TATS 04

Chapter 4 The Monster of the Desert

Sharp, powerful jaws reminiscent of a huge sickle.

Two glimmering compound eyes, as if covered by goggles, and long antennae that looked perpetually angry.

Three pairs of legs bristling with sharp spines and a fist-sized stinger at the end of a abdomen as big as a human torso.

Two pairs of wings that beat so fast they were nearly invisible, humming like a helicopter.

A bee large enough to lift a person lightly was flying straight at me.

“This isn’t happening!”

Even encountering a normal bee would terrify anyone to the point of panic. But this… this monster, looking like a wasp grown to the size of a car and camouflaged in sand, made me scream involuntarily.

“Surely… all the creatures from the previous stage were scattered around! But what is that thing?!”

I froze, rigid with fear and tension, at the sight of a creature I had never seen in any previous encounter.

For a brief, foolish moment, I wondered if it might somehow help me, or if I was mistaken about its appearance.

Buzzzzzz!

The closer I got, the more excited the creature became, flapping its wings faster.

Clearly, it had no good intentions toward me, so I grabbed a gun lying on the ground.

I ran with all my strength in the opposite direction of its flight path. It felt like retracing a difficult journey, but escaping from this unpredictable monster was my top priority.

The problem was…

“Damn it.”

The creature wouldn’t let me go easily.

Already above my head, it aimed its elongated stinger at me, as if waiting for the perfect moment.

“No way…”

It looked ready to fire at any second, so I leapt sideways.

Fshhh!

A sharp sound of air escaping followed by something piercing into the ground beside me.

Turning my head, I saw a stinger, as thick as my forearm, embedded in the sand, the tip remaining.

“Insane.”

The thought that I would have been impaled like a mounted insect if I had stayed still sent shivers down my spine.

“You’re not going to fire again, right?”

A creature that could fire stingers—and reload them instantly—was going way too far.

I held onto that faint hope as I watched the creature’s abdomen. It quickly produced another stinger to replace the one it had just fired.

“This is driving me nuts.”

Where was the balance team? Why wasn’t this damn monster nerfed?

As if understanding my thoughts, the creature beat its wings violently and began firing stingers like rain.

Pew pew pew Z!

Several stingers shot in an instant. I zigzagged, trying to dodge them.

Had it lost its intelligence in exchange for its enormous size and endless stingers—or was I just that good at moving? Not a single one hit me.

I hoped it would get bored, turn away, or run out of stingers, but…

“Huff, huff, huff.”

My stamina was rapidly depleting. Realizing that fleeing alone wouldn’t solve this, I lifted the gun I had picked up.

Its design was unlike anything I had handled before, even in previous encounters, and I worried whether I could use it properly. Yet its unique characteristics gave me a rough sense of how to handle it.

‘I’m not sure how to repair or maintain it, though.’

Right now, that was a minor worry.

I aimed at the creature’s head, preparing to fire. A strange sensation awakened inside me, and the world seemed to slow down.

The creature, high in the sky, appeared as if right in front of me, and its two sets of wings, previously moving too fast to see, now flapped as if slowed down.

I regretted not having a better gun, but…

‘This is enough.’

Thanks to my shooting skills and previous experience, I could handle this as if I had advanced targeting systems. Hitting its head was easier than anything else.

“Fuuuuh.”

I exhaled deeply and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The recoil slammed my shoulder back, and the bullet shot out, accompanied by a delayed gunshot sound.

The bullet flew straight for the monster’s forehead. It didn’t even react.

Could this really end now? My hope surged as the bullet struck its head. I was sure it would pierce or explode the skull… but

Clang!

The bullet shattered on impact, scattering pieces everywhere.

“…!”

The creature paused its stinger attack for a moment, rubbing the hit spot with its antennae.

Buzzzzz—!

It screamed as if announcing its anger to the world. Then, instead of shooting, it flew low and charged at me.

“Ah, damn it.”

If only I hadn’t fired. Now the situation was several times worse. I aimed at its weaker wings and abdomen instead of its head.

Bang! Bang!

Unlike before, the creature skillfully dodged my shots with acrobatic maneuvers and lunged at me with its sharp jaws.

“Argh!”

I barely dodged as it passed through my spot. The wind from its movement scattered sand all around.

“Damn it. If I only had a gun before…”

I cursed under the whipping sandstorm. The creature shot into the sky again.

‘Just shooting won’t work.’

One bullet left. Hitting the head was useless; I had to target wings or abdomen.

The monster’s mastery of dodging bullets, or maybe my luck, left me hopeless.

Swoosh!

It charged again, slicing the wind. I grabbed a piece of trash and threw it, diving to the side.

The monster tore the trash apart with its jaws. Its wind brushed past my feet.

‘Damn it, is there no way?’

One bullet left. My stamina nearly gone. I watched the monster fly again, despairing. Then I noticed a water container I had dropped while dodging. An idea struck me—risky, but perhaps my only chance.

‘Let’s do it.’

I had a small window before it attacked. I quickly removed the last bullet, drew mana, and prepared alchemy.

“Ughh.”

Mana wouldn’t move easily without system assistance.

“Come on!”

Desperate, I pushed it, and it started flowing.

Thump.

My heart raced, and the mana reacted swiftly, reshaping the bullet as I imagined. It melted and became gunpowder, a small ingot, and primer.

The reaction was quiet, but the recoil on my body was strong.

‘Left about 1.6 units of mana…’

I added some water from the container and applied alchemy. The reaction was twice as violent as before.

Crackle!

Blue electricity wrapped around the container and materials, heating it dangerously. The bullet components clung and transformed the container’s surface into a grid pattern. A button appeared on the lid.

“Phew.”

In less than five seconds, the materials fused, but the recoil left me dizzy and weak.

[Homemade Bomb]

A bomb made from hydrogen and gunpowder. Press the button to detonate immediately, causing explosion and shrapnel damage.
※ Power is low due to limited materials.

“Done.”

I gripped the bomb and faced the monster.

It charged down from the sky. I hurled the bomb and dove.

Bang!

The explosion erupted.

“Huff.”

I regained my senses, breathing heavily. My gun was gone, and my ears rang from the blast. My exhausted body struggled to even stand.

‘Even though it said power would be low…’

The explosion was far stronger than expected.

‘It could knock me out, so it must have hit the monster too, right?’

I looked up at it. The monster survived, unharmed, but its wings—those two pairs—were gone.

It wouldn’t move as fast as before.

“Perfect!”

I clenched my fists and moved away, the only chance to escape.

As I took my first step,

Buzzz—Buzzz—

The creature recovered. It flapped its damaged wings, trying to fly, but gravity won, and it fell back. After a few more attempts, it realized it couldn’t fly.

It turned to look at me.

Buzzzzzz—!!!

One thing was clear.

This monster was determined to kill me, no matter what.

‘Damn it.’

It charged at me at terrifying speed. I ran desperately, but my exhausted body and mind couldn’t escape.

‘What can I do?’

Alchemy? Another bomb? But where would I get materials? My mana’s almost gone…

I stepped forward, hoping to survive, scanning my surroundings.

Nothing. No ammo, bombs, or weapons in sight.

I threw debris to slow it down. The monster ignored it and closed in.

Thud!