I didn’t know how long I ran.
Ti blurred into a single, frantic stretch of breathless movent—my legs burning, my lungs screaming, my thoughts reduced to one simple command: run. I didn’t dare look back. I could feel it behind anyway, the tremors in the ground pulsing like an earthquake.
Escape first. Think later. Find a weapon—any weapon.
My stamina was dangerously low by the ti the terrain shifted. The open field gave way to crude wooden structures ahead, barely standing huts patched together with mud, bone, and scraps of tal.
A goblin village.
The goblins noticed imdiately.
Shrill shouts rang out as several of them raised their spears at . Normally, I might have slowed down, assessed the threat but desperation stripped away my .
"I don’t have ti for this," I muttered.
One of the goblins lunged.
I kicked him square in the chest, sending his small body flying backward into the dirt. His spear slipped from his hands, and I caught it midair without breaking stride. I didn’t even look at the others as I bolted past them and ducked behind a collapsed hut.
A split second later, the ground shook again.
The monster burst fully into the village, its massive body tearing through huts as if they were made of paper.
On the good side, that monster found its new prey and on the bad side. I still need to find a weapon.
I pressed my back against the hut wall, heart hamring as I peeked through a crack. Goblins sward the monster, stabbing uselessly with their spears, shrieking in panic and fury. The monster barely seed to notice them, crushing so beneath its body while devouring others whole.
"I don’t even have the system to identify what that thing is!" I hissed.
As if mocking for thinking that, a familiar red glow flared in front of my eyes. A sharp, intrusive screen snapped into existence, hovering in midair.
[If you want to know information about monsters here, activate Monster Encyclopedia]
I stared at it.
Then I exploded.
"WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT WHEN I WAS RUNNING FOR MY LIFE?!" I shouted under my breath, ducking as the monster crushed another hut nearby.
[You were busy running]
"...You’ve got to be kidding ."
I exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of my nose as the ground trembled again. The monster thrashed violently as goblins sward it, their spears snapping uselessly against its armored hide.
"Fine," I muttered. "Of course you’d only speak up now."
I opened the Monster Encyclopedia and focused my gaze on the creature. The red screen shifted, lines of text assembling themselves with chanical indifference.
————————————
Duneworm
Level: Elite Grade 1
Description: subterranean monster adapted to life beneath the shifting sands of deserts. Its sleek, segnted body is covered in a tough, sand-colored exoskeleton that provides excellent camouflage against the desert terrain....
Weak spot: ???
————————————
I blinked. "...That’s it?"
The monster in question let out a thunderous screech, its jaws snapping shut around three goblins at once. Blood splattered across the dirt as their screams were abruptly cut off.
"That thing is tearing through an entire village," I whispered sharply. "And that’s all you’re going to tell ?"
[More information will be unlocked after defeating the monster]
I felt a vein throb in my temple. "So you’re telling ," I said slowly, "that I have to kill it first before you bother giving useful information?"
Silence.
I clicked my tongue. "You’re just as useless as that other system," I muttered under my breath.
The red screen flickered again, almost offended.
[Oh, right. Before you continue sulking—This stage is ti-limited, so chop chop or you’re head will be chopped off]
"..." I was speechless.
The attitude. The timing. The absolute lack of concern for my survival.
I let out a hollow laugh. "Unbelievable," I murmured. "Is this still the sa system? You sound exactly like it."
[Before I forget, you also have an inventory, it is an extradinsional space only available inside the portal]
I shook my head and started slipping myself into the nearest hut. The inside was cramped and foul-slling—rotting food, animal hides, crude tools scattered everywhere. I tore through baskets and crates, searching desperately.
Nothing.
Another hut. Sa result.
Spears. Spears everywhere.
No swords. No daggers. No bows.
I clicked my tongue in irritation and ran a hand through my hair. "Guess this’ll have to do."
I snapped one spear in half, then another. The wooden shafts cracked loudly, but the battle outside covered the sound.
Improvised daggers.
I broke more spears until I had ten pieces that felt right—balanced enough, light enough to throw or stab. Not ideal, but better than bare hands then I looked outside again.
The Duneworm roared again, its massive body rearing up as goblins scattered in terror.
Ti-limited or not, encyclopedia or not—complaining wasn’t going to save .
I tightened my grip on the makeshift daggers, the rough wooden shafts biting into my palms as the illusion of the Jester’s Mask settled fully over .
Perfect.
The Duneworm was still focused on the goblins.
Its massive body coiled and uncoiled through the village, crushing huts beneath its weight as it snapped at the shrieking creatures swarming it from all sides. Spears bounced uselessly off its armored hide. Blood stained the dirt. Screams echoed, sharp and panicked.
Now or never.
I dashed forward, keeping low, feet barely touching the ground as I activated Serenade of Daggers.
A familiar hum rippled through the air.
Daggers materialized around as I counted them.
"...Still the sa number?"
They didn’t multiply. Not even one extra.
I clicked my tongue in irritation. Of course. Reduced stats. Reduced skill output. The Vision really wasn’t pulling any punches.
"So stingy," I muttered.
No point sulking. I reached out and grabbed two of the hovering daggers, one in each hand. The remaining daggers continued to circle lazily behind my shoulders, waiting for my command.
The Duneworm reared up, finally noticing .
Its enormous shadow fell over the battlefield as its many eyes locked onto my distorted figure. For a mont, it hesitated, confused by the illusion of the Jester’s Mask. Its head tilted slightly, as if trying to decide whether I was prey, threat, or sothing else entirely.
I didn’t give it ti to decide as I sprinted forward.
The ground shook with every movent of its massive body, but my steps were erratic and unpredictable, my path zigzagging unnaturally thanks to the mask’s influence. The Duneworm lunged, jaws snapping shut where I should have been.
I slid beneath its strike, boots skidding through blood-soaked dirt as I slashed upward with both daggers, driving them into the softer flesh between its armored segnts. The blades sank in deep. The Duneworm shrieked—a deafening, ear-splitting sound that rattled my bones.
I ripped the daggers free and leapt back as its massive body thrashed violently, crushing goblins indiscriminately in its rage.
I rolled to the side as its tail slamd down where I’d been standing monts earlier, sending debris flying. My breathing was already heavy, my stamina draining faster than I liked.
[Ti Remaining: 00:28:21]
I groaned when the tir burned itself into my vision.
"Tch... not even half an hour."
I forced my breathing to steady as I watched the Duneworm coil through the wreckage of the village.
Think.
Vermiform monsters always followed the sa rule.
"Underbelly," I muttered. "It’s always the underbelly."
That was where the armor thinned.
The problem?
The Duneworm knew that too.
Every ti it moved, it hugged the ground, pressing its softer underside flush against the dirt or curling its body inward like a shield. Whenever it reared up, it twisted mid-motion, making sure only its armored sides faced outward.
Smart bastard.
I clicked my tongue and sprinted forward again, Jester’s Mask warping my movents into sothing erratic and unnatural. The Duneworm snapped at , jaws slamming shut on an illusionary afterimage instead of my real body.
I ducked, rolled, and slashed upward—
Clang!
My dagger skidded off hardened plating, sparks flying.
"Dammit!"
The Duneworm shrieked and retaliated instantly. Its tail ca down like a falling tower.
I barely dove out of the way in ti.
BOOM!
The impact cratered the ground where I’d been standing, dirt and broken wood blasting into the air. My ears rang as I scrambled to my feet, lungs burning.
[Ti Remaining: 00:18:47]
Too slow.
I changed tactics.
Instead of attacking the head or sides, I started baiting it.
I hurled one of my daggers straight at its eye. The blade didn’t pierce—but it did enrage it. The Duneworm reared up instinctively, its massive body lifting high off the ground as it let out a furious roar.
For just a mont—
There.
The pale, pulsing flesh of its underbelly was exposed.
I dashed forward, boots pounding the dirt as I hurled myself beneath its towering body. I drove both daggers upward with everything I had.
SPLRTCH!
The blades sank deep.
Hot, foul-slling blood poured down over as the Duneworm scread, its entire body convulsing violently. I was thrown backward as it slamd into the ground, the impact knocking the air from my lungs.
I rolled, gasping, barely avoiding its thrashing bulk. "Yes—!" I coughed. "That’s it!"
The Duneworm didn’t make the sa mistake twice.
The next ti it attacked, it kept its body low, slithering instead of rearing. It smashed through debris, forcing to dodge constantly while goblins were crushed indiscriminately beneath its movents.
[Ti Remaining: 00:11:03]
My stamina was plumting.
I activated Serenade of Daggers again, sending the remaining blades whirling forward in rapid strikes—not to kill, but to force movent. Each hit made it flinch, shift, adjust.
I was herding it.
I led it toward a partially collapsed watchtower at the edge of the village. As the Duneworm lunged, I vaulted sideways at the last second.
Its body slamd into the structure.
CRASH!
The tower collapsed, massive wooden beams pinning part of its body to the ground. The Duneworm screeched in pain, thrashing wildly—
And this ti, it couldn’t hide its underbelly.
I ran, jumped, and climbed onto its body, stabbing my daggers into the exposed flesh to anchor myself as it bucked and writhed beneath . My arms scread in pain, but I held on, crawling toward the softest, most vulnerable section.
"Stay still!" I roared.
I plunged both daggers in again and again, carving deep, brutal wounds. Blood sprayed everywhere, soaking my clothes, my hands, my face. The Duneworm’s screams weakened, turning hoarse and broken.
The massive body went limp beneath , one final shudder rippling through its length before it collapsed completely.
[Ti Remaining: 00:02:58]
I slid off the corpse and collapsed to one knee, chest heaving as I sucked in ragged breaths. My hands trembled, slick with blood, my entire body screaming from exhaustion.
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