Chapter 54: Sand Monster

Falling asleep restless, he dreamed about his past, his mind doubting its own decisions.

Shooting awake, he opened his eyes only to find out it was still dark outside, the moonshine lingering in the air.

Staring at the reason for his awakening, the fourth finger was hovering outside, just avoiding his detection barrier.

Sitting up, Steven stared at her. "What do you want? The altar takes some time to complete."

"I am just impressed you already managed to finish two of them." She spoke, her voice flat, missing any emotions.

"You could say I am some kind of overachiever." He announced proudly while stretching his arms.

"I would rather say ’egocentric lazy bastard,’ but sure, yours works too." Her voice was finally hinting at something.

Steven waited for her to finally explain her reasoning for being here, but she remained quiet.

Her eyes gazing directly into his soul made him uncomfortable.

Clearing his throat, he avoided her gaze, looking instead at the sleeping Merency.

Her manner, luckily, was relaxed as it should be, meaning she was truly asleep.

Turning his head back to the fourth finger, she finally opened her ghostly mouth.

"I need you to finish all of them in the next twenty-four hours." She spoke impatiently, already making her way away.

"Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about? I can’t do that. I don’t even know where all of them are." He tried to bargain, but she just slowly faded away.

"I believe you can do it, Mr. Bright." Her voice almost sounded like laughter as she disappeared completely.

Steven was already on his legs, sprinting towards the entrance.

Twenty-four hours? They really know how to make an unrealistic goal.

He could’ve sworn his performance had been great so far; barely anyone else could’ve achieved it.

Still, that didn’t seem enough for them, not even acceptable, as he jumped down the cliff, his mana size engulfing everything around.

He at least knew where to look: any open space with a diamond-class monster.

"I don’t think this counts as paid overtime." He whispered to himself while landing perfectly on the top of a tree.

Jumping to the next one from there, he grabbed one of its branches swinging around them, using the momentum to continue his way.

With Merency, he had roughly covered one sixth of the entire area in a whole day.

Well, he’s going to finish the rest tonight and let the one from Lucy stay for tomorrow.

They needed the points anyway, so a fight was unavoidable.

Running past the still-flaming wasteland, he shortly after reached the end of the forest.

As a wide desert opened itself up in front, he hoped it was natural.

Stepping through the cold sand of the night, he searched for any abnormalities.

But there was nothing in sight; it almost seemed like nobody had ever even been here.

Not that he would blame them; this would be a terrible place to set up one’s base.

Still, he could feel a single presence of mana, but it felt so close it confused him.

Almost as if we were directly next to him, just without it being there.

"Where did you come out from?" He yelled, hoping to gain its attention as the ground started shaking.

Steven looked down; the sand was slowly sinking deeper as if a hole had opened down there.

Jumping to the site out of pure reflex, the position where he had just been standing was attacked through the ground.

As a tentacle-like arm tried to grab and pull him downwards.

But moving away didn’t save him yet, as the whole group below him started shaking.

"How big is that thing?" As he jumped into the air, avoiding at least a dozen more tentacles, only one grazed his barrier.

As the tentacles sank back into the sea of sand. Making it look like they have never been here.

He slowly understood why nobody seemed to have ever been inside this desert.

Everyone that tried was just swallowed by this thing.

Landing on the sand, he was already casting an emerald-class wind blade.

And after the ground started shaking, he side-stepped it once more, shooting towards the attacking tentacle and cutting it in two.

With each repetition of his attacks, the monster’s attacks only grew wilder as he let multiple tentacles outside, covering the attacking one.

Slowly forming an inescapable prison around him, while trying to avoid another attack, one of them managed to grab him from behind.

As it pressed down hard on his barrier, which barely withstood so much blunt force.

As more and more tentacles are moving around him, trying to squish him into dust.

Setting his focus on holding his barrier, it cracks and repairs quicker than it could destroy them.

As it grew impatient, its attacks suddenly stopped, only holding Steven.

As it started to pull him down into the sand, its grip was fierce enough to crush an entire human.

Slowly drowning in the sand, Steven didn’t panic; after all, he had been waiting for it.

The sheer amount of its arms made it useless to cut them off one by one.

So he decided to attack its main body instead.

As the tentacles pulled him through a net of more tentacles, he descended into a cave.

It was a small one purely created from the creature’s body, as its sharp-toothed, filled head is awash in the sand.

With a sudden movement most of the tentacles let go of his barrier, only a single one holding him.

Bringing him closer to its mouth as it started biting on his shield.

Which instantly were piercing in multiple places, barely holding together.

Steven waited patiently for it to open its mouth again for another bite.

Just as it did, he deactivated his barrier, instantly being grabbed by the arm tighter.

But one of his arms was free.

As a bluish flame appeared on his hand.

Flying forward, pulverizing the creature’s head and igniting its rest.