Knowing that a tank without a helmet is a dead tank, I swiftly navigated my menus and equipped my old, dented one. I barely managed to use both Honor and Blood to block a nasty claw attack that sent me sliding back several yards.

Kron tossed a healing spell at Murr. When it hit, he looked relieved. Then, as if he didn’t fear for his life, the rogue yelled at me, “Sam! Don’t get crabby! Get revenge!”

“Damn it, Murr!” the golem glared then nonchalantly ducked under a leg.

Murr smirked. “Worth it!” Then, as he sent a series of shots into the monster’s eyes, he called out, “Besides, someone had to say it!”

He darted behind the pillar.

Okay, this monster was too tough for the three of us as we were. It wasn’t that it did a lot of damage or that it was hard to escape, it just soaked up hits better than Dos. I needed time to think because we weren’t going to kill this thing unless we had brute force.

“YOUR FATHER WAS A SEAHORSE AND YOUR MOTHER SMELT OF BAD SEAWEED!”

Its creepy gaze burned with rage as my taunt took effect. As it scuttled after me, I ran in a giant serpentine circle around the cavern.

So far, we hadn’t been able to hurt this creature. Which made sense since it was basically a big moving rock... crab. But I had my Thousand Will Do, which might work. I just had to get close to its legs, then use it repeatedly until its shell cracked... and possibly face its Murder Steps, whatever that was.

Frankly, this monster was more terrifying than the bunny dungeon’s Octo-fish, but it was a whole level lower. Was this the difference between having a full party and not? Or maybe I just needed to get over this terror and do it.

Except that this went beyond fear. What I really needed was a second combat ability. Because one wasn’t enough. This had to be an end-game strike. Something that drained me of my aura in exchange for armor-piercing power.

Then again, I’d basically done that with that smaller crab I soloed. The feeling of being completely exhausted and unable to move was terrible. If any enemy had found me back then, I would have died. If other enemies came while I was incapacitated with exhaustion, I wouldn’t be able to protect my party. And that was my role, above doing damage.

But Murr was not physically strong. Even after repeatedly throwing shots at the crab’s tiny red eyes, his attacks weren’t getting through its armor to do the damage we needed. In fact, one out of every three of his projectiles missed! Those that hit didn’t annoy it. Even the poison and sleeping versions. It just barreled through the smoke, unaffected. And Kron, though he cast his life steal as often as he could, the monster just had too much life. Killing it through magic would deplete all his mana potions and take a long time.

That left me. I had to do something about it. But, despite my levels, I still didn’t have a powerful body. I wouldn’t be able to overpower my enemies without hurting myself, so I had to do things differently.

But just because I couldn’t physically be stronger than this monster like I could with the little one didn’t mean there wasn’t some way to make it easier for my party members to hurt it.

If I used the logic from my past life, well, the creature was impossibly heavy. It wouldn’t be able to exist without being crushed by its own weight. Likely, it used its aura to prevent itself from dying. That should mean that the aura it could use outside of that wasn’t much. It shouldn’t be able to activate its abilities often… even if they were all deadly.

The crab neared me and lifted its massive claw high into the air. It slammed it down. Unfortunately, I was under it. I Dangerous Dodged, barely side-stepping the attack. The pincher’s impact cracked the floor, briefly throwing off my footing. I jumped, landed on my feet, and skidded across the dirt. While sliding, I managed to spin around to face the monster and look cool while doing it.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Sadly, no one had time to appreciate what I’d just done because Mr. Crabbyface suddenly lifted every other leg. Those slammed down, turning the cracked floor into something resembling a fault line. The room shook. Small stones dropped from the ceiling.

The other half of its legs had raised when the first four came down in a move that reminded me of a Russian dance. When this set crashed down, the cracks the crab had already created increased, ‌and what was more disturbing; they spread across the entire cavern floor and up the walls. Actually, it kind of looked like ice br—

“Run!”

We all scrambled to a tunnel entrance, hurrying to escape from the unstable cavern. It was a good thing we did too because Mr. Crabbyface’s murder steps broke through to whatever was underneath this mine and a hole opened up beneath it. It tried to grab for anything it could get its claws on, but it only snapped at air. It plummeted like it had been sucked into the mine’s depths.

“Who knew that the floor in here was so unstable?” I said.

Murr looked forlornly at the gap. “My experience!”

“It’s not dead?” Kron said.

I grimaced. “I doubt it. That was one tough crustacean.”

“Even if it was, we wouldn’t get a notification. It fell to its death, which doesn’t count as us killing it.” Murr grinned at me. “Good thing you didn’t let it pinch your balls.”

“Yeah. Mr. Crabbyface just kicked a damn hole in the floor here. I’m not letting that thing anywhere near my junk. I do not care if I don’t earn a level from it.”

“Let’s face it,” Murr said. “We’re not prepared to fight something with defenses this strong.”

“I agree. We need a technique that can either pierce heavy armor or allow others to.”

Kron frowned. “I’ll look into spells like that once I get back. While support incantations are not my expertise, it’s necessary for a healer to learn a few.”

While useful, that might not be enough. “During the fight, I decided that I need to create a skill. One that will temporarily destroy its defensive aura.”

The golem stroked his chin. “That way Murr can find a weak spot.”

“Is that even something a level 7 can do?” The rogue asked.

“I won’t know unless I try. And this kind of skill is something our party needs.”

“Let’s keep in mind,” Murr said, “that while Guild Master Arok sent us here to develop skills, she never asked us to do the impossible. Besides, I’m not sure getting rid of its aura would help that much. That crab—”

“Mr. Crabbyface,” I interjected.

“You named it?!” Kron raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“That crab’s shell is stronger than we three can handle right now.”

Miner Val came crawling out of his alcove. His eyes bulged in horror. “What happened?! My beautiful mine is ruined! My beautiful cavern has a pit in it! And the wall! The wall!”

We all turned to find that the copper vein had massive cracks running through it.

“The crab did it,” I said.

“And then it fell down the hole,” Murr said.

Val glared at us briefly. Actually, his expression was a little stronger than I thought. He must have adored this mine. It was a shame seeing some monster put a crack in it. But that wasn’t our fault.

The non-combatant sighed, seeming to let go of his anger. “Give me a few minutes while I check the rock. If this area isn’t stable enough for mining, then we’ll have to call it a day.”

He spent another ten minutes resting his hand on the stones of the mine and using whatever techniques or magic miners had. He even dropped a rock into the hole and counted about three seconds before he heard a sound.

“Around 50 yards. Hell of a distance.”

That also brought home just how big these mines were. Could we really clear them out in a week?

Once he finished checking, he grinned.

“Well, we’re in luck. Turns out that part of the floor is the only area of the cavern close to the lower level. And the area itself feels stable enough to continue, at least for two hours.”

“Only two?” Murr said.

“I figure that’s the time it will take that nasty giant crab to come back.”

“The miner has a point,” I said.

“It’s called a pickaxe.” The rogue took out his dagger and polished it like he hadn’t just told a horrible joke.

Kron pointed at him. “No!”

I smiled, then glanced at the debris where my helmet landed... which was on the other side of the hole. My mood dropped.

It must have been pretty obvious because the healer patted my shoulder. “Its mere equipment. You’ll find better as we go.”

“It was soulbound.” And made by a god!

“Which just means that only you can equip it, not that you can’t lose it,” Murr said.

Val rubbed his beard. “Tell you what. Tomorrow I’ll bring the right climbing equipment and get it for you.”

“Really? You have gear for that?”

He nodded. “Sometimes, while mining, you have to reach strange spots to get the good stuff so every decent miner will own a set or two. Just never thought I’d have to use it to grab an adventurer’s helmet in this particular mine.”

He looked up at the copper vein and the cracks for a second then cleared his throat.

“I’ll also bring something to block off this hazard.” He jerked his head toward the hole.

“Actually.” Murr grinned. “I have an idea about that.”