It took Sakeer a full two days to leave the active volcano area and make his way into the outer region.
Goo Dong~ Goo Dong~
Sakeer, dressed in a loose black outfit with his hands and feet bound, sat on the sand, completely absorbed in the act of drinking water from his water pouch. His clothes were the usual ones he wore—except for the absence of his white priest's robe.
"Whew~"
After taking several long gulps, Sakeer finally exhaled, raised his head, and gazed out at the endless Gobi Desert before him. The air was dry, and the temperature was scorching. The ground beneath him was littered with earthy brown gravel, and as far as the eye could see, the landscape was a mixture of wind-eroded rock formations, with not a single significant plant in sight.
Sparse, stunted shrubs and cactus-like plants dotted the land.
"Is this the other side of the portal in the depths of the lava sea?" Sakeer muttered to himself, his expression turning solemn and a little strange.
Back in the lava field, when faced with the powerful magic of the Ancient Flame Dragon, Sakeer knew he couldn't stop it. In the end, he had to rely on the small anglerfish that had been dragged out of the magma by the La-Angler Lava Lord.
After killing it, he used some of the materials from its body to activate his "Wild Transformation" ability, which allowed him to avoid the intense heat of the magma.
It was there, within the magma, that he discovered the reason the Ancient Flame Dragon had ventured so deep—it was healing its injuries by drawing power from the molten energy. And the La-Angler Lava Lord, as the "Lava Ruler," had allowed it to do so on its own territory.
Realizing that the situation was growing worse, and still trapped on the enemy's domain, Sakeer's own magic reserves were depleted. After a brief and fierce confrontation, even his [Valkyrie] skills were exhausted. So, he chose to retreat, diving deeper into the magma to regain his strength while evading both the La-Angler Lava Lord and the Ancient Flame Dragon.
But, as fate would have it, he was suddenly sucked into a vortex within the magma. By the time he surfaced again, he had found himself in this desolate place.
"So, this must be the northwest corner of the continent. The place where humans are located is far from here, right?" Sakeer squeezed the water pouch in his hand, his eyes narrowed in thought.
He was almost certain that such a vast volcanic complex did not exist in any human-inhabited areas.
And there's more...
He couldn't sense the magic mark that he had left on the Twins. If the strength of magic is related to the base value of magic attacks, then its effectiveness depends on the caster's level.
Sakeer's magic caster level, along with the newly acquired [Witch] class, had reached level 50 after superposition, which is equivalent to the level of being able to use the Eighth-tier magic.
At this level, he should have been able to perceive the magic mark, but he couldn't sense it at all. That meant the distance between them was simply too vast.
Sakeer flipped his palm, pulling a roasted wild boar leg from his Item Box. He took a big bite, chewing thoughtfully.
He always made sure to carry enough food in case of emergencies.
"There are two options for the next step."
His cheeks puffed out slightly as he chewed the wild boar, contemplating his choices.
The first option: After fully restoring his magic, he could use his "Wild Transformation" ability to return to the Azerlisia Mountains through the natural portal deep within the magma.
He was able to determine the time—it had been seven days since he left. While not an extremely long period, it was still significant. He could tell because his mana recovery was sluggish, and it was easy to calculate the time based on how long it took to regenerate.
The second option was far riskier: He could explore this unknown area.
An unknown continental zone meant unknown risks, unknown information, and potentially unknown enemies.
Whoosh!
From above, a goshawk with black-and-gray feathers, its wings spanning about a meter, dove quickly toward him.
As it neared, the goshawk folded its wings, twisting in mid-air. Its body rapidly morphed, transforming into a Barghest, and it landed gracefully on the ground with a soft thud.
Bang!
The Barghest trotted over to Sakeer, tail wagging excitedly. It nuzzled his shoulder with its head.
"Thank you for your hard work," Sakeer said, his face lighting up with a smile.
He patted the dog's head affectionately, then pulled out another wild boar leg from his Item Box and tossed it to the creature.
The dog caught it in mid-air, its tail wagging even faster as it devoured the treat eagerly.
Yesterday, Sakeer had already used resurrection magic to bring the Barghest back to life, re-establishing their connection through the Companion Contract I.
Just moments ago, the Barghest had influenced the goshawk's behavior—an effect of the contract's abilities—by utilizing Sakeer's skill, Wild Transformation. He had initially sent the dog, transformed into a goshawk, to scout the surroundings. However, the results were less than ideal.
Apparently, the choice had been made between the two available options.
Everything the Barghest observed from the air, Sakeer could partially perceive through their contract. The vastness of this Gobi Desert far exceeded his expectations—it stretched endlessly, barren and lifeless.
At least so far, he had yet to see a single living creature.
A Moment Later…
Man and beast had finished their brief rest.
"One month at most for exploration."
Sakeer swung himself onto the Barghest's back, narrowing his eyes as he raised a hand and patted its neck.
Reaching this mysterious and uncharted region through the lava field was an unexpected discovery. The sheer amount of information and intelligence he could gather here was invaluable—it would be a shame to abandon such a rare opportunity. However, given his current circumstances, he couldn't afford to linger for too long.
After all, those twin witches… If he remained absent for a month, there was no telling what trouble they might stir up.
"Woof," the Barghest bark before setting off, heading in the exact opposite direction of the volcanic terrain.
Nightfall
Darkness descended swiftly upon the empty Gobi Desert, shrouding the landscape in an eerie silence.
The Barghest, visibly fatigued, lay beside Sakeer, gnawing on a thick bone—its preferred dinner-time snack. This little habit had developed when Sakeer first fed it the corpses of goblins.
"There's still no sign of any creatures… Could this really be some desolate, forgotten corner of the continent?"
Sakeer sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning his back against the soft fur of the Barghest, lost in thought.
Of course, that wasn't necessarily the case.
From the limited knowledge he retained from his past life, he knew this continent was vast—so vast that the northwestern region inhabited by humans was smaller than some of the centralized territories ruled by powerful nations.
With such an expanse, it was entirely plausible for some areas to be devoid of life.
For the next two days, his exploration continued without success.
Until the evening of the third day.
Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.
The sound of shifting sand broke the silence.
"Rrrr—" The Barghest bared its sharp fangs, lowering its body in a defensive stance as it stared intently at the sand ahead.
Mounds of sand rose and fell in rapid succession, converging toward them from multiple directions—as if something was moving beneath the desert surface, closing in on its prey.
In the face of this sudden development, Sakeer didn't show concern. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his otherwise parched and dust-covered face.
"Good. At least there's something alive here."
After days of scouring the desert without encountering a single creature, he had begun to wonder if the land was completely lifeless.
To gather information, he needed to interact with intelligent beings. But if he couldn't even find a single living thing, let alone a sapient one, how could he possibly obtain anything useful?
Boom! Boom!
The sand ahead erupted violently. A dense cloud of yellow dust rose into the air, obscuring his vision.
Then—gray, earthy-brown tails tipped with venomous hooks shot out from the sand, lunging toward Sakeer and the Barghest.
"Scorpion-like monsters."
Sakeer assessed the incoming threat in an instant. Without hesitation, an iron sword materialized in his grip. With a flick of his wrist, he swung effortlessly.
The hooked tails were severed in an instant, their severed ends dropping to the sand, twitching wildly. Thick, purple-red blood oozed from the wounds, staining the ground beneath them.
Ssssshhhhh…
A chorus of agonized hissing rang out from beneath the sand. Moments later, several desert scorpions, each nearly a meter in length, burst out from their underground burrows.
But before they could retaliate—
Sakeer moved.
In the blink of an eye, he had already closed the distance, weaving between the creatures. His iron sword cut through the air in fluid arcs, effortlessly slicing through their tough, earthen-brown exoskeletons.
[Experience Gained: 421]
[Experience Gained: 387]
[Experience Gained: 405]
[…]
[Experience Slot: 108,632 / 120,000]
Within two breaths, all five desert scorpions lay dead.
"Hmm. Not too strong—probably around level eleven or twelve," Sakeer muttered, quickly analyzing the experience points displayed on his status panel.
He had chosen to fight using physical attacks rather than magic, deliberately avoiding unnecessary commotion.