Chương 113: Desert of Idrin

The moment I stepped through the gate, the world changed. One second, I was surrounded by towering trees. Ancient trunks stretched toward the heavens. Dense canopies filtered sunlight into scattered patches that danced across the forest floor. The cool scent of earth and greenery filled the air. The next second... Gone. Completely. The forest didn't fade. It didn't gradually transition. It simply ceased to exist. I blinked. Then blinked again.

"... Excuse me?" The thick woodland had been replaced by an ocean of gold. Sand. Sand everywhere. An endless sea of rolling dunes stretched beyond the horizon. The sunlight blazed overhead without mercy, pouring down from an open sky untouched by branches or clouds. Heat shimmered in the distance. The occasional cactus stood proudly among the dunes like nature's way of saying, "In case dehydration wasn't enough, here's a plant that wants to stab you." I slowly turned my head. Left. Sand. Right. More sand. Ahead.

An impressive amount of additional sand. I looked down. Sand. Of course. The universe had committed to the theme. There wasn't anything else in sight. No ruins. No rivers. No conveniently placed welcome signs. Just an aggressive amount of desert. Let me tell you something about myself. I hated sand. Not in the dramatic, tragic way. Nothing poetic. Nothing profound. No grand speech about loss and suffering. No. My hatred was significantly more petty.

It was the kind of dislike born from countless tiny annoyances that eventually united into a lifelong grudge. Sand got everywhere. Inside your shoes. Inside your clothes. Inside food. Inside places that should have legal protection from sand. It somehow obeyed laws of physics and ignored them simultaneously. Vacuum the house? Sand remained. Wash your feet? Sand returned. It was less a material and more a highly motivated inconvenience. And now... I stood inside an entire floor dedicated to it. I narrowed my eyes.

The desert narrowed its metaphorical eyes back. I looked across the endless dunes. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Then looked back toward the portal behind us. Then back at the dunes.

"... Nope." I turned around immediately. Absolutely not. I had reached a decision. It was a good decision. A reasonable decision. A decision crafted by centuries of human evolution dedicated to identifying danger and avoiding it. I began walking back toward the gate.

"Listen," I said while gesturing behind me, "I think we've all learned valuable lessons today." I nodded.

"Floor Three exists." I held up a finger.

"We've acknowledged its existence." Another finger.

"We've seen the sand." I pointed toward the desert without looking.

"That's enough closure for me." I adjusted my pace.

"I'm going home."

"I'll open a small café."

"Maybe sell pastries."

"I'll tell customers stories about how I almost entered a desert once." I continued walking.

"The important thing is knowing your limits."

"My limit apparently starts at several million grains of sand." I was two steps away from achieving greatness. Then a massive hand landed on my shoulder. I stopped. The force behind it wasn't aggressive. It was simply immovable. Like a mountain politely informing you that your current direction had been denied. Before I could protest, Dimitri effortlessly pulled me backward. My feet dragged across the sand. I stared ahead. Then looked up.

"... Brother." I sighed.

"Why do you hate my dreams?" A familiar blue notification shimmered into existence before us. Its translucent letters floated in the scorching air. Cold. Clinical. Entirely too pleased with themselves. [You have entered the Desert of Idrin. A wasteland where the frail are swallowed by the land itself.] I stared at the message. Then slowly turned my head to look around. Endless dunes. Cacti. Heat. The promise of being devoured by geography itself. Then I looked back at the notification.

"... You know what?" I pointed at it.

"I respect the honesty." I nodded thoughtfully.

"No motivational speeches."

"No 'believe in the power of friendship.'""No 'hardships build character.'" I spread my arms toward the endless desert.

"The system just looked me dead in the eye and said, 'By the way, the terrain wants to murder you.'" I lowered my hand.

"Five stars for transparency." The notification vanished. Leaving us beneath the unforgiving sun. Heat descended from above with all the gentleness of an unpaid debt collector. The air itself felt heavy. Dry. Every breath carried the scent of hot stone and dust. There was no shade. No comforting rustle of leaves. No streams. No towering trees. Only an ocean of shifting gold stretching beyond sight. The dunes rose and fell like frozen waves beneath a cloudless sky. The horizon shimmered.

Distorted by dancing curtains of heat. Even the cacti looked judgmental. June narrowed her eyes at the landscape. A strand of hair shifted against her cheek as she adjusted it with obvious annoyance.

"... This climate is insufferable," June stated. Even her thick British accent couldn't soften the disapproval dripping from her voice. She surveyed the desert as though personally offended by its existence.

"I fail to comprehend why anyone would willingly remain here." Her gaze swept across the dunes.

"There is no elegance."

"No comfort."

"It is merely an expansive collection of sand and regret." I folded my arms.

"Honestly?" I nodded.

"If someone told me this place was designed as punishment for tax evasion, I'd believe them." June glanced toward me.

"An oddly specific example."

"I've watched documentaries."

"You mean films."

"Same thing." Aiko stood quietly nearby. Unlike June, she wasn't staring toward the horizon. Her eyes remained fixed downward. Toward the sand beneath our feet. Her fingers tightened slightly against one another.

"A-Arthur-san..." Her voice was soft. Almost swallowed by the vast emptiness surrounding us.

"T-There's nowhere to hide here..." Aiko glanced around nervously. Every direction offered the same answer. Nothing. No cover. No obstacles. No protection. Then she looked down again.

"A-And..." She hesitated.

"Aiko thinks... something is moving beneath the sand." Silence. I looked at her. Then at the desert floor. Then back at her.

"... I'm sorry." I blinked.

"Would you care to repeat the part where the ground itself became suspicious?" Aiko fidgeted.

"A-Aiko can feel vibrations." Her voice dropped further.

"Something underneath..." I immediately took one step backward. Then another. I stared at the sand. The sand stared back. Probably. I wasn't ruling out sentient dunes at this point. I pointed accusingly downward.

"No." I shook my head.

"No."

"We just got here."

"You don't get to introduce underground nightmare creatures before the opening credits finish." I looked around.

"I haven't even emotionally unpacked my luggage yet." I narrowed my eyes at the desert. Beside us, Fiona clasped her hands together. The cheerful Scotswoman gazed toward the endless expanse. Unlike the rest of us, her expression carried quiet hope.

"Th' spirits o' nature feel far awa' here," Fiona admitted softly. Her thick Scottish accent somehow became even stronger beneath the desert sun.

"But Ah pray they still watch o'er us." She smiled warmly.

"An' guide us through whit lies ahead." I blinked. I understood approximately seventy percent of that. The remaining thirty percent had been translated by vibes. I gave her a thumbs-up anyway.

"Absolutely." I nodded.

"I caught enough words to know it was encouraging." Fiona's smile widened. Mission accomplished. I eventually shifted my attention elsewhere. Standing beside the portal was something significantly less likely to crawl beneath the sand and consume my ankles. Hopefully. The white monolith. Its smooth stone surface gleamed beneath the blazing sunlight. Ancient symbols covered its body. Intricate markings pulsed faintly with magical energy beneath polished stone. Silent. Unmoving. Reliable.

The magical equivalent of customer service. I stared at it. Then looked back at the desert. Then back toward the monolith. I pointed at the enormous stone slab.

"Alright." I clapped my hands together.

"Here's the plan." I gestured toward the giant magical tablet.

"We grab a quest from the oversized enchanted suggestion box." I pointed toward the endless dunes.

"We complete whatever ridiculous errand it throws at us." Then I swept my arm dramatically across the desert.

"And then we get the hell out of this stupid sandbox." I paused.

"I would like it officially documented that I dislike this floor." I pointed downward.

"The sand and I have unresolved issues."

"I don't trust it." Dimitri let out a booming laugh. The giant Russian rested a hand against his shield.

"Then we shall entrust this decision to you, my excellent brother." His smile was broad and genuine.

"You have consistently guided our group wisely." I stared at him.

"... You have an alarmingly optimistic memory." Dimitri chuckled.

"I have faith." I pressed a hand against my chest.

"Please stop saying that." I looked genuinely distressed.

"Do you understand how stressful it is when people believe in you?" I shook my head.

"One day I'm going to accidentally become responsible." I waved dismissively as I started walking toward the monolith.

"Yeah, yeah."

"I heard you." I glanced over my shoulder.

"Just stay here." I pointed toward the group.

"And if the desert starts eating anyone while I'm gone..." I narrowed my eyes.

"... make sure the screaming is loud enough for me to determine the direction." With that, I continued toward the white stone monolith.