They all stopped in their tracks as they realized they weren't prepared for this.
This abyss was a desert type, and like normal deserts, it was filled with sand and was very hot. Not only did they feel that intimidating presence as they entered—now this.
"We aren't well equipped to fight in this place," Harden said, voicing what was on the minds of some of the others.
"It doesn't matter," Kevin spoke. "We were given a mission to carry out, and we shall carry on with it."
Just as they finished talking and were moving forward, they all felt a vibration from below. A lump of sand could be seen moving toward them.
"It's a sand worm!" a fighter named Peter shouted.
As soon as he did, a creature with a long, serpentine body covered in thick, armored scales that blended with the sand emerged. Its mouth was filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth—perfect for tearing flesh and crushing bone.
Luckily, Peter's warning had taken effect. All the mythical fighters dodged the supposed surprise attack. The jaws of the sand worm snapped shut as it dove back into the sand and disappeared from sight.
"Be on your guard, everyone!" Kevin shouted as he readied his weapons. His weapons of choice were a mace and a shield.
Without needing to be told, the damage dealers and supporters got in position, preparing for the next attack.
"Those are pros for you," Harden said in awe. "They don't work together on a daily basis—heck, I'm sure a lot of them are meeting for the first time. But they're this coordinated?"
"What're you newbies doing? Get to the back! You may be in the line of fire!" a fighter snapped, jolting Harden and Raizo back to reality. They hurried to the rear of the group, where they met a girl who seemed to be on the extraction team as well.
Just then, two more sand worms burst from the sand, their mouths open as they lunged toward Harden and Raizo. The two prepared themselves—but before the creatures could reach them, something flew past.
Both worms dropped dead. One had a gaping hole in it, clearly struck by a spear thrown by a mythical fighter of the Knight class named Mike. The other had been crushed by a swing of Kevin's mace.
"They quickly adapted to its attack pattern... I guess that's what it means to be a pro," Raizo thought.
"We gotta keep moving, or they'll just keep coming," a mage named Annie commented.
"I agree," Kevin said. "Our main objective is to retrieve the thermal mythril, so we need to spread out and find it ASAP."
The group continued moving, avoiding confrontations as best they could. But then they noticed something—it was getting hotter.
"I know it's a desert and all, but did anybody else notice that it's gotten hotter?" asked Daniel, a fighter and mage.
"It's almost like the heat is coming from a particular direction. I can practically feel it. It's just due north."
"It probably means we're close to the mythril," Harden chimed in.
"The kid is right," Annie added. "Thermal mythril has great heat resistance, so it makes sense that it'll be somewhere hot."
The group continued heading toward the source of the heat until they found a cave-like structure, formed by two large rocks leaning against each other, creating a natural doorway.
There wasn't any sand inside the cave. Instead, it was dry rock, seemingly baked by intense heat. Cracks could even be seen on the surface.
Inside, the heat was intense.
"How are we supposed to fight in a place like this?" Peter asked.
"Maybe we don't," Mike replied. "There aren't any beasts nearby."
"Let's just grab the mythril and leave," Kevin said.
"Wait!" a man shouted.
It was Derek. He was the quiet type—so quiet that some might assume he was dumb.
"It's probably a trap," Derek continued. "This mythril has to be one of the most valuable things in this abyss. There's no way it's left unguarded."
The man beside Derek, who seemed to be actually dumb, nodded in agreement.
"Even my brother Tyler agrees," Derek said.
"So what would you have us do?" Raizo asked.
"We'll do what we came to do," Kevin said with conviction.
"Let's finish our mission."
"Everyone, be on guard," Kevin said as they walked toward the mythril and removed it.
That felt too easy... something's off, Kevin thought.
Just as he turned to head back to the group, a monster emerged from a hole in the cave wall.
This time, it wasn't a sand worm—it was a sand centipede. And not just one.
A whole legion of them surrounded the group, sealing them in.
"We're screwed," Derek said.