Mathew couldn’t fathom how such a large creature almost snuck upon them all. Hell, it practically did. Nobody expected the mage’s words to lead to something of this magnitude.

He steeled his nerves. It was a floor boss, but there were more people here to fight it than Mathew could have ever expected. Everyone here was Apprentice rank for the most part. Mathew couldn’t know that for sure, but if one made it this far, they had to be strong.

Instantly he summoned both Agnox and Cherry. The latter of which screamed at the sight of the worm. “Cherry, get it together. You are on healing duty.” Mathew pointed at everyone on their team. “These are allies, focus on them.”

He didn’t bother checking on her. Instead he brought out his wisps and [Doozkora’s Staff], the mana sink into bringing out his entire kit mitigated thanks to his mana storage ring. People sent ranged attacks flying toward the beast.

Those without ranged attacks either ran forward or stayed back. One of those who ran forward was Zachary. Both his fists were already glowing blue, and he shouted back at them. “Let’s go kill this Tremor’s knockoff so I can get my wish!”

“Wait, you idiot!” Henderson shouted, but he was gone. “That thing is ginormous. Can we even kill it?”

“We have to.” Mathew said. “I think it is here for all of us and that Sundrop item. If it eats it, nobody gets it.”

“Fucking…alright. What’s the plan here brainiac?”

Mathew looked over everything. “I don’t think melee confrontation will work. It’s too large to hold off, and probably not very smart, like a beast. So let’s focus on dodging and attacking.”

Leo looked back at Mathew. “Glad you came up with the same plan as everyone else. Less talking and more killing!”

Mathew didn’t bother retorting and fired attack after attack. The creature was far too large for him to use his chains to try and restrict it. Not that he believed the creature would even be affected by them.

The sandworm moved through the ground and it reappeared under another group of people. At least two were eaten, everyone else was sent flying through the air.

Those who were attacking its midsection ran over to its head before it dove back down. Mathew watched as most of their attacks barely left any marks on its body. Nobody’s basic attacks left any large visible wounds.

Narrow slices from blades and some puncture wounds could be seen. It was hard to tell how those with bludgeoning damage with hammers or fists were doing. Those with fire or lightning damage left visible single marks, but the flesh seemed mostly fine.

The Japanese man with his katana remained with their group, seeming ready for anything. Jeffery was still with Mathew, while Agnox was flying around throwing the occasional [Firebolt].

“Just how strong is this thing!” Someone from Leo’s group shouted.

“Apprentice rank maxes out at Level 110.” Mathew explained. “My guess…That thing is right up near that level. Every Floor Boss has been at the peak of its rank.”

“We are so dead.” Henderson muttered. “We should pop our tokens now while we can.”

Mathew looked at her, “Did you forget the rules? If we pop the tokens, everything we’ve gained here goes to waste. I have no idea how deep that goes, but I am not going to risk all this development, levels, items, and so much more because of a giant worm.”

“You are willing to risk your life for some treasure?” Henderson asked in shock.

“If I don’t risk my life for what I've gained, then I might as well be dead.” Mathew said, looking at her. “It goes beyond the treasure. It is a foundation of who we will be. I’ve seen strong enemies, fought them, and nearly died fighting some of them. Risking my life for power is all I have ever done since The System showed up, and I am not stopping now.”

Mathew watched the worm's movements, trying to figure out the best way to take it down. “Anyone here have a way to bypass heavy defenses? What about something that can affect your senses or mind?”

“I can penetrate almost any defense.” The old japanese man said. “My damage won’t be as good, but I can make it notice me easily.”

Henderson nodded. “I can distract its senses.”

Mathew started to come up with a plan. However there were more parts that needed to be filled. “Leo, you and your people start rallying everyone together. Just ensure nobody backstabs anyone else. We are all humans in this shit hole. Nobody gets the reward if we all die. If anyone causes problems, force them to leave, or outright kill them.”

“Who died and made you king?” Leo shouted back at him. “We got this, just overpower it and we win!” His words were followed by more attacks from shotgun, Lucky. Mathew saw he was itching to just jump toward the beast and start to hack at it.

“No. We have to do this right. That thing easily triples all of our levels. Maybe double for those in the forties. We all need to do this right, including myself. We each have a role to fill. I need you to do your part, so I can do mine.” Mathew almost pleaded with his old law partner.

Leo looked back, meeting Mathew’s eye. Behind them was no emotion. Just blind rage. Mathew almost felt bad for Leo. He could see he had only pushed himself to forget about Madison and his sister. Then a twinkle of something else showed. “Fine. You get one shot.”

Mathew rolled his shoulders. “If I mess this up, we are all dead. Next thing is to keep the worm busy enough to not mess up this ritual.”

Lines of mana from Mathew started to be drawn just above the ground. Mathew focused his mana carefully, using every ounce of his [Channel Mana] Ability combined with his [Mana Text] to form this ritual.

He wanted his own mana to saturate this ritual. He had no clue if his ice affinity would matter, but he needed it to. The entire time his Axiom of Pattern worked to strengthen the ritual. Shapes became sharper. Lines straighter. Minor mistakes no longer were made with the backing of the ritual working together with the other parts.

All his experiences worked together, supporting one another to ensure this ritual was perfect. Mathew only had supplies to perform this once. He wasn’t sure it would work. It was a modification of another ritual he created inside the Crafting Challenge.

While he was working on creating the ritual, the battle continued. The screams of fear were cut off by the edge of death. Some people used their tokens if they were fast enough. Those who were not dead or fleeing, fought.

Leo and his people went around, directing combat. Most people were willing to work together. The earth mage that was still alive started to point to where the worm was going to pop out next.

The worm roared once again in either pain or annoyance. Everyone went to cover their ears and try to avoid the loose sand that was slowly dragging people down.

It then dove under the sand once again. Everyone chose to spread out, trying to predict where it will appear again.

“Mathew, I want an ETA on your big plan!” Henderson called out.

“Five- No, Three minutes tops!” Mathew shouted out, finishing his ritual.

He was rushing it. Cutting corners. However, with how he planned to make this ritual work, he could cut a few.

“Take the base of the summon sword, reverse the target. Slap on the Raise Earthen Wall ritual I got from Gaia’s world, remove the distance modifier and all amount of control over the material, so I can keep the mana cost really low. Then add the trapping modifier and…”

“Done!” Mathew shouted. “Katana, throw it on the circle!” Mathew shouted to Mr. Naoki. “Henderson, whatever distraction you have, get it ready. We get one shot to have him not miss!”

“You think I’ll miss it? Boy, you should learn to trust in your elders.” Mr. Naoiki said.

“Not you that I’m worried about. It’s someone else messing everything up, or something unpredictable happening.” Mathew said as he slammed two Mana Cores into the ritual. He had no clue if using more than one core would work. This was his first time experimenting with it. As many people throughout history have said ‘Desperate times called for desperate measures’.

The lines of mana glowed as the ritual worked to enchant Mr. Naoiki’s sword. The scream of someone getting thrown through the air came from behind Mathew, but he didn’t look away. Once the ritual was finished, he threw the sword at its owner.

“Get to running. Cherry buff Mr. Naoiki!”

“I thought you said to only use it on yourself.” Cherry asked, seeming shocked.

“Stop questioning me, and do it!” Mathew ordered. “He needs the speed and I’m not letting our new friend risk his life without us giving him every edge of a chance.”

Cherry only hesitated another second before she closed her eyes and focused. A pink glow surrounded Mr. Naoiki and he flexed his hands. “Oh, this is nice. How long does it last?”

“Probably not long enough, Go!” Mathew ordered. “Hit the worm as close to its head as you can. HENDERSON!”

“On it!” Captain Henderson ran with Mr. Naoiki. Mathew saw her sheathe her sword, and pull out something from beneath her armor. It was some sort of pendant.

Mathew focused on himself, and prepared to cast [Fracture] right when Mr. Naoiki activated the ritual. He looked at the people near him. “Anyone who can, wait till that man lands an attack with his blade. When the worm is in distress, then we all attack together!”

Only three people gave Mathew a positive response. One person gave him a middle finger and a second told him to “Fuck Off.”

“Idiots. I don’t see them with any plans!”

The worm dove under the sand, before anyone got close to it. Everyone turned toward the Geomancer, waiting for his warning. He had a face of confusion and his eyes went wide. “It’s over there!” He pointed toward Mathew.

The sand under his feet started to drop. Just as it did, a force slammed into him, sending him far enough away to avoid the open mouth of the worm. Mathew watched as a red beast was swallowed up.

Mathew couldn’t believe that Jeffery saved his life. The Sandworm continued to rise into the air. A dull white light surrounded the worm’s head. It was a large sphere that Mathew assumed came from Henderson. The Sandworm let out a screech that it had yet to make.

“NOW!” Henderson yelled.

Mathew barely saw Mr. Naoiki move. He pushed a large amount of mana into [Fracture], aiming right where the sword was going to connect. The worm’s flesh was hard enough that a web pattern appeared on it, and a chunk of its rock hard skin came off.

The sword sunk down to its hilt and Mathew felt his own ritual activate as it made contact with the worm. Sand started to move and gather around the wound.

People ran away as sand continued to pool around the worm and form a giant mound on its side.

As more sand flew toward the Sandworm, the more it leaned to the side, unable to support the weight. Mathew let out a chuckle as his ritual worked.

“It’s slowed down, get it!” Mathew yelled, and let loose another [Fracture] on its free side.

That was the moment the battle turned. Everyone rushed toward the worm as it was slowed down. It was still able to dive into the sand, but its movements were easier to predict. The sand moved much more noticeably and the geomancer could detect its exact location.

Flesh continued to chip away as more spells and attacks wailed on the worm. It let out a screech of pain once again. This time, the sand continued to vibrate, so much so it rose into the air around them all.

A sandstorm appeared, making it much more difficult to see anything. The sand bit and tore into Mathew’s exposed flesh. He was forced to conjure up a back up shirt and cover his face up with it.

Cherry and Agnox fell back toward Mathew as he went to them both, able to track them down even while blind. “What now?!” Agnox yelled.

“Find the others! We need to regroup.” Mathew yelled back over the roaring sands. “The worm is still alive probably. We need to finish it off, and watch out for anyone looking to steal that Sundrop!”

Mathew opened the quest and eyeballed the timer. “We only have five minutes. Let’s get going.” He tried to find the pillar of light, but couldn’t see anything through the sandstorm.

He pushed forward, trying to find anyone. He didn’t want to move too far away from where he remembered he last was, but it was impossible. The sand moved all around him. He was lost. And, worst of all, Jeffery was gone.