The ground shook hard, and a rumbling noise came from below. Laguna felt the ground beneath her feet crack, bits of dirt flying.
"Watch out!" Laguna shouted, her eyes widening as she saw the ground beneath Julia and Mulan begin to break. A wide gap opened right beneath them, gaping open with the threat of swallowing them.
Laguna dashed forward with a sudden burst of energy. Her body moved like the wind, lifting Julia and Mulan in one move. She jumped far back, leaving the ground that had now collapsed into a large hole.
A loud roar echoed. Something emerged from within the collapsed ground. A giant creature charged out, throwing soil into the air. A long body resembling an earthworm with a diameter of more than one and a half meters towered high. Its body had hard, dark gray scales. They arranged themselves like steel plates. The scales appeared both slippery and strong. They offered great protection against physical attacks.
The monster had no eyes; its head was blunt and round. Its mouth was a full circle, packed with sharp teeth. They curved inward, like a spinning saw, making a growling noise. Its wide-open mouth sucked in dust and sand.
"What kind of monster is that?" Laguna muttered, swallowing hard at the creature's ferocity.
[Tremor Worm]
Monster
Skills: Hard Scale C, Tremor Strike C
Attributes:
Str: 15
Vit: 20
Agi: 2
Int: 1
Wis: 1
Luk: 4
Laguna squinted. "What? Str 15?" he thought to himself. "If I get hit by one of its attacks... I could die."
Laguna set Julia and Mulan down, his face stern. "Get back to town!" he ordered.
Julia nodded and started running. But Mulan was still frozen, fear clear in her eyes.
"Let's go, Mulan!" Julia shouted, panicking.
Mulan didn't answer; her body shook with intense tremors. Finally, Julia took a deep breath and, without thinking, carried Mulan on her back. With hurried steps, they headed toward town.
Laguna made sure the two were far enough away before refocusing on the monster. But the Tremor Worm began to disappear into the ground, its long body burrowing back quickly.
"Shit!" Laguna gritted his teeth as he felt the vibrations beneath his feet recede.
His instincts immediately kicked in. He turned to Julia and Mulan, who were running away. The vibrations in the ground began to approach them at a terrifying speed.
Without wasting any time, Laguna ran after them. "I won't let you!"
Julia, who was still carrying Mulan, continued running without looking back. She knew something was chasing her, but she trusted Laguna to protect her.
Laguna rushed to retrieve a scroll from his Subspatial Inventory. A crack opened up in the ground beneath Julia. His eyes were sharp as he saw the right time.
"Forgive me, Julia," Laguna muttered as he ripped the scroll. "Shockwave!"
A powerful wave of energy came out of the scroll that Laguna had torn. The energy spread quickly. It hit the ground near Laguna and raced toward Julia and Mulan.
As Tremor Worm came up from underground, its toothy mouth opened wide to swallow Julia. But a wave of energy hit it first.
The powerful force of Shockwave threw Julia and Mulan's bodies forward. They fell and rolled several times before finally falling unconscious.
Tremor Worm's attack missed by a hair's breadth. Its teeth snarled, expressing annoyance that its prey had escaped at the last second.
Laguna stood up with a gasp. He didn't think twice and immediately prepared to face the monster.
Tremor Worm let out a terrifying roar before burrowing back into the ground. Its giant body rushed, disappearing into the large hole it had left behind.
Laguna rushed to Julia and Mulan. They were lying unconscious. Worry took over his mind. If the monster attacked them again, he was not sure he could save them anymore.
However, a strong vibration in the ground approached him. "Shit!" Laguna leaped aside in time. The ground erupted as the Tremor Worm burst out. Its sharp teeth spun with speed, tearing the air where Laguna had been standing a few seconds before.
Laguna stood in a horse stance, gripping his sword with determination. There was no movement at all from the monster. Silence and dust began to fall in a gradual manner.
'Why isn't it moving? Could it be…' Laguna grabbed a small rock at his feet and threw it far to the side.
Tremor Worm charged at the rock with terrifying speed. It shattered the rock into small pieces. Laguna's eyes narrowed. "So, it's blind… but it can sense vibrations."
He let out a sigh of relief. As long as Julia and Mulan didn't move, they were safe. But the monster was still a threat.
Laguna sprinted ahead, leaping high with his sword aimed at the monster's head.
Clang!
A loud sound echoed. Laguna's sword blade broke, sending a fragment into the air before it fell to the ground.
"Damn, I didn't expect Hard Scale C to be this hard," Laguna muttered with a sour face.
The Tremor Worm re-entered the ground, and a barrage of attacks came from below. The ground around him exploded in a series of violent bursts as the monster tried to destroy him. But Laguna dodged with agility, jumping from one spot to another.
'I can read this attack… but how do I break through its defense?' Laguna thought as he continued to dodge.
Laguna's eyes lit up as an idea struck him. He pulled a scroll from his Subspatial Inventory. As the monster came up from the ground, he tore the scroll.
"Cyclone!"
The strong wind swirled as its long body spun in the whirlwind, unable to escape.
Without wasting any time, Laguna took out another scroll and immediately tore it.
"Fire!"
The fire blazed with intensity and joined the tornado, forming a scary fire cyclone. The air around them heated up, and flames danced in the whirlwind with great intensity.
The Tremor Worm let out a pained howl. Its hard scales melted as fire consumed its body in the Fire Cyclone. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, the wind calmed down and the flames faded away.
The Tremor Worm's body fell to the ground with a loud thud. Laguna felt the vibrations all the way to her feet. A pungent burnt smell wafted from the monster's body, which now lay still.
Laguna approached with caution; his eyes remained alert. He picked up another rock and threw it at the monster's body. There was no reaction.
The Tremor Worm has died.
Laguna rushed to Julia and Mulan right after the Tremor Worm died. They were both unconscious.
He took the scroll and tore it.
"Cura!"
Green light came out around them. The abrasions on their skin began to disappear.
Julia regained her awareness over time.
"Master!" Julia immediately hugged Laguna.
Laguna hugged Julia too; after that, Julia pushed Laguna's chest, and her face looked red.
She changed the subject. "What happened to that monster?"
Laguna pointed his thumb at the charred Tremor Worm.
"Wow! How could that happen?" Julia felt surprised. "Have your magic abilities returned, Master?" Julia's face looked very happy as she looked at Laguna with sparkling eyes.
Laguna's face also looked red at the sight of Julia's hopeful gaze.
"Um... I also made it yesterday when I made Drone Vision, the tool that made you angry this morning."
Julia felt surprised. "Make it? What do you mean, Master?"
"I made a magic scroll, Julia."
"Magic Scroll?" Julia exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't it very expensive, Master? And since when can you make it?"
"Ehmm..." Laguna scratched his head and looked away from Julia. He couldn't tell Julia that he had gained knowledge from the ruins yet.
"You know Julia, it's all because I'm a genius!" Laguna smiled with a broad grin at Julia.
Julia's hopeful face turned to disappointment.
"Okay, genius, why didn't you make it earlier and not let others look down on you?"
"A genius has his own mindset, Julia," Laguna replied.
Julia turned her attention and tried to look at Mulan, who was still unconscious.
"Is she okay?" Julia asked, her face looking worried.
"I've used healing magic on her; she should be fine." Laguna started carrying Mulan, who was unconscious, on his back.
"Okay, let's go back to the city."
"Are we going to leave the monster's carcass like that, Master?" Julia asked.
"Later we will ask the Village Chief to take care of it. I also want to know more about this incident. Let's ask the Village Chief too."
"Alright, Master."
They walked back to town.
When they got to town, the villagers lined up. They held weapons like sickles, hoes, knives, and other sharp tools. It looked like they were ready to attack.
"What happened?" Julia's face was in shock.
Julia glanced back to see what might be behind her that made the villagers ready for war.
But there was nothing.
"Attack!" A villager shouted. Then, all the others ran and attacked.
"Wait!!! What occurred? We can talk this out!" Julia shouted.
"Enough, Julia," Laguna said, "they won't listen to our reasons. Go back with Mulan." While handing Mulan to Julia.
Julia carried Mulan on her back and started to back away from Laguna.
Laguna took a few steps forward. Shaking his head left and right, clenching his fists in front of his chest as if ready to fight with his bare hands.
"If you want to die, go ahead!"