Chapter 111: Sea of Sand
Fifteen days passed faster than Ethan had expected.
He truly kept his word.
The one thousand C-rank Energy Crystals that Xue Ji had sent over remained almost untouched. During this time, the three of them only maintained their physical condition, familiarized themselves with some changes in their abilities, and occasionally checked the Void Fire in his left arm. Most of the remaining time was spent resting.
For the first time in a very long while, Ethan slept properly.
He went with Laira and Ruo Yan through the night markets of Silver Moon City, tried strange foods sold along the streets, bought more clothes, daily necessities, and a bed large enough for Laira to stretch her legs without having to curl up.
Laira was especially satisfied with the last item.
At first, Ruo Yan thought the bed was too large, but on the first night when the three of them lay down together, she immediately stopped bringing up that issue.
On the morning of the fifteenth day, the final peaceful period ended at last.
Ethan was standing beside the window, checking his equipment, when a notification screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Anchor point has been established.]
[The time limit for leaving the anchor point has ended.]
[Player Ethan Ashford will be forcibly returned to the trial space.]
[Time remaining: 10 minutes.]
Ethan looked at the final line for a few seconds, then said softly, "It is time."
Laira immediately raised her head.
She had changed into combat attire since morning. Her horns and dragon wings were still withdrawn, but she could release them instantly when necessary. Ruo Yan also stood up from the table, put the three old Puppet Cores into a separate area in her storage space, then checked the Necromancer one final time.
Unlike their leisurely appearance over the past few days, the two of them had completely returned to combat state.
Ethan did not bring all one thousand crystals with him either. Most of those resources were locked in the residence’s storage room. Only a small portion had been placed into his storage space for use in case he truly needed to replenish energy urgently.
Laira walked to stand in front of him.
She was clearly taller than Ethan, so when she wanted to adjust the collar of his combat clothes, she only needed to lower her head slightly. Her fingers gently tugged his collar into place, then she looked down at him.
"This time, you are not allowed to sleep for twelve hours in the middle of a battlefield."
Ethan raised a brow. "It was not as if I chose to sleep."
"Then if you plan to sleep, tell me first."
"I will try."
"And if you pass out again?"
"You keep protecting me."
Laira looked at him for a few seconds, then the corner of her mouth curved up. "Fine."
She bent down and kissed Ethan.
The kiss was not too long, but just as she was about to pull away, Ethan raised his right hand to hold the back of her neck and took the initiative to kiss her again. Laira’s orange-red eyes immediately curved up in obvious delight.
Ruo Yan stood beside them with her arms crossed.
"Eight minutes left."
Laira still had not let go of Ethan. "I know."
"How many kisses can fit into eight minutes?"
"A lot."
Ruo Yan pressed her lips together.
Ethan looked at her expression. In the end, he reached out and pulled Ruo Yan over. Before she could ask anything, he lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.
Ruo Yan froze.
Only after Ethan released her did she narrow her eyes slightly. "Are you coaxing a child?"
"Did it work?"
Ruo Yan tried to keep her calm expression, but the corner of her mouth still lifted slightly. "Barely."
Laira immediately lowered her head. "I want more."
Ruo Yan turned to her. "You were kissed longer just now."
"But now you got an extra time."
"That was Ethan taking the initiative."
"I do not care."
Ethan looked at the countdown.
Six minutes.
He exhaled. "One more each. Then we prepare."
Laira immediately agreed.
Ruo Yan turned her face to the side, but she did not refuse either.
By the time the three of them were truly standing ready in the middle of the room, the countdown had less than one minute left.
Ethan checked the Primordial Armor. His left arm functioned normally, and the Void Fire was also quiet. The Thunder Wings had not been released. All energy was withdrawn inside the armor.
Ruo Yan stood on his left.
Laira stood on his right.
Ten seconds.
White light began appearing beneath their feet.
Five.
The space around the room slowly distorted.
Three.
Laira reached out and held Ethan’s shoulder.
Ruo Yan also moved closer.
One.
The light erupted.
The entire room vanished.
Hot.
That was the first sensation Ethan received when his consciousness returned.
Dry heat struck his face, followed by sunlight so blinding that he had to narrow his eyes. Fine sand was swept over by the wind, brushing against his clothes with a soft rustling sound.
Ethan raised his hand to shield his eyes and slowly looked around.
Before him were no longer the dark walls of the Abyss Tower. There were no corridors, stairs, or doors of any kind.
A massive desert stretched all the way to the horizon. Sand dunes rose one after another, almost turning white under the blazing sun. The air in the distance distorted, and a few lonely black stone pillars jutted out of the sea of sand, though they were too far away to see clearly.
Laira appeared on Ethan’s right.
Ruo Yan was on his left.
As soon as she stood firm, Laira lowered her head to look at her feet and frowned.
"Hot."
Ethan turned to her. "You are a Red Dragon."
"I know."
"Then what is the problem with heat?"
Laira lifted one foot. Sand was slipping into her shoe. "This is uncomfortable."
Ruo Yan glanced at her after hearing that. "I thought a dragon like you would like the desert."
"I like heat. I do not like sand in my shoes."
Ethan was about to speak when the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled.
Rustle...
A layer of sand ahead slowly slid downward.
The smile on Laira’s face disappeared. Ruo Yan also immediately raised her hand. Behind her, a dark ripple appeared in space. The Necromancer was ready to be summoned at any moment.
Ethan lowered his gaze.
Something was moving beneath the sand.
A large bulging line appeared more than a hundred meters away from them, tearing straight through the dunes as it rushed toward the three at an extremely fast speed. Sand continuously sprayed to both sides. The closer it came, the clearer the vibration beneath their feet became.
The trial notification also began to appear.
[Confirming area...]
Boom!
The sand ahead suddenly exploded.
A massive body shot straight into the sky.
Ethan raised his head.
It was a sand worm.
Just the part of its body that had emerged from the ground was already more than five meters tall, with a diameter of nearly three meters. Its entire body was covered in yellow-gray armor, with thick rings of flesh stacked upon one another. Its head had no eyes, only a huge mouth that opened in many layers, packed full of curved teeth growing inward.
Thick saliva stretched in strands between its teeth.
A foul stench immediately rushed over.
The worm tilted its body, opened its mouth wide, and plunged straight toward Ethan’s position.
The notification screen had only displayed half of the next line.
[Identifying creature...]
Boom!
A sharp explosion rang right beside Ethan’s ear.
He turned his head.
Laira had already raised her right hand.
She made no complicated preparatory movement at all. She only extended her index finger toward the worm. A red-purple beam had just left her fingertip.
Too fast.
Ethan only managed to see a straight line flash through the air.
The streak of light crossed dozens of meters in an instant and pierced straight into the sand worm’s head. Even after the attack ended, the light mark remained in the air for several seconds, like a burn line imprinted on the retina.
Pfft!
A hole appeared in the middle of the creature’s head.
It was nearly the size of a basketball.
The flesh and armor around the wound had been burned black, while red-purple arcs of lightning continued crawling along its body, crackling with small explosions.
The sand worm that had been charging down suddenly stiffened.
Its enormous body lost all strength and toppled sideways.
Boom!
Tons of sand were thrown into the air.
Ethan still stood in the same spot.
Ruo Yan had not even had time to summon the Necromancer.
Both of them looked at the monster’s corpse.
Only now did the notification screen finish.
[You have entered the next trial area.]
[Floor 10.]
[Sea of Sand.]
[Native creature detected...]
[Target detected dead.]
The air was silent for a few seconds.
Laira was still holding her index finger forward. A thin wisp of smoke was rising from her fingertip.
She brought it to her lips and gently blew.
Phew.
The motion looked exactly like someone blowing smoke from a gun barrel.
Ruo Yan slowly turned her head to look at her.
Laira sensed that gaze and calmly lowered her hand.
"The next one."
Ruo Yan was silent.
Ethan also looked at her, then at the sand worm lying dead on the ground.
He remembered what he had said fifteen days ago.
Right now, they had a great deal of strength that was not reflected by their levels.
It seemed he had still underestimated Laira a little.
Ethan chuckled softly. "Let’s go."
Ruo Yan looked at him. "Go where?"
Ethan looked toward the endless sand dunes stretching ahead.
"To find the next one for her."
Laira immediately smiled.
The three of them had not even walked a few hundred meters when the sand in the distance began trembling again.
One line.
Two lines.
Then five large bulges appeared at the same time.
Ruo Yan stopped.
"It seems she does not need to go looking."
Laira looked at the lines of sand rushing toward them.
Her orange-red eyes slowly lit up.
"Even better."
Ethan also stopped.
This time, he did not intend to let Laira handle everything.
If the tenth floor was truly only beginning like this, he also wanted to test how much his current body could bring out the power of the Primordial Armor and Thunder Wings after this period of rest.
His left arm slowly rose.
A very faint crackle of electricity rang out from within the armor.
Ruo Yan looked at the two people beside her, then exhaled softly.
"Necromancer."
A dark vortex opened behind her.
A tall figure stepped out.
Five sand worms were approaching.
The three of them stood in the middle of the desert.
And for the first time since entering the tenth floor, Ethan truly smiled with anticipation.