After my encounter with the monster in the sand, I could not even shut my eyes to sleep.
It was not only because I was scared that a monster would jump out from nowhere, but also because in this world the sun barely set for three hours.
If that was not bad enough, the drastic change in time seemed to distort my entire perception of it, making it hard for my body to adapt.
So… I used the time I had wisely.
I did not know how vast this desert was or where my other teammates were, so every few minutes I would run out of the skull for thirty seconds in different directions and shout as loudly as I could, praying that I would hear just one voice. Every attempt ended in failure.
No voices came. No footsteps. No screams. Just the flicker of dread.
What if I was the only one in this world?
I knew that could not be the case. I was not the protagonist, nor did I do anything that would warrant such a death sentence.
Perhaps if I went farther, I could find someone, but then I would not be able to rewind back if something happened to me.
I did not even have a weapon that could slay such a beast if I came across it.
Because of this, I spent about a week at the center of the skull. My eyes were turning blurry, my stomach growled every few seconds, and my throat was completely dry, begging for even a sip of water.
However, my stay in the skull was not useless, since I figured out a few important things.
The first was that fire, extreme human body heat, and loud sounds attracted the monsters in the sand. The more silent you were, the lower the chances they would catch you. This was because they were all blind.
The second thing I found out was that not all monsters in the sand were monstrosities, at least not ones that could tear you apart in seconds. Some were level 1s, and others went up to level 5.
With that being said, I tried to find the route that posed the least danger, and I was about to give up when I discovered the last crucial piece of information.
[HIGH LEVEL MONSTERS COULDN'T ATTACK IN THE NIGHT.]
Since the monsters in the sand could only attack when they heard vibrations or felt fire or heat from a human body, this was also why they only attacked in the daytime.
The sand made the most noise during the day, and the heat from the sun made it almost impossible to maintain a cool temperature unless you had an ice ability.
However, at night it was more tranquil, and the cold winds made it nearly impossible for them to pick up on your heat.
This made the night the best time to escape from here. It was not totally safe, since lower level monsters used this time to scavenge for food left behind by the bigger ones, so there were still dangers.
Even with all this information, I could not bring myself to leave my safe point.
I was not sure how large the desert was or if I would be able to find a safe place to hide during those three hours of nighttime. What if I could not escape before the sun came up?
Those questions became shackles that held me back, keeping me rooted to the skull.
But I knew better. Sooner or later, I would die, either from starvation, thirst, or an even worse monstrosity waiting for my demise.
I lay flat on the platform I sat on. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"
The only thing I could do at that moment was curse. Why was my life so shitty? What kind of stupid ass shit did I put myself in with my surprise pick?
"What the hell would come next, me finding out I had been a girl all along and not a boy? Yeah, I bet that would make me one hell of surprised."
I wanted to punch the wall so hard I would bleed, but I held back.
There was not even enough energy in me to do that. I forced myself to my feet and moved toward the edge of the skull.
Today, I was going to go farther than my safe zone. Since my teammates were meant to spawn near me, that meant there had to be another safe zone close by, unless they were dead.
As I stared at the horizon, the red sun was finally setting, though painfully slowly. It was a beautiful sight that almost made me forget I was in hell. The lavender moon gradually exchanged places with the sun, casting the golden sand below in both fiery gold and soft violet hues.
I counted each second in my heart, and within an hour the sun had fully settled. Darkness filled the land, illuminated only by the soft lavender moon.
I let the sand settle before jumping down from the skull, hopping from one protruding bone to another until I reached the ground.
The landing was soft, barely generating any noise. I glanced around, making sure no beast rushed me. Then I channeled mana through my body, enhancing mainly my feet, my eyes, and my ears.
I did not waste a single second before rushing toward the eastern side. Out of all four cardinal directions I had explored this past week, this one had the smallest concentration of dangerous monsters.
The only problem was that it had a large number of sinking sands, hollow ground, and tall spiraling tower-like constructs that shot out fire at loud noises. They also twisted to attack whenever they sensed blood spilled on the land.
But that was not my concern now. I did not want any trouble. Even if I failed to escape the desert, I needed more information than I currently had.
If possible, I needed to find another safe zone that could protect me during the daytime.
As I rushed through the desert, avoiding every trap I had previously marked using Time Jumper, I reached the area where I had stopped before.
The sight in front of me made my stomach churn.
Several large corpses lay half-buried in the sand, and around them hundreds of smaller monsters scurried, tearing away and devouring flesh bit by bit. Each of them stood about two meters tall, resembling a grotesque mix of sidewinder snakes and scorpions, complete with pincers, a tail, and two white wings crudely fixed to their backs.
They used their pincers to rip chunks of meat from the desiccated bodies and shove them into their mouths. From time to time, fights broke out, ending with a few monsters being torn apart and immediately devoured by the rest.
I swallowed hard, partly because the sight of the monstrosities made my body stiffen, and partly because watching them feast stirred a twisted sense of hunger within me.
I shook off the thought. I had already gone a week without food, so what was another day or two?
However, just as I was about to go around them, one of the monsters turned toward me. I was sure I was hidden behind a small mound of sand, but it seemed to catch sight of my head.
The monster appeared to grin before letting out a loud hiss.
The moment it did, a system panel appeared in my vision. The words [Level 2] hovered above their heads.
More information followed.
[Level 2 Monster: Desert Rider]
[Description: A mutated serpent with extremely poisonous traits. Its venom and skin can kill a human in an instant. However, consuming them can increase your physique.]