Chapter 10 (Sandworms)

As Jeremy stood in the midst of the desert, his surroundings taking on an eerie stillness, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The plain and smooth desert stretched out before him, seemingly endless in its expanse.

The heat intensified, causing beads of sweat to form on his forehead and trickle down his face. His throat felt parched, a dryness that seemed to consume him from within.

Gulping down the rising anxiety, Jeremy took a tentative step forward, his boots sinking slightly into the soft sand. But as he moved, he felt a peculiar sensation beneath his foot. It was a slight crunch, as if he had stepped on something fragile. Curiosity piqued, he lifted his leg to inspect what he had inadvertently crushed.

'E rank beast (Desert crab)'

To his surprise, he found himself staring at the remnants of an E-rank beast, a desert crab. Its lifeless form lay before him, its carapace gleaming in the harsh sunlight.

Jeremy's expectations were tempered, knowing that defeating such a low-ranked creature would likely yield no significant reward. However, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment.

"There's no reward? Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected much from an E-rank beast," Jeremy muttered to himself, a hint of resignation in his voice.

He stooped down to pick up the lifeless crab, examining its sturdy carapace with a mix of curiosity and fascination. It was far more resilient than he had anticipated.

It had seven pairs of legs and was two times bigger than a normal crab, the foremost was in the form of claws, and its carapace resembled metal.

"Its carapace is sturdy than usual." He noted, this was one of the many things Jeremy had also been doing for the past two days, he had carried out a research on different types and species of animals.

He had limited access to the number of beasts he could learn about, as this was one of the disadvantages of not being in a guild, except one had a tremendous family backing. And Jeremy possessed none of them.

But before he could dwell further on his findings, a sudden rumble shook the ground beneath him. His heart skipped a beat as a deafening roar echoed through the desert, sending shivers down his spine. His eyes widened in alarm as he realized that he was not alone.

**"ROAR!!!"*"

A multitude of sand worms emerged from the depths of the desert, their massive forms undulating with an unnatural grace. Their enormous mouths were filled with desert crabs, crushing them effortlessly.

Jeremy's heart raced, his fatigue momentarily forgotten as fear coursed through his veins.

'C- ranked beast has been spotted, eliminate them.'

"Wait, I thought the quest was to survive?" Jeremy thought, his mind racing to make sense of the situation.

The instructions had clearly stated that he needed to survive the C+ ranked dungeon, but now he was faced with the task of eliminating these formidable beasts. The stakes had suddenly been raised, and Jeremy found himself standing at the precipice of a life-or-death battle.

As the sand worms closed in on him, their furious momentum shaking the very ground he stood on, Jeremy felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He knew that he couldn't afford to back down now. The fate of his future hung in the balance, and he was determined to carve his own destiny in this supernatural realm.

With a deep breath, Jeremy summoned every ounce of courage within him and prepared to face the imminent threat. His hands trembled slightly, but his resolve remained unwavering. He would fight, he would survive, and he would emerge victorious.

The battle for survival had begun, and Jeremy was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. As the sand worms lunged towards him with relentless fury, he braced himself for the fight of his life. Every second would matter, every decision could mean the difference between triumph and defeat.

Jeremy in a split second went through his inventory of weapons via the system.

"I've got the sword, and the shuriken, these are only the weapons, and they were gifted to me by the system yesterday for completing my daily quest." Jeremy's mind processed information at an incredible pace, of course that was because his life was at stake.

The weapons his system gifted him were not graded by the former, and he was oblivious of the reason.

Albeit, he decided to throw a shuriken towards the closest worm, and as expected, it did nothing but shatter on impact. And this only enraged the sandworms the more.

"Tsk! Useless system, this weapons are useless!" He thought, while calling on the system to materialize the sword inwardly.

Luckily, the sword unlike the shuriken was as strong as a newly evolved c rank beast.

Petrified, he slashed violently against the hide of the beast and inflicted a deep cut on it.

'Sandworms have been angered; Rage mode activated:_:damage caused by them have been increased by twenty percent.'

"Tsk!" Jeremy cursed in frustration, his hands trembling in desperation.

"Well then, I'll just have to cut harder!" He thought.

In that moment, Jeremy vowed to himself that he would not let fear dictate his actions. He would tap into his inner strength, unleash his hidden potential, and overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds. With each swing of his blade and each dodge of a sand worm's attack, he seemed closer to victory.

Time seemed to blur as the minutes ticked away, and Jeremy found himself fully immersed in the battle. The desert became a battleground, the sand swirling in a chaotic dance as he fought for his life.

Sweat poured down his face, and his blood and the sandworms green blood decorated his coat and his face, mingling with the dust and grime, but he pushed through the exhaustion, driven by an unyielding determination.

As the countdown on the timer continued to tick down, Jeremy's focus sharpened. Every move he made was calculated, every strike precise. He adapted quickly to the sand worms' attacks, exploiting their weaknesses and finding moments of vulnerability. The battle was fierce, but Jeremy refused to back down.

With each sand worm that fell under his blade, Jeremy's confidence grew. He could taste victory in the air, a sweet and exhilarating sensation that spurred him on.

As the number of the sandworms dwindled, Jeremy unleashed a final flurry of attacks, his determination burning like a raging fire within him. And then, with a triumphant yell, he struck down the last sand worm, its massive form collapsing to the ground.