Putting all his effort and expectations into anything he could find in this new area, Blake went deeper into the arid and hot depth of the desert, his sight was being caught by the environment of the place in addition to its characteristics that were very different to the forest that he was already used to.
Blake did not have to go far to find the native plants of that landscape which were characterized by mostly cacti and some weeds, the heat was very present and Blake realized that when he felt how some drops of sweat fell on his forehead.
He was getting a bit bored with the sight of sand... And more sand, but that suddenly changed the instant a new scene opened up before him. An area that you could define as a small oasis had appeared in his path, a body of water that was basically a small lake surrounded by a lush patch of grass with several palm trees on its sides and a structure made of bones similar to a bridge that divided all over the place, it was enough for Blake to rub his eyes and make sure he hadn't gone mad too quickly.
With some caution, he approached the lake and used his hands to take some of the water and bring it to his mouth which really seemed to be drier than the desert itself.
"Aww, I really needed this." Ignoring that he could most likely use a water spell to have drunk and that the lake water might not actually be very clean, Blake was able to come back to life at that moment and take a closer look at his surroundings. "This seems to be a good place to rest and... Is that what I think it is?"
What Blake meant by that question was the terrain that he could see in the distance and it didn't take him long to get closer to make sure.
"Yeah, there's farmland here too... If it follows the same rules as the Privera forest, here I'll be able to plant crops that grow in... I guess summer." Focusing on that moment, Blake had closed his eyes so he could feel the runes that surrounded him at that moment, and realizing that most of them belonged to the element of earth and fire, he did not doubt that he was correct.
Leaving that aside, he was about to investigate the place a little more, but the system voice caught his attention at that moment.
[New function added. Map.]
"Map?" Blake had his face of confusion again, but he didn't have time to say anything else when a familiar screen appeared in front of him where he could see a spatial image were above the name of the Sol Terrano Desert. "I'm guessing it's another improvement... These blank areas seem to be the ones I've already explored and everything else is still missing... On closer inspection, it could be really useful."
The image that was in front of Blake showed exactly that, the path that he had followed since he entered the desert was illuminated on the map indicating the areas already explored as well as his exact location at that moment. Once he looked at it for several minutes and didn't find any strange thing or function, he did what was normal and after thinking about it disappearing, the kind of map was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, I think it's time for me to continue on my way to..." But stopping his words, in Blake's vision there had appeared a cluster of runes with a reddish color in the shape of a sphere that was already very familiar to him, in addition to some creatures that were on the other side of the bone bridge, and that the system did not take long to notify him about them.
[Species: Slime. Status: Calm. Class: E.]
[Species: Duck. Status: Happy. Class: E.]
"I've never seen these monsters before so I have to keep an eye out for anything they might do, though... Maybe I should try that." And following the idea he had at that moment, Blake used a thought so that the screen where his statistics were found appeared in that instant.
{Name: Micah Blake. Level: 13. Species: Half-Monster. Coins: 15,033G.
One-rune wizard: Six secondary runes. Runic Awakening: Sixth level.
-HP: 559/559 -RP: 576/723
-ATK: 25 -DEF: 26
-M.ATK: 0 -M.DEF: 7
-STR: 48 -VIT: 90 -INT: 60.}
"Okay, let's see how it is..." And taking a moment to close his eyes and then let that distinctive glow come out of him that would only last a few seconds, Blake's image changed again until he became the little golden wooly of the last time. "Yeah, I still can't get used to it at all ~Baa~"
And with that last distinctive sound of a sheep, Blake stared into space.
"That was completely unintentional ~Baa~... Sigh... I hope I can control it in the future, now, let's see if my idea was correct ~Baa~"
{Name: Micah Blake. Level: 13. Species: Half-Monster. Coins: 15,033G.
One-rune wizard: Six secondary runes. Runic Awakening: Sixth level.
-HP: 559/559 -RP: 576/723
-ATK: 42 -DEF: 32
-M.ATK: 23 -M.DEF: 26
-STR: 48 -VIT: 90 -INT: 60.}
"I had noticed it a bit last time, but my stats changed a bit... Actually, I think being in my wooly form I'm even stronger, though..." With a quick thought, his sword had appeared in his hand, but as he feared, it was too big and his hands, or rather paws, were not able to hold it. "These hands are useless! ~Baa~"
Letting out that scream of frustration accompanied by the wail of a wooly, Blake realized that it would actually be somewhat strange to see a wooly carrying a sword and shield, but he didn't worry as in his new memories he still had what he needed to defend himself in that form.
Continuing with his previous plan, he began to move and little by little he got used to the new feeling of his body, it was somewhat difficult because of the sudden change in height among other things, but after a few laps around the place, he was able to move with ease relative normality.