## Chapter 1214 – Power

After that, I purchased all sorts of supplies and carefully stored them in Hilde’s inventory. The size of the space was fixed, but there seemed to be no significant limit on weight. No matter how much I filled it, it didn’t seem to affect Hilde’s abilities.

ㅡFwoosh.

I opened the door from the inside and went outside.

The point I emerged at was exactly where I had first entered. It seemed that if I created a gate from the inside, I would return to the place where I initially entered.

“It’s frustrating that this one can’t cross over directly. To not be able to see such interesting things firsthand…”
“Hehe, I’m a bit sorry about that. But if you have any questions, please ask me. I’ll explain as much as I can.”

Hilde told Risha that this was a type of dimensional magic, and that she had grasped its principles and execution almost instinctively, making it difficult to explain precisely.

Roughly speaking, these high-level succubi seemed to be able to develop dimension-related abilities.

Dimension.

Dimension, huh… It’s still amazing. To use a sub-space by utilizing a dimension different from the one we stand on. The more I think about it, the more astonished I am. Perhaps beyond that dimension, there might be another world.

Anyway, that lich bastard is also enthusiastically tearing holes in dimensions. In that case, is his ability to manipulate dimensions superior?

If that bastard could do this, I’d feel a bit resentful.

“Is there a possibility of being attacked? Frankly, this one doesn’t know much about this concept of dimensions either. But if it’s a dimension that clearly exists like this, there must be some threats.”
“Hmm… It feels like this is a space outside of Pandemonium, so perhaps if one could break through the dimensional walls, they might be able to find it.”

Could the lich find it?

“But that’s just a guess. For example, imagine a small, unremarkable cabin built by a hunter in a vast forest. Could you find it?”
“Ah.”

Let’s imagine a small cabin built somewhere in a forest the size of the Amazon rainforest. Could someone who just wandered into the forest find the cabin without any clues? It seems impossible to me.

“That makes it sound safe.”
“Right? The way I see it, a dimension is a concept bigger than a planet. In that vast space, the probability of my inventory being located is… almost zero, right? It doesn’t contain anything particularly traceable either. It’s all just daily necessities and supplies.”

As long as I’m careful, it should be fine.

“Then it’s best not to put anything that emits power inside, if possible.”
“Exactly. Ah. But what about when Kat goes inside?”
“Hmm.”

I’ve already been in and out.

“From now on, I’ll try not to go in as much as possible.”
“Then let’s do that.”

I finished organizing Hilde’s abilities and fully understood how to use them. Now, all that’s left is to actually use them.

* * *

The Shurdik Great Desert.

This is one hell of a big desert.

It’s located southwest of the Karga Kingdom.

This place is wider than you can imagine. Looking at its size on the map, it’s bigger than the Karga Kingdom, the Elven Forest, and the Dwarf Kingdom combined.

But as is usually the case, a desert isn’t very useful no matter how big it is, so it remains just a desert. What can you do with a place that’s just sand? The area where living beings actually live doesn’t seem to be that large.

Compared to the area, of course.

Anyway, part of it is connected to the Merkudia Kingdom, and Claudia said she used that route to come to the Karga Kingdom.

“It was just a change of heart. I heard that there was an unexplored area at the eastern end of the human kingdom.”

A story I’ve heard countless times.

After deciding to go to the Shurdik Great Desert, we started a meeting. Of course, the main participant in the meeting was Claudia, a local of the desert. As long as we have Claudia, there’s no problem. Ten years can change even the rivers and mountains, and she’s a woman who has lived in the desert for a hundred years.

A super-expert.

“I’ve seen everything worth seeing in the desert… so I left the desert. Then, I traveled across the human kingdom to gain experience on my own. That’s when I met Kat in Isvant.”
“Hehehe, I remember that time.”

The Claudia back then was a bit different from the Claudia now. Well, personalities change as you live. Anyway, it was an unforgettable encounter.

In any case.

Claudia told such stories while explaining about the Shurdik Great Desert.

“Hmm… Villages are formed around oases where water springs up, but these aren’t extremely rare. They appear fairly often, but the further south you go, the less you see them.”

The northern desert, which is attached to the human kingdom, is relatively abundant in water. But the further south you go, the more scarce the water becomes.

But so what.

Just because there are many oases doesn’t mean they share them nicely. The humans, desert orcs, and dark elves who live in the desert are always fighting to occupy these oasis villages.

“The monsters of the desert are the same. Because there’s water and food, they often invade.”
“It seems like everywhere people live is the same.”

Liztina said that.

Hearing about it, it seems special, but such things are common even in this human kingdom. It’s not uncommon for bandits or monsters to attack villages.

“Hehehe, it seems so.”
“Then are there only oasis villages like that?”

Karin asked.

“No. That’s not the case. There are several kingdoms for each race. Among them… some of the more developed places are as splendid as the big cities in this land.”
“Hoo.”

Since the land is large, it’s natural that such things exist.

“Sis knows so much. How long did you live there?”
“Well, a hundred.”
“Sis?”
“…”

Claudia closed her mouth for a moment.

“Hehehe, the desert, huh. It’s been a while since I’ve gone back to my hometown, hasn’t it?”

And she changed the subject without a care.

Not a single woman questioned or challenged that awkward change of subject. As soon as the topic of age came up, the tension dropped.

“The desert is great! I’ve always wanted to go to the desert. Even when I was a mercenary.”
“Yes. I’ve never been to the desert, so it seems fun.”
“I’m so excited!”

Those words.

“Hehehe, this one is also looking forward to it.”

If you add up the ages of the women who just spoke, how many years would it be?

“Ahem. Anyway, Kat. This time, we’re going to find the fragment of God that fell in the desert, right?”
“That’s right.”

That World Tree bastard seems to have some ulterior motives, but the information was real. We found a fragment of God in the Dwarf Kingdom very successfully.

So there must be something similar in the desert.

“So, I’ve been thinking.”

Claudia began to speak in a soft tone.

“Shurdik has a lot of unknown regions that are hard to know about because the land is vast. Endless deserts, or areas where unknown giant monsters roam.”

I’ve heard this story many times.

The Great Desert described by Claudia was literally hell itself. An inhuman realm full of unknown monsters and ruins.

But to me now, it’s just an interesting desert theme park. No matter how murderous things happen, I’ll be able to enjoy it as if I’m enjoying Lotte World’s Sinbad’s Adventure.

“Yeah. Maybe. Could something like a fragment of God be hidden in such places or by such things?”

Yes.

“Certainly.”
“Hoo… That’s persuasive.”

Looking into those unknown giant monsters would also be a good method. You can tell at a glance. Giant monsters, huh. They might be beings that have been active since before the Idol War. No… it’s almost certain. There’s no way such monsters would just exist in this world.

What I’ve felt while living is that really strong monsters are usually related to ancient times.

“What is that monster?”
“They’re called Colossi. I’ve seen them once.”

Colossus.

“Ah, sis. That? The one you ran away from?”
“You have to run away when you see something like that.”
“That’s true.”

Claudia saw it, so it exists.

“Why are those things wandering around? Don’t they do things like subjugation there?”
“Well, there’s no profit in doing it, and there’s no particular problem if you don’t. They’re just wandering aimlessly in the deep desert called the unknown space. As long as you don’t touch them, there’s no big problem.”

I see.

“The desert orcs and dark elf tribes do worship them, but they don’t really treat them as sacred and precious.”

In other words, they’re like walking natural phenomena.

Are they somewhat like Ice Giants?

The secret about that was revealed last time. Maybe those things called Colossi in the desert are similar beings.

“Then we should find that.”
“Yeah.”

Claudia answered Ari’s words.

“There are also a lot of unknown ancient ruins or tombs of kings there. Should I call them dungeons? When something like that is discovered, various people come to explore. I’ve been there several times too.”

As a half-elf over a hundred years old, Claudia had a lot of experience in that kind of thing. She began to tell stories about the ancient ruins, and we listened to them.

There were various stories.

Being mixed in with an expedition, encountering and fighting ancient king’s warriors and then fleeing. Entering a giant sand monster area, fighting and then fleeing. Meeting a being that creates unknown sand pits, fighting and then fleeing.

Almost all of them were stories of running away.

What is this.

Anyway, the Shurdik Great Desert was also swept up in the turmoil of the Idol War, but there are also deep deserts that were not affected by it, and there are many ancient structures built in the era before the Idol War, so it seemed to have a more mysterious atmosphere than I thought.

“Wow, there’s so much to find. Isn’t this going to take forever?”
“It seems so.”

As Karin said, I think this might take quite a while.

No matter how much the World Tree’s crystal ball exists, there’s no way to specify something in that vast desert. In the end, we have to explore suspicious ancient structures or tombs of kings, or defeat wandering giant monsters.

This might be a bit difficult.

Specifically, killing something is not very difficult, but finding and moving is the most difficult. Still, since the problem of supply and material transportation has been completely solved, there is no big problem.

“Kat. For reference, there is also a temple of Hel-Kan.”
“Ah, that was the name of the god Claudia believed in!”
“Yeah. I don’t believe in it much now.”

Hel-Kan is not exactly the god of a professional religious group. It’s more like a kind of mindset that warriors living in the desert have. Roughly that kind of feeling.

Claudia also lived with it as a lifestyle habit as a desert warrior, but she abandoned it a long time ago.

“Anyway, Kat. Wouldn’t something come out if you raided the temples of those gods?”
“Hehehe, Claudia. That’s blasphemy.”

She’s trying to attack the god she used to believe in without a care.

That appearance felt somehow cute.

“Now Kat is Mama’s god, so it’s okay.”
“Hel-Kan, you bastard! I’m going to raid all the temples!”

If I go, I’m going to raid all the temples of that bastard!

“Seriously, sis is so unique.”
“This is normal.”

I don’t know where it’s normal.

* * *

In that way, I listened to Claudia’s stories and completed all kinds of preparations. At the same time, I focused on training, and I was able to achieve a satisfactory achievement.

I’ve done almost everything I had to do after killing Adramalech and returning.

Then, I’ve been resting for a while, so I should start soon. I headed straight to the Great Temple. I’ll report to Kadia and then start right away.

I hope nothing happened while I was there.

What could happen.
I just need to send a letter to Elise before I go.
I already have one written.