"U-uhh!"
Jin-Woo desperately kicked his feet to avoid being sucked into the sand. The sand pit began to widen, and eventually Jin-Woo had to use both hands to barely climb up.
"Hah, hah, hah."
He sat down hard on the ground, breathing heavily, and looked down. Strangely, the sand near the bottom of the pit was bubbling. The thought that one wrong step would have sent him sliding all the way down there sent chills down his spine.
"No..."
Wait. Jin-Woo's gaze sharpened.
"It's not boiling."
Looking closely, something huge was squirming beneath the sand. Jin-Woo instinctively stood up. He had a bad feeling. Sure enough, just as he was cautiously stepping back, sand suddenly shot up into the sky in front of him. Swoooosh—! The sand made the sound of a waterfall crashing down. Jin-Woo's eyes went wide.
"A... b-bug?"
What burst out of the sand was a giant centipede. KIEEEK—! Once fully revealed, its head was as high as the rooftop of a five-story building. Jin-Woo swallowed hard.
'This can't be...'
The thing was absurdly large. He had never heard of a centipede this big existing in the world. But what surprised Jin-Woo wasn't just the centipede's size.
"Why is there... a name floating above its head?"
Was he dreaming? Jin-Woo closed his eyes and opened them again, but nothing had changed. Nine red characters still hovered above the centipede's head. Just like a monster in a game.
'Giant Venom-Fang Sand Centipede.'
It was a name as repellent as the creature's grotesque and disgusting appearance. The three characters that caught his attention were 'Venom-Fang.' Two fangs the size of a small child protruded from beneath the creature's head. One could easily imagine what would happen if those pierced you, just from the name alone. Watching those massive fangs and jaws open and close ceaselessly, it almost seemed like...
"It looks like it's licking its chops."
Then a voice rang in his head again. Ding.
[Penalty Quest: Survive] Objective: Survive for the required time. Required time: 4 hours. Time remaining: 4 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds.
'You've got to be kidding...'
But when the remaining time hit 3 hours, 49 minutes, and 59 seconds, the centipede came crashing through the sand as if it had been waiting. Whoooosh—!
"Wh-what?"
Jin-Woo quickly turned and started running. There was no time to think. If he wanted to live, he had to run! That was all that was on his mind. But after just a few steps, another pillar of sand erupted in front of him. Swoooosh!
"Aah!"
Jin-Woo was knocked backward by the tremendous pressure. He rolled across the ground, scrambled to his feet, hastily brushed the sand from his face, and then his eyes went wide. This time, it wasn't just one or two. Swoooosh! Swoooosh! Seven sand centipedes had risen from the sand and were now looking down at him. KIEEEEEEEK! KIEEEEEK! Below the shrieking centipedes, Jin-Woo's face turned pale as paper.
"Damn..."
***
Jin-Woo reappeared in his hospital room exactly 4 hours later. Thud. He collapsed on the hospital floor and coughed painfully.
"Cough, cough. Ptoo! Ptoo!"
His mouth was filled with a gritty feeling. His eyes stung from the sand that had gotten in. After groaning for a while, Jin-Woo finally lay spread-eagle on the floor. He didn't even have the strength to move a single finger.
"Hah... hah... what the hell... is this...?"
A new messageThe request was rejected because it was considered high risk