With decent potions in their packs and a bit more confidence, the group headed back outside.
They were no longer just "seeing what it was like." Now they had a goal: to find something that would truly allow them to move forward.
They walked longer than before. The exhaustion bar still rose, but more slowly, thanks to calculated breaks, proper hydration, and potions.
Sienna grumbled from time to time.
"If I'd known I'd be walking this much, I would've invested in a portable teleport point."
"You could've invested in physical conditioning too," Marcus commented.
"I invested in my charisma. And it's working very well, thank you."
Ethan smiled despite the fatigue.
"Stay alert. So far, we've only seen scorpions. That means this floor still hasn't shown us its worst… or its best."
Almost as if in response, the ground ahead trembled.
Not like when the scorpions emerged. This was heavier. As if dozens of legs were striking the sand at the same time, just beneath the surface.
"I don't like that," Elenya murmured.
A long line began to carve through the dune, like a stroke drawn beneath the sand. Then another, running parallel.
Jay raised his shield.
"Formation."
The sand erupted, grains flying in every direction.
A long creature burst out from beneath the surface.
A kind of giant centipede, its body divided into rigid segments covered in orange-hued plates. Between the plates, red-hot fissures glowed, radiating heat, as if the creature's entire body absorbed the desert's warmth and released it back into the air.
Each thin, dark-metal leg dug effortlessly into the sand.
The air around its body trembled.
"What the hell is that…?" Sienna took an instinctive step back. "The infernal version of a garden centipede?"
"Heat Centipede," Ethan read as the name appeared. "Its body isn't made of fire. The plates store environmental heat and release it outward. Getting too close is going to hurt."
The creature opened a jagged mandible filled with small fangs. A piercing screech filled the air.
"Elenya, you're the star today," Jay said, bracing his shield. "Keep your distance. We'll hold the front line."
"Understood."
The centipede surged forward in a rippling motion.
Jay intercepted it, his shield taking the impact. Even with metal between them, the heat bled through. His arm skin grew painfully hot.
"Seriously! It's like blocking a giant frying pan!"
Marcus came in from the flank, drawing his sword from his back and striking at the creature's legs, searching for an opening between the plates.
The blade touched one of the orange sections, and a sharp crack scorched the air. Marcus recoiled, his grip tingling.
"We can't just hit it anywhere. The surface is way too hot."
"Then let's make it move for us," Ethan said. Flames danced around his hand. "Sienna!"
"Already got it!"
She raised her hands, and circles of energy formed ahead. The air compressed at a point beside the centipede and detonated in a shockwave, shoving part of its body aside and forcing the plates to open slightly.
Between the segments, for a brief second, more fragile sections were exposed.
Elenya drew in a deep breath.
She pulled back her bowstring—and along with the arrow, a thin, cutting energy condensed around the shaft, as if it were becoming narrower and deadlier.
"Penetration."
She released.
The arrow shot forward in a straight, blinding line. When it struck the gaps between the plates, it didn't stop. The energy pierced through everything in its path, tearing internal joints apart, rupturing what lay beneath, as if a line through the world itself had been punctured.
The centipede screeched, its body shuddering.
It lunged sideways, trying to slip past Jay and charge toward Sienna. Marcus blocked its path, even as heat surged against his body.
"Jay! Push it the other way!" he shouted.
They synchronized their movement. Jay slammed forward with the shield, Marcus drove in with his body, and the creature was forced off course, skidding across the sand and exposing more of its underside and head—far less protected.
"Now it's my turn," Ethan murmured.
The flames around his hand grew denser, almost darker for an instant, as if something deeper wanted to surface. He restrained it, keeping the fire ordinary, compressing everything into a single point beneath the centipede's body.
"Explode."
A column of fire erupted beneath the creature—not to burn it completely, but to launch it upward, throwing off its balance and prying the plates even further apart.
Elenya was already drawing another arrow. The energy of Penetration wrapped around the shaft once more, compressing its force into a perfect line. She fired, this time aiming for the base of the head.
The projectile cut through the air and, upon striking the weak point, simply passed through—dragging its energy along as it tore apart what still held the creature together from within. The head snapped at an unnatural angle, and the entire body lost coordination for a split second.
"Marcus!" Jay called.
He didn't need anything else.
Charging forward, ignoring the heat radiating from the plates, Marcus delivered a precise strike with his longsword, severing the creature's neck at its most exposed point. The sound was sharp and final. The massive body convulsed once before collapsing, sinking partially into the sand.
Silence.
Only the group's heavy breathing filled the air.
Jay lowered his shield slowly.
"If this is just a 'medium-sized' monster on the second floor… I'm afraid to imagine what the fourth looks like."
"Don't say that," Sienna complained. "You'll jinx it."
The centipede's body began to dissolve, leaving behind:
Thick Thermal Hide
Hardened Plates
Condensed Heat Energy Residue
Ethan carefully touched the hide. The texture was rough, but it didn't burn like the plates.
A small message appeared in everyone's interface:
[Thick Thermal Hide – Special Material]
Reduces damage caused by extreme heat environments by 50% when adapted to equipment.
"There it is," Ethan said. "This is our first real step forward."
"Then it's official," Sienna declared. "We're hunting centipedes until everyone has one of these."
No one argued.