With each deliberate stride, the distance to my destination appears to dwindle, yet an inexplicable unease begins to envelop me, as though the very grains of sand underfoot are not merely dispced by my passage but are animated by some unseen force, subtly shifting in rhythm with my every movement, as if bound to my will or intent on some unknown purpose.

  David could be seen scribbling something in a small notebook.

  In truth, he obtained it from Mr. Robert to assist in compiling his bestiary, yet David now uses it merely to amuse his thoughts.

  Unseen by others, he keeps it in his inventory.

  "Perhaps I should have pursued an academic career, as my passion for acquiring knowledge and the elegance with which I convey it brings me immense satisfaction," David reflected as he walked.

  At this point, an hour had epsed since they had defeated the scorpions. A swift decision was made to advance further before nightfall set in.

  One of the suns had vanished from view, while the other lingered only partially above the horizon, soon to disappear entirely. Meanwhile, the temperature had begun to drop significantly.

  Granting the group a sense of modest victory in their progress toward the ruins.

  ? ? ? YOU HAVE CREATED A NEW SKILL ? ? ?

  ? ? ? WOULD YOU LIKE SAVE IT ? ? ?

  A familiar notification popped up.

  "Why does this notification appear only after the event, David wondered, while proceeding to command 'Save the skill and show me.'"

  ? ? ? SKILL SAVED ? ? ?

  POWERSLIGHT POWER : D Css [ ? 30 SU ]? Healing Bursts [ ? 1 SU ]DARKNESS POWER : D Css [ ? 30 SU ]? Swirling Chain [ ? 1 SU ]

  What about the system bestiary? I remember it became avaible. Open it for me.

  [ QUEST ? INVENTORY ? SHOP ? BESTIARY ? ]

  BEAST? Giant Desert Scorpion

  "Open the Giant Desert Scorpion," David thought.

  [ QUEST ? INVENTORY ? SHOP ? BESTIARY ? ]

  BEAST? Giant Desert Scorpion

  ELEMENT- Earth

  SIZE- Standing 15 feet tall and stretching up to 23 feet in length.

  APPEARANCE- Covered in a thick chitinous exoskeleton of dull bronze that blends with the desert sand.- Equipped with serrated cws.- Two long, segmented tails with glowing stingers, each filled with deadly venom.- Multiple small, beady eyes are positioned atop the head.

  TERRITORY - Lives in deserts.- Extremely territorial, they will attack anything that enters their domain.

  BEHAVIOR- Typically lying in wait beneath the sand, they quickly burst out to ambush their prey.- While they can be active during the day, they prefer the cover of darkness when their prey is most vulnerable.

  WEAKNESS- The exoskeleton is nearly indestructible, but the joints where the ptes meet are vulnerable.- The eyes are sensitive to light; bright fshes or fire can temporarily blind them.- Despite its size and strength, it is not particurly agile.

  He was astounded by the vast ocean of information id out before him about just one creature he had encountered in the Rift.

  David, surprised by his own strategic insight, acknowledged that targeting their limbs in the heat of battle had been the right decision."

  "Hah, I’ll be able to help Mr. Robert after all," David muttered reluctantly, his face flushed with shame, as he had only used the notebook for his poetic writing until now.

  "We'll take a short break here before we move out again," Captain Zack informed the group.

  In the middle of this desert with no firm ground? David thought to himself.

  Though David would have been the first to agree, given his own exhaustion, he hesitated after recalling that the desert scorpions were nocturnal predators. He thought it best to keep moving until they reached the ruins.

  He did not want to risk confronting additional giant desert scorpions under the cover of night.

  "‘Well, I suppose I'll take the prisoners and move on. We have no reason to argue about it,’ David said to Captain Zack, and then started forward with Arnold and Elena."

  Though utterly exhausted and dehydrated, David remained vigint as he continued forward with the prisoners. After a couple of hours, they finally reached the ruins without encountering any ambushes or suffering any casualties.

  As he beheld the ruins strewn across the firm terrain, his eyes were immediately drawn to a vast passageway descending into the depths below.

  Yet, this was not the moment to delve deeper. He diverted his attention, turning to meticulously survey the surrounding ndscape.

  The area was quite expansive. Despite the ruins being broken and scattered, David could also make out some jojoba pnts interspersed among the remnants, as well as several other familiar desert flora.

  "David proceeded to ask Elena, 'Weren’t you fighting the scorpions earlier today with your water powers?'"

  "‘Ummm, that’s true, but because my power is quite weak, I wasn’t able to be of any help,’ she responded, clearly disappointed in her abilities."

  "Well, that’s not why I’m asking. I’m asking if you can extract and filter the water from those jojoba pnts so we can drink it," David inquired, awaiting her affirmation.

  "I might be able to do that," she said, realizing why she hadn’t thought of such a simple solution herself.

  In the moments leading up to their next move, she managed to extract water from the pnts and ensured that both David and Arnold received their share, but only after taking her own fill.

  Once everyone was finished, David informed them that they would wait for the rest of the group before proceeding further down. Although Arnold was quite insistent, his arguments did not persuade David, who remained resolute in his decision.

  We'll rest here. It will take the group a while to arrive since the rock sb was damaged in the scorpion fight, and they'll have no choice but to walk.

  "And what's your power?" David asked Arnold hesitantly, feeling like an information broker.

  I wield the power to manipute and control fire at will.

  Arnold’s precise description of his power made David excim, "That's great! We could really use some fire right now." David added with a hint of relief on his face as they waited.

  "That won't be possible," Arnold responded, averting his eyes while nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

  David was confused and dumbfounded, continually looking at Arnold with a question-mark of a face.

  Arnold raised his hand to eye level and released a spark of fire with all his might, the effort clearly reflected in his expression.

  All of David’s doubts were dispelled when he observed a tiny, almost microscopic spark resembling a firework rising from Arnold's finger.

  Both of them continued to stare at each other in silence.

  David reclined, reasoning that waiting for moonlight would improve visibility. Nonetheless, he recognized that fire remained essential because temperatures in the desert drop significantly at night.

  Until he fell asleep, enmeshed in his thoughts.

  Hardly any time had epsed before he was abruptly awakened by the piercing scream of a woman.

  Has Captain Zack finally shown his true colors? Are we under attack by the group? David, burdened by these troubling thoughts, rose from his rest, only to have his suspicions violently shattered by the overwhelming and terrifying sight of a legion of serpents, illuminated by the dim moonlight, which had entirely engulfed their resting ground.

  They were typically just a few inches long, with delicate, almost imperceptible scales.

  When David sought to intimidate them by hurling rocks, their scales commenced an exquisite dispy of iridescence or enchantment, altering their hues in a manner that mirrored the ever-shifting environment around them.

  The creatures began leaping onto the prisoners, compelling Elena to flee in haste. Arnold scaled a towering ruin wall, leaving David behind.

  With his light power upgraded to a higher css, a thought crystallized in his mind.

  He swiftly gestured to the side, manifesting a makeshift bde that continually struggled to attain stability.

  It was the first time David attempted to harness his light power in a manner suitable for offensive use.

  His hypothesis was that by fashioning a bde from his light power, with particles accelerating to extraordinary velocities, he might succeed in penetrating the snakes' scales and thereby dispatching them.

  Since his new skill was still unstable and mana consumption was exceedingly high, he knew he had only minutes before his mana might be depleted.

  He advanced, slicing through any snakes that sprang towards him. The task proved arduous, as the serpents, merely a few inches in length, demanded that his strikes be exceptionally precise to achieve any effect.

  Seeing the snakes being killed, the others began to hide in the holes beneath the ruins, among the stones, and in other crevices.

  Meanwhile, David was continuously receiving notifications from the system.

  ? ? ? ENCOUNTERED A LUMINARA SERPENT ? ? ?

  ? ? ? REWARD : +1 SU + 10XP ? ? ?

  ? ? ? KILLED 9 LUMINARA SERPENTS ? ? ?

  ? ? ? REWARD : +18 SU +90XP ? ? ?

  ? ? ? KILLED 11 LUMINARA SERPENTS ? ? ?

  ? ? ? REWARD : + 22 SU +110XP ? ? ?

  In an instant, his body began to burn intensely, yet it didn’t seem to bother him. After all, he knew he was going through a level up, and he colpsed to the ground.

  ? ? ? LEVEL UP SUCCESSFUL ? ? ?

  He received the same notification he had seen many times before at the conclusion of the process.

  He was grateful that the snakes retreated into hiding before his level-up commenced; otherwise, his colpse might have resulted in his demise.

  "It's been a while since I st checked my info menu," he thought, and he commanded the system to open it.

  [ INFO ? QUEST ? INVENTORY ? SHOP ? ]

  PROFILENAME : DavidLVL : 06 [ ? 110/500XP ] or [ ? 50 SU ]TITLE : UserSYSTEM UNITS : 62

  STATUSHP : ????? 1??DEFENSE : ????? 1??MANA : ????? 1??

  STATSSTRENGTH : 11 ?AGILITY : 07 ?STAMINA : 10 ?INTELLIGENCE : 91 ?

  POWERSLIGHT POWER : D Css [ ? 30 SU ]DARKNESS POWER : D Css [ ? 30 SU ]

  "I appear to have made progress, yet I still haven't fully adapted to the system," he said, disappointed by his earlier pse in judgment during the battle.

  "I would like to make some changes," he said. He then instructed the system to dispy less important notifications ter, as he did not want any hindrances during battle.

  ? ? ? SETTING CHANGE APPLIED ? ? ?

  Disappointed that he couldn’t see the mana consumption of his light bde since leveling up recovers all stats, he instructed the system to create a small status window dispying his HP, defense, and mana consumption.

  ? ? ? SMALL STATUS WINDOW HAS BEEN CREATED ? ? ?

  And stly, when the XP requirement has been met, I don’t want to level up immediately. Please hold it until I choose to level up ter.

  ? ? ? THIS WILL SLOW DOWN YOUR PROGRESS ? ? ?

  ? ? ? WOULD YOU STILL LIKE TO PROCEED ? ? ?

  ? ? ? YES / NO ? ? ?

  "It might slow down my progress, but this will ensure my survival," he said, proceeding to select "Yes."

  AUTHOR NOTE:

  "If you’re enjoying my book, I’d truly appreciate your support! Even a small gesture, like a single follow, means the world to me and helps me continue this journey. Your support goes a long way."

  "You may also leave a thoughtful rating after a thorough reading, along with your comments on different chapters—thank you!"