NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 1 Part 5
Afterward, Reito and the others, having rested sufficiently, headed outside — the sandstorm had subsided, so they were no longer bombarded by sand dust, but an unusual heat was spreading.
“Wow, it’s hot… You’ll get burned dressed like this.”
“This heat is abnormal… Also, a big light stone like the sun is embedded in the ceiling, so it’s dazzling.”
“If Kotomin had been here, she would have turned into grilled fish.”
“Don’t treat her like a complete fish… I don’t like the heat either.”
Mermaids have less resistance to heat than normal humans. Shizune was half mermaid, so she was weak to heat. She immediately took out her water bottle and hydrated herself.
“There are so many sand dunes that I can’t see far… Do you know where the teleportation crystal is?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know either. Sand dunes are hard to tell apart, and sandstorms can easily change the terrain, so my memories of when I visited here in the past are unreliable.”
“Does this floor have the same building as the first and second floors?”
“Yes, that’s for sure. The teleportation crystal should definitely be in that building…”
“Well, I’ll go take a look.”
Reito checked his feet and thought that he would get tripped up in the sand. Therefore, he couldn’t activate his “Leap” skill properly, but he used the magic “Ice Block” to create a foothold.
“Ice Block, here it comes!!”
“Just jump normally…”
He created a disk of “Ice Block” and stood on it, then “Leap” with force, observing the situation from above. He wasn’t high enough, so he created a new foothold with more “Ice Block” magic.
However, the closer he got to the ceiling, the stronger the heat became, and it seemed like he’s at the limit of his body. Once he reached that height, he activated his “Far Sight” and “Observing Eye” skills to observe the surroundings.
“I can see rocky mountains and such, but… I can’t see that building. Maybe it was buried in a sandstorm?”
The building with the teleportation crystal had a distinctive shape. He thought it would be easy to find in the desert with a good view, but there was no building that looked like it.
If Reito could communicate with Airis, he would be able to pinpoint the building’s exact location, but he couldn’t ask for her help in this Great Labyrinth. He had tried that before.
“This place is trickier than I thought. I can’t see any enemies, so how should I proceed?”
Once again, Reito realized how grateful he was for Airis. However, there was no use in worrying about it, so he deactivated the “Ice Block” magic and landed on the ground.
Everyone gathered around Reito as he descended. From his expression, it was clear that he hadn’t found anything, but Shizune asked him just to be sure.
“How was it?”
“No, there was no building that looked like it. There was nothing else that stood out in particular…”
“I see… so we should assume it’s buried in the sand.”
“Was the building there normally when you came here before?”
“The last time, I was teleported to the place where I was already in front of the building. Thinking about it now, I was pretty lucky.”
Everyone was impatient because they had easily found the building on the previous floors. Meanwhile, Reito calmly reflected on what had happened so far and came to a certain conclusion.
“You see… the teleportation crystals on the previous floors were mostly in the center of the floor, right?
“Really? I hadn’t paid much attention to that, but…”
“Now that you mention it, it’s true…”
“Then isn’t it possible that the teleportation crystal on this floor is also in the center?”
“That’s a possibility. Since we don’t have any other clues, we’ll just have to bet on that.”
Everyone agreed with Reito’s idea, and they headed to the center of the third floor first.
~
The distance they had to travel wasn’t that far, but they had to cross several sand dunes, and the heat was draining their strength.
“Haa, haa… it’s hot!!”
Please don’t yell next to me… I have the skill ‘Hearing Enhancement’, so it’s even louder, that it is.”
“Ugh… my legs are sinking.”
“If you’re thirsty, don’t hesitate to hydrate yourself.”
“I’ll give you some ice if you want it.”
“Thank you!!”
Traveling on foot through the desert took more energy than expected.
The scenery was similar so it was hard to gauge the distance, and they had to periodically check their position from the sky. This took extra time.
They moved while cooling their bodies with ice created by Reito’s “Ice Block.”
~
“Phew… I think we’ve traveled about halfway.”
“We’re still about a third of the way there.”
“Is it really that far?”
“You shouldn’t talk too much while you’re traveling. You need to conserve your energy.”
“…”
Reito and the others moved quietly and quickly. He used “Ice Block” magic to lower her body temperature, but it was still a difficult environment for Shizune, who had mermaid blood in her veins.
She held her head and led the way.
“Shizune, you are moving too fast. We can’t keep up with you.”
“Y-You’re right… Ugh.”
“Shizune?”
“Are you okay?”
Suddenly, Shizune felt dizzy and collapsed to her knees.
Reito hurried to support her.
Reito noticed that she was surprisingly light. She was conscious, but appeared to be dehydrated, so he hastily gave her water from his water bottle.
“Here, drink this…”
“Sorry… I haven’t been on this floor for very long so I let my guard down.”
“I’ll carry you.”
“I-I’m fine… Ugh.”
“Don’t be reckless, that you don’t!”
Gonzo offered to lend Shizune his back, but she refused and started walking.
But after a few steps, she collapsed again, and this time Hanzo supported her.
“We need to take a short rest… Is there a shady spot nearby?”
“There’s a rocky mountain over there…”
“Let’s go there. I’ll use my ability to create a cave.”
Using Reito’s High Speed Shape Change ability, it was possible to create a cave by transforming the rocky mountain’s walls and creating a cave.
Everyone supported Shizune as they headed towards the rocky mountain.
However, halfway through, Hanzo stopped as if she had noticed something.
“What’s this presence…? It’s the enemy!!”
“Enemy!?”
“How many…?!”
“Three, no, four!!”
Everyone got into a fighting stance after hearing Hanzo’s words, and Reito lent Shizune his shoulder while observing the surroundings. As far as he could see, there was nothing unusual, but when he activated his “Observing Eye”, he noticed something strange happening on the ground.
“What’s that…?!”
“It’s coming from below!”
“Uggghhhhh…”
The ground started to sink like an antlion trap, and sand like human arms rose up from the center.
Soon, a human-shaped sand object appeared in front of Reito and the others. It was a sand doll. Shizune immediately tried to pull out Four Seasons, but Reito stopped her.
“You can’t fight in that state. Leave this to us.”
“But…”
“Just trust us!”
“…I understand.”
Shizune nodded apologetically at Reito’s words.
Since they couldn’t borrow her power, the only option was for the four of them to deal with it. Though they were evenly matched in numbers, the sand dolls were over two meters long. All but Gonzo were outsized.