[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[Are you okay? Where the hell did you go? We killed Will, but since you were party leader and you left, the party disbanded and I accidently got all the XP from him. We collected all their Life Crystals and gear. You were right, their surviving equipment is pretty good stuff. Message me as soon as you can.]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[Hey! Thanks for killing that idiot! I'm alright, I just got sent to some desert road far to the east. It's not on Conner's map so you won't be able to see it. I'll meet you guys in Higo, but it should take me over 14 hours of non stop walking, maybe more if I have to make stops. I'll try to message you if I have to extend my ETA.]

[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[Oh thank goodness! We were a little worried for a while there. Okay, we'll wait for you there. Let us know when you get close. Want Sonny to try to contact you?]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[Only if she can regen her mana. By the way, she still hanging out with Conner?]

[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[It feels like we're her parents. I swear, if they were both humanoid they would've been caught making out a long time ago.]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[Right? Just wondering. They're an interesting pair. Didn't we have a Golem Manual? Anyway we can apply that? Sorry, kinda boring out here so far. Guess I'll leave you guys to your travel as well. See you soon!]

[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[Good luck! ]

That last message was ten minutes ago and the luck did not transfer well. Even though I've leveled up several times since we first entered our first dungeon, I'm facing multiple Sand Trias and it's harder than I thought it would be. They're only level 10 and not bosses, but they're still gigantic and I'm on my own. I don't need to Taunt them, they're already quite pissed off. Apparently, one of them must have been a female and I might have interrupted a very special moment that they were all trying to have. I mean, I'd be pretty upset, too, if a guinea pig sized creature came running out of nowhere and killed the only female in an orgy. So, I don't think I can fault them for that.

[You received 60XP!]

It does take me more than the alotted time for my taunt anyway, and I need every MP and SP to count. That's also why I chose not to teleport down the road, in case I run into some beasties and need to fight. The bodies vaporize before I can use them for shade in this uncomfortably warm weather. My dark armor and furry mantle keep me extra warm and make the trek a little harder than it needs to be. Still, I don't want to be caught without them. I take a sip from my only waterskin, careful not to spill a drop.

The loot sacks are similar to the Shadow Tria except the materials aren't metallic in nature and I can craft with them. Claw Shell Pieces, Tria Carapace, a few Stingers, and a couple Poison Sacs. I only have room for a couple Shell Pieces and I keep all the rest. There's a yellow spotted bush off the road and I take a little walk to check it out. They're chilli peppers! I gather as many of the thumb sized fruit as I can (learned that in the kitchen from the know-it-all head chef one day). Holding one up to the light, I admire the electric yellow skin with jagged brown bolts running down it.

[You received 27*Sand Devil Pepper]

Gorm is going to love these! I hesitate to try one, since my water is limited and I don't know any cold spells. Feint green and yellow lines lead away from the road from where I'm standing and that probably means there's a quest or a dungeon that way. But, as flat as the area surrounding me is, all I can see is shin high vegetation, dirt, and a few sparse trees. "I don't have enough time for a solo dive," I argue with myself, "Plus, I'm pretty sure if I die in whatever hell hole I end up in, I'll just respawn from my teleport spot, setting me back even longer."

So, with an angry, screaming personified sense of adventure in my head, I continue down this impressively long stretch of road. Of course, if I had more time, I'd be following the scents the moment I caught them, but who knows how long I'd be following them?

If only I had one of the Rucksacks…

If only I had stocked more supplies…

If only I didn't have a group people, people who I've come to see as friends, waiting for my safe return…

Every excuse I come up with makes me feel better about my decision. I did grab some things after putting the Amulets together, but I didn't exactly plan on a miserable journey through a monster infested desert with no shade, no cover, and no end in sight. I would've crafted an umbrella or something. Currently, a sleeping pad is helping to bring me shade, but its barely enough and there's no wind.

A dark red dot blips in the sky and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I get ready to activate my Stealth, which is now at level two thanks to the armor set. At level two, the noises I make soften and the duration doubles to twenty minutes. I continue to walk as the hostile comes ever closer and ever larger in my view.

What I can only describe as a flying, blue giant-squid with only two tentacles gracefully cruises the dry air, the wavy mirage in the distance appearing to lift the creature above the too hot floor and keep it aloft. Its yarn like appendages lazily flow behind it and the yellow, tire sized eye facing the ground darts from cactus to bush to cactus.

>Scan[It is unknown how this strange creature stays in the air, but its movements are graceful and swift. It's favorite pray is the Sand Shark, though some have seen Moobens kill several without actually eating any of them.]

[Constrict, +Aero Blast, Vacuum Spin, Zoom II, Arcane Sight]

The blue squid spots something below and slowly descends to the ground. A whirling funnel of sand and debris reaches up to the sky, growing wider and taller with each passing second. The dusty vortex is just about eighty feet tall before my Analysis gives me a prompt and I naturally want to know what it is I'm looking at.

>Scan[Born from a vortex of mana and desert sand, the Dust Elemental's only impulse is to tear up the landscape and send creatures hurtling into the distance. Impervious to physical attacks.]

[+Sand Funnel, Lightning Storm II, Summon Sandstorm II]

Well, if I knew I was going to die anyway, I would have just gone to where the scent lines were taking me. I'm pretty sure it was a dungeon, maybe I can track it down again when these two titans send me for a respawn. If I'm lucky, maybe the Dust Elemental will fling me in the right direction! With every step I take down the road the wind whips faster until the fear of lifting off becomes too great. I take my first and only step back.

Loose shrubbery, torn trees, and small rocks are swirling around the Elemental as the Mooben circles around it in ever tightening circles in the same direction of the wind. Each collision against the rubbery blue skin is ignored and a deep, resounding call erupts from the sky squid, like a whale playing the tuba in a much larger bathtub. There is no rush of air from that, but the soundwave knocks me on my backside and ends my stealth. Two dark clouds, the Elemental's version of eyes, find my prone body on the road and crackle with electricity. I wonder if that means it likes me, as many things seem to in Arc.

Two smaller funnels grow out of the tornado like creature and I can guess what it plans to do with those. The Dust Elemental darkens, streaks of static electricity from the rubbing particles course through it. A large bolt strikes the nearby Mooben and a shrill, echoing blast knocks me back, tumbling onto my stomach. I push my self up and look around in vain for any kind of cover.

The Mooben stops in mid air, and begins a slow circle in the opposite direction while glowing a feint yellow. The Elemental changes targets, trying to suck the squid into its arms, but it's too strong and its circling speed picks up. What first looked like a slow dance around the Dust Elemental, possibly just riding the winds like one would on a lazy river ride has become a power swim upstream. Although, the higher leveled creature shows no signs of struggle as the circle tightens and quickens.

I watch in awe, closing my mouth so debris and tiny creatures don't find shelter in it from the torrential winds the gargantuan monsters are putting out now. The body of the Elemental stops crackling with energy and begins to lighten, but the Mooben doesn't relent. If I wasn't wearing a cursed mask, I'm sure the thing would have flown off of my face at some point, but I hold it down just in case. In another few moments, the Mooben slows down and the Elemental is gone, dissipated from the counter turbulence. It was most likely the Ability Vacuum Spin. The victorious creature waves one of its two tenticles at me and it lazily takes off, in search of another activity to fill its day.

"What the hell just happened…?"

I force myself to stand, moving my mask to cough out mouthfuls of grittiness, enough that I waste a swig of water just rinsing and spitting as much of it out as I can. Sand, glitter, and bad relationships. Some things that, no matter how hard you try, there's always a trace of it left behind. Off in the distance, where the Dust Elemental once stood, I could see something in the dirt. I use Zoom III to see what it is.

"A loot sack! Score!"

I don't waste another second, fearing the arrival of another creature, or worse, another Elemental. This moment takes me back to when I first set foot outside of Kes Rentas, watching another player kill a Boar and simply move on to the next thing. He left the loot sack and I grabbed it without hesitation.

I recall now the strange and recent encounter between the squid and the tornado. The final image of a waving Mooben almost makes me trip on the low lying shrubs.

[You received 1*Sunshine Quartz, 3*Dust Elemental Soul Piece]

The soul pieces look like fist sized snow globes with a constantly swirling dust devil inside. They can be used in crafting, probably as magic focal points in the wands and staves. The jagged, bright yellow, crystalline magic retainer is stronger than its smoky red cousin at a maximum mana capacity of 75 compared to 55. Luckily, my Arcane stat reaches the minimum of 45 otherwise I wouldn't be able to use it at all. I still have my Blood Quartz fully charged and, as of right now, I have plenty of time to experiment.

Just like the times I fiddled around with signing and casting, I walk and test what I can and can't do with the Quartz. Magic won't transfer over from Quartz to Quartz. Arcane Bolt from the Quartz isn't affected by the ring, since I'm not technically channeling the spell from me and through the piece of jewelry.

I can use the spell in the Quartz in one hand and cast magic with the other hand simultaneously. I still can't stick a Monster Spell into it, but the Enchantment Spells work just fine. That is actually a bit of good news since they're so expensive. Sleep and Command cost 40MP and 55MP respectively, so I keep one of each in the Quartz, putting both crystals into storage.

"Wish I could whistle…"

I resummon a pad for the shade, kicking a rock down the road. I think about what the others must be doing.

"Probably crafting," I answer myself, "Gorm's probably cooking something amazing. Man, that Fried Harpy was good."

I glance around, still loathed to admit that. The meal brings up the memory of my nooner with Victoria. I heave a big sigh, but it gets caught in my throat and I start coughing uncontrollably. We have been intimate quite a few times already, without any form of protection and the implication sends all my systems into a panic.

What happens if she were to get pregnant? Can she get pregnant? Do we want to get pregnant? I was too preoccupied with the sex that I never even thought of the consequences. I kick at the rock, missing slightly and it rolls under my boot, messing with my stride.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. My heart is racing faster than when I watched the two clashing monsters. I'm still about eleven hours away from Higo, lots of time to worry about my future digital progeny. The sounds of earth rumbling and rocks rolling demand my attention and I shoot my eyes open to catch sight of a sleek, tan colored shark arching over the road and diving back into the sand. The splash of dirt from its reentry sprays the road. As cool as it was, it wasn't the last.

"Sharks are fish, right? So, they're a school? That doesn't sound right. Let's see, a bunch of whales are pod. So…"

Seeing all the sand sharks moving in a group makes me feel very alone. More so than being the only living thing on the road did. More than the crushing silence of the hot desert. All of my thoughts vanish as a blue, sewer pipe sized tentacle appears out of nowhere, squeezing the life out of one of the sharks. I'm just as breathless, my eyes darting skyward.

Now the blue skin and silent flight make sense. This creature is a predator. I may have read the description, but for some reason it took the sight before me to add it all up. It wastes no time eating its wriggling lunch, I check the in game clock, excuse me, wriggling dinner. It continues to ignore the sweaty human and chases down the other sharks. I could swear it waved at me again.

"Bye bye, Squiddie. Bon apetit. Oh yeah..."

I pull some stored food out of my Ring, having decided earlier to use the Ring for consumables and my Bracelet for materials. I finally remember that I had saved my half of my plate during crafting, since I had something better to do, and I figure now is a pretty good time to finish.

"I have to get this recipe. I have to get all of his recipes. But first, I have to get back."