A Nibelsnarf!
The moment the giant mouth burst from the sand's surface, Altaïr guessed the identity of the Monster hidden beneath the sand.
This type of Monster can swim freely in the sand sea. Its range is vast, and its tracks are not easily spotted from the surface, making it difficult to determine its habitat and specific area of activity.
For instance, the documents for this assessment quest contained no information at all about Nibelsnarf sightings.
This was an oversight on the Guild's part. If he could make it back safely this time, he would have to demand some compensation from that mustachioed Guild Master!
Altaïr complained inwardly, but his movements were not slow in the slightest. He pushed himself up with both arms and continued to sprint wildly toward the rocky shore.
As a trainee hunter who had yet to be officially promoted to 1★, this was the first time he had ever seen a Nibelsnarf with his own eyes.
But his teacher had once described the habits of this Monster to him.
The most dangerous moment was its surprise attack, bursting out from its hiding place beneath the sand.
Once on the surface, its movements would become considerably more sluggish, and its attack patterns would mainly consist of charging head-on. As long as one remained calm, it wasn't too difficult to dodge.
As for the best way to avoid their attacks, it was to get to solid, sand-free rock.
Although Nibelsnarfs had the ability to walk on land, just as fish dislike coming ashore, they would instinctively refuse to leave the sand.
Once they left the soft sand, their movements became extremely sluggish and slow, and they could easily be outrun by a human.
So he had to run for the rocky shore. Once he reached that patch of rock, he would be safe!
The Nibelsnarf, having snapped at empty air, shook its head, twisted its short body, and turned around.
Its almost freakishly small eyes stared intently at Altaïr's fleeing back. With a swing of its flat, eel-like tail, it began to accelerate, chasing after the prey in its sights.
"Hurry! Hurry!"
On the rocky shore, the young man who had warned him was waving his hands frantically.
Running on soft sand was not easy. Fortunately, as a native born and raised here, Altaïr had long since mastered the technique of moving quickly in the desert. He managed to dive onto the solid rocky shore just before the Nibelsnarf caught up to him.
Not daring to stop, he quickly got up and ran another few dozen meters before turning back to check the situation.
The Nibelsnarf had stopped its pursuit. It lingered unwillingly in the sand at the edge of the rocky shore for a while before finally diving back into the yellow sand and disappearing from sight.
"Hoo..."
Altaïr let out a heavy breath and sat down, lying back on the rocky ground. Only then did he realize that countless stars already studded the sky.
How beautiful.
"Hello there!" A face blocked his view of the starry sky.
Altaïr raised a hand, covering his eyes with the back of it. He wasn't in the mood to chat right now.
But the other person clearly misunderstood his intention, grabbing his raised wrist and forcefully pulling him up from the ground.
"Hello! My name is Karim. I'm from Val Habar, and as you can see, I'm a traveling merchant!" the young man introduced himself with easy familiarity.
Altaïr sighed silently.
Since it had come to this, he didn't want to be too impolite. After all, the man had warned him, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had saved his life.
"Altaïr, from Loc Lac."
"You're a hunter, right? That's amazing! And that jump just now to dodge the Monster's sneak attack was so cool!" the young man named Karim said, his speech fast and enthusiastic.
Clearly, this guy was a typical "social butterfly." Someone with a more lively personality might have gotten along well with him.
But it just made Altaïr's ears hurt. "Alright, keep your voice down. That Nibelsnarf hasn't left. If we make too much noise and provoke it, it might climb up onto the rocky beach."
"Oh, oh, sorry!" Karim covered his mouth and lowered his voice, but he didn't talk any less. "Then let's head back to the camp first. We can talk more in the tent!
Ah, right, that's your hunter's camp, isn't it? I was chased by that Monster and fled here around noon, and I've been trapped here ever since. I'm not a hunter, would it be against the rules for me to use the camp?"
"It's fine. Just clean up before you leave," Altaïr replied, feeling a little drained.
"That's great! That's great!"
One after the other, the two of them arrived at the nearby camp.
"I was just about to make dinner. Let's eat together!" Perhaps because he now had a fellow sufferer to talk to, Karim seemed to be in high spirits.
He sat cross-legged by the campfire, took a cast-iron skillet from a strap on his massive backpack, and placed it over the fire to heat up.
Altaïr's expression turned a little strange.
It was common to heat food over a campfire while traveling, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone carry a skillet with them to cook a proper meal.
Humming a tuneless little song, Karim took a few things out of his bag and returned to the campfire.
Using a metal spoon, he scooped something out of a small jar and put it into the skillet to heat. It appeared to be some kind of grease, and judging by the color, it was oil rendered from some animal's fat.
Once the grease melted and started to smoke, he took out two slices of bacon, each as thick as his palm and a brilliant red color, and placed them in the pan to slowly fry.
Altaïr, who had been silent for a while, finally couldn't help but speak. "You carry bacon with you when you travel?!"
"Hahaha, it's a habit!" Karim said with a laugh as he shook the skillet. "I've been running around with merchant caravans since I was a kid, doing odd jobs, cooking, and all that.
Everyone said I could be a chef in the city, but I still prefer doing business. Let me tell you, my dream is to save up enough money to get my own caravan, then I can go everywhere!
Well, anyway, to make a bit more money, I left the caravan and started out on my own as a traveling merchant.
But the habit of cooking stuck with me. A person has to eat their fill to have strength, you know!"
"I don't disagree with that point," Altaïr said, staring at the bacon frying in the skillet and secretly swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
Seeing this, Karim's smile grew even wider. Once the bacon was almost done, he cut two large slices of dry bread and placed them in the pan, letting them soak up the rendered grease and meat juices.
Finally, he placed the thick bacon on the now-toasted bread, handed a portion to Altaïr, and said proudly, "Here, eat up. I cured this bacon myself, you know."
Altaïr hesitated for two seconds before finally saying, "Thank you," and accepting the food.
He took a careful bite at first, then immediately quickened his pace, eating with audible hisses and pants.
The rich, intensely salty, thick-cut bacon paired with bread fried until crispy. Although the ingredients were simple, it was irresistibly delicious.
"Delicious, right?" Karim picked up his portion, took a big bite, and said with a grin, "Meat, fat, salt, plus a staple food, no one can refuse a combination like this!"
Altaïr nodded in deep agreement. For a moment, he even wanted to learn how to cook.
A single portion of the thick-cut bacon and bread was not small, but that was for an ordinary person. After swallowing the last bite, Altaïr, being a hunter, still felt a little unsatisfied.
Of course, he wasn't thick-skinned enough to ask the other man to make another portion. He already felt quite embarrassed about this one meal.
Just as he was thinking about what would be an appropriate way to repay him, Altaïr suddenly realized something was off.
Wait a minute. Why does this feel like a picnic? We're trapped on this rocky beach by a 3★ threat level Monster!
"Aren't you scared?" Altaïr couldn't help but ask Karim.
"What?" It took Karim two seconds to realize what he was talking about. "Oh, oh, I was pretty scared before you came, but not anymore."
"Why?"
"Because you don't seem scared at all either. Plus, you're a hunter, right? You must have a way to deal with that thing!"
"You think too highly of me. That's a 3★ threat level Monster." Altaïr covered his face. "I just completed my assessment. I have to go back to the gathering hall to finalize it before I can be officially promoted to 1★. There's a whole two-star difference in our strength."
"Hehe, you say that, but I can feel that you're very confident. My intuition is very sharp, you know," Karim said, winking at him.
Altaïr fell silent. After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh. "This is embarrassing, but whatever."
With that, he took an SOS Flare from the Item Pouch at his waist and fired it into the sky.