Theo had drawn his sword and swiftly made three successive slashes, tearing deeply into the worm's entrails before activating his innate skill, "Lightning Strike," which unleashed thunder to inflict even more damage.
Deon, on the other hand, had already drawn his sword while descending, infusing it with his aura. Joining Theo, he too lunged at the worm, mutilating it as much as possible.
"Strangely, why do I feel so strong?" he muttered, glancing behind him.
Behind him was another dying desert worm. At the level of its head, a massive stalactite-shaped rock had deeply embedded itself. Its entire body was covered in laceration wounds.
It was Alexia's work.
Deon had sensed the creature behind him and was already prepared to parry its attack. But seeing that Alexia had neutralized it before it could act, he felt reassured to have entrusted her with his back.
Noticing Deon looking at her, Alexia quickly gave him a wink and smiled.
Next to her, Amelia held an object that looked like a flute. Deon already suspected that his sudden surge in power was her doing.
"Is that an artifact?" he wondered before getting back into position to continue the fight.
...
Repeated Strike + Targeted Lightning. Theo had just combined his sword techniques with his skills. You could see a multitude of strikes raining down in torrents on a desert worm. Each strike was electrifying, burning, and stunning the opponent.
The brutal and powerful style of his technique left almost no chance for the creature facing him. Deon, from time to time, glanced at Theo to analyze his technique, but nothing. He couldn't decipher it at all.
"I'm still weak, huh?" he thought, doubling down on his concentration to quickly kill the desert worm in front of him.
After half an hour of fighting, the number of desert worms had been significantly reduced. But strangely, all of them started to notice that the power of their attacks was diminishing compared to the beginning of the raid.
"Amelia? Are you okay?" Alexia asked, a little worried.
"Yes. I've never continuously given buffs to so many people. I don't have enough mana to maintain this skill active," she explained while pulling out a staff from a spatial ring.
"All I can do now is keep supporting them with this," she continued, summoning blades and wind arrows that shot out at incredible speed before embedding themselves into the flesh of the desert worms.
"Deon, cover my back!" Theo shouted.
While he was fighting, a desert worm had quickly slipped into his blind spot and was about to deal him a critical blow. Theo sensed the monster but couldn't react in time in his current state, leaving him no choice but to count on Deon's help.
Deon responded to his comrade's cry for help at full speed. Not knowing if he could make it in time, he massively infused his aura into his sword. Then, the next second...
Slash
Slash
He swung his sword several times, releasing the aura. Blades of aura shot out from his sword, slicing the desert worm and killing it instantly.
Ding!
[ You have gained 100 experience points ]
[ Your Sense Enhancement skill has increased by +2% ]
[ Your Strength has increased by +2 ]
[ Your .... ]
Overwhelmed by the system notifications, Deon just ignored them.
...
From the start, Theo had been surprised when he saw Deon use aura. From what he knew, most aura users were veteran mercenaries or elite knights of rank C or higher. Seeing someone his age use it reminded him how ignorant he still was about the world.
"If I'm considered a genius, then what about Deon? What rank is he, really?" he wondered while staying focused on the fight.
Everyone was amazed by Deon's prowess.
"But isn't he supposed to be a mage according to the rumors?" they all thought in unison.
...
After a few more minutes of fighting, they finally managed to finish off the desert worms on the surface.
"Alexia, isn't he a mage? How can he use aura?" Amelia asked.
"I've never seen him use magic. Maybe he has a warrior class."
"I thought you two were close..."
"Yes, we're close. Uh, more like friends, but I've never asked him for personal information."
"Hmmm, I see," Amelia replied.
"Stop giving me those eyes... What do you want me to say?"
"Why are you blushing?"
"Shh, talk quieter, he might hear us. His senses are too sharp. And I'm not blushing. Have you noticed how hot it is? We're in a desert, remember?"
Alexia had never seen Deon use any magic. She had seen him use arrows and a sword, so naturally, she assumed his class was weapon-related. Moreover, seeing that he mastered aura only reinforced her theory. It was unthinkable for her that a mage could be an aura user.
"Now that all these monsters are dead, can we go down to join the boys?" Amelia asked, eager to descend.
"If you want. It's true there are no more monsters, but we're in a portal. There are dangers everywhere, so be careful..." Alexia reminded her before they began descending gently.
...
Despite eliminating all the desert worms, Theo and Deon were still on alert because they could still feel slight vibrations coming from the ground.
Deon's sixth sense was screaming danger, but he still couldn't tell where it might come from. Seeing Amelia and Alexia descending, he felt a little worried for them but had no valid reason to convince them to stay up there.
"Alexiaaa!"
Just after they set foot on the ground, Deon, who had just remembered a small detail, shouted Alexia's name, trying to warn her, but it was too late.
The spot where she and Amelia had just landed cracked open, revealing a huge gaping hole lined with massive, sharp teeth like those of a shark.
It was the mouth of another desert worm. But this time, they noticed that the creature in front of them was different from the ones they had just slaughtered.
...
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