After everything that had happened in my life, I was now stuck with a bunch of fools who couldn’t help me with anything except drag me down.
No.
This system was unbelievably stupid.
It had brought me to a fucking desert.
How was I supposed to get to this so-called kingdom in the east?
"System."
"Why didn’t you transport me directly into the kingdom instead of dropping me in the middle of a desert?"
"You really are so smart."
I clicked my tongue, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Then I glanced at Ella, who was standing beside me.
"And you."
"You have no right to laugh."
"You’re basically just as useless."
"When that stupid floating white cloud was transporting me into this unknown desert, you should’ve talked some sense into it."
"But no."
"Now look at the situation you’ve dragged me into."
"Hey."
"I don’t even know either of you."
Ella scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
" I have no right to speak, I thought your relationship was good."
I stared at him for a moment before letting out a sigh.
Fine.
I would just have to go with the flow.
For now, I had no choice but to adapt to the situation.
Whatever happened next...
I’d deal with it myself.
I couldn’t believe I was trapped in a situation like this.
I wasn’t in the mood to fly.
Nor did I want to waste my energy.
So I folded my arms behind my back and began walking across the desert.
The sand beneath my feet was scorching hot.
My shoulders remained relaxed, and my back stayed perfectly straight as I walked.
I had been walking for about thirty minutes when I suddenly heard someone shouting behind me.
"Hey!"
"Stop!"
"Wait for me!"
I turned around.
It was Ella.
Sweat soaked his face, and he was breathing heavily.
He looked utterly exhausted.
"I’m... I’m tired..."
Ella panted, struggling to catch his breath.
"If you’re tired," I replied indifferently, "then you can stay behind."
"It would save me the trouble of dragging you all the way to crayan Kingdom."
I turned and continued walking, not bothering to slow down.
"What?"
Ella gasped.
"Hey, you need to stop being so mean."
"That floating cloud keeps calling you a hero, but you look more like a villain to me."
"For once..."
"Someone isn’t blind."
"And can actually see the truth."
After Ella finished speaking, I rolled my eyes.
The system’s voice immediately echoed in my head.
"Young Hero."
"I know you’re capable of reaching crayan Kingdom much faster."
"So why are you making things difficult for both of us?"
"Because I want to."
I answered without hesitation, taking a deep breath as I continued walking across the endless desert.
Honestly...
That demon that had tried to possess me was tough.
I would never admit that anything was difficult for this king.
But for the first time...
I had actually struggled.
It was only because my strength wasn’t complete.
My demonic energy had yet to fully return.
That was the only reason a creature like that had been able to push me so far.
Now...
I needed to regain my strength.
Or obtain powerful weapons.
Should I start hunting immortals directly?
Those self-righteous cultivators...
Killing them and taking their treasures would speed up my recovery.
"System."
"I’ve already completed one of your missions."
"And yet you haven’t given me anything except points."
"The points aren’t the reward I’m supposed to receive for completing your missions."
"You’re scamming me."
"I have absolutely no interest in this hero nonsense."
I had successfully completed one of the system’s missions.
That meant any reward this king had earned belonged to me.
It couldn’t be denied.
"Oh, Host..."
The system sounded embarrassed.
"Your reward was the points."
"We don’t have any other rewards."
"You’re lying."
I narrowed my eyes.
"I’m supposed to receive something else."
"No."
"The points are your reward."
The system answered confidently.
"However, Young Hero..."
"I promise that after you complete more missions in crayan Kingdom, your rewards will become much greater."
"Your rewards..."
"They’ll be worth it."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"Whatever."
I replied with complete disinterest and continued walking across the endless desert.
As I continued walking through the desert, the atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
The wind grew colder.
A chilling breeze swept across the sand, causing my hair to flutter.
Even Ella’s clothes billowed in the wind.
"Hmm?"
I came to an abrupt stop.
Something was coming.
I could sense its energy.
The moment my instincts screamed at me, I dropped to the ground without hesitation.
I pressed my body flat against the sand.
Ella seemed to realize something as well.
Without asking any questions, he immediately threw himself onto the ground beside me.
I recognized the aura.
It was one of the demons.
A Tornado Demon.
It cultivated by endlessly spinning through the land, absorbing everything caught within its vortex and converting it into demonic energy.
I wasn’t about to become cultivation fuel for a weaker demon.
Not in my current state.
I didn’t have enough strength to fight it head-on.
So I remained motionless, pressing myself deeper into the sand.
The Tornado Demon’s vortex could only sweep away things that weren’t firmly anchored.
As long as I kept myself low enough—or buried myself beneath the sand—it wouldn’t be able to carry me away.
With that thought in mind, I began channeling my demonic energy, slowly forcing my body deeper beneath the scorching sand.
"Young Hero!"
The system suddenly cried out.
"You forgot about Ella!"
"If that Tornado Demon carries him away, you’re going to lose your points!"
I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
As irritating as it was, the system was right.
I grabbed Ella by the arm and pulled him down with me, forcing him deeper into the sand as well.
The Tornado Demon roared past overhead.
I quietly sensed its aura as it swept across the desert.
"Tch..."
"These lesser demons really don’t know how to hunt."
"If I were the one hunting, I would’ve searched underground as well."
I remained completely still, waiting for the Tornado Demon to pass, refusing to let it discover me beneath the sand.
I remained buried beneath the sand, keeping my aura completely concealed.
The Tornado Demon continued roaring across the desert above us.
Its powerful vortex swept through the dunes, swallowing rocks, dry shrubs, and anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path.
I stayed perfectly still.
Even my breathing slowed.
As long as I didn’t reveal my presence, it wouldn’t notice me.
After all...
That thing wasn’t intelligent.
It hunted whatever its vortex happened to catch.
It wasn’t searching for me specifically.
The roaring wind gradually grew fainter.
The pressure in the air began to disappear.
Only after I could no longer sense its demonic aura did I slowly emerge from beneath the sand.
I brushed the sand from my clothes and glanced toward the distant horizon.
"It’s gone."
Ella crawled out a moment later, coughing as he spat sand from his mouth.
"Pwah!"
"I thought we were going to die."
"That thing was terrifying."
"Hmph."
"It was nothing more than a lesser demon."
"If this king had recovered even a fraction more of his strength, I would’ve killed it without a second thought."
I narrowed my eyes in the direction the Tornado Demon had disappeared.
For now...
Avoiding unnecessary battles was the wiser choice.
Until I recovered more of my demonic energy, I couldn’t afford to waste my strength on every demon I encountered.
I turned around.
"Let’s keep moving."
Without waiting for Ella to answer, I resumed walking toward the east.
Toward crayan Kingdom.