Sand Worm

We headed for the battlefield at top speed. As the distance between us rapidly closed, my eyes met those of one of the warriors. They noticed us!

"Do you need help!?"

"W-We do! Please!"

Although they didn't know what we were, they apparently judged us to be reinforcements for now. The considerably larger warrior immediately answered my call. Good, we're intervening!

"All right! Let's tear loose!!!"

No sooner had he spoken than Jigoro leaped from Cal's back. Then, carrying the momentum of his descent, he launched an attack on the giant worm... No, was that even a worm? It was long and squirming, with yellowish-brown skin, and its front end had a mouth lined thickly on the inside with fangs. Once inside that mouth, you'd end up like something put through a blender. I don't even want to imagine it.

At any rate, Jigoro made a surprise attack on the giant worm from above. The comet-like kick that pierced into it must have had enough force to shatter even Cal's scales.

"Gweeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

"Huh? Didn't do much?"

The giant worm let out a pained scream, but it was so grating that I couldn't feel the slightest sympathy. Jigoro, however, hadn't felt much resistance from his attack. In fact, the giant worm was far from defeated and immediately raised its head.

There are monsters this strong so close to Bigdaleio, ones Jigoro can't finish off? No, maybe it's simply unusually tough. Anyway, 【Appraisal】 as usual!

――――――――――

Race: Sand Worm Lv. 24–29

Job: None

Skills: 【Gluttony】

【Fangs】

【Acid】

【Parthenogenesis】

【Vitality Enhancement】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Blunt Resistance】

【Earth Attribute Resistance】

【Water Attribute Resistance】

【Fire Attribute Resistance】

【Wind Attribute Resistance】

【Sand Attribute Resistance】

――――――――――

Whoa! What the heck is with this ironclad defense and these tough-as-nails Skills!? Still, that explains why even Jigoro couldn't finish it off. With 【Vitality Enhancement】, 【Defense Enhancement】, and on top of that 【Blunt Resistance】, it's no wonder even Jigoro's kicks weren't very effective.

It's apparently strong against all four of the Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind attributes, too. An enemy with no obvious weakness is pretty unusual. But 【Sand Attribute Resistance】 probably means it has resistance to 【Sandstorm Magic】. Does that mean it's adapted to the desert environment, where the temperature varies so drastically between day and night?

"Well, then we'll just use other attributes. Jigoro, blunt attacks don't work well on this thing. Aim for slashing and piercing attacks."

"Oh, gotcha! So I just gotta do this!"

Following my advice, Jigoro slashed with his claws and drove his horns into it. He then bit into the Sand Worm without hesitation and tore away a piece of its flesh. If this had been a game with realistic blood and gore, ugly-colored bodily fluids would surely have been sprayed everywhere.

Even so, how can he bite into something that disgusting? Ugh, and he's chewing it!? Don't eat it! Spit it out!

"Grrr..."

"...Well, we can't charge in while Iris is in your arms. Let's focus on providing support together. Oh, don't use 【Fire Magic】, okay? It won't be very effective."

"Grr!"

Cal appealed to me with his eyes: 'What should I do?' That was because Iris, whom he had carried here in his arms, was still with him. If he wanted to fight at full strength, he would have to put her down somewhere, but we didn't have that kind of time. Jigoro was still fighting with his fangs and claws. If we didn't provide support, we might be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Besides, for Cal, who usually rampages on the front lines, this was a perfect opportunity to train his magic. How often did he get to shoot magic at a large target from a safe location, like hunting ducks?

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about it. Cal doesn't mind, either. Then let's bind them together first. Spell Adjustment: Holy Ring."

With 【Holy Magic】's Holy Ring, I bound several Sand Worms together. Now they couldn't move, and they made much better targets.

"GROAAR!"

"Take this!"

Cal fired Dark Lance from his mouth, while Iris tossed throwing items one after another. Come to think of it, Cal seemed to have a habit of casting magic from his mouth. When he was little, he had imitated me and fired it from his palms or the tips of his tail, but apparently it was easier to release magic from his mouth, so he had settled into that style.

Despite having 【Throwing Arts】, Iris's weapons weren't very accurate. It seemed highly likely that the environment was making her movements less precise. We needed to get a handle on these kinds of system quirks as soon as possible.

"ROOOOOOOAR!"

"GRUAAAAAAH!"

The warriors helping us were letting out battle cries I'd heard somewhere before. ...I see. I had a feeling I knew who they were.

"Ha! You guys aren't half bad!"

"Ha ha ha! We can't let ourselves be beaten by outsiders!"

The particularly large warrior who had answered me possessed tremendous combat ability. He disposed of Sand Worm after Sand Worm at a speed matching Jigoro's. The two of them developed a strange competitive spirit, and the rate at which they defeated the Sand Worms kept increasing.

Still, you two, this impressive advance is only possible because we're keeping the Sand Worms approaching from behind at bay, you know? Could you spare us a little consideration? We're insanely busy over here!?

"Gwoooooooooo!"

"Gwe-gweeeeeee!"

There had been quite a large number of Sand Worms, but after being defeated one after another, they lost their numerical advantage. No sooner did that happen than they burrowed into the sand and fled. Crush the enemy with numbers, and retreat immediately if that fails... Truly impressive.

"They fled? What an admirable escape."

――――――――――

You have won the battle.

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Race level has reached the required value. You can evolve.

Your Job level has reached the required value. You can change Jobs.

――――――――――

What!? Woooooah!? I've finally hit the big five-oh! It must be because I repeatedly defeated the White Exousia during the event. The experience had carried over.

Woohoo! What kind of evolution will be waiting for me next? I can't wait! While I was celebrating inwardly, I landed on the ground with Cal and the others. Then the warriors Jigoro and I had helped approached us.

"That's how they always are. They attack opponents who are outnumbered, and flee the moment they lose their numerical advantage. That's their nature."

As usual, it was the largest warrior who explained the Sand Worms' habits. He had been wearing a full-face helmet, but he removed it. The other warriors followed his example and took off their helmets as well. Then they bowed their heads to us.

"You have my gratitude for your aid, nameless traveler. I am Bowie, a Boar Orc serving as a centurion in Bigdaleio."

"Boar Orc... Was that the evolved form of an Orc?"

I had heard of Boar Orcs from Eiji. They were one of the possible evolutions of Orcs, the primary Race in Bigdaleio. Bowie was indeed even larger than Eiji, and the magnificent pair of tusks protruding from his lower jaw gave him a distinctly masculine air.

"Not every Orc evolves into one, but that is correct. And, my benefactor, I have one question. Who are you, and why have you come here?"

Hmm, he seemed prepared to fight depending on our answer. Even though his group was more exhausted than we were, was he prepared to stake his life on fighting for his comrades? Just as Eiji had said, perhaps they really did have the temperament of samurai.

"I mean you no harm. I am Izaam, a wandering traveler who came to meet two people in Bigdaleio: Eiji and Toji."

"Eiji and Toji... Oh, those wanderers!"

Oh? It seemed Mr. Bowie knew those two.

"Are they famous?"

"Of course. They're the only two wanderers currently in Bigdaleio."

"I suppose that makes sense."

At present, the only people to reach Bigdaleio were those two, who had blindly headed south after believing a rumor they heard in a goblin settlement. Eiji had reported his arrival in Bigdaleio on the forum, so some players appeared to be heading there now.

However, no one else had reached it yet. According to Eiji, the journey had been fairly arduous, so the fact that they had reached it on their first attempt meant they had been lucky. I sincerely hoped the monster players heading for Bigdaleio would do their best.

"Still, I'm surprised you're traveling with a Dragon. Its rank... a Lesser Dragon?"

"That's right. This child's name is Karnagtoor, and he's a Lesser Dragon. A lot happened before we met."

"I see."

If I told him Cal had been born from a mysterious egg given to me by a goddess, he wouldn't believe me, so I decided to be vague. There was something else I needed to make clear.

"Also, rather than having Cal under my command, I consider Cal one of my companions. Don't misunderstand that."

"Grrr!"

As if agreeing, Cal rubbed his head against me. Even after growing this large, Cal was still just as clingy as ever. I couldn't treat Cal, who responded to me like this, as nothing more than a subordinate.

"I'm sorry. Our country has cavalry as well, and they've scolded me for the same thing. You'd get along with them."

"More importantly, why were you struggling? That wasn't an opponent you should have had trouble with, given your skill."

Jigoro interrupted our conversation. I understood what he meant. I hadn't Appraised Bowie yet, but he looked extremely strong. If I had to guess, he was probably about as strong as Jigoro. The other warriors looked like seasoned veterans, too, so why had they struggled against a monster like that?

If it had been their first time fighting those Sand Worms, I could understand. Since they attacked from underground, even someone stronger than them might lose if caught off guard. But they were from this region and had fought the creatures enough to know their habits. It was only natural that I found it puzzling.

"It's an embarrassing story, but we were on our way back from investigating a certain monster. We were only observing it from a distance, but it attacked us, leaving many of us wounded. That put us on the defensive."

"A certain monster? What kind?"

"I don't know. I know from firsthand experience that something pierced us from a distance, and that the object contained a paralyzing poison."

"That was unfortunate."

A threat lurking in the desert, then. A powerful monster that even the people of Bigdaleio didn't know about... This could be...

"That sounds strong! Brother, let's take it down ourselves!"

"Haah... I knew you'd say that..."

I knew it! I knew Jigoro would say something like that! This battle maniac! Have you forgotten our purpose? We came here to pick up Eiji and Toji! If we got involved in this local problem, we'd be much too late getting back to Birdieparch!

"A rare monster... Rare materials... Heh heh heh..."

"Iris? You haven't forgotten our purpose, have you?"

Even Iris was saying things like that!? Was the heat making her delirious or something!?

"Really!? We're still in the investigation stage, but we'd be grateful if skilled fighters like you joined the hunt! I'm sure you'd be granted permission to stay for an extended period, too!"

"Ah, no... We..."

"There are all kinds of perks. All right! Then let's go—to your country!"

Jigoro started walking off with Mr. Bowie. All I could do was follow them, taking along Cal, who was looking at me anxiously, and Iris, who was muttering something under her breath.