The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family-Chapter 367: Seven Days of Ashes

The ash storms started hitting on the third day, and for the following four, they never stopped.

Reidar pressed himself against the wall of his makeshift shelter, which was nothing more than a narrow crack in a cliff face he'd found after days of walking, and watched the world outside turn black.

The wind howled through the volcanic wasteland, carrying clouds of hot ash that would strip the flesh from his bones if he stepped outside.

Reidar had been unable to use his summons to fly around because of the flying monsters after he got far enough from the volcanic area, which was two days ago.

That made searching around harder, and because of that, only the Vorathid Sky-Hunters that he sent around in the earliest days since he came here were still around, far from the scorching ashes.

Reidar spent seven days on this planet, seven days in hell. Seven days searching for Mara. Seven days of nothing.

Reidar pulled his knees to his chest and checked his status again. It was the same as the day before, and the day before that.

—[<<STATUS>>]—

Name: Reidar Miller

Level: 464

Health: 13900 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Mana: 61680.70

C.L.A.S.P.: 697394 / 2104800

Available Attribute points: 34.50

Skills: Storm-Wyrm's Ire, Summon: Mana-Forged Dreadmaw, Dreadmaw's Corrosive Mist, Tetra-Lion's Cataclysm, Sovereign's Absolute Carapace, Overmind Consciousness, Apocalyptic Catalyst, Summon Vorathid Sky-Hunters, Summon Undying Legion, Summon Apex Menagerie, Summon Shadow Sovereigns, Summon Spectral Quadraginta, Summon Archon Rift-Lords, Touch of the Eternal Sovereign, Genesis Garden, Yggdrasil's Grasp, Emperor's Decree, Event Horizon Javelin, Chaos Storm, Presence of the Sovereign, Gaze of the Pariah, Sovereign's Aegis, Wellspring of Vitality, Aura of Absolute Purity, Summon: Twin Obsidian Siege-Breakers, Summon: Verdant Sovereign, Summon: Avatar of Primal Convergence, Summon: Void-Claw Pack, Primal Resonance

Equipment: Void-Caller's Baton, Diadem of the Overseer, Vestments of the Hive Mind, Breeches of Reality's Edge, Grips of the Puppeteer, Sabatons of the Rift-Strider, Vambraces of Binding, Mantle of the Unseen Legion, Cincture of the Mana-Well, Torque of the Alpha, Signet of Expansion, Band of Eternal Servitude

Proficiencies: Velia's Regional Map (64%), Velia's Monster Compendium (72%), Intermediate Spellcraft Mastery (100%), Warrior's Dominion (100%)

Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 27.5 + 111.5), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 142 + 200.5), (F.L.A.I.R. : 25 + 82), (F.L.I.P.: 17 + 95)

Minions: #N/A

Survival Points: 77,598,585

Trait: Skill Sharing

Perks: Efficient Scavenger (6/6), Arcane Potency (6/6), Mana Attunement (5/5), Mana Font (6/6), Focused Mind (5/5), Rapid Learning (5/5), Mana Regeneration (10/10), Arcane Resilience (4/4), Empowered Effects (5/5), Arcane Leech (5/5), Spell Control (5/5), Familiar Bond (10/10), Pack Tactics (5/5), Elemental Infusion (5/5), Resilient Constructs (6/6), Grave Calling (20), Boundless Legion (10/10), Legion's Fortitude (5/5), Ethereal Anchor (5/5), Mana Siphon (10/10), Shared Resilience (1/1), Crushing Presence (9/9), Legion Commander (5/5), Unsleeping Sentinels (1/1), Coordinated Assault (5/5), Territorial Dominance (4/4), Adaptive Evolution (10/10), Symbiotic Regeneration (8/8), Soulforged Armor (10/10), Legion's Onslaught (8/8), Inspired Creation (8/8), Master Gatherer (8/8), Systemic Salvage (10/10), Deft Hands (9/9), Blueprint Genius (1/9)

Perk Points: 51

Titles: The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator, Guardian of the innocents, Adept Learner, Abyssal Caller, The Apex, Titan Breaker, Mana-Forged Will, Demi-God Slayer, Giant Slayer

Profession: Tailoring (LVL 270), Woodworking (LVL 235), Enchanting (LVL 293)

—[<<END>>]—

There had been no progress. No levels gained since he killed the Ancient Stone-Eater Behemoth. Most importantly, there had been no sign of Mara anywhere in this ash-covered nightmare.

The reason was simple: he couldn't hunt.

Most monsters Reidar found on this planet traveled in packs. The few times Reidar had spotted a lone creature, it had been level 589 or higher.

The lone monsters here were too strong, which meant that one wrong move and he'd be dead before his summons could even react.

And the groups? Forget it. He'd watched a pack of monsters tear through a rocky valley the previous day, and all of them were above level 490. Fighting them would be suicide.

So he'd stuck to searching. Walking. Hiding when necessary. Which, frankly, was most of the time.

Reidar closed his eyes and tried to think. The badlands seemed to stretch for hundreds of miles in every direction. The sky was a permanent haze of ash and smoke because of the volcanoes in the previous region, and that turned the sun into a dull red disk that barely gave enough light to see. Visibility was maybe a hundred feet on a good day. During the storms? Even less.

So, with no Ravens, the only thing that Reidar could do was walk. Covering ground one mile at a time while hoping that he'd stumble across some sign of the mutant woman.

Reidar opened his eyes and stared at the ash storm outside. The wind screamed. The shelter shook. His summons watched him with gleaming eyes, waiting for orders he didn't have.

<Well… at least food and water aren't an issue.>

Although his inventory held enough meat and rations to last for years and he could summon water at will, sleep remained a problem as he found himself unable to truly rest. Every time he closed his eyes for more than a few minutes, the roars of monsters jarred him awake, leaving his body aching while his reaction time slowed and his mind grew sluggish.

Even if he found monsters he could kill, the experience gain at level 464 would be minimal against anything below level 490. At least for him. For normal people, it would still be a lot, but Reidar had to get stronger faster if he wanted to survive.

As things stood, he was stuck, trapped at level 464 with no way to progress. When Reidar ran his hands through his hair, he found it coated in the same ash that covered everything—his clothes, skin, and equipment. The fine gray powder had worked its way into every crack and crevice, irritating his eyes and lungs.

<There has to be a better way. There has to be something I'm missing. But what?>

Mara could be anywhere.

<I can't go on like this… Damn Mara. Of all the things she could do, she decided to long range teleport, and that at the wrong time.>

Reidar didn't understand why she had done that. In theory, she had already escaped Reidar. There was no reason for her to teleport again. Sure, she might have done it to make sure there were no spies on her, which was true, actually, but she had no idea there were.

No, he couldn't think like that.

<Focus on what you know. Mara is not stupid; there must be a reason for her doing what she did.>