Having already cracked the outer shell of the worm, the rest of the fight was fairly easy.
Since I still had a couple of [Stamina recovery] potions, I did not have to worry about running low on stamina as I fought against the boss monster. Thus, I vigorously hacked away at the weakened surface of the monster whenever it appeared from beneath the sand.
ten minutes after the first crack, the cracks that were only as small as thin spider threads started enlargening revealing the worm's soft inner layer.
twenty minutes after the cracks expanded, the tough outer shell finally couldn't withstand the attacks and broke, fully revealing the pulsating inner layer of the worm.
Finally, thirty minutes after the outer shell was broken, I rested on top of the carcass of the now-dead worm. Slowly catching my breath and looking at my clothes which were now riddled with holes, I bitterly smiled as I lamented at the fact that I had brought no spares.
My sword which was firmly imbued on the body of the worm was covered in green blood, and if it weren't for the fact that I was too exhausted to move, I would've already removed the sword as the blood was highly acidic.
Fortunately, being an artifact, the sword could withstand the acid, giving me enough time to recover before finally retrieving it.
-Shuaa!
Removing the sword from the corpse, green blood sprayed everywhere and some of it even got on my clothes further ruining them.
At this point, I couldn't even be bothered caring about my ruined clothes as I was facing a bigger issue.
"How do I store this...?"
Alternatively looking at the massive corpse and my bracelet, my brows knit.
If I was fortunate enough, then maybe I could store the corpse but...looking at the contents of my bracelet I couldn't help but cursed inwardly as half of my storage space was already filled with corpses.
It simply did not have enough space to fit this monster.
What bugged me off even more was the fact that this sort of issue could've easily been resolved if the safe box still worked.
Although I wouldn't need to pay a deposit, a small commission would've been needed to pay if I were to have called for help in regards to collecting the monster corpse.
But now that the signal was gone...
I swear I will kill this goddam demon!
There was no doubt that the corpse of this boss monster could've fetched me a hefty sum, but now that I didn't have enough space and I couldn't call for support, I was only left with two options.
One, dump some of the monsters inside of my bracelet to make space for this monster, or two, only take the most important parts of the monster and discard the body.
Typically, the skinning and material collection would be left to the dungeon management as untrained hands could result in the monster's corpse becoming damaged and thus reducing the overall monetary compensation given.
At the end of the raid, the corpse would directly be given to the dungeon management which would process it in front of you. During the corpse dismantling in the off-change that a monster core was found, the dungeon management would immediately propose an offer to you.
Typically, not all monsters had monster cores as only a small percentage of monsters had them, but on the rare occasion that a monster core was found, you had basically hit the jackpot as each monster core went for a really high price.
Looking back and forth between my bracelet and the gigantic body before me, I contemplated for a bit before sighing and making my way towards the monster.
-Sha!
Using my sword, I directly hacked the worm's massive body, resulting in more blood splattering all over me.
At this point, I doubt I'll be able to return with clothes on...
As I hacked the monster's massive body I slowly collected its teeth, organs, and other useful parts that could be traded for money.
I decided to just discard the monster and collect the most important parts of the worm. Though, I do feel pity for the fact that I didn't have enough space. Since the worm's outer shell could've easily have fetched me a good sum of money due to its durability.
In any case, If I were to place this monster inside of my bracelet I would no longer have any more space in my bracelet.
Though the monster was huge, it would at most be worth, in monetary terms, about the same as ten regular monsters which took less space, so I might as well just take the important parts.
Pity that I lost some money, but hey...like they all say 'You can't have it all'
After thirty minutes of constant hacking, I managed to collect all the important bits. I did look for the core but sadly the monster didn't have one.
As I didn't have my hopes up, I wasn't disappointed.
Who knows maybe one of the many monsters in my bracelet had a core, though I doubted this.
Satisfied with what I had, I turned around and continued my journey across the desert.
During the journey, I started noticing strange things happening in my surroundings.
Stopping, my feet slowly sank in the sand, using my hand in a similar fashion to a military salute, I squinted my eyes to get a better view of what was happening ahead.
"Woah, sandstorm..."
Before me was a massive wall-like front that was approximately five thousand feet in height. The wall-like front expanded all the way towards where my sight couldn't see and was quickly picking up its speed.
-Whizz!
The whistling sound of the glaring wind could be heard as the sand in my surroundings started to get swept by the massive wall-like front, entering the turbulent and suffocating cloud of sand.
Looking at the massive storm cloud that was quickly approaching me, I was left with no choice but two make two decisions, run away or keep going forward?
"Don't really have a choice do I?"
Bitterly smiling, I discarded the possibility of me running away as the sand storm was approaching at speeds that I couldn't keep up with.
Left with no other choice but to continue walking forwards, I tightly tied my make-shift hijab and headed towards the sand storm.
Soon the storm enveloped me, rending everything in front of me impossible to see.
Inside the sand storm, the further I walked the more I could feel the wind picking up its speed as granules of fine sand started hitting my eyes, obstructing my vision.
It started to get so bad that I couldn't keep my eyes open due to the constant stinging sensation in my eyes.
'I wished I had a pair of glasses'
I thought as I kept walking forwards with my eyes closed.
Honestly, I did not prepare enough.
Because I was in too much of a haste, I did not properly plan out my trip inside the dungeon, resulting in me making too many newbie mistakes that shouldn't have happened. Things such as forgetting to bring a spare set of clothes or bringing extra food rations in the rare chance I was stranded, were things that every person who went to the dungeon did.
I think that the fact that this was my first time entering a dungeon and the fact that I was still not accustomed to this world's common sense contributed to me making so many mistakes.
There was just too much of a difference between writing a novel and actually being in one.
In the novel, I could just make Kevin have everything with just a thought. Things such as a spare set of clothes and extra food were never a concern for him as I would always make it so that he was always prepared. Moreover, whenever the protagonist would prepare to enter a dungeon I would just simply write 'packed up his stuff' which was not specific enough.
That in itself was one of the reasons for my negligence as I tended to depend on the novel too much.
Things that should've been common sense like clothes and at least a month's worth of food completely flew over my head, resulting in me facing the current situation.
Ah...
It was fine to use the novel as a reference, but I shouldn't rely on it too much.
I needed to start thinking things thoroughly before going into dangerous situations.
-Whizzzz!
"Ughh..."
The further I walked into the storm the stronger the wind became.
My make-shift hijab was swept away by the strong gales, exposing my face to the sand which was traveling at extreme speeds, causing my face to become numb due to the pain.
Using my hands to protect my face, I slowly but steadily walked further into the storm.
My current goal was to reach the eye of the storm as it was the safest place to be inside of the storm. The reason why the eye was so calm was that the strong surface winds that converge towards the center never reach it due to a force called the Coriolis force.
-Whizzzz!
-Whizzzz!
-Whizzzz!
Two hours into the storm, although everything looked the same, my ears picked up the extreme sound of winds ruthlessly glaring in a certain location.
Hearing the ruthless sound of the wind, I knew that I was at the edge of the eye where the scariest, nastiest, gnarliest part of the storm was located. The eyewall. The area around the eye formed an unbroken wall that obstructed anything that tried to pass it.
Fortunately, I was prepared for this.
"Fuuuuu..."
Arriving at the edge of the eye, I let out a long breath and calmed my mind.
Slowly a white glow emanated from my body as I touched the handle of my sword.
Soon the glaring sound of the wind disappeared, my mind became as calm as a lake, and everything around me turned tranquil, making me fall in some sort of a trance.
The first movement of the [Keiki style] : Quick flash
-Shua!
At the speed that the naked eye couldn't see, a small gap appeared on the surface of the eye.
Without skipping a beat, I immediately jumped inside the small gap.
-Whizzzz!
-Whizzzz!
-Whizzzz!
"Huff...huff"
Lying face down on top of warm sand, I breathed heavily as I felt the area around me calm down. I was finally able to catch a breather.
Though I was in the eye of the storm, the strong sound of the wind never disappeared.
Dusting the sand that covered me, I took a good look at my surroundings.
The first thing that I noticed was a large circular wind wall that was dyed yellow due to the sand. It expanded all the way around me, inside of a circular region that had a radius of a couple of kilometers. Looking up I could see the cloudless blue sky that I had not seen since entering the storm.
"This is crazy..."
This was a sight I would've never been able to see back in my previous world.
Ever since reincarnating in this world, I have experienced something new each day.
Sitting on the sand I let out an exhausted yawn. Apart from the glaring sound coming from the eyewall, everything around was peaceful, allowing me to finally catch my breath
"...Hm?"
Just as I was about to take a quick nap, In the distance, at the center of the eye, I noticed a large black castle-like structure.
"What's this?"
I had never heard of such a thing appearing inside of the novel...
What was going on?
Slowly walking towards the black infrastructure, I warily glanced at my surroundings, but it was to no avail as everything around me was quiet.
Arriving in front of the large black castle, I warily placed my hand in front of its large wooden door that was at least five meters in height
-Creak!
Slowly the door opened.
Instantly, a thick scent of iron invaded my nostrils. Opening the door further, and revealing what was behind it, I froze in shock.
Thick black pillars that reached all the way to the ceilings appeared all over the massive hall, supporting the building. On the pillars, brightly lit torches were attached, illuminating the surroundings revealing a scene that never in my life would I ever had wanted to see...
A pool of blood covered the entire floor of the castle as limbs and corpses could be seen sprawled all over the floor. The corpses each had their eyes wide open, and their expression was that of pure terror.
A shudder ran down my spine as this gruesome scene slowly imprinted itself inside of my mind.
Slowly I lifted my head and then I saw it...
Haughtily sitting on top of a dark throne made of skulls, a dark-skinned humanoid creature with devilish horns protruding from the top of its forehead appeared in my sight causing my blood to turn cold. With one of its legs resting on the armchair of the throne and an arm supporting one of its cheeks, the creature had its eyes closed. It had a muscular human body with two bat-like wings attached to its back. From behind its tailbone, a long black tail wiggled around the air.
Sensing something, the humanoid creature slowly opened its eyes revealing two deep red eyes that exuded boundless bloodlust.
Staring at me who was frozen solid in place, the humanoid-like creature eerily smiled as it looked down on me.
"Ku Ku Ku, what have we got here?"