Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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“Haah…”

The party that survived the attack of the False Whale let out a sigh as they looked down at the bubbling sand.

Even after swallowing three camels and a human, the False Whale continued to circle around the rocky mountain endlessly, seemingly still hungry.

It moved through the sand as if swimming in the sea, occasionally tossing its giant tail to spray sand waves at the rocky mountain.

“This is…”

Though it was fortunate that the False Whale couldn’t climb the rocky mountain, the problem was far from resolved.

The entire rocky mountain was heated up by the blazing sun overhead.

If we stayed here for too long under this sun with no shade, we would surely collapse from dehydration.

As the grim future painted itself, everyone except me remained silent, drooping with exhaustion.

As time passed, the party grew increasingly weary.

The beads of sweat trickling down my forehead evaporated the moment they hit the heated rocky surface.

The bubbling sand still circled beneath the rocky mountain.

This meant the False Whale had not given up on us.

With a sigh, I drew my sword and stood up.

Swoosh—

The sudden unsheathing of my sword drew the party’s attention.

As I calmly received their puzzled looks, I slowly made my way down toward the rocky mountain.

Suddenly, the half-slumped Shahkan leaped up and shouted at me.

“Se, Seris? What are you planning to do?”

“Whatever it takes.”

“Stop! That thing is not something you can face with just a sword!”

I knew that too. I couldn’t hope to match it with my meager swordsmanship.

Thus, I intended to use a different force.

It was a technique that required high concentration, which I couldn’t use while riding the Nightmare.

The most powerful magic available to me currently, though it required the longest preparation time, sprang to mind.

The quickly rotating mana circle began to pull out two types of mana simultaneously, transforming it into hot heat and cold chill that raced rapidly through my hands.

In my right hand was the warmth of heat, and in my left, the cold chill.

I merged my hands, gripping the sword tightly.

Then, the two types of mana intertwined, creating a fierce storm.

Kuwaaa—!

“Se, Seris… What is that…”

The voices of my companions faded away, drowned out by the roar of the storm.

At this moment, the only thing I could hear was the pounding of my heart and the whirring of the mana circle enveloping it.

In the moment my sword, wrapped in the rough storm, trembled pathetically, I charged forward and plunged the sword into the bubbling sand.

In that instant, the fierce storm erupted along the length of my sword.

Kwah—!

Like a tremendous explosion, the swirling sand shot up into the sky along with the raging storm.

The sand rained down like a deluge, revealing the area beneath the rocky mountain due to the shockwave of the dual-elements clash.

The False Whale writhed beneath it. Its thick skin remained slick, but its once round and large eyes were distorted in pain, emitting a pained groan.

A sigh escaped me at the sight of its seemingly unharmed state.

However, I had anticipated this outcome.

The magic I used only mimicked the name; I hadn’t replicated its powerful destructive force.

I couldn’t blow away a massive mountain, nor could I overturn the surrounding desert.

This was proof that my skills were still lacking.

Yet, remarkably, this deficient magic seemed to have had an effect.

The False Whale, which had been writhing under the sand, suddenly turned to flee.

It seemed it was giving up on its hunt due to unexpected resistance.

Swinging its massive tail fin wildly, it disappeared into the sand.

“Hah…”

I let out a rough breath and slumped down to the ground.

That last strike had drained most of my mana.

The fatigue I hadn’t felt before, along with the heat of the desert, began to infiltrate my body.

“Seris! Are, are you alright?”

“Magic…?”

I chuckled softly at the voice coming from behind, still showing I was intact.

My arms and legs felt heavy, but I wasn’t in a state where I couldn’t move at all.

“The False Whale fled, huh…”

As Shahkan had said, the False Whale had indeed retreated.

Perhaps because it vanished, the boiling sand around us reverted to normal.

*

Waiting for my mana to recover, we began a meeting with the party.

Due to the False Whale’s attack, everyone except me had lost their means of transport and their belongings.

After deliberating, the party concluded that crossing this scorching desert on foot without even food was akin to a death sentence.

Of course, Shahkan was not the type to back down.

He declared that no matter what, he would head for the Star Forge.

Then he handed out a rescue signal flare he had brought along to the party.

“I will go. Even if death awaits at journey’s end.”

“Umm…”

Shan and Sarja, perhaps having made up their minds to turn back, took the rescue signal flare from Shahkan.

For them, it was undoubtedly the most sensible choice.

No one could blame them. It simply came to be that way.

“Umm… Thank you for everything until now.”

“I hope you find it…”

After leaving those words, Shahkan turned to me.

He was waiting for my decision.

“I will go with you.”

“Ar, are you serious?”

“Yes.”

I nodded. Unlike the others, my belongings remained intact.

How many people would choose to give up and turn back in this situation?

I didn’t want to give up just yet.

Ultimately, it was just Shahkan and me who set off.

He seemed eager to ride the Nightmare with me but had to retreat after getting smacked in the face by its tail.

The False Whale never showed itself again after that.

*

To replenish our dwindling food supply, we hunted monsters.

The meat of the wild monsters was rank and extremely tough.

It was the worst taste imaginable.

The drinking water was somewhat better.

I could create clean water with magic.

Thus, we continued forward through the desert without giving up.

Days passed, and when it felt like my head was boiling under the glaring sun and the concept of time had faded, the Guiding Star suddenly stood still in the midst of the desert.

It stopped in a place barren of anything but desolate sand.

“Is this the place…?”

“Hmm…”

“Is this really it? Is this really the spot?”

Shahkan darted around the shimmering starlight.

It was as if he was desperately flailing to uncover something unseen in the empty air.

“Could it, could it be beneath here?”

Shahkan refused to give up.

He sat on the ground and started digging through the sand with his bare hands.

The starlight merely shone brightly at that spot without a word.

“Seris! You too, help me! It’s underneath here!”

His claim could very well be true.

I began to dig through the sand following Shahkan.

Until the hot sun hid away and the blue star and moon rose.

We dug diligently in a wide circle, but despite that, we found nothing.

“This, this can’t be…”

I climbed out of the sand pit and began to prepare dinner.

Shahkan still hadn’t the slightest intention of coming up from the pit.

“Shahkan! Why don’t you have dinner first?”

“It can’t be! It can’t be!”

Sighing as I watched Shahkan’s back, it seemed that my voice went unheard.

I chewed on some dried jerky while gazing up at the sky.

The numerous stars embroidered across the sky shimmered faintly, flowing like a river.

I was almost sick of that beautiful sky now.

After finishing dinner and preparing to help Shahkan dig again, I suddenly realized how unusually quiet everything around was.

There wasn’t even the usual sound of wind—a rather strange turn of events.

At that moment, the Nightmare, which had been lying on the soft sand, sprang to its feet.

Then it began to flap its large ears.

It seemed to have sensed some sound approaching from far away.

“What’s wrong?”

Whoosh—!

I frowned at the low warning sound from the Nightmare.

It stared intently in one direction, like when it spotted the False Whale.

Curious, I stared into the distance, and from afar, a wall-like cloud appeared to be approaching.

It was vast and looked enormous.

As time passed, the massive thing drew closer at an alarming speed; it was bound to be what’s known as a sandstorm.

I urgently called out to Shahkan.

“Shahkan!”

However, he was entirely absorbed in digging and didn’t even respond to my call.

I frantically looked around. Surely, there was no place to evade the storm on this vast sandy plain.

As I pondered, the sandstorm came rushing in at an incredible speed.

At that moment, the Nightmare shook its back and then set me down on the ground.

It curled up around me as if to shield me with its massive body.

“Nightmare?”

Just as my voice dispersed into confusion, the colossal sandstorm was upon us.

What approached was like a massive wall, from which a sound resembling raging beasts emanated.

“Oh no…!”

I drove my sword into the ground and spread a weak mana barrier over me and the Nightmare.

In that instant, the sandstorm engulfed everything, and my vision turned pitch black.

Kwah—!

The violently whipping winds carried tiny grains of sand, and the mana barrier was shredded in an instant.

The cutting sting of the sandstorm felt sharp against my skin.

I crouched tightly against the Nightmare’s body.

I could hardly breathe as sand rushed into my nostrils and mouth.

Holding my breath, I waited for the sandstorm to pass.

How long did I wait like that?

Suddenly, I realized the sound of the sandstorm battering against me had vanished.

I cautiously opened my eyes.

The sandstorm had completely retreated, but its aftermath lingered, leaving the surroundings hazy.

It was then.

Clang—!

The distinct sound of metal pierced through the swirling sand, ringing in my ears.

Clang—!

With the sound of metal, the sand began to settle.

As I looked towards the source of the sound with the Nightmare, a tiny silhouette of a dwarf began to emerge from the sand dust.

Clang—!

The dwarf was holding a hammer, vigorously striking something that was glowing red-hot.

Clang—!

It was starlight.

Each time the hammer struck, the starlight shattered and scattered in all directions.