Desert Bull Worm

**Desert Bull Worm** is the main quest of World 4 - Desert of Madness (Nightmare).

## Quest Completion

To complete this quest, the player must complete all the stages of World 4 - Desert of Madness (Nightmare).

## Plot

Before the player returns to Desert Elf Village, a cutscene plays where three people are running away from a mysterious monster at night. They find a large rock and climb it. One of them throws a gunpowder barrel at the monster, exploding one of its tentacles into bits. Assuming that the monster is dead, they celebrate, with one of them jumping down the rock. He gets pulled under the sand by the monster, with the rest of them too being dragged down moments later.

The player enters 4-1 Desert Elf Village, noticing a corpse that was eaten from the bottom. Noticing that the entrance to the village is blocked, the player then makes their way in through the former Labor Camp of the Desert Cultists. Several similar corpses can be spotted throughout the Labor Camp passage. After finally entering the village, they notice a badly injured and unconscious man. They then observe a group of desert elf villagers discussing about the mysterious monster, with one of them believing of it to be the Desert Bull Worm.

The player then approaches a familiar villager, who recognizes them as the guardian that defeated the Grand Priest. The villager then asks for their help in defeating the mysterious monster, when Marvin shows up. He then states that he is going for the "bully something worm" and asks if the player will tag along. The villager warns Marvin and the player to be careful, as it is horrifying. Marvin dismisses the warning and replies that worms are no big deal. The villager again reminds Marvin that it is not just any worm, it is the Desert Bull Worm. Marvin simply replies that he got it and asks the villager to check on the cactus pickle shop and the purple-haired girl, implied to be Laila. The villagers then step aside, allowing the player to proceed and finish the level.

On Marvin's proposal, the player progresses through 4-2 Oasis while getting closer to the organized location. They then enter 4-3 Cultist Remnants' Area. Upon entry, Marvin informs the player that he heard that Sandmonster-worshipping cultists are still around, and that he thinks that they are keeping the monster to take over the area again. The two then head towards the monster’s den to meet the Sandmonster and its owners.

The player along with Marvin, approaches the Sandmonster's den and proceeds while eliminating several of the guards. Marvin beats up one of the surviving guards, believing that the Sandmonster is responsible for threatening the security of Desert Elf Village and killing many people. The guard replies that the Sandmonster would not do such a thing, and another guard warns Marvin and the player to not approach the Sandmonster. Marvin then kills the guards, thinking that they were lying.

The player and Marvin move further and approach the Sandmonster, and proceed to attack it, which strangely, does not fight back throughout much of the fight. When the Sandmonster finally fights back, it summons a dust storm surrounding them, which again deals no damage. Marvin, confused by the Sandmonster's inability to fight, asks what’s going on. Two of its caretakers then plead to Marvin and the player to stop, asking them why they are harming “Sandy”, since she is harmless, and only wants to play. One of its caretakers approaches the player, telling them that Sandy is an herbivore that likes flowers and gives the player a flower, encouraging the player to give it to her. The player approaches Sandy, attempting to give a flower to her, but she recoils. The guard then tells the player that the player is new to her and tells them to soothe her. The player soothes Sandy and gives her a flower again, which Sandy accepts, and they feel close to Sandy. Marvin notes that Sandy isn’t hostile, and so it must've been a misunderstanding.

Shortly, a villager rushes to Marvin and the player, alerting them that Desert Elf Village is in big trouble as the Desert Bull Worm has resurfaced. The villager also suggests them to evacuate as Sandy’s den is not safe either. However, Marvin interrupts and declares that he and the player will return to save the village. They then exit Sandy’s den, completing the stage.

Led by Marvin, the player progresses through 4-4 Desert Canyon while returning to the village. Shortly after entering 4-5 Desert Elf Village Entrance, a miniature Desert Bull Worm appears, and Marvin charges at it. The player and splits up and goes around the village to eliminate the lurking threats. After some time, several miniature Desert Bull Worms attempt to surround and attack Marvin, ahead of the player. Marvin promptly takes down all of them. After confirming that the ones attacking isn't the Sandmonster, they head back go the village.

Upon entering 4-6 Giant Monster, the villager warns the player that the Desert Bull Worm is underground, and that they should walk gently, as the monster reacts to vibrations on the ground. They then make their way into an area far away from the village. After reaching said area, Marvin asks the player to throw bombs to the ground in order to lure the monster, since it reacts to vibrations. After detonating the bombs, the Desert Bull Worm surfaces from the ground, and the player and Marvin subsequently fight it. After the Desert Bull Worm is significantly injured, with low HP left, the battle ends, and the Desert Bull Worm sinks below the ground. When Marvin and the player gather, the Desert Bull Worm resurfaces back, knocking them to side. As the Desert Bull Worm approaches the player, Sandy’s tail appears and whips the Desert Bull Worm. Sandy then does something, which Marvin believes means that Sandy wants the player and Marvin to instruct her next move. He tells Sandy that they don’t need her help, which Sandy disagrees.

Sandy and the Desert Bull Worm begin fighting each other, with Marvin instructing Sandy’s next move. They fight three times, and Sandy’s moves are as follows:

1. Hurricane or Sandstorm
2. Swipe or Tail Slap
3. Agility or Counter

The player is advised to choose Sandstorm, Tail Slap and Agility, respectively, as these are effective against Desert Bull Worm. The third round, wherein the player should choose Agility, is especially important, as this determines if Sandy wins or not. Upon defeating, the Desert Bull Worm explodes and dies.

Marvin and the player return to the village, and ask the villagers if they are okay. As he starts asking about Laila, she comes running to him. She then asks if he defeated the monster and saved everyone. As Marvin is about to reply that Sandy defeated the monster, Sandy makes her sudden entrance. Shocked, the villagers who believed that Sandy was the monster, recoiled in fear. In the meantime, her two caretakers come running, saying that they were looking for her.

The player acts affectionately towards Sandy while Marvin tells the villagers that Sandy is friendlier than it looks. Laila cautiously walks up to Sandy and gives her a flower, which Sandy liked. The other villagers, now having realized that Sandy isn't hostile, approach Sandy too. Laila then invites everyone to her pickle shop, to celebrate their safety from the monster. She persuades Marvin to join in too as she has invented a new recipe. Marvin nods and everyone decides to join the party, and so, the main quest **Desert Bull Worm** is complete.