novelraw Chapter 310: A Feast in the Desert
Chapter 310: A Feast in the Desert
Standing on a dune, Thoren stared at the vast expanse of sand surrounding him without any change in his expression.
After traveling continuously for two hours, he finally decided to stop and rest for a while. He also intended to check his statistics properly.
Since the previous day, he had not found the time to examine the blinking notifications appearing repeatedly before his eyes. The only thing he knew was that he had become much stronger and had leveled up again.
[Experience Gained +15000]
[Summoned Entities: Experience Gained +7500]
[Spirit +2.05]
[Level: 9 (34,950/25,000)]
[Level Up!]
[Unassigned Attribute Points +5]
[Level: 10 (9,950/32,000)]
Looking at the notifications, Thoren nodded with a pleased expression. The speed at which he was leveling up had increased tremendously. His ascent to the Second Floor had barely lasted a week, yet he was already halfway toward reaching the next floor.
"As long as I continue progressing like this, I should be able to ascend to the Third Floor within a month," he muttered softly.
He could have confidently said less than a month, but the Second Floor differed greatly from the First Floor. He still needed to solve the mysteries surrounding the trial before he could ascend successfully.
That alone made the Second Floor far more complicated and dangerous.
He shook his head slowly and decided not to dwell on the matter any longer.
"One step at a time," he murmured calmly.
His gaze shifted toward the undead Dust Naga resting nearby. Through their mental connection, he commanded it to coil around him and provide shade from the scorching heat.
This was one of the countless mysteries surrounding the Bleeding Desert. Despite the complete absence of a visible sun in the sky, the entire world remained unbearably hot.
Thoren had thought deeply about the strange phenomenon many times, yet he still could not understand the reason behind it.
Shaking his head lightly, he opened his inventory and took out a comfortable chair alongside a polished wooden table.
He sat down quietly before bringing out an assortment of sumptuous meals. Since leaving the town three days ago to search for the ruin he had remained constantly on the move without properly eating.
Now, he intended to enjoy himself thoroughly.
For more than thirty minutes, he sampled every variety of food his mother had carefully packed for him before his journey. He ate slowly while savoring every bite without rushing.
Beside the meals stood bottles of expensive wine that he occasionally drank from. The rich taste lingered pleasantly inside his mouth.
After finally eating to his satisfaction, a loud belch escaped from his throat while contentment appeared clearly on his face.
He stretched lazily before taking out a large soft mat alongside two pillows from his inventory. After placing them carefully upon the sand, he returned the table and chair back into storage.
Without bothering about his surroundings, he lay down comfortably upon the soft bedding. The moment his head touched the pillow, exhaustion overwhelmed him completely and he drifted into a deep sleep.
While Thoren slept peacefully beneath the protection of the undead Dust Naga, terrifying Sand Hounds slowly emerged from the surrounding dunes. Their crimson eyes glowed hungrily while saliva dripped continuously from their serrated jaws.
However, the instant they sensed the horrifying aura radiating from the undead Dust Naga, every Sand Hound froze immediately.
Fear erupted within them instinctively.
Without hesitation, the beasts turned around and fled desperately at their maximum speed.
Dead or alive, no ordinary desert creature dared challenge the Dust Naga. Its dominance over the Scorched Outskirts remained absolute.
As long as Thoren remained within the Scorched Outskirts, the undead Dust Naga would continue reigning supreme over the region like a nightmare incarnate.
****
"How much longer before we finally reach the town?" a young woman asked impatiently. Her voice carried obvious irritation.
"In a few more hours, we should arrive there," a young man in his early twenties answered while releasing a deep sigh.
He had already lost count of how many times the woman had repeated the exact same question. If not for the fact that she greatly surpassed him in strength and status, he would have reprimanded her already.
Standing beside them was another young man clad in dark leather armor. He looked toward the beautiful woman before speaking calmly.
"You cannot blame the Miss for becoming impatient."
"The mission detail never mentioned the town being located this far into the desert. Besides, a huge opportunity has appeared. This could become the chance for the Miss to ascend to the next level."
"So, her frustration makes complete sense."
Listening to the young man supporting her, the woman merely glanced briefly at him before looking away indifferently. Her attention remained fixed toward the distant horizon ahead.
She simply wanted to complete the mission quickly and return to her dwelling.
The young man standing in the middle looked toward the other male with visible disdain hidden inside his eyes. Of course, he understood the situation perfectly well.
The other man was obviously attempting to gain the woman’s favor.
He was merely one among countless men trying desperately to court the young woman. Unfortunately for him, such efforts would ultimately fail.
The woman possessed extraordinary talent alongside exceptional beauty. Because of this, she had developed an extremely proud and arrogant personality. Anyone weaker than her naturally fell beneath her notice.
Many talented awakeners had challenged her repeatedly in attempts to prove themselves worthy of gaining her attention and affection. Yet every single one of them had suffered humiliating defeats.
Throughout the entire Second Floor, only a handful of awakeners could rival her in either talent or appearance.
Naturally, the young man pursuing her understood all these things already. Unfortunately, he had fallen far too deeply into infatuation to care anymore.
He originally had not been assigned to this mission at all. Instead, he had voluntarily followed her purely because he wished to remain by her side.
Deep within his heart, he firmly believed that enough perseverance and sincerity would eventually melt her icy personality.
At least, that was what he convinced himself to believe.
Simply imagining the possibility of them being together someday caused a foolish smile to appear unconsciously at the corner of his lips.
Suddenly, the middle young man stopped running completely while narrowing his eyes toward a particular direction.
"What is that?" he asked while pointing toward a distant dune.
"Hm?"
Both the woman and the infatuated young man halted immediately before following his gaze.
Far away in the distance, a gigantic serpentine figure rested motionlessly upon the sand dunes. Its enormous body partially coiled around the dune while dark scales reflected faintly beneath the heat haze.
"I-Is that a Dust Naga?" the infatuated young man asked nervously. His voice trembled noticeably.
"I think it is," the middle young man replied cautiously.
"Should we try hunting it? You both know how valuable Dust Naga body parts are within the settlements."
The woman immediately shook her head without hesitation.
"That would only waste precious time," she answered coldly. "Continue with the mission."
The moment her words ended, she vanished forward at breathtaking speed while leaving behind a cloud of dust.
The two young men exchanged helpless looks before quickly chasing after her.
Although both of them desired greatly to hunt the Dust Naga, neither dared disobey her command.
Unknown to the trio, a certain silver haired young man sleeping peacefully atop the distant dune slowly revealed a faint smile upon his face.
***
AN: This poor author is asking for your support. Please support with your Magic Castle. I’m crying right now. I’m just too poor right now...
Take pity on me.