Under the golden glow of the sun, the vast dune stretched out endlessly.

Two horses, like shadows against the sand, moved steadily. Deadbeat rode one, while Mechanic and Archie shared the other.

Cloaked in black, they shielded themselves from the relentless sand, whipped up by the merciless winds that slowed their progress.

A day had passed since Mechanic, Deadbeat, and Archie embarked on their journey to the Rift guild, where Archie was to receive his E-Screen.

Their journey had been uneventful, devoid of volcanic eruptions or monstrous encounters.

Archie had spent most of the time learning about the duties of a Rift Runner.

Rift Runners were travelers. They journeyed to planets teetering on the brink of annihilation, intervening to prevent their demise. Once the planet was saved, they established an organization to ensure such a catastrophe would never recur.

Archie had begun to understand the significance of being a Rift Runner, but the mystery of why he was rifted here and the nature of this planet remained unsolved.

Whenever Archie broached these subjects, Mechanic and Deadbeat would simply reply, 'The time isn't right.’‘You're not ready to know everything yet.’ ‘Even we don’t know about this either. We're here for the credits, after all.’

“How much longer till we reach the Rift Guild?” Archie asked, seated behind Mechanic.

“About two more days,” Mechanic replied casually. Archie's voice, so close to her ears, made her heart flutter, but she quickly regained her composure, her face hidden behind the cowl.

To divert the conversation, Mechanic ventured a personal question, “Won't your family miss you if you vanish without a word?”

Mechanic's question sent a jolt through Deadbeat, but he was curious about Archie's response.

Archie remained silent, leaving them in confusion. His face, hidden behind the cowl, gave away nothing.

Archie, however, was grappling with a realization. ‘Dad!’

Since entering the rift, surviving a volcanic eruption, and meeting Mechanic and Deadbeat, his mind had been preoccupied, causing him to forget about his noodle shop and his father. But Mechanic’s question brought it all rushing back.

‘How could I forget them? Were my father and the shop so insignificant?’ Archie berated himself for forgetting his family. It had been a month since he had genuinely laughed after learning his ROT result. That fleeting joy had made him forget all the sorrow in his life, including his struggling shop and his family.

“Kid, are you ok…” Deadbeat's words were cut off by a deafening sound.

“BRRRAAAAAHHHHH”A thunderous trumpet echoed from their right. The wind picked up speed, whipping the sand into a mini tornado.

Archie was bewildered, unsure of what was happening or what the sound signified, but Mechanic and Deadbeat recognized it instantly.

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“Let’s move.” Deadbeat ordered Mechanic to spur their horse into a gallop.

“THUD-THUD!” The horses quickened their pace, but each step sank slightly into the sand, slowing them down. The ground beneath them had turned into a sand pit, gradually pulling the horses’ legs.

“Damn it,” Deadbeat cursed, realizing they couldn't avoid the impending danger, and yelled, “Clara, Archie, brace yourselves.”

“BOOM!” The sand beneath them exploded, sending Archie and the others flying in different directions.

Archie was disoriented. The swirling sand obscured his vision, forcing him to close his eyes.

“SILENCE!” Suddenly, everything went quiet. Archie no longer heard the hissing of the sand or felt the ground pulling him. He felt as if the danger had passed, so he opened his eyes.

“AHHHHH…” Archie screamed at the sight of a massive elephant, no, a mammoth, made of hardened sand towering nearly 15 feet tall. Its rock-like tusks were as long as its height, and its massive trunk extended to the ground.

The mammoth stood still, its body resembling a carved statue. For a moment, Archie thought it was just a statue, but the heavy breath from its trunk, displacing the sand below, made it all too real.

“BRRRAAAAAHHHHH” The mammoth trumpeted, lifting its trunk and shifting its weight, ready to charge.

“Kid, run. We'll handle this.” Deadbeat commanded, while Archie saw Deadbeat and Mechanic throw off their cloaks, grins spreading across their faces.

Suddenly, a golden window appeared before Archie:

[Side Mission: Fall of Desert Protector][Defeat the mammoth to free its soul and meet its creators] [Mission Level: Special Class] [Reward: 1 Million Credits]

‘Special Class’ Archie was taken aback. Without a second thought, he got up and started running, knowing full well what a Special Class mission entailed.

There were seven Mission levels, each corresponding to the monster's level, ranging from lower class to high class monsters.Common ClassUncommon ClassRare ClassEpic Class Legendary Class Special Class God Class

On his planet, battling a Special Class monster required gathering all pertinent information about the monster’s weakness and amassing sufficient resources. It would take nearly 10 Graded ‘SS’ Ethereal or 1000 Graded ’S’ Ethereal to combat a single Special Class monster.

It wasn't something two Graded ‘SS’ Ethereal and one Non-Graded ‘F’ Ethereal could hope to defeat.

‘I’m sorry, both of you, I’m scared.’ Archie ran as fast as he could from the mammoth.

Archie ran because he was scared. He was scared he might die if he stayed there, scared he might be a burden to them if he stayed to fight.

Archie slowly stopped running, his mind engulfed with thoughts. His face was filled with anger, not fear.

Archie stood still and berated himself, 'Why am I so weak?'

Suddenly, a single unshakable thought struck him.

Swiftly, he turned around and began to run towards Mechanic and Deadbeat again.

The reason that drove him to change his mind was that he didn’t want to witness someone he knew die before him ever again, feeling useless and living in regret.

‘Damn it, I don’t know how to kill that monster. I never saw a monster like that in a textbook. Is it a new kind?’

Archie was trying to figure out a way to defeat the monster, but without warning, a series of prompts appeared before him:

[Congratulations on completing Side Mission: Fall of Desert Protector][Defeated the mammoth and freed its soul.] [Mission Level: Special Class] [Reward: 1 Million Credits] --- [Zero Contribution to monster hunt][Calculating reward sharesRewards Distribution: For participation and Staying alive: 1000 Credits] ---[Warning!][Reward postponed due to lack of E-Screen]

Archie was stunned and couldn't believe his eyes. To confirm the prompt, Archie ran towards the mammoth.

Archie couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. The mammoth lay on the ground, its head severed and its body slowly crumbling and blending into the dune.

Mechanic was cutting down the rock tusk from its head and Deadbeat was piercing through the mammoth’s heart to retrieve the Egg stone.

“Are you guys okay?” Archie was bewildered to see they were unharmed, but he asked them to ensure they were alright.

Mechanic turned around, smirked, and teased,“Look what the wind blew in. We thought we'd have to send a search party for you.”

“How did you defeat that mammoth?” Archie asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Mechanic responded with a radiant smile.“Because we are strong.”