The fight with the crab swarm was the second to last before the Boss room, the last one being with another field of Whip Seaweed. It took them a while, but the two stat points James put into SENSE and MIND allowed him to react to their attacks faster.

In the end, Ezekiel was forced to use his debuffs because the risk of getting further injured was too significant, and they all agreed that they had to be close to the end of the dungeon.

With their mental attributes lowered, the Seaweed became once again a straightforward fight. They managed to deal with them all in a few short minutes, shredding the main bodies.

“If it wasn’t for the poison in the air, this dungeon would be a cakewalk. I can see how it’s more difficult than the crocodile one, what with the massive increase in numbers and the monsters’ resistance, but our team is almost purpose-built to deal with it. Much more than what it initially appeared like.” Lauren commented as she cleaned her knives.

They were sitting on a few rocks that popped out of the water's surface, close to the entrance of a much larger room which they knew to be the Boss’, thanks to Miss Walker’s map.

Ezekiel was taking the time to heal everyone from the poison gas, since he had decided to drink the mana potion immediately before they went in. His reserves were basically at rock bottom by the time he was done, having been forced to heal and then debuff much more than he usually would have.

He hadn’t even participated directly in any fights the whole dive, but his contributions had been deemed enough by the System to give him three whole levels, showing just how much his help had allowed them to clear the obstacles in the way.

“If those stupid Seaweed weren’t so well protected against fire attacks, I would have burned them to the ground without needing to tax Ez so much.” Maria grumbled. Her Talent was the least well-suited to the current dungeon, but at least the explosive qualities of her fireballs had allowed for excellent crowd control against the swarms of crabs that would have overrun them.

She had concentrated on that specific skill enough that she ended up gaining a level in it, thus allowing her to more easily choose whether her mana would go into making the spells hotter or more destructive.

All in all, they had gained more than enough to make the trip worth it. The difficulty was much greater than what the initial Guild’s paper said it should have been, and even Miss Walker’s lacked a critical detail, but thanks to their teamwork and dedication, they had made it without taking more than a few hits.

“Now for the boss.” James said, peering forward in the cavern. “According to Miss Walker's information, we're up against a giant starfish. It can use rock magic, which means we should expect both projectiles and potentially the terrain itself to be used against us.”

Ezekiel uncorked the mana potion and took a measured sip, his eyes flashing as his reserves started to replenish. "If it can manipulate rock, it might also have a high resistance to physical attacks. Considering the crab shells' resistance, I would go in prepared for that.” He then gulped the rest of the potion down, grimacing at the taste. “I can focus on using my debuffs to lower its defenses, but that would limit my healing capabilities. And we might need those to get back out of here.”

"No, you need to keep us healed, especially with this damn poison in the air," Maria interjected. "I can try to focus on offensive magic, although I don't know how well fire will work on a creature from an aquatic environment."

"Fire can still deal significant damage, especially if you can heat the surrounding water and make it uncomfortable. Or you can try to directly damage the starfish.” Daniel suggested. “Especially since it uses rock magic. It might give its armor more resistance, but it should mean it benefits less from the surrounding waters.”

Lauren slid her knives into their sheaths. "I'll take advantage of those platforms I can see from here to get above the creature, to harass it and force it on the defensive. Since a starfish's underside is generally softer and more vulnerable, if we can flip it or expose its belly, I can aim for critical points."

James cracked his knuckles. "I'll serve as the primary distraction and bait. If this thing throws rocks, I want them aimed at me and away from you all. Daniel can defend you two.” He gestured to Ezekiel and Maria “But I think we might need his help in attacking this thing as well, so I’ll keep its attention away.”

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Once everyone had been healed fully from the poison gas’ effects, they picked themselves up and readied to enter the last room of the dungeon.

Stepping in, it became immediately evident why the Boss was not a water magic user, as it would have been intuitive to believe. Massive crystalline growths spanned the whole chamber, reaching as high as ten feet.

Purple and blue light reflected off them, the glowing moss and refracted luminescence giving it an otherworldly atmosphere. At its center, the most alien of creatures sat, water barely licking its form.

It was a gigantic starfish with a rocky, calcified surface that seemed to merge with the cave floor itself. As team 0 stepped in, it began to stir, its arms lifting as rocks started to float around it, imbued with a magical glow. It had noticed their entrance.

"Here we go.” James muttered, and they sprang into action.

Maria opened with a blast of fire, aiming not directly at the starfish but at the water around it. Steam hissed as the temperature rapidly increased. The starfish didn’t even react, seemingly not having noticed the attack.

Instead, a dozen fist-sized rocks rose up in the air, levitating for a moment, before they were shot in their direction, forcing them to scatter.

Daniel took the brunt of the attack, his glowing shield not budging as he protected the two mages. Lauren agilely jumped between the projectiles, taking full advantage of the dry platforms to use her stealth skills.

James dodged to the side, his eyes narrowing as he saw the rocks shatter against Daniel's shield. "All right, looks like this one is not messing around."

Taking advantage of Daniel’s shield, Maria unleashed another fireball, this time aiming directly at the creature. Surprisingly, the rocky armor of the starfish started to glow red-hot under the intense heat. Again, it didn’t emit a sound, as if nothing could affect it, but the sight was encouraging.

"That's working, keep it up!" James yelled, running forward. The moment the Boss shifted away from him, its arms rising to craft another series of projectiles, he was on it, his fist charged full of mana, his mind dedicated to a sole intent.

The blow was enough to send the monster skidding backwards a few feet, interrupting its spell. Though he was forced to jump back by an arm that threatened to squash him, James smiled. His reinforced gloves were enough to protect his hands from the consequences of hitting what felt like a rock wall, which meant he could attack without fear.

Seeing an opening, Lauren moved like a shadow, disappearing from sight and reappearing on one of the crystals above the starfish. The moment Maria sent another fireball to its base - this time an explosive one - she jumped in, scoring a gash on the armor and quickly retreating.

Ezekiel took the moment to cast a debuff on the creature, slowing it down. He had already helped by buffing them all up, but the starfish’s armor seemed to mitigate most of the hits. Seemingly, he decided that quickly ending the fight was more important than conserving his mana.

Daniel was the next one to attack, as the Boss was busy trying to pin James and Lauren down with a barrage of sharp rocks. His shield Bash skill glowed brightly, enhancing his charge. The monster had only time to rear one of its arms up before the Tank was on it, pushing it back several feet.

This time, the Boss let out a warbling sound, and they all immediately realized why. Daniel’s attack should not have been enough to truly harm it, but he had attacked precisely where Maria’s fireball hit. Even if there hadn’t been any visible sign of damage beyond a momentary change in color, it seemed that it had been enough to weaken the structure.

James jumped to punch the starfish’s side again, giving his friend the time to retreat, and was in turn helped by Lauren, whose knife severely chipped its armor by hitting it again in the same spot.

“Get away!” Maria screamed and threw another fireball as soon as they had all left the monster’s vicinity. Rather than tanking it, the Boss decided to levitate several rocks in its path, showing a surprising degree of intelligence.

Its distraction, however, allowed James another chance to strike. Leaping into the air, he executed a powerful spin kick, impacting one of the starfish's arms with enough strength that it was forced up, allowing him brief access to the creature’s underbelly.

It wasn’t enough to flip it over like Lauren had wanted, but James made sure to throw one last punch to it, earning another groan.

Smiling in triumph, he didn’t notice the stone chip rocketing his way until it was buried in his thigh, blowing him back with the force of the hit.

James groaned in pain, but thanks to Thakinetic Empowerment, managed to quickly pick himself up and rolled away, avoiding another barrage aimed at eliminating him from the fight.

It’s trying to take me out. It wants to pick us apart one by one so that we can’t constantly attack it from all sides, and its resistance might just make it possible. Fuck that hurts.

James’ greatest weakness, he knew, was his complete lack of a defensive skill. Empowerment was usually enough to protect him from stray hits, as it also increased his VIT. However, when it came to direct hits from Boss-level monsters, he could only dodge them, and since the starfish was not the type of melee attacker he was used to fighting, he had let his guard down.

His over-reliance on Thakinetic Awareness had bit him in the ass, and James was again forced to roll away from a third barrage of sharp rocks, even as it pulled him further from Ezekiel and possible healing.

This fucking thing is trying to box me in between the crystals so it can finish me off.

James, however, was not one to give up so easily, and his teammates would not let him fall without a fight. It was precisely that which helped him avoid being crushed to death by a gigantic boulder. The starfish so far had only used small rocks, so when a ten feet tall one was lifted in the air, they were all surprised. However, being a H-rank creature, its powers were still limited, so it couldn’t protect itself from Maria’s fireballs, which again hit it in the weakened spot.

It made the rocky armor glow cherry red, and the Boss let out another warble, dropping its weapon to defend from Daniel’s advance.

James took that moment of reprieve to retreat, hobbling back to Ezekiel, who immediately started healing him. Maria stood before them to intercept any stray hit while Lauren and Daniel kept the Boss’ attention away.

Alright, let’s get ready for round two.