How to Cross the Desert (3)
Hidden Episode.
It was an event that could be found quite often while playing the game.
Think of it as an easter egg chapter hidden by the developers.
It didn't significantly affect the main storyline, but it allowed players to gain new information about the world or additional stories about the characters.
Sometimes, powerful items were given as rewards.
'It was a content that I studied quite hard.'
Because I uploaded walkthrough videos several times.
I think I found at least 20 episodes with my own hands.
This one was the same.
[EP???. How to Cross the Desert]
-The Door that Opens to the Sky, the Boy who Spends the Night with the Stars-
It was an event triggered by touching a specific object in a specific location.
An event that could only be participated in once during gameplay.
The stage difficulty was quite high, but considering the quality of the rewards, it was worth the challenge.
There were items that could only be obtained here.
"Wh, where is this...?"
A low voice was heard.
It was none other than Regia.
The girl, who had been lost in confusion just moments ago, seemed to have regained her senses and was looking around.
Her green eyes seemed to be grasping the situation.
"Suddenly a desert... I was just looking around an old shop."
The scenery reflected in her vision was all golden.
An endless sandy desert.
The scene shifted with an unrealistic gap.
As we leisurely took in the scenery, the pilot, who had been lost in thought, muttered.
"Are we hallucinating...?"
"Well... I don't feel any particular sense of disparity. I think it's highly likely to be reality."
"N, no way."
"This is a strange situation."
"If we're not hallucinating, then how, how can we explain this current scenery...?"
"Hmm."
I said slowly.
"It seems we've been caught up in an accident."
"Y, yes?"
"It seems there was something wrong with the book we touched... I'm not sure exactly what it is."
"Th, that's right. It happened so fast..."
"Maybe the page was enchanted."
"Ugh."
The first thing was to realize that we had been in an accident.
We were just walking through the Academy, but we lost consciousness for a moment and woke up stranded in the middle of a desert.
It was understandable to be flustered.
I waited a moment for Regia to calm down.
The girl, who seemed to be lost in thought, soon got up as if she had realized something else.
"Huh?"
Regia reached out into the air.
After waving her hand in front of her eyes for a moment, the girl said with a hardened expression.
"Yo, Young Master... mana isn't gathering at my fingertips."
"What?"
"The flow of air is strange. I can clearly feel the mana, but when I try to activate magic, it just scatters."
"Indeed."
This was the core of this field.
A space where magic was completely neutralized. In this desert, the use of mana to perform magic was strictly prohibited.
It was literally poison to mages.
As some travelers called it, 'The Land that Doesn't Shine'.
Unless one was a highly skilled individual, it was difficult to overcome the restrictions.
That's why the roles of other classes were important.
Warriors, priests, shamans, summoners, etc... cards were needed to replace the mage's firepower.
This was the role Regia would play this time.
"It feels like my abilities are being suppressed."
"How much...?"
"I don't think I'll be able to use shadows like I usually do. At best, I think I can only create a single sword."
"Th, that can't be."
Of course, this was a lie.
Such temporary restrictions could be easily shaken off with a slight display of power.
But I pretended not to be able to use my abilities.
Because I wasn't the one who had to shine in this field.
I came here for Regia's growth, so if I did everything, it would be all for nothing.
Thanks to that, I smoothly spouted lies.
"After all, I'm a mage too."
"What should we do? We don't even know where we are, and we can't even use communication magic..."
"That's a real problem."
It's about time they appeared.
I glanced around.
As we stood there with troubled expressions, scanning the desert, a faint voice suddenly reached our ears.
It was an old and weary echo.
"-Get out of my way, you things! I can't die yet...!"
It wasn't far.
It sounded like someone was shouting nearby.
"Yo, Young Master! Did you just hear something from over there...?"
"I heard it too."
We immediately ran towards the source of the sound.
As we climbed over a hill that had been blocking our view, the owner of the desperate cry came into sight.
An old man hunched over on the ground.
His arm seemed to be injured.
The old man was desperately swinging his arm.
"Get away from me...!"
Keeek-!
A monstrous roar followed.
Five black scorpions were creeping towards the old man.
We instinctively furrowed our brows.
"Oh dear."
"Wh, what are those...?"
Could we even call those scorpions?
They were larger than most small cars.
Each one exuded a dangerous aura, their venomous tails raised sharply.
As if they were about to hunt their prey.
"I'll go right away, Miss Regia."
"Ye, yes...!"
It was a critical situation.
Without a moment's hesitation, we kicked off the ground.
Faint afterimages remained behind our rapidly moving bodies.
Keeek! Krrr-!
The monsters roared chillingly.
I compressed the elongated shadow and drew it as a sword.
The jet-black blade cut through the sandstorm.
"Haa...!"
I exhaled briefly.
I leaped towards the nearest scorpion.
Keeek-?!
Did it notice our presence?
It turned around belatedly.
However, the sword strike I had launched was already slashing through the air with a refreshing arc.
I cut it down in an instant.
Slash-!
A clear cutting sound echoed.
The scorpion's tail, which it had extended for defense, was cleanly severed.
'I cut it.'
A tingling sensation spread through my fingertips.
The creature backed away in surprise.
I didn't miss the opportunity and finished it off with the sword I continued to swing.
Thwack-!
The massive body was split in half.
Purple blood splattered the ground.
It took only 10 seconds.
A life extinguished in a brief moment.
However, there was no time to stand still.
Keeek-!
The gazes of the other scorpions were fixed on me.
Three scorpions charged.
I lightly flicked my wrist.
Spin-.
The blade rotated following my graceful gesture.
The long shadow snapped in two and transformed into short daggers.
One dagger in each hand.
I bent my upper body and dashed towards the monsters.
Shhh-!
A scorpion's tail fell above my head.
I dodged it with a smooth movement. The missed attack grazed my back.
Crackle...!
Sparks flew.
I crossed the two daggers horizontally, passing through the intense burst of sound.
A series of attacks crushing the hard shell.
Crack-!
Immediately after, the scorpion's head shattered.
I briefly adjusted the distance and reorganized my scattered steps.
"Hmm."
Even though I wasn't using magic, basic swordsmanship was enough for these small fries.
I steadily eliminated the monsters one by one.
"Ge, get away!!"
Regia was also struggling against the remaining scorpion.
I was worried about how she would fight without even basic magic, but she just whacked its head with her bag.
Whack-!
I don't know what was inside, but the sound was tremendous.
Perhaps it was because she was a student of Galimar.
Her basic movements weren't bad.
Thanks to that, the scorpion extermination was smoothly concluded.
Keeek-!
The last one collapsed with a shriek.
A pool of blood seeped into the small grains of sand.
A brief respite was given.
"Haa..."
A slight breath escaped my lips.
It was still annoying to fight without using lies.
Perhaps because the stamina correction wasn't applied, I felt like hot breaths kept wanting to escape.
It's been a while since I've felt this way.
Of course, thanks to the [Smiling Mask] trait, there was no sign of exhaustion on my face.
I was just smiling leisurely.
I patted the exhausted Regia's head.
"Good work, Miss Regia."
"Pant, pant... what are these giant scorpions?"
"I've never seen them before, so I'm not sure."
"They're so strong, my arms are trembling..."
"They certainly don't look like ordinary creatures."
"Haa... Young Master, you're truly amazing. I was struggling with just one, but you dealt with four of them so effortlessly!"
“Thank you."
The corpses of the scorpions were scattered on the ground.
We walked past the debris and headed towards the old man who was sitting quietly to one side.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to be seriously injured.
"Um, excuse me... are you alright?"
Regia approached cautiously.
The old man, who had been staring blankly at us, soon came to his senses. A dry cough escaped his wrinkled lips.
"Cough, cough! Thank you for saving me, young ones... you saved my life."
The old man was wearing a worn-out robe.
White hair, a beard covering his lower face, and twinkling blue eyes.
He was an elderly man with a gentle impression.
"Are, are you injured in your left arm?"
"I twisted it by mistake."
"I'll treat it for you! I always carry medical supplies in my bag!"
"Oh, I'm so grateful..."
Regia rummaged through her bag.
She pulled out a bandage.
Meanwhile, I was staring at the white hair visible beyond the girl's back.
At the old man who was hunched over, receiving treatment.
'As expected, we meet like this.'
The key character of this episode.
The man who would be our goal for the next few days and the key to escaping this field.
The player's mission in this place was simple.
[Safely escort the character 'Josh Clarker' to his destination.]
It was to safely escort the old man in front of us to his destination.
And his destination was...
"You... if you'll forgive my impudence, I have a request."
His clear blue eyes spoke as he clutched his arm.
"Could you take this old man to the stars?"
A strange request in a single sentence.
Just like in the original story, the episode began like that.
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