Lakeside (3)
The giant crab's pincer slammed down. I barely dodged the attack. The motion itself was so massive and surprisingly sluggish that avoiding it wasn't hard. But that vibration when it hit the ground—it wasn't ordinary at all.
First things first, mana…! I steadied my pounding heart and circulated my mana. A cool stimulation spread through my muscles. I'd practiced whenever I had time, so I could respond quickly.
"Grurruk."
In the meantime, the giant crab raised its pincer again. It was surprisingly agile for its enormous bulk. The moment I saw it, I moved both legs. Blocking that thing was a bad idea.
Thud!
"Guh?!"
But the unfamiliar terrain led to a mistake. As I backpedaled, my foot caught on something. The world spun for a second, and the sky filled my vision. Even as my body tilted backward, I reacted on instinct.
"Ngh…!"
A decent shock transmitted from my back. It was bearable, though. I'd curled up just before hitting the ground, minimizing the impact—like the falling technique from SwordTasteStar's post.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
Even as I staggered to keep from fully falling, the giant crab didn't stop. With all those legs, it closed in fast despite its size.
Slick—
I struggled to get up, but slipped a bit. Meanwhile, the crab's pincer rose slowly, casting a shadow over my head. Standing up like this would be tough. On instinct, I raised my shield to block.
Please protect me, I prayed, pulling up as much mana as I could from within.
Bang!
A sound like metal clashing against metal. The shock transmitted through it. My arms went numb, but I could endure. Weaker than a muscle mushroom. Before the follow-up could come, I rolled desperately aside.
Crash!
As I rolled, the crab slammed its pincer down again. I felt the vibration through my whole body and silently stood.
The giant crab adjusted direction with its countless legs and approached again.
I need to ditch the idea of blocking and countering. If I kept blocking with the shield, my arms would go flying first. I had to find an opening somehow, but it was hard.
Its attacks are simple, but fast—that's the problem. I kept my legs moving nonstop while thinking. Another tip from SwordTasteStar: think while moving your feet. That way, you don't give the enemy any gaps and steer the fight in your favor.
Bang!
And her advice worked. The crab had whiffed. It slammed its pincer down where I'd been a second ago. This was my chance. I channeled mana into my sword and swung hard.
A haze rose from the blade like heat shimmer, then cleaved straight into the pincer.
Slash!
The claw part detached cleanly. Not a huge hit. Just the claw, not the whole pincer. With its size, that was unavoidable. I couldn't slice the whole thing in one go like someone might.
Chip away at it, piece by piece.
But it was enough. Keep at it like this, and I could kill it.
Whoosh!
The crab swung its now-clawless pincer fast. Even without the claw, it was a massive bludgeon—plenty threatening. I kept my legs moving to probe for weaknesses.
Wait a sec. This guy…
Then I spotted one. A very fatal weakness. Crabs can only walk sideways by nature. Size didn't change that. Meaning its attack range was extremely short. Even swinging like that had clear limits.
Especially its rotation speed—super slow.
While it flailed its pincer, I darted around and took its rear. It tried to turn, but too slow. No pincer reach there either. The pitiful fate of a crab, designed only for side-stepping.
Slash!
I cut a leg instead of the pincer as it turned. Two legs severed in one swing. Cheonma's sword plus aura.
Thud!
Losing two legs at once threw off its balance. One side tilted; it couldn't even steady itself.
My goal: strip its mobility completely. With turning speed like a turtle, I exploited it fully.
Slash! Slash!
I kept circling behind, lopping off legs. Two from each side, and it lost all turning ability. The rest were easy pickings.
Splatter!
Finally, I fully severed its prized remaining pincer. Just the body left, sprawled on the ground. Crustacean toughness—even with all limbs gone, it twitched.
Crunch!
I climbed onto its carapace and stabbed down between the eyes. Right in the upper center.
Scraaaape!
I pulled the sword down like a lever. Cheonma's blade split the tough shell like tofu. It reached the bottom easily, and I yanked with all my strength.
Splurt!
With all legs gone, it didn't split in half. But the twitching stopped completely, and that satisfied me. I flicked the guts off my sword.
"Hoo!"
I exhaled roughly. Adrenaline surged, heart pounding wildly. Without finding the weakness, I'd have struggled hard. No—might've lost my life.
Thrilling in a weird way.
"Grurruk."
"Grurk."
Before long, smaller crabs swarmed the corpse, picking at it. Even giant crabs fulfilled their scavenger role faithfully. I watched, then posted to the Gallery.
Giant Crab Hunt (photo of the insanely huge giant crab corpse)
A giant crab way bigger than a person burst out at the lakeside;; Used its pincer like a club. Good thing its turning speed sucked, made it easy to catch. What kinda bullshit is this;;
I didn't check comments. Needed to head back ASAP. I'd fallen on my ass and rolled all over. Leaving it like this meant smell issues—or worse, infection.
Next time, bring good shoes. This drive home how vital they were. Especially when I slipped—my life flashed before my eyes.
I caught my breath again and started back.
The fish corpse… over there.
I didn't forget the way. Fish corpse, leftover crab bits. The grime made me dizzy just thinking of carrying it, but no choice.
"Grurruk. Grurk."
"…"
Spotted a crab midway, so I gently picked it up. Then bought a backpack at auction. Not a waist pouch—a proper backpack.
Can't hold back anymore.
The second I hit the cave, chow time. Had to grab two more for Wonmo and TreeNibble. Wanted to trade with the dwarf, but cooldown meant tomorrow. Perfect drinking snack, so I'd come back.
Olfather said edible, so tasty, right?
No parasite worries. They only ate dead kin, from what I'd seen.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
I was inwardly thrilled when the ground shook. Earthquakes never brought good news. I scanned around frantically.
Splash! Splish!
From deep in the lake, giant crabs emerged one by one. Sizes like the one I'd fought, or a bit bigger. At least five.
I watched blankly. One was a struggle—five? Good thing I didn't linger.
This the lake? Not the sea?
No salty sea smell, so lake it was. I moved carefully, lest they notice me. Luckily, they ignored me till I reached the river mouth. Too busy scooping up their dead with pincers.
忠実 to instinct.
Corpses first priority. Scavenger name fit perfectly. I backed away slowly, then turned.
Time to head to the cave.
Roooooomble!
Then it hit—a whole different level of shaking. Far worse than the crabs' stomps. Real earthquake? Panic hit, but a massive roar from the lake cut through.
Kabooooom!
Water surging high, crashing down. I looked.
"…"
The sight froze me. Giant crabs were big, but this…
…Fuck. What the hell is that?
If giant crabs were truck-sized, this was building-sized. Height like an apartment. Perspective? What perspective? Absurdly huge. Was it even a crab? A walking building.
Find the weird thing in this video.
YasaengGrill (video of building-sized crab and giant crabs beside it)
What's weird? Give it a look!
└Cheonma Hm? Why does the sky look so small?
└YasaengGrill Right? Why's that?
└SwordTasteStar First time seeing a crab that big in my life? Does that even exist?
└YasaengGrill Sharp eyes. Can't believe it myself.
└Cheonma Looking again, it's enormous. You've piqued this lady's interest.
└YasaengGrill Wanna come? Catch it and steam it.
└Cheonma Aide stopped me. Sorry.
└Olfather Whoa;; Wooo;;; Fuck, what is that?
└YasaengGrill lololol I dunno either. First time for you too, Olfather?
└Olfather Species is definitely Gapers crab… but new subspecies? What the hell?
└YasaengGrill Wild, right?
└PassingDwarf A mountain's walking around;;; Btw, one favor?
└YasaengGrill Crab for drinks? Cooldown, so tomorrow.
└PassingDwarf Thx. Gimme the big one if you can.
└YasaengGrill You madman lolol
└Whoa;; Speechless. Real spirit beast?
└Fr, probably got an inner core in that shell
└That size? Totally spirit beast material lolol
└Plan to catch it?
└YasaengGrill Nah;; No way I could. One giant was tough.
└Nothing impossible. Just try.
└Catch it and Gallery explodes lolol
└YasaengGrill If someone's helping, maybe lol
└(No replies)
└YasaengGrill You bastards, reply.
I checked the Gallery while legging it back. Wanted out fast. Wet clothes weighed me down.
Why's my neck itching?
Tension eased, senses sharpened. The itch was clear. Couldn't ignore it—I scratched my nape with my right hand.
Squelch—
Something squishy. Instinct screamed: Bad news. Wouldn't flick off even tapping.
I swallowed and grabbed it. Yanked hard.
Streeetch!
Pop!
Pain and a weird sound—something detached from my nape. Big enough to grip, slimy.
I slowly brought my hand to my face.
Wriggly—
Wriggly—
A red slime—no, a hideous brown leech writhing in my hand. Enormous leech.
"Kiyaaaaaaa!!!"
Get it off me. Now.