Volume 3 Chapter 7 (2/2)

[Enemies extremely close. In front of us. Although it’s strange, since it doesn’t look that close.] (Luna)

Luna strained her eyes as if she was trying desperately to locate the enemies. However, no matter how far we looked there weren’t any monsters in sight. I wonder what that monster could be.

[I’ll head to the front. Even if we can’t see the enemy, the tank must be at the front.] (Selene)

Selene tried to save time and get in position as the vanguard.

[Wait Selene!] (Youya)

As I was also being affected by the heat, I was slow in paying attention to Selene’s actions.

[Uncle Youya, what’s wrong?] (Selene)

My warning was too late as Selene’s legs were being swallowed by the ground, following the sand as she was completely eaten by the large hold. The hole reminded me of a huge Antlion den. In the center of the hole, there was a large caterpillar-like demon with a huge circular mouth and fangs coating the sides capable of swallowing Selene in one huge gulp. It opened its mouth, waiting for its prey to fall into its mouth. It is a Sand Worm, a monster which preys on adventurers by preparing traps in the desert. Selene desperately tried to stop herself from being swallowed but the flowing sand was too heavy for her to resist. She attempted to use the spikes in Renoir’s shield to stabilize however the spike is unable to pierce anything substantial in the sand. It is one of the hardship of battling in the desert as anchoring itself doesn’t work here.

[Til, Phil. I’ll save Selene, fire as many arrows as you can!] (Youya)

[I’m already doing that!] (Til)

[Leave it to me!] (Phil)

Til and Phil began firing their arrows one after another. Til fired her beginner class magic Thunder Arrow while Phil converts her’s and Til’s attacks into the Water (Ice) attribute using Magic Enchantment: Water. I approached the large hole which Selene fell in and threw a rope. She grabs onto the rope however I was unable to catch my footing and was about to fall into the hole.

[Youya, Luna will help as well.] (Luna)

[Thanks you for the save!] (Youya)

Luna hugged me from behind and began pulling from the back, saving me and keeping me from falling into the hole. The rope began to tighten as Selene’s fall came to a stop. The Sand Worm tried to close its mouth right below Selene’s foot, making a large clicking sound. Selene’s face turned blue as she would had most likely been eaten if we were even seconds slower in saving her. Falling right past Selene were Til’s and Phil’s arrows as arrows began raining all over the monster.

[ KYOOOOOOOO]

The Sand Worm screams in pain as it receives a series of arrows and Thunder Arrows which had their attributes changed to Water (Ice), increasing the amount of damage it received by two times. It quickly turned into blue particles as its fangs appeared as item drops which served as good materials.

Unfortunately, Til told us to stop as the experience values were distributed to me and Til. I had hoped to pass as much experience points to Phil as possible but this is the best we could do right now. I wish that we could get our party of five as soon as possible.

[That was dangerous, Selene.] (Youya)

[Yeah. I felt my lifespan shortening from that.] (Selene)

Monsters which dwelled in deserts were troublesome to deal with. For adventurers, sand was just an annoying part of the environment, however several monsters were capable of utilizing it to their benefit and used it to hunt adventurers.

[Selene, could you pick up the item dropped in the center of the hole. Be sure to hold onto the rope securely and we’ll pull you up.] (Youya)

[Okay, sorry for the trouble.] (Selene)

[Don’t worry about it.] (Youya)

The adventure in the Sand Canal has just begun. Looking at the girls’ stamina.. I can’t help but feel a little uneasy.

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It’s been three hours since our encounter with the Sand Worm and we have already encountered several ambushes from several monsters. Usually it’ll be a pleasure for us to encounter monsters, however all the monsters we have encountered so far were cunning monsters who made use of all sorts of troublesome tactics utilizing the desert’s landscape, making it not only physically draining but it also sapped the three girls’ spirits as well. Aside from Phil, the other girls had been much more exhausted than I had expected. I’ve been letting them consume more water than we had prepared, however it still appeared to be too difficult for them. They were already about to consume more amount than we prepared for today.

Looks like they were reaching their limits, especially Til and Selene. It wouldn’t be funny for them to suffer from sunstroke in this situation. Luna’s nose began twitching as she sniffed the air. Then, her tail suddenly rose up with vigor.

[The smell of water! I smell water up ahead and theres a refreshing sound a little further away.] (Luna)

Til and Selene raised their eyes upon hearing Water and cool as they were on the verge of collapsing. Could it be?

[It’s an oasis. The oasis changes location every week in the Sand Canal and is wide enough to swim in. It’s a beautiful lake with drinking water and it is usually kept at a nice temperature. There are also fruits and item only available there.] (Youya)

Everyone’s faces gleamed after listening to my words. It is said that the oasis is the conscience of the dungeon as it completely depended on your luck whether you get to encounter it or not. It can be said that we are extremely lucky. After walking for ten minutes, the sight of greenery and a blue lake could be seen in the desert landscape. The oasis had appeared in front of our eyes.

[Youya-niisan. I can see it! It’s the Oasis! The water, the fruits. Uwahhh!] (Til)

Til jumps out as I grab her nape, causing her to fall onto the sand. I’m glad that I managed to stop her in time this time around.

[Guhee. Youya-niisan. What are you trying to do!] (Til)

[If you were to jump out like this, the oasis will disappear.] (Youya)

There was also a trap placed on the oasis which is widely considered as the conscience of the desert.

[Youya, something is weird. The smell of the water changed directions. It shifted to our right.] (Luna)

[Luna, lead me to the smell.] (Youya)

[Uhn. Okay.] (Luna)

We ignored the oasis which was visible right in front of us, following Luna’s nose instead and changed locations.

[Actually, there are traps set in the oasis as well. The first oasis you will see is a mirage, and the moment you touch that mirage, the real oasis will disappear.] (Youya)

There is a famous story where an adventurer who was lost wandering around the desert, managed to come across the oasis as he was on the verge of death. Deciding to muster the last of his strength, he runs into the oasis just to realise that it was a mirage and collapsed on the spot.

[Take a look. At this distance, if you look closely does the outline of the oasis seems slightly distorted? If you are able to realise that the oasis you are looking at is a mirage, then you’ll be able to look for the real thing by looking for the oasis with a clear outline. This time, we could rely on Luna’s nose so we got a handicap.] (Youya)

[Uhn. Luna did her best.] (Luna)

I began to stroke Luna’s head.

[Just what is this. It has such a bad taste! If you were to see such a thing in a desert like this, anyone wouldn’t hesitate to jump out!] (Til)

[I’ll agree that the trap leaves a bad taste in your mouth.] (Youya)

It is only in a dungeon where you can find this sort of things. I am sure that the person who designed all the dungeons has a great personality. Finally, we arrived at the actual oasis.

[Today’s adventurer ends here. Let’s camp here for the night.] (Youya)

After I said so, the two children began cheering with a bright smile before taking off their cloaks and running to the lake. Then, Selene’s expression began to soften. It seems that our luck was great, encountering the oasis in such a timing. Let’s be sure to enjoy the oasis.