The Bookkeeper

The sun scorched relentlessly as always, and Raiden kept his mana zone activated around him. Surprisingly, it didn't cover as much space as his previous one. Even though this came effortlessly, it only reached about three feet from him.

Still, he could feel the heat within the breeze, even from the edge of his zone. The soft touch of the air against sand, and not just that—even the sound of it reached him.

He sweated heavily, not from the heat alone but from how each movement within the zone felt heavy on his body. Still, they felt more powerful than usual, and that was exactly what he needed.

The rest stood behind him while he faced the vast desert, the direction where the sand worms normally emerged. Their appearance rate was abnormal, but that meant little to him. If he was going to kill one to match Noelle's stats, all he had to do was wait.

However, he had stood within his zone far longer than he'd anticipated. If he kept his mana zone activated at this rate, he'd most likely be exhausted soon.

He gritted his teeth and began stamping his legs into the ground, hoping to lure a worm out with the vibrations. After minutes of that activity, he doubled over and held his knees, panting from exhaustion. The others immediately burst into laughter, teasing his tiredness. The elders were no exception.

But that only made Raiden smile, his mind turning to darker thoughts. He was going to leave them all behind to die anyway; might as well let them have their fun at his expense.

He began laughing out loud as his voice carried through the distance. The others looked confused, but Noelle simply smiled with Ash in her arms—she knew exactly what Raiden was trying to do.

Raiden wasn't only laughing for the fun of it, but if vibration was no use, then he was trying sound. Perhaps, too much noise could lure a worm out to quench his thirst for blood.

However, his laughter didn't last long before he began to cough. His lips were dry, and his throat felt like it was ripping apart. They had limited resources in the desert, and what little moisture he had left was being drained by his mana zone.

At that moment, he felt the urge to deactivate his mana zone for a moment and rest. Maybe a worm would show up eventually.

He dropped to the ground and deactivated his mana zone. The moment he did, sweat began dripping from his body into the sand. At that instant, the ground started shaking.

Raiden's eyes sparkled as he rose to his feet and reactivated his mana zone. He had no idea what exactly lured a worm out, but he didn't care about the details right now.

His eyes glanced around, searching for where the worm would surface. The moment he understood, the exact place he stood began sinking inward.

Fear shot through his chest as he spun toward the others. "Get back!" he shouted, concentrating mana into his legs and sprinting about sixty meters in the opposite direction.

He gulped as he watched the worm explode from the ground into the air. Where he'd been standing, he would have ended up straight in its mouth.

However, he knew he had only one chance to finish it off. As the worm's massive body hovered above, Raiden grinned widely and forced himself to release enormous amounts of mana, extending his mana zone by two feet in height and length.

Euphoria coursed through him as his body began to tingle with excitement. He concentrated mana into his legs and fists, the power forming a sphere around him.

He dashed beneath the worm, and just before it could plunge back into the sand, he jumped into the air, meeting the creature midair as he drove his fist below its neck. It released a loud, hollow wail, louder than the usual ones, making everyone cover their ears.

Raiden touched down with a devilish smile, his hand shaking and soaked in blood. The needle-sharp teeth embedded in the worm's tough skin had punctured right through his hand.

But he had the worm right where he wanted it—its retreat into the sand was delayed, and those precious seconds were all he needed.

He threw himself at the monster once more, using his left hand to strike until it also broke. Concentrating every ounce of mana he had left into his mangled right fist, he drove it forward, sending a bone-shaking sound through the distance before collapsing to the ground with euphoric thrills racing through his spine.

The worm growled as it convulsed in midair and finally burst apart. Blood cascaded down on them as Raiden wore a gentle smile, relishing the warm blood pattering against his skin.

Everyone had their mouths slightly open, completely stunned. To them, the whole thing had happened in less than thirty seconds, too fast for them to wrap their heads around.

[ALERT]

[MANA SOLIDIFICATION SUCCESSFUL]

[+5XP]

[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 6: LEVEL- 40/100 XP.

MANA CONTROL: 160

DRAGON MANA POOL: 1060/ 5000

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 350

STAMINA: 345

DRAGON AURA: 140

SKILL PROFICIENCY: ACTIVE 2

—Swordsmanship: 90%

—Euphoria: 80%

FAMILIAR TRUST: 102%

—Linked Familiar: WHITE DRAGON

CONTRACTS: ACTIVE 5.

—Name: [ASH]

—Bond Type: Sealed Pact.

—Name: [LEVI]

—Bond Type: Binding Oath.

—Name: [FREYA]

—Bond Type: Binding Oath.

—Name: [SPEED]

—Bond Type: Binding Oath.

—Name: [SOUL]

—Bond Type: Devotion Pact.

NEW ABILITIES:

—Soul of Dragon: 35%

—Heart of Dragon: 40%

—Moon Dragon's Veins: 15%

—Invisibility

—Gaze Beyond

—Soul Condemn

—Others Locked.]

Raiden smiled as he stared at the blue screen before his eyes. That was the only thing he had strength left for; he was so exhausted that even his regeneration was having trouble mending his broken fists.

"Raven?! Are you okay?" Stanley and the other men rushed to his side to check on him.

"You were so cool, Raven…" Stanley said, crouching down beside Raiden. It didn't take long before one of the men spotted his bleeding fists.

"Whoa, his fists are mangled…" the man whispered, voice breaking.

Raiden's eyes moved between their faces, wanting to tell them to just reset the joints in his hands, and he'd be fine. But even speaking those words felt impossible.

"We don't have a healer with us, but hang in there, Raven."

He could see the urgency in their eyes as they contemplated his fate, but Raiden's consciousness was slowly fading.

He appreciated their worry, but now that he'd proven he could take down a sand worm alone, the moment he recovered, he was heading to the underground market, the abyss.