Chapter 293 The Sandstorm

Massive clouds of sand were forming on the horizon, the wind growing stronger and stronger with each minute that passed. The clouds of sand were quickly getting closer and closer.

The dragon flapped his wings rising even higher into the sky, flapping his wings in an attempt to get above the storm.

However, it was in vain; no matter how many times he flapped his wings, the storm was just higher. The never-ending desert under him blended into a single endless blur.

Ding!

//

Dungeon objective discovered.

Objective: Survive the sandstorm

//

Ding!

//

Your power is too high, activating special mode: endless sandstorm

Objective: Kill as many monsters during the storm as you can. The storm and enemies will keep growing stronger with the amount killed. The more you kill, the more rewards you will receive. To claim your rewards retreat back through the portal

//

The dragon stared straight into the storm, trying to pierce with his gaze through the sand to discern what was hiding inside. The unending clouds of sand that were whirling and spinning blocked his vision.

He couldn't see anything nor hear as the clouds of sand crashing against each other drowned every other sound.

'I hate this feeling of the unknown.'

Vesuviuses golden eyes flared up with the mana flowing through them as he unleashed his domain.

Black smoke burst out of his body, the dark clouds quickly multiplying and obscuring the purple sun in the sky. The dark clouds were whirling, their shadow darkening the whole desert.

'Let's see what I can do with these new powers.'

The electricity sparked within the clouds, accompanied by rumbling and cracking that resonated through the sheer and vast desert, the blue and gold light flashing within the shadows.

The horns on the dragon's head brightly shone as multiple doubled circles with squares inside formed in the sky. All of them were spinning, blue and gold electrical tendrils striking against them, the lightning circling and crackling around them.

Vesuvius didn't stop. More and more circuits were forming all over the sky without him needing to even care.

The sandstorm was getting closer and closer, the howling of winds and grinding of the sand grains getting louder with each passing second.

'Time for the second stage'

Vesuvius raised his clawed hand above his head in a theatric but useless gesture. He was flapping his wings high above the desert, his body brightly glowing with mana, lightning and magma, replacing the sun hidden behind the clouds.

"Hahaha, let's see what the limit of this power is!"

Terrifying neon-red circuits looking like crooked geometrical shapes surrounded by the doubled circles formed straight under the previous set of circuits. They quickly multiplied, filling the whole sky in brightly glowing magical circuits.

The dragon flapped his wings, and even more of the black clouds erupted out of his body, thickening the black clouds above him, the darkness submerging the desert deepening even more.

The clouds crackled even more, and even larger and brighter arcs of lightning danced across them.

Tiny water droplets spread through the sky, forming small streams reflecting the light of the lightning.

The lightning jumped into the water streams, flowing through them as if they were electrical wires. The bright blue webbing of lightning crisscrossed through the black clouds to fuel the courses even more effectively.

"Graaah!!"

"Hrrrr!"

A cacophony of shrieks, howls and growls was coming out of the sandstorm, quickly closing towards the dragon.

The next instant, the sandstorm and the thunderstorm crashed against each other, the sand mixing with the ash. Everything turned so dark that it looked like it was during the night.

The clouds of sand enveloped the dragon, melting and turning into billions of small magma droplets rotating within the powerful winds.

The dragon directed his domain, the winds forming a massive fiery vortex. The wind was getting faster and faster, getting even louder than a starting fighter jet.

The bubble of wind explosively pushed out of the dragon's body, expelling the sand away from him, forming a giant bubble without even a signal grain of dust within the sandstorm.

He noticed monsters moving around him; they all swam through the sandstorm like fishes in a lake.

'Now!' His eyes glinted, and all of the circuits in the sky flared up. Thin neon-red rays of lightning shot from all directions, their red light lights flickering within the clouds of ash and sand.

[+450 XP]

[+360 XP]

...

The notification flooded the corner of his vision as he watched it in amazement, 'This is like having a swarm of AI-controlled drones around me.'

Vesuvius just hovered within his sandless bubble. The magic circuits spread around him, unleashing their rays through the sky, cutting through the monsters hidden within the sand as fast as they appeared.

He couldn't see them but still felt them with his domain. They had various shapes, all with wings instead of arms, and their feet had long curled claws ending with small hooks.

"Graaaa!!!!" an even louder growl came from the distance. More and more monsters whirled around, the red rays cutting through them like laser cutters. Their bisected and cut bodies were falling down towards the sands of the desert like a meteoric rain. There were more and more of them, their number quickly growing.

Like a swarm of bats, they flapped their wings, gliding through the winds around, circling the dragon like sharks circling a swimmer, their bodies hidden within the impenetrable clouds.

They were throwing themself against the dragon, the bubble of winds repelling them like an impenetrable barrier while the red rays cut through their bodies, burning them and splitting them into multiple parts, their burned remains raining down.

Their eyes glowed within the storm, their bodies obscured by the sand.

Vesuvius extended his will, anchoring his black clouds in the place, preventing the sandstorm from dissipating and taking them away. More clouds exploded out of his body, carrying strong acidic and toxic smells as they got sucked into the sandstorm, spreading everywhere while bathing the monsters in acid and toxins.

[+360 XP]

[+480 XP]

...

'Time to ramp this up!' Vesuvius opened his mouth, one circuit after another forming within, glowing like torches within a cave. An immense amount of purple fire burst out of the depths of his throat, passing through the circuits like a light passing through lenses.

Ding!

//

A second party entered the dungeon!

//