Derek clenched his fists. He was out of time. The scuttling grew louder, and from the shadows of the cave emerged the source of the sound. A dozen grotesque creatures, like oversized crabs with razor-sharp pincers and glowing red eyes, skittered toward them. Each crab, the size of a large cat, moved with unnerving coordination, their claws clacking as if in anticipation of tearing into their prey.
Derek quickly glanced at the merwoman who still seemed to have no intentions of helping or even moving. Right. So this was his fight. His alone. Derek gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. There wasn’t much time. The first crab was upon him in the blink of an eye. It lunged at him, its pincers wide open, aiming for his legs.
Derek didn’t think—he just reacted. He twisted his body and awkwardly punched the crab with all the strength he could muster. The punch connected, though clumsily, given the odd angle and height difference. His fist slammed into the creature’s shell, sending a sharp sting through his knuckles, but the impact knocked the crab back a few inches, startling it. There was also a crack on its shell.
The crab staggered back and Derek grinned, feeling a surge of confidence rise within him. The crack on the crab's shell was a small victory, but it was a victory nonetheless. He could do this. He just needed to keep hitting them harder. Derek shifted his weight and prepared himself as another crab skittered forward, pincers snapping aggressively.
Without waiting for it to strike, Derek lunged first, kicking it with all his might. His foot connected with the creature’s shell, and a loud crack echoed through the cave as the crab tumbled backward, its legs flailing helplessly. But not before it took a good chunk of his flesh.
Derek winced as he felt a sharp, searing pain shoot through his leg. He glanced down to see blood trickling from a deep gash in his calf where the crab had managed to clamp its pincer before he kicked it away. His leg burned and he wanted to scream but he forced himself to stay upright. The first crab that attacked him was already lunging and a third one was right on its tail or rather claw. Their pincers snapped furiously as they skittered towards him at full speed, the rest of the cluster right behind them. If he slowed down now, even for a second, he was definitely crab food.
He staggered back, desperately trying to keep his balance on the slippery cave floor. Blood from the gash on his leg dripped into the water below, and his pulse pounded in his ears. There was no time to focus on the pain. The first crab lunged at him again, pincers outstretched, and Derek barely managed to twist to the side, avoiding another bite. That movement made him stumble and fall to the ground.
The crab was right next to him and in a race to see who would attack whom first, Derek won by a fraction of a second when he hammer-fisted the damn thing on its back. The crab's shell cracked beneath Derek's fist, and the creature let out a high-pitched screech as it twitched violently before going still.
[Ding! You have gained experience points]
Derek didn’t have time to celebrate. He scrambled back to his feet, breathing heavily, his leg throbbing with every movement. He needed a breather. He was saving up his water fist for a desperate time and this definitely seemed like one of those moments.
He clenched his fists and focused. The crabs were closing in fast, pincers raised for another attack. Derek didn’t hesitate this time. He gathered his remaining strength, focusing on his hands. He had never fully mastered the water fist technique, but now was not the time to doubt. He thrust his fist forward, as he tugged at the mana that was floating all over his body like speckled spots. This time it will work. He knew it.
For a moment, Derek thought he'd failed again, but then a surge of energy shot through him. Water, shimmering with a faint glow, coalesced around his fist, swirling rapidly as if alive. He could feel the mana, raw and powerful, pulsing within the water. His hand tingled with the sheer force of it. His fist connected and the impact was immediate and explosive.
The blast of water shot from his fist like a cannon, hitting the first crab square in the chest. The creature was lifted off its feet and flung backward into the mass of oncoming crabs, the force of the water splintering its shell and sending a ripple through the advancing swarm. Four other crabs were knocked aside like leaves in a gale, their bodies slamming into the cave walls with wet, crunching thuds.
[Ding! You have gained experience points]
[Ding! You have gained experience points]
[Ding! You have gained experience points]
In a single attack, three crabs were down and he got a much-needed second to recollect without the immediate threat of being overwhelmed. Derek took a deep, shaky breath, adrenaline surging through him as he glanced around at the remaining crabs. The cave had fallen into a tense silence, broken only by the occasional drip of water from the stalactites above.
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And then it resumed. The remaining crabs, undeterred by the fate of their fallen comrades, began to regroup, their pincers clacking with renewed aggression. Derek’s heart pounded in his chest as he realized they wouldn’t give up so easily. His body screamed for rest, and his wounded leg throbbed, but he couldn’t stop now.
There were still too many of them.
"Come on," he muttered to himself, his fists trembling. He had to keep moving. Keep fighting. He saw that there was some distance between him and the closest crab. It was only a small distance, something that could be covered in a couple of seconds. But seeing this made Derek want to do something, to see if he could take at least one more down before they even reached him.
In the heat of the moment, Derek did not think too much about it and tugged at the scattered mana specs in his body once again. This time there were a lot fewer mana particles. He could tell but this only helped him as it was easier to force them to move. He willed for them to rush to his head and he felt the power congeal behind his eyes, like a pressure building, ready to burst. His vision blurred as the mana settled, but then everything around him sharpened with a surreal clarity. The mana in his eyes was making every motion, every detail, vivid and heightened beyond anything he'd experienced before.
Derek was shocked for a second as this was not something he experienced during his many practise attempts. But then again this was the first time he was trying this outside of a water bubble. His brain tried to make sense of the sudden shift in perception and he forced it to immediately get over it. This was not what was important at the moment. Without any further delay, he released the gathered mana in his eyes.
Derek blinked in confusion as a weak pulse of energy shot out of his eyes, barely more than a flicker. It wasn’t at all like the powerful Water Fist he’d unleashed earlier—this was almost pathetic in comparison. His heart sank, but he had no time to dwell on it. The crabs were still closing in fast, pincers snapping with deadly intent. Thankfully, the attempt was not entirely unsuccessful. One of the crabs in the front staggered, its movements affecting the nearby ones too.
This was his chance!
Derek immediately rushed forward, no longer bothering to keep the distance. The crabs were weaker than him in pure stats. If it was not for their numbers and their sharp pincers they wouldn’t be much of a threat. With them momentarily disoriented from his mana pulse, both of these strong points were somewhat taken care of.
Derek seized this opportunity and charged forward. His body screamed in pain, especially his wounded leg, but he ignored it. He focused on the nearest crab, the one he had disoriented. Before it could regain its balance, he swung his fist down hard, aiming for a small crack in its shell. His fist connected with a sickening crunch, shattering the shell completely. The crab collapsed with a screech.
[Ding! You have gained experience points.]
[Ding! You have leveled up]
[Lvl 5 > Lvl 6]
[Ding! You have gained Strength +1, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Intelligence +1 and Wisdom +1]
[Ding! You have gained 1 free stat point]
Derek did not see any notifications flashing in front of him this time around. They sounded distantly in his mind and he wouldn’t even have registered them if he did not want to. But the surge of energy he felt told him everything he needed to know.
And also reminded him of the one little detail he had forgotten. He had another stat point saved up. It was not much but he added the two new stat points in strength and agility, one each. His muscles seemed to tighten, brimming with renewed energy, and his reflexes sharpened. The pain in his leg, though still present, felt more bearable now, as if his body had become slightly more resilient.
Derek quickly reached out for the next crab. He was not done yet. The others were already recovering and the window of opportunity had already almost closed. He punched the crab and this time it was a lot easier to crack the hard shell. In a couple of hits, the next one went limp.
[Ding! You have gained experience points.]
Without missing a beat he launched himself at the next one delivering a powerful kick to its side, sending it skittering across the cave floor. The crab slammed into the wall with a wet crunch. What followed next was a totally chaotic, brutal, and frenzied fight. It was a raw, unrefined scuffle with both sides taking hits and no side with a clear winner. Yet at the end of the brawl, the crabs were all down for the count and the last one standing was the human being.
[Ding! You have gained experience points.]
[Ding! You have leveled up]
[Lvl 6 > Lvl 7]
[Ding! You have gained Strength +1, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Intelligence +1 and Wisdom +1]
[Ding! You have gained 1 free stat point]
Derek managed to force a small smile before his vision started to blur. The adrenaline that had fueled his chaotic fight was quickly fading, leaving behind an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. His body screamed with the accumulated pain of his wounds—the deep gash in his leg, the bruises from crab pincers, the raw knuckles from repeatedly slamming into hard shells.
The last crab had fallen, but it had been a brutal and relentless battle, one that had pushed him beyond his limits. As the system notifications continued to echo faintly in his mind, signaling his growth, he barely had the energy to register them. All he knew was that he had survived—barely. He tried to stand tall, but his legs wobbled beneath him.
Derek collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath, and slumped on the ground, simply staring at the rocky ceiling above his head. It was over. He fought. He won and he leveled. He couldn’t help but smile a little as his heartbeat pounded in his ears. He felt alive.