His level-up gave him 5 stat points—two more than previous level up and on top of that, his talent activated, increasing his Endurance and Strength by one each. It wasn't a big change, but if he saw it from a broader perspective—he would get twenty extra stat points by level twenty, and if this talent leveled up, then maybe four extra stats from level 21 to 30.

In concise he was getting 7 stat points each level.

He was satisfied with his new talent. After that, Ash looked at the long list of titles and was curious if getting titles was this easy. He already had a list of titles in front of him, and on top of that, he didn't even try to get one.

"Reputation," Ash muttered. His strangest title, "Whisper in the Dark," came to mind. Was it related to this reputation? If yes, then what exactly did reputation do?

He wasn't sure of its real-life workings. It seemed like he also got one Silver Star from the system as a gift in reputation.

Jessie was busy with her own system status; she must have also gotten titles and reputation points.

"So, what's the plan?" Ash asked, looking toward the endless desert.

They weren't sure which direction was best to go or where they would find water and food in this desolate land.

"We have to find a safe space before nightfall, and—" she paused, shaking her body in discomfort.

"And?"

"Don't you think this desert is very similar to the dungeon?"

Ash's eyes widened in realization. His eyes shot downward, trying to feel any movement, but found none.

"I don't think there are scorpions down there. We've been here for around five minutes and haven't faced any attacks," Ash analyzed.

"I hope so," Jessie sighed.

Travelling through the desert without a way to determine direction was almost a death sentence. The sand dunes couldn't be used as markers—they shifted their positions every few hours, changing the entire tapestry of the landscape.

"We can't keep sitting. Let's go," Ash said, walking ahead in the opposite direction of the sun.

His plan was to use the sun as a direction indicator. Though it wouldn't be perfect, at least they wouldn't circle back here.

Jessie followed behind, walking in the direction of their shadows. The scorching heat kept draining their bodies.

The hot sand beneath made their feet burn. They were more resistant to heat with their increased stats, but the sweat on their bodies soaked their clothes, clinging beneath their armor.

Still, they had no choice but to continue.

They walked continuously for an hour, a question rising in their minds—"Did we choose the wrong direction?"

One thing, however, had improved their chances of survival—Jessie was back in top condition, free from the poison's effects.

As they kept walking, their willpower burned just to continue the journey.

They heard a roar in the far distance that shook them to their core. The sound wasn't clear, but the faint echo made their blood run cold. They felt their bodies instinctively wanting to kneel in fear.

Ash stopped, looking back at Jessie. "We should change direction."

Jessie nodded. They weren't sure what it was, and neither of them wanted to find out. Ash remembered this feeling from when he was being interrogated—it was similar to the skill 'Dragon's Ask.'

He was able to resist it back then, but this was at least a hundred times more powerful. They couldn't imagine being near that voice and surviving.

There was a dune in front of them blocking their view. Ash and Jessie slowly backed away, changing their direction to the right.

Crossing the dune, they saw a small dot circling in the air in the far distance.

"Dragon," Jessie muttered. The shape wasn't clear, but its long tail and massive head gave away its identity—it was a lizard-type creature that could fly. Most likely, a dragon.

Their pace quickened; they ran as fast as they could to get out of the situation as soon as possible.

The hot air lashed against them, drying their throats. The duo felt the toll on their bodies—the shifting sands, the burning wind, and the heat clinging to their soaked clothes.

Their faces burned from the heat, turning a few shades darker.

Ash grabbed his pistol after spotting a group of scorpions ahead.

"Looks like you were right," Ash said, annoyed.

They were already suffering from the intense heat, and now these pests had decided to provoke them.

The ground trembled, revealing dozens of smaller scorpions.

Ash didn't even bother looking at them. He fired a barrage of bullets, killing them in one shot.

These scorpions were smaller than the ones they had faced in the dungeon—and definitely E-rank beasts.

Ash was sure of that, seeing the notifications on the screen:

[+0 Exp]

[+0 Exp]

[+0 Exp]

...

[+10 Coins]

[+10 Coins]

...

At least they weren't a total waste; he was getting Store Coins just for firing bullets.

He only had three D-rank cores in his pocket, so he didn't want to waste too many bullets on them.

And recharging with eight E-rank cores just to fill the gun again would be tiring, considering their situation.

He looked toward Jessie after firing three bullets. "It's a waste to use this much MP on E-rank beasts."

Jessie looked at him for a long second—ready to slap him. Such a selfish guy. He would've killed them all if they were D-rank beasts and taken all the EXP without hesitation, and now, when it came to conserving MP, he was asking her to help.

She shot a fireball that expanded into a blazing blanket, covering all the remaining scorpions.

All of them died under her evolved flames—'Inferno.'

It didn't cost her much MP since her fire spells were already boosted by her class, "Flamecaster."

She didn't need to pour much mana into the spell to kill a bunch of E-rank beasts. This was the difference between E-rank and D-rank.

She looked at Ash with a smirk, clearly mocking him.

"Haha…" Ash laughed at her antics. It wasn't her acting that made the scene funny—it was her condition, which was completely opposite to her attitude. She was covered in sand; her once flawless face was now dry and rough under the harsh heat.

They were taking things lightly, but there were more scorpions—and of higher rank—dwelling under the sand, waiting for fresh prey, that were attracted from their hearty chat and smell of their burnt skin under the sun.

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