Jado's eyes couldn't leave the gaping hole in the sand, grains falling in small amounts from time to time in it, swallowed in the darkness without a sound. Dune hissed softly, shaking its small triangular head in a worried fashion. The young man clenched his teeth, walking backward very slowly and carefully.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I ain't staying here for another second, you can trust me on that," He muttered under his breath, only allowing himself to sigh in relief when he was sure that he was far enough of the creature. He checked the map, discovering that it didn't seem like it was going to move for a while. It was as still as a mountain as if it was always there before. Hadn't Jado seen the previous version of the map without the black spot, he would have believed it was just a normal part of it.
In any case, his plan to recover the large corpse to obtain structure points had just fallen through. He'll have to find another solution to get those points before the night, or he'll have to spend it in the cold, and from what he heard, it was something he had to avoid at all costs. He went back to the Altar while thinking of a plan, and began searching for red dots on the map, quickly finding and counting them. There were three or four roaming not far from the Altar, and a dozen a bit further in the desert. Even further on the map, this number was multiplied by three, some places being clusters of such red points, making him wonder what kind of slaughterhouses these places were.
He looked at the map for a few minutes, having figured that if he waited long enough, maybe two red-level monsters would fight each other, letting him take the scraps. But most red dots were unmoving, or staying in their respective places. He spent an hour waiting and analyzing the moving patterns of the red dots and figured out a rough idea of how the creatures behaved. Jado classed them into three different types for convenience: the Roamers, the Settlers, and the Weirdos. The Roamers were the ones like the big black crab who moved around the desert hunting for prey, and never staying in one place for too long. Most of those were far away from the surroundings of the Altar, but they might come to take a look from time to time.
The Settlers were the creatures who didn't or barely moved from one spot, guarding or living in a distinct area. They were the most common in the desert, and Jado wondered why those powerful monsters would want to stay in only one place. Did they keep guard of something, or were they just enjoying living in one place? One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to figure it out now.
The last category, and not the least, were the Weirdos. They were the creatures who acted erratically, joining clusters of red dots, moving at great speed, doing weird patterns on the map, or where their behaviors simply couldn't be explained. They weren't Settlers, since they didn't stay in only one place, but they weren't Roamers either since they didn't fight the other red-level monsters they met. Well, Jado guessed they didn't fight, since no red dots disappeared when these Weirdos met each other. They were too far for him to check out now, but he was still very curious as to their reasons for moving so, well, weirdly.
Jado scowled, Dune sleeping peacefully nestled around his neck. He got used to the presence of the little snake much faster than he thought he would, and couldn't help but like the cute little fella. Jado was pretty sure that it was a super venomous snake, but well, it was his companion, somehow, so all was good, right? He checked out his status window out of habitude, but nothing changed there. The young man then opened his inventory and took out his [Desert Fang], trying to get used to its weight and the way it was supposed to be handled. He couldn't help but feel awkward holding it, because even if it was a cool-looking weapon, it seemed more probable for him to hurt himself trying to use it instead of hurting his enemy.
He placed the weapon in the sand, and carefully lifted Dune off his neck, placing his gently on the warm stone of the Altar. An ominous message appeared in front of his eyes, surprising him.
Do you want to sacrifice [Dune]? Y/N
Jado's eyes widened, and he messily swiped at the screen with his hands in a scared manner.
"No, of course not!" The red screen disappeared as he whispered those words, Dune still sleeping peacefully while enjoying the touch of the sun. The young man felt pretty shocked at the brutality of this Altar. To say that he could even sacrifice his companions! Did that mean it expected him to sacrifice any subordinate he might have in the future? Jado shook his head violently, disgusted by the idea. If he was going to make friends somehow in this monster-filled desert, it wasn't going to be sacrificing them!
He picked the [Desert Fang] back up and gave it a careful swirl. He had seen his mother training with a long wooden staff before, but there weren't two sharp blades ready to cut him into pieces at both ends of it at that time. He quickly figured out that the best way to handle the weapon was to place one hand in the center and the other just right before the blade. He had to keep the other bladed side in his back at all times, at the risk of cutting himself in the side with a bad move, but he couldn't figure out any better way. He could also use it as a spear, but he had to keep it close to his body and didn't have as much range as a normal one, since, well, there was a damned blade at each end. How was he even supposed to use that?
He decided to use it close to him for now, and see how it would go during a fight. He'll just have to do his best to not kill himself with it, that would be quite a disappointing death, after all. His eyes caught a movement on the map, but it only was a Weirdo joining another Weirdos group. Jado shook his head, and dismissed the map, deciding to go try and find some beasts to hunt, maybe some hyenas or something similar. He woke up Dune, who hissed drowsily before he nestled itself back around the young man's neck. The sun would probably be out in an hour, so he needed to hurry and find something to sacrifice.
He explored the surroundings of the Altar, establishing a mental image of them, so he would be able to navigate them with more familiarity. That would have been difficult if he didn't have the real-time map, but with it, he could easily figure out where he was and where he should or should not go. He didn't spend that much time before finding something to hunt, in the end. North of the Altar, a bare rock stood above the dunes, crooked like an old finger. Right at the point of the rock, a big, sand-colored bird stood there, its eyes looking for prey in the desert. Jado took one last glance at his map, confirming that it wasn't a red-level monster, and came out of his hiding place while holding his Desert Fang awkwardly. The bird instantly noticed him and croaked loudly in defiance. Its eyes were glued to the small snake around Jado's neck, almost salivating at its sight.
"Croak!"
The young man invited Dune to hide under his clothes, holding his weapon steadily while staring at the bird. The latter jumped from its perch, plunging with great speed down on Jado, who realized rapidly that the bird was much larger than he initially thought, probably as large as one of Araashir's cows. From the distance, he couldn't tell, but now that it was falling on him, it was hard to not notice how big it was. A bead of sweat fell down his neck as he swiped his weapon upward, aiming to cut the bird in two, but the latter avoided it narrowly with an aerial dodge, before making a tight turn in the air, spreading its huge yellow wings to slow down like it wanted.
"Wow!"
Jado felt the wind push him back into the sand, but he stood straight, stabbing at the bird as best he could without cutting himself. The bird blocked it with its claws, a cruel gaze in its small eyes, and pecked at Jado's shoulder, ripping a small bit of flesh from him. The young man screamed in pain, before swinging the twinblade widely, managing to cut one of the bird's paws, making it fall loudly on the ground. The bird croaked in pain, before rushing back in rage at him, aiming to pierce him with its beak. Jado felt a sentiment of deja vu and raised his twin blade in front of him, the tip aimed at the beak of the bird. The latter avoided it once again narrowly by spinning in the air and managed to make a gouge in Glenn's side before raising back in the air, splattering blood behind him from its cut-off paw.
"Argh! Damned bird!"
Jado gritted his teeth, holding his side with his left hand, while holding the twin blade with the other. The bird cackled, before croaking loudly as it almost got pierced by Jado's lunged attack. The bird wasn't expecting it and flapped its wings hurriedly to get away from the young man, but the latter wasn't going to waste such a good opportunity, and he swiped down heavily with the blade, holding it with two hands and letting his side bleed. The bird screamed in pain as its left wing fell on the ground, before following the feathery item in its descent. It crashed into the sand in a cloud of sand and yellow feathers and tried to get away by fluttering its remaining wing, but Jado pierced him in the head without hesitation, twisting the blade until the bird stopped moving. Once it finally did, he sighed heavily and winced as he felt his sideburn with pain.
He held it as best he could before making another makeshift bandage to cover his wound from his clothes, ripping them more and more. It made him so disappointed to rip those perfectly fine clothes, even if they were slightly battered to use them as bandages. Well, yeah, they were more than "slightly" battered, but still, it pained him to rip them anyway! Done taking care of his clothes, he turned back toward the bird, witnessing in horror as the not-so-dead corpse rose and lunged at him with its sharp broken beak. He grabbed the beak with his two hands, falling on his back as the bird clawed at him and tried to peck his eyes out.
Dune suddenly jumped out of his clothes and bit the bird in the neck, causing instantly a reaction in the avian. It jumped back in pain, coughing blood and shaking violently. Not even a second later, it crumbled on the ground, finally completely dead. Dune slithered back up Jado's leg, climbing back on his arm, before proudly hissing at him. The dumbfounded Jado nodded slowly, shocked at the lethality of the small snake.
"Uhm, good job, Dune. Yeah, good job. Wow..." He rubbed his head, staring at the bird in an awed manner. He scrambled its brains until they were just pink juice, how could it attack him again? It went against any kind of logic! He stood up with difficulty, still holding on to his wound on his side, and walked toward the bird. He hesitated for a second, before spitting on the ground and stomping down on the head until it completely fused with the sand. He then stabbed it with his Desert Fang where he supposed its heart was, scowling when he felt something hard under his touch.
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Jado kneeled beside the corpse, using the twinblade to cut a hole in its chest, before plunging his hand into the wound. He searched for a second, before finding the thing he touched. He pulled it out, discovering a small purple crystal, pulsing slightly with a magenta hue.
"Why did this guy have a rock in its stomach?" Jado questioned aloud, letting Dune slide down from his arm to fall on the beast's chest. The snake bit off a few parts of the creature, taking his part of the game. Jado let him do that while he tried to study the strange crystal. Seeing that it didn't do much besides shining weirdly, he placed it in his inventory, keeping it for later. He waited for Dune to be done with his meal, before picking the snake back up and throwing the corpse in his inventory. The sunset announced to him it was time to rush back to the Altar.
"Just in time..." He muttered, checking out the map for any Roamers, before leaving for the Altar. By the time he arrived, the night had completely fallen, alongside a chilling cold. The transition was brutal compared to the suffocating heat of the day that he just barely got used to. His teeth chattered while Dune snuggled deep inside his cold to enjoy his body's warmth. He took the bird's corpse out of his inventory, throwing it on the now cold stone surface, not waiting for the window to appear to scream: "Yes," in a voice shivering with cold.
The sand swallowed the bird quickly, making it disappear without leaving a trace. Jado summoned the [Task] window, praying he had made the numbers rise enough for him to complete it.
A Grain of Sand in the Gear of Time (5/?) Mission: Repair the Nameless Altar fully Current Progress: 684/1000 Reward: [The Seed of a Kingdom], [Eyes of the Pharaoh] Hint: The quicker you get this task done, the sooner you'll be able to have a roof over your head.
"Dam...damn it!!" Jado cursed, his arms tightly wrapped around him. His body wouldn't stop shaking, and from what he could see, he wouldn't get a roof anytime soon.
"If...if only...I...I had so...some wood to ma...make a f...f...fire, argh!" Glenn struggled to say, his teeth clattering. The moon rose over the desert, bathing it in a white light as cold as ice. Jado scowled, putting himself in a fetal position, trying to keep as much warmth as possible. His clothes tightly wrapped around his body, he pulled himself out of his lethargy each time he began to fall asleep, fearing hypothermia. He stood in this half-asleep-half-aware state for a few hours, before finally giving in to the tiredness. The darkness wrapped over him as he joined Dune in a deep sleep.
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The shadows wrapped and pulled Jado all over, making his mind twirl in confusion and fright. He tried to distinguish the faces of the shadows, but they were featureless, a mask of darkness that couldn't be decrypted. Black sand flew around him in a tornado, making his body fly in the air as if it were as light as a feather. He rose above the clouds, his body pulled over them, before staring down at the ground with bemused eyes.
Before him lay probably the most majestic city he had ever seen. It stretched for as far as he could see, was bustling with activity, and shone with its impressing architecture. White, immaculate marble towers surrounded the city, fending off the darkness and stopping the black sand from entering the city, protecting it from this strange event. Jado's body fell naturally toward the most impressive, well-built building in the city, phasing through the walls as if he were a ghost. He passed through luxurious bedrooms, and long, well-lit corridors to finally arrive in a huge, majestic hall. At the end of the hall, a figure shrouded behind a veil of sand looked straight at him, his hand stretched out in a dominating manner.
Jado could see the shrouded figure's mouth open but woke up before he could hear what he had to say. His body was covered in cold sweat, and his nose was clogged and running at the same time. He touched his forehead, discovering that it was burning hot. Dune was slithering worriedly around the neck, trying to bring some warmth to him. He blinked hard with his eyes, his vision blurry, before noticing that the sun was finally rising and the heat coming back.
"Yet another dream...What do they mean?" He asked aloud in a weak voice, sitting himself up and leaning against the cold stone Altar. What a shitty night, he couldn't help but think, his body still shivering from the cold. He had to find sacrifices before the next night, or he was sure that he was going to die from it. In the worst case, if he couldn't find any sacrifices, he could still sacrifice...No! Jado shook his head violently, shocked at his thoughts. How could he think such a thing? He knew it was a possibility, but why did it come so naturally to him?
Horrified with himself, he hugged tightly his only friend, reassuring him in the process, before passing his hands on the rough scales of the snake, calming his troubled mind. His mind churned under the fever, trying to think of a plan. His wounds seemed to have festered, but he couldn't do much about that. He would have liked to scar them with a burning blade, but he still didn't have any wood to light a fire. No, what he needed were sacrifices. No sacrifice went unrewarded, he was sure of it. Once again, hunting for prey and giving it to the Altar was his only chance at survival.
Under the morning sun, he feverishly searched for any signs of life, his eyes often switching between the blue window of his map to avoid any red-level monsters, back to then watching the dunes. After an hour of mindless walking, Jado crumbled on his knees, gasping for air, the fever making him feel as if he was burning and chilling, alongside an excruciating headache and an upset stomach. His small snake companion couldn't do anything but watch with worried eyes, trying to make the young man better by whatever means it could.
"...Hahhh...Hahhhh...Alright...I'll...Take a small break..." His words were weak and his voice raspy, and he struggled to even speak. He took out a ration bundle from his inventory, feasting on the meatloaf and gulping the water down hurriedly, its freshness making him dizzy. One of the biggest risks of fever was getting dehydrated, which made it harder for his body to fight off the infection, so he had to make sure he was getting as much water in his system as he could.
A gust of wind pushed some sand into his opened mouth, making him cough uncontrollably. He got rid of whatever entered his mouth, before raising his head in a hurry. The gust of wind didn't come alone, as the huge cloud of sand on the horizon could confirm. A huge, terrifying sandstorm was heading right for his position, ready to swallow him alive. It looked like a thick, brown wall as tall as the sky was getting pushed ceaselessly by a mysterious force, ready to crush anything in its path. Jado stood still for a second, his eyes wide open as he stared at the huge sandstorm until Dune hissed strongly enough in his ear to wake him from his stupor. He turned back and ran toward the Altar, his eyes stuck on the window indicating the direction to go for.
He panted as he arrived at his objective, still staring at the map. He could see the storm approaching right on the map, in the form of a huge, brown mass that covered everything. The red dots of the monsters were still there, but they disappeared from time to time. Knowing that the black-level monster with the gigantic maw was on the path of the storm, he looked at the sole dark point on his map, wondering how it would react. Soon enough, the creature began to move away from the sandstorm, apparently fleeing it.
"Why would it flee away? Can't it just hide in the ground or something?" Jado mused aloud, following the direction that the Grand Maw, as he just decided to name it, was going for. Whatever the answer was, he certainly wasn't going to complain about it. The further this horror was from him, the better he would feel! Now, the actual worrying matter was that this storm made even such a monster afraid. How exactly was he supposed to survive this hell?
"I'm not exactly used to sandstorms..."Jado muttered while looking at the huge wall of sand coming his way, his arms crossed. He looked at Dune, who looked back at him curiously.
"What do you do in these cases?" The young man asked, out of ideas on how to deal with this new problem. Coupled with his fever, he had a hard time thinking of a logical solution. Dune slithered down his arm and fell on the altar, his small body allowing it to hide in the cracks safely. Jado rubbed his face, hesitating to drink another flask of water, but he couldn't afford to consume them too quickly. Evidently, hunting was now out of the question, so he didn't have much choice but to go through it, and hopefully, survive it.
He sat on the Altar, looking at the closing storms, hoping that he would find a better idea, but he didn't. As the storm inched closer, he began to hear a low, rumbling sound coming from it, as if a thousand feet were beating on the ground together in an unruly fashion.
"Wow, how could the storm make so much noise," The young man exclaimed, in awe of it. With the fever not helping, the sound of the storm was multiplied and distorted. That's why he only noticed when he was able to see it that it wasn't the sandstorm that was making so much noise. No, it was a herd. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a wave or tide... Jado initially thought that it was just dark sand at the bottom of the sky-high wall that was coming his way, but no. How wrong he was.
They were black with streaks of brown, hairy, with a leg span that could stretch across an entire table. They all had eight, hairy legs that moved so fast on the sand that the bare eye couldn't catch them, propelling them forward at an impossible speed. Their two, powerful mandibles clacked in the air as they fled the storm, dripping venom as they planned their path across the endless stretches of sand, their cunning and cruel black eyes moving in a shiver-inspiring manner. Some were as big as his hands, some as much as a dog, or some...some were as big as houses.
Jado threw a trembling gaze at his map, seeing a literal line of red dots blinking on it while advancing in his exact direction. Fleeing was useless, so he hid as best he could behind the stone Altar, the rumbling sound getting louder and louder, the tide of spiders making the ground shake as they moved across the desert.
"No, no, no, they're not spiders...They're not spiders, they're not spiders..." Jado took his head in his hands, shaking on the ground. A pure look of horror hung on his face, his eyes bloodshot and his fever rising higher than ever. Dune was still hiding in the Altar cracks, and the young man hoped it would stay there. He calmed his breathing, convincing himself that it was all a hallucination, that there possibly couldn't be so many of them, but once he got his head out of his cover, he saw them as clearly as they were previously described.
The spiders ran over each other, some getting crushed to death in the panic, while the biggest jumped in long strides to cover more distance, creating small crates in the sand each time they landed. Green blood splattered everywhere each time one of the smaller spiders got squashed to death, creating a nauseating smell and scenery. Jado fell back on his knees and rolled himself in a ball like he used to do as a kid, his mind going blank as it couldn't help but picture the tide from the horrible sounds of their legs hitting the ground and their mandibles clacking in the air.
I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead...
He couldn't help but repeat these words in his mind, shaking and breathing raggedly. Suddenly, he couldn't hear the rumbling anymore, nor the disturbing clacking. An instant of peace, strange in this yellow hell... Jado's head rose slowly, his face wet with tears, watching in stupefaction at what he saw, the silence surrounding him like the calm before the storm.
The sky was made out of sand, and it was falling on him.