Chương 93: Lessons

"Stay right where you are," Lucas told his brother.

"Once I'm done, make plenty of noise and get ready to dodge." Lucas did not explain his plan further to his brother. Instead, he started sending out fire attacks all around him. The sand around Tray all became glass, except for about a two-meter circle around Tray. Since Lucas could not figure out where the Inferno Sand Swimmer would land, he dictated where it could appear.

"Now stomp your feet. Jump up and down. But be ready to get out of the way when you feel the Demonic Beast is coming," Lucas told his brother. Damion, Mage Blythe and the Fontanes' two protectors, Mage Hollis and Knight Belcher, watched in silence as Lucas put his plan into motion. None of them were entirely sure if this would work, or what would happen if it did. Damion could not help but wonder if the Inferno Sand Swimmer would be more vulnerable if trapped on the surface or more deadly.

A moment later they all received the answers to their silent questions. The Inferno Sand Swimmer burst out of the sand and landed on the hard glass Lucas had created. The glass cracked in several places from the Demonic Beast's impact, but otherwise held. After Tray had dodged out of the way, he hurriedly attacked the opening he had been in to lure the Inferno Sand Swimmer to the surface.

With all its escape routes cut off, the Demonic Beast looked back and forth between the brothers, snapping its pinchers menacingly. Lucas was the first to attack. The fire mage sent a fireball at the scorpion looking Demonic Beast's face in hopes that the Inferno Sand Swimmer's eyes were vulnerable. If they were, Lucas would have to try again to find out, as the Demonic Beast raised a pincher intercepting the fireball before it could reach its face.

"Go for the face," Lucas told his brother who immediately started to send spells out himself. The two brothers were sending flurries of fireballs at the Inferno Sand Swimmer and, while he admired their plan, Damion could not help but wonder how long it would be before the two ran out of mana. Their Demonic Beast opponent was using its pincers to block all of their attacks and if the two did not hurry up and land a blow they were going to tire themselves out.

Despite blocking all the Fontane brothers' attacks, the Inferno Sand Swimmer evidently had enough. Keeping its pincers up to block, it began using its tail to lash out at the Fire mages. Damion could see on the tip of the Demonic Beast's curved tail a wicked stinger and he had no doubt that it contained a deadly venom.

"Are you capable of negating the venom from the Inferno Sand Swimmer?" Damion quietly asked Mage Blythe.

"What? Oh, I can't out-heal it. But I brought several vials of the antivenom," the healer answered.

"You should get one ready. I don't think these two are going to last much longer." While Damion did not want to jinx the Fontane brothers into failing. One had to admit, they were not doing well against the Inferno Sand Swimmer. To Damion it even looked like the Demonic Beast was toying with them. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Each time the Demonic Beast's tail struck down and the Fontane brothers dodged out of the way, the tail struck the glass ground punching a hole in it. Already the glass sheet was broken enough that the Inferno Sand Swimmer should have been able to escape if it wanted. Damion guessed the only reason it had not fled back into the sand was because it did not feel threatened by Lucas and Tray. Lucas and Tray were both becoming frustrated by their inability to harm the Inferno Sand Swimmer.

They tried spreading out, to force the Demonic Beast to block from different directions. They tried grouping up to concentrate their attacks, but nothing was getting through. Both brothers were getting visibly tired, and it would not be long before they ran out of mana. Their only hope was to get lucky, and that did not seem likely to happen.

The Inferno Sand Swimmer lashed out with its tail again, but this time, when Lucas tried to roll out of its way, he tripped over the broken ground made by the Demonic Beast's previous attacks. Lucas' leg was pierced by the Inferno Sand Swimmer's stinger and he let out a cry of pure anguish as the venom poured into his body. Damion acted instantly, rushing over, dragging Mage Blythe with him.

The Inferno Sand Swimmer saw Damion and Mage Blythe approaching and decided it would be best to go back to hiding in the sand, but before it could, Damion shot forward with his sword. With a single downward thrust, his blade pierced through the Demonic Beast's carapace right behind its head and pinned it to the ground. The dying Demonic Beast lashed out a few times with its tail, trying to take Damion with it, but Damion just batted the tail aside with the back of his armored forearm.

A moment later the Demonic Beast had stopped moving and Damion pulled his sword out and cleaned it before sheathing it. Mage Blythe had already given Lucas a vial of antivenom and healed the wound left by the Inferno Sand Swimmer's stinger. Neither brother said anything to Damion or Mage Blythe as they were both too exhausted. Damion was not sure if once the brothers had a chance to rest if they would thank him or curse at him for stealing their kill, but he also did not care.

Mage Hollis and Knight Belcher walked over nonchalantly and inspected the two Fire mages. After a long moment of silence, Mage Hollis finally spoke.

"Are the two of you convinced now?"

"Yes sir," the Fontane brothers answered together.

"Good. I expect you all to take your physical training seriously now. Not every problem can be solved with magic. Knight Wells was able to take out the Inferno Sand Swimmer in seconds and without getting so much as a scratch. Your performance in this dungeon was abysmal. Arguing with one another. Not doing any prep work beforehand. Your father is going to be very disappointed when I give him my report." The two Fire mages hung their heads as they received Mage Hollis' scolding.

Damion struggled, but he managed to contain his laughter. The entire purpose of this dungeon run was so a father could teach these two arrogant brothers a lesson. And it seemed to have worked, at least for now. Damion suspected that once they forgot the sting of defeat they would be back to making stupid mistakes in dungeons and wherever else they might be.

"Knight Wells, would you happen to be able to tell which oasis contains the guardian?" Knight Belcher asked politely. Damion looked to the distant oases. Before he had been unable to tell which was which, but now he could clearly see that one oasis had a distinct reddish tint to it.

"That one," Damion said as he pointed.

"I can tell which it is now because I killed the Inferno Sand Swimmer?"

"Precisely. Ordinarily the oases are impossible to tell apart, but if you kill an Inferno Sand Swimmer it becomes possible to detect the difference. Though only until you leave the dungeon. Next time, you will have to kill another one to see the reddish tint."

"Well, if we are done here, how about we go kill the guardian. I feel like a nice cold bath is in order."