Following the compass, Aiden left the ruins and sped all the way southeast.
As he kept moving, the land below changed again and again.
After flying over long stretches of barren mountains and several massive dry riverbeds, the hard ground gave way to yellow sand.
Heat waves distorted the air. The horizon rippled under the sun.
"How big is this continent..."
Aiden hovered high above the sand.
From a forest that blocked out the sun, to the silver-gray ruins of the Great Kingdom, to a dry desert stretching past the horizon.
"Hm?"
Just as Aiden complained about the boring scenery, he stopped.
Among the golden sand dunes, a tiny black dot seemed to be moving slowly.
A person?
Aiden lowered his altitude at once.
As he got closer, the outline of the black dot became clearer.
With his eyesight, Aiden could make her out clearly.
It was a woman.
She was covered in sand and barely standing. Although her clothes had been made from expensive material, the sand and dry stains had ruined any trace of luxury.
She leaned on a wooden stick that looked like it would break at any moment. She dragged her feet through the soft, boiling sand.
She had to stop and rest after every step. She was close to collapsing.
Aiden squinted and watched carefully.
Save her? Or not?
If he wanted to avoid trouble, he should ignore her. A living person suddenly appearing in this empty desert was suspicious in itself.
Ignoring her and flying past was the smartest choice.
Who knew what her identity was or why she was here? Getting involved with a stranger was a risk.
"But..."
Aiden thought again.
This was the first living person he had seen since arriving in this hellhole.
Whether he wanted to understand the forces in this era, the money they used, the way they spoke, or find a better way to Wano Country, he needed a living person to ask.
Besides, looking at her about to die alone in the desert, she didn't seem like anyone important.
Thump.
While Aiden hesitated for a second, the figure below swayed twice. She finally couldn't handle the scorching sun and fell headfirst onto the boiling dune, completely still.
"Forget it."
Aiden sighed and hid the lightning around him. He glided down without a sound.
"I'll just ask her for directions once she wakes up. I hope I can get something useful out of her, assuming she can still talk."
...
Aiden walked up to the unconscious woman and reached out to roll her over.
Rustle.
As her hood slipped off, light blue hair spilled out from under it. It looked very bright against the red-yellow sand.
Aiden paused for a moment.
Even covered in sand, her face stood out.
Her features were sharp and clean. Although her skin was red from the sun, he could still tell it was fair.
Her high nose and deep-set eyes gave her a noble look. Even unconscious, with her brows drawn tight, she looked like someone used to giving orders.
"These looks..."
Aiden paused for a moment.
"She would stand out anywhere."
But now was not the time to stare.
Aiden reached out two fingers and pressed them against her sand-covered neck.
With the medical knowledge he had gained from the system, he knew enough to judge her condition.
"Fast, weak pulse. Hot, dry skin... Severe heatstroke and dehydration."
"If I came half an hour later, I could probably just bury her."
Aiden shook his head. He flipped his wrist and took out a bottle of pure water from the system's storage space.
He then lifted the woman's head. He wet her lips with the water first, then carefully fed her some.
The cool liquid wet her dry throat. The woman swallowed instinctively a few times, and her frown relaxed a little.
Next, Aiden looked at her collar, which was wrapped tight to block the wind and sand.
"No wonder you got heatstroke wrapped up this tight."
Aiden clicked his tongue and loosened the top two buttons of her collar, letting heat escape and helping her breathe.
After doing all this, Aiden stood up. He looked at the endless desert in front of him, then at the unconscious woman, not sure what to do next.
"How do I move on with a deadweight?"
Just fly over?
Aiden immediately rejected this idea.
Even as someone from another world, his knowledge of this era was limited to a few words.
"First of all, it's hard to say if Devil Fruits even exist in this era."
Aiden rubbed his chin and fell into thought.
If there were no Devil Fruits in this world yet, wouldn't his powers make him the only freak?
Or maybe Devil Fruits already existed, but they were secret weapons controlled only by the alliance of twenty kingdoms?
Otherwise, how did those guys beat the Great Kingdom, which had such advanced technology and could even build Ancient Weapons?
Thinking of this, Aiden tensed up. If that was true, using a Devil Fruit might expose him.
"No..."
Aiden suddenly realized something and shook his head.
"That guy Joy Boy ate the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Type, Model: Nika."
Since Joy Boy, the leader of the Great Kingdom, had a fruit power, it meant Devil Fruits were not exclusive to the alliance. They might even be quite common in this era.
"But what about the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
What if the Rumble-Rumble Fruit already had an owner in this era, and it was someone famous around the world?
"I just got here. Keeping a low profile is best."
After making up his mind, Aiden sighed.
He bent down, picked up the unconscious woman, and easily put her on his back.
"Let's go, my temporary guide. I hope you can give me some useful information when you wake up, or I'll throw you down to feed the scorpions."
...
Two hours later.
The sun was high in the sky.
"I regret this..."
Aiden dragged his feet through the soft sand, his patience wearing thin.
He wasn't tired.
With his strength, carrying one woman meant nothing. He could have carried far more without breaking a sweat.
He was mostly just annoyed.
This damn desert seemed to have no end. No matter how he walked, he was surrounded by the exact same yellow dunes. The sameness was what irritated him.
"I should have flown for a bit. This is going to take forever."
Just as Aiden thought about using a little power to speed up...
Suddenly.
He felt the person on his back move.
Her breathing changed, and the muscles pressed against his back immediately tensed.
She's awake?
Aiden was just about to stop and put her down.
Slip!
The woman on his back suddenly moved with sudden strength. She struggled hard and slipped off Aiden's back.
The moment she hit the ground, she stumbled and almost fell, but she planted the stick in the sand and forced herself upright.
The next second.
Clang!
Her hand found the sword hilt at her waist without hesitation. She bent her body slightly, lowering into a defensive stance.
Her light blue eyes, which were a bit hazy before, fixed on Aiden.
Aiden turned around. He looked at this scene and spread his hands.
"You're awake?"
"Don't move around since you're up. This sand is very hot. You just had heatstroke, and if you pass out again, I won't care."
Her head was still unclear.
She only remembered trying to cross this desert, and then losing consciousness as she walked.
But when she opened her eyes, she found herself on a strange man's back.
And...
She looked down at her collar.
It was loose?
The buttons that had been tightly fastened were now undone by two, showing part of her collarbone and skin.
Her face tightened, but she forced herself to stay calm.
"Don't misunderstand."
Aiden noticed her gaze and raised his hands to show he was harmless.
"You had severe heatstroke. With your collar wrapped that tight, you couldn't cool down at all. I was trying to save you. No bad intentions."
Hearing this explanation, the woman's expression softened a little. She examined the man in front of her.
The man was tall. He wore strange but practical clothes. He was handsome, especially his eyes. He looked more annoyed than dangerous.
He didn't look like he meant any harm.
She relaxed her guard a bit, but her hand still didn't leave her sword hilt.
She pressed her lips together and asked in a hoarse, stiff voice:
"Did you... save me?"
Hearing that, Aiden rolled his eyes.
"Do you hear yourself?"
Aiden pointed at the empty desert around them, giving her a flat look.
"There's no one around for hundreds of miles. If I didn't save you, did the desert scorpions drag you onto my back? Or did you sleepwalk up there?"
"..."
The woman had no answer. Her cheeks grew redder from embarrassment. She hadn't expected to ask such a stupid question. She wanted to argue back, but didn't know what to say. After all, he was telling the truth.
"I..."
She tried to recover a little dignity and wanted to stand up straight. However, as soon as she used her strength, her legs gave out, and she sat back on the ground.
Although she didn't get hurt, for a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then her stomach growled.
Grumble...
The sound wasn't loud, but it made the woman freeze.
She held her breath and glanced at Aiden. She hoped the wind had covered the sound.
However, when she looked at him, Aiden's mouth twitched.
He had heard it.
She looked away.
"Catch."
Before she could say anything, Aiden flipped his wrist and tossed her an apple.
She caught it instinctively.
She looked at the fresh apple in her hand. It still had a few drops of water on it and clearly shouldn't be in a desert. She froze.
"Stop pushing yourself."
Aiden said casually:
"Your body is still weak, so greasy food isn't good for you. Just use this to fill your stomach and get some strength back for now."
Holding the apple, the woman swallowed hard against her will.
In this era, taking food from a stranger was dangerous.
She hesitated.
"What? Afraid it's poisoned?"
Aiden guessed what she was thinking.
He walked forward, annoyed, and snatched the apple back.
Crunch!
Right in front of her, Aiden took a huge bite. He chewed as the juice splashed out and mumbled:
"No poison, just a normal apple. Eat it or don't. If you don't want it, I'll throw it away."
Then he handed the bitten apple back.
The woman stared at it.
She stared at the bite mark, then at Aiden.
Since she was young, no one had ever dared to hand her leftovers before.
However, hunger beat her pride.
She reached out with a shaking hand to take the apple, holding it away from herself.
Then she quickly turned her back and rubbed her sleeve hard over the bitten spot. Only then did she take small bites, keeping her back to Aiden.
Ten minutes later.
"Get on."
Aiden squatted down and patted his back.
"I can walk myself."
After eating an apple, she felt some strength return and spoke stubbornly.
"Alright, then take a couple of steps and see."
Aiden crossed his arms and waited.
The woman gritted her teeth and stepped forward.
One step, two steps.
On the third step, her strength gave out again. Her legs went soft, and she fell forward.
She didn't hit the ground.
Aiden caught her arm before she hit the sand.
"Stop wasting time."
Aiden sighed. He pulled her over and put her back on his back.
This time, she didn't struggle anymore.
She buried her face in Aiden's shoulder. Her body was still a bit stiff, but she no longer reached for her sword.
"Hey, what do I call you, by the way?"
Aiden asked as he walked.
"Name?"
The person on his back stayed quiet for a long time.
Even though this man had saved her and didn't act like a bad guy, her name was dangerous in this era. Before she fully understood who he was, she couldn't easily reveal her real name.
Just when Aiden thought she wouldn't answer, she answered quietly:
"Tia."
It came from the middle of her surname. It wasn't a total lie, and it would not expose her if he had heard her full name before.
"Tia? Sounds nice."
Aiden nodded, his expression normal.
However, when it was his turn to say his name, he hesitated.
After all, being an outsider at this point in history, it was best not to leave his real name, Aiden.
If his real name ended up on a stone tablet or old document, that would be trouble.
So, he casually borrowed Aizen's name.
"My name is Aizen. I'm a... well, a lost wandering swordsman."
"Aizen..."
Tia repeated the name in her mind, but had no impression of it.
"Where are you going?" Aiden asked. "It doesn't look like anyone lives in this desert."
"To the south."
Since she had already accepted his help, Tia no longer hid everything.
"I'm going to Port Karkas over there. There are ships. I want to go out to sea."
"A port?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"There's a port past this desert? I thought this continent was one solid landmass, and we'd have to walk to the end of the world to see the sea."
This was true. When he looked down from the sky earlier, all he saw was huge land. It made him mistake the ground below for an undivided supercontinent.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Tia gave Aiden a strange look, as if he had grown up under a rock.
"Past this desert is the Chasm Strait, which splits this continent in two. Port Karkas is the biggest transit stop here. Following the currents, you can go anywhere in the world."
"A strait..."
Aiden looked thoughtful.
"What about you?"
Tia asked, testing him.
"Seeing how you've carried me for so long without panting, you must have good stamina. Are you going to join the army too? Or..."
"Me?"
Aiden looked ahead and said casually:
"I'm going out to sea too. It's on the way now. I'll go there to catch a ship as well."
"What are you going out to sea for?"
"I'm heading to Wano Country."
Aiden clearly felt Tia stiffen on his back.
Even though it was just for a moment, that tight muscle reaction couldn't fool him.
Aiden had prepared his excuse early on, and he spoke as if he had said it many times before.
"When I was young, a samurai from Wano Country visited my hometown. He saw I had some talent with a sword, so he taught me a few sword moves. Before he left, he said my sword style had hints of their country, and told me to visit Wano Country if I ever had the chance."
"A samurai from Wano Country?"
Tia looked at Aiden with some doubt.
Aiden didn't explain. He just shifted his shoulder on purpose.
Clack.
With his movement, the black blade at his waist swayed. The top of the scabbard bumped right into Tia's thigh.
"Here, this is the sword that samurai from Wano Country left me."
Hearing this, Tia quickly turned her head to look.
With her background, she knew how to judge a blade.
Although she had never seen this sword, she instantly recognized the unique irregular clove pattern on the blade, along with the forging skill unique to Wano Country.
"This special forging technique..."
Tia's fingers tightened slightly.
"It really is authentic Wano Country craft."
"I see."
After confirming this point, Tia relaxed a little more.
If he was a samurai of Wano Country, then he was an ally of the Great Kingdom. At the very least, he definitely wouldn't be part of the alliance of twenty kingdoms.
"I see."
Tia's tone softened a bit.
"That sword... is very nice."
"Right? I think it's pretty handy too."
Their conversation became less guarded.
Rustle...
Just as the two crossed over a dune, the surrounding sand suddenly began sliding down like running water.
Right after, the sand around them began to boil.
"Watch out."
Hearing Tia's cry of alarm, Aiden stopped, calm.
The next second.
Hiss—!!
With a sharp hiss, a massive purple-black scorpion burst out of the sand. Its giant pincers flashed with a metallic gleam in the sunlight, and green venom dripped from its raised tail stinger.
In the eyes of a normal person, this thing would have been a nightmare. But to Aiden, who was used to seeing Sea Kings, it was just another oversized beast.
"It's the Desert Reaper..."
Tia went pale on Aiden's back.
Then she quickly calmed down and checked the current situation.
"Its shell is very hard. Normal swords can't cut through it. Can you deal with it?"
Tia's voice was weak, but she sounded ready to fight.
"If you can't, put me down. I can still swing my sword a few times to buy you some time to escape. There's no need for both of us to die here."
Hearing this, Aiden raised an eyebrow in surprise.
She was not as useless as he first thought. Even now, her first reaction was to sacrifice herself to buy him time to run.
"Buy time? Not necessary."
Aiden chuckled lightly and placed Tia on a slightly higher dune nearby.
"If I call myself a swordsman, I should at least use the sword."
"Besides, I'm getting hungry."
Aiden turned around. Facing the giant beast roaring toward him, he casually rested his right hand on the black blade at his waist.
Clang—
The blade rang as it left the scabbard.
The black blade was drawn.
Aiden did not move his feet.
He swung once, almost lazily.
A black slash cut across the sand.
The next instant, Aiden flipped his wrist, and the long sword returned to its scabbard.
Click.
The giant sand scorpion, which had been rushing over wildly just a moment ago, stopped.
Right after.
A thin line appeared from its head to its tail.
Its massive body split from head to tail. Green blood spilled into the sand as both halves slid apart in front of Tia's shocked eyes.
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