Chapter 282: Encountering the Dungeon Boss

Solomon stared up at the massive Sand Centipede. Instead of reacting with fear, a wide smile stretched across his face. He looked at the towering monster as if he had just been reunited with a long-lost friend.

The centipede reared its plated head, staring down at Solomon while rapidly clicking its mandibles and dozens of sharp, segmented legs together in a threatening display.

Solomon eagerly pulled out his greatsword and dropped into a combat stance, fully ready to throw down.

However, instead of attacking the silver-haired boy, the centipede abruptly turned around. It dove back into the dunes and began frantically swimming through the loose sand in the complete opposite direction, fleeing as fast as its segmented body could carry it.

Solomon stared blankly at the retreating trail of disturbed sand.

"Hey! Why are you running?!" Solomon yelled, sprinting after the monster and swinging his greatsword wildly in the air like a madman. "Get back here and fight me!"

However, Solomon was incredibly slow at chasing a monster perfectly adapted to the desert environment. Whenever he tried to increase his sprinting speed, his boots would simply sink deeper into the loose powder, completely ruining his momentum. He couldn’t jump or utilize his evasive footwork properly, forcing him to maintain a steady, frustratingly slow jogging pace.

Just then, another violent quake shook the desert floor.

Solomon raised his brow in confusion. He slowed his pace. ’I am chasing the centipede right now, so what is causing that tremor?’ he thought to himself.

He looked back over his shoulder.

A colossal Sandworm was actively chasing both of them.

The beast was impossibly huge and terrifyingly long. Its hideous, fleshy body was completely riddled with jagged, teeth-like thorns protruding from every inch of its thick hide. The monster was so overwhelmingly massive and ugly that even Solomon did not dare to stop and fight it head-on in the open desert.

He wanted to fight it, but he quickly calculated the risks. Because the worm’s outer body was covered entirely in sharp, grinding thorns, if the beast simply happened to graze him or roll over his position, the sheer weight and the spikes would impale him instantly.

Solomon’s footwork remained slow in the deep sand, while the colossal sandworm traveled effortlessly beneath the dunes. The sheer danger of the beast was obvious, considering it caused earthquakes simply by slithering through the earth.

Solomon was an battle maniac, but he was not stupid.

As he continued chasing after the fleeing centipede while simultaneously running away from the advancing sandworm, the colossal beast descended deeper into the desert floor, swimming through the sand as if it were water.

Solomon could physically feel the intense vibrations rumbling beneath his boots as the monster closed the distance. He tightened his grip on his greatsword, fully prepared to fight it the moment it breached the surface. He was not afraid of the sandworm in the least, he was simply waiting for the right opening.

The vibrations passed directly beneath Solomon’s feet. The sandworm ignored him entirely, surging forward under the sand until it reached the fleeing centipede.

The colossal beast lunged straight up into the night sky, erupting from the dunes in a shower of sand. It twisted its massive body around and opened its horrifying, circular mouth. The jaws peeled backward exactly like a banana peel, revealing rows upon rows of grinding teeth. With a single strike, the sandworm gulped the huge centipede down whole.

Solomon skidded to a halt, watching the brutal display. He instantly realized that this colossal beast was obviously the boss monster he had been so eagerly searching for.

Unlike the restricted spatial rift, there was no magical law binding his combat abilities here. There were absolutely no hidden conditions to fulfill. There was just this boss that he had to defeat to clear the dungeon and stop the impending dungeon break.

After witnessing the sandworm consume the centipede so easily, Solomon finally understood exactly why he hadn’t encountered a single lesser monster during his entire day of wandering the desert. The colossal sandworm had systematically hunted and eaten every single creature in these dunes to grow bigger and stronger.

Solomon braced himself, fully expecting the monster to turn its attention toward him now that it had finished its meal.

However, that never happened.

The sandworm simply dove back into the dunes and swam away, disappearing into the dark horizon.

Solomon was left standing entirely alone in the desert, once again.

"I somehow feel insulted that the monster did not even notice me," Solomon muttered, lowering his greatsword. "Am I seriously too small for it to even care about? Did it just decide to let me go because I am not worth the calories?"

He let out a heavy sigh and continued his walk, deciding to search for another shallow cave to rest in.

He knew perfectly well that he had to defeat that colossal sandworm to clear the dungeon. He would have to fight it sooner or later. And given the blistering heat of the desert day, Solomon preferred fighting the beast under the cool moonlight rather than the scorching sun.

As he walked past the site of the attack, Solomon noticed the scattered remains of the centipede that the sandworm had failed to swallow—pieces of its thick shell, a few scales, and several severed, segmented legs.

An idea immediately sparked in his mind.

He walked over to the largest, curved scale. He wiped the green blood and sticky substance from the surface and placed the smooth, outer side flat against the sand. He grabbed two of the severed centipede legs, gripped them tightly, and used them as makeshift paddles.

Standing on the curved scale, he pushed off the sand and began aggressively paddling across the dunes. He had taken an extra scale, tied it to his back using the looted rope, and strapped a few more pairs of the severed legs to his waist just in case his current paddles snapped.

And just like that, Solomon taught himself how to surf across the desert.

A while later, his makeshift surfboard glided to a halt in front of a massive, ancient architectural structure carved directly into the side of a towering sandstone mountain. A colossal set of stone doors blocked the only path forward. The sheer cliffs surrounding the entrance made climbing the mountain an impossible option.

Solomon stepped off his scale and stared up at the towering doors. "I wonder if someone actually used to live here."

He looked around the desolate canyon. "Dungeons and rifts are just fragmented pieces of already ruined, destroyed worlds," Solomon muttered to himself. "This place was probably once a living, thriving civilization before it fell to ruin. Now, it is nothing but a monster’s den."

Solomon walked up to the huge stone doors and placed his hands against the surface. He pushed with all his might, but as expected, the massive structure did not budge an inch.

He stepped back and crossed his arms. "Should I try to explore this place and find a way inside, or should I just wander around the desert and hopefully encounter the boss again to defeat it?"

Just then, a deep, resonant rumbling echoed from within the mountain.

Solomon immediately drew his greatsword, fully ready for the boss monster to burst from the ground or crash through the walls.

Instead of an attack, the colossal stone doors slowly creaked open, pulling inward. Even though the heavy slabs only opened slightly, the actual gap created was so incredibly wide that an entire army could have easily marched through without breaking formation.

"How did they even open? There is no way someone manually used to open them. Maybe magic?" he wondered.

Solomon looked at the dark, open doorway. He shrugged his shoulders, rested the greatsword against his collarbone, and casually walked inside.