Chapter 213 Shadow Hunt

[Layland Kleinhaus' POV]

By the time I know it, a week and a half has passed ever since I began my journey. Out of the 11 Heroes that managed to survive the calamity of their first month of stay in this world, I have killed four of them: Logan Keller, Mike Brown, Raymond Hill, and Scott Walker.

Only seven Heroes are remaining and I want to save two of them for later; of course, they are Brianna Johnson and Mark Lane, the accursed couple whom I failed to kill on Earth. I will take my time and enjoy every second of me toying with them.

"Where are we going again?" Millonia asks, stopping my musing.

"A masterless territory called Ziehara," I answer.

"That is a desert, isn't that?" Millonia hums to herself. "Lunea, is there a Hero there?"

"Eh...I don't know. I haven't contacted any of them; Layland hasn't asked me to," Lunea responds, confused.

It has been twelve hours since Genelos took off. No one wondered where we are going until Millonia asked. Upon knowing where we are going, all of the girls are bemused. There is nothing to see in Ziehara, so they wonder what I am going to do there.

"We are going to wait for somebody," I say cryptically.

"And, who is this somebody?"

"A Hero."

"...I thought you needed me to make an appointment with the Hero," Lunea mutters, sounding gloomy for some reason.

"Well, the System has leaked our modus operandi to the Heroes, so we have to change our tactics slightly," I explain. "I know a guy who leaks information for a reasonable price. He told me that one of the Heroes is going to pass Ziehara in three days."

"Will...will I have a role in the plan?" Lunea asks nervously.

"Of course, you will. You will be the damsel in distress."

"Eh? What is even that?"

Heroes. When you hear that word, you will automatically think of someone who helps those in need. They prioritize women over anyone because they save the most fragile first. They tend to get in trouble because, for some reason, trouble women always find their way to them or vice versa.

The damsel in distress is the strongest magnet for Heroes. Even though they don't deserve to be called one, they will do what Heroes will do when they encounter a damsel in distress, albeit with some catch.

"I need you to act like you are on a journey with your party and you need the Hero's help to aid your friend who is in a perilous situation. You will then lead him to a place that has been predetermined, so the fun can begin. It is that simple."

"Correct me if I am wrong; do you want to make a situation where I coincidentally meet the Hero while looking for help for my 'friend'?" Lunea asks.

"That's about it."

Lunea is actually replaceable; however, no one in the group wants to replace her. Millonia likes to be direct. She likes chaos, so she won't bother doing something like that. Winerva, although a lot calmer than Millonia, is very bad at acting like a damsel in distress. She is too annoying to act like such.

Lunea, therefore, is the perfect person to take the role of the damsel in distress. Besides, she is also a Princess from a neighboring Kingdom, so the Hero will suspect her less when they find her asking for help.

Another three hours passed in the blink of an eye. The talk about why Lunea is the perfect damsel in distress is entirely forgotten as the person herself is busy learning about Middle-Grade Spells with Millonia, who knows a lot about Spells.

There are moments when Lunea says, "You are awesome at Magic but why are you...?" and Millonia will say, "I have got some situation that I can't disclose."

Millonia is skilled; however, the amount of Mana she has doesn't suit your expectation of how much someone at her level should have. Lunea finds it very weird, so she can't help asking from time to time. 'How could the star fall so low?' she must wonder.

"Oh, can you feel the heat already?"

"Yeah...I hate it."

"Agreed," Winerva and Lunea say in unison at Millonia's comment.

This world has a naturally low temperature. The air is always moist, so it is very refreshing to live in this world. In some regions in this world, however, the temperature can get crazily low or ridiculously high. It is not because of the climate but the region itself.

There is something called Mana Vein in this world, which is the point where Mana from around the world meets. Think of Mana as a cloud; they travel around the world and, once in a while, they will clump together in a certain region.

Mana Vein is that region. Though, you can't see it directly because it is underneath the ground. It requires a certain technique to observe the Mana and put it to good use. Still, the effect can be felt, which is why some regions can't be inhabited by any living species.

Ziehara Desert does not have a Mana Vein but it is within the area where the Mana Vein can be spotted, which is 100 miles away from it. Still, it suffers from an eternal drought due to the heat the ground produces and the heat the air absorbs.

There is no forest to be spotted but we don't have to look for one to land. There is barely anyone here.

Thud!

"Woah...I expected it to be quicksand for a second; I am glad it is not," Millonia remarks after jumping down from Genelos.

"Don't say something so scary, Millonia. It might come true!" Lunea warns.

"Of all things, you are afraid of quicksand?" Winerva asks, genuinely bewildered. "You have seen much crazier shit. I mean, look at Layland..." she trails off, not daring to look at me.

Ignoring Winerva's remark, I jump down from Genelos. As soon as I land, the sand eats me and that makes the girls' hearts jump out of their chests. I tell them to remain calm and ask Genelos to pull me out. He does what I asked; thus, I survive my first quicksand.

"I will be careful with what I say next," Millonia mutters solemnly.

"This desert is haunted," Lunea whispers warily.

"What is wrong with these two?" For the first time, Winerva and I share the same thought.

After Genelos assumes his little lizard form, we walk in the direction where we can detect lives. Teanosvera also joins us in our walk by revealing himself, saying that he wants to envelop the extremely bright place with his shadow.

When I tell him he is being ridiculous, he responds with, "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow, Master. Ku-Ha-Ha."

I think he is just shy to admit that he wants to enjoy the world now that there is no one to be spotted around.

After ten minutes of walking, we find a small town that looks like a cowboy town I saw in a made-in-Texas movie I watched back on Earth. I have seen a lot of things straight out of fantasy movies but I still feel surreal looking at the town.

"I think I can put my lasso to good use here," I comment.

"Heh...you are into that shit, huh?" Millonia remarks, which I have expected.

"Wanna be the one whom I whip?" I retort cockily.

"Take me, Master," she replies coyly.

"Kuhum! Let's take this mission seriously, shall we?" Lunea puts a stop to our joke. When we turn to look at her, we find her face burning red and it is not because of the heat.

Millonia sees that as a chance to tease her. They banter until we reach the town. By the end of it, Lunea lost to Millonia, so she keeps silent ever since. Her face is brightly burning in red as she tries to erase the image Millonia has made her think from her mind.

"Hold on, happy people. What is your purpose for coming to our town?"

Although made out of wood, the gate of the town is properly guarded like any other territory you can find in this world. Much to my amusement, the guys who guard it also dress like cowboys.

"What kind of answer do you want?" I ask neutrally, trying to sound cool but sound terrifying instead thanks to the feature of my mask that makes my voice one octave and a half lower.

Luckily, the guy is not alarmed nor does he sound offended. "Oho? Tough one, ain'tcha?" He even smiles, seemingly satisfied with how I behave. "This place is not for weak people. Come on in."

I enter the town and the girls immediately follow suit. We walk toward the place where we can see many people but we soon stop when we hear the guy's warning.

"You got yourself fine wives. Take care of them well. This place makes your blood rush. Some people can't keep their dicks in their pants."

"Do we look like that to you?" I ask in wonder as the girls busily fanning themselves due to the heat.

"I was wrong?" the man asks back.

"Nah. Thank you for your warning, old man."

"I am forty-five, bastard! I am still virile!"

Ignoring the old man, we walk to the crowded place, which is an inn. We still need to wait for whomever the Hero is for two days, so we need somewhere to spend the night.

Time passes and nothing worthy of note happens...until night comes.