[Time Remaining for Survival: 1h04min]
Seth panted like a cornered beast, his chest rising and falling as if he were ripping oxygen from the desert itself. Sweat burned in his eyes, mixing with the grit stuck to his face. His body was covered in gashes, his shirt long since disintegrated, and his feet skidded over the scorched stone with the desperation of someone who refused to die.
Behind him… hell.
Thirty-two Infernal Sand Worms.
Their rotating maws howled, spewing steam, hunger, and thunder. The ground shook with every moment — like the world itself was laughing at the idea that a mere Rank-E could survive this.
[Incoming Monster Wave Approaching.]
The system's warning returned every thirty minutes like a cruel joke.
"THIS DAMN SYSTEM'S CHEERING FOR MY DEATH, ISN'T IT?!" Seth screamed into the wind, voice raw, slicing the air. "THIS PUNISHMENT IS BEYOND INSANE!"
The heat waves twisted the world ahead. No horizon. Just a narrow ravine stretching like a dark hallway between two massive walls of cracked, sun-bleached stone.
No way out. No way back.
And behind him? A living avalanche of teeth and chitin.
"Shit… this it? I run, run, and die in a goddamn trap?" he spat, slamming his hand against the right wall.
But then, something clicked inside him.
No.
If he couldn't escape, then they would pay — in blood and stone.
"Alright then... let's fucking dance, you bastards!" he roared, his eyes blazing.
Seth backed up a few steps, gathering energy. Blue sparks surged along his skin.
This is a gamble... he thought, spinning on his heel, arms wide — and unleashed a surge of power straight into the ravine walls.
A thunderclap.
Rocks cracked. Sharp fragments started to fall. The walls trembled like ancient beasts waking from their slumber.
And then — collapse.
Tons of stone thundered down on the front row of monsters. The worms shrieked in pain — their bodies, already worn from the endless chase, were slow, dulled.
BOOOM!
The ravine filled with dust, muffled screams, and flying debris. At least fourteen monsters were crushed beneath the rubble. The others, pressed together on the narrow path, screamed in confusion, their bodies tangled and trapped.
[Incoming Monster Wave Approaching.]
"Oh no. You're all staying right here…" Seth muttered, his eyes glowing — with rage, and something else. Something primal.
He dropped to his knees, palm to the ground.
"Let's see how you like… molten glass."
The superheated sand hissed beneath his fingers.
Lightning surged from his arms into the earth. The sand vibrated — shimmered — and then transformed. Lines of glass began to slither like molten veins through cracks in the ground, slipping beneath the worms' armored shells.
They twisted in agony.
"Hot, isn't it, you ugly fucks?!" he shouted, raising both hands as another blast of energy burst from his core.
The searing glass crept into joints and beneath plates — and then hardened in an instant, locking parts of the beasts in place. Cooking them from the inside.
BOOOOOM!
Some worms exploded, their carcasses collapsing in on themselves. Others roared and tried to struggle, but the glass held them like a hellish prison of crystal and heat.
Seth fell to his knees, panting, his hands shaking, his eyes red from exhaustion and heat.
But he laughed.
He laughed out loud.
As if, even on the brink of death, he had won a war.
[Time Remaining to Survive: 59min]
[Monsters remaining in the area: 18]
"HAHAHAHAHA" Seth laughed like a demon... Only with the glass penetrating between his stone scales... He killed fourteen... What does that mean?... That the others provided were trapped by the thickness of the purple ones that fell... so temporarily... He was safe... Besides... some...
[You leveled up]
[You leveled up]
[You leveled up]
[You leveled up]
[You leveled up]
[You obtained the title "King of the Desert"]
[You reached Level 18! ]
[Electrokinesis skill advanced to Rank-D]
[You obtained a Copy Slot]
[STATUS]
[Name: Seth (Rank-E)
[Class: [None]
[Title: [King of the Desert (Equipped)]
[Level]: 18
[Strength]: 43
[Speed]: 46
[Intelligence]: 38
[Stamina]: 41
[Extra Points: 20]
Skills: [The End (Rank-SSS)] [Killing Blow (Rank-E)] [Presence of the King (Rank-D)] [Escape Instinct (Rank E)]
[Storage] [Skill Slot: (1 of 2)]
[Temporarily stored copied skill: "Electrokinesis - Rank-D"]
[Next Slot: Level 25]
[Fragment of the End: ???]
Seth was still kneeling, dirty with sand, sweat and dried blood, breathing as if he'd been running for days - which, in fact, wasn't far from the truth. But his smile... that damn smile was there. Growing. Opening up like a cut on his face.
He read the notifications with eyes vibrating in a faint gold, which pulsed with the newly awakened power in his soul.
[Acquired Title: "King of the Desert"] One who overcomes the hardships of the desert, whose natural habitat is the scorching inferno itself. You no longer feel the pressure of the heat. Like a king, the desert bows to you.
[Effects: Heat Immunity / +30% to all attributes while in desert environment]
The notification was still floating when Seth let out a laugh.
"Heh... Hahaha..." His hand slowly went up to cover his face.
"HahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" The laughter echoed off the walls of the ravine like insane thunder. It was too much. It was surreal. And yet it was all true.
"THAT'S IT!!!" he shouted, rising to his feet, his body shrouded in a faint golden glow, sparks dancing around him. "COME ON, YOU LITTLE SHITS! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!"
His eyes became beacons of light, two golden flames fueled by a fierce, raw hunger: to grow, to survive, to win.
"I NEED TO GET STRONGER!" But then...
KRSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
The ground shook again. Not like before - this was different. A deeper, slower vibration. Like the sound of immense bones dragging through the bowels of the world.
On the far end of the ravine, something was emerging from the earth.
And it wasn't like the worms.
It was much, much worse.
The sand tore apart like flesh. Black plates burst from the ground, one after another, like blades rising from the underworld. A segmented, razor-edged head rose through the clouds of dust, with dozens of red eyes in jagged rows — and every single one locked onto Seth.
A colossal centipede. Over fifty meters long, its body armored in obsidian-black chitin streaked with glowing red veins. Thick antennae whipped through the air like ropes seeking prey.
[Penalty Boss Has Appeared! Face the Colossal Black Centipede - Rank C]
The creature raised its front torso and let out a shrill shriek — like metal grinding against metal — as it opened its serrated jaws, filled with barbs and hooked fangs.
Seth didn't back down.
He just stared.
Smiled.
And took a step forward.
"You're new…" The wind howled louder. "…and just what I fucking needed."
He snapped his fingers. Sparks detonated across his fists.
The air thickened. Hummed. Charged with static so dense it made the ground feel like it was vibrating with anticipation. Every hair on Seth's body stood on end — as if the desert itself was holding its breath, waiting for the collision.
"A Rank C… so this is what you look like?" Seth whispered. "Perfect. If you kill me, at least it was while I fought back.
But if I kill you…"
His eyes burned brighter. That grin twisted into something feral.
"…I climb one more step."
The centipede screeched again, its body lurching forward like a runaway train.
Seth ran in the opposite direction.
But this time, he wasn't fleeing.
He was charging.
"COME ON, YOU MONSTER!!!"
Sparks danced along his shoulders. His feet barely touched the ground.
The centipede came crashing down, jaws wide, ready to shred him to pieces.
Seth jumped.
A bolt of lightning fell from the sky.
He became light.
And the battle in the desert began again.