AN: Earlier than I normally release but that's because I wrote a bit of this chapter in advance, and I have been getting better at speeding up my writing the more I do it.
Another thing to note, Chapters 37 and 38 take place in the early morning, Not sure if that was clear in hindsight. At the end of chapter 36, Magenta went to bed, though that was technically not written and an event that happened 'off screen' so to say.
Also, the release of the Q&A is being pushed back to Sunday to leave more time for questions to be submitted. Therefore, After the Sunday release, The Q&A announcement chapter will be deleted then.
----- End of Author Note -----
'Fucking hell just die already!' Continuing to run from the sand-worm for a far longer period than I originally calculated I was somewhat impressed by its drive to kill me. Having spilled more than enough blood, the sand within the Dune was beginning to turn to a red sticky paste making movement even harder than it already was.
*smack* delivering another strike to the exposed wound of the worm I duck out of the way as its tail flailed at my general vicinity. Had It done this earlier I may have sustained a great deal of damage, but the large number of injuries it has gathered over the course of this fight has rendered it to a sluggish and weakened state.
*Squelch!* using my leg this time I used the last of my aura save for the bare minimum I needed and dealt a Ren-enhanced kick that drove right through the previously torn skin and into the worm's Insides.
"SSKKKREEEAAHhh…." with the last of its energy it was saving the worm sent out a death shriek as the last strands of life it was clutching onto quickly lefts its body.
*splat* ripping my leg out of the now rendered corpse I stumbled backward and fell over. Now covered in a mixture of blood, guts, and sand I take a minute to catch my breath. Even though I hadn't been severely wounded during the fight there were many small abrasions and small cuts from the rough scales of the worm. There were also a few sizeable bruises across my midsection from when the ropelike body of the creature struck me, sending me flying across the dune and into the ground.
"Well… now that this thing is dead what the hell am I going to eat?" While I indeed have some rations left it was still concerning. I had more food than water as of now, which was worrying. Even if I had a carcass of an animal in front of me there was no way I would be using anything from it. I was unsure if the creature was poisonous or venomous, if it was the latter I could probably consume the thing just fine. Yet, that was a gamble I was not willing to take.
' And the water situation… there is nowhere to start really. I know for a fact that well… Blood is mostly water but is toxic to consume with its high iron content. A truly odd factoid I know, but the alternative is well… possibly fatal.' Picking myself up, I crawl out of the walls of the dune on my hands and feet before continuing to walk towards the rocky spire where I made camp.
*sigh* when I reached my tent on the top of the rocky spire I looked down on myself, only to realize that my clothes were filthy. Leaning through the opening of the tent I reach for my bag that was filled with extra clothes and grabbed a full set of fresh clothes. Then, I proceeded to strip off the bloodied rags that were formerly clothes and just as quickly put on a new set of clothes after having wiped down my body with a dampened rag.
"While that wasn't a shower, having a fresh pair of clothes is nice… *sigh* Though it doesn't change the fact that I want to go to bed not even like… four or five hours of being awake." with a sad smile on my face I finally entered my tent now that I wasn't filthy before getting inside of my sleeping bag and closing my eyes.
{Time Skip}
*grumble*
"...god…" rolling out of my sleeping bag due to the growls of my empty stomach awakening me. Quickly feeling around the darkness that filled the tent I searched for my flashlight, eventually finding I switch it on, illuminating the inside of the tent with a bright white led light. Turning the light towards where I knew I previously stored my rations I was once again greeted by the near-depleted remains of my food.
*sigh* 'I swear if it isn't one problem it's another… though it's one of my own making I suppose.' grabbing a portion of the food I set out and a file of papers I set out towards the rock I have been using as a bench as I began to eat my Dinner? Breakfast? While looking at the papers I began pondering what to do.
'When grabbing the bounties for this location I didn't really look at anything, I just went to a copy center and printed out a paper copy of all the related requests for this area… Though I wished I looked at this sooner, these detailed descriptions of the various fauna and flora are going to help out…' While in hindsight, a poor decision on my part, I got too focused on my Nen training.
' I guess I got a serious case of tunnel vision… Not only that, I ended up missing the file on the sandworm, though I guess its real name is the "Common Scaled Eel" *sigh* what kind of Greenland-Iceland bullshit is that? It's not even common, or an eel! It's the Apex predator of this place for crying out loud! Regardless, a read through this thing could have been a help in terms of avoiding it or pointing out it's poisonous as hell…' continuing to flip through the pages of the file I made a mental note of any and all items of value that I could take with me when I was extracted from the desert at the end of the month.
*whistle* "wow, the price for this damn worm's poison is enough to lift comfortably for a year or two… though not much else from its corpse is worth that much for the trouble of preserving the components of the corpse." setting down my now emptied canteen on the ground while I continue to flip through the papers I eventually stop on at an image of a small desert flower. Skimming through the text beneath the picture I immediately stop at one line that catches my attention.
" 'typically found within the vicinity of pools of water in arid regions, this rare flower is often reported to be found within the Barren Sea desert. Specifically, it is found in the local oasis that is locally referred to as the Eye of the Desert. Aspiring collectors of this Flower should be aware of the increasing population of dangerous creatures near the oasis.' " Finished reading the passage, I set down the file while planning my trip to the desert oasis.