Alex whipped his left and right in an attempt to find any sign of the monkey. He saw nothing. It had vanished without any indication of where it would try to go. Alex was buzzing with adrenaline, but had no outlet for it. He felt like he had just taken forty shots of espresso.

He out his back to the wall the fallen trees had made, and took stock of his current circumstances. He just rushed headfirst into this oasis with no regard for his surroundings. There could be countless predators just waiting for him to lower his guard, not to mention the stupid monkey that had just disappeared on him. That hadn’t been the only monkey he had seen either. And how many had he not seen?

Alex shuddered. He had no way to know how many enemies were lurking, visible or not, in waiting. He couldn’t focus on that though. There was nothing he could do about foes he couldn’t see. He instead focused on the visible threats. He looked around and saw various animals hopping around in the brush. He couldn’t get a good enough look at them to identify them, but that was alright. Most of them hadn’t seemed too interested in him at the moment. There were a few plants that might possibly be hostile and others, based on their names, were definitely hostile.

Fortunately, for the moment, Alex was out of danger. The oasis had looked to be nearly a perfect circle of green, contrasting the red sand perfectly. Some may say it even complemented it. It was about a half mile in diameter, so it wasn’t a small oasis by Alex’s estimation. Not that he was an expert. Alex barely knew anything about them aside from the fact that they existed in the desert. So, that’s to say, Alex knew nearly nothing about them.

He sat down, not sensing anything dangerous nearby, and rested. He didn’t sleep or even close his eyes. He was in unfamiliar territory and he didn’t want to let his guard down for a second. He stayed in the oasis because he didn’t love his chances if he decided to venture out at the moment. He had less than half of his health and most enemies here were a good amount stronger than he was. So he sat in a meditative pose, not because he had any intention of meditating, but because it was comfortable. He needed all the comfortable he could get. His body ached all over, especially where he was missing chunks of flesh. He took stock, and he had four missing pieces from his body.

I’m going to kill that jerk. That hypnotic dance thing is such a cheat. Could he do it because he is higher level than me, or is it because my mental stat is lower than his? Am I stupider than a monkey?

Alex continued muttering under his breath, using language much more colorful than the monkey. A few hours passed, and he felt that he had recovered enough that he could make his way out of the desert. It was starting to get dark and he didn’t want to sleep in the forested area. He had already planned on sleeping outside of it, but his rude welcome had left a sour taste in his mouth.

Alex walked slowly through the underbrush, careful not to get too close to the plants he knew to be dangerous. He didn’t see much wildlife, and that didn’t bode well with him. The oasis was eerily quiet. There was still the occasional hoot or screech, but it had already become weirdly silent. Alex started to move quicker, until a he saw the cause of the sudden stillness. A giant dust cloud was heading straight for them.

Oh shoot! They didn’t teach me what to about a dust storm in school. Why did I learn about the nonessential stuff like geometry? They should have had a survival class instead. I should probably sign up for one of those when I get back.

Alex scrambled to find anything to give him some kind of protection from the oncoming storm. He figured he could just hunker down behind a tree, but he wasn’t sure that was the best idea. He could dig a hole and jump in, but he didn’t want to be covered in sand by the time it had passed over.

Why not both then?

He found a group of dead trees, five in total, and pulled them all together. He shot out of the oasis and began digging. Once the hole he made was about five feet deep, he embedded the logs as deep as he could into the sand, forming an arrow shape with the point directed at the sand storm. This created a sort of wind break that Alex hoped would deter some of the oncoming sand. He didn’t know why, but he felt like the sand would just wash past the wall instead of trying to go through it. Path of least resistance and all that.

He sat and waited, though he didn’t need to wait long. The storm arrived in less than two minutes from the time he had finished with his preparations. Altogether, from the time he spotted the storm to the time it had arrived, only ten minutes had passed. It was moving extremely fast.

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Buffeting winds shook his makeshift barrier. Sand was tearing through the small gaps and blasting past Alex’s head. He was glad that he had dug down a little otherwise there would be an entirely different meaning to ‘a little off the top’.

Alex was extra grateful for his suit’s filtering ability. He didn’t need to worry about inhaling any sand and none got in his eyes. It did still hurt when the sand came around the side of his quickly erected shelter, but it was manageable. He was actually glad this storm had passed when it did. None of the beasts would target him right now, and he could focus on recuperation. By the time this storm passed, he would be nearly topped off.

He had noticed that as his durability increased, his recovery speed did as well. He needed to find out what all the other stats did. It would help him really make the most of his stat allocations.

Five minutes passed, and the storm had still not eased up on its barrage. It had been moving quickly, but Alex could only see one side of it. He had no idea how large it was, but based on its unrelenting assault, he might be there a while.

Another ten minutes and something changed. It didn’t appear that the storm would be over yet, and a quick glance around proved his theory correct. It looked like they were in the eye of the storm. Sand still swirled around the desert at speed quicker than normal, yet it felt muted compared to the gritty gales from just a moment ago.

Alex peeked his head around the wall of trees and immediately wished he hadn’t. There were forms moving in the calm. They looked terrifying. Its face looked to be covered by a veil of shifting sands. Alex could see roughly humanoid features, but they were all twisted. The mouth was too wide and large for its face. All of its teeth were razor sharp fangs that looked like sharks teeth. It stood at roughly fifteen feet tall, and floated nearly a foot off the ground. Alex made out these features, yet they all shifted in and out of existence with the winds. It was like the beast was there and not at the same time. Alex identified it.

Sandstorm Djinn

Level 70

The moment he did, the djinn looked right at him. Alex shot back behind the barrier and hoped the creature would just leave him alone. He felt like a child scared of the boogeyman, hiding under the covers. He knew that these logs would offer no protection should the djinn decide Alex’s staring was rude. Alex waited with bated breath for what felt like eternity. Each gust stole the air out of his lungs.

Eventually, the sandstorm resumed and Alex let out a breath of relief. There was no way to know for sure, but Alex believed that the sandstorm was somehow related to this djinn. It was called a Sandstorm Djinn after all.

Did it conjure the sandstorm? Or did it exist because of the sandstorm?

“It conjures the storm. It is a fabled creature that has existed for millennia. Many of my culture believed that if you were fortunate enough to see one and catch it, it would grant you a wish,” King Nagaar said.

“Has anyone ever gotten a wish from it?” Alex asked.

“If someone has tried, I doubt they have lived to tell the tale. They were seen occasionally, but if you are wise, you head the other way. They are the masters of the open desert,” the king answered.

“It looks like the Sand Drakes are not the only powerful creatures in the desert,” Alex mused.

“Indeed,” was all the snake said in response.

Alex waited for another twenty minutes before the storm subsided. The storm had blocked out all light, and when it subsided, night had already overtaken the day. Alex had no intention of walking around blindly in the oasis and decided his barrier would make a decent camp. He would rest, and return in the morning.

Seeing the djinn had awoken a fire in him. Before, he had thought the only true enemy he had to worry about was the Sand Drake. Now, he didn’t know what else to expect. Heck, even the monkey had caught him off guard. If he had any hope of surviving the desert, he would have to continue his growth.

Alex wasn’t even sure the Great One was the strongest creature on this planet anymore. It might just be the strongest that the locals see regularly enough to take note of. There might be even stronger beasts in the heart of the desert. It both filled Alex with trepidation and excitement.

He wished to one day be able to fight these types of beasts head on. It felt contrary to his nature to hide when these overpowered creatures arrived. With his ever growing strength, it was more of a possibility each day. He had leveled up so many times since he had arrived on Saxar IV. He had felt strong when left the tutorial, but he could already demolish that version of himself without much effort. Where would he be in a year? A decade?

He also started to wonder. If his body had been enhanced to the point where he healed at a visible pace, would he even age at this point? Or was it just slower? How many years had he added to his life expectancy? Would he ever get sick again? He had been healed of his paralysis. What else would be healed? All of these questions and more rattled in his head until sleep took him.

Alex had dreams of living for centuries. Hillcrest changed drastically from its current form to a utopian dream. Technology advanced to heights far exceeding his expectations. These dreams turned to nightmares as he saw his loved ones die repeatedly. It was a vicious cycle. He would grow close to someone, they would grow old, then die. Over and over again. He saw familiar faces, and unfamiliar ones. Each bringing him a wave of sadness he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Maybe immortality isn’t as good as it seems.