Chapter 59

The Sand Plateau offered an overwhelming landscape.

The gentle hills gradually grew steeper until eventually we followed a narrow path along sheer rocky slopes.

We arranged all the horses in a single file.

As for the cart, we had exchanged it for a plateau model at the last crossroad we visited, Shadowed Mountain.

The cart, which rolled on a single thick wheel, safely navigated even the narrowest paths.

The horses of the Star Continent had hooves that split like fingers, allowing them to skillfully traverse rocky paths.

Smarter and stronger than Earth horses, they pulled the cart without difficulty even in this rough terrain.

‘I wonder if Heukseom survived…’

Watching the horses struggle along the path reminded me of my beloved horse Heukseom (Black Flash). That horse was smarter and stronger than any other. Family that grew up with me. A fine steed personally selected by my parents.

At the Guardian’s Graveyard, I had to release him when we were blocked by the forest path.

And I’d forgotten about him until now.

There had been too many sorrows, and it was impossible to know who had died and who had survived.

…or so I excuse myself.

I try to believe that being as smart as he was, he somehow escaped.

Perhaps because things had become a bit more tolerable now, all sorts of emotions surfaced and my mood gradually sank.

It was just as my spirits were boring down into the canyon of depression that we finally reached the top of the Sand Plateau, after that long uphill climb.

“Jun-woo! Look at that!”

When I raised my head at Yuria’s words, I completely forgot the gloomy thoughts I’d been dwelling on.

“Wow…”

An exclamation escaped me involuntarily.

The Sand Plateau descended so gently from where we stood that it was hard to notice, allowing the entire plateau to be seen at once.

Sand mountains and rock mountains stood in harmony.

Sand pouring down from the sand mountains formed rivers that flowed in meandering paths.

Shhhhh-

The sound of the sand rivers flowing majestically carried clearly to us even from this distance. The sand rivers, which curved and caressed a significant portion of the plateau, formed golden waterfalls as they dropped somewhere in the distance.

A river of water flowed along the boundary separating the sand region from the grassland region. Blue waves pushed back the sand, creating massive sand embankments that prevented the grassland from being buried.

Crossroads scattered here and there throughout the grassland region with its flowing waters and the sand region with its sand rivers looked small and faint in the distance.

The sand rivers and sand mountains of the sand region. The blue rivers and rock mountains of the grassland region. These contrasting landscapes intertwined, giving the Sand Plateau a majestic appearance like a scene from mythology.

“I-I think that’s the Sky Bridge and the Floating Island over there.”

Monggu said.

Looking into the distance, a clear blue sky was visible among the clouds.

There was a white bridge stretching toward the sky. The land to which the bridge was connected was a massive island rising in the sky. A towering mountain was visible, along with gray castle walls.

The Floating Island and Lanciel City. Beyond them was nothing but endless sky.

That place was the very edge of the continent we live on.

So this place too was just one of countless continents that had become stars and separated… there was nothing beyond that edge. I’d heard that if you jumped from that edge, you would float eternally through the void, spinning round and round along the Tower of Covenant.

‘So does that mean the direction of gravity is centered on the Tower of Covenant?’

With my scientific knowledge from Earth, it seemed preposterous, but… what could I do? My homeland wasn’t Earth but… this place, the chaotic Star Continent.

Anyway, it was quite a spectacle.

Average altitude: 3,000 meters above sea level.

Looking forward, you could see the magnificent high mountain region, and looking back, through the clouds you could faintly see the Saharan Plains and Trimacos City we had left behind, and even further in the distance, the Green Wetlands and Muksi (Ink Market), Alpine Mountain and Alpine City.

“The, the relic site is behind that mountain.”

Monggu raised his finger to point in one direction.

It was the sand region where sand rivers flowed. Among them stood a particularly tall sand mountain. Most of it was hidden by thick clouds, and only the golden sand peak and base were faintly visible.

Rumble… Boom!

Looking at this grand scenery, lightning occasionally struck.

It wasn’t ordinary lightning. It was special lightning that burned and scattered like feathers, with magnificent sparks in the air.

After watching the lightning strike several times, Yuria said:

“The Calamity of Lightning… unlike the Saharan Plains, there are many active calamities here.”

That was true.

We hadn’t encountered a single calamity while crossing the Saharan Plains. At the Shadowed Mountain Crossroad we had visited just before, we heard that calamities had drastically decreased after a massive flash of light exploded. And that Trimacos City had launched a major expedition against calamities…

The man who told us the story was delighted, saying it was the first era of peace he’d ever experienced.

I had some idea about the flash and explosion.

‘Arsenal #7 must have annihilated all the calamities in the area…’

That was my guess.

But the calamities of the Sand Plateau apparently weren’t drawn to Arsenal #7. Even just looking down, calamities were visible here and there.

However, no Calamities of Night like orcs or ogres were visible, only fires and lightning everywhere.

“I don’t know how to deal with natural disaster-type calamities… I just hope they don’t interfere with our exploration of the relic site.”

That was our hope.

+ – + – +

Swooosh!

As we entered the sand region, the sound of flowing sand rivers was as loud as a waterfall.

We removed the single wheel from the cart and installed two ski-like boards. As the horses pulled, the cart made a swishing sound as it cut through the sand.

As we steadily advanced, the sand mountain that had seemed impossibly distant suddenly loomed before us.

I abruptly raised my fist above my head.

Yuria and Monggu stopped their horses and held their breath.

Clink!

I took out the <Eye of the Observer> I had bound to my pocket.

Humm-

As magical power flowed into it, the Eye of the Observer glowed red and blue. As hexagonal grid-shaped mana spread out 300 meters in all directions, everything within was scanned and entered my mind.

While the sand field looked unremarkable to the naked eye, when scanned, foreign mana cleverly hidden throughout was detected.

‘Detection devices.’

Like Arsenal #7, magic to detect approaching beings was spread everywhere.

‘Remove.’

At my internal command, the Eye of the Observer neutralized all the detection magic.

Now our position wouldn’t be revealed.

But the relic site wasn’t just passively accepting this.

Rumble! Crash!

As if in retaliation, lightning struck the clear sky. It randomly struck within the 300-meter radius where the surveillance magic had been destroyed.

We took out our protective talismans and activated the mobile barrier’s defensive shield. Monggu put on his full-body suit.

But the lightning calamities ultimately couldn’t pinpoint our location.

The lightning bolts struck only the empty sand plains before disappearing.

“Let’s move.”

We continued forward again, now even more cautious than before.

“But… I don’t think we can break through like this…”

Yuria frowned.

Indeed… as we got closer to the relic site, more and more lightning calamities gathered. We hadn’t been directly hit by lightning yet, but at this rate, it seemed we would soon take a few hits.

“I ran a simulation. We can withstand three to four strikes. Without being detected.”

Lightning calamities that seemed to be at least C-class. The fact that our mobile barrier could withstand three or four strikes showed how good it was.

Moreover, since the mobile barrier’s shield had a concealment function built in, our position wouldn’t be revealed even if we were hit.

Yuria asked:

“Can’t you run [Simulation] to avoid the lightning altogether?”

How wonderful would that be?

But controlling the lightning was the relic site itself. A rough estimate gave me a condition burden of over 5,000 Jun-woos. Even considering my simulation capacity of about 10,000 simuls after becoming a 3-star blood channel mage, I’d be exhausted in 2 minutes.

I couldn’t waste my magical power and stamina like that.

After briefly explaining the situation, I moved forward again.

“Let’s go slowly.”

Creeping forward and stopping repeatedly, we steadily moved toward the relic site.

But eventually we reached our limit.

Rumble! Boom!

One strike.

Boom boom!

Two strikes.

The lightning that had been falling like this suddenly started:

Kaboom boom boom!

It began to pour down.

I thought it was a rain shower.

No, a waterfall.

“What… is this?”

Was this the relic site’s firm resolve to deny further approach?

After using the <Eye of the Observer> once, countless lightning bolts came pouring down in reply.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Bang! Bang! Kaboom!

Despite our mobile barrier shield, Yuria’s and my shields, and even with <Wind’s Protection> cast, we still took a few lightning bolts to our bodies. It was nearly miraculous that we managed to protect the mobile barrier and horses through all this.

“…Let’s withdraw for now.”

With our destination right in front of us, we finally turned back.

If it had been ogres, we would have killed them and continued.

But we didn’t know how to kill lightning pouring from the sky.

It was a type of calamity we’d never fought before.

+ – + – +

Creak. Creak.

We passed through the sand region looking like beggars. The cart, blackened by the fire and lightning, let out particularly painful groans.

“What… should we do now?”

Yuria asked.

Her voice sounded somewhat drained, so I answered with extra energy.

“It’s fine! This is our first time in this region, right? Of course it’s difficult! Let’s find a way to defeat the Lightning Calamity.”

My motivation was actually surging.

How do the Calamities of Night and the Calamity of Lightning differ?

If the Calamity of Night corresponds to demons’ foot soldiers… what is the Calamity of Lightning?

By what principle does it occur?

This too was ultimately a mystery I had to solve.

Trials are just opportunities in disguise.

Having decided to see the end of magic, wasn’t I destined to solve endless problems anyway?

If I couldn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t have started.

“Let’s gather information by visiting the crossroads in the area.”

Just as we had settled on that direction,

Yuria was squinting at something near the horizon.

“Hmm… but that looks like a caravan?”

Caravan?

I looked where she was looking. At first I couldn’t see anything. Only after concentrating ki in my eyes could I see it.

Shhhh-

Over the flowing sand river, flat-bottomed boats were rapidly moving toward us.

“…You can actually ride those?”

The sand rivers that had seemed threatening and that we’d only avoided until now… apparently they were excellent means of transportation for locals.

A group of about 300 people on flat boats in the sand river was quickly approaching us.

“What should we do? Should we avoid them for now?”

Meeting strangers in unfamiliar wilderness isn’t good. Especially when we’re carrying valuable items and the other side is strong.

Her suggestion was therefore reasonable, but I had a different idea.

“No. A caravan of that size… we absolutely won’t lose. There aren’t any 3rd Circle mages in caravans, right? Let’s be proactive. We need information more urgently.”

“Yessir, captain.”

We moved ahead to intercept the caravan’s path.

A while later, the caravan that had spotted us left the sand river and stopped, and a young man who appeared to be the leader approached us with 10 subordinates.

We exchanged glances on horseback.

Interest rose in the man’s eyes, and I tried to hide my surprise.

“Oh? Are you perhaps mages? You look quite young…”

The man immediately noticed that Yuria and I were mages. He smiled, but his eyes didn’t lose their wariness of us.

He slowly introduced himself.

“Pleased to meet you, strangers. I haven’t heard of such young mages in this area… and judging by your attire… you’re coming from the Saharan Plains? I am Fel Jack, second son of the Jack family of lightning hunters, who silenced two calamities, and a 3rd Circle mage. If you don’t mind, I’d like to know your names and destination?”

It wasn’t a lie. On his chest, three circles spun vigorously with a clicking sound. Judging by circles alone, he wasn’t below Han Se-hoon.

‘Why would a 3rd Circle mage be leading a caravan?’

I had approached thinking there’d be no 3rd Circle mages, as there were none in the Saharan Plains except the mayor of Trimacos City…

Suddenly a 3rd Circle mage?

Trying to hide my surprise, I belatedly recalled one strange title he had mentioned.

‘Wait, what did he call himself? Lightning hunter?’

I suddenly widened my eyes.

“Lightning… hunter?”

My inner thoughts escaped before I realized it.