Nathan squinted at the patch of greenery in the distance. It had been a few days since he had come upon the caravan, and so far, the desert had been unceasingly monotonous.

Grabbing his spear from where it was stowed in his robe, he walked down the slope of the dune he had been standing on, the endless sands swallowing the image of the oasis he had just seen. Almost expecting it to be gone by now, he ascended the next dune. Once again, he halted when it reappeared, unsure if he should proceed to the oasis. I'm not out of water yet, but I shouldn't pass up the chance to get more.

With his mind made up, he trekked the rest of the way.

Standing only a couple of dozen meters away, he carefully inspected the place. While he could not hear any animals, it was entirely possible the watering hole was simply not as populated as the last one he had rested at. The plants seemed real from this distance, and there was no particular feature that indicated it was an illusion.

Stowing his healing potion away in the dimensional ring, Nathan readied himself for a fight should it come, maintaining his vigilance but noticing nothing out of the ordinary. He was almost sure the place was real when he entered the under brush, but all at once the image of nature fell away. In the same moment half a dozen creatures emerged from the sand around him, encircling him immediately.

Hive Mind Scorpion – Drone [6]

Hive Mind Scorpion – Worker [7]

The creatures were black, their midsections long and heavily armoured. They wielded strong claws, while flexible stingers dripping with venom advanced from their backsides, and two antennae sprouted from their heads.

Nathan had not heard of this particular creature before, but their status as drones hinted at more powerful foes that had yet to emerge. Grasping that fact quickly, he sprang into action, hoping to resolve this fight as fast as possible.

He lunged forward, intending to skewer the first creature, but it retreated with surprising dexterity, its feet gliding above the sand. The other scorpions advanced in tandem, their movement weirdly stilted. Despite this, their attacks lined up perfectly, three stingers shooting toward Nathan all at once.

He ducked and weaved, dodging out of the way while shearing off one of the stingers as he moved. The scorpions gave him no respite, more attacks shooting toward him, while one of the beasts attempted to bowl him over. Nathan leapt toward the one rushing him, dodging its claws. He had baited some of the scorpions into stabbing toward him, hoping to turn his enemies against each other, but the other scorpions' attacks stopped immediately once they were about to hit their ally. Their reaction time was far too fast for creatures of their level.

Nathan collided with the scorpion, his spear gliding along its armour while making a screeching sound, failing to penetrate. Thinking quickly, he brought his weapon around, cutting through the unprotected antennae. Immediately, the creature went still, its movement completely stopped, its stinger frozen halfway toward Nathan. I might just get this done in time.

Hearing a stinger rushing through the air, he jumped down and slid under another scorpion's belly in one smooth movement. Brandishing his weapon, Nathan sliced through the creature's soft underbelly, gagging as he was showered with gore.

Emerging just before the beast collapsed, he threw his spear, the weapon crossing a few meters in an instant before embedding itself in another beast's head. The scorpion twitched one last time before dying. Nathan, however, had already jumped, soaring through the air before he impacted another one of the beasts, his momentum enough to snap its antennae.

With the enemy's numbers now reduced, it did not take long until Nathan had killed or disabled them all. Panting heavily, he reclaimed his spear, planning to finish off the scorpions he had disabled by snapping their antennae.

Now that the immediate danger had passed, Nathan became aware of a burning sensation he felt all over his body, the pain only intensifying as time passed. Certain that none of the scorpions had managed to sting him, it took him a moment to recognize the cause. The blood, he finally realized. It must be either acidic or poisonous. No matter. Purge.

The exhaustion of the fight combined with the cost of Purge sent him to his knees, but he rose back up before long, ignoring his leaden limbs. Taking a few deep breaths, Nathan regained enough energy to move.

Not wasting any time, he killed the scorpions he had only disabled, pleasantly surprised by the message displayed before him.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Congratulations, Nathan Andrews

You have levelled up

"Status," Nathan called out, not entirely sure of his current level.

Name: Nathan Andrews

Title:

Survivor [Equipped] – You recovered from unquestionably lethal wounds while unconscious and without outside help. Gain a 10% boost in regeneration while this title is equipped.

Class: Spearman – Swiftness [9]

Stats:

Con: 20

Per: 15

Reg: 12

Ref: 19

Free Points: 1

General Skills [4/5]:

Identify – Scan a target to gain information about their race, class, and level. Target may be aware of the attempt.

Inspect – Scan an item to gain information about its name, grade, and effect. Inspect may not be able to reveal all available information.

Purge – Use a variable amount of stamina to expel any poisons, curses, or hexes from your body. Overuse can cause exhaustion and death.

Ripples in the Water – Where reality is malleable, desires hold power. Focus on what you wish for and what you’re willing to sacrifice. Perhaps something is listening?

Class Skills:

Art of the Spear – The spear is more than just a weapon in your hands. When wielding a spear, your movements become more refined, your mind quicker, and your strikes more precise.

Swift Footwork – Positioning is the essence of combat. When wielding a spear, your steps are faster without losing precision.

Perks:

Lone Wolf – The user can no longer form or join any parties, clans, or organizations. Stats are reduced by 50% if not alone in combat. Upon death, the user’s soul is erased from all timelines.

One more level until I get a skill that's actually useful. Once I hit level 10, I'll be far more powerful. That free point still needs to go to Perception; I can't have it fall too far behind.

Just then, the desert shook as a giant creature emerged from the sands, soon followed by what seemed like a swarm of ants.

Hive Mind Scorpion – Brood-Mother [17]

Without hesitation, Nathan turned and fled, leaving the valuable corpses behind. That one is more powerful than I expected. At least they are ambush predators; I should be able to outlast them.

----------------------------------------

Nathan cursed as he saw the horizon get obscured by a veil of dust. In one moment, the sky was clear, and in the next, it was obscured by shades of yellow and brown. The sandstorm itself should not be a problem for him any more, his robe working together with his stats to make him resilient enough.

The true danger, however, lay with the creatures moving through the desert under the storm's veil—sandworms. Those enormous monsters had descended from dragons and were attracted to storms of any kind. Whenever the rainy season arrived, they would surface from the desert's depths en masse, leaving destruction in their wake.

For the rest of the year, however, they travelled with the sandstorms, making them one of the deadliest phenomena to be found. For the first time since entering the Mirage Expanse, Nathan wished he had encountered an illusion, but he knew he could not rely on that.

He had minutes before the storm front would hit him, so there was not enough time to find shelter. Getting ready, his robe moved by itself, protecting his entire face, while he placed his potion in the dimensional ring. He grabbed his spear securely and dug his feet into the ground just as the enormous winds hit him.

He barely kept his balance, deadly sand buffeting his form as his vision was completely obscured. Nathan held his ground, not trusting himself to move under these circumstances.

Suddenly, the ground under his feet shuddered as he saw a gargantuan shadow pass by in the distance. It rose into the sky, gaining height for several seconds before falling back down, causing a small earthquake on impact. Nathan was thrown from his feet, tumbling for several meters as the sand was blown from the surroundings, allowing him to see the monster whose silhouette had been previously obscured.

Sandworm – None [24]

It was split into segments, each one several meters long and heavily armoured by chitin plates. The worms front end was a singular opening, multiple rows of sharp teeth set in its horrible mouth. Its size was hard to estimate, part of the giant body still hidden by the storm, but it was big enough to swallow Nathan whole, while at least 70 meters of its length could be seen.

The moment seemed to stretch for eternity, but only a few seconds passed until the storm reclaimed the space, the enormous monster's body hidden once more. Nathan, meanwhile, was on his knees, his spear stabbed into the ground, just barely keeping him anchored.

He was fighting against the gales, slowly standing up when a solid wall of sand hit him directly and sent him flying into the air.

Tumbling around, he saw the sandworm that had glided by him, its passing movement enough to send Nathan flying. The beast was smaller than the one he had noticed before, but compared to it Nathan was still nothing but an ant.

The heavy winds kept him airborne, throwing him around like a leaf caught in a breeze. Whenever a particularly heavy gust hit him, his direction would change, and he lost all sense of direction as the ground was left far below.

Nathan was thrown around for minutes until the storm finally passed, the veil of sand receding. Looking down, he saw the desert rushing towards him. Doing his best, Nathan barely managed to get his legs under himself, hoping to survive the impact by sacrificing his limbs.

Despite his efforts however, pain flooded him as he heard the sounds of bones breaking on impact. His mind whirring, Nathan felt bile rising in his throat until he eventually started vomiting, the acidic taste burning in his throat and bringing tears to his eyes.. He lay there in a puddle of his vomit as blood streamed from his broken legs until unconsciousness claimed him seconds later.