?


    The constant fluctuations in temperature were something Emilio found himself having to quickly adjust to, which he did–however, the same couldn''t be said for his heavily-armored friend.


    "H-hey…is it just me, or is it hot? Like…really hot?" Everett asked, walking with slumped shoulders with his tongue out, panting like a dog.


    Without the constant veil of the trees to block out the sun, its natural warmth beaded down on the three men in its full glory. Across the shoreline, the sand itself felt like hot coals, only somewhat dwindled by footwear.


    Maverickughed, holding his arms out as if weing the sun''s grace, "This is the perfect temperature, what do you mean?! Look at the natural tan I''ve built up!"


    Flexing his muscles, the bearded manughed as he showed off more than just his tan, though neither of the young men were impressed in the slightest. As they followed the man stranded on the unforgiving ind, there wasn''t much to do but carefully observe the scenery.


    "What do you do here, really? I mean, it''s got to get pretty boring, right?" Emilio asked.


    "Hmm…Most of the time, I''m hunting food, ya know? A man''s gotta eat," Maverick shrugged, "As for how I pass the time, I like watching the crabs battle it out for territory–gets pretty fun."


    Both Emilio and Everett looked at each other as the bearded man exined his less-than-normal idea of a passtime.


    "Is that so…?" Emilio asked with a wry smile.


    Maverick seemed excited just at the idea of the topic as he nodded, continuing as he spoke with vigor, "Yeah! I''ve given them names, too! Well, also backstories–I mean, the fights are a whole lot more interesting when you''ve got background on thepetitors, yeah? Like Henry, the Dark Shell–he''s fighting as an exiled prince from thend of crustaceans, looking to reim his throne. Or Grulius, The Forsaken! A lowborn crustacean seeking to prove his worth with–"


    As the bearded man passionately spoke on and on blindly and without care about his irrational love for "crabbat", he was cut short as something collided with his right arm.


    "Gah–!" Maverick shouted in pain, jumping up and wildly iling his body.


    Though Emilio was initially on guard, he realized what had attacked the guide: a supersonic ho, plunging its stinger into the man''s bicep.


    Everett winced at the sight of it, "What kind of bee is that?! Gnarly!"


    After it pierced his arm, Mavericknded back down, snatching the hostile creature before mping down with a vice grip, "Grrrh…!"


    There was no mercy in the squeeze possessed by the wincing man, causing the ho to explode as its purple blood sprayed between Maverick''s fingers.


    "...Huff…" Maverick breathed out, tossing the ho to the ground.


    It was definitely a perplexing scene that just yed out before the eyes of the two friends, who looked at the bearded survivor of the ind strangely.


    "You good, Maverick?" Emilio asked.


    Blood poured from the gaping hole left in the man''s bicep, who didn''t respond quite yet as he instead nted his bare soles against the soil, digging in with his toes as he squared himself up, holding his afflicted arm upwards before–


    "Hyaaah!" Maverick yelled. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    –In an unforeseen move, the bearded man clenched every muscle on his arm as tightly as possible, causing his bicep and tricep to bulge out as veins bloated against his skin. Somehow, through some supernatural control of his own muscles, the man managed to close the hole made in his arm.


    "What the…" Everett remarked, witnessing this in disgust.


    Maverick slowly breathed out as sweat dripped from his pores, "...Yeah, I''m good."


    "Uh, I can use some recovery magic, if you need it," Emilio said, offering some additional aid.


    The lonesome denizen of the ind shook his head, wearing a smile again, "I promise, I''m good! That one just surprised me, that''s all."


    Even though the odd manughed off the unexpected attack from the ho, there was still something that felt strange to the Dragonheart as he continued following the man along the shoreline.


    ''For a second, I sensed a certain kind of rage from Maverick–it''s that kind of impulsive, explosive outburst that goes from zero-to-one hundred in no time t. It''s usually a trait of unstable people,'' Emilio thought.


    Keeping his thoughts to himself, he continued walking beside Everette while looking at Maverick''s back, always locking him into his line of sight. As much as the many dangers of the indmanded his attention, he still couldn''t help but find himself enamored with its fantastical beauty at times; between the colossal walls of water that surrounded it from a distance, or mounds of sand that resembled peculiarndmarks, set into different shapes.


    "That''s something, isn''t it?"


    Before Emilio or Maverick had noticed anything, Everett pointed something out amidst their hike. They had arrived at a portion of the shore that was covered in a vast quarry of sand, littered withrge rock formations as well.


    What the shielder pointed to was an unmoving, giant stone that sat in the middle, blocking their path.


    "It''s a rock, yeah?" Emilio responded, looking up at the colossal stone.


    Maverick walked up to it as he spoke, "Ha-ha, ind is making you see stuff already, big guy? Don''t worry, happens to the best of—"


    The bearded man had ced his hand against the pale-gray stone while casually talking, though swallowed his words, going silent, for an unknown reason.


    "What''s up?" Emilio asked.


    Maverick had a worried smile as he looked down at his hand, pulling it away as he showed it to the two. There was visible steaming off of his palm in an unnatural fashion, showing that the rock he touched was nothing short of piping hot.


    "Just our luck," Maverick said, "...This isn''t a rock. It''s a Roliath!"


    As the shout left the bearded man''s lips, the entirety of the shore began violently trembling. At first, it was difficult to understand what was going on, as ripples stretched through the sand, tossing grains all over the ce in waves.


    "Man, this ind just never stops tryin'' to kill ya, huh?!" Everett shouted, raising his shield.