Chapter 2277: Bone Pit

Chapter 2277: Chapter 2277: Bone Pit

The wall, capable of resisting sunshine, sandstorms, and time, turned into soft mud under Shard’s hands.

He reached into the mud and quickly retrieved a roll of parchment. Because it was completely sealed within the wall, isolated from air, the parchment was well-preserved. Although the ink faded slightly upon contact with the air, the content inside was still discernible.

Shard still chose to transform it into a toy, as for his hands stained with dirty mud... water was precious, so he rubbed them against the wall a few times and bent down to bury them in sand to wash them off, which made his hands clean.

Under the sunlight, his light brown skin displayed the beauty and health of his body. Miss Mister continued leading the way ahead, and outside the ruins, under an overturned stone fountain, Shard found another buried box.

The metal box was rusty; its rough surface hurt when touched. The box itself had no value, and the lock had long been damaged by time. The parchments inside could probably only serve as fuel.

But at the bottom of the box lay an object wrapped in a piece of red torn cloth, which Shard opened to reveal a piece of black metal.

Its approximate shape was a third of a round pie, with some rough engravings on its surface. This metal piece was unusual because it was the only item discovered in the ruins that couldn’t be transformed into a toy through [Toy Creation].

"Let’s head back, there’s nothing interesting here anymore."

After Shard put away the possibly useless box as a toy, the woman standing behind him finally spoke.

Shard didn’t request to wander around anymore. In fact, he was already feeling dizzy from the heat. No matter how useful the blessing of the sun was, it couldn’t fully shield Shard from the environmental damages of this sand sea.

He longed for the shade of the temple and wished to find a place to sit and rest.

"Do you need some water?"

When he took out the supplies given by Miss Nate, he didn’t forget to ask the woman with the light brown skin first. After she shook her head in refusal, he drank the entire bottle of liquid in large gulps:

"Let’s head back. I never realized how much I hate summer."

Coming in empty-handed and leaving empty-handed, the ruins gradually retreated behind them. Even after drinking the water, Shard couldn’t walk more than a few steps without panting heavily, following the woman with light brown skin.

The spatial confusion of this desert was indeed severe; although he wasn’t completely disoriented, even he couldn’t immediately judge where they had come from.

Though the ten minutes it took to arrive felt short, after his body state declined, retracing their steps seemed to take much longer.

The deity walked barefoot ahead, the scorching yellow sand surface made Shard, lagging half a body’s length behind, feel as if he could smell the scent of those bare feet after being steamed by the heat... He internally regretted such thoughts, but the inescapable heat indeed rendered his mind disobedient.

However, soon, most of those inappropriate alluring thoughts vanished. After drinking another bottle of water, Shard only wanted to quickly return to the temple, lie down on a chair or the ground, and quietly do nothing.

Of course, if he could directly return home, to sit at the table with Miss Galina, Luviya, and Lecia enjoying breakfast, and then gently pet Mia, it would be even better.

"You seem to be daydreaming."

The voice of the deity reached his ears. Shard, panting heavily, replied with a "Hmm~," watching droplets of sweat slide down his cheeks, evaporating before they touched the sand:

"Yes, but I swear, some of the thoughts I had just now were not voluntarily imagined."

The woman with light brown skin seemed to chuckle:

"Let me remind you, it’s very dangerous conduct. Whether in the desert or in the mist, once you start daydreaming as your physical and mental states decline, the chance of leaving the desert or the mist decreases."

She then turned her head, interested in observing Shard’s current condition:

"If necessary, you can ask for my help."

"Thank you for your kindness, but it’s not needed for now."

Shard shook his head:

"Though the sun is scorching, the glimmer is melting my skin, I can feel my body absorbing the power of the sun and the light. Perhaps it’s an illusion caused by overheating with rising body temperature, but it should be fine to endure a bit longer. If you immediately seek to retreat upon encountering difficulties, the path in the future will become harder to tread."

The woman with light brown skin continued to smile:

"When I first saw you, I knew you matched my temperament well. Then keep persisting; if you find the Heart of the Oasis without seeking my help—questions don’t count, then in the end, I’ll give you a gift."

"Thank you... have I finally overheated to the point of hallucination? Why do I see Old Lady Sianod appearing on the dune ahead?"

Of course, Shard wasn’t having hallucinations; it was indeed the old elf from the Moon Creek Clan coming to greet them.

The dazzling sun rendered everyone unable to open their eyes, but the elderly Thirteenth Rank Witch saw them as well.

Old Lady Sianod did not waste her stamina to come over and join them, but rather waved her arm, and after confirming Shard had seen her, waited in place for the two to approach.

Soon, the three of them gathered together, and the God of Mist in Saint Form turned once more into "Miss Mister." Of course, their appearance and demeanor hadn’t actually changed; Shard simply told himself in his heart that there was no deity here now.

Old Lady Sianod, protected by the Ever-Youth Leaf, seemed in decent condition. Seeing Shard, she even lent him a supporting hand. Probably influenced by the deity’s power, she wasn’t at all puzzled why Miss Mister seemed entirely fine, while Shard looked as if he could barely catch his breath:

"Child, hold my hand."

She said to Shard, and after grabbing his hand, a refreshing green aura entered his arm. While Shard didn’t feel cooler, the heat exhaustion-like feeling was somewhat alleviated:

"Thank you, I really do need a rest."

He quietly expressed his gratitude:

"Granny, how far are we from the temple?"

"Very close, I don’t feel I’ve been out here long. Let’s hurry back, just a little more, child, the temple is right ahead."

Her face, laden with wrinkles, the Granny Elf appeared genuinely concerned for Shard. As she prepared to lead the way ahead, she offered her cane to him.

Upon reaching the temple, Shard knew the cane was indeed a relic, with a high danger level for sure. But he felt he could manage a while longer, so he let Old Lady Sianod keep it herself:

"Once we get back home, I certainly want to lie on the floor first, to cool down my skin. It’s a shame No. 6, Saint Delan Square has wooden floors, unlike the ceramic ones back home; it would be cooler pressing against them."

A simple desire arose in his heart, and "she" softly chuckled in Shard’s ear.

Their duo became a trio, and the sun overhead remained as blistering. Truthfully, after arriving at this desert, Shard hadn’t really observed what the glowing thing in the sky was, as the sunlight was just too glaring.

But as he followed Old Lady Sianod and Miss Mister returning to the temple, the sudden thought struck him, and he squinted, trying to glance upward at the sky:

"Oh~"

He moaned slightly, then immediately covered his eyes, pain causing tears to flow, but all he’d seen was a glowing, sun-like object.

"Silly child, how dare you look at the sun?"

While covering his eyes, Shard heard the helpless voice of the old elf, then felt someone holding him, evidently not Old Lady Sianod leading the way:

"Let Miss Mister hold you for now, don’t worry, it’s not permanent blindness; soon enough you’ll see clearly again."

"Granny, I can support Mr. Hamilton myself."

The lady beside Shard said, and feeling his body stiffen all over, he reluctantly moved forward with Miss Mister’s aid, keeping his eyes shut.

The temporary blindness indeed ended quickly, and after politely expressing thanks, Shard distanced slightly from the light brown-skinned lady. No matter how human-like they appeared, "they" were a bona fide deity. The Outlander had not been in this world for long, knowing what gods meant to humans.

In his wandering thoughts, Old Lady Sianod suddenly halted. Shard thought she saw the temple, but upon looking ahead, he saw, illuminated by the sun on the glaring sandy ground, dozens of skeletons lying there.

"What’s going on? Were these here earlier on our way?"

Under this level of sunlight, there was no worry about undead reawakening, and the three swiftly went up to inspect. Shard almost instantly could tell all these skeletons belonged to elves, from his Elven Knowledge understanding the slight differences between elven and human skeletons.

What Shard discerned, Old Lady Sianod evidently could as well. She crouched by a skeleton, trembling as she took a necklace from its neck.

"This..."

Then she went to another skeleton, examining the scar on its right leg bone. She was about to continue inspecting other skeletons when she heard Shard say:

"There are more! Many more!"

The sandy land stretched onward, and to continue forward meant sliding down the sand dune. Standing at the dune’s edge, Shard looked downward and saw the sand pit filled almost entirely with bones.

In astonishment, he also noticed additional details. The visible skeletons were all elven remains, and their postures clearly indicated they died in a struggle and fright.

Old Lady Sianod and Miss Mister also came to the dune’s edge beside Shard to look down, the latter softly remarked:

"It’s quite extraordinary indeed."