Chapter Thirty

Bob glared down at what appeared to be the patinaed ruin of a large copper lamp. One probably worth at least a few silver in raw weight alone.

And yet another item that would be absolutely impossible to squeeze within his relatively narrow form.

The third floor was actually proving quite a bit easier to handle than the floors below. Though that might be at least partially due to the multiple migrations downwards that all the recent crab-death had caused.

Unfortunately, it was also, to this point, quite a bit less profitable. With Bob already having cleared out half the floor. Something which amounted to three experience points and a useless lump of metal. He hadn’t even managed to get the final level on ‘Constrict’; the tiny crabs he’d killed apparently not being enough of a challenge.

To be fair though, this was also the area closest to the stairs. It was likely that a good number of the nearby crabs had been lured to the floor below by the massacre. All that were left being tiny loners apparently too scared to even fight for scraps.

The majority of the floor’s crabs – and treasures – were located on the other side of the building. In fact, were he to be more accurate, they were even more firmly clumped together than that. Something which was actually beginning to look like a bit of an issue.

The lamp he’d found was one of three ‘treasures’ which appeared to be on this level. The other two seeming to be located in the same room on the other end of the floor. A room which, oddly enough, was also playing host to five moderately sized crabs. Each appearing to be in the lower-middle of ‘E’ rank. Probably about on terms with his last victim on the second story.

He had no idea why they were all clustered there. But they were. And they didn’t seem to have any current intentions of leaving. None having strayed outside during the mild ruckus he’d been making on the other side of the building, at least.

Though, to be fair, it hadn’t exactly taken him long to deal with the floor’s other occupants.

Minus the five, the rest of the third story was basically empty. Just one more tiny crab Bob was already preparing to use ‘Taunt’ on to bring to his current location. This one, however, he didn’t intend to kill so quickly.

He was getting that treasure. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. But, that said, he didn’t exactly feel like trying to face five potentially lethal opponents down at once.

So, it was time to spread them out.

Ding!

Taunt (E) has leveled up!

9 – 10

Bob mildly grimaced as the increase to tenth level didn’t instigate an evolution. He’d more or less figured it was going to take beyond ten for rank ‘E’. Having already killed a crab past the two-digit mark had made that pretty clear.

It didn’t make it any less disappointing, however.

Still, as he watched his target begin to slowly make its way towards him, part of Bob couldn’t help but be amused. If nothing else than by how utterly his opinion on both ‘Provocation’ and ‘Mind Control’ abilities had flipped over the last day or so.

Where once ‘Taunt’ had been hated and ‘Treasure’s Allure’ had been considered a last-choice trait pick, now they felt utterly indispensable to both his daily life and his combat style. Without one, he’d be dead. And without the other, he’d likely wish he was dead. Forced to wait for what might have been days for the monsters to spread back out again.

Though as the tiny crab grew closer, Bob had to admit that, as far as preferences go, something else was still beating the both of them out.

Something he was very much hoping to evolve in the next twenty or so minutes.

The tiny crab marched to its doom much like all its siblings had. Arms raised, body stiff and enthusiastic. Displaying as much physical excitement as you were ever likely to see out of an arthropod.

Enough that Bob would admit that he felt the slightest touches of guilt as he wrapped his coils around the tiny creature. Before brushing them away as he lifted the crustacean through the water to face him.

As it began to scream, it started fruitlessly attempting to pinch at the material making up his tongue. Bob briefly considered giving it a squeeze to make it stop, but decided against it. The crab was too small to deal him actual damage and – while he was absolutely going to kill it within the next few seconds – he didn’t really have it in him to pointlessly torture something. Even something trying desperately to maim him.

Besides, it didn’t need to be in pain to draw its siblings out. Sheer, incandescent rage would do the trick well enough.

Bob ‘watched’ as the crabs within the manor immediately began going wild. Feeling far less concerned over their temper-tantrums than he had previously. The floor directly below him was mostly clear, the one above him filled with only a smattering of smaller crabs he could kill with ease. The only real concern, outside of the crabs he was actively attempting to draw out, were the larger crabs on the bottom level.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Luckily, the four largest specimens showed far less interest in the ‘call to arms’ than their smaller siblings. The most active among them being the Crab Behind the Wall, which – while always very vocal – still never moved from its location.

And, given that the rest seemed to have trouble finding even the first staircase up without cephalopodan help, he wasn’t terribly worried.

Unfortunately, while he was content with the pace – or lack thereof – of most of the crabs heading in his direction, there was one group whose movements left him frustrated.

Those being, of course, the ones he was attempting to shift in the first place.

They had obviously reacted to the alarm call, individual ‘blips’ seeming to bump and crash into each other as they panicked and wildly ran around their room.

But none of them seemed to be making any attempt to leave it.