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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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I covered my mouth with my hand, shocked by the appearance of a colossal insect that looked as if it had dozens of legs on each side.
Good heavens.
Why was that here?
It was known as a monster that only appeared deep underground and rarely came above ground… or so it was said.
I didn’t have detailed information either, since this was the first time I’d ever seen a Sandworm.
I had only glimpsed it in a bestiary where monster information was recorded.
But with that size and that appearance, it was definitely a Sandworm.
Staring up at it, craning my neck at its absurd size, a question suddenly popped into my head.
“Wagner, do you happen to know how to take down a Sandworm?”
“Like I’d know that! Let’s move, Iyer!”
My casual question earned a frantic reply as Wagner quickly rushed to the front lines.
Of course.
This must have been the first time Wagner had seen a Sandworm, too.
Besides, that size… it didn’t seem like something a normal adventuring party could handle.
But that didn’t mean the Sandworm was going to leave us alone.
Its massive maw dripped with something that looked like drool as it turned towards us.
That was clearly a sign that it wanted to eat us.
The Sandworm, with its maw facing us and drooling, let out a screech that was almost deafening.
The sound was so loud, it echoed throughout the cave.
If I had to listen to that sound all day, I’d probably end up with hearing loss.
I covered my ears and yelled to Wagner over the din.
“Wagner, tell Mr. Wolf to distract it!”
“Got it!”
If that thing did a body slam with its size, Wagner would be sent flying and become a star in the night sky.
A shield wasn’t going to stop that kind of mass.
It was better to have the agile Mr. Wolf draw its attention while dodging.
Seeing Mr. Wolf step forward, I quickly looked around the cave.
Luckily, there was a good spot in a direction where the Sandworm wouldn’t see me.
I headed toward that wall and took out a grappling hook from my bag.
“I wonder if this old thing will work?”
Huff.
I took a deep breath, used a running start to jump up, and clung to the wall.
Then, I began to climb the cave wall, securing the grappling hook.
I secured the grappling hook, found a place to plant my feet, and then pulled the hook and secured it further up.
Repeating this action, I slowly climbed up.
Stamina wasn’t an issue for me, as I Wasn’t a normal person.
The problem was the hook in my hand.
Since I was securing it into solid rock, I could clearly feel it wearing down each time I used it.
If I fell from here, I’d be done for.
The hook probably wasn’t durable enough to climb up a second time.
The only saving grace was that Mr. Wolf was doing a fantastic job.
“Just buy me some time, Mr. Wolf.”
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“Haap!”
Thud!
Kundt’s hammer bounced back from the impact.
He gripped it tightly again and swung down on the Sandworm, but the flesh seemed unaffected, returning to its original shape as if nothing had happened.
Kundt retreated with a small groan.
“I’ll take it from here.”
Wagner pulled the sword from his shield.
It wasn’t the greatsword he used to wield, but a smaller one-handed sword, and it was better than a hammer that couldn’t do anything at all.
Wagner took a small breath and thrust the sword at the Sandworm’s tail.
Thud!
He could clearly feel it pierce the tough flesh, but the tip of his sword couldn’t go in any further.
The surface wasn’t so tough, but the density of the flesh inside seemed high.
Wagner let out a frustrated mutter after confirming this.
“Looks like weapons are useless.”
If hammers and swords were ineffective, then trying to stab or bludgeon it to death wasn’t an option.
The situation was already bad since Guinness and Kundt couldn’t deal damage, and it would only get worse if swords were useless too.
Wagner thought desperately.
How could they take down this monster?
Mr. Wolf was doing a good job distracting it, and Iyer was climbing the wall in the distance.
There was a small rock formation where a person could stand where Iyer was heading.
Iyer was probably climbing up there for a reason.
If they looked down at the Sandworm from that rocky outcrop, perhaps they could find its weak point, even if it was a giant monster.
Think.
Think, Wagner.
If it was alive, then there was definitely a weakness.
That held true for both humans and monsters.
There had to be a weakness to this massive insect-type monster.
Perhaps it was something that was inherently a weakness for its species?
If insects had a weakness, what would it be?
Wagner’s eyes frantically tracked the Sandworm’s movements.
It was chasing after Mr. Wolf, who was darting in and out like a mayfly.
Perhaps due to its size, the Sandworm was always a step behind in chasing him.
Twitch!
Look.
It was slow, even now.
In fact, Mr. Wolf seemed to be handling the Sandworm with ease.
…No. That’s not it.
Wagner noticed something odd in the Sandworm’s movements.
Its movement patterns were incredibly inefficient.
It was slow, that was why it couldn’t catch Mr. Wolf who was chasing the wind.
Then, why was the Sandworm moving with such inefficient patterns?
That’s it!
Wagner realized that the answer was right in front of his eyes.
The answer was so simple, he almost felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.
“Guinness! Come with me for a second!”
Wagner called out to Guinness and took off running without waiting for a response.
A weakness of insects.
Something insects were afraid of.
Wasn’t it obvious?
What did people use when getting rid of insect nests?
The answer was that simple.
Wagner headed toward the base of the wall that Iyer was climbing.
By now, Iyer had almost reached the rock formation halfway up the cliff, and he had just stepped onto it.
“Iyer!”
At Wagner’s shout, his friend looked down.
After making sure Iyer had seen him, Wagner quickly rummaged through the bag on his back.
He took everything out, except for one thing.
When Guinness arrived behind him, Wagner asked her for her bag, too.
After putting “that” from Guinness’s bag into his, Wagner handed the bag to Guinness.
“Guinness, you have to throw this to Iyer up there.”
“Huh?”
“Absolutely don’t let it hit the wall or fall back down. Throw it in an arc so that it lands on the rock formation. Can you do that?”
Iyer was pretty high up.
Wagner and Kundt wouldn’t be able to throw the bag up there.
But Guinness, a Dragonewt, was capable of it.
The problem was controlling her strength.
Guinness stared at Wagner for a moment after taking the bag, then nodded.
“You just want me to throw it so that that guy can catch it, right?”
“Please.”
Iyer had also noticed that Wagner was preparing something, and he was looking down at them.
If they could just throw it well, then everything would be fine.
Guinness looked up at Iyer’s position and began swinging the bag in a circle.
As expected of a Dragonewt with incredible strength, the bag made a huge whooshing sound as it spun around.
After getting a feel for it, Guinness threw it powerfully into the air.
It shot upwards like a cannonball.
Wagner watched the bag soar high into the air, hoping that it would reach its target.
He watched it make an arc and descend, landing right on top of the rock formation where Iyer was standing.
Seeing Iyer catch the bag, Wagner clenched his fist.
Now, it was Iyer’s turn.
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“Oof!”
I caught the bag falling in an arc, making a sound like an old man.
The bag wasn’t particularly heavy.
It didn’t seem like much.
I wasn’t sure what Wagner had thrown it up here for, but I trusted that it was a way to resolve the situation.
Looking inside the bag, I saw that there were a few bottles.
After taking them out and checking the contents, I immediately understood what Wagner was thinking.
“This… might actually work.”
It probably wouldn’t kill it, but it would definitely do a lot of damage.
Usually, if a living thing sustained severe damage, it would run away to recover.
What if we exploited that?
Looking down from the rock formation, I could see the Sandworm’s maw chasing Mr. Wolf.
“Hey, Cave.”
I tapped the cave wall and it responded with a vibration.
“Open a path over there.”
I pointed to a spot a little further from the rock formation, and the cave vibrated.
Good.
It seemed to understand.
If they were that far, they would be able to escape without being caught in the Sandworm’s blind attacks.
I checked the situation below again.
Mr. Wolf and the Sandworm were still fighting.
This was going to be a bit nerve-wracking.
I had to time this perfectly.
I transferred the contents of Wagner’s bag into my own.
And that meant I had a total of three portions of oil bottles.
I attached the rope to the grappling hook that I used to climb up, and I secured it firmly to the rock formation.
It wasn’t very sturdy, since I’d only secured it with a rock, but it was definitely better than nothing.
I tied the rope around my waist and looked down again. Mr. Wolf was running near the rock formation and the Sandworm was chasing after him.
I put a matchstick in my mouth at the sight.
Alright.
I had a good opportunity.
Just as the Sandworm’s head passed by the rock formation while chasing Mr. Wolf, I pushed off the rock formation and jumped.
My body floated in the air before gravity pulled me down.
“Aaaaaah!”
This was scarier than I thought!
I let out a sound that was a cross between a scream and a yell as I fell, and then I was able to bounce in the air and land on the Sandworm’s head, thanks to the grappling hook I had left at the rock formation.
The landing point was the violently moving head of the Sandworm.
“Stay still, you bastard!”
I took out a dagger from my waist and jammed it into the Sandworm’s body to hold myself in place.
With that, I was able to move a little easier.
It felt like my eardrums were going to burst from listening to the Sandworm scream from right next to me, but I quickly started pouring the contents of the bag near its maw.
After pouring all three bottles of torch oil, I was able to saturate the entire area around the Sandworm’s maw.
“Now, all that’s left…!”
A piece of wood I had prepared beforehand, and the matchstick I had in my mouth.
I lit the matchstick and transferred the flame to the wood, which quickly caught fire.
“They say bugs are tasty when you grill them!”
Not that I’m going to eat you, though!
I jammed the dagger into an oiled area and used it to create a gap.
Then, I shoved the burning wood into that gap.
And then…
A magnificent display of fireworks began around the Sandworm’s maw.
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As the colossal Sandworm began thrashing, the entire area vibrated as if there had been an earthquake.
I landed safely on the ground after lighting the Sandworm’s maw on fire, and quickly called everyone.
“It won’t think about chasing us in that state. This way!”
The party members nodded and began running in the direction of the path that the cave had opened for us.
Pouring three bottles of torch oil had definitely worked, and the Sandworm was now engulfed in a massive fire.
I could feel that it was in incredible pain as it desperately thrashed its body against the ground and walls.
But even so, it couldn’t put out the flames around its mouth.
It was perfect, Wagner.
You did a great job.
Just as I was thinking that, we were almost to the path that the cave had opened for us.
As it thrashed in an attempt to put out the flames, the Sandworm dove back down the hole it had created.
The problem was that the area where the Sandworm had burst through was already incredibly weak, and the ground began to collapse.
“Everyone, hurry!”
Wagner shouted urgently.
I looked back… wow, the ground was collapsing in an almost unbelievable manner.
And it was happening really fast.
Was there another cave or a space below?
But I didn’t have time for that.
The ground was collapsing faster than I had expected.
It would probably be fine once we got into the passage, but…
This might be a close call.
Mr. Wolf, who was running in the front, reached the passage first, followed by Wagner and Kundt.
I was right behind Wagner, and it looked like I’d be able to reach the passage in time as well.
Then, what about Guinness, who was at the rear?
Just as I thought that, I looked back.
“Ah…”
The first thing I noticed was Guinness’s shocked expression.
I could see Guinness, who had been bringing up the rear, lose her balance and start to fall.
It was probably because the tremors were so strong that she lost her balance.
Having lost her center of gravity, Guinness was already on the verge of falling over.
And behind the unbalanced Guinness, the ground was quickly collapsing, closing in on her.
“Guinness…?”
Was it fate?
I made eye contact with Guinness, who had lost her balance.
It felt as if the world slowed to a crawl and the seconds passed slowly as we stared at each other.
I reached out a hand to help her, and Guinness seemed to reach out, too.
But the ground collapsed on her before I could grab her hand.
My hand, which had reached out to help her, just flailed uselessly in the air.
And just like that, Guinness was helplessly falling into the collapsing earth.
“Guinness! Iyer!”
I could hear Wagner calling me from the passage.
Looking that way, I could see Wagner’s clenched jaw as he extended his hand.
Hmm.
Falling down there was definitely dangerous.
Could she die?
And Guinness, who fell down there, might not be safe.
…….
I looked from Wagner’s hand to Guinness falling down below and made a quick decision.
I turned my body towards the collapsing ground and turned my head to look at Wagner.
“Wagner!”
“Iyer! No!”
Wagner’s eyes widened.
I waved at my friend, gave him a peace sign, and then…
“See you later, Wagner!”
I jumped into the collapsing ground after Guinness.
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[Lisan al Gaib? Merry christmas!]
