The place where Ryan was thrown was part of one of the largest deserts in the second world. With sand and scorpions everywhere, no buildings seemed to be anywhere near where he appeared. His body temperature quickly began to warm up, while the dry, hot desert wind made his mouth feel drier and drier.
Thirsty and hot, his first reaction was to use some of his magic to manipulate the humidity of the place. By concentrating his mana, he was slowly able to draw water from the air. The arid climate made it take much more effort, yet the water was piling up in front of Ryan's face.
The particles slowly piled up, until a gigantic sphere the size of a watermelon appeared in front of him. With a smile on his face, he stuck his head into the bubble of water, wetting his hair and wiping away the sweat and sand that was sticking to his body.
"This is wonderful!" he cried, as he looked up at the blue sky of the second world.
<Now that you already have water, we just need to finish the preparations>
Ryan opened his backpack, and then pulled out two boxes from the dwarven tool set. Crouching down in the sand, he gently tapped the top of that cube, releasing a crystal out. After that, he sent some energy into the crystal and placed an incantation paper inside the other box.
As soon as he stood up, a thread of mana appeared between the two boxes. It was a continuous line of energy that slowly increased until it became a kind of doorway. That portal was completely transparent, but once complete, it was possible to see on one side the desert and on the other side the outside of the portal.
'So my theory was right' Ryan thought as he carefully observed both sides of the portal. He moved his face as he checked that dimensional rift. Sighing, he lay down on the warm sand.
Ryan remained resting for a few minutes, using water magic to keep himself refreshed even under the strong hot sun that was flying over the entire region. Looking up at the blue sky he tried to understand what was going on. 'All that theory was right' he thought, getting up from the sand.
Just when he thought he would have some time to better assess his situation, sounds of footsteps interrupted any thoughts he might have. "Ah... Yes, we are in a portal" he said, turning around.
A giant green lizard over thirty feet tall was walking towards him, the creature had red eyes and a blue tongue that swung from side to side. The monster seemed to be smiling at Ryan, revealing hundreds of sharp teeth that reflected the brightness of the intense sun. The monster's entire skin seemed to reflect the sun, as if it were made of a leather covered in crystals.
The lizard came running at him, throwing sand everywhere while making a snake-like sound. The monster's tail was up, waving a rattle.
"Is that bug a lizard snake...?" Ryan thought, as he tried to remember if he had ever studied this type of creature.
<I've never seen something like this>
- Neither have I -
With little information, he preferred to be a little more careful. So looking at the creature he quickly thought about what he could do to deal with it.
'Physical attacks are a good idea, but this bug's skin seems to be resistant. It probably has fire resistance, so the only thing left for me to do is to use Light and water'
Before approaching, the lizard spat out a gigantic amount of fire. The sand slowly broke apart as it melted and turned into a kind of glass. Ryan jumped backwards as he laughed at that.
"You are quite predictable" he said and putting his hands together, activated the Judgement of the Sun.
With ease, he managed to focus the light from that area and aim it towards the lizard's eye. Screaming in pain, the lizard began to bang its own head on the sand as it threw itself to the ground, a single strike ended that creature's advance.
"I'll be faster this time buddy" he said as he approached that creature. Extending his hands, Ryan used his water magic, controlling the internal fluids of that lizard and exploding the heart of the creature that died in the same instant.
Looking to the horizon, Ryan realized that there were at least twenty more lizards advancing towards him.
With both hands on his waist, he sighed as he looked at that group running and kicking up sand all over the corner. "This is going to be stressful..."
* * *
Sitting on top of one of the lizards, there was no place that Ryan watched that didn't possess the body of a monster lying on the ground. After the lizards attacked, waves of scorpions and desert kobolds came. Sand was covering part of the bodies, while the opponent's blood descended and disappeared into the wind.I think you should take a look at
"I think I have finished the challenge" he said, as he jumped off the monster.
<I'm not finding any enemies around>
"Then that just leaves me to check it out" he said, looking at the portal that remained open.
As Ryan stepped through that doorway that led into another desert, he was taken by surprise by a sight he never would have imagined. At the same instant he touched his foot on the other side of the portal, four women threw ropes across his head, knocking him to the sand completely immobilized.
'Are they, humans?' he thought, surprised.
The women had long cloth clothes, and were exchanging confused looks. They were talking in a different language, which neither Nyx nor Lux knew, the sounds sounded a bit like a kind of elven mixed with the language of hoglins. A sort of grunts and elegant vowels that created an interesting dialect.
Leading the four hooded women was an older woman, who had long white hair and a face that indicated she was less than forty. One of the woman's eyes was blue and shone like a flame, while the other was brown, just like her companions. She had tanned skin and left her defined abdomen sticking out, as well as part of her breasts that were protected by a thin layer of cloth.
The five women were talking energetically, as if they didn't know what to do with Ryan.
"They can't understand me... This is going to be complicated" he said, sighing. The leader then clapped two hands together and turned away, walking across the sand. The others followed, pulling him along like a dog on a leash.
- You could get loose -
<They are certainly much weaker than you>
'I know that, but I want to understand better what is happening. The plan worked...'
Ryan was led away for about twenty minutes, and just before the sun started to come down, the group arrived at their destination. The white haired woman slapped her hands together again, and in front of her, a sea of sand split apart. The sight that was revealed was astonishing, there was a ravine full of houses and clay and crystals, and several skulls that looked like they were taken from the same lizards he had just defeated.
However, as they descended the stairs of that ravine, Ryan became more and more worried. From one side to the other, that village had only women. Just as the group reached the bottom of the large ravine, the white haired woman shouted announcing her arrival. A commotion broke out, with women of different ages running to observe the group's arrival.
'Do they kill the men here? Is this an all-female village?!'
The women in the village were not wearing robes to cover their faces, which made Ryan understand a little better where he was. There were humans, elves and half-beasts. Extending one of his hands, he pointed to a brown-haired girl who possessed pointed ears.
"Hayurakid-Shiorai Myukotafir?" said Ryan, surprising the elf.
The girl ran up to him, and looking at the white-haired girl, she began to converse in the strange dialect they were using.
The four warriors loosened the rope that bound him, relieving the pain in his neck that he was feeling. Nyx and Lux were looking at him confused at what was happening, but not even Ryan could believe that he had made it.
"I didn't imagine that such a young human would know how to speak ancient elven. How come you didn't die? Are you undead?" said the elf, who seemed surprised by this.
Ryan shook his head, denying it. "I just got here through a portal," he replied in elven. The Elf looked surprised by this, and looking from one side to the other, she took him by the hand and led him out of the crowd that stood listening to the white haired woman speak.
"What is this place?" Ryan questioned.
"We are a refuge, we are fleeing the war" the elf said, as she opened a door and revealed a small den with a wool cloth rug.
"I understand... But what is this language you were speaking?" he said, as he looked from one side of that small room to the other. When Ryan turned around, he was startled by the naked body of that elf.