Ashton grew more nervous as he felt his aether points draining rapidly to keep the Inferno Gauntlet skill activated.
His body shivered miserably. If the Inferno Gauntlet deactivated now, he would be devoured by the two desert lynxes snarling angrily in front of him.
At this moment, he prayed Marlon would finish his battle quickly and come to his aid, but he knew that was impossible; it would take a lot of time for Marlon to finish his fight, no matter how strong he was, considering the number of monsters he was battling.
"BEAST WHISPER!"
Nonetheless, he heard a familiar voice beside him and quickly turned around to see Logan arriving, hands stretched toward the desert lynxes, eyes gleaming with focus as he activated his only skill.
That skill had even failed to work on ordinary wild beasts before. It would definitely fail on demonic beasts like the desert lynx, Ashton thought.
But his thoughts froze when the snarling sounds of the two desert lynxes halted right away, forcing him to look back, only to see the two previously fierce monsters sitting in a submissive posture.
Their once ferocious red eyes had turned dim and mindless, they were now under the control of Logan's power!
"It worked!" Ashton exclaimed in relief and excitement, almost hugging Logan.
"P-please kill them right away. I can't hold on for long," Logan voiced out painfully, sweat creasing his brow.
Realizing the stakes, Ashton swiftly attacked the two mindless desert lynxes.
As a Level 1 Hunter, he could naturally deal 25 damage per hit, but with his Inferno Gauntlet skill activated, doubling his attack power, he could deal a total of 50 damage and had a chance of a critical hit every five successful attacks.
A single desert lynx had more than four hundred hit points, meaning he had to land several strikes before he could take one down.
Since they couldn't resist, he made sure to aim for their vital points, bringing them to their end more quickly.
Once the monsters were dead, Logan fell to the ground, breathing heavily to catch his breath.
"T-that was exhausting," he muttered, adjusting his glasses.
Ashton rushed beside him, relieved. "Your skill worked! You can finally prove to Uncle that you're capable of becoming a solid hunter!"
Logan simply sighed. He had long since given up on pleasing his father. If he ever became a strong hunter, it would be for himself.
"How is Marlon faring?" he asked, turning toward the fierce battle still raging within the dusty fog.
At the same time—
Marlon swung a giant desert lynx, sending it crashing into a group of other giant desert lynxes with brute strength.
Before the disoriented group could even rise, he had already charged forward and started wreaking havoc once more.
[You've killed ×1 Mid-rank Desert Lynx, EXP +80]
[Drain activated: You've absorbed +20 Health Points]
[You've killed ×1 Mid-rank Desert Lynx, EXP +83]
...
[You've killed ×1 Mid-rank Desert Lynx, EXP +83]
[Drain activated: You've obtained skill — Rock Body]
[Skill: Rock Body (F) already exists]
[Skill: Rock Body (F) has been materialized into a skill book and stored in inventory]
"Wow! It also has such a feature! Incredible!" he exclaimed in awe.
But he didn't dwell on the discovery for long as the quake within the Crimson Expanse grew even more intense.
'I have defeated the other monsters. I think it's time for the Sand Crawlers, the dungeon bosses, to show themselves,' he thought, bracing himself for another round of fierce combat.
He quickly checked his character status, observing his level, aether points, and health points. Fortunately, they were all in check—he was now at Level 7, and his HP and AP were both over 90%.
QUAKE!
The sound of something massive breaking out of the ground erupted across the Crimson Expanse.
Three gigantic centipede-like monsters raised their heads from beneath the sand, spraying dust and gravel everywhere—they were the Sand Crawlers, the well-known boss monsters of desert-type danger zones.
Their heads consisted of enormous mouths lined with countless long, sharp teeth, perfect for digging and devouring prey.
A loud and painfully sharp shriek erupted from their hungry mouths all at once, shaking the land itself and sending the entire Crimson Expanse into mayhem.
[ Blood Level Boss Monsters — Sand Crawlers have revealed themselves. Defeat them to exit. ]
The notification appeared in a flash before disappearing right away.
As if the message itself had been a signal, the Sand Crawlers suddenly began crawling at astonishing speed toward the humans.
Ashton and Logan backed away instantly. It had taken sheer luck to slay two mere desert lynxes—against boss monsters, they stood no chance.
They could only hope Marlon would be able to defeat all three. If he didn't, they would be trapped here and eventually die.
Marlon, however, remained steady on his feet, feeling the ground quiver beneath him as the three Sand Crawlers swam toward his position.
He stretched briefly, let out a deep sigh, and then blasted forward.
He dashed ahead, his boots crushing the sand as the wind howled violently around him. His eyes shone brightly, a shimmering glow wrapping around his fists as he activated Punch of Iron.
The first Sand Crawler screeched and lunged, its enormous mouth opening wide enough to swallow him whole.
Marlon didn't flinch. He charged straight at it and swung his fist with full force.
BOOM!
The impact sent shockwaves across the Crimson Expanse. The gigantic creature was flung backward, its armored scales cracking under the blow.
—575
The monster hissed in pain.
The other two Sand Crawlers approached from both sides, their colossal bodies tearing through the ground like moving walls, shaking the very earth.
Marlon's eyes narrowed with sharp focus. He quickly picked his next target and made his move.
From the red barrier's edge, Ashton and Logan could only observe the hazy, dust-filled battlefield.
"Are you sure he's going to win?" Logan asked nervously.
Ashton didn't respond. He wasn't sure himself.
Minutes passed slowly, explosions echoing from time to time across the expanse.
Then, all of a sudden, the noise ceased, and silence spread through the land.
The two nerds froze, shivering. Had it all ended so quickly?
Three blood-level boss monsters against a single low-level hunter was an impossible match.
Even if Marlon had somehow survived, victory should've taken hours of intense fighting and the use of countless potions.
"We're goners! Marlon must've been eaten by the Sand Crawlers!"
"Now that I think about it, how foolish were we to accept his proposal? We've been scammed, and death is what we'll pay for it."
"We're still virgins, bro… such a sad life!"
The two lamented dramatically, hugging each other in despair.
Then, through the thick storm of dust, they heard movement.
They turned toward the sound.
A humanoid figure emerged slowly, dragging the corpse of a Sand Crawler by its tail.
It was none other than Marlon, wearing a mischievous smile on his dust-stained face.
His Sandshift Suit was torn in several places, and his Dune Mask was badly damaged, revealing his full face and that same calm, nonchalant grin.
[ CONGRATULATIONS! Crimson Expanse has been successfully cleared. You can now exit. ]
The notification confirmed everything.
"Impossible!" the two of them shouted in unison.
"Three blood-level boss monsters and you came out unscathed?" Logan barked in disbelief.
"Even Drever and Selena combined would take at least an hour to defeat them!" Ashton quickly added.
"You two can keep arguing for as long as you want or start harvesting the corpses," Marlon interrupted flatly, his tone steady and commanding.
The two nerds wanted to argue back, to find out what kind of secret power Marlon was hiding that gave him such overwhelming strength, but they knew he wouldn't reveal it. So, they reluctantly went on with harvesting.
While they worked, Marlon proceeded to check his progress.
====
"A new anomaly has been born."
Floating above the Crimson Expanse, far from the sight of the young hunters, a curvaceous masked powerhouse muttered to herself.
"I must inform HIM."
Saying this, she vanished instantly into thin air.
...
SORRY FOR THE LATE RELEASE OF THE BONUS CHAPTERS! I wanted to drop all the bonus chapters along with today's chapter at once, so that's why there was a bit of a delay.
I really appreciate everyone who showed up for last week's challenge — you guys are amazing! Now, here's this week's challenge:
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SECOND WEEK CHALLENGE:
⭐ 100 Power Stones before reset = 2 Bonus Chapters
⭐ 5 Reviews before reset = 2 Bonus Chapters