Endless dunes stretched in every direction, the air above them warping beneath the relentless heat. Countless grains of sand seemed almost white beneath the blazing sun, reflecting its rays.
There was no shade in sight, nor any sign of life.
Well, other than a trail of footprints slowly disappearing as shifting sand and the occasional weak gust of wind erased them one by one. The breeze offered little relief against the merciless heat. If anything, it only seemed to make breathing more difficult.
The trail belonged to Amon and the warriors traveling with him.
It had been five days since he joined the army the humans had sent to exterminate the monsters.
In reality, it was an army in name only. Regardless of what they called it, it was a squad at best.
Eleven people.
And out of those eleven, six were Bronze Rank, four Silver Rank, and one Gold Rank.
That Gold Rank was Amon himself.
Which was precisely why he had nearly turned around and left for another settlement when he learned just how pitiful this so-called army was.
He was not afraid for his life.
No, he could protect himself from most threats with ease, and if things became difficult, he could always escape by entering my realm.
He simply believed these people were too weak and insignificant to be worth his time. Or rather, he was not confident in his ability to turn them into strong followers.
Even though Amon was powerful, he had not properly mastered his magic. If beasts as strong as a tharuun appeared, he would not be able to protect so many people. And based on what he had heard, creatures of that caliber were exactly what they were hunting.
“Verde, six Bronzes… and I tested their mana. They don't measure ranks the same way velmoryns do. A Bronze Rank velmoryn would easily wipe the floor with a Silver Rank human,” he complained, wiping sweat from his face.
“You are already with them. Stop whining and pay attention. See if any of them might be useful for our plans.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one being roasted alive.” He spat to the side and immediately regretted it as his mouth became even drier. “I should’ve learned water magic…”
I chose to ignore him.
The strength of those humans had very little to do with his foul mood. I knew the real reason behind it. Amon hated the heat.
He hated it with his entire being and struggled against it even more. That was why he had asked Gundir for a cloak that would keep him cool.
But even that was proving ineffective in the desert, where one could probably fry an egg on the ground.
“Your Holiness, please accept this.” A young woman turned and handed Amon a strange gelatinous object. It was roughly rectangular, slightly larger than a cherry, black as tar, and faintly translucent.
“Really, Amanda? I gave that varnok blood to you, not him!” a man barked from the side. “And stop calling him ‘Your Holiness’! He’s a priest, not an archbishop! Besides, he doesn’t even serve our god…”
“Pay him no mind,” the woman said, shooting the man a cold stare.
The man muttered something under his breath and increased his pace, eager to put some distance between himself and the two.
“Thank you, Amanda,” Amon said as he accepted the varnok blood.
“Verde, be a lamb and use Guidance on this. I can’t sense any mana from it…”
He was becoming increasingly shameless.
Still, I could not deny that this was exactly the kind of thing Guidance should be used for.
[Varnok Blood (Refined) ]
Humans have discovered a method to refine varnok blood into a medicinal preparation that drastically lowers body temperature.
The substance helps maintain a stable body temperature in extreme heat and provides protection against overheating during severe fevers.