NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 11 - The Land Between: Cursed Lands
Supernatural heat pressed down on Owen's shoulders, biting into his skin. The alien sun overhead blazed mercilessly, forcing his eyes to water. The air was dry and gritty, carrying the faint scent of scorched earth and dust.
Welcome to the Land Between: Cursed Lands.
You have one week of protection. Use this time to summon units, prepare defences, and level up your warriors. The Gods are watching.
Owen’s expression darkened at the announcement, and that wasn’t all.
Quest Obtained: Clear the Sand Hound Rift.
| Reward: Summoning Tickets: 5x Warrior, 1x Administrator. Apprentice Rank Fragment Weapon.
A nearby Rift as well?! Fear flashed through him but quickly faded as instinct kicked in. The past week of blood and survival had sharpened him for this moment. The Cursed Lands. He had hoped otherwise, but it seemed the author had plans to push him harder.
Ignoring the faint blue dome of protection hovering above, he surveyed his surroundings. The landscape would dictate his first move. Endless stretches of golden plains and dunes spread before him, shimmering under the punishing sun. His gaze caught a massive mountain nearby, its shadow creeping toward him—his only hope for relief from the relentless heat.
Then, a deep red took over the skies to the west; evidence of the Sand Hound Rift. He frowned at the sight. However, the reward was promising. The extra Warriors were a bonus, but not a standout. it was the promise of an Administrator and a Fragment weapon that grabbed his attention. An Administrator would make it a lot easier to run his kingdom. Questions and problems that his people would have, it would be the summoned unit's job to sort them out.
In A Titan’s Journey, Earth had connected to a realm called the Land Between, a bridge to another world. Somewhere in the far reaches was where he now stood—the Cursed Lands. Almost nothing was known about it. No human had returned from here, at least not in the early parts of the story.
Owen’s heart pounded, torn between fear and an unexpected thrill. Was it the promise of power or the pull of an epic adventure?
Despite the grim future ahead, a fierce resolve surged through him. This was a new life. A life where he could carve his own path, be whoever he wanted to be, and go wherever the journey took him.
But first, he had to survive. Calm down. Owen forced himself to breathe, steadying his racing heart.
Survival here wouldn’t be simple. The desert offered no fertile ground for farming, water would be scarce, and the heat unbearable. It was a brutal start. And that wasn’t even accounting for the true danger—the Cursed Lands were where Demi-gods roamed freely.
You have entered the Land Between. Stand by while your spirit partially awakens…
Spirit partially awakened. To fully awaken and obtain a Class Evolution, find an Outpost gateway and step through it.
You have awakened to your Lord Emblem.
Here we go, Owen thought, hands clenching into tightened fists. The author had promised him a god-like emblem. If it wasn’t…
(Lord Emblem) Unlimited Plunder [God-Like]
| Ability 1 — Unlimited Plunder: Upon activation, the user plunders from the target. Skills, Stats, Titles, wealth, loot, and resources, all can be plundered. The user must touch the target to activate the Skill. The amount plundered depends on Vitality.
| Ability 2 — Plundered Storage: Able to store an unlimited amount of resources and items.
| Ability 3 — Skeleton Key: Upon activation while touching any door, chest, or crypt; open it. (Can only be used once a day.)
Oh my gosh, that’s amazing, Owen thought, pacing back and forth along the border of his territory, ignoring the rampant heat beating down on his shoulders from above, sweat dripping. It’s downright overpowered.
Trying to battle his excitement, Owen moved on to his System with a mental command.
Name: Owen Taylor
| Race: Human
| Level: 7
| Talent: 1-Star
Traits:
| Lord Emblem: Unlimited Plunder
| Class: Rogue Lord
| Titles: N/A
| Spectres: N/A
| Fragments: N/A
Attributes:
| Strength: 14
| Vitality: 15
| Dexterity: 20
| Magic: 10
| Mana: 9
Skills (1/12):
| Unlimited Plunder
Honestly, it was better than Owen ever could have expected. And, it bypassed his Flaw as well.
You have been granted a basic survival backpack filled with supplies.
Owen watched as a backpack dropped into the sand. He rummaged through it, noting that there was indeed everything he needed to survive a few days in the wild. Water, shelter, food, health potions. Knowing what he had to do thanks to having read the book, Owen summoned the Lord interface with a simple command of: Lord’s Wheel.
A wheel of multi-colours appeared in his vision.
As a new Lord, you are granted 5 free Summons. Each and every subsequent roll of the wheel after requires Tickets that can be obtained by slaying foes. Would you like to spin the wheel?
Owen took a deep breath, wished to any god that would listen for his good luck to continue, and accepted. The wheel spun, shades of all colours of the spectrum flashed on by. It passed the low tier colour before settling on a deep crimson that sparkled within Owen’s eyes, along with it were 2 dazzling stars.
Apprentice Tier, Owen thought.
Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Veteran, Champion, Elite. Those were the tiers he knew about. Whether there were more or not, Owen failed to read further to find out.
You have summoned the 2-star Spectre: War Tortoise
In front of him spawned a monster 6 foot tall and 5 foot wide. The reptile was mostly black, but in between the cracks were a bright gold sand colour. A single horn rose from its fore-head, like a long blade. It had a mean look in its eyes, but when it set them on Owen, they softened.
With a thought, Owen returned it to his soul and instantly sensed a profound addition to his being. Reading about it was one thing, but experiencing it firsthand was entirely different.
Awesome. Owen grinned. It was a Spectre. The difference between that and a more common Unit, was that Spectres could be stored within the soul and summoned whenever he wanted. Units resided within the Lord’s territory. It was no surprise that even a low-star Spectre was a great boon to have. Especially one the size of the War Tortoise. It had high defence, high strength, had a mobile home, and could easily be a beast of burden if need be.
Owen spun the wheel again. The next pull was a 1-Star Unit: a Builder. He was human, with a messy beard and common clothes. The Builder held common tools strapped to his belt.
The one after that, however, was a 2-star Hunter named Draed. Draed had a cool looking curved bow, and pointed ears, wearing hard leather armour. He was tall and handsome and they both bowed the moment they spawned. Draed, as a Hunter, was also boosted further by Owen's Class. His Attributes were heightened, along with having better eye-sight.
Owen inspected Draed by focusing his eyesight on him.
Name: Draed
| Race: Wood-Elf
| Level: 1
| Class: Hunter
Attributes:
| Strength: 13
| Vitality: 15
| Dexterity: 18
| Magic: 9
| Mana: 10
Skills
| Power Shot — Mastery: Low
| Steady Aim — Mastery: Low
| Tracking — Mastery: Low
A loud thud echoed through the air, like flesh striking metal. Owen turned just in time to see a hound-like creature snarling at the barrier. No—it was snarling at him. The beast slammed again against the shimmering shield of mana, causing ripples to spread, but it only managed to hurt itself.
Owen glanced at Draed, then back to the hound, a grin forming on his face. "Draed, think you can handle it?"
"With pleasure," Draed replied, his voice calm and steady. He smoothly knocked an arrow and approached the barrier, his movements fluid and controlled. The hound went berserk, clawing and biting furiously at the invisible shield, desperate to get through.
Draed inhaled deeply, the sand at his feet swirling lightly as blue energy flickered around his arrow. In a flash, he released it. The arrow shot forward with blinding speed, passing effortlessly through the barrier and embedding itself deep into the hound's chest. The shaft disappeared halfway through, but the beast still stood, snarling defiantly.
Owen frowned. The Cursed Lands were truly cursed.
It took six more arrows before Draed finally brought the creature down. As the hound collapsed, a flood of notifications appeared in Owen’s vision.
Your subordinate has defeated a Sand Hound (Level 8).
| Hunter: Draed, Level 1 -> Level 3
| Owen Taylor, Level 7 -> Level 8
Owen noted that as Draed levelled up, his stat points were automatically distributed. The system had placed 3 points into Dexterity and 1 into Vitality, reflecting his growth. Draed seemed pleased, a smile tugging at his lips as he undoubtedly felt the system's power course through him.
Quest gained: Slay 25 Sand Hounds.
| Reward: Summoning Tickets x5 Hunters.
Owen glanced at the new Quest notification, his mind already weighing the risks. Early missions like this were common, designed to give Lords a quick boost in power. But some came with serious dangers. Killing 25 Sand Hounds, for instance, wouldn’t just be a challenge in battle—it was finding that amount of them that would prove tricky. Still, with the Rift looming in the distance, he knew the task, though dangerous, wasn’t impossible. He’d have to prepare carefully, but he could handle it.
Without wasting time, Owen approached the Sand Hound's corpse and crouched beside it. With a thought, he activated Unlimited Plunder. A surge of energy shot through him, like pure power being injected directly into his veins.
You have plundered a Sand Hound.
| Claimed materials: Sand Hound Pelt x1 (Normal), Sand Hound Organs (Normal), Sand Hound Bones (Normal), Fragment: Shade’s Whisper [Drop chance: 4.1%]
| Stats gained: 6 Strength, 4 Vitality, 3 Dexterity
Owen’s eyes widened at the sight of the Fragment. Fragments were rare, powerful items—tools, weapons, or armour formed from the essence of monsters. They were essentially physical manifestations of the creatures' memories or the places they had lived. Stored within the soul, they could be called upon when needed.
It seemed that Unlimited Plunder increased his chances of obtaining rare loot. Excitement surged through him as he called upon Shade’s Whisper from the depths of his soul. And it answered.