Sandstorm Ambush and the Quicksand Trap
Rookie: Baek Jaesung 16
The barren desert and the relentless scorching sun beating down from the sky.
The extreme environment, where even breathing felt like it was draining huge chunks of stamina, hit our battle-weary group like a punch to the gut. Still, sitting still to rest let us recover some of the energy we'd burned in combat. Dungeon hunters have to be able to recharge in situations like this, after all.
"Oppa. Oppa."
Jisu poked my shoulder with a mischievous grin.
"What?"
"Oppa, you're plotting something naughty again, aren't you?"
Jisu herself looked like she was scheming something, her thin eyes narrowed as she covered her smirking lips with her left hand—a perfect little devil.
"How dare you accuse a pious and noble soul like me. I've never plotted anything naughty in my life. Well... except maybe screwing over my dad."
"Sounds like you don't get along with your family."
"More precisely, just my dad. Can't blame him for not seeing me in a good light, though—his one and only son wasting his life as a novelist and all that."
Come to think of it, it had been a while since I'd seen my family's faces. Not that long in real-world time, probably, but exploring other worlds made it feel like at least a year had passed. And in my personal timeline, that was probably accurate.
"Aw. But he's still your only family. Don't end up regretting it like I do—get along while you can."
Jisu was an orphan. Both her parents had died when she was very young, and even her sole remaining blood relative, her brother, had passed away recently.
Go Yohan, my classmate from the hunter academy and Jisu's brother. I remembered him as calm and meticulous to a fault. If he'd survived, he would've made one hell of a dungeon hunter.
"Jisu, got any words left unsaid for the family that's gone ahead?"
"Hmm... My parents? I barely remember their faces, so no. But my brother... yeah, something I never told him."
"Yeah? What?"
"Thanks."
The closer people are, the harder it is to say those words. Thinking about it, I couldn't remember the last time I'd thanked my own parents.
"Too late after they're gone, you know. Better watch how you live, oppa."
Jisu flashed a cheeky grin, brushed the sand off her butt, and stood up. A glance at my watch showed about 30 minutes had passed.
"Jaesung-ssi, should we get moving?"
Jang Hana wiped the sweat dripping down her face with her arm and asked me. Her complexion wasn't great—she clearly hadn't fully recovered her stamina yet.
But the resolve in her expression said we couldn't afford to linger. Her fiancé Seon-uk's breathing was growing more ragged by the minute.
"Sounds good. Everyone, prep to move out! Let's roll."
The others slung on their backpacks and got ready. My crew looked decent overall, but Jang Hana's party members seemed uneasy.
"Hurry up and—huh?"
Whooooosh!
An ominous wind howled in. Sandstorms weren't uncommon in this wasteland, but this one's intensity was on another level entirely.
We didn't even have time to appreciate the breeze cooling the sweat on our shoulders. We'd realized this gale was the harbinger of a massive sandstorm.
"A sandstorm out of nowhere?!"
Jang Hana hurriedly hoisted Seon-uk onto her back again. The rest of her party couldn't hide their panic.
"What do we do?"
"The destination's still a ways off!"
I checked the storm's trajectory. It was barreling straight toward us—we were right in its path. Time to take cover.
"Which way?!"
"Downhill for now—move!"
No matter how tough we dungeon hunters were, facing a storm head-on barehanded was suicide. We bolted perpendicular to its advance.
The whipping sands quickly clouded everything. Visibility dropped to zero in the brutal gale stinging our eyes and noses. I yanked out a handkerchief to cover my mouth and nose on the fly. The grit invading our lungs and nostrils was infuriating.
The absolute worst in a dungeon is getting separated from your party. Whether it's a trio, quintet, or septet, the group's only complete when everyone's there. Lose even one to combat incapacity, and the balance crumbles. That's why multi-players like me get such high marks—we fill those strategic gaps.
"Single file formation! Grab the person in front's clothes! Do not get separated!"
I called for a formation shift. In zero-vis conditions, scattering was the biggest risk. Nine times out of ten, separated parties in dungeons end up as corpses.
The simplest counter was single file: one hand on the guy ahead, the other free for combat.
"I-I'm carrying Seon-uk, so it's tough!"
"Don't worry, Hana-ssi—I've got you."
I gripped Rina ahead of me with my left hand and Jang Hana behind with my right.
The storm's path was veering slightly off ours—our quick reaction had saved us. But the blowing sand still blinded us completely.
"Lead, halt! Hold till visibility clears!"
"Lead halt!"
"Lead halt!"
"Lead halt!"
The party echoed my order. Our lead tank, Rina, stopped dead.
I scanned with Darkness Radar. Something huge was closing in on us.
'One from the left, one from the right. Monsters?'
No other party would be wandering solo like that. Stragglers or sole survivors from wiped groups, maybe.
'That relentless gait screams monster.'
Monsters weren't polite enough to wait out the storm. To them, this was dinnertime.
The two beasts charged us fast. They'd locked on without sight—probably other senses. They'd been waiting for prey pinned by the sandstorm.
"Jaesung! Something's coming from the sides!"
Yeonji spotted it first, aside from me—her tanker instincts sharp as a honed blade.
"Chiiiik! Chiiiik! Chiiiik!"
A phlegmy, foul monster screech pierced the chaos. Sujin identified it from sound alone.
"Desert Orcs!"
Desert Orcs made regular orcs look like a joke. While plain orcs were 9-rank prey, these clocked in at 7-rank.
Beyond raw power, habitat played a role. Forest or plains orcs vs. desert dwellers—the latter's arena was tougher, baking that into their rank. Even accounting for turf, two steps up meant clear superiority.
"Desert Orcs have killer noses—watch it!"
Sujin bellowed the warning.
"Formation change! Combat setup!"
We snapped from line to battle array to flank the incoming pair.
Storm-limited sight hid their positions, but not from me. Darkness Radar pinned coords; Holy Missile would snipe 'em.
But as I prepped the missile, the sand underfoot caved in.
Shhhh!
"Huh?"
My body sank like quicksand, sucked downward. Flowing sand—quicksand. I was sliding down the dune toward the bottom.
'Quicksand out of nowhere...?'
Checking Darkness Radar revealed a wriggling mass below, swimming through sand like a fish in water, generating the trap.
Thwack!
I shook off Sujin's hand on my left arm. Couldn't drag the others in.
"Jaesung!"
"I'm fine! Everyone, watch your feet! Ground's giving! Don't move!"
Even as I sank, I fired the Holy Missile. A glowing bolt pierced the haze, smashing a Desert Orc's skull dead-on.
Crunch!
Skull burst satisfyingly. But I kept sinking.
"Ugh! My feet—someone grab me!"
A scream from behind—Jang Hana. She'd stepped into it too, clutching Seon-uk tight, flailing for purchase. Self-extraction from quicksand's a bitch; needed a pull from outside.
'Hold up. This could be a golden opportunity.'
Me and Jang Hana peeling off from the group. Alone time, baby.
'Desert mobs are mid-tier across the board... even solo, no sweat. And I'm a multi-player.'
Decision made. Heaven-sent chance. Sky's got my back.
"Hana-ssi, over here!"
"Ugh! Jaesung-ssi! I'm sinking!"
Wind Control.
Palm blasts propelled me from the sucking mire—like a hero flick protag. Just needed the slick suit.
"Grab my hand!"
I closed in, killed the wind, and offered my hand. She seized it.
"Jaesung! You okay!?"
Yeonji's voice boomed from above.
"All good!"
We tumbled fully down the dune. Below was a massive whirlpool sinkhole, sand spiraling like a drained tub.
At its heart, a monster gaped its maw—face mostly mouth, grotesque. Demon fish incarnate.
"Sand Hell!"
Sand Hell. Fitting name.
"Light Saber."
Left arm locked on Jang Hana, right summoned the blade. We plummeted toward its jaws.
"Kyaaah!"
She screamed, eyes shut. Jagged shark teeth clacked, ready to grind us.
"Die!"
My Light Saber, mana-charged, cleaved its face vertically—paper through butter. Ambush predator, low defenses.
Spluuurt!
"Grraaaahk!"
Gurgling death cry as it split in two. Clean kill. But momentum dragged us into the hole—down its underground tunnel.
"Uuuungh!"
Jang Hana hugged Seon-uk tight even in freefall. True love, that.
Thud!
We hit tunnel bottom. My landing roll minimized damage. She cushioned Seon-uk, twisting her ankle in the process.
"Ow...!"
"Hana-ssi, you good?"
She forced a smile at my question.
"Yeah. Just a tweak in the ankle. But where are we?"
"Sand Hell's tunnel. Pitch black. Lantern time."
I flicked on my portable lantern—saving abilities for mana efficiency.
Light revealed the scene: elongated passage fore and aft, as expected.
I nudged the nearby corpse and peered up. The entry hole looked donut-tiny. Deep drop.
"Climbing out's a no-go. Loose sand walls. But Sand Hells dig multiple exits."
Tunnel-dwellers like moles always do.
I turned to Jang Hana.
"Let's find the exit."