The Last Legendary System

Benign had no idea what "special treatment" even meant. That made losing it worse.

"Should we stop here for a while?" He asked. On turning, he found them farther back than he expected. "I guess we should stop."

The trio came to a stop at a large rock formation, offering shade and protection. The sands had led to more rock formations in the last hour, and the presence of a plant made them hopeful. Vergil placed his back to the rough surface and slid to the ground.

Benign took in a large breath before speaking. "That was a journey."

His eyes swept over the panting elves. He made sure there were no snake bites or injuries. Positioning himself in front, he had the pleasure of annihilating dangerous desert snakes first and crusty crabs. He nodded when he found only slight sunburn.

"How close are we to the cave?" Benign asked the elf who was gulping down water like his life depended on it. "Can we arrive there today?"

Vergil frowned. "Today?" He forced himself off the ground. "With all due respect, Sir Benign, I clearly remember saying that it was a three-day journey."

"Is there a reason we need to arrive today?" Stun looked up from the ground he sat on.

Benign folded his arms. "Tomorrow is fine."

"Three-day journey." Vergil raised his fingers. "With a day having four hours’ walk to save water and strength. I have never had to walk more than four hours either. Anymore will kill me. Let’s stop here."

No one said a word. The other two just stared at Vergil.

"What?"

"You limit yourself, Vergil." Stun broke a smile for the first time since Benign met him. "We traveled for seven hours. We could arrive tomorrow by your calculations."

The scholarly elf stared dumbfounded. "We did...?" A gentle breeze blew past his face, soothing the sunburn. "We can arrive by tomorrow then. If the desert lets out."

"It already lets us—" A screen popped up in front of Benign.

[Mission Failure Confirmed.]

[Special Treatment privileges have been temporarily withdrawn.]

He stared down at himself. No change. He called his status and confirmed that the Treatment was nil. "That’s it?" he muttered,

[Correct.]

"You made it sound like execution."

[Special Treatment is invaluable.]

"Says the system that can’t remember my name." Benign shook his head. He returned his attention to Vergil, who carefully dusted his feathery pen. "Is there anything dangerous besides the desert?"

"Yes." Vergil’s answer came after a pause. "This was also the real reason elves never tired themselves to cross the desert. Meeting them was almost inevitable."

Those words felt ominous. Benign’s eyes gazed on the calm sands and narrowed at the dunes. "These things, what are they?"

"Desert Cranes. They are active when it is dark."

All eyes went to the sun, already wishing farewell.

"It isn’t yet dark," Benign said the obvious to comfort himself. His eyes returned to the screen. Nothing happened. Thirty seconds. One minute. Benign smiled faintly. "I knew he was bluffing."

A small vibration swept across the sand.

Vergil suddenly froze. His head snapped upward. "Impossible."

Stun’s hand instantly went to his weapon. He rose from where he sat and stood in front of Vergil. His eyes darted around his surroundings quickly.

Benign’s throat went dry. A few seconds after the special treatment was withdrawn, a threat to his life appeared.

As was natural with him, he pulled his revolver in front of him, stepping forward. The threat was still far away, and there was a chance it hadn’t spotted them.

"Where is it?"

"There." Vergil slowly pointed toward the horizon. Following his pointed finger, Benign looked at the dunes they passed. One was higher than the other.

He squinted his eyes and raised a hand to block the sun. His breathing hitched. A dune was moving.

It rose from the sand. A neck first. Short and armored. Then the rest of the creature burst from beneath the desert, scattering an avalanche of sand in its way.

Staring at the ten-foot hybrid of a cockroach and a bedbug, standing on thick armored legs, Benign felt nothing but disgust.

No eyes were visible on its armored body. As an armored titan found only in web novels, it barreled through dunes, sand falling off its body like rain.

Vergil and Stun started covering ground away from it.

If they never surface under the sun, there could only be one explanation for their sudden appearance.

"Me and my freaking bad luck." Benign cursed as he ran behind the elves.

The Luck stat flashed in his mind. Zero.

He cursed again. There was no luck to begin with. The ground shook beneath his feet like a countdown until the danger closed in.

"Lego."

The screen appeared.

[Hello.]

"Don’t do this."

[I am confused. This isn’t a mission I assigned.]

The system’s very relaxed tone contrasted with Benign’s agitated pleading one.

"Don’t act dumb." He hissed. His foot slipped against a stone, but he caught himself in time. Looking ahead, he found the elves had hidden behind the nearest rock formation.

The vibrations were already behind him. Benign diverted away from the rock formation. That made the creature let out a cry that stiffened his bones for half a second.

He heard the vibrations follow him. ’Keep moving. Keep moving.’ He ran farther away from the elves, keeping his revolver in hand and ready.

He found a smaller rock and hid there. "Okay, Lego." He paused to catch his breath. "It’s not fair that these elves could get hurt, too. This weapon has finite bullets." Benign sucked in air and let it out as he asked. "Do you fucking have a suggestion?"

[Well, do you want an upgrade on your weapon?]

Benign immediately answered. "Yes."

That wasn’t the answer he wanted, but knowing how incompetent and sassy the system was, that could be all the help it would give.

A large blue window opened. At the same time, Benign jumped out of his position as the Desert Crane’s arm crashed into the rock. He rolled down the sand, found his footing, and started another sprint.

He quickly read the information blocking his view.

[Upgrade Granted.] [Trobuct Revolver]

[Ammunition Capacity: 12] [Remaining: 7]

[Additional bullets require mana.] [20 Mana Points = 1 Bullet.]

Benign, read it twice. "The upgrade is just more bullets? Will those bullets kill that thing?"

If the system handed out actual weapons, like a handy rocket launcher, he could hit home. He waited for a suitable response that could change the tide.

The screen came up again. Two words only.

[Good Luck.]