Ocean Mob

Etosai

Overgrown Crab

Level 20

Overgrown was an understatement. Etosai was a monster. The stalks of seaweed were fully flatted as the crab appeared. Countless colorful rocks and plants covered its shell just like the small crab, but Etosai was at least five times bigger. Etosai looked like a mountain before Owin.

“What am I supposed to do to that?”

“Well, you like jumping at things,” Ernie said from his high, safe spot on the rocks.

Etosai scurried toward Owin, swinging a huge claw. Owin leaped and barely cleared the huge, rock-covered claw as it churned the water. Owin landed unsteadily, unable to advance quickly enough as his footing slipped out from under him.

“Boo!” Katalin chuckled. “Get that dexterity up!”

“I’m trying!” Owin ducked as the second claw swung in, snapping right above his head.

Etosai was slow, moving like he was caught in glue. His sharp legs swung forward, moving the whole massive form. Sand stirred with every step, making the water more and more cloudy as Etosai charged Owin. He sprinted forward and drove the golden trident into the crab's face.

It bounced off his chitin.

“Crab’s have armor!” Ernie clapped his hands. “Thought you figured that out with the first one!”

“I thought you said I could do this!” Owin dove to the side to dodge another claw.

“You can,” Katalin said. “Figure it out. Think!”

Owin never felt like he thought much during fights. The last time his brain was actively moving during a fight was . . . maybe never. The jump and stab instincts were strong, and when he was holding the Thunderstrike Maul, the jump and smash instincts took over. He had learned countless things in his time since awakening, but his Goblin Darkblade life still clung to the back of his brain like a parasite.

“How?” he asked.

“Are you asking me how to think?” Katalin shouted.

“Uh, yes?” Owin blocked a hit from a claw and was launched through the water, gently landing on the rocks below Katalin and Ernie.

“With your fucking brain!”

Owin looked up at the two alchemists. Ernie still looked a little uncomfortable after the confrontation earlier, but Katalin was grinning.

“Do goblins have brains?” Owin asked with a little smirk.

“I’m starting to think they don’t. If you die to a crab, I’ll kill you,” she said.

Owin nodded. “Got it.”

Etosai didn’t get closer, but his legs continued shifting, kicking up more and more sand. A cloudy aura had formed around the overgrown crab.

“Level 20 shouldn’t be that difficult,” Owin said.

“I agree,” Ernie shouted. “Break the armor and the crab is done. So, what are you going to do about it?”

Owin pointed to the Thunderstrike Maul.

“Isn’t that difficult to swing underwater?”

Owin shifted his pointed finger to his fist.

Ernie shrugged. “Give it a try.”

Etosai lowered itself to the ground. Two little black eyes locked onto Owin as its pointed legs continued churning up sand. It wouldn’t leave the edge of the forest, but without a ranged attack, Owin had no way to take advantage of that.

“What do you think a crab’s strength is?” Owin asked as he inched forward.

“Just hit the damn thing,” Ernie said.

Owin knew he was stronger than any mobs on the floor, though a wandering boss was a little different. Even Amkati on the first floor had been stronger than Owin had expected. None of that mattered if he stayed back. There was a Golden Bull behind them, and if Owin didn’t want Arkasti to catch up, he had to win the fight quickly.

Sharp legs covered in bulbous rocks and debris stabbed forward as Etosai finally charged. Owin slipped aside, and dropped beneath the boss. Claws snapped just behind his head as he slid on the sand, kicking more into the water.

Despite Etosai’s size, he was still low to the ground, giving Owin almost no room to maneuver underneath as the crab tried to reposition itself. The trident was too long to attack from such a close range. He dropped it and reached for the knives at his belt just as Etosai moved its legs and flattened itself onto the ground.

Owin let out a squeal as he tried to roll away. He made it about a foot before the crab landed on top of him and crushed him into the sand. A chunk of health vanished from the red bar in the bottom of Owin’s vision.

He couldn’t die from a level 20. He had fought both heroes and mobs stronger. Without Artivan as the anchor that Owin fought around, he felt slow. Slow moving and slow thinking. If a fight wasn’t going his way, he could loop back around to Artivan to reset as the knight easily took a hit or two on his shield. Now, it was only Owin, and he wasn’t good at blocking anything. If he had a shield, he wouldn’t use it as well as the old knight had.

Etosai stood back up. Owin scurried out against the rushing water, ending up just behind the giant crab. Ernie pointed upon spotting Owin, earning him a delighted nudge from Katalin.

“You toy with your prey!” The voice boomed through the water. Arkasti’s golden armor shone brightly as he approached the opposite side of Etosai.

“It’s armored,” Owin said.

“Break the armor, goblin!”

Owin leapt and easily landed on top of Etosai’s shell. The crab shuddered, nearly tossing Owin right back onto the ground, but he clung on to some stones embedded in the shell. His trident was now beneath the mob, and the hammer was all the way by the alchemists.

A knife didn’t seem strong enough to break through the chitin, but what other options did he have?

Arkasti remained in the same place with his claymore’s point dug into the sand. The berserker’s expression was flat as his eyes locked onto the white knife in Owin’s hand.

Etosai reached a claw back and blindly snapped, missing Owin by a few inches. Nothing good was coming of waiting. He dropped to his knees and drove the knife straight into the chitin. The lich bone hit the chitin and rebounded, but not without leaving a small crack.

Etosai shook itself, tossing Owin right back to the sand. He twisted and landed on his feet, but lost his balance again. The boss turned and snapped a claw at Owin before he could stand. It crushed him, but the damage was lower than Owin would’ve expected. Another chunk of health dropped away, but the pain was minimal. He flexed his arms and pushed out, slowly prying Etosai’s claws apart.

“I can do this,” he whispered.

He didn’t need Artivan as his anchor. Owin could fight on his own.

Etosai dropped him and pulled his claw back. Before the crab could recover, Owin jumped again, landing roughly on its chitin back. He wrapped both hands around the white hilt of the lich knife and stabbed down into the already formed crack. His aim wasn’t great, causing him to strike beside it, sending more slithering cracks out to form a web along Etosai’s back. The crab thrashed as Owin brought the knife down one more time, cutting the blade right through the chitin, through a crack, and into Etosai’s flesh.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“That is it, goblin!” Arkasti smashed a gauntlet against his breastplate. “Show the crab your passion!”

Owin pried the chitin open, tossed the knife aside, and grabbed the shell with both hands. His fingers clenched tight enough that no amount of thrashing Etosai did would throw Owin from the crab’s back.

As soon as enough of the crab’s flesh was exposed, Owin grabbed another knife from his belt and stabbed, over and over, until the water in front of his face was just a cloud of blood. Etosai stumbled, still alive, and continued trying to get Owin off his back.

Chunks of chitin peeled away as Owin continued attacking relentlessly. At some point, Etosai fell to the sand, unable to stand, and remained that way until the last of his health vanished.

0 Experience

Owin took a deep breath and let himself roll off the chitin. He landed on his back on the sand and waited for Arkasti to appear in his view.

“How was that?” Owin asked.

“Inefficient, but brilliant.” The Golden Bull offered an armored hand. He pulled Owin to his feet and patted him on the back. “A fight I won’t soon forget!”

“Did you already clear Ligala Lepis?” Ernie asked.

“An easy quest, that one. I was hoping I would catch a glimpse of the goblin wizard fighting, but that was not what I expected!” Arkasti bellowed a laugh. “Deficient indeed. A berserker is more fitting!”

Owin collected his weapons, placing the knives back in his belt after digging out the trident. Moving the crab’s corpse should have dropped its loot, but Owin didn’t see anything. He walked back to Arkasti and Ernie, a little disappointed. The fight was not necessarily difficult, not compared to the ones that had almost killed him in the past, but it wasn’t simple either.

Katalin dragged the Thunderstrike Maul over, leaving a trail in the sand.

“You’re the one who saved me?” Katalin asked.

“Indeed. Arkasti Duragoz of the Golden Bulls. I am here to get my first shard.” He offered his hand, which Katalin shook.

“Katalin Miksa. Apprentice alchemist.”

“Apprentice of Althowin Alegarra.” Arkasti grinned. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“The crater you created was nothing short of impressive. Perhaps I should have been making deals with you over your comrade.” Arkasti winked at Ernie.

“Ern’s got his own specialties. His grenades are easier to build too.” Katalin pointed into the kelp forest that stretched behind them. “Can we kill Baby Head?”

“The horror? Certainly. I have no need of the chest. I would recommend hurrying though, as there are many other heroes waiting to enter the dungeon. You will be caught again soon, and I cannot guarantee others are as friendly as yours truly.” Arkasti bellowed another laugh. “I suppose there was proof of that when I found you.”

Ernie leaned to the side, looking over Owin’s shoulder. Owin turned, following his sight, but didn’t see anything out of place.

“We will hurry. We’re only going to the fourth floor,” Katalin said.

Arkasti nodded. He crouched in front of Owin and poked him in the chest. “I have one request for my hospitality. You three will wait at the void nexus to the third floor for a half hour after I pass through. Despite wanting to see you hurry, I do not want to see you pass through a floor on my efforts. That is as dishonorable as one can be. So, I will pass through while you fight the horror, and we will see one another again someday back in Verdantallis. Do we have a deal?”

As nice as it would be to follow Arkasti through a floor that he had wiped clean, Owin understood where the berserker was coming from. Some heroes had honor. Heroes like Arkasti and Artivan wanted to see people do their best, not use others to their advantage.

“I’ll be honorable,” Owin said.

Arkasti slapped Owin on the shoulder hard enough to throw him straight to the ground. “Oh, apologies, goblin! I am delighted!”

Owin jumped right back to his feet. “I didn’t think heroes could be friendly.”

Arkasti’s grin faded back to his stoic, flat expression. “Plenty are. Plenty aren’t. We’ve all killed heroes one way or another. I’m certain you have too, goblin.”

Owin pressed his lips together and gave the berserker a single nod.

“Back before hero companies, there were groups called guilds that formed when heroes shared a similar ideology. In my home of Sakaebia, there were the Heroes of Valor who taught all members the Chivalrous Code. Many Sakaebians still follow this code, but the modern world has tainted so many.” Arkasti took a dramatic breath.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” Ernie said. “Weren’t you just talking about not waiting around?”

Arkasti pointed at Ernie. “Right you are, Ernworth. I will continue my story as we tread through the forest. Come, now.”

Ernie grabbed Owin’s shoulder in a tight grip. Katalin took the trident and followed alongside Arkasti as he immediately continued his tale about the Heroes of Valor.

“You missed the loot,” Ernie whispered.

“I didn’t see anything drop.”

“You got a good drop. I didn’t want Arkasti to see. He might’ve tried taking it.” Ernie ran over to Etosai’s corpse and pointed at a piece of chitin. It looked like many others scattered about from when Owin had been ripping the crab to shreds. “Examine,” he said, jabbing his finger toward the piece.

Crab Chitin Pauldron - Left

Journeyman Magical Item

The Crab Chitin armor set is formed of broken pieces of chitin from crab mobs throughout the Ocean Dungeon. Only 1 of each piece can be worn. Acts as normal armor unless the hero has acquired the complete set.

Note: Armor piece binds upon first touch. Cannot be unbound.

Note: Current Crab Chitin set - 0/8

“What’s an armor set?” Owin asked.

“Grab the damn piece of chitin and let’s go,” Ernie said.

Owin grabbed the small chitin plate. It had some small rocks stuck to it just like all the random things attached to Etosai. The pauldron glowed gently as he picked it up.

Current Crab Chitin set - 1/8

He moved it to his left shoulder where it stayed without actually being attached to anything. It had looked small before, but it was now big enough to cover his entire upper arm all the way to his neck.

Ernie waved him on. Owin picked up the hammer and followed behind the alchemist, heading toward Arkasti’s loud voice in the distance.

“Armor sets are very difficult to get. Each dungeon has two, but finding all the pieces is nearly impossible. That’s why you’ll usually see heroes wearing whatever gear they’ve found or anything they paid for alchemists to create. If you see someone in a full armor set, they probably went through the entire dungeon multiple times. I doubt we’d ever see someone with a full set that doesn’t have a shard or two.”

“So, I have one piece of eight. Does this still do something?” Owin asked. The bumpy pauldron felt a little limiting, but it was also new. It wasn’t as if Owin had a lot of experience in armor. A full set of plate armor had never slowed Artivan down. A single piece didn’t need to limit Owin.

“It’s armor. If something hits it, the chitin should stop it. But you’ve seen armor break.” Ernie tapped the piece with his finger. Owin didn’t feel a thing. “Don’t use it like a knight uses a shield, but if you can’t avoid something, better to have it hit that than your skin or your damn head.”

Owin rolled his shoulder and watched the armor move. “Do you know where to find the other pieces?”

“No loot is guaranteed to drop in the dungeons. It said it comes from crab mobs, so you might as well kill every crab you see. Even then, you might never see another piece of the same set.”

“It’s only journeyman though.”

Ernie put his arm over Owin’s shoulder and guided him into the kelp forest, following the path Arkasti and Katalin had taken. “You’ll find other armor. Probably plenty of journeyman stuff if you’re in the dungeons enough. The trouble is finding pieces in the same set. The other set in the Ocean is probably adept or master level. Rarity means less with special items. It’s journeyman level and incredibly rare at the same time.”

“Why didn’t you take it?”

“You killed the boss. You earned it. Plus, what good is armor for an alchemist?”

If armor protected, and it was as easy to wear as this pauldron, what reason would Ernie have for not wearing armor? If anything, Ernie was leaving himself exposed and in more danger.

“Does Althowin wear armor?”

Ernie sighed. “I figured you would ask. Yes. And she has several completed sets. One from the Sky, two from the Fortress, and one from the Tundra. I have no idea how long it took her to get those, but she displays them proudly.”

Arkasti’s golden armor glinted in the sunlight that filtered through the ocean. He stood with his claymore in the sand again, waiting at the edge of the seaweed. Katalin stood right at his side, looking over her shoulder until she caught sight of them.

“Those who are slow to rise are the first to fall,” Arkasti said without looking back.

“We were grabbing some loot,” Ernie said.

Owin walked around Arkasti’s other side and stood confidently beside the man, showing off his new chitin pauldron. The Golden Bull chuckled.

“A piece of armor that suits you, goblin. Look ahead. What do you see?”

About a hundred feet away was a black doorway leading back to the outside world. Just beside it was the staircase down to the third floor. Normally, that would be the most interesting thing to see. Locating an exit or the stairs was the most important thing one could do on a floor.

But this time, his attention was grabbed by a ruined stone tower with snakes slithering through the rubble. A platform, about thirty feet up, held the single ugliest mob Owin had ever seen.

“Baby Head,” Owin said.

“It sure is,” Katalin said. “Ugly little horror.”

Arkasti picked up his claymore. “It certainly is. Best of luck in your battle. I will see you all again.” He turned to Ernie. “Ensure your master learns of our deal.”

Ernie nodded.

Arkasti smiled. “I’ll be off. I have a shard to gather. The next time you see me, I will be a true hero.” He laughed to himself as he strode across the sand. Baby Head hissed from its perch above, but Arkasti didn’t flinch. He walked right down the stairs and vanished.

“Half hour,” Katalin said. “We can take on a horror and rest in that time.”

“I think you said we, but you meant me,” Owin said.