Gerim leads us to the top of the closest sand dune to the city, where he gives everyone an angry look and rumbles in our minds, “Two days or don’t come back.”

Hargoil shrugs and starts off with the other two [Lardoa] trailing down the sand with him. Gerim lays a clawed hand on my shoulder and squeezes, “Two days or don’t come back.”

I don’t get to give a response to his extra attention as he leaps off in a completely different direction than Hargoil. I turn to marvel at his great bounds, in two he’s out of view and I’m left with Hargoil’s footprints and a lot of sand.

The city behind doesn’t have any illumination, but the vibrant energy of all the gathered demons is enough of a beacon to go on. After spending three months there I’ve familiarised myself with it, so finding it again in the desert shouldn’t be a problem.

‘Though I didn’t think I’d need to find it all on my own.’

Gerim said this was a hunt. Or at least that’s what my translation told me. He also said to help each other, how can we help each other if we’re all dispersed?

I was expecting some help in this hunt but it’s fine if I don’t have any, in fact, it’s better than fine if I don’t. It means I’ve got no one watching my movements, my actions.

Staring out into the desert from the top of the dune, I find the storm that greeted me months ago still raging. It blocks off most of the horizon on one side of the desert divide with clouds of dirt and scalding sand.

Hargoil and Gerim are headed that way. In different directions but the storm is wide and broad enough to cover large parts of the desert as it moves. The both of them headed that way without giving a moment's thought to other areas. Why?

Biting my cheek I turn away from the storm and start shuffling down the dune. Whatever the reason is, I’m not too curious about finding out right now, not with an incomplete limb at least.

I’m satisfied playing it safe…well, as safe as the weather allows. At the bottom of the dune, I stop and turn back at the storm.

‘Is it safer to hunt in the storm?’

I won’t be getting any answers until at least two days from now, and days here are long. There’s no visible source of light hanging in the sky, but somehow light makes it and the system counts each cycle of light and dark.

In the end, I decide to go with my gut. It’s day right now so that means I won’t be spending Essence on enhancing my vision. Inside the storm would’ve been a different matter, it's dark, hot, windy and painful in there.

Out here it’s different, but all the same. As I trudge through the scalding desert I have Essence flood my ears. Picking up the difference between the wind and a demon sneaking up on you has been my saving grace in Calridian’s city.

With all the illegal attempts to devour me, I’ve found that demons treat me like I’m being hunted. The dumber ones leap right at me without pausing to think, but the ones that forced a fight have been the ones to stalk my every move until I appeared vulnerable.

In hindsight, it's the exact thing those insect demons did to me when I entered the desert. The hunter becomes the hunted.

But I’m betting on that.

I’ve walked over two sand dunes and the vast desert landscape between them now but found nothing. My ears pick up shuffling sounds around and I get excited for a fight but it’s just the wind picking up sand.

Still, I walk, the heat is suffocating but I know it isn’t damaging, I could keep this up for as long as I want or need to. The hunt is what's important.

As I walk across the desert a part of me hopes to be hunted by something underestimating me, something like the insects of before. Sometimes I dig my feet into the sand to see if there’s any demon underneath the surface.

Climbing to the top of the third dune so far I half expect an arm or a claw to burst out and grab me, but I reach the top without challenge. And it's at the top I catch a glimpse of a figure, walking without a care in the world and about to climb the next dune.

I grin.

Redirecting the Essence in my ears to my eyes I chuckle under my hood and tighten my fist at the [Swak] making its way to the top of the dune ahead.

[Swak]

The pale, fat thing is riddled with holes in its flesh. Natural holes. I remember watching a Dragonborn get transformed into one of these.

‘Could it be the same one? Doubt.’

Even if it is, I'll still have to rip out its crystal.

Fueling my legs with Essence I feel them throb and bulge, becoming stronger, tougher and far more efficient than they would be on a normal human body.

I set my footing, squat and narrow my eyes at the target before leaping out into the air.

My single bound is nowhere up to what Gerim is capable of, but I’m sure he has several natural advantages that help, including being a tier ahead of me. For the moment, I’m satisfied feeling the billowing winds fight to take off my hood and run through my hair.

The [Swak], my prey, is not unaware of my presence. As I land several paces away from the base of the dune it climbs, it stops to stare at me and I do the same, halting my pursuit.

For a short moment, the [Swak] and I watch ourselves. My exciting landing buried me ankle-deep in the sands but my feet and legs are fuelled with enough Essence that the poor terrain doesn’t matter.

My eyes narrow at the [Swak] as it growls, unsure of what to do. Attack or flee.

However, I’m not burdened with such indecision. My grin resurfaces and I spring to action, leaping out of the sand I make it to the base of the dune and start climbing. The [Swak] startles and scrambles up top, kicking sand down at me as I climb.

It reaches the top and vanishes from my view but I’m right on its tail. Digging through the sand I make it to the top and ready myself for a meal only to have said meal barrel into me, tipping my balance and launching us over the top of the dune.

The [Swak] and I crash back at the base of the dune, my prey wastes no time kicking the sands out of its way as it makes a desperate retreat back the way I came.

Growling at the inconvenience I give chase once more, this time it only takes a few seconds running at full speed to catch up to the pale creature and stab my arm through its back.

It groans at my attack but doesn’t seem fazed by it. Instead, it still attempts to escape, sacrificing a chunk of its centre mass to my arm as it breaks free of me.

“Run!Run!” The [Swak] screams out, the single word or rather, drive to survive resonates outward.

“No escape.” Is my blunt reply, this time I grab it by its head and slam it on the desert ground.

Black points for eyes dart around until they fix on me, “Run!Run!” It continues to scream.

‘Why do I get the feeling it’s telling me to run?’

Before I can rip its head off the dune we climbed bursts into a cloud of sand, a wave rushes our way and I tighten my grip on the [Swak] even as it sees this as an opportunity to begin its attack on me. Three large demons stumble through the wave, snapping, clawing and slashing at one another, but that isn’t my concern now.

The wave abates and I turn my full attention to the [Swak] trying to liquify my arm with the acid leaking out of its holes. I place a foot on its neck and rip it off with my one working hand.

Like with the Lizardfolk, it still lives, but with its head gone I’ve exposed the crystal seated underneath. An alluring crimson colour beckons to me and I answer, ripping the crystal out and stuffing it into the desert cloaks single pocket.

As the [Swak] turns lifeless I shift my gaze to what caused the dune to explode, it’s hard to miss the three large demons going at it.

It’s hard not to recognise one of them, [Adar]. I faced this very same demon as well as two others months ago and barely came out alive. This [Adar] is much like the last with few exceptions.

Unlike the last it has two long horns sticking out of its head. The carapace shielding has cracks in some areas and is oozing out fluid but otherwise sits firm. The demon crawls on eight legs, its back cracks open revealing the same pair of thin buzzing wings the last had.

Not a lot of change aside from the extra horn and the shinier carapace, it’s at least twice as large as the last one. Which makes facing it ill-advised.

Much less the other two demons it's squaring off with. Large beasts posture and corner each other, the two have a pair of grasping pincers and scuttle across the sand on eight legs. Each has a long, narrow, and segmented tail that carries forward in a curve over the back, ending in a terrifying stinger.

The two are of the same demon type, [Bichu].

‘Looks like a giant scorpion to me.’

Smug critique aside I can tell I’m out of my league here so my first action is to grab ahold of the [Swak] corpse and drag it away from the fight between the three. Once at a safe distance, at the top of the dune I spotted the [Swak], I rip off a limb and start eating.

The fresher the meat, the better my regeneration. As I munch the rather chewy, fat and oily arm of the [Swak], I watch the three demons duke it out. The remainder of my arm grows slightly with the meal and I’m a bit tempted to take out the crystal sitting in my pocket and absorb it.

It’ll definitely get me the rest of my missing limb, bring me back to full strength and perhaps even help me level up. But Gerim’s orders echo in the back of my head.

Growling, discontent I pull out another arm and consume it. The battle between the three massive demons seems to be shifting toward the [Bichu] demons. I should’ve expected that they’d team up to take the [Adar] down.

But the [Adar] is no slouch, it has air superiority and takes advantage of it, leaping away into the air whenever it's in danger. For a moment I fear the [Adar] will escape defeat but I only chuckle.

‘If it does escape, I can follow it and finish it off wherever it lands.’

With a wide swipe of its stinger, one [Bichu] pokes and drags out a hole on the [Adar’s] carapace, forcing it to land. The poor horned demon lets out a screech and retaliates with a mad charge that pierces the offending [Bichu].

“Finally.”

The second [Bichu] sends its stinger down at the [Adar] comboing that attack with multiple ruthless chomps from its pincers.

It’s at this point I step off the dune and make for the battle. Fueling my entire body with Essence I ready myself to use the single true offensive ability I have.

Shapeshifting. Or as the stat sheet calls it, [Faithless Mimicry]