The Genius Necromancer of the Barbarian Race-Chapter 60 : Surviving in the Desert

Surviving in the Desert
What should a person do when they suddenly get stranded in a desert?
That's right—shout for help.
"There's someone here!"
I repeatedly raised my voice and shouted around me.
Whether it was a monster or a human, I didn't care. Anything—just react. That was my single-minded hope.
But nothing responded.
What was I supposed to do? I only pondered for a brief moment. The first priority was to figure out what I had to do to survive.
Principle number one of being stranded:
After safely finishing my little panic and shouting for help, the very first thing I decided to do was search inside the cave.
It wasn't very deep. Walking for just 30 seconds brought me to the end, and as a result, it was impossible to find anything useful.
So, I tried outside instead.
All I could see was sand stretching to the horizon, but maybe if I kept walking, I might come across something.
With that hope, I stepped out of the shade.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
A tremendous heat wrapped around my body.
Damn, it's so hot. Not enough to burn, but the sunlight was so intense it took my breath away.
For a moment, I could understand what it must feel like to be a vampire.
"Where on earth is this place?"
In the face of such a desperate situation, philosophical questions began to rise in my mind.
Where is this place?
Who am I?
Where are we headed?
Of course, pondering such philosophical worries didn't help my situation—not to mention my hunger.
I suppose even philosophers have a reason for being hungry.
"Oh, Thrag."
I spoke as if praying to the sky, where the intense sun beamed down on me.
"Thrag!"
But no answer came.
Didn't they give me a fake laugh a while ago? Normally they're forcing me to collect "Rune of the Abyss" and such.
Yet when I really need help, there isn't a shred to offer.
Thrag.
That damn god.
Religion and philosophy were no help, so I had to find a way on my own somehow.
How could I walk around outside?
Ah, right.
What if I turned the "skeleton exoskeleton" into an umbrella to block out the sunlight?
Given that the cave was bearable, the heat must definitely be coming from the sunlight.
Thinking it was not a bad idea, I pulled out the "Blood-Colored Awl" and got ready to draw a tattoo.
"... It's not here."
Another problem emerged.
The blood stored in the "Blood-Colored Awl" had run dry.
There was nothing around that could be used to refill it, either.
I could use my own blood, but the amount needed for "skeleton summoning" wasn't small.
If I recklessly used my blood in this situation, it was clear I'd be in trouble.
"Thrag!"
I called Thrag's name once again.
As expected, there was still no response. Are you messing with me? Should I just switch gods!?
"Hm?"
While I was cursing that damn god, I felt something squirm against my chest.
I lowered my gaze to check, and noticed something odd on the surface of my "leather armor".
Specifically, something started to ooze out of the holes that "Tanis" had stabbed.
It was green, gelatinous slime. The slime began to gather in the center of the leather armor.
It didn't take me long to realize that this was a "Slime".
When did the slime ever get into my armor? The only possibility I could think of was—
"Z-Avava?"
On a hunch, I called out the name, and the tiny core at the center of the slime twitched.
* * *
The slime that had suddenly appeared.
It really was the 'Z-Avava' I'd seen before, the master of that dungeon.
But it wasn't as huge as it was in the dungeon, and the "core" was smaller, as if its intelligence had dropped.
To be honest, you could even call it a different being that only responded to the name "Z-Avava".
Squish.
Z-Avava coiled itself around my fingers and began to move here and there.
It actually felt friendlier than it did in the dungeon. It almost seemed thrilled to see me, this little guy.
Could it be there was an "imprinting effect" for slimes, too?
Like a newborn bird imprinting on the first thing it sees?
"Do you have blood?"
It was a grim thought, but if the slime could produce blood, I could use it as a medium for skeleton summoning.
But no matter how closely I inspected, there was nothing that could be called "blood".
Just gelatin and a core.
Those were the only two components.
Well, it couldn't be helped. I couldn't be heartless to something that liked me so much, after all.
Whether it knew what I was thinking or not, z-Avava continued to wriggle around my fingers.
As I watched, fascinated, z-Avava started to head out of the cave.
"It's dangerous!"
Isn't direct sunlight dangerous for a newborn slime?
I tried to stop it out of concern, but Z-Avava slipped outside of the cave faster than I expected.
Squish.
It was fine. In fact, it seemed to like the sunlight.
Wait a moment.
"Z-Avava."
When I called its name, the slime slipped back over to me.
"I need your help."
Z-Avava nodded as if it understood.
In reality, its intelligence was so low it probably didn't know what I was saying, but I decided to believe otherwise.
* * *
There's a saying that the difference between humans and animals is whether they know how to use tools.
I'm not sure how helpful that is at this point, but it does make sense to me.
Using the "Blood-Colored Awl", I used nearby stones to carve a flat piece, which I set on top of my head.
"Get on here."
I pointed and spoke to Z-Avava, and it climbed onto the flat stone.
With this, I could now avoid the burning sunlight.
Now that I could move around, I left behind the cave where I first woke up and started walking.
All that could be seen was sand, stretching everywhere. At every step, sand crept into my shoes, and my toes felt hot.
The hot air filling my lungs with every breath was suffocating, and the fine sand in my mouth made me feel thoroughly miserable.
Still, I had no choice but to move.
Staying in the cave would only mean waiting to die with no food or water.
"Huff, huff... Damn it."
As I walked aimlessly, profanity slipped out of my mouth without me noticing.
The damn lich who put me in this situation.
I'll definitely kill him and turn him into experience points.
Squish.
"What is it?"
When Z-Avava, who was shading me from the sunlight above my head, poked my shoulder, I looked up at it.
As I made eye contact with its core, z-Avava swelled up and shrank, acting smug.
It looked like it was smiling.
Is it just playing around?
I don't have the energy for games right now, man.
When I was really reaching my limit, I finally spotted something cave-like far in the distance.
It wasn't the cave where I first woke up. It looked more like something built by people than a natural formation.
A temple?
"Haaaah..."
Barely reaching the place, I collapsed into its shade.
The floor was cool.
I really thought I was going to die.
"Where on earth is this place..."
Now that I had a bit of breathing room, the curiosity was back.
I had no idea where this was.
Outside?
Or a dungeon?
Just in case, I took out the 'mana stone compass' I got from the Adventurer's Guild, but instead of showing me a direction, it just spun around aimlessly.
I wanted to throw it away, but if I did, I'd have to pay compensation to the Adventurer's Guild, so I held back.
Damn it.
All the sand in my mouth was driving me crazy. And now, my thirst was getting worse, too.
At this rate, I'd lose my mind.
Squish.
What now?
If it's a prank again this time, I'll have to scold it properly.
I looked at Z-Avava. Then, acting playful, it climbed onto my forehead.
Didn't I tell you I wouldn't let it slide if you played around?
If you think I'll enjoy it just because you press that cool, damp, sticky body on me...
Wet?
"Z-Avava!"
Jumping up, I grabbed Z-Avava and demanded,
"Where have you been?"
At first, z-Avava didn't seem to understand, rolling its core inside.
Pointing to the moisture on its body to make it easier to understand, it finally started moving.
I followed Z-Avava. It was heading toward the deeper part of the temple.
"Ohhh."
At the center of the temple—its walls covered in murals—was a broken statue and a spring filled with water.
As if entranced, I ran to the spring.
One gulp.
At first, the coarse grains of sand in my mouth were washed away with the water.
I didn't mean to drink it.
If this was contaminated water, gulping it down recklessly could have caused all sorts of problems.
But the cool water moistening my dry mouth—it was too hard to resist.
Before I knew it, I was swallowing the water I'd scooped into my mouth.
It was as if life-giving rain was falling on the desert.
I felt every cell in my body awaken.
The coolness of the water running down my throat spread all the way to my chest, and slowly, muscles that had been tight started to relax.
"Cough, cough!"
Water spurted out my nose as I started coughing, and for a moment my head cleared up.
Stopping my hands from drinking more, I stared at the statue standing at the center of the spring.
Its head was broken, and there were cracks running all over it.
It was easy to tell that this was once the "Pantheon" of the past.
It was a great find.
Thanks to the "Pantheon", I was able to be certain that this place was a "dungeon".