Chapter 24: The Sand Worm

After spending an hour searching the several kilometers around the oasis, I still hadn’t found any sign of the sandworm mentioned in the quest. I returned to the lakeshore of the oasis and sat down to rest.

Just then, a warning flashed in my system interface, indicating that my hunger level was dangerously low. After the recent system update, players now had to eat and drink just as in the real world: you could savor all kinds of delicacies, but go without food or water and you’d die. Accepting this as my reality, I reached into my backpack only to realize I hadn’t brought any food at all—rather tragic. As luck would have it, a few antelopes appeared nearby. They looked edible enough, so I ordered the black-furred hound to spit out a shadow orb and strike one of them on the head. The force was too much; the antelope exploded into a headless corpse, and the rest scattered in fright. I quickly set to work, stripping the meat from the fallen antelope, igniting some dried olive branches with an energy blast, and skewering the meat on a long antelope bone to roast it.

In just a few minutes, the aroma of roasting antelope filled the air. I took a piece for myself, gave another and a bone to the black-furred hound, and just as we settled into our meal, I suddenly felt a faint tremor run through the grass nearby. The hound began barking relentlessly, as if something was about to burst from underground.

I told the hound to go in and drag out whatever was there. A few seconds later, it emerged carrying a small, golden-yellow creature about the size of a pet dog, with a body somewhere between that of a pig and a dog: short, thick limbs and a little tail trailing behind. Its entire body gleamed with a golden light, plump and round, so adorable that even someone as jaded by monster-killing as myself hesitated to strike. What’s more, it bore a remarkable resemblance to the “Three-Strike Cannon” spirit of Master Yu Xiaogang from Douluo Continent.

The creature’s information appeared in my field of vision: ??? Level 1 ???.

What on earth was this thing? To attack or not to attack—that became the question. As I hesitated, the little creature—so like the “Three-Strike Cannon”—freed itself from the hound’s grasp, trotted over with an air of self-importance, and without hesitation, buried its head in the antelope meat the hound had been gnawing on.

The hound was outraged. After all, I’d gone to the trouble of preparing this food and it hadn’t even had its fill before this stranger devoured it all. Baring its fangs, it barked furiously, but the little creature paid it no heed, polishing off the hound’s share before moving on to mine. Watching this greedy little thing, I couldn’t help but smile. I patted the hound’s head, and its murderous intent faded away like the tide.

Forget it—let’s spare it this time. After observing it for a while, it was clear this level-1 creature posed no threat. Its harmless appearance made it impossible to strike.

In the Second World, monsters that could be killed for experience generally fell into three categories: the first attacked on sight if you entered their territory; the second only fought back if attacked first, mostly found in beginner villages; and the third, the rarest, were non-threatening, low-level creatures intended as decorations or for life-skill players to keep as pets.

Judging by all the question marks in its data, this creature was probably one of those harmless types, simply undiscovered and unrecorded.

After glancing up at me, the little creature resumed its feast, completely unconcerned by its surroundings. This only confirmed my suspicions. I gave it a gentle push and it rolled on the spot, grumbling softly, then crawled back over and licked the last scraps of meat clean.

Thanks to its interference, my food was entirely gone. I sighed as the antelope’s body vanished from the world, refreshed by the system, and sat down to make do with a little water.

I had barely taken two sips when the freeloading “Three-Strike Cannon” still hadn’t left. It looked up at me with big, watery eyes and its tongue lolling out, radiating an air of “I’m thirsty, I want water.”

“You win!” I laughed, pouring water from my bottle onto the ground. The little guy lapped it up in a few quick swipes, let out a satisfied burp, wagged its tail at me, then darted into the grass and vanished from sight.

Parting the grass, I saw the hole it had left behind. I could only smile wryly—this little freeloader had eaten its fill and just run off, the very picture of a shameless scoundrel. With the sun setting, I had hoped to play with it a bit longer to kill time before logging off, but now I could only hope I’d see the “Three-Strike Cannon” again tomorrow.

The next day dawned bright and clear. Not a cloud in the sky—the blue overhead was as pure and transparent as a gem washed in mountain spring water, dazzlingly beautiful. By the oasis lake, I patiently waited for the sandworm to appear—and for the return of the “Three-Strike Cannon.”

The scorching sun made the desert feel like a blazing furnace. Sweat poured from me in rivers, soaking me through. After waiting for an hour, the once-calm sands suddenly began to tremble and quake. Was the “Three-Strike Cannon” coming? That thought was quickly dashed as the sands burst apart, golden dust flying everywhere, and a massive, white, cylindrical form shot into the air!

The monster that burst forth resembled a giant water pipe, its body banded with brown rings. Its front end was a circular mouth filled with rows of teeth—utterly hideous to behold.

Sandworm, Level 30. Normal Beast.

As soon as the sandworm erupted from underground, the black-furred hound immediately launched a shadow orb, striking the sandworm’s half-closed eye on the left of its gaping maw, exploding in a burst of blood.

A damage number of -1555 flashed into view. That four-digit hit suggested the sandworm’s defense was pitifully low. The hound unleashed five more shadow orbs, each inflicting several hundred points of damage. The gravely wounded sandworm writhed in agony on the ground, its foul, black blood gushing like a burst pipe, painting a ghastly scene.

I rushed in, activating my combustion ability and setting the sandworm shrieking with pain as damage numbers cascaded. Suddenly, it retracted its thick body and vanished into its burrow in less than two seconds.

Then, the ground beneath my feet split open. I leapt back just in time as the sandworm burst out from below, its massive upper body slamming to the ground with brutal force. The hound attacked its mangled eye with shadow claws, opening another wound, and I followed up with an energy blast and a crushing strike. Under our combined assault, the sandworm finally perished, its black blood seeping into the lake and staining the water.

I gained 532 experience points and, digging into the sandworm’s body, retrieved a crystal core—the quest item I needed. Just as I was celebrating, the ground collapsed beneath me and I fell into darkness.

I don’t know how long I was out. When I came to, it was pitch black—I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face—and a nameless, overwhelming sense of danger crept over me.

From the cave walls came a rustling sound, and a cascade of sand and stones fell. I hurled myself forward, rolling away with all my strength.

With a thunderous crash, the cavern shook as if the whole place might collapse. When I looked back, I was stunned: a swarm of sandworms was crawling from the rock walls. Instinctively, I backed away as the black-furred hound barked furiously. Faced with such numbers, I felt a twinge of fear—I wasn’t a mage and had no area-of-effect skills. The space was cramped; so many sandworms pouring out, there’d be no room to maneuver. I slammed my fists together, activating the Skyforged Armor’s special skill, the Rift Wheel Slash. A giant, spinning wheel appeared before me, whirled for a second, and then rolled out into the horde.

It tore through the sandworms, slicing their hides with ease. Damage numbers flashed everywhere as the sandworms shrieked in agony. In a few seconds, the wheel faded, leaving piles of corpses in its wake. My experience bar climbed to 94%—almost a level up. Some sandworms still writhed, so I finished them off and happily collected their crystal cores. Disappointingly, they didn’t drop anything else, but with 57 sandworm cores, I had more than enough to complete my quest, with extras left over to sell.

I pulled out a teleport scroll and prepared to return to town to hand in the quest.