CHAPTER 39: UNDER THE DUNES

The sky above the Ash-dune sea was a canvas of bruised, sickly purple, an oppressive ceiling for a world that seemed to be slowly dying. High above, the razor-thin crescent moon hung like a malevolent scythe blade.

The air itself was a torment, a thick, stinging sheet of coarse, grey-brown sand ripped across the dunes by a relentless, shrieking wind.

Grey walked with a weary, practiced gait. His face perpetually squinted against the perpetual storm.

After the midterms ended, the one-week vacation had started. Killing a shadowheart class eclipse beast and defeating Carson with a single move, had turned him into a celebrity in the academy.

The training room was flooded with new students, not only from the C class, but also from the B class, wishing to train with him and grow strong. But a few were also there for admiring and trying their chances with the beauties, Elena and Lenore.

Suffocated from all that attention, Grey asked permission from Thorgar, to travel back to his orphanage for a few days. His reason worked well and now he was in the sandy deserts of the cracked lands, wiping out one dungeon after another.

In the last four days, he had cleared more than thirty dungeons, gathering almost all the pieces of the map of lost tomb, with only a single piece left.

Suddenly, the lose sand beneath his feet started sliding down the dune. His feet felt a slight hum of vibration.

A jolt of pure, unmistakable premonition shot through him. He stopped dead in his tracks, his muscles locking tight, and threw himself sideways just as the desert floor bucked and roared.

The ground where he’d been standing exploded outward in a geyser of hot sand and pulverized rock, followed by a sound that was less noise and more a physical crushing of the air.

Rising from the chasm was a sandworm, a behemoth that that briefly further eclipsed the crescent sun.

Its segmented, armor-plated body was the color of old rust, easily thirty feet high and twice as long. Its mouth was a black void dripping with caustic slime, a terror of spiraling, needle-sharp teeth that tracked him with blind, hungry focus.

[----]

RACE: Eclipse Dwellers

LEVEL: 30

CLASS: Scourge

STAMINA: 28

STRENGTH: 34

INTELLIGENCE: 9

AGILITY: 23

SKILLS: Body slam (C+), steel teeth (C)

Grey stood calm. He had fought this beast in the game. Though they had massive size, they had low intelligence and not many skills in their arsenal. They mostly depended on the element of surprise, devouring their target whole.

Red aura emerged from Grey, covering his fists and legs. The worm struck, an avalanche of flesh and teeth. Grey didn’t try to outrun it. He leaped upwards towards the colossal head, dodging the main maw by a breath, and slammed his fist into one of the massive tooth plates.

CRACK!

The impact sounded like a bell struck by a hammer. Grey was flung back, skidding through the sand. The worm barely flinched, but a hairline fracture snaked across the scale.

"It’s tough! Guess my basic attack can do only this much to the massive and tough ones." Grey smirked as he thought.

Grey then rushed ahead, kicking up sand along his trail. He leaped again, using the armor plates as precarious footholds, he sprinted up the shifting slope of the worm’s body.

"One punch kill."

BOOM!

The worm’s roar was cut short. A wet gurgling shriek of agony that echoed across the desolate plain.

Blood spurted out like a fountain. A circular wave of force from Grey’s skill had blasted the worms neck region, just below the head into smithereens.

Its massive body went rigid. Grey leaped clear just as the worm’s head and body crashed back into the desert, kicking up a final, monumental cloud of sand that blotted out the crescent moon entirely.

[Scourge class eclipse beast killed= +8753]

The worm’s body turned into dust leaving the beast core, a small, round azure pill and a torn piece of parchment.

Grey moved forward. He picked up the loot and checked the pill and the parchment.

[Underwater breathing pill (Rare)

It is a single use item. Ingesting this pill will allow you to breath underwater for 12 hours.]

[Map of the lost tomb (fragment)

A part of the map that will lead to the tomb of Pharomin, the tyrant of the ancient times. The tomb holds unimaginable riches and weapons. Lying in wait of the destined one to claim.]

DING!

[You have collected all the fragments of the map of lost tomb]

[Combining the fragments]

The rest of the pieces appeared out from his inventory and started sticking together. An intense glow radiated as the pieces combined together.

After the light died down, a golden key appeared floating just where the maps combined together. Just as Grey held the key, the system notification popped up.

[Key of Pharomin’s Tomb

The key to the tomb of the last tyrant of the cracked lands, Pharomin. Use this key to enter his tomb and obtain the riches lying in wait.]

[The map to the Pharomin’s tomb has been updated in the system]

[Use the system map to move to the location]

"I’ve been roaming around for days, trying to find this fucking map. Hope there is something good in there, or else I’ll demolish that tomb even if I have to use the last drop of my aura."

The small circular form of system map appeared, with his location blinking with a blue dot and the red line showing the route to the tomb.

"Let’s move."

****

The howling wind was a persistent torment. Grey had to cover his eyes from the flying sand pricking hi skin with every strike.

He walked for what felt like hours, guided by the map and his determination of reaching the tomb. Then, he saw something at the distance, outside the sand storm, devoid of a single blow of wind.

Nestled between two towering, rust-colored dunes was a sudden, miraculous patch of life; an oasis.

It wasn’t lush, but compared to the sterile grey desert, it was sanctuary. Date palms, huddled around a body of water, a deep obsidian lake. Its surface was eerily still, undisturbed by the chaotic air above.

Grey looked at the map once again, his face twisted with confusion. According to the map, this oasis was the very location of the tomb. But no matter how much his eyes scanned, there was no structure present that he could pass as a tomb.

Then, a wave of surprise passed through Grey’s face. His eyes moved towards the lake.

"Don’t tell me it’s fucking below the lake!"