“Is this the pce?” Yverantheia wondered aloud.

  Utilizing body enha and water-based magic for propulsion, Yverantheia swiftly covered the remaining two-thirds of her journey, arriving at the ndmass outside the mountainion. To her surprise, this nd was an arid desert—a stark trast to the oic maps provided by the Merman tribe.

  "Pu... pu..."

  "Hungry?" Yverantheia bit her finger, letting her blood flow to feed the small tentacle creature she carried.

  Since abs the translut crystal dropped by the "Big-Eyed Tentacle," the little tentacle had bee drowsy, its sleep duration increasing signifitly, and its appetite diminishing. led iheia's satchel, which doubled as a spatial ste bag, it looked like a pouch specifically designed for carrying small creatures.

  "How am I supposed to find food here?" Yverantheia pondered as she surveyed the endless expanse of yellow sand, dotted with only a few cacti.

  Water wasn't a —her water-based magic could produce that. Food, however, was crucial. Fh-level warriors like her, while magic could repce food to some extent, a massive expenditure of magic required rapid replenishment through eating.

  "sidering the rge fish I caught on the way, I should be able to st a few weeks," she estimated.

  The Merman tribe had provided some rations, and she had iently sin several rge fish during her journey, adding to her supplies. But this was assuming no further battles occurred.

  "Alright, let's venture deeper. If food reserves halves, I'll return to the coast," she decided, stepping into the desert.

  After walking for some time, all Yverantheia saw was sand, more sand, and an occasional cactus.

  "This is strange. Deserts, though harsh, still harbor life. I should have entered something by now," she thought.

  The cacti she had seehe shore had disappeared, and the ndscape now seemed utterly lifeless.

  "Food supplies are still suffit. I'll press on a bit more."

  Eventually, Yverantheia came across a different sight—a lush oasis. In stark trast to the monotonous yellow sand, this oasis aradise with water, verdaation, and even some animals.

  What made this oasis even more peculiar was the harmony among its inhabitants; no signs of predation or petition.

  Plug a fruit from a tree, Yverantheia gently squeezed it, releasing fragrant juice that tempted her to take a bite. Yet, her cautious nature as a former saintess held her back. She recalled an i where she had suffered from eating wild fruits during a monster hunt.

  eling her magic, she cast a spell to detect toxins.

  [ Toxic elements detected: Fungi, Bacteria, Decay... ]

  "Decay?"

  In an instant, the illusion shattered. The fruit in her hand rotted, releasing a foul stench. The lush vegetation turned into a wastend of withered pnts, and the harmonious animals were now scattered skeletons.

  Realizing she had falleo an illusion, Yverantheia bolted from the area.

  ‘What just happened?’ she wondered as she caught her breath, pieg together the situation.

  ‘I experienced an illusion, but my physical dition is fine…’

  Yverantheia's current state of health ruled out physiological causes for halluations. Given her formidable mental fortitude, even surpassing average sixth or seventh-level life forms, the illusion had to be externally induced.

  ‘If something mao cast an illusion o must be incredibly powerful.’

  Even specialized magical creatures like the "Pnt Cthulhu" and "Big-Eyed Tentacle," known for their mental attacks, failed to affect her. This implied an immensely strong adversary was nearby.

  ‘I o leave, now…’

  As she resolved to escape, a monstrous i erupted from the sand. It had two pairs of transparent wings, a leaf-green head with bpound eyes, and two antes segmented body was striped green and e, ending in a sharp stinger.

  The creature resembled a gia over Yverantheia.

  The giant bee immediately attacked, but Yverantheia effortlessly dodged.

  "You’re not the source," she muttered, lunging forward and splitting the bee in half with a single punch, its blood spraying everywhere.

  “Red blood?”

  Uypical is, which had non-red blood, this bee’s blood was eerily simir to human blood.

  “This is getting stranger. I o…”

  Before she could finish, more bees emerged from the sand, ier han before.

  “Did I stumble into a hive? Is your leader the one behind this?”

  The bees, devoid of any response, swarmed to attack. They were mindless hunters, focused solely on eliminating threats.

  Yverantheia braced herself as the bees surrounded her, attag from all dires—stingers, collisions, and cwed limbs striking at her.

  “Begone!”

  With a shout, she unleashed an invisible shockwave, scattering the bees. She the toward one, killing it instantly.

  Before the remaining bees could regroup, Yverantheia darted among them, swiftly redug their numbers until only one remained.

  “...Screech!!”

  The st bee’s cry summoned another swarm from below, evehan before.

  “This is going to be a long fight…”

  Without hesitation, Yverantheia charged into the swarm, ready for battle!

  ShoujoDirector