Three weapons fired at supersonic speed, tearing through the air. Each projectile slammed upward into the gaping maws of the charging worms, spearing through soft flesh and driving deep into their brains.

  Two of the creatures convulsed mid-lunge, their massive bodies collapsing into the sand. Dust plumed into the air, obscuring the battlefield.

  The one on the left, though—its body twisted violently, but it didn’t fall. Somehow, it had survived, thrashing forward with stubborn momentum. Its jaws snapped shut and opened again in a grotesque rhythm as it barreled toward me.

  One more.

  The last weapon tore free from its portal, following the same perfect trajectory as the others. A streak of pink light, a flash of black—then impact. The worm jerked back, its momentum carrying it forward just enough for its massive body to skid across the desert. It gouged a trench into the sand before lying still, lifeless.

  The battlefield grew quiet again, broken only by the hiss of hot air rising from charred sand. My chest rose and fell as the adrenaline coursed through me, but a smile curled at the corner of my lips.

  These worms weren’t smart. Not at all. If they had been, they would’ve stayed beneath the dunes, waiting until they were directly beneath me before striking. That would’ve been lethal.

  Instead, they rushed blindly. Predictable. Easy.

  That’s fine for me, though. I love winning.

  Senses were a great upgrade. But I feel like they're high enough.

  Hm. I'm losing health slowly. Even though the senses upgraded dulled my sense of pain, it looks like I could have internal bleeding. Let's see if I have a new spell.

  That’s what I need.

  I pressed my palm to the sky, clenched my fist, and whispered with force, “Gravity.”

  Immediately, the weight of my body shifted. I became at least three times as light. My boots barely pressed into the sand, and the tension in my joints released into near-weightlessness.

  It was exhilarating—yet dangerous. A double-edged sword. I could almost float, glide for hundreds of feet at a time, but the perk gave no boost to speed or strength. For me, it was a tool for movement, not for combat.

  All the better. I needed to traverse this desert, and quickly. There was no way I’d been transported here alone.

  I bent my knees and leapt. My body sailed upward with effortless momentum, soaring fifty feet into the burning air before gravity pulled me into a long glide across the dunes. I touched down lightly, bounced again, then again. Hop. Hop. Hop. Each jump carried me hundreds of feet farther, skipping across the desert like a stone skimming water.

  After a dozen minutes of bounding leaps, I reached the crest of a high hill. Heat shimmered in waves around me, the sun hammering my skin. Sweat slicked my back, and even with my lightened body, I felt sluggish as I bled.

  A vibration cut through my senses. To my right.

  I turned my head sharply. In the distance, encircled by thrashing sand, were Isabella and Sosuke.

  Sandworms surrounded them, the beasts weaving a ring of death as they closed in tighter and tighter. Isabella’s breath was ragged, her body raised but shaking. Sosuke swung his blade in arcs, slicing through one worm cleanly in two—but for each he cut down, another surged from beneath the sand, hissing and snapping.

  I narrowed my eyes. There was no time.

  I leapt, mana coursing through me, and shouted, “Earth Wall!”

  The desert behind me cracked, hard stone erupting from the sand to form a massive slab angled like a ramp. I landed on it, crouched low, and tensed my legs.

  “Mana Enhancement.”

  Power exploded through me. My veins surged with burning mana.

  I launched myself off the wall like a cannon shot. The air shrieked against me as my body cut through it at the speed of a high-caliber bullet.

  Sosuke was still fighting, his blade drenched in worm ichor. He cleaved through another beast, but even as it collapsed, the sand behind him erupted again, another worm lunging. Isabella stumbled, barely able to hold her ground.

  I was closing fast.

  How do I take them all out at once?

  Lightning. Its power had grown so much it had even changed color, from yellow to blue.

  I spread my arms wide. Mana sparked violently at my fingertips. “Lightning Bolts!”

  Two glowing circles tore into existence, one to the west of Isabella and Sosuke, the other to the east. The runes within them spun. I held them steady, pouring mana into the constructs, letting the energy swell until my arms ached with strain.

  Then I released.

  Twin bolts screamed from the sky, striking downward with apocalyptic force. The lightning speared through the four sandworms encircling, tearing their bodies apart in bursts of charred flesh and smoke. Sparks danced across the ground, electricity writhing.

  The monsters convulsed, paralyzed, their massive frames collapsing in smoldering heaps. Their fall left a narrow opening in the ring of flesh and teeth—just enough space for Isabella and Sosuke to walk free.

  The acrid stench of burned meat filled the air. My feet touched down, the static still buzzing across my skin. I exhaled, chest heaving, eyes locked on the opening I’d carved.

  Wait a second.

  How am I going to land?

  The ground rushed up at me, fast enough that my stomach twisted. I released Mana Enhancement on speed and shifted it instead to strength, feeling the mana surge in a different way. Stretching them out, I braced for impact and kicked hard as my feet met the sand. The dunes exploded in a spray of grit, my body jarred with strain, but I steadied myself, sliding a few feet before coming to a safe stop.

  My breath was ragged, sweat dripping down my jaw.

  Isabella ran to me immediately, eyes wide as she scanned the cuts and bruises streaking my body. She pulled a small green glass bottle from her pouch and pressed it into my hand. “Drink.”

  I popped the cork with trembling fingers and downed it in one gulp. The taste was bitter. Warmth rushed through my body, flooding into my veins. My cuts sealed, muscle knit itself together, and the deep ache in my bones faded into nothing. I let out a long breath and murmured, “Thanks.”

  Sosuke narrowed his eyes, his grip tight around the hilt of his blade. He could sense it. “You weren’t this strong before. You ran across it, didn’t you? The evolving sandworm.”

  Isabella shook her head, incredulous. “No way, Sosuke! Those sandworms are strong enough as they are. Even you couldn’t cut clean through all of them without me getting hurt.”

  I waved her off. “No, he’s right. That thing almost killed me.”

  Sosuke’s jaw tightened. “Have you found the others?”

  I simply said, “No.”

  He cursed under his breath, tossing his sword into the air. It shimmered, then vanished in a flash of light. His shoulders slumped. “Damn it. This floor is annoying. The main danger isn’t the worms—it’s thirst and hunger. And no, I'm not eating the worms.”

  Isabella sat heavily in the sand, wiping sweat from her brow. “My senses are at five right now, and I can’t hear or smell any oasis.”

  Sosuke’s expression darkened. For the first time, he looked... defeated. “Our main priority right now is to find an oasis. If we find one, we need to make it visible to the others.”

  I upgraded my mana by two.

  I clenched my fist, forcing mana into my core once again. “I’m going to try something.”

  My voice rose. “Mana Enhancement.”

  I thrust my palm toward the sky and punched upward. “Gravity. Maximum Output!”

  Mana ripped out of me in a torrent, draining nearly my entire reserve in seconds. My body lurched, suddenly weightless, every fiber of me buoyed. I crouched low, then leapt.

  The world blurred. I soared skyward, clearing a hundred meters in seconds, the air thinning, slightly colder, and harsher. My ascent slowed, but not before I pierced the clouds, the desert stretching out beneath me like a golden ocean. From this height, I could see everything.

  Dots scattered across the sands—figures moving, struggling, alone. Others in twos. My eyes scanned frantically, and my chest tightened with relief. The other nine. Every single one of them was alive.

  Then, at the center of it all, something shimmered green against the endless gold.

  An oasis. Clear water glimmering in the sunlight, ringed with palms. It was only a few miles away. Close enough for everyone—but hidden behind a massive hill that had blocked our senses.

  My descent began, slow at first, then faster, the dunes racing up to meet me. I bent my knees and braced, slamming into the sand. My legs trembled, but I was whole.

  Isabella was already there, pressing another bottle into my hand—this one blue, its liquid glowing faintly. “Mana Potion. Take it.”

  I uncorked it and drank deep. Cool energy surged through me, the emptiness in my core filling almost to the brim.

  I exhaled, pointing to the horizon. “There’s an oasis three miles that way over that hill. Once we get there, I’m going to use a fireball as a signal flare. There’s not much time until the heat begins to kill us all. Let’s go.”