Sand Soldiers

The scenery of the sand desert was desolate. Everywhere you looked, there were only hills and hollows made of sand.

We walked along the precariously piled ridges. Although there was no path, somehow it felt like we should go this way.

“…It’s hotter than I expected.”

Grains of sand, pressed down by our feet, flowed down the slope. While we were walking silently, Inis spoke in a small voice.

“Are you having a hard time?”

“I can still endure. But if we continue like this, it might affect combat later.”

“Is it overwhelming even with Lady Egun’s blessing?”

“Yes. My head is gradually getting hotter. I can feel heat building up in my body. If it’s like this for us who received the blessing, how do other adventurers cross this place?”

“They must have methods we don’t know. If it gets too difficult, take out the water canteen and splash water on your head. That will help reduce the heat.”

This was the only advice I could offer right now. There was no shade around, and we were all already wearing robes.

“We need to conserve water as much as possible, so I’ll try to endure.”

“Okay.”

We started walking through the desert again in silence.

Everywhere we looked, this layer was filled with nothing but sand. Even though we hadn’t fought any monsters yet, I could feel our bodies gradually becoming exhausted. In this place, just moving around drained our spirits.

I was just thinking that I wished sand soldiers would appear.

Rumble―

The sand in front of us suddenly shook. Everyone stopped walking at that change. The moment Inis drew her longsword, the sand surged up.

“……..”

The surging sand clearly had a human form. It was one of the sand desert’s monsters, a sand soldier.

Whoosh―!

The soldier thrust a spear made of sand. The attack flew with a cutting sound, as if it were a weapon made of iron.

“Oh no!”

The spear thrust was faster than expected. Red magical power rose from Inis’s body.

Clang!

Her hastily moved sword struck the spear tip. Along with a heavy metallic sound, sand scattered. It was clearly the sound of cold steel.

Thud!

The sand soldier’s two arms rose toward the sky. Inis’s sword, which she had retrieved before I knew it, pierced the soldier’s head. It was a very clean response for someone who was surprised.

If it had been an ordinary creature, the battle would have ended here. However, the sand soldier was neither ordinary nor a creature.

“Inis!”

At my shout, she retreated.

Whoosh―

The tip of the sand soldier’s spear stabbed where Inis had been. An attack that touched the empty air. Following that, Inis, who had taken a large step, struck down with her sword.

Swish―!

A line extending from the crown to the crotch. The sand split to both sides, revealing the magic stone inside. The soldier’s form collapsed at once and became one with the desert.

Plop-

The magic stone, split in half, fell to the ground. Inis approached and brought it to me.

“When combined, it’s much larger than an orc’s magic stone. It seems almost twice as big!”

Isabella said with gleaming eyes. While saying it was twice as large was an exaggeration, it was certainly bigger.

“Unlike orcs, sand soldiers need to maintain their form through magical power. That’s probably why they have such large magic stones.”

I took it and put it in my pocket. This would definitely fetch a good price.

“So, Inis. What’s your impression after facing a sand soldier for the first time?”

“Its movements were faster than I expected. Its strength was definitely not inferior compared to an orc. What particularly surprised me was that the head wasn’t a vital point.”

“That’s right. Sand soldiers have human form, but they don’t have the same weaknesses as humans. Their only weakness is the magic stone. You could say that’s their heart.”

“Is the magic stone always located in the chest? Or does it change each time?”

“It’s likely to change constantly. The labyrinth is never kind.”

This time we were just lucky. Usually, there was a high probability that a sand soldier’s magic stone would be in an unusual place.

“An enemy whose vital point changes each time… it won’t be easy to deal with.”

Inis’s expression became serious. Having actually faced them, she seemed to realize how threatening they were.

“If the weakness constantly changes, that means my attacks won’t easily work either.”

“That’s right.”

It would be much more difficult for Isabella. Archery often aimed for vital points.

“You said your flames don’t work on soldiers either, right, Master?”

“We’d have to experiment for details, but it’s better not to expect much. Flames and sand don’t have a good compatibility.”

“So in the end, Senior Inis has to face the sand soldiers alone.”

“We should try to help, but that’s likely to be the case.”

Should I start fighting with a mace now? That didn’t make sense. If I had the skill for that, I would have done it long ago.

“Inis. For now, it seems the only way is for you to do your best.”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Inis answered confidently. I patted her shoulder.

“It will be tough, but I’m counting on you. We’ll manage somehow at night. Let’s have you handle the daytime. Okay?”

“Yes.”

We started wandering the sand desert again. Sand soldiers appeared occasionally, but since they always came one at a time, it wasn’t much of a problem.

By the time our magic stone pouch was somewhat filled with split or broken stones.

Whoosh―

The heat of the desert wind subsided. Though it remained dry, I could feel the weather becoming much cooler.

In the distance, beyond the stretched horizon, the sun could be seen setting. A red sunset was settling on the sandy ground.

“Let’s find a place to set up the tent.”

As night began to fall, we changed direction to search for a place to stay. Once we found a suitably flat area, we immediately took out the tent from the bag.

Click-

“Wow.”

A tent that was completed instantly as soon as we pressed the button on the side. It wasn’t very large, but it was spacious enough for three people to enter and lie down.

“Artifacts are definitely convenient. Without this, we would have had to sleep right on the sand.”

“There’s a reason we paid a high price for it.”

From the bag, I took out firewood, along with a pot, tableware, and bowls.

“Fire.”

After lighting the firewood, I placed the pot on it. I put in vegetables and meat along with water.

“Let’s eat.”

When the stew was ready, I put bowls in it and served the food. Inis and Isabella licked the stew that flowed down the sides of their bowls. Finally, I also scooped up stew and began eating.

“Hmm.”

The taste was decent. After all, it wasn’t for taste but to replenish nutrients.

“Is it edible?”

“Yes. It’s delicious!”

“I’m happy just being able to have a meal like this in the labyrinth. In the Green Skin layer, we only had jerky and water all day!”

Isabella said with a bright smile.

“This hard bread was difficult to eat at first. But soaking it in stew makes it edible!”

“Enjoy this moment. We won’t be able to eat like this for more than a few days. Later, you’ll only eat the jerky and hard bread you dislike so much, along with water.”

Isabella shuddered. She must have really disliked it.

“That’s terrible.”

“We can still eat like this for about two more days. If we find the pyramid within that time, we won’t have to eat those. If not, we’ll have to eat jerky again.”

“I hope we can find the pyramid quickly. But Master, what exactly is a pyramid?”

“A pyramid?”

How should I explain this? When I tried to explain about a pyramid, my mouth didn’t move easily.

“Fire.”

Instead of answering, I summoned a flame. As my skill with divine power improved through using Fire Arrow and Flame Spear, I thought I’d show it directly.

Flare-

I manipulated the magical power to slowly change the shape of the flame. Gradually, the shape changed, creating a square pyramidal form.

“A structure that looks like this is a pyramid.”

“This is a pyramid? It doesn’t look that special.”

“That’s because you’re just seeing the shape now. When you actually see it, you’ll be surprised by its majesty. The size is truly incredibly enormous.”

Because of its size, there were once conspiracy theories that aliens built it.

Of course, it was later revealed that wage laborers built it. Considering they were supplied with meat every day for 30 years, the welfare must have been quite good.

“Seeing Master speak that way, it must be really amazing! I’m looking forward to it!”

“But how do you know all these things, Master?”

When Isabella spoke excitedly, Inis expressed a reasonable doubt. After being momentarily surprised, a good excuse came to mind.

“Lady Egun told me.”

“Ah.”

Inis and Isabella immediately understood. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, I felt like I could hear Egun’s laughter in my ears.

Whoosh―

“Ptoo! Ptoo!”

We all frowned at the sudden wind. We spat out the sand that entered our mouths.

“Ugh… it’s getting cold, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Let’s finish eating and go inside quickly.”

Due to sand getting into the food, we couldn’t eat properly. Taking comfort in the fact that we had eaten most of it, we quickly entered the tent.

“Cozy.”

The inside of the tent was quite warm. That was natural since we had asked for one with a warming effect.

As I lay down in the center, Inis and Isabella quietly lay down on either side of me.

Whoooosh―!

The wind blew and violently hit the tent. As the sun disappeared, the heat that had filled the desert vanished, and cold took its place.

“Ugh.”

Despite having a warming effect, the tent was quite cold. Isabella rubbed her arms. I took out a blanket from the bag and gave it to her.

“If you’re cold, at least cover yourself with this.”

I had brought it just in case, not expecting to use it like this.

“Th-thank you….”

“Are you okay, Inis? Aren’t you cold?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Are you okay, Master?”

“I’m fine with this much too.”

Perhaps thanks to contracting with Lady Egun, I didn’t feel the cold or heat much. Every day felt like spring, you could say.

Tap- Tap tap-

While lying quietly in the tent, a strange sound mixed with the wind came in. At that noise, Inis and I got up simultaneously.

“It wasn’t just me who heard it, right?”

“No. I heard it too.”

“M-me too….”

Isabella got up belatedly. When Inis tried to come out with me, I lightly pressed her shoulder.

“We said we would handle the night undead, didn’t we? Inis, you fought enough during the day. So rest.”

“Master also watched from the side when I fought during the day. So I think it’s right for me, as a slave, to join too. I won’t step forward much. Just let me be by your side.”

“…Alright.”

Judging by her eyes, she would absolutely not back down. In the end, I accepted her opinion and went outside.

Whoosh-

As we went outside the tent, a cold wind greeted us first.

“Brrrrr….”

Isabella’s body, without a blanket, trembled violently. I doubted whether she could fight properly like that.

A space filled with pitch darkness. I summoned a flame to illuminate the surroundings first. Then, in the distance, a group could be seen approaching us.

Click, click-

The sound of bones with each step.s who had met death but couldn’t find peace. The undead were approaching us.