Magical Journey: The Other Shore Blooms on the Other Shore

The Tacoma Desert spans almost the entire area where humans can live.

It is said that many years ago, this place was a grassland, but a meteorite from the horizon fell nearby and greatly affected the local climate.

Rainfall decreased year by year, leading to large-scale desertification. The more desertified it became, the less rainfall it received, and the less rainfall it received, the more desertification intensified. In short, this positive feedback loop transformed the original grasslands into this vast desert.

Nature's wonders are often more magical than magic itself.

Otherwise, why would some people say that the Creator is the most powerful witch in the world?

A broom is flying at high speed across the boundless Tacoma Desert, carrying two people.

"Sigh, I shouldn't have been so curious," Elena said, pouting under the blazing sun.

I wonder how effective this sunscreen will be. Flying around aimlessly in this desert without any sense of direction must be a really torturous experience.

I thought that with a map, I could fly to the desert kingdom of Santiago by following the map, but I never expected that there would be no landmarks in this vast desert, and I got lost after going deep into the desert.

And now there's another problem, not insignificant, but not in-between...

"We're almost out of water." Elena frowned as she looked at the drinking water reserves.

Magic is not omnipotent. Creating water out of thin air violates the basic law of conservation of matter. The essence of ice magic is to accelerate the condensation of surrounding water vapor into ice, rather than creating ice out of thin air.

Similarly, water magic is the same—it might be possible to increase the amount of water produced by other magical ingredients, but ultimately, you can't create water out of thin air if you have nothing but magic power.

Fortunately, I had prepared a lot of magical materials that could generate water beforehand. If a witch died of thirst in the desert, she would be laughed at by her peers.

But this is not a long-term solution.

If you can't get out of this desert, all your reserves will be used up, and then it'll be truly over. You can't wait until you're in dire straits to come up with a solution; being prepared for unforeseen circumstances is the right way to travel.

"Let me look at the map," Qin said.

"Are you doubting my sense of direction? I am..." Elena retorted stubbornly.

"Yes."

"alright, you win."

You're really not giving me any face at all. Couldn't you have been a little more tactful?

Qin took the map, looked at it in the sunlight for a few moments, and then returned it to Elena.

"What?" Elena took the map incredulously. "Could it be that you have a photographic memory and can remember everything after just one glance? That's amazing."

"I just think that the person who sold you the map is definitely a scammer."

"what?"

"Well, the conclusion is that this map is randomly marked, or rather, it's a map from many years ago, and desert terrain changes very quickly."

and so……

“At the speed of the broom, it should be able to cross this desert in fourteen days. The dumbest, but most efficient, way to get out of the desert is to walk in a straight line,” Qin said.

This is the best solution for two lost people.

If they just spin around aimlessly in this desolate wasteland, they might really run out of ammunition and food and die.

Of course, this method is not applicable to most people—it would be impossible for a normal person to trek across this desert, even if they walked in a straight line, in less than three months; before that, they would have died long ago.

But for witches, it's a different story.

"Oh, I was thinking of going to San Diego," Elena said regretfully. "That damned swindler."

Well, I'll just think about it then.

We can't risk our lives because of this idea.

But there is still one key issue that has not been resolved.

“How can we walk in a straight line... there are no reference points at all,” Elena asked. “The only reference point, the sun, moves over time.”

"Just fly, and I'll correct you if you don't fly straight."

Since you've already said that...

Elena continued to fly the broom with undivided attention, increasing its speed—every few minutes, Qin would tell her to veer a few centimeters in a certain direction.

So, sometimes I really suspect he's a robot.

As the sun set, Elena directed the broom to fall to the ground.

Places with such extreme temperature differences between day and night are a tremendous test of one's mental strength. Even a witch couldn't withstand continuous flying; sleep and rest are essential.

Some people choose to travel at night, probably because the stars can serve as a directional reference. Compared to the sun, the stars are much better as a reference point.

But now that we have Qin as our human compass, there's no need to work so hard at night.

With practiced ease, Elena started a campfire, took out some dry rations (all packaged bread) from her bag, and then used the newly lit flames to roast her own bread rolls.

Of course, warm bread tastes better. Cold bread is tasty too, but it's dry and always feels like something's missing.

Just as Elena was baking her bread with great enthusiasm, she could vaguely see a light in the distance.

Is it an illusion?

With nothing to do, Elena strained her eyes to see what was happening over there. Could there be other lost people like them over there?

Or perhaps there are locals in the desert who can guide you?

If it's the former, that's not a good situation. Conflicts might break out due to material shortages, so we must be prepared and always be wary of others.

If it's the latter, then of course that's what Elena hopes to see. After all, the purpose of this trip is to go to the desert holy city of Santiago to see the meteorite that once fell from the sky. If she doesn't see it, then all those days of wind and sun will have been for nothing.

That would be a huge loss; the enormous sunk costs left Elena somewhat unwilling to accept it.

But no matter how hard Elena looked, she couldn't see clearly what was happening in the distance, or even whether there were any people there.

Could it be some kind of luminescent plant or something? Magic, right? Amazing, isn't it?

"Qin, can you see what's happening over there?" Elena asked.

"Which way?" Qin's gaze remained fixed on the book, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.

"It's the light."

"Oh, two mummies and a burning fire."

Two mummies...

Oh, so it was a dead person.

That's not the point. The point is, how could you see it so clearly with just a glance? Oh well, everything comes at a price.

"Shall we go take a look together?" Elena suggested.

"See if they have any valuables that you can steal, right? You go ahead and do it—I'll watch your bread here in case they run away unattended."

You can just say you don't want to go next time.

There's no need to use my bread as an excuse. Besides, the first part is redundant. Do you really think I'm that despicable? Surely my speech, which even moved myself, couldn't have swayed you?

Forget it, I'm a magnanimous person, I won't argue with someone with a mental illness.

“I’ll hold you responsible if my bread burns,” Elena said, then stood up, brushed the sand off her body, and headed toward the source of the light.