Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

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〈System: You have entered the «Desert of Treacherous Sands»!〉

〈System: You have been rewarded 50 World Fame!〉

Kieran noted that with the addition of this World Fame, he wasn't too far from reaching a Lord's standard. Once he achieved that level of renown, the moment he could create a guild inched that much closer.

However, aside from the matter of his World Fame, Kieran and his other party members quickly understood why this place was regarded as the Desert of Treacherous Sands.

Although they stood there for no more than a minute, the party marveled at the horror of numerous occurring events.

Several unnerving bubbles of unknown toxicity popped and released dense fumes into the atmosphere while sandstorms of varying sizes simultaneously swept across multiple zones of this desert.

"Uh, Aatrox. Are you sure it's safe to travel through this place?" Luna grimaced while leaning over the caravan's rear. No matter how she looked at it, this environment seemed too dangerous to traverse.

"It shouldn't be too bad. It's only violent dust devils, sporadic sand geysers, quicksand pits, and bottomless sand chasms," Kieran remarked.

Everyone grew quiet and looked at him with nonplussed expressions. They couldn't judge if Kieran were joking or serious, but one thing remained true. Everything he mentioned happened right before their very eyes.

The Desert of Treacherous Sands was not an area where fights were meant to occur. If fights did break out here, the random environmental hazards would disrupt it. A player could only ignore the environment if their Abnormal Status Resistance was abnormally high.

However, that was impossible because practically all players possessed zero Abnormal Status Resistance. Thus, these conditions were essentially unfit for any current player.

"Okay. All jokes aside, if we stay inside the caravan and ignore our circumstances, we should be good," Kieran said. However, just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, he murmured, "I hope…."

"Dude! You can't do that! I heard you, and I almost shat myself! Will we make it through or not?" Bastion scowled while scurrying to the front of the caravan's cargo hold.

He clutched Kieran's armor in fright and shook him.

"Okay, okay! Let go of me!" Kieran growled and slapped Bastion's hand away before sighing. "If we use long-range skills to deal with unforeseen crises, making it through should be possible. However, the amount of long-range fighters on this team is…."

"There's only Lux and me," Alice commented.

"Not true," Ezra joined in, disagreeing with Alice's claims. "There's also Aatrox. Some of his skills have a truly long range."

"At most, they're medium-long range. Our only redeeming factor is that damage isn't our focus. Our attacks must carry enough force to rip through the sandstorms and geysers. That's our only focus," Kieran voiced.

"What about monsters?" Altair chimed in.

"I don't think any monsters inhabit this area. I recall reading in Aubrililes Library that an area marked with a black skull on any map means that the zone possesses environmental dangers without monsters," Kieran answered.

Nemean guffawed. "Damn, if that's the case, we should read more often. It seemed there is more knowledge packed inside the libraries than we give credit for."

The party soon devised a plan to deal with the potential dangers inside this place. It involved one of the party members riding atop the caravan's roof. No one volunteered because of the risks of falling off.

Thus, Kieran grimaced and resigned himself to his fate as the fool who sat atop the caravan's cloth cover. At least the cloth covered a rib-shaped metal cage that eased Kieran's mind. However, he couldn't wield Crimson Ashrune; otherwise, the structure would break.

After all, while Kieran was strong enough to wield Crimson Ashrune, he was nowhere near powerful to neutralize its weight. 500kgs far exceeded the weight limit of this metal cage.

Therefore, Kieran rummaged through his inventory for a temporary greatsword. He soon found one and had Luna direct the caravan while Lux and Alice sat on her left and right.

"Here we go, boys and girls! Hold on tight," Luna exclaimed before whipping on the back of the Obsidian Criollo.

Hyaa!

The horse neighed and took off in a mad dash as Kieran gripped the edge of the caravan's top in a half-kneeled position. He held the greatsword before his face to deal with the violent sand gust whipping against his cheek.

'For all this, you better believe I'll raze that entire hideout to this ground.' A vicious gleam radiated in Kieran's eyes as he kept a lookout for their surroundings.

More than three hours had passed, so his Perception was back to normal, allowing him to sense danger within a certain radius.

The party encountered their first obstacle roughly 30 minutes after beginning their voyage through the Desert of Treacherous Sands. Their first obstacle was a large sandstorm, strong enough to sweep the caravan in the air if it impacted the party.

For an attack this size, only an attack unleashed by Kieran was sufficient to destroy it.

Kieran gathered copious amounts of blood energy before condensing it at the tip of his blade to improve its speed, power, and overall size. His Health continued to fall as he strengthened the forming Blood Wave with Blood Strengthening.

"We're getting dangerously close!" Luna called out.

However, Kieran understood that and continued to gauge his attack. "It's almost ready. Hold it steady!"

"I'll try, but the turbulence from these winds is becoming unmanageable," Luna yelled. The winds roared in her ears, making it difficult to hear or control her volume.

Kieran's gaze narrowed as red crackles appeared around the small blood orb situated at the tip of his sword. He employed a level of Blood Strengthening that made a Blood Wave comparable to one Sanguinem Tempest.

Swoosh!

The force of Kieran releasing this attack cleared the roaring sand in the surrounding. The sphere condensed and elongated, forming a large Blood Wave with increased range and ferocity.

In two seconds, the Blood Wave split the sandstorm in half but created a heavy backlash. Violent winds scattered in every direction and knocked against the caravan.

Everyone inside was jostled as it rocked side to side. Nemean and Bastion even hugged each other while dramatically shouting.

"Oh, Lord! We're going to die."

"If we make it through this, I promise I'll be a good boy!"

Camila looked at the two with a blank stare before looking at Ezra, who powerlessly shook her head. Just then, an even more violent collision smashed against the caravan.

It was their second obstacle—a violent sand geyser that erupted underneath the sand caravan. The upward jolt was so powerful that Kieran was almost thrown off the caravan's roof.

Fortunately, Kieran tightened his grip at the last second and spun, recovering his half-kneeled position after sticking the landing. 'It's easier to discern the storms than to detect possible sand eruptions.'

Even if he did detect them, it was when they neared the desert's floor, and it was too late to warn. It was easier to spread Perception through open air than pass it through solid surfaces, especially without Retaliatory Sense active to heighten his Perception.

A few minutes later, the next obstacle appeared, but Kieran easily discerned it.

"Right! Go right!" Kieran directed from above.

Luna obliged and pulled on the reins, which veered the caravan right, narrowly avoiding a large sand pocket.

"Hard left!"

Bang!

Everyone slammed against the caravan's interior as it suddenly jerked with Luna's abrupt turn. However, this was the preferred alternative rather than falling into the sand chasm that opened inches away from the wheel.

"Get your fat ass off of me!" Bastion growled.

A pile-up occurred inside the caravan, and Bastion was on the bottom along with Nemean.

"Excuse me?!" Ezra shouted. "I am not fat! Watch your words!"

"My apologies, sweet lady. I thought it was Nemean's fat ass on top of me. By all means, make yourself comfortable; I will not complain." Bastion bashfully spoke after realizing his mistake.

"Tch," Ezra clicked her tongue and tried to get up.

However, everyone jerked to the front before she could recover.

Groans filled the back of the caravans as Kieran revealed a slight smirk. 'On second thought, it isn't too bad up here. I don't have to deal with that issue.'

Several sandstorms appeared in quick succession, and many were blown apart by Lux's spiraling arrows that released expanding wind orbs. Whatever Lux missed, Kieran caught the slack, rapid-firing Blood Waves.

Alice dealt with the remaining sandstorms by launching an Inferno Sphere. The sphere, containing extreme heat, changed the texture of the sand into unrefined glass with a dull color.

The sand in that area no longer contributed to sandstorms as the hard layer restricted the sand supply.

"Excellent shot, Alice!" Luna praised.

"Thank you," Alice answered. Her tone was terse, unlike when she spoke with Sera and Kieran. So, it was evident she hadn't warmed up to Luna.

"Keep at it, and we'll be done soon enough," Kieran exclaimed. Although he couldn't see the exit, compared to the Desert of Crumbling Sands, the Desert of Treacherous Sands was a fragment of its size.