Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 78: Sandworms

Ptooey!

Sein spat a mouthful of bloodstained saliva onto Krover’s already partially dried-out head.

After digging for a really long time, Sein’s effort yielded only a broken magic rod, now a mere half of what it once was.

This rod appeared to be of a slightly higher quality than Sein’s Acid Wand, featuring significantly a more intricate magic inscription.

Regrettably, it was in pieces, leaving Sein to wonder whether it might have once been a ranked magic artifact.

Krover’s body, from the chest down, had mostly disintegrated, leaving only one arm intact. It was no surprise that Sein had little to show for his efforts.

Apart from it, all that remained was a charred spine with some flesh still clinging onto it.

Sein believed that this was a fitting fate for Krover, considering all he had done.

Frustrated by his fruitless half-day of labor, Sein was on the verge of throwing away the damaged rod in a fit of anger.

He raised it in the air, ready to throw it out, but hesitated at the last moment.

It was, after all, a partial harvest, and the rod’s material was of decent quality.

Even if it seemed useless, it could potentially serve as a replacement for his Acid Wand when it came to digging.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sein continued his search in the area.

He had initially considered exploring the heart of the sandy valley, but an instinctual sense of danger cautioned him against doing so in his current wounded state.

***

After three consecutive days of searching, Sein discovered over a dozen initiate bodies.

Most of them lay partially buried beneath the yellow sand. No one had survived the sandstorm except for Sein.

The yellow sand, and most likely, the violent elemental energy ripples from the earlier chaos, had eroded these bodies.

Sein managed to gather a variety of intermediate and basic magic items, but the majority had been severely damaged and rendered useless.

Among the few items that were still in usable state, most had lost considerable elemental energy. It remained uncertain whether Sein could salvage them.

He began setting aside the “trash”. The sandstorm ordeal had also caused Sein to sustain quite a significant loss.

His body bore numerous wounds, even the Pale Mask he wore had been damaged to the point of being unusable.

Even so, he did not discard it into the pile of trash because it was the first piece of magic equipment he had personally obtained.

Much like the Acid Wand, and it held sentimental value to Sein. If his skills allowed, Sein endeavored to restore the Pale Mask in the future.

Sein had also managed to collect seven elemental beads, but they were not sufficient to activate the black key needed for his return to the Gloomhaven.

Unfortunately, there were no more initiate corpses for him to scavenge in the area.

In his quest to search for more initiate remains and answers to his lingering questions, Sein decided to venture deeper into the sand valley after regaining some strength and mana.

As he progressed toward the heart of the unfamiliar sand valley, he noted that his geo elemental shield ring showed signs of wear and tear, but his invisibility cloak seemed undamaged.

The funnel-shaped terrain of the valley provided some respite from the scorching heat as it was hard for sunlight to reach this area.

As Sein ventured further into the valley, he began descending vertically, further into its depths.

The sound of sand flowing reached his ears, and upon reaching the valley’s lowest point, Sein experienced a hint of coolness that he had not felt in a long time.

However, “coolness” might be an understatement, as Sein’s body was ice-cold.

It was at this moment, he saw countless yellow worms wriggling in the sand.

These worms were unlike any Sein had encountered before.

While their bodies appeared relatively smooth and flexible, the worms had barbed fangs on both ends.

These creatures were feeding on the dry and nutritionally barren yellow sand!

These worms came in various sizes, some only a few centimeters long, while others stretched several meters, highlighting their astonishing growth potential.

Sein could only see what was visible to his naked eye, and he shuddered to think about what might lurk deeper within the sea of worms.

Sein coined the term “sandworms” to describe this particular type of worm. They were named so because they primarily fed on yellow sand, which was abundant in the world Sein found himself in.

However, it became evident that these sandworms did not exclusively consume yellow sand.

Amid the writhing sandworm masses, Sein spotted tattered black magic robes.

Those were the standard attire of initiates from the Black Magic Academy of Mystralora City. The reason for the absence of any other remains or bodies was not hard to fathom.

Despite feeling chilly, Sein quickly felt his blood pumping again when he spotted nearly twenty or thirty crimson elemental beads scattered among the remains of the magic robes.

Those elemental beads seemed to be spared from the sandworms’ appetites.

The mucus inside a sandworm’s mouth could dissolve even fabric and sand, yet they showed no interest in those elemental beads.

Sein felt a surge of excitement and contemplated rushing to seize the elemental beads.

However, before he could act, a giant sandworm, more than ten meters long and unmistakably the king of this colony of sandworms, emerged from the wriggling mass.

It began advancing straight toward Sein’s location as soon as it emerged.

Its gaping mouth was filled with razor-sharp fangs. Given its immense size, it could easily swallow Sein whole.

To make matters worse, this giant sandworm was not alone. It was accompanied by numerous smaller sandworms and two other medium-sized sandworms measuring three to four meters in length.

Sein could not help but wonder if these Sandworms could somehow perceive him even though he was wearing his invisibility cloak.

As the giant sandworm left its sand pit, along with its companions, Sein observed something else inside the pit.

Hidden beneath the sand was an underground cavity that extended beyond sight, teeming with more sandworms.

Some might even surpass the giant one. Perceiving the impending peril, Sein did not hesitate and swiftly turned to flee.

After all, it was never Sein’s style to act recklessly. An exceptional mage should always rely on their wits to prevail.

His victory against the Giant Saltwater Crocodile when he was a mere junior initiate attested to his strategic prowess.

Facing an unknown number of sandworms of unknown strength, Sein had to think long and hard.

With Sein’s quick departure, the sandworms’ pursuit was also slowed down.

It was obvious that the invisibility cloak was ineffective against these sandworms, and their range for catching prey was limited.

It left Sein wondering how they could detect him.

Was it scent, body temperature, or perhaps the elemental energy within his body?