"Too hot," Feyrith groaned as he and the others trudged through the scorching desert.

"Shut up," Theo groaned. "The more I think about it the worse it feels."

It was day three of the relic tomb dive, and today they were making their way through a scorching hot desert of red sand, giving it the ominous look that it was stained red by blood.

"Hey Kathyln, think you could conjure us some ice to cool us off?" Curtis asked.

"There isn't even enough water in the air to form an ice cube," she replied as the sweat ran down her face.

They were taught about the importance of conserving mana in the relic tomb due to the complete lack of mana. They did bring four ironized diamonds that were full of mana that Gideon provided, but in circumstances like this it was very tempting to be a little frivolous with their mana.

"Just hang in there a little longer," Arthur told them as the heat was roasting him as well. His only saving grace was that he could easily remove his armor. "The next teleportation gate has to be close."

They continued for a little while longer until the ground began to shake.

"Did anyone else noticed that, or has this heat really fried my brain?" Theo asked as he renenforced his body with mana.

"Earthquake maybe?" Curtis commented as he and the others began covering their bodies in mana.

"I doubt it," Arthur replied as he created an aether sword.

Elijah placed his hands on the sand and used earth's pulse. "Somethings coming, something big. It's underground and...shit, make that quite a few somethings. I'm counting five, so seven."

"If it's moving through the sand we're at a disadvantage," Arthur commented as he looked around. "There!" Arthur pointed to a rock formation protruding out of the ground. "With any luck it won't be able to break through rock and we can make our stand there."

With that everyone started running. After a few seconds five trails could be seen behind them as the beast moved closer to the surface.

"They're going to catch us!" Curtis yelled.

"Get ready to jump!" Theo yelled as he cast a spell to lower everyone's gravity. "Jump now!"

Everyone did as they were told and were able to jump over one hundred feet into the air. As they looked back they saw a series of tentacles had shot out of the ground to try and catch them, but were waving around in search of them instead. They landed just a few feet from the rock formation and quickly scrambled over. As soon as they landed the underground beasts felt their landing through the sand and began racing over. The rock formation was rather large, so there was plenty of room for everyone to climb on. Once on they looked back, all but one of the trails had disappeared, while the last one was continuing to race towards them.

Seeing the beast still charging they quickly prepared a spell each. Lilia sent a concentrated steam of wind along the sand that once close enough tried to blast through the sand to the beast. The spell stirred up a large amount of the sand, but didn't hit the beast, as it was seen exiting the cloud under the sand. Kathyln fired three ice spears that hit the sand in a line along the beast's path. The spears would have hit the beast if not for the sand, which acted as a cushion that took away much of the spears' penetrating power and they fell over as the beast continued racing towards them.

"Get away from the edge!" Tess yelled.

The beast collided with the formation, shaking everyone as cracks shot out where it hit. A few seconds later purple blood began oozing out of the sand at the surface.

"Clearly that one wasn't very smart," Curtis commented with an amused tone.

"Yeah, but sadly the others seem to be smarter," Claire commented as she looked for any sign of the beasts.

"You don't suppose they decided we're not worth the effort?" Lilia questioned.

"Doubtful. Considering that they found us when we landed they must be able to feel our footsteps on the sand. They probably realize we're on a safe place, and are just waiting to see what we do next," Arthur surmised.

"You think they're that intelligent?" Curtis asked.

"Not sure. But I'm willing to bet there are or were other beasts here that used rocks like these to survive. Most predators know there limits, so it's probably aware that they can't easily catch us on these rocks," Arthur replied.

"So what do we do now? Just wait here till they lose interest and go away?" Claire asked rhetorically.

"No, the heat will probably kill us well before that happens," Arthur replied as he began to analyze the situation. "All we can do for now is think of a way to either kill or get past them."

"You know, we probably could have outrun them if we had Grawder and Llyr," Curtis commented, still feeling a bit annoyed that his bond couldn't come.

"We've been over this," Arthur reminded him.

"I know I know," Curtis replied like an annoyed child.

Although in the last timeline Grawder proved to be very useful during the dive, there was also a floor where he was a burden. It was a puzzle floor with a short ceiling and a narrow walkway, and they needed more space than they were even given, and Grawders size had only made things harder. Taking this into consideration Arthur banned mana beasts from going past the first floor, as they may be needed in the town that was starting, but could get them killed further down.

"Hey, why don't we just send Regis out to draw them away?" Curtis suggested.

"What?!" Regis shouted in confusion.

Even Arthur and Tess looked at Curtis in disbelief at this suggestion as the others looked at him curiously.

"Well I mean he's faster than us, and it's not like he's even alive." He looked at Arthur. "You said it yourself, he's a weapon."

"Sentient weapon," Arthur clarified.

"Meaning I think, and feel," Regis stated as he started to stalk over to Curtis threateningly. "And I'm feeling very pissed and insulted right now you royal brat." As Regis closed in Curtis began stepping backwards. "Maybe we should just send your worthless ass out there to draw those worms attention?"

The others became nervous and looked to Arthur expectantly, thinking he would stop this, but he showed no sign that he had any intention of getting involved. In fact he wasn't even paying attention, he was instead looking out into the desert lost in thought. Arthur did understand why Curtis said those things, despite his appearance he didn't see Regis as a living thing. This was of course due to their lack of interaction, not like that could have been helped. Between helping Tess absorb the mana from Cadell's horn and keeping an eye on Elijah, Regis was very busy over these last two months. Making Tess and Elijah the only ones who really understood him. That being said, it was time that everyone else got a better understanding about Regis to avoid trouble in the future. It's not like Regis was going to kill anyone, he thought.

"Arthur do something!" Lilia cried out as Curtis was near the edge.

Arthur casually looked over. "Regis has every reason to be pissed. You all need to see him as more than just a weapon, because he is. All he's doing is venting, and has no intention to hurt anyone so I'm not going to stop him."

"You hear that? Arthur isn't coming to your rescue, and no one else here stands a chance against me," Regis said with a sadistic tone.

Tess came up to Arthur and whispered. "Are you sure he won't hurt anyone?"

"I'm pretty sure," he replied.

"Do you know what your fate is in this war?" Regis asked Curtis. "To be a side character that no one remembers. That when you actually go face to face with Alacryan soldiers you just die. Unlike your parents they won't even have your body put on display to help break the people's spirit, since it wouldn't phase anyone enough!"

"That's enough Regis, you don't need to break him down here."

"I'm almost done."

"Now if you want to change that, how about you put that brain of yours to use and actually come up with a plan that doesn't involve sacrificing anyone!"

With that Curtis fell backwards onto the sand.

Arthur's attention immediately shifted and god stepped to Curits.

"Get him ou...!" Lilia yelled, stopping as she saw Arthur appear beside him, then disappeared again before reappearing behind everyone.

"Thanks," Curtis said to Arthur, who just quickly walked back to the edge.

"That damn wolf of yours is a liability!" Lilia shouted to Arthur. "You need to just keep him in your body if we aren't fighting!"

But Arthur didn't respond, his attention was focused on the sand, as several tentacles felt around on the surface.

"Interesting," Arthur thought out loud.

"Arthur?"

"Lilia calm down," Curtis said. "I'm fine, he was just angry."

"But he's a weapon!"

"But like he said, he can think and feel." He then stood up and walked over to Regis, got down on one knee and bowed his head. "I'm sorry for what I said. You're actually more like Arthur. Someone who was treated like a weapon even though you're more."

Regis sat down and placed a paw on his head. "I accept your apology. You will make an excellent man servant to manage my future harem."

"Regis," Arthur said with an annoyed tone.

"What?" Regis replied with an amused smile.

Arthur just shook his head. "At least your little altercation proved useful."

"What do you mean?" Elijah asked.

"After Curtis got back on the rock, some tentacles came out and started feeling around. I think this beast is able to feel the subtle vibrations we make when walking on the sand," Arthur explained.

"So then drawing them away will be possible," Curtis replied.

"Yeah, so get out there and start running," Regis said with an annoyed tone.

"Or we could lead them into a trap?" Claire suggested.

"My thoughts exactly."

—————————————————————

"Ok, I can think of a few reasons why this is a bad idea," Regis said to Arthur flatly, everyone else nodded in agreement.

"How long do you all think you can survive here with this heat?" Arthur asked. "It's over one hundred degrees, and this rock formation has the only shade, and even that's not much." Arthur sighed. "Tess, Elijah, and I could fly out of here, but what about the rest of you? Our best bet is to kill these beasts as quickly as possible."

"Ok we get that, but there has to be another way," Tess pleaded as she grabbed his hands and held them.

"There isn't a sun here, yet it's so hot. I'm willing to bet there isn't going to be a night time here either. Our condition will only deteriorate the longer we wait. Right now we have a plan with a good chance at working with minimal risk," Arthur explained.

"Minimal risk!? You're going to be bait for those things!" Theo yelled.

"Two things," Elijah started. "One, why does Theo care that much? Two, why doesn't Tess?"

"I just don't want to see a friend die like that," Theo replied."

"Even though I'm worried, I have faith that Arthur can pull this off," Tess replied then looked at Arthur sadly. "Please don't make me a widow already."

Leaned down and kissed her lips. "Don't worry, I won't."

He then jumped down from the rock and took off running through the sand. He kept a few feet away from the rock formation and started running laps as everyone watched anxiously. Arthur had completed his third lap and everyone was wondering if the beasts were even still out there. Soon though they got their answer, as several could finally see one tailing behind Arthur.

"Get ready," Regis told them as Arthur started leading them closer. "Now!"

Using earth magic sand shot up like a geyser, carrying two tan worm like beasts up with it. They had a series of small black horns covering their bodies that were constantly moving, as they were used to help in move through the sand. At it's front was a black beak of sorts that opened on four sides to reveal dozens of razor sharp teeth. From its mouth four tentacles with spikes near the ends flailed around violently.

As soon as the two beasts were in the air Lilia formed a spinning circular blade of wind and fired it at the first beast, as Tess sent a single vertical wind blade at the other. Tess could have taken care of both of them effortlessly, but this was also training, so she, Elijah, and Arthur were only planning on providing support unless absolutely needed. Lilia's blade cut into the beast close to where she thought it's brain might be, ripping out the other side. Tess' blade sliced what could be considered its head off. The two beasts crashed back onto the sand as purple blood poured out and they laid lifeless.

"Great work!" Arthur yelled from the sand. "Now how about someone take the other two behind me!"

Just as one leaped from the sand as if to attack Arthur from above, he also jumped up and flew away. Another two geysers of sand shot up and Tess and Lilia killed the two beasts the same as before.

"Alright, we're off to a good start," Arthur said as he floated back down to the others.

"Hey Arthur, is there any value to these beast's bodies like some mana beasts?" Feyrith asked.

"Hmm. I'm not sure. I never gained any information in that regard. All I know is that they don't have a core like we do," Arthur replied.

"Maybe we can bring a small one back up with us so we can find out? If they don't have a core like mana beasts, if their bodies are at least valuable that would go a long way towards getting adventurers to come here," Claire suggested.

"Good idea. I have some room so I'll bring a more so intact body when we're done," Arthur said, then walked back to the edge. "Ready to go again?"

Arthur ran through the sand two more times, leading to the deaths of three more beast. However as he made his forth run the beasts didn't seem to be taking the bait this time.

"No way we killed them all. Could they have picked up on what we were doing?" Arthur questioned as he ran.

"Maybe. But wouldn't that be a good thing? I mean, this way we could just continue to the gate without being attacked," Regis replied.

"Maybe, but what if they just wait till we're far enough from the rocks? The idea of a beast with that level of intelligence is never a good thing."

"ARTHUR!" Came yells from the rock formation.

—————————————————————

Everyone was paying their full attention to Arthur in case he were to get into trouble, so no one saw the trails in the sand behind them as they closed in. Once they were close enough, they began breaching through the sand before slamming down on the flat portion of the rock, sending cracks throughout the formation.

The sudden crash got everyone's attention as they spun back around to see three of the beasts had already landed behind them.

"Feyrith defense!" Claire called out instinctively as tentacles began shooting towards them.

As Claire gave her order she drew her reaper and aimed in at the center beast and began firing fire bullets into its open mouth. At the same time Theo was charging in at the one on the right, and Tess shot towards the one on the left as she drew her bladed staff. Curtis, Regis, and Elijah held back to protect Lilia, Kathyln, and Feyrith, as Feyrith cast multiple small defensive water spells to keep the tentacles back.

Being a white core mage Tess quickly bisected her target lengthwise down the middle with the help of a wind blade. Sadly though with this being her first real battle with her sword since becoming a white core mage, she put too much mana into her weapon, causing cracks to spiderweb throughout it. It wasn't enough to cause it to break just yet, but enough that it was clear it wouldn't survive this dive.

Claire's target cried out in pain as the flame bullets hit inside its mouth, and closed the top and bottom sections of its boney beak to protect itself, as the tentacles continued to get past Feyrith's barriers from the narrow open sections on the sides. Her spells just burst on its beak and didn't appear to be doing any damage. Seeing this, she also saw Theo trying to get close to attack, but failing to get past the tentacles.

"Theo, switch!" Claire called out.

Immediately they abandoned their targets and went for one another's. With Claire's focused on her it didn't see Theo in time and was caught off guard by a powerful right hook that cracked its top portion. He of course didn't stop there. He grabbed the beast by its beak and lowered the gravity on the beast as he increased his own to give him leverage. With the beast lighter he lifted it up into the air, then increased its gravity as he slammed it back down. The increase in gravity made it weigh over two extra tons, so when it hit the rock it not only crushed the rock underneath, but also caused its body to burst, sending purple blood and guts out in every direction.

As Claire charged at Theo's former target the same thing happened, it was too focused on Theo to see her coming. She swung her blade, severing two tentacles before firing a series of flame bullets into its mouth. Just like before, the beast snapped its beak closed, except for the opposite side that still had tentacles. However instead of switching targets this time, Claire kept charging in and jumped on top of the beast as she slashed at its right eye. The beast began flailing madly, but she managed to land on the top of its head and thrust her blade in, followed by a series of flaming bullets until the beats eventually became still. As she stood up her eyes widened, as she saw more paths forming in the sand heading towards them.

—————————————————————

As this all happened the others attention had shifted to the battle on the other side of the rocks, so they didn't see the beats coming up from behind. Since Regis had a perception to aether, he was the first to turn around and notice something was coming.

"Oh fuck," Regis stated, gaining the others attention.

They turned around and were in shock to see at least a dozen trails in the sand heading towards them. Suddenly one of the beasts breached from the sand to crash down on the rock. Quickly everyone cleared out of the way, but as they did Elijah fired off a series of sharp stones at the beasts underbelly, that came out of its back.

"ARTHUR!" Elijah yelled as the beast crashed lifeless, and two others crashed onto the rock and began their assault.