บท 7: Gleaming Wastes

Seeing the collapsing ship, I didn't know what to feel. The worst possible outcome had just happened in front of my eyes.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?" As quiet as I could I began taking my stuff back out and rearranging my sleeping bag.

This was bad, very bad. I climbed inside the tent and instantly took out the map showcasing the routes of these ships.

"Seven Hells." I cursed once more. I had already seen it when I was planning my trip, but seeing it again sure put a damper on my spirits. That ship was one of the only recorded ones that docked on this beach or anywhere near it, at least according to the map.

"Damn it, Damn it, Damn it." I took out all of my remaining food and water supplies and began counting.

In the best-case scenario, they lasted me for three weeks, and after that, I was on my own.

Taking a deep breath, I took out a different map, the one showcasing the expanse, and began browsing through it.

By land, the closest human city was a month and a half away from here, considering I would walk the entire journey. That wasn't the worst part; the worst part was the areas I would have to cross through if I wanted to make it there. The area I would have to travel across without relying on all the beast-repellent gear. That thing didn't work after one ascended after all.

I wasn't going to sleep tonight. My food was only going to decrease every day I spent here.

Deciding this, I began studying the map in detail and planning out my route. Something that would let me reach civilization before my food ran out whilst simultaneously avoiding as much danger as I could.

---

Sun rose up into the sky signaling daybreak. I stepped out of my tent and began packing my things.

After making sure I had taken everything, I checked the light armor I was wearing and took out some bread and water.

Finishing my breakfast, I set out into the forest behind me.

It took me an entire day to bypass the forest and come out on the other side.

This was the easy part, perhaps it was because of the temple but stronger beast naturally avoided the forest surrounding it. In my entire journey I had only come across a couple mutated badger, all of whom had run away after I used the rune glove.

The sun was about to set soon, and in front of me lay a desert filled with silver grains of sand.

'The Gleaming Wastes,' that's what they called it. This place would effectively transform into a graveyard by night, and it was the very thing I had to cross if I wanted to survive.

Seeing that the night was near I set up my tent at the edge of the forest and took out some rations for dinner. Once done eating, I exited my tent and sat down besides a tree, waiting for the moon to rise.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait for too long. The moon was soon up in the sky, the stars shimmering around it. At the same time, I saw the desert transform into a giant mirror, reflecting the night sky in all its glory.

"It's as beautiful as they say," I mumbled, looking at the Gleaming Wastes.

Unfortunately, it was also just as deadly. One rule of the Gleaming Wastes was to never look down at your reflection during the night unless you see something you weren't supposed to.

That made daytime the only viable option for travel, even though the place was also famous for being the breeding ground of all sorts of beasts that hunted down everything that moved.

"This is going to be a long journey." Sighing to myself, I gave the desert one last look and entered my tent to sleep. Who knows what the next time I was going to get some was?

---

The next day I packed my stuff and started heading east. My first destination was going to be an abandoned fortress located deep into the. If all goes well I should be able to reach there before tonight.

Plowing through the seemingly endless desert, I began walking; the journey to the fortress was mostly eventless, at least until the sun began to set.

In the distance, I finally saw a figure of a fortress. Excited, I began walking faster when suddenly-

The hair on the back of my neck rose, and every single instinct in my body begged me to move to the side. And so I did, I leaped to my side only to see a shadow flash through where I had been just a moment ago.

In an instant, I pointed the rune glove toward my previous location, only to realize it was gone. My senses sharpened, and I cautiously began accessing my surroundings.

Almost a day without being attacked in this accursed place. I knew it was too good to be true.

Suddenly, the same feeling from before returned, and I felt my shoulder turn cold. Once again, I dodged to my side, only barely this time. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a raven dive in from the sky at unimaginable speed; its wings pierced through my arm.

Blood splattered to the ground, but my eyes stayed on the raven. Seeing that it had missed its target, it once again flew upward at breakneck speed, out of the rune glove's range in a single moment.

"Seven Hells." I cursed and began accessing my surroundings, trying to look for someplace to get cover. Unfortunately, all I could see were desert dunes, none of which I doubted would be able to stop it.

The feeling returned once again. I looked up in the sky to see that the raven was gone. This time, my head felt cold, and I ducked down.

I didn't know what it was, but this was the third time that feeling had saved my life. My eyes lightened up suddenly as I remembered one of my skills.

"Deadly Intuition." Was this what it was? It hadn't been activated with those badgers. Could this only work when my life was in danger?

I once again dodged to the side, only to have its wings slash my chest.

This clearly wasn't working, thinking, so I began running towards the nearby sand dune, not to take cover but to open my back to an attack.

The raven, perhaps sensing the opportunity, dove in once again, only this time, a lot faster.

Once again, I felt a tingle on my neck. This was it; I knew where that thing was going to strike.

I began charging the rune glove with a mana bullet, and the moment the feeling became the strongest, I partially turned around and fired.

Despite the bullet fired so close to its face, at the last moment, the raven still somehow managed to tilt to its side in time, making it so that the bullet only grazed its wing.

That was it, with its balance lost and a hurt wing. The raven was forced to slow down, trying to brush past my side. Only I didn't allow it.

Taking out the ceremonial knife from the spatial storage, I slashed it right into the raven's path. The raven headfirst went through the knife, its neck separated from its torso. Blood was splattered as the bird's lifeless corpse flew past me due to momentum, crashing into the sandy ground.

It was finally done. Taking a deep breath, I began walking towards its corpse.

Now that I could take a close look, I could finally identify what it was, and what I realized made me shudder.

"A Storm Raven? Don't these roam in large flocks?" Confused, I raised the bird in my arms to take a closer look. Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of my eyes.

Do you wish to turn the soul into a Revenant?

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