Edward was like a fish in water, his armor flowing along the sand and redirecting it, drastically reducing the friction it had to endure. With this new trick, Edward was now progressing faster than before even though the sand was denser. He crossed the last twenty kilometers separating him from the center of the sandstorm with no difficulties.

One moment he was half walking half swimming in total darkness surrounded by sand from all sides, and the next he ended in a bright empty space. His eyes took a moment to adjust. He was within a large empty sphere as big as several cathedrals with something akin to an internal sun in its center glowing a bright white, which he belatedly identified as the wisp he was searching for.

Edward stood silently. The wisp didn’t make a single move, it simply floated there glowing brightly while sand was swirling in the distance on the inner walls of the sphere. It is closer to a magical phenomenon than a monster. It has no will of its own, it simply is.

Edward advanced toward it with respectful slow steps, aura platforms forming under his feet. He stopped when he reached it and bowed in front of the large wisp. It was so big that a grown man would have been able to stand inside of it.

After a moment of contemplation, he condensed his aura, forming a single spear before plunging it deep inside the wisp in one move.

There was a tremor, then the wisp’s light dimmed as sand began to fall from the ceiling. As the light extinguished totally the power animating the sand ceased and all the sand above him slammed down, while the ground collapsed as well. Edward swiftly grabbed the wisp’s body expending his aura so that it fit inside his armor. It was not too soon as six kilometers worth of sand came crashing into him, while he was falling himself as he still was two kilometers high within the sandstorm.

Edward didn’t try to resist, he let himself fall with the sand, his aura forming a protection big enough for him not to end up sealed within the sand. Even buried under kilometers of sand he was confident he would be able to escape alive if he had enough space to move thanks to his newly acquired technique.

Even while falling alongside the sand his aura was flowing, redirecting the sand past it, this would be this much sand he wouldn’t have to dig his way through.

The wisp may have died but all of the energy it contained was still there. It was not emanating light anymore but in Edward’s sight, it was still as if he was holding a small sun in his arms. Powerful waves of energy flowed inside him, steadily rising his power. His aura went back to full and then continued to increase without rest.

This is the jackpot.

Even while being surrounded by mountains worth of sand, he was feeling his perception expand. Sadly, he would have to wait until he was on the outside to estimate how much he was beneficing.

It’s hard to evaluate how much power this wisp contains, but from what I have absorbed until now it’s already worth more than dozens of predators put together. I shouldn’t be surprised, there would be no way for this wisp to move this much sand around otherwise.

He continued to absorb the wisp’s energy as everything was crumbling around him. He absorbed all of it until nothing was left but darkness and falling sand.

Finally, Edward felt an impact and things stabilized. He had landed. He still didn’t go out, binding his time for the rest of the sand above him to settle down. As more and more sand accumulated above him, he felt the pressure increase and he had to reinforce the aura protecting him so that it could support the change in pressure.

The air grew still and Edward made his move. Rather than fighting against the sand flowing against him, he now had to defeat its stillness. Edward was the movement while the sand wasn’t moving an inch, immobilized by the weight of kilometers of soil above it. He adjusted his aura, decreasing the size of his armor now that he only had himself to protect, and adjusting it so that it behaved like a drill. Grooves formed to better evacuate the sand as Edward dug himself upward.

At first, his aura had to exert force to push the sand away, so much had stockpiled together that the cumulated pressure made it behave as if it was a rock. However, as he went higher the pressure lessen and sand flow around him freely.

Edward emerged from the sand, his aura expanding with nothing to stop it. Edward didn’t have the leisure to admire the landscape while in the sandstorm but he doubted the landscape was the same as before. He could only sense sand as far as his aura could perceive with not a single sign of life. He tested his teleportation, it could now reach up to 814 meters.

So, this wisp was equivalent to what? Eighty predators? That’s crazy. And at the same time, it was on another level, it was the first time I’m encountering something able to impact the environment on such a large scale.

Well, that’s one thing done. I have picked up a new technique as well, that’s quite a productive day. I took care of Alaucocha and Nagh Kuldoh within twenty-four hours, I wonder if I can solve Zakrens situation as well within the same day. I just don’t know how much time I have before the Andherians attack. Let’s not lose time and report it to Doratham, although he must have noticed the sandstorm abating.

Edward teleported back, the increased distance of his teleportation meant he was even faster. It took him more than one hour to reach the center of the sandstorm but with the weather now cleared, it only took him only four minutes to return to Nagh Kuldohr.

Edward was glad to have his clone still waiting for him in the city because he would have been able to miss it. Nagh Kuldohr was half sunken in the sand, only the top of the stone formation visible above the desert. The entrance that Edward had used to enter the city was not useable anymore, now situated underground.

He shrugged. I did my part. I will let them deal with the rest. He extended his aura, bypassing the accumulated sand and easily teleporting inside the tunnel network.

Let’s find Doratham.

A few seconds later Edward found himself in front of the commandeer. The latter was laughing awkwardly. “You really did it, heh? I’m not in a dream.”

“You are not dreaming,” Edward replied with a smile, in a good mood after his quick progress. “I’ll let you handle things from there on. I still have other matters to attend to.”

“Wait!” Doratham shouted while stretching his arm as if to prevent Edward from leaving. “We still have many things to deal with. With your level of power, it will probably take you but a few hours to solve while it would take us months and cost us lives.”

Edward frown. Without the sandstorm, their city should be safe for now. As for saving lives…it is sadly probably true, but if I’m not able to stop the Andherians the loss of life will be on another scale.

“Speak,” he told Doratham, his tone losing some of his warmth.

“With the interruption of the sandstorm, the lizardmen will resume their raids. We don’t have enough supplies and we need to secure oases to gather enough food for everyone. We have been stuck inside the city for most of the surge and we have but a few people at the predator stage. I would be very grateful if you could help to fend off or kill those lizards.” Doratham explained.

Mmm, hunting more monsters will benefit me. I’m making good progress but the monsters that I’m killing are a one-time thing. I won’t meet another wisp like the one I have defeated, nor will I encounter those ants now that they have retreated to their world. I need to reach the next stage. What if I settle Zakrens problem and still don’t have enough blood essence to trigger an evolution? Will I have to backtrack to Nagh Kuldohr? Even at my speed, it’s quite a waste of time.

Edward extended his aura over the whole city, feeling less than ten predators. This would have already been a lot for Gobéliard, but from one of the empire’s main cities, it wasn’t that much, especially in times when monsters were stronger than ever.

“All right, you changed my mind. Give me a map with the different oases you need to secure. Additionally, point me where those lizards’ main encampment is as well as where any powerful monsters may reside.” Edward told him.

Doratham’s face lightened from relief. “There are multiple oases around. As for the lizards they are nomadic in nature, but you will be able to find them anywhere near a water point.” He went to his desk to retrieve a map. “There are five oases that constitute our main source of supplies.” He circled them on the map under Edward’s attentive gaze. He hasn’t realized the size of the sandstorm. At least three of those oases are most certainly buried under the sand right now.

Doratham continued. “As for powerful monsters, large sandworms are regularly spotted within the desert. Given the desert’s size, it’s quite rare to stumble on them, but in those times who knows.” He shrugged. “We also have the occasional giant scorpion and regular wisps but I don’t think you will be interested in those. The environment is quite hostile even for monsters, life is rare out there.”

Edward nodded. “Thank you for the information. I’ll converse with you through my clone. I won’t take the time to come back after dealing with those lizards, I’m in a hurry.”

“Thank you for everything. The city is in your debt.” Doratham thanked Edward profusely.

“One more thing,” Edward added. “You don’t seem to be aware of that sandstorm’s size. Most of the oases you told me about are probably buried under the sand right now. I would advise you to keep rationing your supplies.”

Doratham nodded grimly, and Edward left the city for good. He stood above the desert, with the sky turning to dusk. It has been roughly fourteen hours since I left Sorrente. With the distance that I have crossed, I may have changed the time zone as well. I’m not sure if the natives have noticed this concept, it’s harder to perceive when you travel at horse speed.

He took out his map and his compass. Let’s do this quickly. With his increased teleportation he was now moving at 1465km per hour. And since this speed was due only to his teleportation, it meant he didn’t have to struggle against wind pressure since he wasn’t really moving. He kept his map while teleporting trying to estimate where he was on it, this was not an easy task since he was in a desert, especially with a new thickness of sand covering any usual landmark. Luckily his aura could now extend up to 1,6 km and that helped him to assess his position.