Chapter 105

"People here fear the desert, but not adventurers, even an unskilled one like me."

An adventurous mind was the first step toward death, and it instilled fear in people's minds like a spreading fog. Therefore, recklessness culled, leaving a proper amount of courageous survivors.

"…Yes, and the number of victims has been reduced. Good thing, it means the being hadn't eaten for a long time."

…But adventurers were a different matter. After only a week, they resurrected, returning as if nothing had happened and repeating those stupid mistakes again.

"This land is the result of that. The desert has expanded by seven percent compared to before your kind came in."

"It was only nine months. In nine months, the desert became seven percent bigger. Add that up," Maya interjected.

Upon feeling Seojin's gaze, she added,

"Well, adventurers kept going in and dying before we became guides nine months ago."

"…You said that you had three years of experience."

"… I lied."

That wasn't surprising at all, given that she was an elf who had lived for hundreds of years.

Silence fell upon them until Seojin broke it.

"Let me ask you a question."

"Anything."

"You stayed in Shahav and brought adventurers like me to this place safely. Does that mean that the being is near Shahav?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Don't tell me…"

"I would rather say the opposite. Only Shahav and some of its outskirts are outside the influence of that being."

"Huh, then the rest of the region is… ?"

"Under its influence. Just stepping on that land strengthens the being."

Seojin guessed right yet again. The entire Sleeping Desert was territory for the fallen elf.

"How about the monsters then? Can that being also create…?"

"No," Jin smiled bitterly.

"Monsters have been dwelling in the desert for a long time. That being could eat them up at any time if it wanted, but it's keeping them alive on purpose."

"Why?"

"They're like the being's livestock. The being is slowly draining the lifeforce from them, only a non-lethal amount though. I guess that you already noticed the monsters here are extremely obsessed with food."

"…I did."

Even the ogres and Parastocks he had met in the past had a minimal amount of intelligence to pursue something other than food. The Parastocks wanted to be free from mushrooms, and ogres were drawn to raw power like human warriors.

Things he had met here, however, only pursued their prey like they were undead, tormented by an eternal hunger, even right after a successful hunt.

'They kill the players, and that elf, or whatever it is, steals the life force from them. How convenient for that bastard.'

Seojin didn't originally think it was that serious, but it was actually a terrible thing to think about. The being would know no limits on growing.

Seojin checked the content of the newly opened episode, as there was still something he needed to ask.

"Jin, the name of the Sleeping Desert…"

Seojin found out about their identity, and now, he was aware of the situation at hand as well. The original 'name' was bound to carry the meaning behind all of it.

"The desert refers to the being, and it's sleeping right now."

Clue Added

* The Sleeping Desert refers to the sealed fallen elf.

* The entirety of the Sleeping Desert is influenced by the beings' absorbance of life force.

Seojin's eyes moved complicatedly as he took the information in, before looking over at the pair again.

"…I have to make one thing clear. Jin, Maya, why do you think I offered you this bet?"

"You said that you're a pathologic gambler."

"Do you think so?"

"Not at all."

Jin laughed.

"I don't know… you're not a gambler, and you had confidence in the bet because you believe in your capability, nothing else. No cheating, or seeing the future."

"Yeah, I can't see the future or anything."

"Because you're a human. You're a human, so I don't know why you did that."

Jin, as an elf, could not understand human Seojin.

"I don't understand why you made such a bet or why you're testing us now. Why were you trying to win our help?"

"Because I needed it."

Jin looked to his side and saw Maya nodding.

"…You were seeking the truth."

"I can't predict the future, but I happen to know a thing or two about it. I offered to make a bet because I wanted to have the upper hand when we finally had a conversation."

"…Only a conversation?"

Seojin nodded.

"I needed initiative to crack through your firm stance, like right now."

Seojin turned his eyes toward Maya, which made her irises tremble.

"Right, Maya?"

Seojin had made a plan and executed it. Maya was terrified that Seojin would destroy her everything, and the possibility eventually became a reality. And in her darkest moments, Seojin offered his hand to her.

"I wanted to help you. You may not believe it, but everything I've done was to help you."

"Ridiculous."

"Are you satisfied with the current situation? You're only delaying the inevitable, without knowing when it will end."

"…Why are you asking such an obvious question?"

"What about you, Jin?"

"I appreciate that we can at least slow it down."

"You said that you could see through my lies, right?"

Jin looked at Maya, and Maya nodded.

"He's telling the truth, as much as I hate to admit it."

With that, Seojin suddenly brought up his main point.

"I can turn this place back into a forest."

* * *

"You were right. There was something beneath the sand."

"Have you started the work yet?"

"Suspended until further notice, which will be given by you. What is it though? It doesn't seem dangerous…"

Oldman showed Seojin the results of the wizard's scans, a magical hologram depicting the deep underground.

Someone was curled up next to the flowing water.

"The image is surprisingly clear."

Oldman laughed bitterly when Seojin asked if he really needed help from adventurers.

"It eats up mana like a horse. More than a couple of average wizards we need to run it, and I think we could only use it for around five times only."

"How about asking for help?"

"Ask whom? Ironblood? The royals?"

"Yeah, that was a foolish suggestion."

Ironblood wouldn't invest that much in the estate, and the King already knew that Shahav was holding hands with the guild.

"I'll go and find out what that is first."

It looked like a human, just by looking at its form. Not an adult, more like an early teen. Seojin could only see the silhouette of the being, but luckily, he had a source to seek advice.

The two elves jumped up in surprise as Seojin suddenly knocked on the door and entered. He then showed them a video recording.

"Take a look at this."

"This is…"

"Well…"

Jin spoke first after checking it out.

"Is it human?"

"Looks like it, but who knows?"

"It's blurry. What is it?"

"Any guesses?"

"I'll have a think about it. Maya, what about you?"

"I don't know."

They seemed quite cooperative since Seojin had told them the forest could be brought back, which meant that they really had no idea about it.

"Well, what a shame. I have no choice but to dig down there myself."

The preview said that he would regret it, but Seojin had no other choice. It was at that moment that Jin reacted.

"…Sir, where did you say it was?"

"Near Shahav, deep underground."

"Can I go there myself?"

Jin looked rather serious as he into Seojin's eyes with a sudden change of attitude.

"I hope you don't want us to dig down there, Jin… do you?"

"No, I'm not… wait a minute, I think I know, sir. Did you say you'd regret digging the place?"

"Yes, only if we dig without preparation though. My abilities as an adventurer are telling me."

"…You're right. Something really sad will happen."

'Something really sad? But he said he doesn't know what that is…' Seojin thought to himself.

"Maya, isn't it… ?"

Jin whispered something inaudible to Maya, which made her eyes widen in shock.

"No, it can't be, that doesn't make sense."

"Don't be too convinced."

"No, how could you not have known all this time? There's no way you couldn't have sensed it!"

"I wouldn't have known if Seojin hadn't found it. You can't be sad about what you haven't been through, Maya."

Seojin couldn't understand the context of their conversation at all. As Maya started getting serious as well, Jin looked at Seojin.

"I have to hurry, adventurer."

"I still don't get it though."

Jin's next words to Seojin were more than shocking.

"It's a little elf… cowering there, tired, asleep."

* * *

The desert was a dry place with a scarce life force. Even though that was also a part of nature, elves found it hard to dwell in the region. At least oases were one of the very few spots closer to life and vitality.

"Water has life force, especially running water. It may not be comparable to the forest, but that elf must have been enduring things a little easier right next to it."

"Endure?"

"Let me give you an example you'll understand."

Jin swept over his face with his hand.

"It's like entering somewhere cool after suffering in steaming weather. You finally feel like you're breathing again."

"So… that little elf went there to seek shelter?"

"More like it ran away."

"For hundreds of years?"

"I don't know how long it's been hiding there. I told you the elf was little because they stopped growing up. It clearly couldn't spare enough energy to do so."

Jin shook his head with sad eyes.

"If you feel that way, you're right."

Maya stepped in and looked at Seojin. Her attitude was now a lot tamer and less hostile toward Seojin.

"Jin has a different ability to me."

"Different ability?"

"I can see through lies better than other elves. That was necessary to live among humans."

"So, it was an acquired ability?"

"Could be, or not. Meanwhile, Jin has unique hunches about tragedies. He's never missed once over hundreds of years."

Maya explained instead of Jin, who kept his mouth shut.

"Maybe it's because he didn't want to live through tragedy ever again, just like I wished that I wouldn't be deceived by humans ever again."

"So, he had that hunch all of a sudden, mid-conversation?"

"He felt that hunch after you decided to dig it up, I believe."

"Oh…"

"From that moment on, it became the future that we will face soon. That's why he felt it, and anyway…"

Maya's eyes became heavy.

"We must hurry. It might already be too late if Jin felt that hunch."