Chapter Twenty-Five
Dawn broke and everyone stirred. The three of them moved cautiously within the group. As they traveled, three figures approached — a small separate party. One was an old man, the second in his forties, and the third a young woman no older than thirty.
The old man smiled and asked them while the rest of the mercenaries — fifty-four strong — listened to his exchange with the leader:
"Are you all right?"
Daniel returned the smile. "Yes, thank you."
The old man warned, "You must stay alert now. We're very close to the worm's location."
The three were surprised — especially Daniel, who still held the map. The old man asked, "Is the worm near the main road?"
"No," the man denied, then continued, "The worm is on the road itself. This mission was urgent because the worm appeared suddenly and settled on the route. Nobody knows why. It's been blocking travelers and cutting the region's main road. That's why large sums were paid to clear it, and these mercenaries were assembled in haste."
At last the three understood, and Sanjay asked, "So… how far must we stand from you to be safe?"
The old man replied calmly, "You may stop here for now, until we go and return."
Sanjay brightened at that answer and blamed himself quietly: (How did I not think of that?)
But when he looked at Daniel and Lucas, they answered together, "No."
Daniel added, "Have you forgotten we want to see how they fight? And didn't you read the info about the worm? All we must do is stay still and not move, and we'll survive its strike."
The man accompanying the old man agreed, "Yes, you can do that. You'll be fine. Don't worry—though it seems powerful and frightening, it has a fatal weak point. We can direct it where we want."
Sanjay yielded finally and went with them. The idea of staying alone in the desert crossed his mind for a moment, but he pushed it away.
They continued until they reached a certain point, left their horses and anything not needed for combat, and pressed on on foot.
Behind them, Daniel's group conversed with the elder's party. The old man asked, "How many missions have you completed?"
Lucas answered calmly, "One mission. This is the second."
The old man was surprised, "One? So you're complete novices… Did you come from another world to ours? Am I right? You're quite old for beginners."
Daniel confirmed, "That's right. We arrived in this world less than a month ago."
"A month?" the woman said in astonishment, then added, "One month and you joined the mercenaries? You are very brave. If I hadn't graduated from Anfrida Academy, I would never have joined the mercenaries."
Lucas asked with interest, "The academy… I read about it in a book. How vital is it for getting stronger? Is it necessary? A man can use Eira and Hearts of Orne without schooling, can't he?"
The woman replied quickly, "Of course not. The academy is essential. First, you learn all about monsters and other kingdoms. The books sold in markets are only the shell."
"Second, you learn how to exploit and extract every usable part from monsters. By the way, what was your first mission about?"
Lucas replied, "Nobu beasts."
The woman asked, "And what did you do with their corpses?"
"We delivered them to the headquarters," he said.
She smiled and then, with confidence, began to outline the hidden benefits of a Nobu carcass.
"First: its blood is useful in chemistry. We use it to stabilize sensitive reactions and prevent sudden explosions.
"Second: the teeth — hollow and rigid — are used as precise arrowheads and can be filled with poison to leak into a wound.
"Third: the hide is thick and covered in an oily layer that insulates from heat, so it's used to line armor, helmets, and storage coverings.
"Fourth: the meat is nutrient-dense but must be detoxified. Once processed, it's an excellent food, served only to nobles or other kingdoms. It grants them strength and focus for hours. Almost no one in this kingdom can extract and purify monster meat except the academies or noble houses, due to the rarity and cost of the necessary ingredients.
"And finally: the eye — it's used in crafting the Level-One Fire Orb Nira."
She concluded with a smile: "If you use every benefit from a single carcass, you can gain an estimated 25 silver coins' worth."
---
"Now tell me: what reward did you get for that mission, and how many Nobu did you deliver to the headquarters?"
The three lowered their heads slightly, as if hiding a modesty, then answered in one voice, "Fifty silver coins and nine beasts."
The woman laughed with a mixture of surprise and satisfaction. "Yes, that's what I meant. And that's without mentioning other services the academies provide, like Anfrida Academy and—" she trailed off.
Before she could finish, a sharp shout rose from one of the mercenaries at the front of the column: "Attention! We've arrived!"
The shout came from a man kneeling, his right hand pressed to the sand as if sensing something moving deep below. The dust twitched beneath his fingers and a faint susurrus rose, like inner whispers only a stillness-breaker could hear. He raised his head slowly, glanced toward the leader, and that look of apprehension swept across everyone's faces.
"I feel tremors…" he said, his voice low but sharp.
The air tightened; the sky seemed to hold its breath.
The leader stared at him a long moment as if weighing his words, then fixed his gaze on the rest of the mercenaries and commanded in a decisive voice that struck like a hammer, "Now, each to his post… prepare!"
Bodies obeyed instantly; feet moved with eerie lightness, soldiers slipping into formation as if they had drawn lines in the air and fixed their stances. Their faces were masks of absolute concentration; each pair of eyes burned with a sharpened promise that choked the silence.
(Even Daniel and his companions stood in rhythm, swallowed by the hush of anticipation as they watched.)
The leader took a large wooden beam tied to a slim chain, its surface smoothed by repeated use. He gripped its end firmly and hurled it forward to land at the center of the semicircle the men had formed.
He raised his hand and signaled to a nearby soldier, who slowly lifted his arms. A fireball swelled in his palms and grew larger.
He cast it at the wooden beam in the center; the wood quickly caught and burned, and the leader, holding the chain, began to rock the burning log slowly.
Across the circle, another man placed his hand on the earth without looking up and murmured, "It's coming…"
His whisper was the single sound that cut the silence; everyone heard it clearly.
Then the ground actually trembled beneath them — at first a faint vibration reminding them of a hidden heartbeat, then a stronger quake that could split skulls.
An inner cry rose in their chests as the sand lifted into ashen, yellowed scarves.
Suddenly, a deafening crack split the air. The sand exploded from under the swinging log; the earth opened like a hungry mouth.
A colossal creature burst forth: a giant worm more than twelve meters long, its terrible maw devouring the burning beam and crushing it in a single gulp.
[Name: Desert Worm]
[Age: 12 years]
[Rank: D]
[Stage: Adult]
[Health: 764]
[Strength: 213]
[Speed: 43]
[Endurance: 462]
[Mana: 956]
[Defense (Shell): 445]
[More details 巛]
When Daniel saw the enormous number of mana points, he thanked nature — for low, third-rank monsters could not use their own mana; therefore these 956 points would not benefit this worm.
.....
Then the assault began.
The group unleashed scorching fireballs, lethal lightning strikes, and razor wind-blades — all aimed precisely at one point: two meters above the ground — according to carefully laid plans.
Sparks flew and were followed by clouds of choking, acrid smoke as spells collided with the worm's thick hide.
(Each volley, each ash plume, felt like a call to arms against a merciless foe.)
As the battle intensified, the leader advanced himself with a hulking axe whose haft shimmered with a keen edge. Heavy-weapon mercenaries accompanied him; they surged at the cracked shell with methodical force, breached the first layer, and reached the tender flesh within the beast's belly.
The monster howled, and the field filled with a throbbing ancient sound.
(The sound of breaking resounded inside men before the iron axe struck bone.)
The worm tried by instinct to pull back under the sand, but it found no escape. Five other mercenaries had prepared a painful trap.
They stood spaced a little apart and stretched their hands over the sand in a magical tableau.
Each used the "Earth Wall" skill, but they raised the earth horizontally — layers of packed sand exactly where the worm would try to flee.
The worm slammed into the hardened earth wall and was repelled; whenever it tried to flee elsewhere, another earth wall rose to block it. This bought the rest of the mercenaries the decisive time. They continued their ranged assaults, aiming at the existing wound and directly into the creature's maw.
The worm became like a slab on a chopping board, helpless to act — and whenever it lunged at a mercenary, that mercenary anticipated it and evaded before the beast reached him.
A complete encirclement; there was no space to escape or even to scream.
One minute passed, but each second reeked of death.
Then, with a final, faint scream, the monstrous worm fell onto the sand, shattered and motionless.
Silence stunned the mercenaries' eyes for an instant, then cheers erupted like an earthquake of joy.
They laughed and thumped one another's shoulders with rough camaraderie, while Daniel, Lucas, and Sanjay stood back, watching with astonished admiration.
(This… this is the real difference,) Daniel thought, while a spark of excitement lit Lucas's eyes.
They realized together that the key to this victory was "information."
Everything had been calculated: how the worm would surface, the timing of its strikes, the moment it would try to flee, and its weak point. Even the selection of attack types and positions had been precise to the eye.
They noted the disparity in magical skill and casting speed too: the more mana circles a user had, the faster and more forceful their spells launched.
Most mercenaries here had three mana circles, some only two, while the worm was D-rank.
But before they could finish drawing lessons…
The man who had his hand on the ground cried out, his voice trembling with alarm, "Damn! There are other tremors! Watch everyone!!"