Inside the dungeon stretched a vast desert whose end was nowhere in sight. Every team that had entered the dungeon had spawned in a different location.
After spawning, Aster and his team looked around, trying to figure out which direction to head. Suddenly, the sand beneath their feet began to tremble. It started with a faint vibration before rapidly growing into a violent quake.
"Whoa! Is that an earthquake?" Alas asked in confusion.
Yor frowned for a moment. "An earthquake... inside a dungeon?" A second later, her expression changed. "It’s not an earthquake! Be careful!"
The instant she finished speaking, a gigantic worm-like creature burst out of the ground directly beneath where they had been standing. Its enormous mouth was filled with countless rows of razor-sharp teeth. Fortunately, everyone reacted in time, dodging in different directions.
Aster looked at it and system window popped up
System: Lazy Inspection
Name: Giant Demon Sandworm
Level: 35
The sandworm roared before diving back underground.
"Stay alert! It’ll attack again!" Aster warned.
"Yeah, I know! You don’t have to tell me!" Adrian shouted back.
The ground trembled once more. The Giant Demon Sandworm suddenly erupted from the sand behind Alas. He barely dodged in time as Aster instantly manifested dozens of Slashes.
The attacks bombarded the sandworm’s body, but its hide was unbelievably tough. Not a single Slash managed to leave a scratch.
"Damn it! Normal Slashes don’t work... and it’s too far away for Solar Slash."
Yor narrowed her eyes "This worm is smarter than it looks. It attacks, then immediately burrows underground before anyone can counterattack."
Adrian turned toward her "Yor, can’t you summon your Treants?"
She shook her head "No. I need nature energy to summon them, but this desert barely has any."
The ground shook again. This time, the sandworm lunged straight at Aster.
"Grapple." Aster instantly pulled himself to the side, narrowly avoiding its jaws.
"Solar Slash!"
A blazing slash materialized and crashed into the sandworm’s body. Flames scorched its thick hide, leaving behind several tiny wounds before the monster once again disappeared beneath the sand.
"Damn this worm! Is there any way to stop it from going underground?" Adrian said in frustration.
Aster stared at the trembling desert. Hmm... I think I have an idea.
He patiently waited. The moment the sandworm burst out of the ground again, "Palm Strike." A giant golden palm exploded beneath the monster, launching its enormous body high into the sky.
Far away, other teams looked up in shock.
"What the hell is that?"
"Isn’t that a giant worm? Why is it flying?"
"Did that thing evolve or something?"
"Whatever it is, let’s stay far away from it."
Back on Aster’s side, the sandworm was still airborne. Just as it started falling, "Palm Strike."
Another golden palm blasted it even higher. With every Palm Strike, Aster followed up with another Solar Slash. Tiny burns gradually accumulated across the monster’s thick body.
"Hahaha! Nice! You actually pulled it out of the ground!" Adrian grinned.
"Tempest Step!" Stepping on the golden Palm Strikes as footholds, Adrian shot into the sky.
"Lightning Draw!" "Moon Cutting Slash" A flash of blue light cut across the air.
The Giant Demon Sandworm split cleanly into two pieces before crashing lifelessly onto the desert below. Alas stared with wide eyes.
"What the hell...? How did you cut through that thick hide so easily?"
With a proud smile, Adrian raised his sword. Its blade glowed with a brilliant blue edge while dense mana rippled around it, distorting the surrounding air. "Take a look at this beauty."
Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward the weapon. Aster activated his skill.
System: Lazy Inspection
Weapon: Moon Blade
Rank: S
Effects: +30 Attack, +30 Speed
Skill: Moon-Splitting Slash
"This is one of the treasures of the Thorn Family," Adrian said proudly. "My father gave it to me. Isn’t it awesome? It can cut through almost anything."
"Wow... it’s so sharp that it’s giving me chills," Yor muttered.
So that’s an S-Rank weapon...
Alas clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed by Adrian’s bragging. He looked away and suddenly pointed into the distance. "Hey, look over there!"
Everyone followed his gaze.
"Is that... water?" Yor asked in confusion "In the middle of a desert?"
"It could be a mirage," Adrian replied. "Those are common in desert-type dungeons."
Aster shrugged "We don’t know where to go anyway. Let’s head over there."
Everyone agreed.
Without another word, they all climbed onto Aster’s back. Aster stood there silently for a few seconds before speaking. "...Why are all of you climbing onto me?"
Yor looked at him as if the answer were obvious "What else? Use that weird movement skill of yours and carry us."
Aster’s eyes watered "I’ve officially been reduced to a transportation system..."
"Grapple."
The group shot across the desert at incredible speed. As they got closer, the distant image became clearer. When they finally arrived, everyone was stunned. It wasn’t a mirage but a crystal-clear pond lay in the middle of the endless desert, surrounded by several lush green trees.
"There’s actually an oasis here..." Alas said in disbelief.
Yor’s eyes brightened "The nature energy here is much richer than everywhere else."
Aster’s attention, however, was fixed on the trees. Hanging from the branches were dozens of blue fruits.
System: Lazy Inspection
Name: Mana Fruit
Effect: Permanently increases Mana by 0.5 when consumed.
"It can increase Mana? For real?" Without wasting another second, Aster used Grapple to pull himself toward one of the trees. He plucked a fruit from a branch.
Crunch.
The moment he took a bite,
System: Congratulations! You have consumed a Mana Fruit.
Mana +0.5
Aster’s eyes widened. He quickly looked around and realized every tree surrounding the pond was covered with Mana Fruits.
"Hey! Everyone, come over here!"
"What is it?" Adrian asked.
"Take a look at this fruit."
Yor examined it for a moment before shaking her head "It doesn’t look special. Don’t eat random fruits. They could be poisonous."
"It’s not poisonous. Trust me." Aster took another bite. "See? I’m eating it right now. Just try one."
Yor hesitated before picking one.
Crunch.
Her system window immediately appeared before her.
System: Congratulations! You have consumed a Mana Fruit.
Mana +0.5
Her eyes widened in disbelief "What?! My Mana actually increased by 0.5!"
Aster nodded "That’s because it’s called a Mana Fruit. Every fruit permanently increases your Mana by 0.5."
Both Alas and Adrian froze "...Seriously?"
The next second, all four of them rushed toward the trees and began harvesting every Mana Fruit they could find.
System:
Mana +0.5
Mana +0.5
Mana +0.5
Mana +0.5
...
While everyone was busy collecting fruits, Adrian suddenly noticed ripples spreading across the surface of the pond. His expression immediately turned serious.
"Hey, guys... I think there’s something in the water."
Everyone stopped what they were doing. After storing the Mana Fruits they had collected inside their storage rings, they cautiously turned toward the pond.
Suddenly, two strange eyes slowly emerged from beneath the water.
Then four.
Then ten.
Within seconds, hundreds of glowing eyes appeared beneath the surface.
"What... are those?" Yor whispered.
The creatures finally crawled out of the water.
"They’re... giant crabs?" Alas muttered.
The enormous crabs immediately charged toward them.
Yor stared at their massive steel-like claws "Those claws look terrifying... They could cut someone’s head clean off."
Aster activated Lazy Inspection.
System: Lazy Inspection
Name: Iron Crab
Level: 32
Weakness: Eyes and joints
Adrian immediately swung his Moon Blade. "Moon-Splitting Slash!" A brilliant blue slash crashed against an Iron Crab’s shell.
Clang!
The attack only left behind a shallow scratch "What?! Even my Moon Blade can’t cut through its shell?"
Aster immediately shouted, "Don’t attack the shell! Aim for their eyes and joints! Those are their weak points!"
Everyone instantly changed their strategy. Adrian pierced an Iron Crab’s eye before thrusting his sword into one of its joints. The crab exploded into pieces.
Alas stabbed another crab straight through its eye before activating Divine Smite. The holy energy erupted from inside its body, tearing it apart.
Meanwhile, Yor absorbed the rich nature energy surrounding the oasis and summoned several Treants. The Treants surrounded the Iron Crabs, pinning them down while crushing their exposed joints.
As for Aster... He continuously manifested Slashes, precisely targeting every exposed joint with astonishing accuracy. One Iron Crab after another collapsed. But the more they kill the more crabs come out of the pond.
"Pant... Pant... How can this little pond have so many crabs?" Yor said, panting with exhaustion.
System
Iron Crab defeated.
Iron Crab defeated.
Iron Crab defeated.
...
Level Up!
Level Up!
System: Congratulations! You have reached Level 20. Please complete your Class Advancement Mission to continue leveling up.