"When choosing a second class, one should choose something that is complementary to their first one while being different enough that there is no direct crossover between your original class. This is because if you choose a class that is too similar to your other classes, or too similar to what you want your other class to evolve into, it becomes far harder to evolve either class beyond its current state. An example of this is that someone with the classes of Swordsman and Shadow Mage has almost no chance of evolving either class into Shadow Swordsman as any accomplishments in swordsmanship will contribute to the Swordsman class and any shadow magic accomplishments will go towards the Shadow Mage class."

-A basic primer on classes by Johnson 'Teach' Cobbler

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The crossroad was a simple fork in the tunnel, with a left and right path, and after a few minutes of investigation, we were unable to find any difference in the two paths without going down one. As such, we decided to follow the tried and true method of maze navigation and go left, though we did decide that if we come across another crossroad that we would turn back and try the other path instead of going any deeper.

After few minutes of walking, we noticed something interesting and possibly concerning, the glowing crystals that illuminated the tunnel had changed from its original light blue, becoming a deep purple instead, and while we were slightly concerned by the change, it wasn't enough to make us want to turn back, though it did raise the tension and cause everyone to be noticably more cautious.

Caution that proved warranted, if only a little bit, when the next group of crystalmits we encountered were level six instead of five, but as there were only four of them, we decided to just fight them rather than running back and trying the other path. Despite their higher level, these crystalmits were not noticeably faster but they were heavier, or at least better at balancing as I found that I was not strong enough to tip over the one I was fighting despite using the same tactic as I had with the previous fights.

Thankfully, I was still able to take advantage of my staffs reach and keep the crystalmit at bay. That said, pushing it away was pretty much all I could do against it, so I was relying on Jackson or Leo to finish off their two and come help me before I made a mistake or ran out of stamina.

I did not have to wait long, as it seemed that even with a slightly higher level they weren't much of a challenge for the more physically inclined classes, with how it only took a few seconds for me to hear the first thud of a crystalmit being tipped followed by rapid footsteps as Jackson rushed and managed to land a strong jab on mine while it was distracted with me, making it lurch onto its back where it was only able to flap its limbs ineffectually in an attempt to right itself.

With Jackson and my enemies taken care of, we both moved to help Leo, who didn't look particularly tired even after being on constant defence from the two crystalmits, though it seemed that he was unable to tip them thanks to the short reach of his weapon. As I wasn't capable of tipping them on my own, I signalled to Leo that Jackson would take one and we would work together to take the other.

Since I couldn't do the usual method of taking them out and the fact that Leo currently had the full attention of both crystalmits, I decided to try something new and possibly stupid. I took up position directly behind the beast, readjusted my grip on my staff so that I was holding it like a baseball bat, squatted down to a batters position, and swung at its legs as hard as I could.

*CRACK*

Feeling the cracking of chitin meeting metal reverberate through my staff as it bounced off the mostly undamaged leg, I would be lying if I said that I was not disappointed with the results of my actions. Despite my disappointment, my attack was at least enough to grab its attention as it quicked whirled back to look at me before promptly being overturned with a shield bash from Leo, who seemed like he was holding in a laugh.

Meanwhile, Jackson made very quick work of the last crystalmit, once again taking advantage of the monster not paying attention to him to line up the perfect jab and tipping it in one strike. After having Jason finish them off in order to get contribution, I checked the system messages that I felt appear and then condense into one as Jason killed the crystalmits.

Congratulations, you have defeated a level 6 Crystalmit X4 and gained 400 EXP

Waiting a minute or so for the bodies to dissipate revealed one common loot orb that turned into some leather boots that gave +2 END, a shard of crystal, and a crab leg. While I tried my best to ignore the leg that the crystalmit whom I failed to fell had dropped, the amused stares and chuckles from the rest of my group let me know what they thought of the matter.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The boots obviously went to Leo, but the other two items just went to the imaginary communal chest where we put everything that nobody wanted, as both items were clearly meant for crafting as the only information the system gave was-

Name: Crystalmit Leg Rarity: Common

Name: Crystal Shard(Unaspected) Rarity: Uncommon

Even the assumption that they were for crafting wasn't something any of us were 100% confident in, but without any kind of descriptor or labelled effect we didn't even know where to start finding out. As such, they went to our pack mule Jason who stuffed them in his backpack.

With loot taken care of, we once again set off down the tunnel and eventually we came across what was very clearly a crystal gate of some kind, though there was only the frame and no actual door. The frame itself was a shade darker than the other crystals we had seen, being almost black but still thrumming with light at the same rate as all the others. Behind the gate the cave immediately opened up into a large cavern with no visible enemies or other exits, but the ceiling had much more holes in it than the rest of the cave had had so far.

"Anyone else getting boss vibes?"(Jason)

"Doubt it, this dungeon goes until level 10 and so far we've only seen up to 6"(Leo)

"Miniboss then?"(Mason)

"Thats my bet"(Leo)

"I say we turn back and try the other path and see where it leads."(Jackson)

With no one particularly adamant about fighting the assumed miniboss right this second and the very real risk that it could be the actual boss and just having a four level jump between the mobs and the boss, there was barely a discussion before we turned back the way we came.

After about 20 minutes of walking back the way we came and going down the new path, which slowly transitioned to green in the same way that the other path turned purple, we came across two crystalmits who I was barely able to make out as level eight before one of them noticed us and started charging at Leo with much greater speed than what we had become accustomed to, giving Leo barely enough time to position his shield before they collided.

"Jesus fuck! That charge took out a third of my stamina!"(Leo)

And with that worrying shout, we all sprung into action to take this thing out as soon as possible. Since the initial charge was usually their strongest attack, we could probably rely on Leo to block 4-5 more hits before his stamina ran dry, but since running out of stamina meant him passing out we needed to end it before then to be safe. That said, there was still the now charging second crystalmit to deal with and Leo wouldn't be able to distract both of them even without the massive stamina drain that a second charge would cost him, so with no time for a solid plan I did the first thing that came to mind and jumped in front of Leo and his enemie before swinging my staff at the charging beast with everything I could muster.

*CLANG*

With a vibration that tore through my body and almost making me drop my now noticably bent staff, I looked towards the still upright, if no longer charging, crystalmit and saw that while its shell had some spiderweb cracks they weren't very deep and it didn't seem to be in any severe pain, even if mildly disoriented, though it was now entirely focused on me so that's a plus(?). Gritting my teeth I motioned for the others to help Leo first since he was in more immediate danger with his rapidly depleting stamina and prepared myself for what was probably a good hundred pounds of crab and crystal by squaring my feet, tensing my calves for a jump and mentally preparing to hold out until the others could come and help. Seemingly as soon as I prepared myself the crystalmit was upon me thanks to another charge and I could barely jump out of the way in time, causing the monster to collide with the wall causing a loud boom and a series of deep cracks spreading out from its impact point, letting me know in no uncertain terms what my fate would be if I got hit. Seeing the others managing their crystalmit fairly well out of the corner of my eye I tensed for another sidestep but this time with the plan to swipe its legs with a combination of staff and lightning to try and slow it down, since it seemed unbothered by its collision with the wall and I doubted I could outlast it by just dodging.

Thankfully, these monsters didn't seem smart enough to do anything but charge straight at their enemies so I was able to dodge the next charge without issue, however I vastly underestimated the strength contained in their legs as rather than the crunch and sizzle that I was hoping for my staff flew from my hands after making contact with the scuttling legs and took some of the skin on my palms with it. With the sound of my staff clattering to the floor in the distance echoing in my ears and the hot throb of pain radiating from my hands I was barely able to think about how fucked I was before the world spun.

*CRACK*

Looking at a blurry version of what I was pretty sure was the ceiling as I felt a vague wetness spread from the back of my head, all my thoughts felt like they were doused in honey. Before I could get a full thought through my muddled head a stabbing pain in my calf brought the world back into focus, raising my head with a lurch to see a situation that sent my adrenaline into overdrive as I saw the crystalmit with one chitinous leg through my calf with another one not far from joining it. Letting my pure survival instinct take over I called upon the Lightning that was screaming to be used and I sent every scrap I could muster into the leg that was still piercing me. The last thing I saw as the world started to fade to black in that now familiar way was the charred chitin of the now eyeless crystalmit as the smell of burnt crab pierced through my nostrils.

Jackson POV

*KRACKAKOOM*

With an almost deafening but not unfamiliar sound making a pit form in my stomach I took a look at its origin only to be horrified by what I saw. Lying in what looked like a pool of blood was an unmoving Mason, while a blackened and smoking corpse of a crystalmit was by his legs. Gritting my teeth and pushing all of my thoughts of my friend's possible death I focused on the monster in front of me to end this as soon as I can. Thanks to Leo tanking any direct hits while Jason ran distraction I was able to pierce one of its legs earlier in the fight and considering its weight I doubted it would be able to stand if I disabled another one on the same side, It seemed that Leo also shared my thoughts of ending this soon as he started using what he called 'aggressive shielding' where he took advantage of his ability to negate momentum and positioned himself in such a way to prevent his opponents from moving, though he could only hold them for a few seconds on full stamina so in current circumstance I only had a second to aim my spear and use power thrust to take out another leg, managing to get the spear to wedge itself in its joint and tearing of the lower section whiuch caused it to tilt to the side and making it unable to move in any direction other than a circle.

With our enemy immobile Leo and I wasted no time to finish it off while Jason checked on Mason with panicked steps, and with no immediate danger left I couldn't stop my mind running through various scenarios from death to permanent injury. Not just Mason's current injury but also the likelihood of something similar happening to all of us if we keep fighting, which was only stopped when I thought of the terrible things that could happen to us if we didn't keep fighting and progressing in a world the seems hellbent on punishing the weak.