have camping gear."

I had camping equipment provided to Tello agents in my subspace, but I didn’t mention it.

Instead, I looked him in the eye and continued.

"Thank you for your advice. By the way, have you lived in Hamudalun for a long?"

"…It’s been a while since I met an outsider who doesn’t call it Hamdel."

The man stopped laughing and began scrutinizing me more closely.

"Yes, I’ve lived here my whole life."

My guess was correct.

Based on his appearance and the curved blade at his waist, I’d mentioned ‘Hamudalun.’

His expression softened considerably just hearing the name.

Several minority tribes lived in Hamdel, but among them was a clan once called the masters of the desert.

Hamudalun was the name that clan used for Hamdel.

I knew this from having played a hidden character starting as part of that tribe.

I grabbed the man’s hand and touched my forehead to his, a greeting unique to the Hamudalun tribe.

After a moment, I raised my head and asked,

"Elder, if it’s not too rude, could I stay with you for just one night?"

"Hoho, a young man who knows our customs. But… we don’t easily take in outsiders."

His tone was warm, but he didn’t immediately agree.

The Hamudalun people, who once roamed the desert as if it were their own, now had to avoid threats like dark mages.

They likely didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

It was unfortunate, but I didn’t need to sleep in the Hamudalun tribe’s territory.

Rather than pushing and risking suspicion, I decided it was better to leave cleanly.

"I understand. I hope we can meet again under better circumstances…"

As I politely responded and turned to leave, I felt the ground tremble.

Startled, I looked over and saw a girl sliding across the sand as if riding a skateboard.

It was like she was surfing the sea of sand or riding a mole.

Stunned, I could only stare at the scene, speechless.

"Mister, you smell nice!"

One of the group from the ridge, a child, had approached and was now poking at my feet, talking to me.

"Narima, mind your manners. What’s this about?"

"Ugh, Uncle Karab! Didn’t you say everyone wandering the desert is bad? This guy’s different!"

Narima circled me, sniffing the air.

"Good smell!"

Despite my body being steeped in the scent of beast blood from continuous battles, I couldn’t grasp what the girl meant by a "good smelling person."

"Uncle! I wanna play with this mister!"

Karab looked troubled, but the child wouldn’t stop.

"I wanna play, play!"

"This kid…"

"Play!"

Finally, as if giving in, Karab nodded.

He let out a short sigh and asked me,

"Would you like to stay one night, just one night, in our tribe’s territory?"

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.