After going into the sea, I met the witch.

The coalescing sparks solidified into Ryan's body, and he glanced at the [Fire Dragon Egg] placed beside the campfire.

A day has passed, and the dragon egg still shows no signs of hatching.

Ryan withdrew his gaze and strode away from the campfire.

Before long, he arrived at the broken cliff face.

The mountain torrents of the past have now become a gently flowing river.

Ryan jumped onto the cliff face and looked inside.

The sight that came into view made his eyes widen slightly.

The environment was completely different from what he had imagined. There were no giant trees in the inner area, and apart from the rocks that rose from the ground, there was no sign of life.

No, that's not entirely accurate either.

On the inner cliff face not far away, remnants of green algae can still be seen—this must be plant life nurtured when the inner mountain flood still existed.

The entire inner area can be figuratively described as a huge blooming stone, with one cliff after another forming the petals of the "stone".

These flash floods were merely the accumulated water stored between the "petals" of the mountain.

As for how Big Silver swam here... that secret passage is probably only known to Big Silver.

Ryan took a deep breath and jumped into the "Stone".

Looking around, all he could see were rocks; he couldn't even spot a monster. After a moment's thought, Ryan decided to proceed in a straight line.

As we continued our journey, the terrain gradually rose, and as we approached the "second petal," the ground beneath our feet transformed from moist, soft soil into a desert composed of piled-up grains of sand.

Even the gentle breeze blowing in our faces was mixed with a fine mist of sand.

Such dramatic environmental changes have occurred in a mere few kilometers between wetlands and deserts.

Although he had already witnessed the amazing ecology of the island, Ryan still couldn't help but sigh.

"Whoosh..."

The closer you get to the "second petal," the stronger the wind becomes. In the end, the wind, mixed with a lot of fine sand, makes it difficult to see clearly ahead.

"Roar--!"

A dragon's roar came from the depths of the sandstorm.

Ryan abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Amidst the sandstorm, a colossal figure slowly emerged, its sharp horn, like a knight's lance, pointing diagonally towards the sky.

Chapter 101 The Solitary Desert Knight

Yellow sand lashed against the rough and heavy armor, while the single horn on its head gleamed under the blazing sun.

Like a heavily armored knight patrolling the desert, every part of its body, every scale, exudes the unique composure and pride of a knight.

-

[Unicorn Dragon: [High Rank] Flying Wyvern, one of the overlords of the Rocky Wasteland. It is herbivorous but extremely aggressive. It has a solid and beautiful thick shield behind its head and a terrifyingly large horn on its forehead. Even metal and rock are extremely fragile in front of this horn.

The unicorn's horn is a rare and exceptional material for forging weapons and armor, and is considered a 'proof of bravery'. Every [High Rank] hunter considers it an 'honor' to hunt a unicorn alone.

[—You feel immense pressure!]

[—[Superior] Special Species, a powerful being that surpasses all other Special Species.]

-

Looking at the gray text notification that appeared before him, Ryan felt extremely heavy-hearted.

[Higher position]!

This was the first time he had encountered a powerful being that was specifically marked as "[high-rank]". Before this, even the Rathalos leader was only "the upper-rank peak".

It is very obvious from the way they are addressed that the "superior" is necessarily far above the "inferior".

Moreover, the single horn on the dragon's head gave Ryan a very familiar feeling.

Soon, Ryan remembered the origin of this sense of familiarity—the first special species he encountered when he entered the Traveling Land, the Dragon-Headed Crab, had a unicorn shell that left a deep impression on him. Apart from its size, its shape was almost exactly the same as the unicorn dragon's horn!

"Haven't you encountered a [superior] being as soon as you entered the inner area?"

Ryan felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

He actually just wanted to encounter a weak special species so he could awaken the [Azure Medal] first...

"Whoosh..."

The wind suddenly picked up, and the yellow sand in the wind became thicker. The unicorn dragon, which was covered by the thick sand, gradually disappeared into the sand.

Ryan's eyes narrowed.

"Hua Hua Hua..."

The ground began to tremble visibly, and a mound of earth, slightly raised on the sand, hurtled toward Ryan amidst the sandstorm.

Although it was on the ground, the mound of earth was moving at an extremely fast speed. When it was first seen, it was still dozens of meters away, but in the blink of an eye, it was only a few body lengths away from Ryan.

Ryan retreated hastily, but the monster beneath the mound seemed to sense his presence and chased after him at breakneck speed.

"Boom!"

Amidst the exploding sandstorm and the rumbling of the ground, a sharp, enormous, spiraling horn burst forth from the earth, followed closely by thick, powerful, and sturdy wings.

The unicorn dragon was so large that even though Ryan tried his best to jump back when the mound exploded, he was still lifted off the ground by the shockwave. While he was in mid-air, a dark shadow was already being flung towards him.

That was the unicorn's massive, yellowish-brown tail, shaped like a double-headed hammer.

"Boom--!"

The greatsword was drawn and placed in a defensive stance in front of Ryan, blocking the oncoming giant tail.

The moment the two touched, a terrifying force surged forth like a tidal wave. Ryan's expression changed drastically. Even the female and male Rathalos leaders, whose bodies were once about the same size as the Unicorn Dragon, were far inferior in strength.

Before the giant tail, Ryan was like a pitiful little insect, being smashed dozens of meters away.

"Thorn-"

After landing, he rolled several times on the ground before finally managing to stop. Ryan's face was deathly pale. Blood was seeping from the tiger's mouth of his hands, which were gripping the greatsword, and his internal organs had suffered serious injuries from the shock.

He was seriously injured by just one blow.

It's important to know that he is now much stronger than when he fought the Rathalos leader.

With the upgrade and the acquisition of a hidden path profession, if he were to fight the Rathalos leader again, even if the Rathalos leader's "Crimson Frenzy" state was not forced to exit due to the flash flood, Ryan would be confident of victory.

Despite possessing such strength, he was utterly helpless against the "upper-rank" unicorn dragon...

That was unparalleled pure violence.

That was a warning from the lone desert knight to the invading enemy.

As Ryan watched the unicorn dragon reappear on the ground and walk towards him step by step, his heart sank to the bottom.

The vast desert sands offered little cover except for a few rocks several meters high, and these "small rocks" served no purpose whatsoever as an obstacle for the unicorn dragon.

Since there's no way out, let's go all out!

A fighting spirit ignited in Ryan's eyes.

"call……"

As he took a deep breath, the wounds on the tiger's mouth of his hands healed rapidly. [Gluttony Heart] was working quickly. At the same time, the spatial ring in Ryan's hand flashed, and a piece of bloody rib meat was held in his hand.

The flesh, reeking of blood, slid down his throat, and crimson flames ignited on the surface of the Greatsword - Ferocious Ice.

——【Food Battle: The Lament of the Rathalos】!

A powerful force surged within him. Ryan wielded the greatsword with one hand, his current physique making it incredibly easy to use the heavy sword as a one-handed weapon. As he charged up, an ice-blue crossbow bolt appeared in his free left hand.

It is indeed the [Light Crossbow - Ice Shatter].

"call out--"

The crossbow string vibrated and hummed, and a streak of icy blue light shot out, heading straight for the unicorn dragon's eyes.

"Ding!"

The unicorn dragon merely tilted its head slightly, and the icy blue crossbow bolt was knocked away by the sturdy thick shield on its head. The ice attribute attack carried by the crossbow bolt only spread a few specks of frost, but it quickly lost its momentum and dissipated in the sandstorm.

—Unbreakable defense.

This tickling-like attack thoroughly enraged the unicorn dragon. Its incredibly thick legs swelled slightly from the exertion, and its speed suddenly increased, like a speeding train, carrying billowing yellow sand.

Its single horn serves as a spear, and its two wings as a shield.

Charge!

All the rocks that blocked the unicorn's path were smashed to pieces.

Ryan focused intently. The unicorn's "dragon charge" attack had an extremely wide range, making it virtually impossible to dodge or pounce. Therefore...

When the unicorn dragon came within ten meters of him, Ryan opened his mouth.

[Soaring Battle Cry], activate!

Unlike the previous high-spirited war cries, this time the sonic waves were far more powerful.

It possesses a powerful spiritual quality, even transforming from pale white to a rich, milky white.

The reason for this change is, of course, the surge in spirituality.

-

[Spirituality]: 6.0

[Physique]: 35.82

-

These are the basic attributes of Ryan's wandering clone at this moment.

Unlike the wandering clone, whose job advancement to Pirate (Tier 1) only provides one-fifth of the bonus to the main body, the main body's job advancement to Gluttony Hunter (Tier 1) provides 100% of the base class bonus to the wandering clone. With the addition of ten Tier 1 Spiritual Enhancement Crystals and the use of Holy Blood, the wandering clone's spirituality has climbed to a terrifying level of 6.0!

Of course, one point needs to be clarified: the [spirituality] and [physical strength] fed back to the traveling clone from the main body's job appointment and promotion cannot be fed back to the main body. Otherwise, wouldn't the constant feedback between the two sides be like a bug?

The same professional skill can produce completely different powers under different spiritual enhancements.