Sand Desert

Even though we had passed the Green Skin layer, we still couldn’t use the labyrinth elevator.

“When will we ever be able to use that thing?”

Isabella asked as she descended the stairs. Judging by how her gaze kept drifting toward the elevator, she seemed quite eager to use it.

“We probably have to go down much further.”

The labyrinth elevator was one of the convenience systems created for faster movement. It was like a shortcut that could be used after passing through certain layers.

I didn’t remember the details, but we would need to pass through several more layers from here. Assuming the system was similar to the game.

“You say we need to go down further. It took quite some time to conquer the Green Skin layer, so I wonder how long the sand desert will take.”

“It could take more time. Or it might take just a few days. That’s how the labyrinth is.”

To conquer the labyrinth, thorough preparation, individual combat power, and companions to protect each other were necessary. But these were just basic conditions.

“That’s right. Luck is the most important thing here.”

The question considered most foolish when asked by adventurers was about the time needed to conquer a layer. When the time varied so greatly between parties, how could anyone establish a benchmark?

Except for the Goblin Cave, which was known as the grave of novice adventurers, conquest time was meaningless. After all, it was all about luck.

“Master. Look over there!”

Isabella made a fuss while we were silently descending the stairs. I raised my head to look in the direction she was pointing.

“They’re going to the elevator!”

The gazes of adventurers descending the stairs nearby naturally turned toward the party. Feelings of envy, jealousy, and inferiority were directed at them.

“Well, they don’t look that special. They seem so weak that I could probably beat them.”

“Exactly. Even those weak bastards use the elevator. What’s stopping us, right?”

Conversations filled with jealousy. Though their tone was a bit irritating, their appearance was certainly not impressive.

“They don’t use the elevator for nothing. The energy I feel from them is unusual.”

Inis, who had been quiet all along, spoke in a small voice. I nodded in agreement.

“They can’t feel that. They probably just wander around the Goblin Cave.”

Her voice was cold, enough to make my shoulders shiver. I wondered why her attitude was so blunt, but the answer came right from Inis’s mouth.

“Judging by appearance alone. How pathetic.”

“Ah.”

Well, having been discriminated against because of her black hair, it made sense for her to have negative feelings. Those who disparaged the elevator adventurers were unlikely to be favorable toward us.

“They’re gone.”

As the adventurers disappeared beyond the elevator, Isabella expressed her disappointment. She clenched her fist and exclaimed.

“Let’s also use the elevator like that someday to go down comfortably!”

“Yes. And for that, we need to go down as quickly as possible to conquer the labyrinth, right?”

“S-sorry!”

At Inis’s chilly words, Isabella quickly began to descend the stairs. Watching Inis follow her, I turned up the corners of my mouth.

The two women had quickly become close.

“Kuoooook–!”

Two orcs charged toward us.

Their fierce charge with axes was quite threatening, but it didn’t apply to us.

“I’ll handle this.”

Creeak–

Isabella took an arrow from her quiver and nocked it. She slowly drew the bowstring, then released it without a moment’s hesitation.

Whizz–

The arrow flew straight ahead. Red magical power clung to the fletching like a tail.

The moment the orc moved to the side to avoid the attack, the arrow’s trajectory changed. It couldn’t hide its bewilderment. It raised its axe belatedly, but it was too late.

Crash–

The arrow lodged between the orc’s eyes. Before the female orc beside it could feel sorrow, an arrow lodged in the exact same spot.

When we first entered this place, they were quite troublesome opponents. Now they were so trivial that they were weak.

“Well done.”

After praising Isabella, I headed toward the corpses. Inis, who quickly approached, harvested the magic stones. After putting them in her pocket, she took out the magic compass again.

“This way.”

Following where the magic needle pointed, we soon found a trapdoor. When we pulled the handle to open it, stairs appeared.

“Let’s check everything one last time before we go in.”

Once we entered the sand desert, we wouldn’t be able to leave the layer until we found the stairs. So I checked again. Even if it was troublesome, it wouldn’t hurt to do this multiple times.

“Food and water. Tent. Pot and firewood. We have everything.”

“Good. Then let’s go down.”

I put the bag on my back again. Inis went down the stairs first. Then Isabella. I entered last.

Thud!

As soon as we all stepped onto the stairs, the trapdoor closed as if it had been waiting. It meant there was no going back now.

We moved forward without looking back.

Light began to rise from below. The deeper we went, the stronger the light became. Before long, we reached the spiral staircase.

Whoosh―

A dry sand wind. The intense sunlight dazzled our eyes. As our eyes adjusted to the light and our vision brightened, the scene of the desert came into view all at once.

A golden-shining sand desert. It was desolate beyond measure, but somehow I thought it was truly beautiful.

“……..”

“So this is a desert!”

Inis and Isabella, seeing a desert for the first time, marveled at the scenery. Was it because we were looking down from above? It was certainly a spectacular view.

“Let’s go down.”

I hurried our steps as the spiral staircase could collapse. The two, who had been gaping and admiring the view, quickly went down.

“Master! My feet sink in like mud!”

Isabella, who first stepped on the ground, said with a bright smile. She crouched down and filled both hands with sand. It must be hot due to the sunlight. Perhaps because of the blessing, she didn’t show any signs of discomfort.

“I know.”

Inis walked across the desert with heavy steps. Sometimes she applied strength firmly. Sometimes she stepped lightly. It seemed she was trying to feel the sand.

“How is it?”

“Fighting right away would be difficult. I think I need to adapt, though I’m not sure how long that will take.”

The sand desert was a layer known as the warriors’ grave. This was because all environmental factors worked unfavorably for swordsmen.

“I’d like to take some sand with me. Would that be difficult?”

“Since it was created by the labyrinth, it will disappear if you take it outside. But why sand?”

“I think it would help build stamina if I ran on it.”

I think I’ve seen something similar in manga before. Given that she had a similar idea, people’s thoughts must all be the same.

“It’s very dry, and it’s hard to breathe because of the sand wind. But it’s not as hot as I expected? Look at that.”

Looking where Inis pointed, I saw Isabella rolling on the sandy ground.

“This must be thanks to Lady Egun’s blessing too, right? Originally, a desert is an extremely hot place.”

“It’s indeed Lady Egun.”

I was glad that the difficulty level of conquering the sand desert seemed to have decreased.

“Isabella!”

When I called her name, she jumped up and ran toward us. Sand flowed down from her hair and clothes.

“Yes, Master!”

“Stop playing around. Let’s cross.”

“Yes!”

As we always did, Inis took the lead. Isabella and I followed her at a slight distance.

The sand desert was an open-type layer like the Green Skin territory. The difference was that the condition for moving to the next layer was to reach a specific area.

“Our goal is to find a pyramid somewhere in the sand desert. If we defeat the guardian there, we can move on to the next layer.”

“That’s a very troublesome type.”

“It is.”

It was hard enough to cross the desert, but to have to defeat a guardian too? The difficulty level was indeed too high.

“What kind of monsters will appear here?”

“During the day, monsters called sand soldiers and sandworms. At night, undead will attack.”

“By sand soldiers, you mean soldiers made of sand, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Does sand burn?”

At Inis’s question, I shook my head. Her expression became serious.

“The strongest among us is Master, but if Master’s attacks don’t work… this is a big problem.”

“It will probably be fine. Sand soldiers aren’t that strong. The real headaches are the sandworms and undead.”

Sandworms were monsters roaming the sand desert. Their size was so enormous that they were no different from natural disasters.

Undead couldn’t be ignored either. They were adventurers who died in the desert, wandering around looking for companions.

“During the day, Master’s attacks don’t work. At night, undead attack. We need to be very alert.”

“We need to be careful, as always.”

“Yes, as always.”

And so, with anxious hearts, we began our desert crossing.