Thud!
A large Fire Giant fell to the ground. There had just been a large-scale battle where the Fire Giant clashed with a thousand mummies, but only a measly twenty-one mummies had been killed. It was an overwhelming victory.
“I-it’s amazing…!” Katz exclaimed, astounded by what he had just seen.
He had been beside Kartheon at all times, ever since he awoke the sleeping ancient king—to be precise, he could not escape.
‘Even though he’s an ancient king, to think he could so easily take down a Fire Giant…!’ Katz thought to himself.
A Fire Giant was a rare monster in the Desert of Death that only appeared once in a while, during the seventh mirage of the month. It was as tall as a mountain, and the flames engulfing its body could burn everything near it. Kartheon had successfully hunted down a creature that was no different from a calamity.
‘I guess an ancient king is an ancient king after all,’ Katz thought.
Kartheon had stayed in the rear for the whole battle, but he had been giving out commands to his army. His legion of mummies had fully obeyed his commands during the entire battle, making them all the more ferocious.
[You have defeated Elkana, the Fire Giant of Disaster.]
[You have obtained 147 units of temporal power.]
[Your amiability with the Ice Giants has increased.]
“Still a long way to go,” Kartheon muttered with a bored expression.
Katz hesitated for a moment before asking, “Uhmm… May I ask what the level of your majesty is?”
“Level 13 until I defeated the Fire Giant,” Kartheon replied.
“What?” Katz was shocked and just stood there, blinking. He had thought that Kartheon would at least be Level 40.
Kartheon seemed to have found the human’s reaction amusing, as the corners of his dried, withered lips turned up slightly. He explained, “My body has deteriorated because my resurrection took place after a long time. I used to be Level 527 in the past, but that is all gone now. I can absorb life force thanks to the trinket I was buried with, but I am nowhere as strong as I used to be in the past. I sacrificed a lot of things just to be resurrected.”
“I-it’s amazing. It must be hard to have lost all of your levels. No, no, I don’t mean to offend your majesty,” Katz replied, trembling.
“That is why I am trying to regress to the past,” Kartheon said. He kicked the sides of the bandage-wrapped camel he was riding on. The camel quickly ran forward, and Katz hurriedly followed after it.
Kartheon spoke once again when Katz finally caught up with the camel. “Katz, my body has deteriorated, but I will gather temporal power by killing everything on this continent. I will go back in time and kill Sirian, and I will make Sharshyanon flourish.”
Katz looked at Kartheon. The ancient king was a strange man in his eyes. Kartheon had the commanding presence of a king and he was strict, but at the same time, he was warmer than anyone else. He was a king who commanded fear and respect, but there were times when he felt like an older brother or a friend. Had he not just openly exposed his weakness just then?
‘It’s impossible for me to kill Kartheon. Wouldn’t he just stop or turn back time and kill me instead?’ Katz thought.
Rustle… Rustle…
Thousands of mummies trailed behind the two men, and the sound of their footsteps echoed through the vast desert. The sunset bathed the desert in a red hue. It was a sight that could only be seen once a day when the sun set in the Desert of Death.
“Do you think regression is the only answer?” Katz asked. He would normally have been scared to speak out like that, but he felt strangely comfortable for some reason.
Kartheon raised his nonexistent eyebrows and asked, “What other answers are there?”
“Your majesty has to kill everyone in the continent to regress,” Katz said. Perhaps it was because of the sunset hue shining on his head, but his brain was working quite quickly at that moment. He continued, “This world will disappear if your majesty regresses to the past. This wonderful desert and I will not exist if that happens. Will you not feel troubled if you are the only person who can remember this world?”
Kartheon scoffed at his words and responded, “Katz, one cannot be a king with such a weak will as yours.”
“But your majesty is a human too, right?” Katz asked.
“It seems to me that you do not want me to destroy this world,” Kartheon said. Katz immediately shut his mouth. Kartheon continued coldly, “I will kill everything on this continent, and you are no exception.”
“Well, I’m nothing but a measly graverobber, and I was also nothing but a thief back in my world, so your majesty doesn’t have to be mindful of someone like me. I’m nothing but a criminal. But…” Katz trailed off as he stared at the blazing sunset, before continuing tearfully, “It’s a bit sad to think that such a beautiful sight will be gone forever.”
“This place was a lush forest, and it looked much better in ancient times,” Kartheon said.
“…is that so, your majesty?” Katz replied. However, he soon fell silent and bit his lower lip, thinking, ‘It didn’t work. Damn it…’
***
Iris woke up early in the morning, and looked around at those who were still sleeping. Two people who should have been asleep were not there. Iris tilted her head in confusion as she thought, ‘Where did those two cute men go?’
Then, a voice she had not heard in a while answered. No, it was not a voice, but rather a message that popped up in her head.
On top of the sand dune to the northwest.
“Thank you,” Iris said as she slowly walked up the sand dune.
Henrick was sleeping drunkenly with his body half-buried under the sand, and Iris lightly jumped over him. She asked Kang Yoon-Soo, “You didn’t sleep?”
“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. He was looking into the horizon as dawn finally came. The cold desert gradually started to heat up again.
“It’s not good to stay up all night,” Iris said.
Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and stared at Iris before asking, “Why is this the last life?”
“I do not know,” Iris replied.
“Ask,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
Iris put both hands on her chest and thought, ‘White Shadow, why is this Kang Yoon-Soo’s final life?’
Iris waited.
Kang Yoon-Soo waited.
Silence filled the area.
“There was no response,” Iris said.
Kang Yoon-Soo walked past Iris without a word, then grabbed Henrick’s shoulder and shook him awake. He said, “Wake up.”
“I’ll give you the response every lazy person on this continent says when someone tells them that. I don’t want to,” Henrick replied.
“Let’s have a drink again,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
“Ack! You punk! Don’t your insides hurt?!” Henrick exclaimed in horror as he ran down the sand dune.
Iris walked up behind Kang Yoon-Soo and called out, “Kang Yoon-Soo.”
“What?” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“Would you still have considered me your comrade if the White Shadow had not been inside me?” Iris asked.
“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. Tears started welling up in Iris’ eyes, and Kang Yoon-Soo blinked silently a few times before saying, “I’m sorry.”
“I still want to be with Kang Yoon-Soo,” Iris said.
“You are right now,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
Iris shook her head and said, “I do not mean it that way.”
“I don’t like you that way,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, drawing a firm line.
“Oh my, I was not talking about love. I want to marry a man who can tell me fun stories all night long,” Iris said.
“Then what did you mean?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.
Iris looked at the sand beneath her feet. She bent down to pick up a handful of sand before throwing it in the air. The sand grains in the air reflected the sunlight, sparkling like gold.
“It is because Kang Yoon-Soo is a strange Traveler,” Iris said.
“What?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.
“Kang Yoon-Soo is emotionless and quiet, and you do not explain what you are going to do to other people. You do not tell your secrets to others, but you are fully aware of others’ secrets. You are a really boring man,” Iris said.
“I know,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“Then how were we able to travel with you?” Iris asked.
Kang Yoon-Soo fell silent and thought for a moment before replying, “I don’t know.”
Iris smiled brightly as the rising desert sun shone on her flowing hair. She remarked, “You are sacrificing yourself for the people precious to you, no?”
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“Others aren’t aware of it,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“They know. They might not be aware of your numerous regressions, but they know that you care. Your kindness, your sacrifice, and even your loneliness,” Iris said.
“How?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.
Iris was about to reply when Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly drew his sword and swung at her.
Sukeok!
A sandworm shot up from the sand, jumping on Iris and trying to swallow her whole, but Kang Yoon-Soo sliced its head in half before nonchalantly sheathing his sword.
Iris did not seem to be surprised at all. Instead, she was looking at Kang Yoon-Soo with a smile. She asked, “Do you understand now?”
Kang Yoon-Soo did not reply. Instead, he silently walked down the sand dune. Iris smiled as she followed right behind him.
***
“Are you awake?” Shaneth asked as she stretched and woke up.
The Fire Trolls also woke up and lazily got up from the ground.
“I don’t wanna get up! 10 more minutes!”
“No! The sandstorm will start raging once again if we’re late.”
Henrick tried to gulp down a bottle of water to quench his thirst, then angrily frowned and complained, “There’s no water!”
“What?! There’s no water?! How could this be?!” the Fire Trolls shouted in surprise. Even though they were used to the desert, it was still impossible for them to travel across the desert without water.
Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “Let’s go to the elves’ settlement.”
“But the elves live too far from here!” the Fire Trolls protested.
“I know a way,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied nonchalantly as he brought out the sandworm’s long corpse. The monster that looked like a mix of a lizard and a worm was covered in blood.
Henrick asked with a curious expression, “You… What are you doing right now…?”
Kang Yoon-Soo dragged the corpse of the sandworm over and started to slice it into pieces. He then sliced those further into smaller pieces that were just the right size for the group to eat.
Shaneth jumped in surprise and immediately asked in surprise, “What are you doing?”
“You told me to make breakfast,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied as he lit the fire.
***
It was a very abundant breakfast. Kang Yoon-Soo had cooked the sandworm meat well, turning it into a tasty meat dish that even those who had been disgusted and repulsed by the idea of eating sandworm meat also ate as well. The soup made from its thin skin and the meat skewers were quite good.
“It’s really tasty,” Shaneth said as she praised Kang Yoon-Soo’s cooking.
“Don’t make me cook ever again,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
He had cooked an amount that would make anyone think he made too much, but the Fire Trolls had wolfed down everything and there were no leftovers.
The Fire Trolls rubbed their full stomachs and exclaimed in satisfaction.
“Thank you! The groom of the goddess!”
“It was a delicious meal! Although I wish there were more!”
“That’s right! The goddess needed a groom who could cook!”
The party packed their things and prepared to walk across the desert once again, with Kang Yoon-Soo walking at the forefront and guiding them. Around two hours after they departed, they found a small cave opening.
“Let’s go in,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
“It’s too narrow! Our heads are grinding against the ceiling!” the Fire Trolls complained.
“Duck,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
The Fire Trolls hesitantly entered the dark and narrow cave, which lit up thanks to the flames surrounding their bodies. The cave started to become wider as they passed through.
“It’s the exit!”
Bright, warm sunlight greeted them as soon as they exited the cave. Numerous buildings that complemented the desert surroundings were visible over the horizon.
“It’s the elves’ settlement!”
“It’s faster than going around the desert! Even those of us who have lived a long time in the desert didn’t know about this!”
It was at that moment, when the excited Fire Trolls were about to enter the elves’ settlement, that Yanak suddenly shouted, “Stop! Something’s strange!”
“What is it?” the other Fire Trolls asked.
“Look closely! It’s too quiet, and there are no elves in sight!” Yanak replied.
Now that they thought about it, he was right. There would normally be a few elves at this time of day, but it was too quiet. They saw a shadow suddenly move between the buildings, but the shadow quickly disappeared soon after.
“Maybe they’re all taking a nap?” a Fire Troll asked.
Yanak made a makeshift speaking trumpet and shouted, “Hello! Are you guys alright?!”
However, the only response he got was deafening silence.
It was at that moment that suddenly, in place of a reply, an arrow flew toward them.
Shhhkkk!
There was quite a distance between them, but they were certain that it was an arrow fired by an elf, based on its accurate trajectory despite the distance.
Yanak caught the arrow aimed at his head with his bare hands, crushing it. He exclaimed, “Something’s wrong! Let’s go check it out!”
“A kidnapping ring took over that village,” Kang Yoon-Soo said nonchalantly.
The Fire Trolls jumped in surprise.
“Are you sure?!”
“How do you know?!”
“The goddess’ groom is on a different level!”
Yanak was now getting nervous and impatient, saying, “If they took over the village, we should immediately go and help them!”
“They might have taken the elves hostage, though,” Shaneth cautioned, warning them to be mindful of any hostages.
The Fire Trolls glowed red as if to show that they were angry. One of them spoke up. “Then what should we do?! We can’t sit around here and just watch, right?!”
“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he walked toward the village. He was alone, and of course, an arrow flew toward him.
Shhhheeeek!
Kang Yoon-Soo swung his sword and split the arrow in two. He continued to walk forward while cutting down all the arrows aimed at him.
“Goddess’ groom! You might die at this rate!”
“Go try and stop him! Isn’t he your comrade?!” the Fire Trolls said.
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Henrick seemed awfully calm in the eyes of the Fire Trolls as he said, “Based on my experience, that guy never dies when pulling those kinds of stunts alone. Of course, it’s a different story when it comes to someone he’s killing.”
Kang Yoon-Soo looked ahead and said, “I’ll go and negotiate with them.”
Yanak seemed confused and skeptical as he replied, “A deal? We don’t have anything to trade with the elves!”
“Well… That guy’s style of negotiations is a little bit different from the negotiations you’re used to seeing,” Henrick said as he picked up a sand crystal and started carving it with his sculpting knife.
Shaneth nodded in agreement and said, “It’s going to be a negotiation that only benefits Kang Yoon-Soo.”