Level 41 is a desert filled with massive boulders, arranged like a maze. So we used the same method as before.
But this was still a desert, after all. The heat was starting to get to me. It was time to switch into clothing better suited for desert travel.
"Lina, let's change."
"Mm."
There were several changing rooms up ahead—how considerate. We stepped inside and began changing. I removed all my gear and stored it inside the storage hole, keeping only my sword by my side. Then I took out a loose white robe and a headscarf and put them on.
Under the blazing desert sun, robes and headscarves provided shade and protection, and loose clothing helped with heat dissipation.
We bought these outfits at a clothing store yesterday. For some reason, Lina chose black, so I picked white.
After changing, I stepped outside and saw a figure completely dressed in black from head to toe, with only a pair of bright blue eyes visible. No need to guess—it was Lina.
I took out two cups and looked at her. Lina understood immediately and filled them with water.
I handed one to her, and we pulled down the cloth covering our mouths and drank.
"In this heat, if us don't drink enough water, we'll get heatstroke."
"Yeah, it's even hotter than outside."
It must've been around 40 to 50 degrees celsius here. Thanks to these clothes, things felt much cooler. The capital's clothing stores really had everything—makes sense, since the dungeon had all four seasons inside.
"Good thing we bought these clothes, or it would've been worse."
Seeing that I'd finished my water, Lina formed another water orb.
"Want another cup?"
I held out my cup.
"Thanks."
After that, we walked out of the boulder maze.
Level 42 is a desert filled with cacti. Nearby, several camels were munching on them.
Lina curiously looked back and forth between the cacti and the camels before asking:
"Karen, what animal is that? And why can it eat this spiky plant?"
"That's a camel, and this plant is a cactus. Let me explain camels first. The humps on their backs are fat reserves—they store water, which is why they can survive in such harsh deserts. And since cacti are the most common plants in deserts, camels evolved rough mouths that won't get hurt by the spikes."
"I see."
We passed through the cactus forest.
Level 43 is a desert of endless sand dunes—nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. No plants, no rocks, not even the entrance in sight.
But there were animals. A pack of wolves in the distance stared at us, drooling, their eyes hungry from who knew how long without food.
They charged. I quickly told Lina:
"Lina, take care of any wolves I miss."
"Mm."
"Rock Spike"
I aimed my hand at the wolves, and countless stone spikes erupted beneath them. The agile wolves leapt to dodge—but it was useless. Spikes surrounded them from every direction. Falling meant death.
As expected, not a single wolf survived. I collected the magic stones and we continued forward.
Before long, another wolf pack appeared. Suddenly, Lina ran ahead of me.
"Lina!?"
"Karen, let me handle this one. Ice Spike"
She aimed her staff and created dense spikes beneath them, just like mine. Different wolves, same death.
But Lina stepping in front of me so suddenly made me curious.
"Lina, what's wrong? Why the sudden enthusiasm?"
"Because I want to become stronger. I want to speed up my combat thinking."
She felt off—not just wanting to grow stronger, but something else… but it probably wasn't important.
"Is that so."
We encountered several more wolf packs, and Lina beat me to them each time. But that was fine. If she could fight from range, there was no need for close combat. My job was to protect her. Eventually, we reached the entrance.
Level 44 is an oasis desert—a lake surrounded by evenly spaced palm trees and shrubs, with no animals in sight.
The entrance was in the middle of the lake, but it wasn't a problem; previous explorers had built a bridge.
Level 45 is a desert filled with mirages. Several entrances appeared in the distance, but detection showed none of them as real. Meaning they were illusions—the true entrance was somewhere else.
"Karen, why are there so many entrances?"
We bypassed the fake ones, and Lina asked me to explain. It was a good question… but too complicated. I didn't feel like explaining.
"They're just illusions. Don't worry about it."
"Mm?"
Her suspicious gaze made me avert my eyes and hurry off to look for the real entrance.
Level 46 is a desert of black water—oil. The smell hit us immediately. Brett told us it was foul black water, but I didn't expect it to be an actual oil field.
Oil could be refined into gasoline and fuel—valuable, non-renewable resources.
"Karen, you know what this smelly dirty water is, right?"
(...Smelly dirty water… Well, it IS smelly, but "dirty" is harsh. Countries would fight wars over this! Wait… would they here?)
Lina must've realized I brushed off the mirage explanation and now suspected I didn't know the principle. I did know it—well, sort of.
"This is oil. A valuable resource… maybe? No—on Earth it's valuable. But in this world, not really. Oil isn't very useful here, so you don't need to know much. Also, it's toxic—don't drink it."
Everything in the dungeon was unlimited, so oil, too, was endless. And since Brett didn't know oil, people in this world probably didn't know its uses.
"I see."
"And about the mirages—I'll explain after we leave dungeon."
I didn't want her thinking I didn't know! I knew… kind of.
"Mm. I knew there was nothing you didn't know, Karen."
Her trust made me feel guilty. I didn't fully understand it—I just had the knowledge.
Strange, right? Knowledge I'd never studied kept appearing in my head. But it was useful, so I didn't mind. This was a world of magic, and I came here with memories—some odd things were bound to happen.
We continued on, holding our noses, and soon reached the entrance.
Level 47 is a desert of quicksand. Quicksand worked like a swamp, except with groundwater beneath. Falling in would drag you elsewhere—possibly dangerous.
Thankfully, previous explorers had built rope-pulley transport like in the tropical rainforest level.
Level 48 is a desert at night. The temperature difference was huge, and now it was freezing. When I looked up, a sky full of stars spread above us.
I pointed at the sky and turned to Lina.
"Lina, look—Lina? Where are you?"
I looked everywhere but didn't see her. But detection showed someone nearby—so where was she?
"Karen, I'm right here."
Her voice was close, but I still couldn't see her.
"There's a voice, but no body? Ah!"
Something grabbed my head and pulled me forward. A pair of bright blue eyes appeared right in front of me.
"I'm right in front of you! Why can't you see me?!"
Lina scolded me angrily. She must've thought I was teasing her. I quickly apologized.
"S-sorry! I didn't do it on purpose. I really couldn't see you."
"Then why couldn't you?"
Her tone frightened me a little. I removed her hands from my head and held them tightly so I wouldn't lose her again.
Looking at her outfit—completely black, only her eyes visible—and considering it was night, it made sense I couldn't see her.
"Probably because of the black."
"Ah…"
She looked at her clothes and seemed to understand. I suggested:
"Maybe you should get brighter colors next time."
"...Mm."
Reluctant, huh? Does she like black that much? Still holding her hands, I added:
"But even if you don't, it's fine. I'll just hold your hand so I know where you are."
"Mm! That's the best!"
She lit up instantly. Was it the color… or the hand-holding? Or both?
We encountered desert foxes and cobras along the way, defeated them, and collected magic stones. The entrance was easy to find—torches were placed around it.
Level 49 is scorching hot—hot enough to cook an egg on the ground. Even a hot-blooded teenager would lose a fight against this heat.
Lina and I drank several cups of water before moving on. detection showed a large creature nearby, but I didn't see anything—meaning it was underground.
We moved away, but then the sand erupted as a huge scorpion appeared, glaring at us.
Lina acted first.
"Ice Spike"
A massive ice spike pierced through the scorpion. Then four more scorpions emerged, surrounding us. We each took two.
"Stone Bullet, Stone Bullet"
"Water Gun, Wind Blade"
Both of my shots pierced my targets' heads. Lina's did the same.
But those were only basic magic. I had only meant to test the waters—they were way too weak. Were we too strong, or were they too weak? Was this really the level of Green-rank monsters?
(Whatever. Let's get the magic cores and move on.)
Level 50 is a desert of sandstorms. Strong winds blew sand everywhere. Thankfully, our faces were covered; otherwise we'd inhale sand nonstop.
Visibility was terrible, and we couldn't see far. But it didn't matter—we found the entrance quickly.