chapter 10

Outside the black gate, a white beach sprawled out, such that it was bright enough to make you squint . There were small pond-like tidal pools, and some tall trees here and there, much like an oasis in the middle of the desert .

 

From the sands, two large front limbs emerged, and the shell crab appeared from below the beach, moving its legs with precision .

 

Its shell that glowed and shined in the sun was covered with strong minerals and seashells, and its two large front claws, differing in size, were jagged like saws . Faced with claws so large that they could easily hold a whole person, Tsutomu was a little scared, but he held onto the white cane and applied buffs to the other two people .

 

As soon as he noticed that he was buffed, the black-haired person moved quickly . And so, the shell crab began moving sideways, approaching underneath the three .

 

“Combat Cry!”

 

The shell crab swung at Garm with its right claw, prompting him to dodge to the side while activating a skill . Sand flew up at the location hit .

 

“Enchant: Earth . ”

 

Garm used his longsword with one hand, gathering the magic of the earth to increase the strength of the sword, aiming for one of the crab’s four thin legs . However, it bounced off with a high-pitched sound, and he doesn’t cut through, only displacing some minerals .

 

The shell crab kept swinging at Garm mindlessly, as he dodged and started his own counterattacks . Amy sprung from behind with her double swords .

 

“Rock-breaking Blade . ”

 

Amy placed two swords into the crab’s back and swung in a frenzy, pulling in and out . Every time she swung, minerals on the crab’s shell turned into powder .

 

The shell crab stopped abruptly and turned to face Amy . As she jumped off its back, thin waterlike spines shot out of its back and pierced her shins .

 

Water bullets that penetrate the human body have the potential to be fatal if they hit vital points . While Tsutomu’s Heal wrapped around Amy’s feet, Garm persisted, aiming at the joints of the crab’s narrow legs with his longsword .  

 

Tsutomu, aiming at the two people who flew away from the shell crab, that was now spinning vigorously, applied protection to Garm, and applied protection and Haste to Amy . \n 

“Focus more on your movement and lead it to the traps . ”

 

“Roger that . ”

 

Garm responds to Tsutomu’s words, readjusting his shield . Amy already headed toward the shell crab with lightened footsteps from Haste .

 

Amy moved away from the swung down right claw and stepped into the sand to cut off the crab’s eyestalks . There was a high impact sound as if hitting iron . Amy stopped a little in the air, under the cover of the left claw . Before being pinched by the right claw, she kicked the left claw with one foot and flew backward to reposition in midair . She headed to the shell crab again while running through the sand .

 

Garm also stabbed its narrow legs, avoiding the claws that were swung down one after another . The enemy was swept back by his shield, and the previously tight space he could afford grew bigger .

 

Amy, flying while being chased by claws, jumped on the claws to run past its front legs and towards its back .

 

The back of the shell crab was a place where its claws couldn’t reach due to its body structure . When its eyestalks moved to try to see Amy, Garm poked the crab’s thin leg joints . Tsutomu released Air Blades on its narrow legs while paying attention to aggro management and miscasting .

 

The shell of one of its narrow legs peeled off . You could now see a thin black surface underneath . Amy gradually stripped the shell off the crab’s back, removing any carapace and ore .

 

The shell crab then made a shrill cry . And soon after Amy got off, she jumped onto the ground . Tsutomu took note of the crab’s action, which he had not seen on the monitors while dodging the flying sand particles .

 

The shell crab jumped around so much that you’d wonder how it could fly so far with such thin legs . In anticipation of its momentum disappearing, the shell crab slowly did a half turn in the air, trying to crash into the ground while Amy was on its back .

 

Naturally, Amy pierced the crab with her double swords and kicking off the shell and leaving it . Tsutomu grew impatient, and thoughts flooded his head .

 

[Isn’t that height fatal? Amy could fall off . Severe fractures could be fixed with high-level heals . Direct aggro to over here for the time being . The crab doesn’t move quickly, even if you heal . Can you protect yourself only relying on Garm? Complete your attack . No potions, no potions, no way to reduce fractures, buffs…]

 

“Protect!”

 

While running under Amy, who was recovering in the air, he cast his skills . Attempting to reduce mana savings and increase aggro, he cast the skill with more mana than usual without changing the effect of the spell .

 \nAmy confirmed that the dark earthen color covered her body while falling, and then landed on the sand from her feet with her long white hair flowing . She moved forward several times to get rid of the shock and stopped . Immediately, Tsutomu took a thin bottle from his belt and opened the lid .

 

“How are you!?”

 

“There don’t seem to be any fractures . Thanks . ”

 

With the thud from the landing, dust rose up and flew quite far . Amy wiped the sand off her hair while still on one knee .

 

Amy, who gently stowed away the potion that Tsutomu gave, looked at the shell crab and stood up with a shriek of pain .

 

“No, you’re clearly hurt . ”

 

“Oh, no, isn’t this fine?”

 

“… please show me your legs if you’re really okay . ”

 

Tsutomu approached Amy, who was on her knees with an expression that wouldn’t tell him if she used the potion . He took off her boots and gently removed her socks so as not to [stimulate] as much as possible . Her ankle was purple and bruised .

 

Tsutomu placed a potion into the sand after seeing it and made a bitter expression .

 

“Heal can’t be used for you because I have to use it for Garm . ”

 

“No, using this much is wasteful… isn’t it better to just heal me after the dungeon?”

 

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but this really isn’t worth arguing about … I won’t allow you not to drink it . ”

 

Amy disagreed with Tsutomu and ran off without saying anything, leaving tsutomu unable to tell whether she was guilty or not of something . He looked at the potion in the sand .

 

[Normally, the opposite is true]\n 

Amy was told that people wouldn’t forgive if she used a potion because of an injury that only caused pain when she walked, but Amy had never been told that someone wouldn’t forgive her for not drinking it .

 

In the first place, it was strange to carry potions . Even Amy, who doesn’t know his refusal of this norm, didn’t drink potions that were bought for . As she suspected that she would be billed later, she refrained from using potions worth as much as a medium-quality stone .

 

[Even if we don’t get much money, I’ll still have to hand over some stones…]

 

Amy took a small bottle from the sand and drank the contents . It was a little bitter but not bitter enough to cause nausea . As an elf potion, it eased the pain of both feet while its taste wrapped around the tongue .

 

While Amy was recovering with the potion, Garm continued to hesitate to attack the shell crab . While Garm’s breath is constant, the shell crab never slowed down either . Rather, it gained more momentum than before, even with Amy’s double swords in its back .

 

Moving its thin legs quickly as if playing the piano, it walked sideways and approached Garm, shaking its claws . Garm was forced to step where he couldn’t move comfortably and was deprived of his physical strength .

 

If you don’t take the initiative to attack, you won’t be able to hit your opponent . However, Garm’s physical strength was its limit . Fatigue dulled his movement and made his judgment cloudy . Garm moved away from the shell crab while he was attacked due to the feeling that his armor was hot and that he wanted to take it off .

 

“Heal . Medic . ”

 

The green spells wrapped around Garm’s body in the sand . Garm’s breath settled down a little with the feeling that his body gradually cooled down .

 

Garm stood up, with a longsword in the ground as a pivot, and attacked the shell club . It hit the right claw, and the left claw attacked Garm . Garm is blown away, parrying the hit with his silver shield .

 

Amy, who had now recovered, climbed the shell crab’s back and pierced it with her double swords . The shell crab jumped around in a rampage . Amy landed back on the sand as if playing .

 

Blue blood overflowed from the place where the double swords were pulled out . While hitting both claws against the sand, the shell crab quickly moved its eyestalks and screamed .

 

“I’ll set up traps . For the time being, please use as many potions as you need . ”

 

“Roger . ”

 

“Alri~ght . ”

 

The two responded to the situation, and Tsutomu turned away from the battlefield . The shell crab, fixated on Tsutomu, tried to pursue him, but Garm used Combat Cry and directed the crab towards at the two others .

 

Tsutomu periodically looked back and confirmed that the shell crab isn’t following him . He took signposts out of the magic bag and marked the sand while looking for the shell crab’s nest .

 

[The coconut tree and the three rocks . After that, the elevated ground near the seaside, so I should be able to find it soon . ]

 

While running along the beach and placing signposts, Tsutomu recalled his knowledge from the game . Then he ran for about 15 minutes and found a short and a tall palm tree .

 

Then, Tsutomu took out the food of the shell crab . Scattering spotted fish that Amy had caught in the sea, he buried it in the sand . Some fish’s bellies were cut to spread the scent, and the smell of fresh fish filled the area .

 

The spotted fish, which makes up most of the shell crab’s diet, is a potion ingredient and is what it uses to recover .

 

While injecting needles containing the poison collected from the swamp into some of the fish, the effort went back to where he came from, praying as he did .

 

Things brought in from outside the dungeon disappear as particles in about thirty minutes from usage . Therefore, the signposts become particles after thirty minutes and cannot be used .

 

So while placing signposts on the way, Tsutomu tried to find landmarks around . He then discovered the three rocks, so signposts were only placed there .

 

After that, he wanted to find a landmark near the seaside, but he decided to go back for a while due to the limitations the signposts had . Even if this didn’t work, he could still use the remaining ones next time .

 

The dungeon often differed in terrain from the game, but it still had similar features . Safe points where monsters don’t go were near large trees that can be seen from a distance in the forest . The way to distinguish between regular swamps and bottomless swamps is whether the swamp is dark . Even if the terrain changes, there are constants that don’t change on each level .

 

Therefore, the features and knowledge of each level are useful to have . Since the seaside location was mapped out live through the monitor, Tsutomu was relieved that results were showing .

 

Tsutomu looked around the seaside on the way back and replaces the signposts that have disappeared, leaving only a few holes .

 

And so, Tsutomu followed the signposts and returned to the two fighting the shell crab .