We broke camp and decided against playing dodgeball with murderous bugs one more time. I wouldn't mind collecting more rubber, but I have to watch out for my more squishy companions.

The order of the day? Troll style tunneling. And this time Mittens will assist me. It seems its scythes can regrow really fast if they get chipped or dulled. It sheds a small layer of chitin and the scythe is brand new.

It is more responsive to Helen's commands now.

Thankfully there is no 'dungeon walls are invincible' BS. I'll keep clawing and smashing and bashing the wall until the skill's duration ran out. Fortunately, we reached our target before the 10 minutes wore off this time.

We opened a hole in the side of a circular room with slanted walls. It is like a huge bowl-shaped half-pipe. In the middle there is some spiky segmented bug It is short with rounded tips. The room is very dark.

"The miasma here is the strongest."

"Yeah, I think we found the level boss."

"What kind of monster is it?" Helen is curious.

"Marcy, do you know this monster? Is it a recorded type or a new one?"

"No idea. But it looks like a giant pillbug. A 30-foot long pillbug."

I chip in what I know. "A B-rank pillbug judging by the size of its pemadra."

I step inside just a little and examine the room. Monsters, in general, have good night vision, but I think trolls are nocturnal because I can see most of the room, just not the far side with the light Zahariel is shedding. "By the looks of the room, we aren't going to like the setup."

"How are we fighting this thing?"

"I will step into the room and hold the line there. You stay behind in the tunnel and shoot it. We need to find its elemental weakness first if it has one."

I step into the room. Some pods in the ceiling begin to glow and soon the whole room is illuminated. With my staff in hand, I open combat with a vicious Snowball Throw. A two-foot-wide snowball flying at something like 80 mph. The pillbug is shoved some feet to the side by the sheer mass of shaved ice.

But it curls into its pillbug roll. A pillbug roll with two foot long stony spikes all around it. Like some blue porcupine back on Earth, the pillbug spins and dashes across the room. "Not ice!" I yell right before having to put my shield to the side to block a tackle from the spinning ball of spikiness.

"Firebolt." Helen's flame spell just bounces off of the stone-hard carapace.

"Searing Light!" Zahariel shoots some laser-like thing but it only singes the pillbug. It was spread across the entire spinning surface.

"Storm Arrow!" Marcy shoots a lightning imbued arrow. The lightning crackled across the shell but no visible damage was inflicted.

It bumps up one of its segments against the ground and changes direction in a flash to come straight at me. I block once again with the shield, but not before a Wind Cannon bullet hit it straight on. It only lost some speed but once again I have to fight to keep the shield from being ripped out. It spins backward and runs to the other side of the room.

Mittens come by my side and ready its scythes up high. When the pillbug returns, I turn to face it and block its advance again, this time leaving an opening for Mittens' attack. The mantis is pushed back by the spinning spikes. Its scythes were chipped.

"Back Mittens. Stay back." Helen calls her pet back, and I think of my options. Magic does not affect it. Physical attacks won't either. It is too hard and spins too fast for any blow to put enough pressure in a single spot to cause a rupture.

It comes again from all the way around and I again turn to put my shield up. The impact is so powerful I am pushed back. The shield has two large gashes going almost all the way. The metal gives a low grinding sound as it moves and grows to repair itself. This amount of damage would break over 12 normal shields. I could swear I heard the pillbug giggle. An idea comes to mind.

"Marcy, ready your most precise shot and aim for the moment it will stop during the next pass. Helen, Zarr, shoot your magic with the best impact to slow it down right when it comes." I move the shield to my back and swap the staff with the trusted horn spear. In my hands the spear dances as I perform the kata of the singing style. Soon after the whistling double comes to life and trails after the tip of the horn. It comes, I brace myself.

"Title Change: Fortress!" I'm ready. Come to me and we will show you pain, carnage pillbug.

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It answers our challenge. It runs up the half-pipe walls, stops midair at the far side of the room, and dashes forward with a spinning sound.

"Nova Blast!" Helen's nuke blows right in front of the pillbug as it is about to reach the forty feet mark away from me. The shockwave kills its momentum, but apart from some singed chitin it is not really hurt.

"Light Barrier!" Zahariel whips a curtain of light in front of me right after it began moving after the nova blast.

The pillbug crashes against it and the sound of glass shattering can be heard. It moves past the barrier, but the speed it gathered from crossing the room is lost. It doesn't give up attacking and comes straight into my attack range. I thrust the spear and the spikes battering against the spear feel like holding a stick against the rays of a spinning bicycle wheel. I hold my ground and do my best to press the spear against its carapace.

I glance behind me, Marcy is with a mana arrow nocked and ready to shoot. "Not yet." I calm her down. The pillbug gives up and kicks the ground with one carapace ring to move away. When it is about to leave my attack range, I use a skill. "Taunt!" The enemy is forced to turn and attack me if it does not resist, and for a spinning object, turning means it must stop for a brief moment.

"Multishot Homing Arrow!" Marcy's barrage looks like those special moves of bullet hell games. The light arrows fly in all directions tracing beautiful arcs and converging into the gap between the first and last ring of the pillbug's carapace. The skill takes its toll on Marcy, and she wheezes for breath.

I waste not a single moment watching Marcy's light show though. I aim for the same opening and throw the horn spear. "Power Javelin!" The spear dives into the soft belly of the curled up pillbug and sticks firmly to it.

The pillbug screech echoes in the room, and a green fluid leaks from the opening. With both hands-frees, I dash to clinch it and grab a spike from both the first and the last ring on each hand. The monster struggles and impales my stomach with another spike.

Ignoring the wound, I struggle to lift the boss from the ground and to force it open. The carapace unfolds slightly, but it is all we need.

"Mittens, finish it please!" Helen's plea is readily answered by the mantis. It turns its scythes sideways and thrusts them into the gap I created. When they are pulled back we can hear the grinding sound of the scythes scraping the back of its carapace. More of its hemolymph squirts out and oozes from the gash. With its muscles severed, it loses strength and I am able to open it by a large amount.

The followup barrage of the DPS crew makes quick work of the exposed pillbug insides.

Beelzebub's Hive B1 cleared. Guild card updated.

Helen (Monster Tamer) has gained 3 levels!

Marcy (Mystic Archer) has gained 2 levels!

Zahariel (Magician) has gained 1+ 3 levels!

Grendel (Super Villager) has gained 1+ 2 levels!

18 skill points added.

Skill  Long Spear level 8.

{Piercing Puncture} learned. After preparation, execute a piercing strike that ignores up to half the armor value of the target.

Skill  Full Defense level 5.

Skill  Regeneration (innate)level 8.

{Blood Bond} learned. Infuse own blood with MP to grant half-level skill for 1 hour per level to a target. For longer timers, renew the effect before wearing off.

Skill  Presence Detection level 7.

{Discern Species} learned. Has a chance of recognizing known species upon detection.

And I forgot to set my title back to the one that gives enhanced Exp.

"That is a B-rank monster for sure!" Marcy gives her expert insight. "Unless one can get into that opening, its defense is almost impenetrable." I nod in agreement.

"Mittens you were awesome! Here, let me treat these wounds. No! Bad Mittens!" Helen tends to her pet. The mantis tries to lick my blood from the ground but she scolds it.

"I am dismantling this thing here. I want this carapace." And its pemadra, of course.

The three of them loiter around while I scrap the bug flesh from the carapace. The amount of stringy muscle and tendons in the inside of this giant-sized woodlice is astonishing. I cut a piece and chew it. Amazing! It tastes reminds me of crabs, but slightly pungent. "If we season this with herbs and soften the meat... Change of plans. I am salvaging the meat too.

"Did a treasure chest appear? I didn't sense any." I ask my party.

"No. Didn't see any, G."

"Why would a treasure chest appear, Grendel?"

"Yes, why would a treasure chest even be in a place like this?"

"Well, nevermind. It was silly of me to expect it." It is obvious that a demon would not reward people for raiding into his lair and killing its minions. But I still hoped for it.

I finish dismantling and store the carapace and the meat. I also saved its pemadra for later. We look around the room and after a few minutes of searching the nearby tunnels, we locate one of them leading down.

I am scared of what kind of monsters will be living down there if the first floor has a B-rank boss.