After leaving the pond, the three of us continued walking through the desert.
After walking for a while, I finally broke the silence.
“How much farther do we have to go?”
“I can’t say for sure,” Arthur replied without looking at me.
We had already walked nearly ten kilometers, yet the desert seemed to have no end.
I glanced at Arthur and Alice.
Arthur remained mostly silent.
However, Alice was even quieter than him.
She always looked as if she were thinking about something complicated.
I had no idea what was going through her mind.
Honestly, I wasn’t particularly interested in finding out.
At least, not for now.
After Sunset
Gradually, evening descended upon us.
The sun sank toward the western horizon, painting the last traces of daylight a deep red.
From a distance, it looked as if a gigantic red sphere were slowly sinking into the desert.
For some reason…
A strange sensation began to stir inside me.
Before coming to this world, I could barely feel anything.
But now, I could.
Why?
I had no idea.
Just then, Alice spoke.
“We need to find a low-lying area.
Otherwise, monsters might surround us from every direction.”
Hearing her words, we immediately began searching our surroundings.
After a while, we found a depression in the ground.
By then, the surroundings had become almost completely dark.
We quickly prepared the place and settled down for the night.
Alice glanced around before speaking.
“It’s night now.
One of us needs to stand guard.”
Arthur immediately volunteered.
“I’ll take the first watch.”
I was about to open my mouth.
I had intended to offer to take the first watch as well.
But Alice stopped me.
“We don’t trust you.
There’s no reason for you to stand guard.”
Anger began building inside me.
“Then why did you bring me along?”
Alice answered without the slightest emotion in her voice.
“To carry our equipment.”
I clenched my teeth.
Fine.
If I had been brought here merely to carry their belongings, then I would play that role for now.
“All right.
Then I’ll sleep.”
Neither of them replied.
Deep into the Night
I tried to sleep.
But I couldn’t.
Arthur was sitting between Alice and me, keeping watch.
We hadn’t lit a fire.
The light or smoke from a fire might attract monsters from a distance.
Taking such a risk in our current situation would be foolish.
I closed my eyes and tried to sleep again.
It was useless.
After a while, Arthur looked at me.
“Are you sleepy?”
“I’m trying to sleep.”
With that, I fell silent again.
I had no idea how much time passed.
Suddenly, Arthur called out to both of us.
“We can’t stay here any longer.
We need to leave immediately!”
I opened my eyes in surprise.
What is he talking about?
I quickly sat up.
Then I saw them.
My entire body went cold.
Hundreds of monsters had surrounded us!
They were already dangerously close.
I stared at Arthur in disbelief.
“Why didn’t you warn us earlier?”
“They suddenly appeared in front of us!” Arthur replied quickly.
I gritted my teeth.
“We have to run!”
But then I remembered the heavy backpack on my shoulders.
I hadn’t awakened yet.
Running alongside them while carrying such a heavy bag was practically impossible.
“I haven’t awakened yet!
I can’t run while carrying this backpack!”
Arthur didn’t hesitate for even a second.
He took the backpack off my shoulders and slung it over his own.
“Fine!
Now run, or you’ll die!”
Before he could say anything else, the three of us started running east.
Running Through the Night
Darkness surrounded us.
We ran for our lives.
However, after some time, I realized that we had strayed from our original path.
And I was gradually falling farther behind them.
I still hadn’t awakened.
My speed was far lower than theirs.
On top of that, my stamina was absolutely terrible.
My chest was burning.
Every breath was painful.
It felt as though my lungs were on fire.
I couldn’t do it anymore.
I simply couldn’t keep running.
Suddenly, Arthur and Alice stopped.
Arthur looked around and said, “We’ve been surrounded.”
My heart sank.
It felt as if the ground beneath my feet had suddenly disappeared.
Alice immediately drew her sword.
“Prepare to fight.”
I stared at the monsters surrounding us.
I haven’t even awakened yet!
How am I supposed to fight these things?
There was no time to think.
I had to do something now.
Otherwise, death was inevitable.
I turned toward Alice.
“Give me a weapon from your bag!”
Both of them already had swords, so they probably didn’t need the smaller weapons.
Alice reached into her bag, took out two small knives, and handed them to me.
I gripped the knives tightly before looking at Arthur.
“How am I supposed to fight with these?”
Arthur extended his hand toward me.
“Give me one.”
I tossed one of the knives toward him.
He caught it effortlessly and tucked it into his waist.
Then he looked at me.
“Stay behind me.
Finish off any undead monsters I fail to kill.”
I nodded.
“All right.”
The battle began.
Arthur charged forward.
His sword flashed through the darkness like lightning, and one monster after another fell beneath his strikes.
I followed closely behind him.
Whenever a monster survived Arthur’s attacks, I finished it off with my knife.
I was genuinely astonished by Arthur’s fighting ability.
His movements were incredibly fast, and every strike was precise.
It was as if he knew exactly where to strike to kill his enemies as quickly as possible.
The battle continued for nearly thirty minutes.
Slowly…
The number of monsters began to decrease.
Arthur had already killed more than eighty of them.
I could hardly believe my eyes.
After a while, he killed the last monster in front of him.
I finally breathed a little easier.
But the moment I looked to my left, my body froze.
Alice was fighting too.
And…
She was killing even more monsters than Arthur!
I stared at Arthur in disbelief.
“Is Alice really human?”
Arthur remained silent.
He didn’t seem the least bit interested in answering my question.
After witnessing Alice’s strength, I felt slightly uncomfortable about my own weakness.
However, I said nothing more.
Instead, I lay down on the desert ground and tried to catch my breath.
After a while, Arthur and Alice slowly sat down as well.
Arthur took a bottle of water from his backpack and began drinking.
I watched him.
I was terribly thirsty too.
I reached out, expecting him to hand me the bottle.
But instead, Arthur passed it to Alice.
Wow!
They’re acting as if I don’t even exist!
I stared at them.
At that moment, I made a vow in my heart.
If I survive this place, I will have my revenge.
Then I turned my face away.
I didn’t say a word.
After Alice finished drinking, she finally held the bottle out to me.
“Drink only a little.
We don’t know how long our water supply will last.”
I didn’t respond.
I simply took a few sips before handing the bottle back.
My mind was already occupied with other thoughts.
How can I trap them?
I kept thinking about it.
Over and over again.
Abandoned
After some time, they called me over.
“Come here.”
I stood up and walked toward them without asking any questions.
“What do you want me to do?”
Arthur looked at me.
“Come with me.”
I silently followed him.
After walking some distance, Arthur finally stopped.
Then he spoke in a calm voice.
“We can’t take you with us anymore.”
I remained silent.
I didn’t know what to say.
After nearly two minutes of silence, I finally replied,
“All right.”
Arthur didn’t offer any excuses.
He simply gave me some water and a few dates.
Then he turned around and left.
I stood still, watching him walk away.
I said nothing.
During the battle, I hadn’t been able to help Arthur very much.
I had only managed to finish off the monsters that were already wounded.
Beyond that, there was nothing I could do.
I took a deep breath.
From now on, I’ll have to rely on myself.
Ten Minutes Later…
I could no longer see them.
They had probably gone far away by now.
Perhaps they didn’t want to see me again.
I clenched my fist.
I will have my revenge.
But first…
I had to survive.
I carefully examined my surroundings.
Nothing.
No matter which direction I looked, there was nothing but an endless desert.
If I wanted to survive here, I had to make my own preparations.
I checked the supplies I had.
One bottle of water.
A few dates.
And one knife.
I let out a long sigh.
“What a pain.”
Then I looked up at the sky.
“What a stupid System!
Why haven’t I awakened yet?”
Suddenly—
BEEP!
A familiar voice echoed inside my mind.
System: Bink…
System Status
Name: Nameless
Class: ——————
Title: ——————
Core: 0-Star
Another message appeared immediately afterward.
New Quest!
Quest: Kill 500 one-star monsters.
Kill Count: 5/500
Reward: Awakening
I stared at the System window.
“…So that’s why I haven’t awakened yet.”
I tightened my grip on the knife in my hand.
“Fine.”
I had no other choice.
I had to complete this quest.
I had to survive.
I had to become stronger.
And someday…
I would have my revenge.
But for now, my primary goal was simple.
Awaken.