After the Great Cataclysm, the world was invaded by disasters.
The sea level rose, causing great damage to coastal cities, and the continent faced rampant demon beasts emerging throughout, including the empire’s capital.
At first, the desert wasn’t much different.
The scorpion-shaped monster appeared, causing trouble for the few tribes living in the desert.
But as time passed, news of the attacks gradually decreased; it was now a week since the alliance had become activated.
The disaster of the golden sand, Scorpio, had completely vanished without a trace.
‘There hasn’t been any news of further attacks.’
“…which is strange, to say the least.”
“That’s definitely true.”
The expedition team headed for the desert consisted of four guild masters, including the Master of the Magic Tower Neris.
And with the guild members under her, the total exceeded two hundred.
For reference, there were also many other expedition teams heading to different deserts within the continent.
The bald guild master of the Biseung Guild answered Neris.
The hot sun reflected off his shiny head.
“It’s impossible for there to be no news if it hasn’t been eradicated. Something must definitely be going on.”
“Shiny!”
“…Since there haven’t been any eradication messages, it means it hasn’t been defeated yet. We can take it for ourselves.”
“Exactly! Besides, isn’t the disaster of the golden sand the weakest one?”
“That’s right.”
The world boss Kraken reached an astounding level of 180.
The world boss of the ‘Demon’ race, which serves as the Devil of Angel.
Both of these disasters instilled fear among players, but the final disaster of the golden sand was different.
The name of the disaster is Scorpio.
It’s a mid-level world boss that emerged from the ‘Interference Dungeon’ that Lily conducted and takes the form of a scorpion.
While it seems related to That Guy Uncle, who is one of Lily’s summon creatures, it’s not as strong compared to the other disasters.
If it were the past alliance, it would have been challenging, but those who became strong after receiving rewards from the Kraken could easily take down a mid-level world boss.
“This time, we need to catch it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, real monsters will come and take it before we can even get a share.”
“Lady Lily won’t come, right?”
“Isn’t she just resting? She’s been inactive for four days. No broadcasts or anything.”
“That’s true. Plus, she already ate something big; if she targets this too, that’d be a bit…”
Cough!
One of the guild masters slyly said this, but for most people here, it made sense.
She had already received 80% of the Kraken’s share and was a member of the alliance.
She is also a member of the agreement.
Even though she must have achieved something amazing, if she keeps scooping up rewards like this, Lily’s status will probably take a hit as she reaches for the sky.
Of course, Lily doesn’t care about such things, but image is important.
Neris floats in mid-air, scouting the area.
One of the mage’s skills, ‘Terrain Exploration.’
Even though she is said to have absolutely no talent according to Lily, as long as she is blessed by the System, she can wield magic at the level of a grand mage.
“First, let’s cut the chit-chat. We found it, so let’s go.”
“We found the disaster, right?”
“No, just traces. Something seems off, but there’s definitely something left.”
Following the traces, the guild masters move quickly.
It would be nice to ride a floating ship, but this is the desert managed by the Elbrite Duchy.
They rode the floating ship all the way to the entrance of the desert, but with the house owner absent, they couldn’t rummage through someone else’s land openly.
The desert was quite vast, but to the rankers who had become superhumans, it was not that distant…
“What’s this?”
“…An Empire?”
They stumbled upon the Empire of the Sun, standing in the middle of the desert.
It wasn’t the commonly known Imperial Empire but another empire.
Buildings shaped like a towering sun glimmered with light, and beneath them were other sun-like structures.
There were many layers of outer and inner fortresses and buildings sprawling widely, and just seeing them from afar hinted at their grandeur.
“What’s with the size?”
“…Was that guy really like this?”
“This size should mean some juicy quests, right?”
One by one, the guild masters gathered to view the Empire’s outer fortress.
The sandstone walls made of sand.
They stood about 20 meters high; not overly tall for an outer fortress surrounding the castle, but high enough to fend off a decent number of enemies.
“I think this is the entrance?”
“Ooh.”
“Do we not need to wait?”
As the four guild masters dashed ahead, the guild members were still frantically chasing after them.
Considering the distance, it would take at least an hour for everyone to arrive.
Neris shook her staff and shook her head.
“I’m not going to move you.”
“Space movement… Why not?”
“Well, a large-scale move consumes a lot of mana. There’s also the cooldown.”
“What if we pay for the potions?”
“There are no cooldown potions. Unless you use magic carefreely like Lady Lily.”
Unfortunately, I have absolutely zero talent!
Wiping her eyes with a “sniff sniff,” Neris turned her head.
She looked self-conscious about not having talent, but she wasn’t that sad.
It’s a heartbreaking matter, but didn’t she half-expect it?
She had already made several predictions through the magic she saw live on broadcasts, and just because she lacked talent didn’t mean she couldn’t live the life of a ranker in the future.
It’s not that I can’t live as a ranker.
If you don’t have talent, then just get more skill combinations and various items instead.
Other guild masters look at Neris with pity.
“…Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine. Anyway, I already have a connection with Lady Lily, so I’m satisfied~”
“That’s true. Lacking talent isn’t a bad thing.”
“Isn’t it? It is a bad thing!”
Whoosh!
A unique skill of the Master of the Magic Tower, ‘Hellfire Barrier,’ wraps around her body.
It’s a defensive technique, but when used alongside certain skills, it can inflict a fear-like status effect on those around her.
This method was also discovered due to extensive research on countless skill combinations.
Even a large guild master like Jaemuri had some differences compared to the strengthened Neris, who benefited from numerous raid shares.
The guild masters flinched and stepped back, and one of them kept a considerable distance away.
Crack.
“Hmph. Just joking.”
“…That… was scary.”
“Hmph. If guild masters are scared by something like this, then what’s the point! This is nothing.”
“Seems like it’s a big deal… but how does a shield possess such power?”
“The mana consumption isn’t much. The accompanying ‘Field Psychic’ also doesn’t have a high cost.”
Once the flames died down, Neris tilted her head in confusion, while the reactions of the other guild masters were definitely different.
The guild masters agreed that the power of the technique she just used was close to the level of her usual ultimate skill.
Neris’s doubts grew even more.
“I’ve never hit a scarecrow, so I wouldn’t know. Is it really that powerful?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Maybe it’s because you’ve reached level 100?”
“Because my stats have increased? But even so, defense skills and CC skills shouldn’t increase in damage…”
It’s definitely puzzling, but… just as one of the guild masters pointed out, something might have changed after reaching level 100.
This too needs to be researched.
“First, let’s go inside.”
“Right.”
“There’s something up ahead?”
Even after talking loudly for a while, two sentinels wielding long spears silently guarded the entrance.
They were soldiers made of sand, and their golden armor shining in the sunlight was striking.
“They seem to be the soldiers guarding the outer fortress.”
“Should we let them in?”
“Probably? What if they don’t let us in?”
The guild masters approach the guards with mixed feelings.
Until now, the guards had been silently watching over the entrance.
Just as Neris was about to pass by the guards with a cheerful “Hello~”—
Clink.
─Stop.
The spear of a guard blocked Neris’s path.
“Really blocking me.”
─What business do you have at the Empire of Deserthum?
“Deserthum? Is this the place called Deserthum? Is this where that guy uncle manages?”
“Is this place managed by an uncle?”
─ What brings you to the Empire of Deserthum?
“What is this, a robot?”
Neris taps her spear.
Still repeating the same question without any special reaction.
“Should I just push it hard?”
“Jumping into a fight isn’t a good idea. It’s not even notably an enemy.”
The Guild Master of Biseung steps in front of Neris to stop her.
This time, a guard soldier blocks him with a spear.
─ What brings you to the Empire of Deserthum?
“I am Wongo, the Guild Master of Biseung. I came to see something inside.”
─ What is your business?
“I heard that a disaster in the form of a scorpion has appeared in the desert. As a challenger, could you open the way for me to deal with this disaster?”
─ Confirming… Denied.
Thud.
The spear thrusts against the Guild Master.
─ The disaster, Scorpio, is being managed here. Please rest assured and return without causing further harm.
“What? Management?”
“We need to handle this. Can you explain what’s going on?”
─ The disaster, Scorpio, is being managed here. Please rest assured and return without causing further harm.
“What the heck! Is this a bot or what?!”
Wahh! As Neris angrily raises her staff, Wongo barely stops her.
“Calm down! We don’t have the situation figured out yet!”
“Hey, Baldy, come out here! It keeps giving us macro responses since earlier! Hey! We have to kill it!”
─ Disturbances are prohibited under the territory of Deserthum. Please return.
“Don’t you know we have to catch the disaster?! The desertification is coming! This uncle, desertification!”
─ Please return. This is a warning.
“A warning?”
Whoosh!
Fire bursts from Neris’s staff.
While the previous skill was merely a shield, this time she’s using the attack skill ‘Inferno Hellfire.’
Wongo struggles against Neris’s hellfire and steps back, while the other two guild masters barely escape being burned.
“Ugh… Master of the Magic Tower! If you keep going like this, it’s going to be a big problem!”
“I didn’t think we could just walk in anyway. It’s good timing since I had some research to do.”
“But this is Lady Lily’s land, isn’t it?!”
“Exactly, that’s why it’s weird.”
If they don’t catch the disaster in time, the whole world will turn into a desert.
“Why are you letting it be?!”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
