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Chapter 423 Misery Loves Company

The first day of travelling through the desert had been comfortable for everyone. Bob was happy that he was finally able to assume his human form even though it shocked Jermine badly to know that she was travelling with a dragon, a murderer and a powerful magician who called himself a doctor.

They settled down for the night comfortably with Truen opting for the night watch although Zero insisted that there really was a need seeing as he had portable magic arrays for camping. The archer didn’t agree with being overly reliant on magic because he read that some planets didn’t support magic due to the environment. Although Zero’s magic wasn’t reliant on the environment, he still wanted to teach his friend not to rely on magic too much. It was sometimes too convenient and it might make one complacent after some time.

The first few days passed peacefully without events. Zero hunted when whatever poor animal Jermine spotted and made cactus juice whenever he came across cacti. It didn’t take long for the bored doctor to decide that he was going to try and make cactus punch non-poisonous and good tasting. Truen didn’t stop him and Bob told Jermine that it was easier to pretend not to know what Zero was up to and let him do as he pleased. A bored Zero was a dangerous Zero so Jermine withheld her comments.

Things were progressing smoothly without the worry about supply shortage but their luck ran out when Mii announced that she sensed a change in atmospheric pressure on the fifth day. Bob had just slain a huge desert scorpion that tried to eat the sand walkers when Zero told the dragon to return at once.

"Is there any underground caves or structures nearby that we can hide?" he asked Jermine who scanned the area and shook her head.

Zero contacted Truen at once to inform him of the bad news. According to Mii, the sandstorm will hit them in less than an hour and Zero didn’t know how they could anchor themselves and wait for the storm to die out.

"I’m coming back," Truen told Zero via the party call function. His Area Detection Magic did not sense anything nearby that they could rely on for shelter.

Desert Lily advised him that if they were caught in a sandstorm, they had to immediately find or make a shelter. As there was no shelter in sight, Truen’s only option would be to create one.

He returned swiftly and gave out instructions. Zero was thrilled at the opportunity to finally use magic to create a shelter. Bob wasn’t as happy with his task of scouting for burnable materials. The desert was very vast and spanned for miles with hardly anything in sight. Where was he going to find combustible materials when the storm was so close?

"I’ll go with you," Jermine offered and Truen hesitated for a moment before agreeing. He would build the shelter with Zero and watch the sand walkers. They had less than an hour to prepare for the sandstorm. These storms could last anything between a few hours to a few days. They were unpredictable and deadly even for seasoned travellers. The worst part of the sandstorm was the temperature that drops very suddenly. Thankfully, they had heat-regulating magic so it wasn’t a factor. However, in a thoroughly sealed shelter, not everyone had night vision to see in the dark so Truen needed a fire. Using light or fire magic to light the place wasn’t a sustainable idea.

"Do you think we can still travel in the sandstorm if I cast a magical barrier to protect everyone and the sand walkers?" Zero asked.

Truen shook his head. "It’s not advisable to do that. We might survive the sand and the wind but the sand walkers won’t be able to walk. Even if they aren’t blown away by the wind, they would be buried underneath the piling sand."

Zero listened to Truen recite everything he knew about a sandstorm and Zero found himself wondering if there was a way for them to continue travelling despite the sandstorm.

Bob and Jermine returned empty-handed and Truen didn’t blame them. He was only glad that the sand walkers had enough danger sense to flee when the sandstorm was closing in. Zero gaped when he saw the looming dark clouds full of dust and sand from miles away. The giant catastrophe looked peaceful from this distance but as the cloud slowly covered the sun, Zero understood the severity.

He could feel the wind and sand grains hitting his face like bullets as the storm came closer. It was also swallowing the scenery at an alarming rate. For the sake of everyone’s safety, Zero yelled at them to get inside first. The wind was so loud in his ears that his voice was almost silent despite yelling at the top of his lungs. This was worse than the roaring waters in Trigression Falls and Zero understood why this was a feared phenomenon.

Once everyone was inside the makeshift hardened temporary shelter made from Earth magic, Zero sealed the only entrance left and it became completely pitch dark. The world became quiet again, contrary to the roaring wind outside. From inside the shelter, Zero could still hear the sand grains hitting and scrapping on the surface of the shelter. If this continues, the storm will wear down the hardened rock shelter that Zero built. Compact sandstone wasn’t going to last against such a brutal storm, Zero underestimated this too much.

"Let’s build that fire first," Truen said and lit the place up with light magic. Jermine yelped when the light magic suddenly came on and Zero quickly went over to check on the mole girl whose eyes were hurt from the sudden light.

"Are you alright?"

Jermine shook her head. "It’s nothing, the light was too sudden. I was finally able to see for a bit in the darkness."

Interested, Zero asked Truen to put the light out for a bit.

"How well can you see in the dark?" he asked.

Zero had dark vision but he could barely make out shapes because everything was completely enclosed. On the other hand, Jermine moved around like a mole in soil. Her huge claws dug into the sand easily and Zero had an idea.

"Jermine, how much can you dig in a day? The shelter isn’t going to hold for too long, it would be best if we could dig our way to an underground cave somewhere while the storm lasts."

Hearing that, Truen and Bob knew where this was going. Zero truly was not the kind to wait around. Still, it wasn’t a bad idea at this point. Truen only had one concern.

"What about the sand walkers? How will they travel with us?"

At that, Jermine smiled. It was finally her time to shine. "I can dig tunnels big enough for everyone, not to worry. Unfortunately, my searching radius for underground caves is very limited."

Truen sighed. He was the only one who couldn’t see in the darkness. "I’m afraid I’m not able to help with this. I’ll wait with the sand walkers while you search. Bob, you go with them. Zero, don’t go too far. If you find a cave, let me know before you go to it."

Excited, Zero quickly activated his minimap and offered to help Jermine dig. Bob followed them and listened to Zero brag about his ability to smash through hard rocks. The dragon had a feeling that his master’s use for YY Tonfas was inappropriate but he held his tongue. After all, it would be highly embarrassing if anyone found out how Zero cheated with magic to enhance his strength. Amon would have a field day if he heard about Zero’s bragging and trickery.