Shatter the stone and purge the past (Part 1)
Pepper, fully prepared in Fasteia, arrives at Fasteia Mine for the umpteenth time. The depths, a hotspot for leveling and gold farming, hold their target.
"Let's do this."
Navigating the mine, Pepper avoids other players, heading straight for the depths. They dodge enemies where possible, using the White Iron Tanto for unavoidable fights to preserve the Fatal Hammer's durability.
Reaching Fasteia Mine's depths, the Rock-Eating Worm isn't camouflaged as a vein this time. As if expecting Pepper, it looms openly, its countless legs rippling like waves, exuding predatory confidence.
"Yo, long time no see, centipede worm."
No words are needed. This is a primal clash—eat or be eaten, a struggle for survival.
"Round two, let's go!"
The depths quake, dust and gravel bursting like popcorn. The worm, baring rows of teeth and a bottomless maw, charges at Pepper.
"GYURIARIRAAAAA!"
"Full throttle from the start?!" Pepper dodges, sprinting diagonally to the worm's left flank. Its massive body roars past, carving the earth.
But the worm doesn't stop, looping into a U-turn for another charge. "Here we go!" Pepper shouts, pulling something from their inventory as the worm closes in, jaws wide.
"Step Work!" Pepper times a last-second dodge with the mobility skill, then swings both hands like a pro baseball batter. "Swing Strike!"
The blunt skill lands, slamming into the worm's mineral-crusted hide. Iron meets stone, sparks flying. The worm shrieks, "GYURAAAA!" Its rocky armor chips, cracks splitting like wounds, exposing raw flesh beneath.
"How's that? Taste the pinnacle of human mining tech!" Pepper grins fiercely, gripping their secret weapon: a pickaxe, humanity's tool for carving veins, countering the worm's mineral armor.
Mines are sometimes likened to a human body: trees as hair, slopes as skin, strata as muscle, veins as blood vessels, and minerals as organs. The Rock-Eating Worm uses veins as bait, luring miners to devour them, hiding its nature through misdirection—a survival tactic honed in brutal competition.
But counter that tactic, and its strength becomes a glaring weakness. "Bet that pickaxe hurt," Pepper taunts. "Iron smashing your rocky conveyor belt? That's nature's law—veins break, wounds form."
Yet, a problem looms. Pepper glances at the pickaxe: one swing cost nearly 70% of its durability, a warning flashing. Five pickaxes total. Once they're gone, I switch strategies.
Victory hinges on the Fatal Hammer's abilities: boosted critical rate on headshots and extra critical damage. Pepper's win conditions: shatter the worm's head armor with pickaxes and land critical hits with the hammer, or slash exposed flesh with blades.
"This tingling thrill… it's been a while," Pepper muses, recalling an old RPG's true final boss, where a single misstep in resource management meant game over. The same razor-sharp focus surges now.
"GYURARARAAAA!" The worm roars, undeterred. "Kill me? I came for revenge!" Pepper stands firm, dodging charges with side steps, swinging pickaxes to crack armor. They leap onto the worm during tail sweeps, striking with pickaxes before retreating. Against crushing stomps, they parry with Flash Counter, hammering the head repeatedly.
Each hit risks death, grinding Pepper's mental stamina. Worse, the expected crisis nears: pickaxes break one by one, tilting the odds against them.
"Don't give up! Regret only after giving everything!" Pepper rallies, slamming a pickaxe into the worm's slightly raised jaw. The pickaxe shatters into polygons, and the worm's jaw armor finally crumbles.
"Yes!" But instinct screams danger. Pepper uses Step Work to retreat just as the worm, enraged by its broken armor, thrashes wildly, slamming its body against the ceiling and floor.
"What the—berserk mode?!" A timer appears: 10:00, counting down. "A time limit? This is bad."
Failure to kill the worm in ten minutes likely means a forced defeat. In games, time limits on bosses often lead to dire consequences—dead allies, instant game overs, or psychological pressure. Here, it's probably a cave-in, killing all players in the area.
"Heh, perfect. Ten minutes to end this, centipede worm!" Pepper pulls a weapon from their inventory: a red-black knife, the Fatal Knife (Vorpal Chopper), a rare slashing weapon dropped by a Vorpal Bunny during leveling, rivaling the Fatal Hammer.
Finish It in Ten Minutes
The Rock-Eating Worm enters a berserk state with a ten-minute forced defeat event if the player:
Accepts the Rock-Breaking Strategy quest
Reaches Level 10+ for the rematch
Takes no damage and breaks the worm's head or jaw armor with pickaxes
In berserk mode, the worm's defense drops sharply, and stamina drains heavily, but its attack power spikes, shredding most defenses. Failure to defeat it in ten minutes causes Fasteia Mine to collapse, instantly killing all players in the area via suffocation, rendering the zone inaccessible for two weeks.
In short: don't let it collapse, or other players will hunt you down. Good luck!