Chapter 43 - A Castle on Sand, a Throne in Flux, Part Seven
The number of tornadoes, which were clearly under the command of the [Scion of Dust], was literally countless. Their numbers weren't even constant; they rose up and dissipated repeatedly, seemingly without any pattern at all—or so it seemed.
But there was one spot, within a certain area, where the tornadoes were suspiciously concentrated. I only noticed it by pure chance; my gaze and thoughts just happened to align.
Besides the density, there was one other clear difference. Only the tornadoes in that area continued to move without dissipating. And at first glance, they seemed to be moving chaotically, but they were tracing a complex yet fixed pattern—I think.
Honestly, while I thought, "This has to be it," I had no proof. But I had no time to spare, either. There was no way I could calmly deliberate in the middle of this disaster. Are you kidding me?
Thanks to Sora, who gave it her all at the very end, my HP was somehow holding up. Clicking my tongue at the tornadoes that annoyingly blocked my path, I ran through the desert—or what used to be a desert before it lost its sand—at the very limit of my speed without crashing.
And what I found ahead was—
"Bingo!!"
In a corner of the battlefield where the unceasing tornadoes raged, at the center of the storm they formed as if to protect it—a massive door lay flat on the sandstone ground.
Lay flat was not an inaccurate description. The door—which looked more like a giant hexagonal manhole cover than a door—was set into the ground, not a wall.
I broke through the multiple layers of defense formed by the massive number of tornadoes, designed to be the final barrier, with a single word: "annoying," thanks to my excessive AGI.
Once I found it, reaching the goal was surprisingly easy. However, there was no handle to serve its purpose as a door—but I was so done with sand at this point. I couldn't even be bothered to panic.
I won't hold back, I won't hesitate—this conspicuously designed crack means one thing, right? Huh?
"…[Quick Change]."
Placing Sora's avatar behind me for protection, I raised my hands and summoned my beloved—no, my beloved blunt instrument, the [Distorted Iron Lump Hammer], which felt more like a trusty weapon than even the [White-Flawed Straight Sword].
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaah…"
Let me be clear, I'm exhausted. I'm way past my limit. What kind of fourth beginner area is this? A beginner would cry. Are you a raid boss? You've got too many mechanics. Is this some indie game where you can do whatever you want? And sand sucks. The gimmick design sucks too. All in all, I had fun, but that aside, it's all crap.
But most of all, the fact that you needlessly scared a sweet, hardworking girl and forced her to log out—
"I won't forgive you—I'm never coming back to an area like this again!!"
I slammed the great iron hammer down with all my frustration, and the door shattered with an anticlimactic explosion.
I had no HP to spare, and there was nothing left here to hold me back. I respectfully picked up the body of my partner, who should undoubtedly be praised as the MVP of this battle, and headed for the familiar light of the portal that had appeared beyond the shattered door.
And just as I was about to jump into the vortex of blue light without hesitation—that 'voice' reached me, carried on the dust, as if to stop me.
"—…"
"Huh…?"
It was like a song.
The sound of the wind, or perhaps a flute—it was hard to describe, but the singing voice had a strange magnetism, enough to stop me in my tracks even though I was rather ticked off.
What was that? Before the question could leave my lips, a premonition of the largest 'change' yet assaulted me.
We were already quite far away, and the massive form of the [Scion of Dust] was just a hazy shadow in the depths of the sandstorm. The moment I saw something flash at the top of its head, it happened.
A wave of some invisible force spread out in a circle, explosively. The wave, originating from the scion, passed through our bodies—and by then, I had already followed my instinct and built a 'wall.'
I crossed the [Giant's Hand Axe] and the [Distorted Iron Lump Hammer] and thrust them into the sandstone, then wedged the [White-Flawed Straight Sword] between them to create a makeshift frame. Then I pulled out the [Desert Serpent's Sand Armor Hide] from my inventory and used it as a cover to fill the gaps, creating a makeshift barrier in a split-second, purely instinctive action.
I didn't know if this would protect us. I didn't even know if a natural material item had object-like durability—but it was coming.
I held Sora's avatar close and pressed my back against the crude barrier as if to add my own body to it, and in that instant—a roaring wind of sand shot past.
I regret to say that this might have been the moment in this boss fight when I most thought, "I'm dead."
The shockwave ran like a ripple to the outer edge of the vast, circular battlefield in the center of the desert of flowing sand. The sandstorm, touched by it, dissipated all at once, and a massive torrent of sand rushed in, following the wave.
Honestly, I don't know if the barrier I threw up at the last second did any good. I thought it would be swallowed by the sand in an instant, its HP scattered as it exploded—but that's not what happened.
"…Nothing can surprise me anymore."
As if with a will of its own, the wall of flowing sand parted before the barrier, rushing past us by a hair's breadth. Seeing that, I finally gave up and said, "Whatever happens, happens," and slid down from the beloved sword I was leaning against.
I should have just ignored the pull of the 'song' and jumped into the portal. I said I was full, didn't I? What's going to happen this time…
If this leads to another grueling athletic challenge, I'm honestly tempted to just kill myself and go back to town. But the sleeping princess in my arms won't allow such an escape.
No, Sora wouldn't mind; she'd probably even be considerate. But this is a matter of my pride. When a guy tries to act cool in front of a girl, he can't back down.
I mocked myself for using Sora as a mental pick-me-up whenever I felt like breaking, and looked ahead—at the sand flowing into the outer perimeter of the battlefield.
In terms of time, it was about ten-odd seconds. The wall of flowing sand that surrounded us eventually broke, and a sand tsunami of unimaginable mass reached the outer edge of the battlefield.
For a moment, I thought it would just cascade into the desert outside the battlefield—
"Ah, right… I see."
Seeing the change that occurred there, I nodded in understanding, still lying down in a state of exhaustion.
The [Great Flowing Sand Cavern]—its symbol, the giant tower of ever-flowing sand.
The seven great scales that were the key to the gimmick were probably wedges supporting the tower with some kind of supernatural force. With all of them shattered, the flowing sand lost its power and collapsed.
From there, after the monster panic and splatter show, the [Scion of Dust] was born. It was probably the successor to the [Great Serpent of Dust]… or rather, a usurper king who had seized the throne.
So this was a kind of ritual for the newly crowned one to build its own throne—no, its castle.
The wavering ring of sand rose in a spiral, intertwining and melting together as it reached the ceiling. The mottled surface gradually lost its strangeness, and in a matter of dozens of seconds, its form…
"…Back to normal, huh."
I threw the weapons and items I'd used for the barrier back into my inventory and sat up, casting a weary look at the now-peaceful battlefield.
Having gone through all this, I've somehow… well, it's just speculation, but I've come to understand the background of this boss battle to some extent.
In other words, the protagonist in this place is not the player, but—
"Well… I'll find out the answer later."
The still-unbroken song echoed across the sandstone ground, now devoid of sand. With that melody, too graceful for a usurper's victory roar, at my back, this time I walked towards the portal without stopping.
I glanced back once, but the new serpent king didn't even spare me a look. Its form, blurred by the faintly blowing sandstorm, felt somewhat sacred.
"…Take care."
My exhausted, listless words mingled with the sand and drifted away. Silently grumbling "I'm never coming back" once more, I threw myself into the portal, still holding my partner.
◇ You have cleared the [Great Flowing Sand Cavern] ◇
◇ You have acquired titles ◇
・'Conqueror of the Sand Sea'
・'Witness to the Usurpation'
◇ You have acquired skills ◇
・Adaptive Sprint
・[Floating Leaf]
◇ Your skills have grown ◇
・[Jumble Step] ⇒ [Featherfoot]
・[Carry Running] ⇒ [Escort Runner]
――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇
Name: Haru
Lv: 62 ⇒ 65(30)
STR (Strength): 30
AGI (Agility): 420(+10)
DEX (Dexterity): 200(+10)
VIT (Vitality): 5
MID (Mental): 5
LUC (Luck): 10
◇Skill◇
・All Weapon Aptitude
[Quick Change]
[Piercing Dart]
・[Quit Counter]
・[Floating Leaf] New!
・[Embodied Protection]
・[Heavy Attack Manipulator]
・[Accel Tempo]
・[Boar's Heart]
・[Fleet-Footed]
・[Adaptive Sprint] New!
・[Jumble Step] ⇒ [Featherfoot] Up!
・[Carry Running] ⇒ [Escort Runner] Up!
――――――――――――――――――
That's all for this batch of chapters. Thank you for reading.
I plan to post one more chapter, which will be more of an interlude, though not exactly short.
I'll be sharing a few thoughts in the afterword of that chapter, so I'd be happy if you could stick around for it.