System's POV

Chapter 1345: Nothing To Believe In [Part 2]

’Forneus…’ Thirteen pondered, while sitting on Blacky’s back.

The Nightmare Black Hound wished to accompany Thirteen like old times, so it volunteered to become his mount during their journey.

Actually, Giga wanted to do it as well, but the Blaze Emperor Skunk wasn’t meant for desert travels.

Besides, Giga’s presence was enough to give Jason, as well as a thousand other Wanderers, PTSD, so having him around would be detrimental to their journey.

Since that was the case, Blacky became Thirteen’s mount, making him the envy of the Wanderers around him.

Blacky was now a Rank 8 Sovereign, an existence that was very different from the time he first met Thirteen.

Back then, Blacky hated the teenage boy with a vengeance, but now, they were very close friends who had been through many life and death battles together.

Suddenly, Jar Jar raised his hand, telling everyone to stop on the spot.

“Something is wrong,” Jar Jar said with a frown.

“What’s wrong?” Roland asked.

“The air is still, and there is no sound in the surroundings,” Jar Jar replied.

After hearing the Red Salamander’s answer, the Wanderers also noticed the eerie silence in their surroundings.

They didn’t notice it earlier because they were making sounds as they traveled across the desert.

But now that they had stopped to listen, their ears started ringing due to the deafening silence that surrounded them.

Thirteen smiled faintly because he already had an idea of what was happening.

He could have mentioned something earlier, but he refrained from doing so.

The teenage boy thought that this was a good opportunity for the Wanderers to gain some experience, especially if that experience was something that would make a profound impact on their lives.

Roland frowned and was just about to ask Zion a question when he suddenly found himself standing alone in the desert.

“Huh?” Roland turned around and scanned his surroundings.

But no matter where he looked, not a single soul could be seen.

’Did I fall asleep?’ Roland thought before pinching his arm.

The pain that shot through his senses confirmed that he wasn’t dreaming.

“Derek!” Roland shouted. “Zion! Anyone?!”

But no matter who he called, he received not a single reply.

Roland’s heartbeat quickened.

With every shaky step he took, he felt his foot sink into the sand. And with every glance, he saw nothing but the endless stretch of the vast desert.

Not a single footprint could be seen. Not his, not the Wanderers’, not even those of the Jinns accompanying them.

Everything… had been erased.

“An illusion?” Roland muttered to himself. “Yes. This is just an illusion. If I kill myself, will I be able to get out of it?”

But this idea scared the young man. If he were wrong, wouldn’t he just die in vain?

“Let’s leave that as a last resort.” Roland narrowed his eyes. “I need to survey my surroundings.”

He took a few deep breaths in order to calm himself down before raising his sword and pointing its tip to the sky.

A pair of angelic wings sprang out of his back, and with a single leap, Roland soared upward.

When he reached a good height, he scanned his surroundings, hoping to see something, anything, whatever that might give him an idea of what was happening to him.

One moment, he was traveling with thousands of Wanderers, the next moment, he was all alone.

It was physically impossible, and the only logical reason was that they might have entered some kind of ancient array that trapped those who were unlucky enough to enter its range.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Roland looked in the direction of the sun, which was right above his head.

After careful consideration, he decided to wait for a few hours to let the sun dip a bit from the sky. As long as he could see where it would set, he would at least have an idea about which was East and West.

He had plenty of food and water to last him a month, so he wasn’t too worried about survival.

A few hours later, the sun slowly dipped over the horizon, giving him a general idea of the cardinal directions.

’According to Jar Jar, his Master’s domain is located in the east,’ Roland thought as he glanced to the east. ’I’ll go there first. Maybe I’ll meet the others along the way.’

With a plan in mind, Roland flew toward the East, paying close attention to his surroundings that were devoid of any living life forms, making him feel that he was all alone in the world.

———

“Girls, take it easy,” Derek said with a smile. “I’m not going anywhere!”

Several beautiful ladies giggled as they massaged, fanned, and fed Derek grapes.

“Ah… this is the life.” Derek sighed in happiness as he was pampered by beauties that could bring the downfall of nations.

All of them were on par with Princess Aracelle’s beauty, whom Derek considered the most beautiful lady he had seen in his life.

And having nine such ladies take good care of him made him feel truly blessed.

“I wish I had found this place sooner,” Derek said with a smile. “Meeting you girls is the best thing that has happened to me.”

“Oh, you’re such a sweet talker,” one of the beautiful ladies replied.

“I bet he tells that to every girl he sees.” Another beauty pouted.

“With how handsome and charming Derek is, it’s impossible that he’s unpopular with the ladies,” a petite, adorable young lady commented. “Just be content that he is here with us now.”

“Girls, don’t fight,” Derek said with a smile. “I might be alone, but I have the strength of a hundred men. I’ll make sure that all of you will be satisfied tonight.”

The ladies giggled before pressing their soft lips on the young man’s cheeks, neck, chest, stomach, arms, hands, legs, and feet.

Derek could only sigh in bliss at this royal treatment.

“I wish R***** was here,” Derek said while enjoying the ministration of the ladies around him. “Wait, did I just say a name?”

“No?” the petite lady replied. “You said that you will satisfy all of us tonight.”

“Ah, right.” Derek nodded because he finally remembered what he had said a moment ago. “Don’t worry, I am a man of my word.”

The ladies smiled sweetly at him as they gently caressed his body.

’Strange,’ Derek thought. ’I swear I’m forgetting something important…’

He tried to recall what he had forgotten, but the ladies took care of him so well that he constantly felt happy and pleased. Both his body and brain were so relaxed that the thoughts in his head immediately melted away like snow on a sunny day.

’Since I can’t remember them, maybe it’s not important?’ Derek mused before leaning on his chair and sighing in comfort for the umpteenth time. ’Well, it doesn’t matter. As long as I’m happy, nothing else matters.’

The other Wanderers, as well as the Jinns in their group, were all in a similar state to Roland and Derek, fighting against their inner demons, who had chosen this time to break their spirit in ways that matched their state of mind.

As all of this happened, Thirteen casually sipped a glass of cold lemonade, paying close attention to his comrades who were all lying on the ground.

Hovering in the sky above their heads was a giant, rainbow-colored jellyfish that released spores that clung to the bodies of the sleeping Wanderers.

Thirteen was unaffected by this because there was a large beach umbrella protecting him from the spore rain.

’Whether you wake up or not will depend on your abilities,’ Thirteen thought. ’I just hope that all of you manage to overcome this challenge.’

Thirteen glanced at Roland, who had a pained look on his face.

He didn’t know what kind of illusion Roland was seeing, but the suffering on his face was evident, which meant that he was facing a situation that was too dangerous to handle on his own.