Even by rough estimates, I couldn't tell how deep Mount Shi Wong was or how many beetles lived there. This place wasn't called the most dangerous in the entire desert for nothing, and the apparent ease of killing the vulture beetles didn't fool me. Therefore, with great caution and my heart pounding wildly, I stood at the entrance to their lair, looking at the tunnels leading deep into the ground, with a disgusting green liquid dripping down the walls. There was a buzzing sound coming from inside.
"To carry out Anubis' orders, and even to find food, I'll have to go inside. But the mere sight of this slime makes me sick," I said, touching the sticky substance and rubbing it between my fingers. I was no expert on the mutants of this world, but I would guess that it was honey. Only it was most likely made from flesh; after all, they had nowhere else to get raw materials except from the corpses of various animals. It was like being in Australia... And there was another problem.
No sand was carried into these caves, which meant that I could only use what I took with me. It was probably pointless to say how long I could carry it around with me. In a couple of hours, the magic would suck all the juice out of me. So I had to come up with a little trick, the same one used by one of the most famous sand mages from a popular anime. I took some sand, shaped it into a relatively small reservoir, and then compacted it into sandstone. The result was a miracle, like the one Gaara carried on his back in a Buryat cartoon.
I tied it to my back, poured sand into it, and enjoyed its convenience.
"Heh. Anime saves the day," I thought, remembering the amazing armour of the desert bandits, and wanting to make something similar. But I wasn't ready yet.
A disgusting sludge immediately squashed under my feet. Trying not to pay attention to it, I carefully moved deeper, concentrating for a second on Anubis' trials. The choice between honing my close combat skills and my ranged skills still hung before my eyes. The choice was obvious, so as not to drive myself crazy with endless torment, I decided on the former. Ten thousand lashes with a whip on the enemy.
"Interesting... where am I going to find ten thousand enemies?" I blinked innocently, and without realising it, I almost fell into a giant pit. Only at the last moment did I grab hold of the sand on the walls... Imagine a huge cave with enormous columns covered in a red, stringy substance. Strange little bugs with glowing bellies hung from the ceiling, casting a dim light on this nest. Worker drones flew through the air, and dog-sized larvae swarmed in huge columns. Everywhere I looked, something was buzzing. And in the centre of the wild cave was a huge hole, the walls of which were completely saturated with a green, fluid mixture.
A lovely sight. Australia was relaxing. I wanted to turn around and leave, but the problem was that these wasps had compound eyes, which meant they could see everything that was going on around them. A couple of creatures flying near the tunnels noticed me, buzzed loudly and, intent on protecting their nest, flew towards me with their spines raised threateningly.
Pulling myself back into the corridor with my sandy paws, I saw with my own eyes how the huge abdomen of the insect pierced the stone. And no, it didn't leave it there, condemning itself to death, as was the fate of ordinary bees. It calmly pulled out its sting, shook itself off, and, jostling with its brothers, rushed back into battle. There wasn't much choice here, so I had to get some sand from the so-called Pumpkin and swing at my enemies with my pointed tentacles. The bodies split apart before our eyes.
"3/10,000."
I thought it would be easy. But the noise from behind me and the threefold roar from the nest crushed those hopes. The pheromones of the dead wasps attracted twice as many of their kind. Seeing how many of them were approaching, I swallowed hard and spun around like a sand tornado, just like in training with Baeel and Hamri.
Chavk* Cham* Hryas*
The whips moved after my hands, easily piercing their exoskeletons. Following my inner instructions, I carefully made sure that the blades at the tips of the sand were always sharp; a miss could mean death. But I wasn't the only one who was so smart. Sensing the threat, the wasps began to dig into the walls. Above and to the sides, the tunnel walls began to break, collapsing and surrounding me like locusts. Thoughts treacherously suggested that I flee. Somehow break through the crowd and get out, run the hell out of here, but magic might not approve of that.
"We are not good at dodging blows. Smoothly deflecting attacks while standing firm in one position, that is where our strength lies," my father's words made my feet dig into the floor. I couldn't rely on luck. Only on my skills.
BANG*
Sensing cracks forming beneath my feet, I smoothly moved to the side and plunged a pair of sharp blades into the head of a clever beetle. At that moment, someone's stinger grazed my arm, making my heart beat faster. Strengthening my position, I took out the nearest beetles with a well-aimed swing.
***
My tired eyes stared at what seemed like a large three-digit number. Three hundred and fifteen swings. Not bad, considering that each swing usually killed one or two individuals. But seeing how many more I had to make, my hands naturally dropped, not from depression, but from endless fatigue. Sitting in a rescue burrow made thanks to the Earth's magical properties, I barely had enough strength to bandage all the wounds I had received that day. I didn't always have enough speed; I couldn't move the sand as fast as my father. My stomach was empty... but all I managed to pull out was the abdomen of a wasp.
"Damn it!
I grabbed the meat and quickly dried it to get rid of most of the poisonous substances. It tasted no different from sand... and there were no juicy fruits, which were the reason I had embarked on this journey in the first place. As for water... the blood of these creatures was my only option. I knew it was a bad idea, but Anubis hadn't warned me. I reluctantly stained my hands with green slime, which was little different from the devil's mucus, and brought it to my mouth. As soon as I took a sip, I felt the disgusting substance begin to envelop my insides like some kind of oil.
My body immediately shuddered from some kind of spasm and tried to vomit everything I had swallowed. But I closed my mouth and, with disgust, forced myself to keep every drop inside. Otherwise, it would only get worse.
It took me several hours to eat a small portion and get at least some calories. With real suffering, I leaned against the wall and took out the hourglass, clutching it tightly in my palms. All the grains of sand had almost fallen out.
"… Evening. The next day will soon begin… I need to sleep," he thought, watching the last grain of sand fall. The hourglass turned over by itself and the count began again from zero.
The morning began without any joy and with a nauseating smell from my mouth. In a bad mood, I filled my stomach with a new portion of horror. When it was time to move out, I touched the wall where there were small holes for air to pass through and, with trembling hands, made a passage for myself. Without noticing it, I began to move through the local corridors with greater caution, pressing myself tightly to the ground with every movement. Hearing a couple of beetles flying towards me, I got ready and formed sand blades.
Sukh-sukh-sukh*
"What?!" The blades only pierced part of them. The bodies did not fall and continued to fly. I... was severely exhausted and needed rest to recover my magical powers.
"Keep training."
The inscription that appeared before my eyes seemed very ominous for some reason. Clenching my lips, I was simply forced to jump aside to avoid being pierced, and then stab a couple of sharp spikes into my enemies again. Twice as many swings, and my opponents were still alive. Nevertheless, Anubis counted these strikes against me.
But yesterday, when he was trying to cut up one body, he didn't count the points.
"One more to go," my hands were shaking. For some reason, this one bee seemed faster than ten yesterday. If it's like this all day, they'll surround me and eat me in seconds. And so, remembering how I had once been pulled out of the boat by a sand whip, I suddenly opened my eyes and dragged myself to the side with the tentacle that was stuck in the ceiling. I braced my feet firmly against the upturned floor and struck with everything I had. Only after a couple of extra movements and three times as much effort did I manage to deal with such a small crowd...
Nevertheless, I looked around in surprise.
"Why didn't I think of moving with ropes before? It's convenient," but it took even more strength. Exhaling, with a shadow on my face, I jumped down and slowly trudged on. At the same time, sand from the pumpkin began to slowly surround my body, forming a cloak to protect me from penetrating attacks. Today, it will take a lot of hits.
Shush*
Approaching the end of the corridor, beyond which a huge nest began, he clenched his fists with excitement. Yesterday, he would never have ventured here... but today, survival depended on a large space.
Jumping down, I dug several ropes into the wall and carefully climbed down. Below, a swarm of deadly, agitated killers was already waiting for me. Their cold eyes thirsted for revenge for the death of their comrades.
"…I'm sorry.
***
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