front of Alvaric began to tremble. He leapt onto a large rock behind him. From above, he saw a cloud of dust rising into the air, moving steadily. The ground pulsed like a heartbeat. Just by looking at it, Alvaric already knew—it was the Giant Sandworm.
THWOOOM!!
The sand ahead erupted upward. The massive monster emerged. Its sheer size made Alvaric's hands tremble. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Its body was like a colossal desert serpent, its skin rough and hard like steel, its gaping mouth filled with rotating, jagged teeth like saw blades.
Alvaric had known this battle would come sooner or later. However, he had hoped to avoid it for as long as possible. Unfortunately, the system didn't allow that. He was forced to fight a monster that was nearly as big as a mountain.
"How the hell am I supposed to beat this thing?" Alvaric muttered.
No matter how much he thought, he came up with nothing. It felt impossible to defeat the Giant Sandworm. He had a plan, but he only believed there was a 10% chance of victory. A fairly large number, he told himself.
[Giant Sandworm (Lv. 82)]
[Status: Active, Aggressive]
"Huh? How did it level up that fast?" Alvaric swallowed hard. His legs went weak, and he collapsed. Shaking his head over and over. "Even a level 40 Giant Sandworm is a nightmare. Now it's at level 82."
Alvaric felt his chances of winning drop from 10% to 2%. Or maybe even less—just 1%. He had no confidence in himself. It felt like no matter what he did, he would end up losing.
"Damn it. I'm being too pessimistic." Alvaric stood up, now facing the Giant Sandworm head-on. As if they were locking eyes. "I still have one secret card."
Moments later, the creature lunged toward Alvaric. His reaction was quick—he dodged to the side. Jumped with all his strength. Then threw his Chain Dagger. But the weapon bounced off. The Giant Sandworm's skin was too tough.
The colossal monster moved again, diving back into the sand. Alvaric climbed onto another rock. His eyes kept scanning, watching the sand from every direction. If he lost focus for even a second, he'd become the monster's next meal.
"Where is it?"
Alvaric turned to the left. He spotted movement there. He was ready, gripping his two weapons tightly. He had to find a way to injure the Giant Sandworm first. Its skin was too hard—if he couldn't find a way to pierce it, his chances of winning would drop to 0%.
"Come at me, big guy!" Alvaric shouted.
The Giant Sandworm burst out from the sand and lunged at him. This time, he didn't immediately dodge. He waited a few seconds. When only 200 meters remained between them, Alvaric released the chain binding from the Ant Bee's hide. He was going to attack.
He took a deep breath. He nodded once and launched his assault. This time, he aimed for the Giant Sandworm's mouth.
Trriing!
His Chain Dagger bounced off when it struck the monster's teeth. Alvaric jumped with all his might to avoid the Giant Sandworm's attack.
"Aaaarrrghh!" Alvaric screamed.
Blood gushed from his hand. He lost an arm after being struck by the massive monster. Pain shot through his entire body. His leg was broken, yet he managed to stand.
[HP: 1,329/5,560+450]
Just one hit had drained that much HP. Alvaric could only swallow hard. It made no sense. He had +150 defense, but it meant nothing. The Giant Sandworm's attack was too powerful. Far more terrifying than the Prince of Ant Bee. In comparison, that prince felt like a mere minion.
"And the system wants me to defeat a monster this insane?" Alvaric shook his head in disbelief. This felt like suicide. "It's like they're telling me to kill myself."
The Giant Sandworm moved again. It launched another attack. Its massive size made it incredibly difficult for Alvaric to dodge. He had to use up a lot of stamina just to evade. And that was without even attacking.
This time, Alvaric focused on dodging while healing. He only needed 77 seconds to recover. Fortunately, the Giant Sandworm didn't have poison. Alvaric's recovery ability was indeed incredible, but if he got hit again before his HP was full, he'd be dead.
"AAARRRGH!" Alvaric screamed in pain once more.
This time, his left arm and left leg were severed. Alvaric collapsed, struggling to get up. He had just tried a desperate attack with the Vappers Dagger to wound the Giant Sandworm. But it failed. His strike had been repelled by the monster's rotating teeth.
[300/5,560+450]
One more hit, and Alvaric would die. His body was slowly regenerating, but before the process could finish, the Giant Sandworm reappeared. It was ready for another strike. Alvaric couldn't even stand yet. His left leg was only half-healed.
"Well... this is the end."
BOOOM!
The Giant Sandworm crashed into Alvaric's body.
---
Back on Earth, the monster attacks from the opened dungeons continued. The heroes, known as the Awakened, kept fighting them off. It wasn't just a noble task done without reward or purely for the sake of humanity's safety. It was a job.
When they entered the dungeons, they killed monsters, harvested their corpses, and gathered any resources they could from within the portals.
"Today we're entering an A-rank portal. You coming, Marie?" Kael asked.
Marie was lost in thought. She was an S-rank Awakened and part of one of the largest associations in Vespera. Its members were powerful individuals with A and S ranks. There weren't many of them, but they were all strong.
Marie was one of the five strongest Awakened in the group. She held the position of secretary in the association. Right now, she was daydreaming, thinking about her childhood friend who had been summoned to another world to be forged into an Awakened.
"I wonder if he's doing okay…" Marie thought to herself.
Kael sighed at Marie's distracted look. He clapped her shoulder hard enough to jolt her out of it.
"Oi, Marie! You coming or not? If not, I'll report to the leader that you're not joining," Kael said again.
Marie snapped out of her thoughts, rubbed her face briefly, then gave Kael a faint smile. "I'm coming."
Kael nodded and walked out of the room. Just as he was about to close the door, he paused.
"Don't zone out too much. An A-rank dungeon isn't something to take lightly. I don't want to carry dead weight in there. All our lives are on the line," Kael warned.
"I get it. I'm not that stupid."
Kael raised his hand. "Good."
Marie stood and walked toward the window. She gazed at the city below. She found herself daydreaming again. Her heart was beating 1.5 times faster. She wasn't sure why she felt so anxious lately. But her mind kept drifting to Alvaric, her childhood friend.
"I hope you're okay…" Marie thought once more.