With the first Sandwurm gone, Team 0 redoubled their efforts against the remaining one. After its companion's retreat, the creature became more aggressive, its attacks frenzied. But Team 0 was relentless. They moved as a single unit, their individual strengths complementing each other.
James joined the fray, quickly closing the distance with a massive jump that sent sand flying everywhere, falling upon the beast like the wrath of an angry god.
His presence swiftly tipped the scales in their favor. Together, they whittled down the Sandwurm's defenses, exploiting every opening and weakness. The creature's roars of pain and frustration filled the air as it wasn't allowed to retreat like its companion, and its efforts to take at least one of them down with it were stymied by the textbook teamwork team 0 employed.
Whenever it lunged forward, maw poised to swallow someone, a fireball exploded in its path, or James punched its sides, releasing a wave of mana powerful enough to send it tumbling away, its armor cracked and oozing blood.
The battle with the remaining Sandwurm raged on. The desert air was charged with tension and the scent of scorched flesh. Team 0, now fully focused on their single adversary, coordinated their attacks with precision honed through countless battles.
Maria, her control over fire ever-improving, channeled her mana into a grandiose effort. With intense concentration, she conjured a flaming construct resembling a dragon, a manifestation of her burgeoning power. While not as formidable as it could be - with her current skill level she could only achieve a pale imitation of what Miss Walker had showed them - the fiery dragon was nonetheless a sight to behold, its flames dancing wildly in the air.
"Here it comes!" Maria shouted, her voice filled with determination. She directed the flaming dragon towards the Sandwurm, its maw opening wide as if to devour the giant creature.
The Sandwurm, sensing the new threat, tried to evade, but it was too slow, hindered by its injuries and the relentless assault from the others. The flaming dragon collided with it, a maelstrom of fire enveloping its head, singeing its armored hide and causing it to thrash wildly in pain.
Seizing the opportunity, James charged forward the moment the flames dispersed, his body a roiling, boiling conduit for the massive amount of mana he had gathered. He leaped high, positioning himself above the Sandwurm's head, his fist glowing intensely.
"It's over!" James roared as he descended like a comet, his fist aimed squarely at the Sandwurm's skull.
The impact of his punch was cataclysmic, releasing a shockwave of mana that resonated through the Sandwurm's entire body, its upper armor shattering into shards, blood and gore exploding into the air. The explosion of energy was so powerful that it sent James flying backward, tumbling through the air before crashing into the sand.
The Sandwurm's headless body shuddered under the force of the blow, its massive form convulsing before it finally fell still, lifeless on the desert floor. The battle was over, and Team 0 emerged victorious.
As the dust settled, they gathered around the fallen Sandwurm, their expressions a mix of exhaustion and triumph. James painfully picked himself up, shaking off the sand with his uninjured hand, a wry smile on his lips despite the soreness that coursed through his body.
"Good job, everyone. That was not an easy fight." He said, his voice laced with genuine pride.
"I'm surprised you managed to send the other one packing." Ezekiel replied as he started casting a healing spell, the sound of bones snapping back into place audible as the White Mage worked over the broken hand that had delivered the last blow.
Maria grimaced, shuddering slightly at the sight. "Ugh, why do you always have to get hurt? This is why being a pure mage is so much better."
James chuckled, by now being well used to sacrificing some of his health to deliver his attacks. "It doesn't even hurt at this point. I can't imagine what Daniel can withstand with his VIT stat."
"A lot more than you, and I still don't do all the crazy things you do." The Tank replied, shaking his head.
However, retrieving the mana stone from the massive creature proved to be a more complicated endeavor. The Sandwurm's carcass was enormous, and finding the mana stone within it - despite their previous experience that it would be somewhere in the upper part - was extremely difficult.
"Maybe you sent it flying away when you crushed its head?" Ezekiel suggested, half-joking as he prodded at the creature's insides with his knife.
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Lauren, elbow-deep in Sandwurm guts, shot him a look. "Very helpful, Zeke. Why don't you come and dive in? The more, the merrier."
After much prodding, poking, and a fair amount of disgusted exclamations, they finally located the mana stone, a glowing orb amidst the sea of innards. James retrieved it, holding it up triumphantly.
"Well, that was... an experience." Maria commented, trying to wipe some of the grime off her suit. "At least I got a level."
They all grumbled a bit more but eventually managed to continue their journey, keeping in mind that at least one more Sandwurm was hiding in the sands, licking its injures.
The trek through the dungeon resumed as Team 0 moved closer to its heart. The howl of the sandstorm was a constant backdrop to their journey. The air was thick with anticipation, and each member was alert and ready for whatever they might face next.
As they walked, their conversation turned to the dungeon's Boss. The possibility of facing another elemental - considering how central to the place the weather was - loomed large in their minds, a challenge they were not keen to repeat.
"I really hope it's not another elemental." Maria said, wiping sweat from her brow. "After the Fog Knight, I'm not sure we're ready for something like that again, especially without someone like that rogue Awakener to give us a leg up."
James nodded in agreement, his senses scanning the surroundings. "Facing an F-rank elemental at full strength is a different ball game. We'd have to retreat and call it in."
Daniel, trudging alongside, chimed in. "What if it's something like those Sandwurms, but bigger? Like an adult version?"
Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. "That would be a nightmare. The gap between a juvenile and an adult Sandwurm could span several ranks, considering that the System felt the need to specify it was a youngling. It's not something our mana readers would miss."
Lauren grumbled. "Let's just hope for something we can handle. We've had enough surprises for one dungeon."
Their speculation continued for a while, as they dispatched another group of smaller golems until it was cut short as they crested a dune and the landscape opened up before them. They had finally reached the heart of the dungeon, which was a vast expanse of undulating sand, and in its center lay a sight that took their breath away, despite how much the visibility was reduced by the raging winds.
A massive creature, resembling a crocodile but of gargantuan proportions, lay partially submerged in the sand. Its scales were obsidian black, glistening under the sparse sunlight that filtered through the storm. It moved with an eerie grace, its body undulating through the sand as though it were swimming through water.
The creature's sheer size was awe-inspiring, though it was still smaller than the Sandwurms they had faced earlier. Its eyes, like molten gold, scanned the landscape, exuding a sense of ancient power and primal ferocity.
"Is that the boss?" Maria whispered over the roar, a mix of fear and wonder in her voice.
"It has to be." James replied, his tone laced with both respect and caution. "Look at it. It's like something from a dinosaur movie."
The team stood in silence for a moment, taking in the sight of the majestic creature.
"We need a plan." Daniel said, breaking the silence. "That thing might not be F-rank, but it might as well be in this environment."
James nodded, his mind already racing with strategies. "We need to exploit its size. It's big, which means it might be slower on land. We might have a chance if we can lure it out of the sand. If we allow it to move as it pleases, we might not be able to hurt it at all."
Ezekiel frowned, considering the suggestion. "That's a big if. We don't know what it's capable of or how it will react to us."
Lauren readied her daggers, determination in her eyes. "Well, we won't find out by standing here. Let's get closer and see if we can learn something."
The team cautiously approached the giant crocodile, their movements deliberate and measured. As they drew nearer, the creature's head turned towards them, its eyes locking onto their presence. It let out a deep, rumbling growl that vibrated through the sand, a warning that they were encroaching on its domain.
Evidently, they surpassed an invisible line, because it stopped making noise and went on the offensive. With a subtle shift of the Boss's body, the sand around them began to move as if alive, swirling and twisting at the creature's command.
James immediately realized the danger. "It's about to do something big!" He shouted, a note of urgency in his voice.
The team instinctively gathered behind Daniel, who raised his shield, creating a barrier between them and the encroaching death. The wave hit, as grains swirled and pounded against the shield, a relentless force that threatened to engulf them.
Ezekiel quickly bolstered Daniel's defense by enhancing his stats, but it was clear they were in a precarious position. The sand, manipulated by the crocodile's will, began to rise around them, creating a coffin that aimed to bury them alive.
"Do something!" Daniel yelled, his muscles straining under the pressure. James ground his teeth, frustrated at his helplessness. He could try to punch his way out, but he doubted the crocodile would allow him the time to repeatedly do so for all his friends.
Maria, her eyes narrowing in concentration, began to channel her fire magic, the flames dancing at her fingertips growing in intensity. "I've got this!" She declared, and with a forceful motion, she unleashed a wave of heat that cut through the sand like a knife.
The sand around them melted and solidified, creating a tunnel of glass through which they could escape. The team wasted no time, quickly scrambling through the makeshift passage, away from the sand's suffocating grasp.
As they emerged from the tunnel, they caught a glimpse of the Boss. Its massive form loomed over them from a dune it had created, its eyes gleaming with what could only be described as amusement. It was as if the creature was toying with them, testing their abilities and resolve.
Without the need to say anything, they unanimously moved away from its domain, wanting to make some distance to prevent another situation like the one they had just escaped, and it luckily let them.
They'd have to see whether its arrogance was warranted, but the sting of defeat still hurt. Not once in his career as an Awakener had James been forced to retreat in front of a monster. He had been horribly injured, yes, and had been through extremely dangerous fights. But he had never felt so sure he would die if he stayed.
They kept running for ten minutes at full tilt, until they couldn't even see the dune the Boss occupied, having escaped the central valley.
"We can't fight it head-on." James admitted, the words tasting like ash on his tongue.
"Do we have another option?" Ezekiel replied with a strained voice. He had enhanced all their AGI during their escape to ensure nothing could intercept them, and spending that amount of mana had been tiring.
"I can't hold against an attack like that for too long." Daniel interjected, tone defeated. He, too, had been forced to face his limitations. In the span of a few seconds, he had gone from a Tank capable of holding against an F-rank Elemental, to someone whose entire mana pool had been emptied trying to prevent his teammates from being buried to death.
"We have to think of something different." James grunted out, looking at the horizon as an idea started forming.