Live Dungeon! – Chapter 10, The Shell Crab

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Translator: TipToe

Translator (October 4, 2024 Version): Barnnn

 

Beyond the Black Gate was a dazzling white beach, so brilliant that the Explorers had to shield their eyes from its glare. The landscape stretched before them, punctuated by small tidal pools and the occasional tall trees, reminiscent of an oasis lost in a desert’s vastness.

 

As if to welcome them, two colossal pincers erupted from the sands, followed by a flurry of spindly legs. The Shell Crab surged forth, a creature of the deep rising from beneath the shore.

 

Its sun-bathed shell gleamed, a fortress of hardened minerals and interwoven fragments of shells. The creature’s mismatched pincers, serrated like saw blades, gleamed with menace. Tsutomu gazed up at the giant enemy crab, a brief chill crawling down his spine. But the next moment, his grip tightened on the White Staff as he cast support spells for his companions.

 

Sensing the surge of magical energy, the creature’s antennae quivered, and with a sharp, lateral motion, it scuttled toward them.

 

“<<Combat Cry>>!”

 

Garm’s red aura cut through the air, and the Shell Crab responded with a downward sweep of its massive pincer. Garm sidestepped it narrowly, sand flying in his wake as the claw gouged the earth where he had just stood. The ground shook with the force of the missed strike, but Garm, undeterred, rolled back and activated another skill mid-motion.

 

“<<Enchant Earth>>!”

 

Garm’s sword pulsed with an earthen glow, its durability bolstered by a magical aura. He aimed a strike at the creature’s narrow legs, but the blow glanced off, producing a metallic ring that echoed through the beach. Fragments of minerals flew from the impact, but the creature bore no wound. His attack had barely left a mark.

 

While Garm kept on attacking and dancing around the relentless onslaught of claws, Amy saw her chance. She snuck behind the crab and vaulted onto its back, dual blades in hand.

 

“<<Rock Splitter Blade>>!”

 

Her swords sank deep into its back as she balanced atop the creature, her arms a blur of frenzied strikes. Each swing shattered the shells clinging to its carapace, the fragments crumbling to powder and scattering in the wind.

 

The Shell Crab froze momentarily, its antennae whipping toward Amy. Sensing the shift in its attention, she leaped just in time, narrowly avoiding a stream of needle-thin water that burst from the creature’s shell. The jet sliced her calf, the wound shallow but sharp. With its power to pierce flesh, it would have been fatal, had it been a direct hit.

 

Tsutomu’s <<Heal>> spell wrapped swiftly around Amy’s leg, knitting the torn flesh. Garm continued his assault, focusing his strikes on the creature’s joints.

 

Suddenly, the crab’s pincers widened, and it spun, preparing to sweep its claws across the battlefield. Tsutomu, quick to react, cast <<Protect>> on Garm, then layered both <<Protect>> and <<Haste>> upon Amy in rapid succession.

 

“I’ll set the traps once we understand its movements better,” Tsutomu called out, his eyes never leaving the creature.

 

“Understood,” Garm replied, his grip tightening on his buckler.

 

Amy, with her speed now heightened by <<Haste>>, darted toward the Shell Crab again, slipping past the deadly arc of its right pincer and lunging for its antennae. Metal clashed as the creature’s left claw intercepted her strike, forcing her to hang in mid-air for a breathless moment. Before the right claw could trap her, she kicked off it, flipping backward to regain her stance, and charged once more, a spray of sand fanning out behind her.

 

Garm’s sword went for the vulnerable points between the creature’s legs, while his buckler deflected its wild swings. He retreated only when the claws grew too close, narrowly evading their crushing grip.

 

Amy leaped onto one of the crab’s massive pincers, racing along its foreleg until she reached the creature’s back again — it was its one blind spot, where the claws could not reach.

 

As the creature’s antennae twisted frantically to track her, Garm drove his sword into a joint of its legs. Meanwhile, Tsutomu, unleashed a flurry of <<Air Blades>>, aiming for the creature’s thinner limbs, careful to manage his aggro level and avoid friendly fire.

 

Tsutomu and Garm hammered relentlessly at one of the creature’s limbs, chipping away the layers of shells that encased it. Beneath the fractured surface, a dark, sinewy surface began to emerge, while Amy’s furious strikes on the crab’s back dislodged chunks of its protective armor, scattering fragments of mineral coating into the air.

 

A harsh, grating screech erupted from the Shell Crab as it suddenly launched itself into the air — a maneuver none of them had seen in any broadcast before. Tsutomu instinctively raised an arm to shield his face from the burst of sand, his mind scrambling to process this unforeseen move.

 

For a fleeting second, he marveled at the improbable sight, wondering how such frail-looking legs could propel a creature of its immense size. As the crab’s ascent slowed, it twisted in mid-air, preparing to slam Amy, still clinging to its back, into the ground below.

 

Amy’s reflexes saved her. Just before the creature completed its deadly rotation, she drove her dual blades deep into its shell and pushed off with all her strength, launching herself into the air. But the height from which she now fell was dangerous — too high to land without injury. Tsutomu’s thoughts raced in a blur of calculations.

 

[Will she die from that fall? No, she’s skilled enough to land on her feet. If it’s a bad fracture, I’ll use <<High Heal>> — wait, not, the Shell Crab’s aggro will turn on me. Can Garm handle it alone? Maybe. Could I evade the next attack? No… I’d have to take a hit. Potions? No, not right now — gotta focus on reducing her fall damage! I’ll pop a support skill–]

 

“<<Protect>>!”

 

Tsutomu poured extra mental energy into the spell, his voice cutting through the chaos as he sprinted toward Amy. He had shortened the duration of the <<Protect>> while maintaining its potency, hoping to conserve his energy and generate as little aggro as possible.

 

Amy, now wrapped in a denser, earthen energy shield, felt the extra protection take effect as she plummeted, her white hair streaming behind her. She landed hard, feet first, and tumbled several times across the sand, dispersing the force of the impact. Tsutomu rushed toward her, already pulling a slender vial from his belt and uncorking it.

 

“Are you hurt!? Any fractures!?”

 

Amy rose to one knee, brushing the sand off her hair.

 

“Nothing broken, thanks,” she replied, her gaze already fixed on the Shell Crab, which had landed with a thunderous crash some distance away. The creature let out a metallic screech, looming ominously as it prepared for another assault.

 

Tsutomu wasn’t convinced. He thrust the Potion toward her. “You’re injured. Please, drink this.”

 

“Huh? Nah, it’s just a scratch.” Amy waved the vial away dismissively.

 

“…Then show me your leg.”

 

Tsutomu stowed the Potion and, without waiting for permission, knelt beside Amy. He gently pulled off her boot, then carefully rolled down her sock. Her ankle was swollen, a deep bruise already forming, turning her skin a worrying shade of purple.

 

Tsutomu winced at the sight, then drove the Potion vial into the sand beside him.

 

“I can’t cast a <<Heal>> right now — I need to save it for Garm. Drink this and recover.”

 

“Seriously, it’s a waste to use a Potion for something so minor. By the time we leave the Dungeon, it’ll heal on its own.”

 

Tsutomu shot her an exasperated look. “You know, I’ve been wondering why you’re always so– Actually, now’s not the time for that debate. Drink it and recover. You don’t have my permission not to.”

 

Without waiting for a response, Tsutomu was already running back toward the battle, leaving Amy behind, stunned. She glanced down at the Potion half-buried in the sand.

 

[Usually, it’s the other way around,] she mused.

 

In the past, she’d always been told Potions were too valuable to waste on minor injuries — and in fact, this was the first time anyone had ever insisted she drank one.

 

Tsutomu’s idea of having each combatant carry Potions in the first place had seemed odd enough. Even Amy, known for her boldness, had hesitated to use the ones he’d given her, half-expecting him to demand reimbursement later. After all, Potions were as valuable as a mid-quality Large Magic Stone — it felt reckless to use one without a second thought.

 

[Worst case, if he does ask me to pay him back, I still have that Medium Magic Stone from last time…] she thought, sighing.

 

She plucked the Potion from the sand and took a sip. The liquid was slightly bitter, though not unpleasant, and she couldn’t help but be impressed — true to its Elf-made origin, the Potion packed quite a punch. The dull ache in her ankle began to fade, and the swelling subsided with each passing moment.

 

While Amy regained her strength with the aid of the Potion, Garm faced the Shell Crab alone, weaving between its attacks. Despite his exhaustion, he pressed on, while the creature only seemed to grow more frenzied, its movements quickening since Amy’s blades had pierced its armored shell earlier.

 

The crab moved with eerie precision, scuttling sideways as its legs worked with the deftness of a master pianist. It closed in on Garm, pincers snapping like a relentless rhythm. Bogged down by the shifting sand beneath him, Garm could no longer strike back, forced into a purely defensive stance.

 

He knew he wouldn’t be as long as he kept dodging — but his stamina drained with each step. His legs felt like lead, and his mind fogged with fatigue. His armor now seemed to trap heat, scorching him from within — he had the urge to strip it all off and collapse. But survival instincts kicked in as he narrowly leaped sideways, avoiding the crab’s latest charge.

 

“<<Heal>>. <<Medic>>.”

 

A wisp of green energy shot from Tsutomu’s staff, wrapping around Garm’s exhausted form as he lay sprawled in the sand. The crushing heat in his armor eased, and his breathing steadied.

 

Garm gripped his longsword and used it to pull himself to his feet. With a grunt, he staggered forward and swung at the Shell Crab, but the creature blocked his strike with its right pincer, retaliating with its left. Garm raised his buckler just in time, but the impact was brutal, sending him flying.

 

The momentary opening was all Amy needed. Now fully recovered, she lunged at the crab’s back, ripping her dual blades from its carapace and driving them in again. The Shell Crab bucked violently, thrashing like an enraged beast, throwing her off. Amy rolled safely across the sand, landing in a crouch as blue blood sprayed from the creature’s wounds.

 

The Shell Crab’s fury intensified. Its pincers crashed into the ground with a thunderous force as it let out a shrill screech, its antennae quivering in a wild frenzy.

 

“I’m setting the traps now. Don’t worry about the cost of Potions — use them if you need to!” Tsutomu shouted.

 

“Understood,” Garm grunted, rising again to face the towering foe.

 

“Got it!” Amy called back, her voice sharp with focus.

 

With the two locked in combat, Tsutomu turned and jogged away from the battlefield. The crab, spotting his retreat, attempted to pursue, but Garm’s <<Combat Cry>> dragged its attention back to the fight, its aggression still aimed at the two fighters.

 

Tsutomu spared a glance over his shoulder, ensuring the giant enemy crab wasn’t following him. He quickly dropped his Magic Bag into the sand, rummaging through its contents and pulling out a bundle of spike-like markers. He began planting them one by one into the ground as he methodically searched for the creature’s nesting areas.

 

[One nest is by the twin palm trees, another near the triplet rock formation… and the last should be under one of the dunes by the shore. I saw it on the broadcasts… Here’s hoping hope I find them quickly.]

 

Tsutomu went along the shoreline, planting markers as his mind raced alongside his feet, drawing from every fragment of memory from his days spent immersed in the game. After a good fifteen minutes of running, the sight of two palm trees — one tall, one short — came into view.

 

Without time to waste, he pulled a shovel from his Magic Bag and plunged it into the sand, digging with fevered intensity. Soon enough, his efforts unearthed a hidden cache of shells and ores beneath the trees. Quickly, he scooped them into his bag before replacing them with similar-looking but softer, inferior materials.

 

Next, he hauled out the Shell Crab’s hidden food supply from the sand and replaced them with what he had brought — piles of striped fish Amy had caught by diving into the sea. He sliced open several of their bellies, the pungent, briny stench of fish guts filling the air, spreading through the area like a beacon.

 

These Potion Fish, the staple of the crab’s diet, weren’t just its sustenance — they were the secret behind its regeneration. And as the name suggested, they also served as key ingredients in Potions. Tsutomu poisoned several, jabbing them with poison-tipped needles harvested from the Swamp biome, ensuring the creature would face a cruel surprise if it took the bait.

 

His trap set, Tsutomu rushed back the way he had come. He was racing against time — items brought into the Dungeon from outside dissolved into nothingness if left unattended for more than thirty minutes, so he needed to replace any markers that might vanish before his work was done.

 

As he made his way back, he scouted around the markers he had planted earlier, his eyes scanning for landmarks. He spotted the distinctive triplet rock formation in the distance and carefully placed another marker there.

 

The nesting sand dune, however, remained elusive. Time was slipping away, and he couldn’t afford to stretch Garm and Amy’s endurance any further. Weighing his options, Tsutomu decided it was wiser to leave that piece of the puzzle for their next attempt. He could only do so much in one run, and the battlefield constantly shifted, leaving mysteries and surprises for future battles. Still, certain landmarks — large trees in the Forests marking monster-free safe zones, the color of the Swamp’s mud indicating whether they were bottomless — offered reliable consistency on each Dungeon layer.

 

That nesting sand dune, too, would surely turn up on a future attempt, as he had seen them before through Monitor broadcasts. He took solace in knowing his understanding of these constants would serve him well.

 

As he sprinted back toward the frontlines, he replaced a few markers that had already dissolved into faint particles of light, vanishing into nothingness.

 

Following the trail he had left behind, Tsutomu finally returned to the battleground where Amy and Garm were still locked in fierce combat with the Shell Crab.

 

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