I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 1197: Another Level

A moment later the desert exploded into violence. Erend moved first with fire and lightning tearing outward in a wide arc.

Flames rolled across the sand, instantly turning it into molten glass as bolts of lightning chained through the advancing mummies, shattering bodies and blasting limbs apart.

Eccar followed next, his body surging with Earth power as he moved through the front line directly. His attacks landed brutally. He crushed mummified bodies into dust and shards of cursed wrappings. Sand burst upward with every step he took, his presence alone warping the earth on the battlefield.

Aesa exhaled sharply and unleashed her frost.

Aesa created a huge wave of cold power that clashed violently against the desert in the blink of an eye. Ice spread across the dunes in jagged lines, freezing mummies and shattering them with explosive cracks.

The illusionary sun seemed to scream against her power. As if the heat were fighting cold in a constant grinding struggle. Sweat beaded on her skin despite the frost coating her arms.

She hated this place.

The mummies did not stop.

They advanced through fire, lightning, and ice, their bodies breaking apart only to be replaced by more climbing out of the sand.

The giant scorpion finally lunged, its tail crashing down like a siege weapon.

Erend intercepted it with his lightning that detonated against its armored stinger as Eccar ripped one of its legs clean off.

The sandworm erupted beneath them without warning.

Aesa leapt aside as its massive body tore through the dune she had been standing on moments before.

Hot wind blasted her backward as its maw snapped shut, missing her by a hair’s breadth.

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

She gritted her teeth. "This isn’t normal."

Erend of course felt it too. Between attacks, his senses kept reaching outward, measuring the flow of essence, the resistance of the monsters, and the way this level pushed back. This was not a simple level meant to be cleared through the half-exerted strength.

This level really was testing them. Erend and Eccar were already expecting this, but Aesa must be surprised.

Eccar slammed both fists into the sandworm’s exposed segment, his force erupting outward and cracking its body open. Even then, the creature did not die immediately. It thrashed, and somehow howled, and dove back beneath the dunes, it was wounded but not dead.

Then the air shifted again.

More rifts tore open across the dunes.

Another wave of mummies emerged, denser and more aggressive than before.

Their Magic power flared brighter. They had sand armor forming thicker layers around their bodies and their movements were faster and more coordinated.

And then something new rose.

The sand compacted unnaturally, pulling inward as towering shapes formed from packed stone, cursed sand, and ancient bindings.

Golems. Massive, hulking constructs with glowing runes carved deep into their bodies with step shaking the dunes.

Erend’s expression hardened. He and Eccar had fought this kind of monster before and they were really annoying.

Aesa felt a flicker of something unfamiliar tighten in her chest. She had a feeling that this was going to be a struggle.

Even with their power as Dragonborn, the fight stopped being easy. Every attack demanded more effort and met heavier resistance. The golems absorbed blows that should have shattered lesser enemies, forcing Erend and Eccar to coordinate perfectly just to bring one down.

Aesa drove a lance of ice straight through a golem’s core and felt the backlash ripple through her arm.

She hissed under her breath. "So this is how it’s going to be."

The realization settled in quickly and heavily.

This Dungeon World was not simple. It was not going to let them pass easily despite them being Dragonborn. She didn’t expect that a place like this would exist. Just how amazing Erend’s power to be able to make them access a place like this?

Still, none of them slowed.

They pressed forward into the sandstorm of monsters. Their power roared, knowing that whatever waited ahead would be worse.

And worse it got.

The golems grew fiercer with every passing moment, their movements sharpening as if fury itself had been carved into their cores.

Cracks spread across their bodies, but instead of collapsing the mysterious runes embedded within them flared brighter. Each step they took struck the dunes like hammer blows, sending shockwaves rippling through the sand.

Eccar adjusted first.

He stopped relying solely on brute force. Earth essence surged outward from his body and spread through the ground beneath his feet.

Jagged stone spears erupted upward, skewering golems from below, while slabs of compressed earth slammed into their sides with crushing weight.

Even then, they kept coming, tearing through broken terrain as if pain meant nothing to them.

Erend escalated alongside him.

Fire and lightning fused together, no longer unleashed separately. Burning arcs of lightning ripped through the battlefield and explosions following each strike as scorched sand turned to glass and shattered again under the next impact.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The strain climbed fast, heat and voltage tearing at the air, but Erend did not slow. He pushed harder, knowing this level would not forgive if he held himself.

Aesa followed what he did.

Her frost deepened into sharper and more violent attacks. Suddenly, in that desert, ice storms spiraled outward, freezing the air until it screamed.

Entire golems locked in place before detonating into shards, but every attack demanded more from her body. Her breath came faster, her arms trembled beneath layers of frost.

Then the push came. More golems emerge and charge immediately.

A golem’s fist smashed into Eccar’s side, launching him across the dunes. Another slammed Erend head-on, breaking through his elemental guard and sending him crashing into the sand.

Aesa barely raised a barrier before a shockwave tore her off her feet and slammed her into the ground hard enough to knock the air from her lungs.

Pain flared across her body.

Sand filled her mouth as she forced herself upright, vision swimming. The golems closed in like massive silhouettes looming through heat distortion and drifting frost.

But in the end despite the struggle they killed them anyway.

One by one, the constructs fell, cores shattered, runes extinguished. When the last golem collapsed into lifeless rubble, silence pressed down heavily over the battlefield.

Aesa staggered, then froze feeling essence surged into her body.

Dense and overwhelming energy flooded her veins far stronger than before, sending a sharp thrill through her core. Her breath gasped as power settled into her, raw and intoxicating.

She clenched her fists, agitation replacing exhaustion.

This level was brutal. But the reward was undeniable.

Her eyes lifted toward the dunes ahead, cold light sharpening in her gaze.

She wanted more.

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