The farther they went... the more sharply the temperature rose.
A wave of sweltering air, mixed with yellow sand and fierce wind, hit them in the face.
It was... that dry, stifling kind of heat.
The humidity was so low that every breath felt as though it were scorching their throats and lungs.
The heat warped the air, blurring the scenery in the distance.
Even up close, Elinalise's face looked slightly distorted to Cui Ciyou.
Where were they?
In a desert. And what was in a desert?
Sand. Besides sand... more sand...
Of course, a desert in another world couldn't possibly contain nothing but sand!
Soon... the dangers of this land revealed themselves to Cui Ciyou and Elinalise.
Whoosh-
A hideous Monster over five meters long, resembling a cross between a scorpion and a centipede, suddenly burst out from beneath the sand.
It was a Scorpion Lion-a B-Rank Monster unique to the Begaritt Continent.
Its enormous pincers tore through the air with a shrill whistle, slamming toward Elinalise like a pair of battering rams!
But before Elinalise could react, a strike came.
A black flash of sword light moved later, yet reached its target first.
That flash was so fast it seemed like an illusion, vanishing in an instant.
Slice-
With a soft sound, the B-Rank Monster's prized, sturdy carapace, capable of withstanding most physical attacks, was easily split down the middle as though it were made of paper.
Foul-smelling green blood instantly stained a patch of sand black.
Cui Ciyou slowly sheathed his sword and remounted his Horned Dragon Horse, the entire sequence flowing seamlessly.
Elinalise's expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
"Stay close to me."
"...Oh."
Elinalise looked at the Monster he had killed in an instant, then at Cui Ciyou's calm profile.
With an alluring smile, she