NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Boss Appears, Angry Anti-Bone Boy
Lunch was simple for Ethan. A few bites of preserved rations, a gulp of water, and he was good to go.
Nearby, the number of active sandworms had dropped. Anti-Bone Boy had wiped them out quickly.
But the dungeon still stretched far beyond the horizon. There was plenty more to explore.
"Let's keep moving."
Ethan pointed ahead. Anti-Bone Boy obediently moved forward to scout.
One man. One beast.
They had barely walked a few steps when—
Shhhp!
Anti-Bone Boy suddenly vanished—dragged underground.
The sand beneath him writhed like something massive was thrashing underneath. The ground rolled violently, sending ripples in every direction.
From time to time, a thick, yellowish torso burst through the surface.
And then—dark red blood sprayed across the sand, soaking the golden grains in crimson.
Ethan didn't panic.
"There shouldn't be anything in this dungeon that can actually hurt Anti-Bone Boy."
So he waited.
After a few moments, the ground stilled.
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> "System Message: You have slain LV15 Silver-tier Desert Soil Worm. Gained experience."
"Loot: Silver-tier Earthworm Sword."
"Item - Silver-tier Earthworm Sword: Strength +46, Constitution +18. Requires Level 5."
"Level Up! LV5 → LV6. Gained 50 assignable attribute points!"
"Oh?" Ethan raised a brow. "Didn't expect that to be a silver-tier monster."
He didn't have a weapon yet, and now he had one that suited his level. Beast Masters weren't restricted to specific weapons like other classes, so this sword would do just fine.
If he found something better later, he could always switch.
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Ssshhh—crunch!
Behind him, Anti-Bone Boy emerged, dragging a massive worm out of the ground.
The creature was more than 5 meters long, easily ten times larger than Anti-Bone Boy, but the giant ant hauled it up with ease.
Ethan stared at the horrifying mouthparts at the worm's front—like a giant meat grinder.
He imagined what would have happened if he had been dragged down instead of Anti-Bone Boy.
Best-case scenario? He would've been covered in sand, coughing his lungs out.
Worst case? Suffocation or death.
He had underestimated this dungeon's difficulty.
Looking closer, half the worm's body had been torn open. Sand and shattered organs spilled across the desert like spilled stew.
"Looks like someone gutted a fish with a dull knife," Ethan muttered.
Without flinching, he activated Decompose on the body.
> "You've obtained: Silver-tier Desert Soil Worm Hide."
"Guess only the skin is salvageable."
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Ethan became more cautious after that.
Even with Anti-Bone Boy acting as his bodyguard, he had no intention of being dragged into the dirt.
Over the next two hours, they encountered and defeated around a dozen more Desert Soil Worms.
They were spaced out—territorial, unlike the earlier sandworms which came in swarms.
Still, the effort paid off.
> "Level Up! LV6 → LV7."
Oddly, none of these silver-tier worms dropped equipment. Not a single one.
Ethan felt a little robbed.
Moving forward, he paused.
All the attribute points from reaching Level 7—he added every one of them into Spirit.
With his SSS-rank passive doubling his gains, he now had a terrifying 758 Spirit points.
He didn't know what lay ahead, but his instincts screamed that something was off.
He gestured. "Anti-Bone Boy, go scout."
Just like earlier—
Shhhp!
Anti-Bone Boy was yanked underground again.
But this time, Ethan was ready.
His eyes tracked everything. And what he saw was shocking.
A giant, basin-sized meat-grinder mouth latched onto Anti-Bone Boy—their sizes were equal this time.
Crrrk! Crnnnch!
The teeth chewed at Anti-Bone Boy's body, trying to shred him apart.
Then, suddenly, Anti-Bone Boy was spat out, flying high and crashing back down.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
The monster's mouth was bleeding. Jagged teeth had snapped off. It thrashed its head violently as if it had bitten into a rock—or worse.
Anti-Bone Boy had hurt it just by being eaten.
The massive worm's agony was clear. It writhed like it was being tortured.
Anti-Bone Boy hit the ground flat on his back. His six legs scrambled in the air.
Then—he flipped over, shoved a mound of dirt forward with his jaws, and began stomping.
Ethan blinked. "Is he… mad?"
The movement was like a child throwing a tantrum. But behind it was real fury.
To Zerg beasts like him, being flipped was humiliating.
It exposed his vulnerable underbelly.
It meant weakness.
And Anti-Bone Boy wasn't having it.
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He charged.
Faster than ever before, his legs blurred as he darted toward the enormous worm.
When he reached it—he plunged his jaws deep into its flesh.
RIP!
A massive chunk of meat tore free.
The worm shrieked in agony, twisting and rolling across the ground, trying to throw him off.
But Anti-Bone Boy clung tighter.
He had learned from last time. This time, he dug his six legs in, locking himself onto the worm's body.
CHOMP. CHOMP. CHOMP.
Bite after bite, until he found the wound he wanted—then he dove in headfirst.
"!?"
Ethan stiffened.
The worm began convulsing violently.
It rolled so fiercely the ground cracked beneath it. But Anti-Bone Boy was already inside its body, burrowing deeper.
Just the sight of it made Ethan's scalp go numb.
This wasn't just damage—it was psychological warfare.
It was like having a sharp stick jabbed deep into your skin—only worse.
Your instincts screamed to get it out, to stop the pain.
Now imagine that stick has jaws. And it's eating you from the inside.
Even from a distance, Ethan could feel the terror radiating off the monster.
This wasn't just any worm. It was much larger than the others.
"Is this… the dungeon boss?"
For several minutes, the worm thrashed, kicking up a storm of sand and dust.
Then—it stopped moving.
Silence.
A moment later, Anti-Bone Boy burst out of its side, tearing a new hole.
He arched his head smugly, like he was asking, "That all you got?"
Then he walked over, dragging the enormous body behind him, back toward Ethan.
The image was absurd.
A 6-foot-long ant pulling a 30-foot worm corpse across the sand like it was nothing.
But before Ethan could react with joy…
...his smile faded.
There was no system message.
No loot. No experience pop-up.
Nothing.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. Something was wrong.
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To be continued…
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