The X Barren X Sea

*clank* *clank* *clank* with the metallic ring of footsteps on a set of foldout stairs a figure emerged from the small-scale airship. This was of course Magenta, who used his newfound privilege and access to information to book a private flight to a restricted location.

'I mean… when I said I had a plan it was more of a general idea and actually coming here… well that was on impulse. I mean, fighting or adapting to dangerous locations is a great way to get stronger. Or at least I think so… might just be my inner One Piece fan showing.' walking a small distance from the grounded airship I reach the edge of the cliff overlooking the dry sandy valley I found myself at.

"Alright Boss! I am outta here before something unfortunate happens, I will come back here to pick you up a month from now at noon..." making himself known was the private pilot I had hired, a shorter man in casual clothes with his only notable features being his flight headset and the Hunter association logo on his lapel. Quickly going back into the airship without waiting for a response and taking off a moment later

"Alright see you then… god what am I paying him for!?" turning away from the valley below I moved back towards the assorted luggage I prepared before coming here to the 'Barren Sea'

'Yeah… I am not seeing any water here only sand. But I guess that's where the barren part comes from.' looking down at the supplies I prepared for an ocean/island trip with a blank face.

"I should have done some research… Instead, I just looked at danger level ratings of various locations. Though I would like to say in my defense, there was a train of thought… just not a well planned one, I just went to a location a bit more dangerous than the swindler swamp." quickly opening my bags and taking out all items that cannot be used in this desert and moved out from my landing zone as possible predators could be closing on my location due to the noise from the airship.

'Regardless of this not going to plan, I will be staying here for a month. During this time I will be completing some of the requests I found on the Hunter website in this area for some cash before jumping to another location. Hopefully, by the end of this, I will be stronger, have a good grasp on Nen fundamentals and possibly some of the advanced techniques, and have quite a lot of money in my bank account that I set up before heading here' moving down towards the base of the cliff towards the valley with my target on the horizon.

'Looks like this place is made of large plains of sand with a few rocky outcrops scattered around akin to small islands in this sea of sands…' moving towards the nearest rock structure I began to mentally thank my choice of clothes. Gone was the thick heavy purple coat instead replaced by a thin button-up white shirt and a pair of purple cargo shorts.

"I mean tropical is close enough to dessert… with exception of the most likely poisonous creatures, both diurnal and nocturnal predators, extreme temperatures, and almost no water… FUCK!" ending my ramblings to myself with a shout of anger at my current circumstances to relieve some of my anger I am soon interrupted by a loud noise not too far from me.

*Crumble* *Crack* *Boom!* the sounds of shifting sands soon turned to the deafening sound of the earth splitting making way for a large worm-looking creature that towered over me as a pink liquid dripped from its large maw.

"I know I totally deserve that for doing something so stupid but… a worm monster in a desert!? Hasn't that been way too OVERDONE!?" turning around and immediately bolting in the other direction towards the 'island' I was heading towards earlier. The only problems besides the very alive and deadly one behind me was that a lot of my energy was being dissipated in the sand and that I was quickly exhausting myself as I ran.

"SKREEEE!!!!" making an earsplitting shriek that was uncomfortably close behind me the worm continued to chase me whilst I continued to run from the beast.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT! Fumbling with my holster I pulled out my gun and quickly disengaged the safety before pointing it behind me in the general direction of the worm before quickly discharging all six shots.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

"RAAAGGHHH!" and just like I somewhat expected it did not seem to do much besides piss it off as evident by the noises getting closer and closer meaning it picked up the pace.

'Why do I even bother?' with no other choice than to speed up I began to burn through my stamina as I got closer and closer to the rock island.

*pant* *pant* eventually I made it to the island and quickly scaled it trying to get to the top not even looking behind me until I reached the top of the relatively small piece of solid ground. Once I was at the peak, or roughly 30 feet from the 'sea level' I looked down at the trail of disturbed sand that was circling the island as the worm seemed hellbent on getting to me even if it couldn't climb up the rocky outcrop I was seemingly trapped on.

*sigh* "I am probably not going to make it off this island unless I can kill him… I have a bit of food and water with me, only enough for a few days if I stretch it out. So it either goes away within that time or I need to find a way to kill it…" pacing on the peak of this island as I debated how the hell I was going to get out of this situation.

'The only way I can think of killing it with what I have on hand is Nen, which I wasn't planning on trying to learn on day one here… more specifically either Ten or Ren, Ten because it would give me a slightly enhanced physical body and endurance meaning I could hopefully run away. Ren on the other hand, because it would provide me with a means of getting through its tough carapace…' looking at the figure of the sandworm submerging itself under the sand I contemplated my situation.