Chapter 97
Chapter 97
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Sand Yaksha (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Level up by earning the relic’s recognition? Does that mean a dungeon will open?’
Theo was well aware of how convenient dungeons were, having already experienced one.
There weren’t many places where you could gain real combat experience and EXP all at once.
‘The key I used to open the Lesser Drake dungeon is still in my inventory.’
If not that, he might get sucked into the unconscious world like when he first touched the Moonwhite Sword.
Theo first flung open his inventory.
[Opening inventory.]
Among them, he first pulled out a copper ring and slipped it onto the index finger of his left hand.
The ring fit perfectly, as if it had always been his.
Click!
At that moment, a sound like mechanical gears meshing rang out,
[Equipped ‘Ancient Dragon Relic: Ring of the Desert.’]
[Moved to the second dungeon.]
Theo felt his mind being pulled somewhere.
Whoosh!
When he opened his eyes again, a parched desert stretched before him.
Scorching sunlight that felt like it could stab into his skin like knives.
Sand that sank beneath his feet with every step.
Suffocating heat that choked the breath from his lungs.
It was the complete opposite of the environment in Wintera where Theo resided.
‘Of all places, why here……!’
Having never been to a desert in his entire previous life, he was at a loss for how to cope.
[Entered the scorching desert. Survive here for 72 hours.]
[72:00:00]
But the counter was already ticking down rapidly.
[71:59:59]
[71:59:58]
.
.
“……This won’t do. First, I need to find a spot to set up base camp.”
All the quests and missions Theo had faced so far carried a real ‘death’ penalty if failed, whether they were real or illusions.
So this place would surely be no different.
Even if not, Theo had no desire to abuse his regression count.
‘From the second regression onward, neither Father nor the Black Dragon would hold any more expectations like this toward me.’
It wasn’t an unreasonable thought, considering their hatred for regressors.
Above all, both of them possessed special abilities to eradicate regressors.
If they used that on him?
It would all be over.
‘So let’s move first.’
With that thought, Theo slowly began to walk.
His feet sank deep into the sand, draining his energy needlessly.
Whenever thirst struck, he bought water from the shop window and drank, repeating this several times.
How many steps had he taken like that?
Rumble……
‘What’s this?’
Theo halted as he felt the desert trembling faintly.
At first, he thought it was a hallucination from the heat, but the shaking grew stronger.
Something massive…… was approaching this way.
At that instant, he noticed the sand within several meters around him swirling in a vortex, sucking downward into the ground.
The range expanded rapidly from a few meters to over ten, and the vibrations intensified.
The situation unfolded in the blink of an eye, leaving Theo no way to escape.
Like sinking into quicksand. He felt the sand pile surge downward.
His gaze dropped to the ground.
An enormous void, over ten meters in diameter, gaped wide like a maw.
Layers upon layers of jagged teeth, and beyond the abyss, a red tongue.
‘Desert Worm!’
The king of the desert appeared, boasting a size and bulk several times that of a Sand Worm.
Just like Drakes, Griffins, or Wyverns, it was classified as a lesser dragonkin.
Survive for 72 hours.
It seemed to mean surviving against this Desert Worm.
‘This is insane……!’
Even a senior swordsman like Evelyn or Klev might struggle to take it down alone—an upper-grade monster.
Before the maw could snap shut, Theo swiftly moved his deathbits with telekinesis.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Slash! Whoosh!
The four deathbits formed stairs in midair, which he rapidly climbed to soar high above,
Crunch—
By a hair’s breadth, the Desert Worm’s jaws clamped shut ferociously.
Jagged teeth like cogwheels and its infamous acidic saliva splattered everywhere.
Roooar—
Displeased that its prey had escaped, the Desert Worm thrust its massive body outward rapidly, chasing after Theo.
“Damn it.”
Theo spat a curse as he stepped on the deathbits even faster.
But the Desert Worm’s speed was far greater, closing in enough to nearly snag his ankle.
‘If I could summon Umbra, that’d be great, but it hasn’t been working since earlier……!’
Thinking he’d truly be caught at this rate, Theo swung the Drake blades downward viciously.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Mana squeezed desperately from the Dragon’s Heart mixed with his dantian’s mana, blasting heat outward.
White steam and brilliant yellow lightning struck the Desert Worm’s face.
Kaboom—
Raaaaagh!
Wounds large and small marred its tough shell, but it wasn’t enough to halt its momentum.
No, it only fueled its rage further, making it cling even more doggedly to Theo.
But he couldn’t just give up like this.
Gritting his teeth, Theo swung the Drake blades faster, unleashing beams of light.
Rumble rumble boom!
Each time his heart pounded, faint ripples formed in the air.
[Dragon’s Five Claws – Rending]
Kaboom—
The beams shredded the Desert Worm’s face in an instant, filling the area with pale smoke,
Kreeeek!
The Desert Worm writhed in agony, shaking the desert violently.
By the time it, drenched in blood, tried to target Theo again,
He had already vanished completely amid the drifting pale smoke.
Raaaaawk!
Amid the Desert Worm’s furious vibrations echoing everywhere,
‘As expected, it can’t find me when I stay still.’
Theo was hiding between rock piles not far from the Desert Worm, observing it.
‘All this time, it was detecting the vibrations from my footsteps…… not my footsteps, but the vibrations from my steps to pinpoint my location.’
As far as Theo knew, worm-type monsters that lived underground had extremely poor eyesight.
Their hearing was similarly bad, so he’d wondered how they located prey. Then it hit him.
-Don’t they have sensory organs that detect footsteps separately?
The sound of sand swept by wind differs in rhythm from footsteps.
If it could detect that irregular rhythm,
Even without precise location, it could simply swallow the entire radius with sand.
And the Desert Worm certainly had a maw big enough for that.
So he’d disrupted his senses as much as possible and hidden, figuring there was nothing to lose.
It had played out exactly as predicted.
‘The problem is I can’t stay hidden here forever……!’
Theo stared at the ground with a hardened expression.
Thump…… Thump…… Thump……
Concentric circles of various sizes kept forming across the sand flats.
‘There are more Desert Worms besides that one. At least a dozen.’
Sensing the vibrations here, others scattered across the desert were rushing in at full speed.
Like sharks smelling blood!
Rumble rumble!
The quakes grew ever fiercer,
[69:44:38_66]
And Theo had to ponder how to escape the hell of a dozen entangled Desert Worms.
At that point, escape would be nearly impossible even if he wanted to.
Then, suddenly, a thought struck him.
-What happens if I activate another relic mission while I haven’t cleared the current one?
The corner of his retina.
As if reading his mind, his inventory sprang open.
‘Let’s try it.’
Theo instinctively reached toward the inventory.
A butterfly-shaped earring.
He quickly clipped it to his left ear.
Click—
The needle piercing his earlobe stung sharply.
And then,
[Equipped ‘Ancient Dragon Relic: Ice Flower Butterfly.’]
[Moved to the third dungeon.]
Theo’s vision shook.
But,
[Currently progressing second dungeon mission, so third dungeon mission cannot proceed.]
[Missions conflict.]
[Two Ancient Dragon Relics vie for priority.]
Vrrr! Vrrrr!
Zing— Ziiing—
The ring and earring thrashed wildly.
As if insisting they came first.
They began to clash.
Crack! Craaack!
The once clear blue sky shattered in places, cracks spreading rapidly everywhere.
[Dungeon enters chaos state due to mission conflict.]
[Durability drops rapidly.]
‘As expected!’
Theo curled the corner of his mouth.
All the relics he’d encountered so far had guardians inside protecting them, arrogantly refusing to yield ownership without recognition.
But conversely, that meant fierce pride clashes between relics.
He’d easily guessed they wouldn’t yield if two missions activated simultaneously.
[Two dungeons repeatedly clash, attempting mutual invasion.]
[Dungeons merge.]
[Third dungeon manifests.]
From the cracks in the shattered sky, chill unlike the desert poured out in masses.
Fwoosh—
The cold filled the sky instantly, rapidly cooling the desert heat. Pale mist and clouds swirled, unleashing storm and hail.
Kaboom!
Rumble—
A massive butterfly-shaped lesser dragon burst through the steam.
The Fairy Dragon, said to directly control weather for humanity’s benefit, appeared.
Kyaaak! Kyaaak!
Just then, a dozen Desert Worms erupted from the desert floor, baring savage teeth at the new foe.
Flutter—
The Fairy Dragon showered them with ice hail,
Sparking a new clash.
* * *
[Entered ice mountain under eternal snow. Survive 72 hours from the Fairy Dragon.]
[72:00:00]
Beyond the distant desert, the ice mountain flickered like a mirage, appearing and vanishing.
When it appeared, storms and hail poured fiercer from the sky; when it vanished, the Desert Worms’ ferocity peaked, as if ready to devour the Fairy Dragon.
Kaboom!
With upper-grade monsters among the strongest lesser dragonkin tangled together, the dungeon turned to wreckage in moments.
Theo seemed utterly out of their sight now.
Or perhaps they’d test him after victory.
“Either way, it’s perfect for draining both relics……!”
Here, Theo faced a crossroads.
Escape this place?
Or fish in troubled waters?
Or perhaps,
-When both are exhausted, take them down at once?
Since both missions were ‘survive’ rather than ‘hunt’ the guardians, they were originally impossible to hunt, but now it seemed feasible.
‘If they were real, I could try [Wyvern Taming] to tame them. That’s the pity.’
That was when his eyes sank deeply.
Zing! Ziiing!
Theo noticed his waist vibrating intensely.
The Moonwhite Sword.
More precisely, the Griffin inside it.
It was speaking.
Asking to be let out.
To snap their necks too, like he’d snapped its own.
To show they were inferior to it.
Pride.
Pride insisting it was far superior to Desert Worms or Fairy Dragons.
‘Fine. Do as you wish.’
Heh!
Theo chuckled lightly and reached for the Moonwhite Sword,
Creeeeang—
It thrashed wildly as if waiting, scattering pale moonlight everywhere.