The environment was harsh but still manageable. Brand's cyborg body has a thermoregulation function; the only issue was water. Water is still crucial, as it helps in absorbing the heat. He needs water.
His only source of water? Cactus.
He started to harvest every cactus he saw across the desert. And squeeze them for water. These activities helped him secure water.
Over the holographic map, between his location and the Emas Tribe, was an oasis. He decided to detour to the oasis for a short rest, although this would cost him one more day.
"It's okay, survival comes first." He told himself. Besides, a neutral dot in the map indicated someone was there. Maybe they could travel together even if their path happened to overlap.
"Let's head toward the oasis." He told Seraphine his decision while seeking reaffirmation. If it were a bad idea, she would probably have given him some hint, like she always does.
Fortunately, she agreed with him.
"Sure, you might encounter some monster along the way, which helps you to level up." She replied.
They continued their journey, heading towards the oasis for the time being.
***
The sun hangs high in the sky, scorching the desert below. Brand endured the intense heat for hours of travel. But the scenery remained the same; that made him lose his sense of time and space. It was just sand dunes over sand dunes, no matter how long he travelled.
Occasionally, there were monsters, and he would kill them along the way. But even after the hours of travel, his level remains the same.
"I think I killed about three Sand Wolves, five Sand Beetles, and one Sand Vulture." Brand complained to Seraphine.
"Monsters you killed before will give less exp, and the more you kill, you'll get less and eventually none", Seraphine replied. "So technically, you got two fresh kills since you last checked your status."
"But the good news is, you're almost there!" Seraphine pointed to the black mass cloud in front of him.
Brand was scratching his head at the sight. There was one massive dot on his map, so he thought it would be a gigantic monster.
Though a large monster was alarming, he got the confidence to escape it. He has the speed to pull it off, considering that he managed to escape a dragon's pursuit.
But in front of him were countless flying insects swarming in his direction.
"That's a rare sight!" Seraphine exclaimed.
GHOST was registering the identity of the insect swarm for him. Brand's complexion has gone pale as he reads the holographic text of his vision.
[Scarab Swarm - A swarm of Black Scarabs. Omen of death.]
[Black Scarab - A metallic-brown beetle, sensitive to ground vibrations. It has strong wings that make a whirring sound over its wing beats. While individual beetles don't make a distinct sound, collectively they sound like distant thunder.]
"This looks like a shitstorm…" Brand panicked.
The sounds they make are so terrifying. He could see that the distance between him and the swarm was far, but it still made such a strong sound. It really was like how GHOST described it.
It's like a black mass in a lightning storm.
"They were beatable at my level? You're kidding me!" Brand thought that even the Sand Dragon he met earlier would avoid confronting the swarm of beetles.
No matter where they passed, a hurricane would erupt, and trails of sand would trace behind them. It's like they're a force of nature.
"Okay, Sera, I don't think I could do this," Brand said while searching for shelter. The man was just suicidal.
"But you just need to kill one of them, remember?" Seraphine tried to convince him. "Fresh kill for the experience bonus!"
"ALSO!" Seraphine continued with her speech. "You might gain a Title?"
"Wait, what do you mean?" Brand asked. If what Seraphine said was true, then he could gain a new Title and a skill which came with it.
Intrigued with it, he asked Seraphine. "How?"
"Okay, you just need to face the swarm head-on," Searphine replied.
Brand was speechless for a moment, waiting for Seraphine's cue that she was pranking him, that she was joking.
"Nah, I'm not joking."
"You could get a skill related to defence if you could survive that?" She elaborated. "Imagine facing a storm of a thousand beetles head-on. What an achievement!"
"That's impossible... you're asking me to kill myself here."
"You got a cyborg body!" Seraphine exclaimed. "You also got 10 seconds of stealth from GHOST Mode."
Although Brand thought that Searphine had a point, when the swarm got closer, Brand could see how massive the swarm was.
"Okay, impossible." Seraphine bluntly commented.
Brand sighed at the sight of this little angel.
"It's okay, we will get another chance to challenge it." Brand consoled Seraphine. She seemed sad that he would not make this challenge now.
"An achievement has the strongest effect when you challenge it when it's of higher difficulty," Seraphine explained to Brand.
"Imagine challenging this swarm as Level 1 compared to when you're Level 100."
"It would be so easy that it could hardly register as an achievement. It would be more of a stroll."
"An achievement needs to be recognised by the world, that you're challenging an impossible feat!"
Seraphine continued to bombard him with explanations of this achievement feature.
"If I were unable to make it through all of the cloud?" He asked. "Let's say I could only make it through half? But I pulled out in the middle so that I could survive, but I withstood as much as possible."
"Would the world recognise this effort? It was supposed to still be a feat, right?" He continued. "To withstand the animosity when I'm still a weak Level 2."
"Hmm, it could work," Seraphine replied, seeming to be in deep thought.
"Okay, then let's prepare." Brand patted Seraphine's head while looking at the massive swarm of Black Scarabs.