The entirety of the group felt the intense vibration on the sand, which was a clear sign that something was beneath them. They had been travelling for a while, trying to find any regular beasts, but they hadn't seen any. Now they knew why — the beasts weren't living on the surface of the Yellow Zone. They resided under the fine sand.
The group quickly converged into a close space, forming a tight formation around each other. They didn't know where the beasts were going to emerge from; they were feeling the vibrations coming from all the surrounding areas.
"Eyes sharp, everyone," Kaiden said firmly, squinting her eyes. "We can't tell exactly where the beasts are, only that they know we're here, and they're about to attack."
The group listened. They slowly raised their hands, gathering mana around them, prepping an attack to release at any given time. Chuck was standing close to Kaiden; he turned toward her to see a silver-haired beauty ready to face any demon head-on.
"You know I've mastered the art of God Eyes, right?" Chuck said in a low tone.
"What!" Kaiden shouted, trying to lower her voice at the last second so Xin and Lance wouldn't hear. "You didn't tell me you had the God Eyes. And how did you manage to learn it?"
Kaiden was beyond surprised at this point. Learning the God Eyes wasn't something every mage could do. It was a skill that could only be mastered by mages who could filter out any form of distraction, focusing solely on a single thing at a single time. She was extremely impressed at how casually Chuck mentioned something others struggled to accomplish.
"I didn't think it was going to be important… until now," Chuck shrugged, still feeling the intensifying vibration under his feet. "I could use the God Eyes to look beyond the sand and pinpoint the exact locations of the beasts. I guess the twins will have to know about it. We'll find a way to shut them up later."
"Alright then," Kaiden sighed.
Chuck closed his eyes, trying to remember the feeling he had when he used the God Eyes back at the infirmary. Trying to concentrate amidst all the vibrations and voices wasn't easy, but he did it. His vision brightened as he saw several streams of energy in the air. Turning toward Kaiden, he saw a figure with a stream of red energy coursing through her.
It was difficult for Chuck to use the God Eyes because it didn't come from his system. The God Eyes was a skill he acquired on his own, so he couldn't just activate it using his system.
"Alright, guys, stay close," Chuck said as he brought the attention of the whole team to himself. "I'm going to tell you where the beasts are going to emerge from. Your job is to not get killed."
The rest of the group looked confused, wondering how Chuck was going to pinpoint the exact location of the beasts.
"Just listen to him and don't ask any questions," Kaiden said, looking at Lance and Xin with a sharp gaze.
Chuck lowered his head. He saw the shimmering energy within each grain of sand. The sand itself was filled with energy. Looking beyond it, he saw several gigantic spider-like creatures moving around, almost like they were swimming under the sand.
"Fucking hell, these things are too big to be called spiders," Chuck thought as he shivered.
Almost instantly, Chuck noticed that one of the gargantuan spiders wasn't moving. The energy of the spider appeared to be growing bigger by the second. It only meant one thing.
"Everyone, one of the beasts is coming from that point!" Chuck yelled as he pointed at the ground.
Before the group could turn around, a massive spider emerged from the sand. Its body was covered in black fur, and two red blades stuck out from its legs.
"Oh God… that thing is enormous," Erik said. He readied himself, his arms sparking with electricity as several bolts of lightning swirled around them.
The colossal beast roared with a deafening sound. It launched toward the nearest person it could find — Kaiden. With a swift movement, it closed the distance in seconds. Raising one of its legs, it made a vertical slash toward Kaiden, attempting to split her in two.
Kaiden saw the bladed leg coming and quickly used her wind magic. A torrent of wind swirled around her body, lifting her out of the way before the leg could slice her.
The beast's leg hit the sand with immense force, throwing dust everywhere. Erik rushed in, lunging his hands toward the beast. Massive bolts of lightning surged out, striking its leg with an electrifying shock. The beast convulsed as the lightning danced across its body.
This gave the group enough time. Lance and Xin stepped forward, lifting their hands in a synchronized motion. Intense streams of fire blasted out, surging forward with incredible speed, ready to consume anything in their path.
The flames shot forward, hitting the beast under its belly as a deafening pain echoed. The entire abdomen was burnt open, revealing its innards. The smell of rotten and burnt flesh filled the air as the twins grinned proudly.
But their smiles died seconds later. The massive wound began to heal right before their eyes. Within moments, the life-threatening injury was gone.
"Oh, this is going to be hard… how is this beast even classified as a regular beast?" Kaiden said with a worried tone.
The beast lunged again, this time aiming for Chuck. He reacted quickly, activating the Infernal Craft and creating a huge flaming spear.
[ Infernal Craft has been activated ]
[ Weapon crafted: Spear ]
The spear pulsated with a golden essence as searing flames swirled around it. Chuck thrust the spear with all his strength, releasing it toward the incoming beast. It shot out with incredible speed as the golden flames intensified. The spear pierced the beast's chest, burning through its insides with a massive inferno.
The beast stumbled and collapsed, writhing in pain. After a few seconds, the spear dispersed into golden particles. The group noticed that the deep burn was starting to heal again. But Kaiden was already moving.
She ran toward the beast and, with the help of wind magic, propelled herself upward, landing on its head. She thrust her hands downward, unleashing a huge wave of flames. The fire engulfed the spider's head, burning every tendon,muscle, and bone, destroying its brain.
The beast was finally defeated, and it had taken the effort of the entire team. The event wasn't going to be easy as they thought initially.
"What the fuck… if this is the strength of a regular beast, then what are we going to expect when we fight the dark beasts?" Erik thought as he breathed heavily.
Chuck paid no attention to Erik as his focus was on the translucent screen in his line of sight.
[ Quest updated: Defeat the ten Spider Claws hidden beneath the soil ]
[ Reward: Instant level up ]