Getting a dot and a speed debuff from a sandstorm was common. Getting tossed into the air and killed by fall damage? Not so much.

  Any thought Kael had of toughing it out vanished with the wind. He shook his head and turned to head back, only to see another player walking straight into the gale.

  The man was dressed in eccentric, mystic-looking robes and wore a pair of glasses. He held an arcane compass in his right hand, his left tracing patterns in the air. Completely engrossed, he stared at the compass, not even watching where he was going.

  “Almost there, almost there,” he muttered. “To the left, the left… wait, no, the right, the right…”

  Kael sidestepped to avoid a collision, but the robed man swerved at the exact same moment. They slammed right into each other.

  “What the hell is your problem?” Kael snapped. For a split second, he actually considered killing him.

  The other player, whose name was Orion, saw that Kael had already drawn his bow and quickly tried to apologize. “As the archives foretold—my apologies! I was casting a reading and wasn't paying attention.”

  Orion looked up as he spoke. When his eyes landed on the bright red, aggressive font of the name Dawnbreaker, he let out a yelp, almost dropping his compass.

  “You… you’re the Dawnbreaker.”

  Kael didn’t lower the drawn bow. A wicked grin spread across his face. “The one and only. What were you reading? The location of the world’s most wanted?”

  Seeing the arrow still aimed at him, Orion immediately threw his hands up.

  Kael assumed he was casting a spell. Without waiting for another word, he released the string.

  -26933

  A triple damage critical hit. A one-shot kill.

  Kael let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Phew. Good thing I didn’t let him get a spell off. Who knows what kind of weird-ass skills he had.

  He glanced down at Orion’s body. He hadn’t chosen to Release Spirit yet, so his corpse was still lying on the sand.

  Just as Kael turned to head back toward Dustwind, a line of text floated up from the body.

  “Dude, Dawnbreaker, I came all this way looking for you. I mean no harm.”

  Kael paused.

  Seeing him stop, Orion quickly typed another message. “Don’t go, please. Let me explain. Just a sec.”

  A scroll, inscribed with a glowing sigil, materialized above Orion’s corpse. With a soft whoosh, it burst into eerie green flames. The fire sank downwards, flowing into the nostrils of the dead player.

  A moment later, a health bar reappeared over Orion’s body. It was at a single hit point.

  Orion scrambled to his feet and immediately pulled out another scroll. With a flick of his wrist, it ignited in mid-air. As the parchment turned to ash, his health shot back up to well over half.

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  Clap. Clap. Clap.

  Kael applauded from the side. “Not bad, not bad. The Diviner really lives up to its rep as a hidden class. That’s even better than a Priest’s rez.”

  Orion let out a sigh of relief when he saw Kael wasn’t nocking another arrow.

  Seeing that the guy had mostly recovered, Kael spoke up. “Alright, talk. What do you want? And how did you know I was here?”

  Orion adjusted the pointed hat on his head. “As the archives foretold. The thing is… I didn’t know you were here, precisely…”

  Kael’s brow furrowed. “Cut the crap!” he barked.

  Orion flinched. “I got a [Rune of Revelation] from a quest,” he said, rushing his words. “It’s supposed to lead to a secret objective. So I followed my compass here, and it turns out the rune’s signal is coming from you.”

  He paused, gauging Kael’s reaction. Seeing no immediate threat, he ventured a question. “So, uh, Sir Dawnbreaker… are you, by any chance, out here for some kind of hidden quest?”

  Kael’s stomach gave a little lurch. Damn, the system is clever. It knew I had the Treasure Map and led another player straight to me…

  After a moment’s thought, he said, “What if I am? You think I need your help?”

  Orion puffed out his chest, clearing his throat. “As the archives foretold. I presume you intend to cross this desert, correct?”

  Kael gave him a look. “Did you need to divine that? Anyone with eyes could figure that out.”

  Orion clasped his hands behind his back and paced a few steps, affecting the air of a grand master. “As the archives foretold. But do you know how long this sandstorm will last?”

  Kael frowned. “An hour or two at least, a day or two at most.”

  Orion shook his head with theatrical gravity. “As the archives foretold. My readings indicate this particular storm will persist for another seven days and five hours.”

  Kael froze. He hadn’t considered it could last that long. A knot of anxiety tightened in his gut. From what he remembered from his past life, Blackheart's Legacy would be fully unearthed in three days. If he waited a week, the place would be picked clean.

  Orion was still droning on, his back turned. “As the archives foretold. You must know, a sandstorm of this magnitude is simply impassable for an ordinary person.”

  Seeing his ridiculously punchable posture, Kael dashed forward and planted a swift kick on his ass.

  “Aiyee!” Orion yelped, hopping around while clutching his backside.

  Kael glared at him. “Spit it out. One more cryptic line of bullshit and I’m sending you back to the graveyard. We’ll see if you have more revival scrolls than I have arrows.”

  “As the arch—” Orion began, but clamped his mouth shut when he saw Kael raising his bow again. “I have a Windbreaker Charm! It can get me and my party through the storm without taking any damage!”

  A smile touched Kael’s lips. “Congratulations. That’s the right answer.” He lowered the bow.

  Orion visibly relaxed, patting his chest. The [Windbreaker Charm] equipped in his trinket slot activated, enveloping him in a shimmering barrier. He then sent Kael a party invitation, which Kael accepted. Instantly, the barrier expanded to cover Kael as well.

  “As the archives foretold,” Orion explained, “as long as you stay within 50 yards of me, the charm will protect you.”

  Kael checked the buff icon.

  [Windbreaker Charm]: Increases attack speed by 10% and movement speed by 5. Increases attack and casting range by 5. Grants immunity to natural wind effects.

  The charm was high-quality, at least on par with the Lumina Shard, though not quite as good as the Heart of the Ocean.

  “As the archives foretold, this charm of m—” Orion started, puffing his chest out to brag.

  Kael cut him off. “Alright, let’s move.”

  He started walking, taking the lead. Orion had to jog to keep up.

  The two of them plunged into the swirling, sand-choked haze. Visibility was zero, forcing Kael to rely solely on the coordinates on his map to navigate toward the treasure’s location. The charm kept the stinging sand at bay, but the howling shriek of the wind was a constant companion. They walked in silence, trudging steadily onward.

  After about an hour, the force of the wind began to subside. Another ten minutes of walking brought them out of the sandstorm completely.

  Orion straightened his crooked hat and looked back at the wall of sand. “As the archives foretold! If someone set up a few wind turbines in there, they could power a whole city.”

  Kael ignored his lame joke, focusing instead on his distance to the treasure.

  Suddenly, he felt the sand shift unnaturally beneath his feet. He leaped back instantly.

  Orion wasn’t so lucky.

  With a terrified scream, he was launched into the sky.