Luma then asked “What should we do now?”
“It’s obvious I’m going to tell the other hunters there’s no way we can go around all of the wasteland.”
Seojun opens the communication system and type in
NPC tribe in a canyon.
They mentioned multiple tribes across the wasteland.
Each one has trials.
If we gain their trust, they unite. and I’m pretty sure it connects to questline.
The hunter channel lit up almost instantly.
Messages began stacking on top of each other so fast the interface had to slow the scroll speed.
ForgeNova:
Does the tribe have any technology?
GraveBite:
You better tell me everything
Mira:
Ok
Luma leaned closer, peeking over Seojun’s shoulder.
“Wow,” he muttered.
“People are starving for content already.”
For a second, the chat slowed.
Then
The channel exploded again.
Rui:
Wait… that sounds like a storyline.
Rexplosion:
No way you just found the main quest already.
Lancerbot:
What level are you guys?
John11:
If that’s true the rewards are gonna be insane.
Luma let out a quiet whistle.
“Well,” he said.
“You’re popular now.”
Seojun shrugged.
“Good,” he said.
“Because we’re definitely going to need help.”
He typed again.
Seojun:
Also got two weird stones from the tribe leader.
Said every tribe has one.
ForgeNova:
Artifacts probably.
GraveBite:
Yeah that screams artifact quest.
Mira:
Bet they combine later or something.
Seojun leaned back slightly.
“Artifacts from each tribe…” he muttered.
“Yeah, that tracks.”
Another message appeared.
Seojun:
Eastern wasteland.
Canyon area.
Is where the first tribes.
Don’t rush here yet.
Rexplosion:
Why not?
Seojun looked up from the screen and glanced around the village.
Hunters were sparring near the canyon wall.
Others were sharpening blades beside the fires.
This wasn’t a dungeon.
This was their home.
“These people already barely trust us,” Seojun said quietly.
“Imagine thirty armed players walking in.”
Luma nodded.
“Yeah… that’s how you start a war with NPCs.”
Seojun finished typing.
Seojun:
Need to see how the tribe works first.
Might trigger a trial or something.
Lancerbot:
Fair.
John11:
Seojun glanced at the viewer chat floating in the corner of his interface.
Viewer1: omg legends from the US and China
Viewer2: CONTENT
Viewer3: JUNX carrying
Seojun laughed.
“Relax,” he muttered.
And the list of hunters are revealed
A new window opened in front of him, glowing faintly blue.
Hunter Deployment List
Lines of text began forming one after another as the system organized the players preparing for the hunt.
Pairs of hunters appeared across the screen.
Hunter Pairings:
ForgeNova — GraveBite
Mira — Rui
Rexplosion — Lancerbot
John11 — IronVale
Seojun — LumaSeojun scanned the list quickly before flicking it closed.
Seojun pointed toward the hunters ahead of them.
The hunters stood along the sand , the wind sweeping thin streams of sand.
A hunter named Kor finished explaining a creature that they must hunt beneath the dunes.
“The Dune Tyrant moves through this region,” he said.
“A sandworm older than our tribe. Tonight we kill it.”
The group of tribal hunters shout, a battle scream.
Seojun glanced at Luma.
Luma looked back at him.
“…You’re thinking it too, right?” Luma muttered.
Seojun scratched his cheek.
“Yeah.”
Luma sighed.
“Of course you are.”
Seojun stepped forward toward Korr.
The tribal hunters turned slightly as he approached.
“So,” Seojun said casually, “mind if we join the hunt?”
The wind blew quietly across the dune.
Several hunters exchanged looks.
The dry eyes of the people blinked.
“You want to help hunt the Dune Tyrant?”
Seojun shrugged.
“Seems interesting.”
Luma rubbed his face.
“Interesting,” he repeated quietly.
A tribal hunter named Sara crossed her arms, studying them.
“You are outsiders,” she said.
“This is not your desert.”
Seojun gestured behind them toward the canyon.
“I don’t think you discovered everything out there either. And we have already faced that worm.”
The Veincoil Parasite shifted around his arm as if agreeing.
One of the younger hunters took a small step back.
Sera noticed the parasite and raised an eyebrow.
“That thing fights for you?”
Seojun nodded.
“Usually.”
Luma added helpfully, “Unless it’s hungry.”
Seojun elbowed him
Korr stepped forward slowly, his massive spear resting against his shoulder.
“You have already survived the Dune Tyrant once,” the hunt leader said.
Seojun nodded.
“By running.”
A few hunters chuckled.
Korr studied both of them carefully.
“You still wish to face it?”
Luma looked out across the dunes for a moment.
The desert was dark now, moonlight casting silver light across the sand.
Then he shrugged.
Luma tapped his staff against the sand.
“…might as well end it quick.”
That got a few laughs from the tribal hunters.
Korr’s expression finally softened slightly.
“Very well.”
He pointed his spear toward the open desert.
“You may join the hunt.”
“Appreciate it.”
Then
A distant boom echoed across the desert.
The hunters immediately looked over
Another pulse followed.
BOOM.
This time the sand itself shook slightly.
Korr lifted his hand sharply.
“Stop.”
Everyone crouched low along the dune.
Seojun narrowed his eyes, staring toward the source of the disturbance.
Another blast of light flashed in the distance.
Not an explosion.
Magic.
“What the…” Luma muttered.
Over the next dune, the sand suddenly erupted upward in a violent spray.
A massive shape burst from beneath the desert floor.
The Sandworm.
Its colossal body twisted violently, scales grinding against each other as it thrashed across the surface of the dunes.
But something was wrong.
It wasn’t hunting.
It was fighting.
Seojun blinked.
“…Wait.”
Two small figures moved around the gigantic creature.
One of them was hovering several meters above the sand.
A girl clung sideways to a floating broom, wind whipping through her hair as she held a glowing magical crystal in one hand siphoning the power into the other hand.
Energy surged through the crystal.
“Got it charged!” she shouted.
She thrust the energy in her hands forward.
A pulse of condensed magic blasted outward, slamming into the sandworm’s head.
The impact rocked the monster sideways.
The sandworm roared, its enormous jaws snapping toward the ground.
Below it
Another hunter stood directly in its path.
Mira.
She held a long pike like weapon, its blade gleaming because of the mass amount of gold made of it.
And the gold armor and Jules all over her character.
The sandworm’s massive body lunged downward toward her.
Korr tensed.
“She’ll be crushed”
But Mira didn’t move.
At the last possible second
Space warped.
A circular distortion snapped open beneath her feet.
She vanished.
The sandworm slammed into empty sand.
Above it
Another portal opened.
Mira dropped out of the air gleaming like a diamond ,falling straight toward the monster’s exposed back.
Her pike plunged downward.
The blade pierced deep between the sandworm’s armored plates.
The creature roared violently, thrashing across the dunes.
Back on the ridge, the tribal hunters stared in stunned silence.
Luma slowly blinked.
“…Are those two idiots fighting it alone?”
Seojun rubbed the back of his neck.
“…Looks like it.”
Another pulse fired from Rui’s hand, blasting sand away from the worm’s head.
Luma stared.
“They’re actually doing damage.”
Seojun watched the chaotic fight unfolding across the desert.
Then he sighed.
“Well.”
Luma already knew what he was about to say grinning.
Seojun started walking down the dune.
“We should probably help.”
Luma groaned and followed him.
Behind them, Korr raised his spear.
“HUNTERS!”
The tribal warriors sprang into motion.
Because the hunt had already started.
I combine two chapters with this one