I saw the prophet again in the lighthouse . I told him my whole story . There was a night each month where the moon was full . This full-moon night wasn’t my most painful one . To the contrary, not only did I not feel my mana receive a boost, I actually felt empty as well as a sharp pain . The pain wasn’t as a consequence of mana damaging my body but all of my organs crying for mana due to the lack thereof . However, I truly had no mana left .

I emptied out my mana stores as soon as I reached the border of the northwest . All I had left was that miniscule amount of blood from Ling Yue .  I didn’t think I’d last more than two days . My time spent conscious continuously shortened, and I felt weaker and weaker . Other people went to the West to slay dragons, coming with their best equipment and strongest warriors . I, on the other hand, would better off be described as going there to seek death as opposed to life .

The prophet didn’t provide me with any information at the lighthouse . Instead, he learnt about me from my visit . He learnt about my story in the elven lands, the human lands, the desert and the North . When I was retelling my stories, I fell into deep thought . I felt a little lost . I questioned if the man in my story was really me . I wondered if I was the one who led the imperial guards and ran around in Hilles City? It hadn’t been long, but it still felt distant to me . Perhaps it was because too much happened and too long ago . I think those memories were so old that I felt lost, and they felt distant to me .

After reflecting on my memories, I was a great individual, in my opinion . At least, I went through a lot and resolved just as much . I might not have resolved everything perfectly, but I couldn’t return to the past to do it over again .

I think the prophet might’ve wanted to allow me to enter the desert without any qualms . After all, it was my story that belonged exclusively to me . If I died there, there’d be somebody to tell my story . I had to admit the prophet was interesting . He didn’t look into my future again; instead, he looked into my past . Of course, it might’ve been because he could no longer see into the future .

I had been to a desert before . I met Nara there; however, that desert wasn’t remotely frightening compared to this one . The desert there was just a little hot, but the blue sky and bright sun were still visible . The sand was on the ground, as well . At night, one could see the starry sky . To me, that felt as though it was my blissful honeymoon with Luna . In this desert, however, it was substantially more dangerous and frightening . You couldn’t see the sun . All that was in sight was sand dancing in the air as if there was a tornado rampaging in the centre of the desert .

The sand wildly attacked my face . Soon enough, it hurt comparably to being cut with knives . The sound of the whistling wind echoed in my ears . At other places, you would be able to see signs that a sandstorm was ending . Here, though, there was no such thing . The tornado here seemed as though it was going to rampage until the world ended . Actually, perhaps the world had ended for the desert already .

The White Deer King stopped . Worn out, I slowly sat up and looked around at the dim yellow world . I caressed the White Deer King’s neck . Bewildered, I weakly asked, “What’s wrong, White Deer King? Did something happen?”

The White Deer King shook her head . She was unwilling to continue forward . With a helpless smile, I asked, “What’s wrong? You scared? Can you sense the dragon?”

The White Deer King started to show aggravation . She stamped the ground . That was a gesture she displayed when she was annoyed . I could see anger and a sense of being misunderstood in her eyes . Her eyes were on the pouch I had hanging next to me . She hastened me with her gaze . I then understood what she meant .

The White Deer King was telling me to hurry up and drink the last bit of blood . The White Deer King probably sensed something wrong about this place . My mana was virtually completely depleted, so my senses were also impacted .

There wasn’t mana here in the zone . It was close to the elven lands, yet it lacked any trace of mana . Elves needed to rely on their own mana supplies when in places where mana was lacking . I didn’t have any mana in me, however . I could easily fall into the same perilous state Luna went through in the desert and pa.s.s out as a consequence . Unlike then, there was n.o.body to take care of me . The White Deer King was worried about me, but she was just a deer at the end of the day .

Indeed, I needed mana . I didn’t know how long I had to stay in the desert, and I had no idea if there really was a dragon there . I, therefore, had to drink Ling Yue’s blood . There was no other choice . I would die in the desert, otherwise . I picked up the small bottle . The blood didn’t condensate, since Mommy Vyvyan used time freeze magic on the bottle . I opened it and shook the bottle . I could survive another day or two if I drank it . I already did what I could . The rest depended on my luck . I believed in miracles .

The taste of blood dispersed in my mouth . In the past, I’d puke at the stifling smell, but it felt very soothing that time . The blood entered my body and instantly revived me, a sensation comparable to water flowing through a dry field to moisten it . In just a single instant, all of my physical problems were resolved . My strength retuned to me . If I continued drinking blood, I’d become a vampire, because the feeling was… far too soothing .

I tossed the bottle aside . Just as I was able to continue forward, though, I felt the wind pick up all of a sudden . The tornado appeared to be right next to me . Panicked, I looked left and right as I pulled the White Deer King . However, she wouldn’t budge a step . She looked overhead with terrified eyes . I had never seen the White Deer King so terrified . When she saw me appear behind her out of the blue in the past, she’d turn around and ready herself to take me head on . That was the first time she looked so horrified .

I stroked her neck to calm her down . I was about to ask her what happened, but a huge silhouette came down from the sky and landed right before me . It was as if a ma.s.sive boulder dropped onto the ground right before me, instigating the wind into blowing violently, which, in turn, nearly blew me into the sand . The White Deer King cried out then spun around to take me and flee for our lives . The huge silhouette leapt over in an instant . It was so fast that we only saw an afterimage . It sent the White Deer King and me flying .

I rolled though the sand many rounds, sending me some good distance . I felt as though I was completely buried in the sand . It felt as though my back and neck had snapped . I desperately tried to wipe the sand off my face . I spat out a mouthful of sand . I then turned around and pathetically crawled to my feet . I reached for my gun behind me and fired several shots at the dark shadow in the sand .

I heard my bullets. .h.i.t what sounded comparable to metal . The dark figure turned around . A huge pair of yellow eyes stared at me before I could scream . It’s gaze took my breath right out of me . Looking at the pair of eyes felt the same as having a gun pointed at the back of my head .

It lowered its long neck and leaned in toward me in a similar fas.h.i.+on to a snake . Its huge wings on its back s.h.i.+ned through the dust as if it was metal . Its ginormous body was akin to an aircraft carrier on the ground .  I’d only ever seen such a ginormous beast in movies . Even Ling Yue was tiny in comparison . I had a mixture of feelings running through my  mind . My rational voice was screaming for me to run, but my goal in coming here was to find it .

I came to find my father . I found the dragon, which meant that I was one step closer to my father . I was a dead man; dying from lack of mana and dying to a dragon was the same thing .

The dragon hung its neck down and slowly approached me . I stood in place without moving . I could feel the moist hot air it breathed out of its nose . If you ask me, I’d say the force of its breath wasn’t much gentler than the wild winds around . It opened its mouth, allowing me to see its saliva dripping down from its sharp row of teeth that also carried the scent of blood . I hoped it was already full .

The dragon licked my face . Its weight almost brought me to my knees . It licked me from head to toe with its sticky tongue and drooled all over me . I pondered, “Does it consider me dirty? Do you not know why I’m covered in sand?”

I didn’t puke . To my surprise, it spoke . Its tone came from a dignified, archaic style . Its voice contained an imposing aura that wasn’t to be questioned as well as pride . With a hint of a smile, it said, “Thou are the first warrior to not flee in fear in a thousand years . ”

I took in a deep breath and put on a tough front: “I’ve been through many things more frightening than you . ”

The dragon didn’t seem to have any interest in my past; she was more interested in me . She scanned me with her snake-like eyes .  I felt as though she wanted to play with me as a puppet for a while . I was no garage kit, no .

“What are thou here to seek?”

I took in a deep breath and gave a candid response: “I want to live . ”

Its eyes hinted at bafflement . A moment later, it continued, “If thou wish to live, why come here? There are only the dead here . There is nothing living here . ”

“Aren’t you alive? Ten years ago, my father went missing here . I want to live, and I also want to find my father’s whereabouts . ”

It froze up when it heard my response . It curled its body up as if it was in pain . It didn’t speak for a long time, and neither did I .

“Come with me . ” I don’t know how much time pa.s.sed, since my sense of time basically didn’t exist in this desert . She continued, “I can grant thy wish . ”

Glossary

*Garage kit – a type of anime figurine .

I saw the prophet again in the lighthouse . I told him my whole story . There was a night each month where the moon was full . This full-moon night wasn’t my most painful one . To the contrary, not only did I not feel my mana receive a boost, I actually felt empty as well as a sharp pain . The pain wasn’t as a consequence of mana damaging my body but all of my organs crying for mana due to the lack thereof . However, I truly had no mana left

I emptied out my mana stores as soon as I reached the border of the northwest . All I had left was that miniscule amount of blood from Ling Yue .  I didn’t think I’d last more than two days . My time spent conscious continuously shortened, and I felt weaker and weaker . Other people went to the West to slay dragons, coming with their best equipment and strongest warriors . I, on the other hand, would better off be described as going there to seek death as opposed to life

The prophet didn’t provide me with any information at the lighthouse . Instead, he learnt about me from my visit . He learnt about my story in the elven lands, the human lands, the desert and the North . When I was retelling my stories, I fell into deep thought . I felt a little lost . I questioned if the man in my story was really me . I wondered if I was the one who led the imperial guards and ran around in Hilles City? It hadn’t been long, but it still felt distant to me . Perhaps it was because too much happened and too long ago . I think those memories were so old that I felt lost, and they felt distant to me

After reflecting on my memories, I was a great individual, in my opinion . At least, I went through a lot and resolved just as much . I might not have resolved everything perfectly, but I couldn’t return to the past to do it over again

I think the prophet might’ve wanted to allow me to enter the desert without any qualms . After all, it was my story that belonged exclusively to me . If I died there, there’d be somebody to tell my story . I had to admit the prophet was interesting . He didn’t look into my future again; instead, he looked into my past . Of course, it might’ve been because he could no longer see into the future

I had been to a desert before . I met Nara there; however, that desert wasn’t remotely frightening compared to this one . The desert there was just a little hot, but the blue sky and bright sun were still visible . The sand was on the ground, as well . At night, one could see the starry sky . To me, that felt as though it was my blissful honeymoon with Luna . In this desert, however, it was substantially more dangerous and frightening . You couldn’t see the sun . All that was in sight was sand dancing in the air as if there was a tornado rampaging in the centre of the desert

The sand wildly attacked my face . Soon enough, it hurt comparably to being cut with knives . The sound of the whistling wind echoed in my ears . At other places, you would be able to see signs that a sandstorm was ending . Here, though, there was no such thing . The tornado here seemed as though it was going to rampage until the world ended . Actually, perhaps the world had ended for the desert already

The White Deer King stopped . Worn out, I slowly sat up and looked around at the dim yellow world . I caressed the White Deer King’s neck . Bewildered, I weakly asked, “What’s wrong, White Deer King? Did something happen?”.

The White Deer King shook her head . She was unwilling to continue forward . With a helpless smile, I asked, “What’s wrong? You scared? Can you sense the dragon?”.

The White Deer King started to show aggravation . She stamped the ground . That was a gesture she displayed when she was annoyed . I could see anger and a sense of being misunderstood in her eyes . Her eyes were on the pouch I had hanging next to me . She hastened me with her gaze . I then understood what she meant

The White Deer King was telling me to hurry up and drink the last bit of blood . The White Deer King probably sensed something wrong about this place . My mana was virtually completely depleted, so my senses were also impacted

There wasn’t mana here in the zone . It was close to the elven lands, yet it lacked any trace of mana . Elves needed to rely on their own mana supplies when in places where mana was lacking . I didn’t have any mana in me, however . I could easily fall into the same perilous state Luna went through in the desert and pa.s.s out as a consequence . Unlike then, there was n.o.body to take care of me . The White Deer King was worried about me, but she was just a deer at the end of the day

Indeed, I needed mana . I didn’t know how long I had to stay in the desert, and I had no idea if there really was a dragon there . I, therefore, had to drink Ling Yue’s blood . There was no other choice . I would die in the desert, otherwise . I picked up the small bottle . The blood didn’t condensate, since Mommy Vyvyan used time freeze magic on the bottle . I opened it and shook the bottle . I could survive another day or two if I drank it . I already did what I could . The rest depended on my luck . I believed in miracles

The taste of blood dispersed in my mouth . In the past, I’d puke at the stifling smell, but it felt very soothing that time . The blood entered my body and instantly revived me, a sensation comparable to water flowing through a dry field to moisten it . In just a single instant, all of my physical problems were resolved . My strength retuned to me . If I continued drinking blood, I’d become a vampire, because the feeling was… far too soothing

I tossed the bottle aside . Just as I was able to continue forward, though, I felt the wind pick up all of a sudden . The tornado appeared to be right next to me . Panicked, I looked left and right as I pulled the White Deer King . However, she wouldn’t budge a step . She looked overhead with terrified eyes . I had never seen the White Deer King so terrified . When she saw me appear behind her out of the blue in the past, she’d turn around and ready herself to take me head on . That was the first time she looked so horrified

I stroked her neck to calm her down . I was about to ask her what happened, but a huge silhouette came down from the sky and landed right before me . It was as if a ma.s.sive boulder dropped onto the ground right before me, instigating the wind into blowing violently, which, in turn, nearly blew me into the sand . The White Deer King cried out then spun around to take me and flee for our lives . The huge silhouette leapt over in an instant . It was so fast that we only saw an afterimage . It sent the White Deer King and me flying

I rolled though the sand many rounds, sending me some good distance . I felt as though I was completely buried in the sand . It felt as though my back and neck had snapped . I desperately tried to wipe the sand off my face . I spat out a mouthful of sand . I then turned around and pathetically crawled to my feet . I reached for my gun behind me and fired several shots at the dark shadow in the sand

I heard my bullets. .h.i.t what sounded comparable to metal . The dark figure turned around . A huge pair of yellow eyes stared at me before I could scream . It’s gaze took my breath right out of me . Looking at the pair of eyes felt the same as having a gun pointed at the back of my head

It lowered its long neck and leaned in toward me in a similar fas.h.i.+on to a snake . Its huge wings on its back s.h.i.+ned through the dust as if it was metal . Its ginormous body was akin to an aircraft carrier on the ground .  I’d only ever seen such a ginormous beast in movies . Even Ling Yue was tiny in comparison . I had a mixture of feelings running through my  mind . My rational voice was screaming for me to run, but my goal in coming here was to find it

I came to find my father . I found the dragon, which meant that I was one step closer to my father . I was a dead man; dying from lack of mana and dying to a dragon was the same thing

The dragon hung its neck down and slowly approached me . I stood in place without moving . I could feel the moist hot air it breathed out of its nose . If you ask me, I’d say the force of its breath wasn’t much gentler than the wild winds around . It opened its mouth, allowing me to see its saliva dripping down from its sharp row of teeth that also carried the scent of blood . I hoped it was already full

The dragon licked my face . Its weight almost brought me to my knees . It licked me from head to toe with its sticky tongue and drooled all over me . I pondered, “Does it consider me dirty? Do you not know why I’m covered in sand?”.

I didn’t puke . To my surprise, it spoke . Its tone came from a dignified, archaic style . Its voice contained an imposing aura that wasn’t to be questioned as well as pride . With a hint of a smile, it said, “Thou are the first warrior to not flee in fear in a thousand years . ”.

I took in a deep breath and put on a tough front: “I’ve been through many things more frightening than you . ”.

The dragon didn’t seem to have any interest in my past; she was more interested in me . She scanned me with her snake-like eyes .  I felt as though she wanted to play with me as a puppet for a while . I was no garage kit, no

“What are thou here to seek?”.

I took in a deep breath and gave a candid response: “I want to live . ”.

Its eyes hinted at bafflement . A moment later, it continued, “If thou wish to live, why come here? There are only the dead here . There is nothing living here . ”.

“Aren’t you alive? Ten years ago, my father went missing here . I want to live, and I also want to find my father’s whereabouts . ”.

It froze up when it heard my response . It curled its body up as if it was in pain . It didn’t speak for a long time, and neither did I

“Come with me . ” I don’t know how much time pa.s.sed, since my sense of time basically didn’t exist in this desert . She continued, “I can grant thy wish . ”.

Glossary.

*Garage kit – a type of anime figurine