Traversing the Desert (Pt 1)

The two of us dashed quickly across the newly flattened desert floor, kicking up sand behind us as we went. As the temple shrank in the distance behind us, I realized that without any landmarks to guide us, it would be far too easy to stray off course. The blast wave from my spell had blown away all the sand dunes until the sand settled in an eerily homogenous landscape. It almost looked like we were out on the open ocean with nothing but an endless expanse of flat desert in all directions.

I need to give us a clear path to follow.

So, while I still had my bearings, I reached out my hand directly in front of us and fired an extremely condensed [Flame Slice] along the ground off into the horizon. The spell left a narrow line of molten sand which quickly cooled into shimmering glass guiding our way forward.

Eris paused in surprise at my sudden spell for a moment, but seemed to quickly realize what I had done and continued following me.

We ran at full speed uninterrupted for hours. Gradually, the glass path guiding us forward gave way to scorch marks before fading away entirely. At that point, however, we had already progressed far enough from the temple that sand dunes returned to the landscape, along with the occasional cacti and dry vegetation.

Additionally, we began to pass by several monsters. And when I say 'pass by', I mean literally.

First it was a pair of Twin Death Scorpions. They are surprisingly quick on their feet considering their size, but they quickly gave up chasing us as we sped right past them. We also passed by the occasional Cactus Treant. Some of them shot needles our way as we ran by to no avail.

The next monster we crossed paths with was a giant Sandworm. I felt a lack of resistance as my left foot slipped into a pocket of unusually loose sand only for the creature to spring out from the ground right underneath me. It was an action the Sandworm surely regretted as I immediately burst out from its side and continued on my way like nothing happened.

Not even ten minutes later we came upon a pack of Sand Garuda. These things were basically just giant chickens. They stood about five meters tall; they were basically feathered dinosaurs. The group saw us approaching and charged right at us. These things were FAST. Almost as fast as Eris and I were running on the desert sand.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Three of the Sand Garuda burst into clouds of bloody feathers as I fired several stone cannons in quick succession. Eris meanwhile sent several heads flying from the Garuda that charged towards her. In an instant we had slaughtered half the pack. Those that remained jumped back to clear a path for us forward. Evidently they decided it would be safer to make a meal out of their fallen brethren as they started tearing apart the dead ones.

We continued to encounter many more monsters throughout the night, most of which we simply ignored and ran right past.

Eventually, the bright red desert sun crept up above the horizon causing the dunes to glow in a reddish hue. The shadows of the dunes stretched far behind them painting the desert landscape a beautiful mix of vivid red and blacks.

The temperature began to rise at a steady pace. We continued for a couple more hours in the desert heat before I finally needed to take a break. We'd been running at full speed for about eight hours now and I was at my limit.

My desire to reach Roxy burned as strong as ever but my body couldn't keep up. The armor I continued to wear was temperature regulated and enhanced my physical attributes, but even still I don't have infinite stamina.

"Are we taking a break?", Eris said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.

Unlike myself, Eris had no special magically enhanced armor. At first I was concerned that she wouldn't be able to keep up, but it would seem my worries were unfounded. A warrior's battle aura is an amazing thing.

I conjured us a quick shelter using the [Earth Fortress] spell to give us some relief from the harsh desert sun. By now, the temperature must have been approaching 40°C (104°F).

"Here. Take a drink", I said as I offered Eris a cup that I had just conjured full of cold water.

Eris thanked me as she quickly gulped the water and reached out her cup for a refill. She was completely drenched in sweat. It had seemed to me like she could have kept on running forever, but perhaps she was approaching her limit as well.

"It sure does get hot in this desert", Eris commented.

"No kidding. It's not even midday. It will only get hotter from here."

It might sound silly to say 'this desert is hot', but Eris had traveled with Ruijerd and I throughout the entire Demon Continent, much of which was desert-like as well. The Begaritt's deserts were a different beast entirely. The heat here put what we experienced on the Demon Continent to shame.

I had already made this trek with Elinalise once before. Back then I didn't have this reliable magic armor with me, but we also traveled slowly and carefully.

Not only was Eris drenched in sweat but I noticed that her arms and face were starting to get sunburnt. She sneakily followed me out of the house after all. I had at least taken the time to quickly grab my traveling gear, but Eris was woefully equipped for traversing the desert. She was wearing an everyday indoor white buttoned shirt and a matching skirt.

I've neglected to mention until this point that the white shirt drenched in sweat was rather revealing as it clung tightly to her skin. I tried not to look her way. Normally I'd have trouble keeping my eyes off her in this situation, but right now the only thing I felt was guilt for allowing her to reach this point.

I've been so single mindedly focused on saving Roxy that I completely ignored what Eris is going through; what she's doing for me.

"Hmm?"

Eris looked my way as I stood up and conjured a simple bathtub and filled it with cool water.

"Cool yourself off and then put these on."

I tossed her a clean shirt and pants, as well as my gray robe from my sack of traveling gear.

"I know these are men's clothes, but it can't be comfortable to keep running in that."

Eris didn't argue. In fact, she turned away from me and started undoing the first couple buttons of her shirt right then and there. The brazen act caught me completely off guard. I quickly conjured an {Earth Wall] between us to divide the shelter.

It's not that I was embarrassed, but more along the lines that I felt horrible and didn't want to take advantage of Eris after what I've already put her through. To think she was in so much discomfort that she would undress right in front of me! She must have wanted to get cleaned off in the bath as soon as possible.

I heard the thwap as Eris tossed her sweat-soaked garments to the ground and then stepped into the bath. I could hear the splashing of water as Eris cleaned herself off.

The sights, sounds, and smells overwhelmed my senses. They reminded me of how I always used to try and sneak peeks at Eris while she bathed in my previous life. I never even tried during our travels this time around. Is that why she wasn't afraid of undressing in front of me? Did she trust me that much? I have been pretty reliable, I would say.

Why didn't I ever try to peek in on her? It felt like such a waste. Eris has always been so well endowed. Her large breasts were a beautiful contrast to Sylphy, who was also a perfect beauty in her own right.

It wouldn't hurt to peek just this once, right? I'm certain she would forgive me. Heck, it almost seems like she *WANTS* me to peek.

'Damn! why did I have to summon that stupid wall!'

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and I felt flush, like all the blood was rushing to my face. All of a sudden, my towering oak was standing tall at attention and my mind had become completely clouded with desire.

Hastily, I began to unbutton my shirt as well.

'I'm sweaty too. I'm sure Eris won't mind if I join her in the bath.'

*Splash*

'Huh!? Did she hear me?'

"Bleh! What is THAT smell!?", I heard her shout from the other side of the wall.

***** Authour's Note *****

Hey all! Sorry for the LONG break haha. I've been getting caught up in work, hobbies, and just life in general. How did you all enjoy Season 2 of the anime? It wasn't perfect, but overall I thought it was a pretty good adaptation.

I want to get back into a regular routine of posting chapters. I'm not going to promise when the next chapter will release, but I'm gong to shoot for Wednesday or Thursday.

For those who have continued to remain patient, I appreciate it, and I realize it was a long break.

I'm going to delete the 'Announcement' chapter once I get the following one posted. I'd like to make sure the chapter count increases from what it's been stuck at so that readers will hopefully notice that a new chapter has released.