The moment the first two got under the shade, the sand started to swirl, then they sank, disappearing into the sand. No one dared to step in front again. The attack had happened too fast for any of them to react.

Everyone was scared, who wouldn't be when there was clearly something in the sand.

Everyone turned and looked at Alaric, clearly looking for guidance from him. Alaric looked at the hopeful eyes and sighed; what was he supposed to do when he himself was clueless?

"Do you have an idea?" He turned to Kisha.

She shook her head and said, "I've always gone to dungeons with my cousin but I rarely fight."

"Why?"

"Well, she says I'm too messy."

Alaric found that hard to believe, but he didn't know her well enough to assume the best of her despite having a pleasant experience with her. People act differently in different contexts, he thought to himself.

"Can you all help me brainstorm or we are all going to die here," he said to the shaken crowd.

Alaric started to look around for something solid and found a stone, probably part of the ruins.

He threw the stone hard into the shade. As expected, the moment it landed the sand swirled and it disappeared.

"Vibrations," someone in the crowd said. Alaric nodded, his assumption had been right.

"We need a way to fish it out," he said, addressing the crowd in hopes that one would respond. No one did.

"Any earth power user?" he asked again. Someone at the back of the crowd raised their hand.

"I'm one, but I've already tried using my powers and they don't seem to work here since my level is too low and the sand particles are too scattered for me to use them," he answered.

Alaric just sighed and nodded; just how unlucky was he? He had to think of another plan or they might just die of dehydration and fatigue. The sun was becoming hotter the more they stood under it.

"I can help with that," Kisha chimed in, "I can create a huge explosion."

"How?" Alaric asked, doubtful. He didn't know how her power could be used in this kind of situation since it was non-combat.

She smiled at him, pulled her hand out of his, and brought it to her chest. Alaric's eyes almost popped out in surprise.

She pulled out a grenade launcher from between her cleavage and held it in her hand. It was black with blue lines curved where the ammo was and fit perfectly in her hands.

Alaric had never seen any weapon like that, it did look like a rocket launcher but smaller, clearly designed to fit her.

"Just how... this is amazing... and sexy," Alaric stammered, trying to get over his shock.

She really does surprise him every time he lets his guard down.

"What the fuck!" someone shouted from the crowd. And everyone in the crowd agreed, what the fuck indeed.

Kisha was used to the gazes every time she took her weapon out, but she didn't care. She turned to Alaric, eyebrow raised, waiting for his instructions.

"Ooh right," Alaric picked up a stone and turned to her, "the moment it starts to swirl, shoot."

She nodded and positioned her body and launcher on her shoulder. The others moved away to give them a more vantage point for shooting.

Alaric threw the stone, and the moment it landed, the sand moved and it started disappeared.

"Now," Alaric shouted the moment the stone started to disappear.

She didn't wait for an instruction. She fired directly into the swirling sand, the grenade blasting the sand and buildings away.

Some one put on a shield after she fired, preventing the debris from hitting any of them.

Kisha didn't even suffer from any backlash or stumble despite the huge blast it produced.

"Mana reinforced," she said to Alaric as though she knew what he was thinking about, "I told you it's destructive."

Alaric nodded with a smile, patting her back.

A moment of silence ensued as they all held their breath, looking at the blasted hole. Then a shrieking sound filled the place suddenly.

Everyone hurriedly covered their ears, with the slow ones having their ears bleeding.

A huge worm burst out of the hole, rushing towards them fast. Its mouth was wide open as it shrieked; the millions of serrated teeth lined inside its mouth just made it even more horrifying.

Alaric rolled to the side as it passed by them, swallowing one of the guild members with them. He was swallowed whole before he could even react.

The worm then dived into the sand, disappearing. Everyone knew it was under them but no one knew when it would appear.

"It's a sand worm," someone whispered.

Alaric felt the ground below him start to vibrate. He pushed Kisha to the side and jumped back in the nick of time. The worm burst out of the sand at the very place he had been standing.

He flicked his whip, hitting it on its body, but the whip slipped on its skin as though something slippery had been coated on its body.

Alaric tried again, but the worm didn't react from the hits.

The other guild members also started to rain their powers on it as it continued to move in and out of the sand. The attacks managed to injure it but barely did any lasting damage.

Alaric observed its movements and noticed a pattern and it also seemed to be the only worm near them or they would have been attacked a long time ago.

This information gave him a huge sigh of relief. He could fight freely without worrying about being sneak-attacked by another monster.

Alaric waited until the worm was heading his way before flicking his whip, sending a red arc towards the worm, slicing a part of its mouth.

Blue blood splattered everywhere as the worm screamed even louder and locked onto him.

He pressed the second button on the whip and the small nail-like razors appeared on the whip. He flicked his wrist and the whip flew into the worm's mouth.

The nails hooked into its mouth and teeth and started digging into its flesh with every struggle. The worm tried to dive back into the sand, but Alaric wouldn't let his prey escape.

He pulled the worm just as it tried to dive back into the sand. The hook in its mouth made it easier for him to have a hold on the worm.

The sand worm slid toward him, its slippery skin assisting him.

"It's burning!" someone shouted.

Alaric finally confirmed his guess. The worm couldn't stay above ground for long before its skin started to get sunburnt. That was why it stayed under the shade, and also why it would dive underground after just a small appearance on the surface.

Alaric pulled the whip toward him with everything he had, but as the worm moved toward him, it got stuck between the ruins.

Alaric looked at the wriggling sand worm with smoke coming off its body and sighed. He positioned himself again and pulled, hoping to get it unstuck.

The whip didn't move it instead, it sliced through the worm's mouth, splitting its lower jaw into two. The whip snapped back to him with all the flesh and blood stuck on it.

With the whip free, he ran toward the struggling worm as it tried to dive back into the sand. He flicked his whip and brought it down as hard as he could.

The whip didn't slide, this time it passed through the flesh like butter, cutting the half-escaped monster in half.

Alaric looked at his kill and smiled happily. This time, fighting didn't last long unlike with the croczilla. He had started to adapt to fighting and killing faster.

He could now think ahead while fighting and not make stupid, impulsive moves.

He turned to look at the guild members, seeing them downcast, and wondered what he had done wrong. Then it came to him, he had basically overtaken their test. He didn't feel bad about it since he was learning, but he didn't want their guild turning on him.

"How about you guys fight the boss," he said with a smile as he walked toward Kisha.

"No… it…" the voice came to a stop. They did need to kill the boss or none of them might get promoted.

Alaric glanced at Jenna, who was still standing there, her arms crossed, listening to them negotiate.

"Let's find the boss before the dungeon becomes too hot," Alaric said, gesturing for them to lead the way.

They walked into the ruins cautiously, looking around, but nothing appeared. They seemed to be the only ones in the ruins.

"Where do you think it might be?" Kisha whispered to him, looking around.

Alaric shook his head. He couldn't locate any movement except for the small wind blowing around.

Then a sound came inaudible unless you listen carefully. He froze trying to affirm if it was real or an illusion.

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