Luring the Earth Dragon
Creak—
Rattle—
While the merchants drew water from the oasis or chatted idly during their break, Maness was grinding herbs he'd pulled from his bag.
The tools were ready, so the process wasn't too arduous.
This should do it.
Wind grass, which grew using breezes as nutrients. Maness swung his hand to check the fineness of the powder, nodded in satisfaction, and rummaged through his backpack.
"Hm, trying to make a fluid potion, are you?"
The voice of the one he'd tried to ignore nagged at him. The beastman who'd been carrying Boltman's luggage out of kindness had been watching the whole preparation process with evident curiosity.
"That's right."
Maness replied evenly, though it wasn't unwelcome attention. It was unnatural for someone who'd collapsed from the desert heat to skip celebrating the oasis and start crafting something instead. Drawing interest like this would inevitably lead to pointless questions.
"Any particular reason you're whipping it up now? Just soaking the wind grass in water and sucking on it would help with breathing a lot more."
As expected, the annoying question came flying. The beastman was right— in the desert, that method was far more efficient. Boltman wasn't carrying heavy loads anyway, and lightening his body wouldn't let him break from the caravan and scout ahead.
But Maness's goal wasn't just reaching Warland.
"You never know what might happen, so I'm making what I can with what I've got."
"...Your call. Not my place to butt in."
Fortunately, the beastman let the vague excuse slide.
"Here."
As he ground the next ingredient, Boltman handed over a waterskin brimming with water. Maness took it and divided the contents into two small vials.
"What're you even making, anyway?"
Maness glanced around, wondering if he had to repeat himself. The beastman mercenary had left for the oasis.
"Our lifeline."
"L-Lifeline?"
"Remember what I told you to keep in mind?"
Boltman sat facing him cautiously, spooked by the harsh wording.
"Run when I say run, smash when I say smash."
"Good memory. This is for the running part. We'll have to sprint for our lives."
Boltman squinted, even shading his eyes from the sun—clearly needing more explanation.
"But... where do we run to?"
"Just follow me. More precisely..."
As he transferred the fine powder to the vials, Maness's gaze drifted to the heart of the desert. Unlike elsewhere, a thin line of faintly raised sand stretched straight ahead.
"Desert moles don't burrow deep when they move—they skim the surface, leaving long trails on top."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"That'll be our guide."
Leaving Boltman to tilt his head in confusion, Maness shook the vial to mix the contents. It was just a recap anyway—talking it to death wouldn't beat experiencing it firsthand.
"Here, take this."
Confirming the pale green tint, Maness handed over the potion.
"Fluid potion. Drink it the moment I do."
"Can't we drink it now to prep?"
"No. We don't know how long it'll take to reach the destination, so we need to stretch the effect as long as possible."
As Boltman examined the vial, a sudden question popped into his head.
Why am I even doing what this guy says?
It wasn't resentment—just pure curiosity. He'd lived a life where others bent to accommodate him, yet somehow he'd started moving to this delinquent's whims.
To puzzle it out, Boltman sidelong-glanced at Maness. Staring intently at what must be a desert mole's sandy tunnel, the guy exuded an odd trustworthiness. It wasn't from his looks or background. It came from his tone and actions—every word and deed brimming with unshakable certainty, building layer by layer into trust.
"Get ready."
As Boltman pondered this unexpected side of the delinquent—Did I pick up rhetoric skills from him as a kid or something?—a sharp warning cut through the air. He hastily placed a hand on his vial's cap.
"The sand's shaking."
Boltman couldn't grasp the meaning right away. Sand danced at the slightest breeze. Why say it so gravely?
It didn't take long to find out.
"...Earthquake?"
A frantic voice echoed from the distant oasis. It seemed directed their way, but the words didn't carry clearly. The vibrations grew stronger, tension swelling in their wake. Unlike the merchants' buried cries, the ground-shaking pulses amplified relentlessly.
Boom—
A colossal pillar erupted. Towering as tall as Snowrobe's clocktower. Like a wingless dragon surging skyward, it burst onto the surface.
"M-Mon... Monster..."
"Earth dragon."
Even in this moment teetering on collapse, a calm voice sliced through thinly.
"The beast that claims the desert without a master."
The earth dragon's ascent halted. Rooted firmly beneath the sand, it whipped its unmistakably draconic head side to side. Searching meticulously—Maness quelled his tightening chest.
It's just a mimic, after all.
Its head mimicked a dragon's form, but it was no true dragon. It had evolved to ape the apex predator, instilling terror in prey. Exploit what it lost in that process.
"Don't move, Boltman."
He blocked Boltman, who was thawing from his rigid stance and on the verge of backpedaling.
"The earth dragon's eyes are for show. It hunts by vibrations through the sand—so stay still if you want to live."
Boltman swallowed dryly at the life-or-death warning and glanced around. The merchants near the oasis had frozen solid too. They knew the desert's ways better than anyone.
"What now? Wait for the mercenaries to save us?"
Instead of words, Maness answered with action. Seeing him down his fluid potion, Boltman uncapped his and gulped it down—clutching the vial tight lest he drop it.
"Potions down, so we run now, right?"
"No."
Maness shook his head at his friend's desperate hope. To satisfy what the world's script demanded, fleeing alone wouldn't cut it. The goal was surviving the desert's lord—including every merchant and mercenary.
With the two who should have subdued it gone, it fell to them as replacements.
"We're luring the earth dragon."
"W-What?"
Like Boltman, Maness scanned the oasis vicinity. Amid the halted crowd, a burly beastman reached for the oversized sword on his back. Even a top-tier mercenary couldn't solo an earth dragon—that'd be suicide.
"Go."
"Wait, I haven't psyched myself up yet—"
Before the mercenary could move. Maness tensed his forefoot.
"Run!"
The earth dragon's fangs slammed down over the sprinting Maness.
*
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
As expected, the earth dragon was lightning-fast. Barely missing the sprinting pair by a hair, it swam through the sand in pursuit. Even with the fluid potion, they could only just maintain distance—astonishing speed.
Need to slow it even a little.
Maness pulled out a few pebbles from his backpack, prepared alongside the potion. A cave's outline emerged in the distance—if they kept this up, half the plan was success.
But Boltman was the issue. Running in the desert was burden enough. Maness had the stamina to back it up, but not him. To grab the gasping Boltman's—on the verge of collapse—attention, Maness waved emphatically.
"Stop dead when I signal!"
"Wh-What're you saying? Stopping here'll...!"
"I'll be the bait—catch your breath and bolt for the cave!"
Survival was survival, but Boltman had a role after reaching the cave. He needed time to recover, and the best way was peeling the earth dragon off him.
"Now!"
Boltman halted at the signal. Confirming it, Maness veered at a right angle, tossing pebbles in stride to mimic his pace. Like two humans running.
As planned, the ground tremors turned, chasing the vibration source.
Buy more time.
Hills dotted the area. Veering off-course like this risked getting lost. Returning too quick would recreate the same bind.
After some distance. Maness gathered the remaining pebbles from his bag.
"...Let's try it."
Recalling the sensation from Metaph's private lesson—fixating orbs in midair. The pebbles began floating one by one.
Focus. Focus.
Like a peacock fanning its tail. All remaining pebbles suspended, Maness kicked off and landed at a point.
Thud—
Thud—
Thud—
From there, another right-angle turn. Arrow-like pebbles slammed into the sand at intervals.
The more he repeated, the more veins bulged on Maness's face. Manipulating countless arms at once demanded inhuman focus.
As if rewarding the effort, the earth dragon veered after the fake footprints.
As the improvised sprint waned.
Boom—
A massive explosion at the last pebble's spot. The earth dragon reared with jaws agape—a manifestation of terror.
"Hoo..."
Legs planted firm, catching his breath, Maness stared it down. Realizing no prey to snatch, it showed no movement. With vibrations halted, it knew food was near—that patient stillness born of experience.
Cunning one, huh. Perfect timing.
Maness steadied his breathing. Tempting to blast mana bullets, but he held off. If 1st rank magic pierced its armor-like scales, it wouldn't hold this status now. A pointless shot might just rile it.
Better to fake it out once more.
Maness aimed beside the statue-still earth dragon—opposite his direction. A brief time-buy with mana was no issue. The finale in the cave would be Boltman's magic anyway.
A mana orb coalesced and fired. An explosion unlike the earth dragon's own. Reacting, it burrowed—Maness bolted back the way he'd come.
*
"You're back! Thought you were dead."
Boltman welcomed his comrade at the cave. Color returned from ample rest—Maness beckoned him with a gesture.
"What a sight."
The cave interior, hastily entered, was breathtaking. Unlike the narrow mouth, it widened so vast one had to crane the neck for the ceiling. Even small sounds echoed like dragon roars.
More astonishing: it glowed bright without a single torch. Mana crystals, saturated from some influx, shone everywhere—from floor and walls adorned with outcrops to ceiling stalactites.
Valuable as magic reagents, harder than steel—they crunched underfoot in abundance.
Squeak—
Squeak—
Desert moles nesting there scattered in unison at the intruders. Mana scarce in the desert, they'd gathered here drawn by it. Following their path was spot-on.
"Whoa..."
"No time to gawk. Earth dragon's coming."
"What? Didn't you shake it?"
"I said lure it. Give me the leftover vial, wait in a ceiling stalactite-free corner."
Reclaiming the vial, Maness headed to the cave's end. Each step deepened the mana crystals' intensity, felt bodily.
The brightest spot. Back to the dead-end wall, he hurled the vial toward the entrance.
Shrieeeek—
A eardrum-shredding wave struck the cave. Provocation enough for the beast.
Maness endured the oncoming tremors with his whole body, pointing upward.
Boltman's rabbit-wide eyes followed his finger to the ceiling. He finally understood Maness's prior words.
—Simple. Run when I say run, smash when I say smash. Here, smash the biggest stalactite.
The largest mana crystal stalactite—like a spearhead for giants.
Boom—
The earth dragon entered, catching its prey. Simultaneously,
Shrieeeek—
Another vial shattered at Maness's feet, screaming.