Chapter 55: Penetrable Shell
Gray descended into the black sand field, his crystalline barbs catching the Obsidian Crab’s crimson gaze and scattering it like bloodstained stars. The creature tracked his approach with those glowing eyes, its crusher claw grinding against the volcanic sediment with a sound like boulders colliding.
’Heh. It doesn’t see me as a threat.’
The Obsidian Crab raised its crusher claw and slammed it against the seafloor. The shockwave rippled through the sand, a warning display meant to intimidate. Gray didn’t flinch. He’d faced worse than posturing.
’Biggest doesn’t mean strongest. You’re about to learn the difference.’
He deployed Neurotoxic Drift at range. The venom cloud drifted toward the Crab, invisible in the darkness.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — INEFFECTIVE]
[TARGET’S CARAPACE PREVENTS VENOM ABSORPTION]
’Figured as much. Had to try.’
The Crab scuttled forward with surprising speed for something so massive. Its crusher claw swung in a wide arc, aiming to end the fight in a single blow. Gray pulsed upward, 120 SPD carrying him over the strike. The claw passed beneath him and slammed into a volcanic boulder, shattering it into fragments.
’I am NOT getting hit by that.’
He circled behind the Crab, targeting the joint where its rear leg met the carapace. The armor was thinner there. Cavitation Pulse activated. The crystalline structures along his bell superheated the water, then released it in a focused jet of boiling liquid and crystal shrapnel.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 48 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 872 / 920]
[20% DEF PENETRATION — APPLIED]
The Crab screeched — a harsh, grinding sound. Its rear leg spasmed, the joint scorched by the superheated blast. It turned, slower than before, its injured leg dragging slightly in the sand.
’Good. It can be hurt.’
The Crab’s ripper claw snapped toward him, serrated edge gleaming. Gray pulsed sideways, but the claw was faster than the crusher — it caught his bell margin and tore.
[-28 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 597 / 625]
[VENOMOUS RIPOSTE — ACTIVATED]
[TOXIN VULNERABILITY — APPLIED]
The venom-tipped spines along his bell lashed out automatically, injecting concentrated neurotoxin into the ripper claw’s joint. The Crab faltered, its claw jerking back as the venom seeped through the gaps in its armor.
’Got you. Even your joints have gaps.’
He activated Abyssal Lance. His body compressed, crystalline barbs aligning into a spearhead. The Crab raised both claws to block, expecting a frontal assault. Gray launched At the wounded rear leg.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 92 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 780 / 920]
[50% DEF PENETRATION — APPLIED]
The crystalline barbs punched through the damaged joint and buried themselves deep in the Crab’s flank. The creature howled — a grinding, metallic sound. Its wounded leg collapsed entirely, leaving it dragging on five limbs instead of six.
’One down.’
But the Crab wasn’t finished. It pivoted with unexpected speed, its crusher claw swinging in a desperate arc. Gray tried to pulse away, but the claw clipped his crystalline armor.
[-42 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 555 / 625]
The impact sent him tumbling through the water, his bell ringing with the force of the blow. His crystalline armor had absorbed some of the damage, but not enough. He caught himself against a volcanic rock and pushed off, shaking off the disorientation.
’Okay. Time to stop playing with my food.’
He circled the wounded Crab, studying its movements. It was favoring its injured side, its crusher claw held lower than before. The venom from Venomous Riposte was still working, spreading through its system, magnifying the damage of any future toxins.
He activated EMP Shroud. The electromagnetic pulse radiated outward, and Gray vanished from the Crab’s senses. The creature’s crimson eyes swept the darkness, its claws raised defensively. It couldn’t sense him. It was blind and waiting.
Gray positioned himself beneath the Crab, where the armor was thinnest. He deployed Neurotoxic Drift directly upward into the joint gaps of its remaining legs. The venom seeped through the cracks in the chitin.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 18 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[TOXIN VULNERABILITY — +30% DAMAGE]
The Crab convulsed. Its legs scrabbled against the sand, trying to escape the venom cloud it couldn’t see or feel.
EMP Shroud expired. Gray’s electrical signature flickered back into existence directly beneath the Crab’s body. The creature’s eyes snapped downward, but it was too late.
Overcharge detonated.
[OVERCHARGE — 82 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 661 / 920]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The electricity surged upward through the Crab’s body, arcing through its joints, its legs, its vulnerable underside. The creature seized, every limb locking rigid. Its crusher claw slammed into the sand, twitching.
Gray didn’t waste a moment. Grip Jaw locked onto the Crab’s crusher claw, four tentacles wrapping around the limb with crushing force.
[GRIP JAW — 24 DAMAGE]
[GRIP JAW — 26 DAMAGE]
The stun broke. The Crab thrashed, trying to free its primary weapon, but Gray’s grip held. Cavitation Pulse fired point-blank into the crusher claw’s joint.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 50 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 561 / 920]
The joint cracked. The Crab’s crusher claw hung lower than before, its grip strength compromised.
’You’re running out of weapons.’
The Crab retreated, dragging its ruined leg through the sand. Its ripper claw snapped at him, but the strikes were slower now, less precise. The venom was spreading.
Gray launched.
The crystalline barbs impaled the joint of the ripper claw, punching through the thinner armor. The Crab’s screech was weaker now, the grinding sound fading to something almost pitiable.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 96 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 465 / 920]
Grip Jaw followed immediately. He locked onto the ripper claw, squeezing until the chitin began to splinter. Overcharge detonated again.
[OVERCHARGE — 80 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 385 / 920]
The ripper claw went limp. The Crab had one functional weapon left, and it was the crusher — damaged, weakened, and barely able to lift.
’This is over.’
He deployed Neurotoxic Drift one final time, flooding the Crab’s wounded joints with venom. Then Cavitation Pulse to the crusher claw’s already-cracked joint.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 52 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 333 / 920]
The joint shattered. The crusher claw fell limp against the sand, useless.
The Obsidian Crab was defenseless.
It tried to retreat, dragging its broken body across the black sand with its remaining legs. Its crimson eyes flickered, dimming. It had been the apex of this region, unchallenged and unafraid, and now it was crawling away from a creature a fraction of its size.
Gray didn’t let it suffer. Abyssal Lance, point-blank into its head.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 98 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 235 / 920]
Grip Jaw around its throat. Overcharge one final time.
[OVERCHARGE — 84 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 151 / 920]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The Crab’s legs scrabbled weakly against the sand. Its crimson eyes stared up at him, still glowing.
Cavitation Pulse ended it.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 52 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 99 / 920]
One final Neurotoxic Drift, seeping through the cracks in its shattered armor.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 60 / 920]
The Crab’s claws twitched. Its legs stilled. The crimson glow in its eyes faded slowly, like embers dying in a cold hearth. The massive body sank into the black sand one final time.
[OBSIDIAN CRAB DEFEATED — 1,100 EXP]
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 25.]
[20 Stat Points available for distribution.]
[2 Skill Points available.]
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Obsidian Carapace" (1/5)]
[New Trait Discovered!]
[OBSIDIAN CARAPACE — Preview]
« Analysis »
A rare defensive trait derived from the ultra-dense chitin of the Obsidian Crab. Reinforces the user’s armor with mineral-absorbed crystalline structures, significantly increasing physical durability.
Effect at Completion: DEF +15. All physical damage taken reduced by 15%. Passive. Stacks with existing armor traits.
Gray absorbed the massive corpse, his oral arms straining to process the ultra-dense chitin. The taste was strange — metallic, mineral-rich, with an undertone of something almost volcanic. His body hummed with the influx of experience and biomass.
He allocated his stat points without hesitation. Five into SPD, ten into ATK, and five into DEF.
[SPD: 120 → 125]
[ATK: 53 → 63]
[DEF: 56 → 61]
[HP MAX: 625 → 650]
The skill points went into his core abilities.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — Lv. 6 → Lv. 7]
[CAVITATION PULSE — Lv. 5 → Lv. 6]