Chương 50: Chapter Forty Nine

Bob dropped his illusion as soon as he realized what he'd inadvertently brought down upon himself; the black mass of tentacles coming to a swift halt as he did so. While it appeared a bit bigger than the last time he'd seen it, any doubt that this wasn't the same creature he'd previously cowered before disappeared when the monster spoke its first words.

'Food… gone?' The familiar squeaky voice contained the same traces of childlike disappointment as it had previously. A disappointment which was also apparent in its body language. Formerly threatening tentacles seeming to go limp as the cephalopod looked around for its suddenly vanished prey. Bob's attention so focused on the creature that, for a moment, he completely forgot about his underground foe. At least until another claw burst through the grass nearby. Though this one, fortunately, wasn't targeting him.

Were it able, Bob's eye would have widened as the octopus effortlessly danced away from the hooked mass of chitin that attempted to bisect it. The crab launching far more of itself out of the ground than usual as it tried to capture the other monster. Something which caused Bob to curse his slow reaction-time as it once again submerged itself. His opportunity to use 'Shattered Space' now closed. And he wasn't the only one to be upset over the situation. Though the other offended party sounded far more… dismissive.

'Stupid.' The octopus almost seemed to snort in his mind.

'Stupid crab. Can't catch.' The humor in the monster's 'voice' was obvious. But what followed next verified it further. Bob feeling slightly dumbfounded as the many-limbed creature began attempting to 'play' with the burrowed hell-beast threatening his existence. Its form bobbing randomly around the area, only to occasionally dip itself quickly down to swipe at the sands below. An action which was almost immediately followed by a claw bursting up through the sand and vegetation.

All attempts missing their target by quite a large margin. At first, Bob hoped that the octopus would manage to lead the C-rank away; the obvious antagonism between the two making him hopeful. But as both creatures continued wandering over the same twenty square foot patch of land, he realized that further action from him was going to be required. Unless, of course, he was content to simply sit here for the next who-knows-how-many hours. And, Bob discovered, he wasn't.

As the monsters continued their little game of tag, he began to gather mana within himself. Waiting for the perfect moment to unleash his primary offensive ability. A moment which came not long afterwards. The massive crab once again hurling its body much further out of the ground than usual in pursuit of its far-too-nimble prey. The crustacean probably not expecting the consequences of those actions to be quite so dire. Ding! Shattered Space (D) Has Leveled up! 3 – 4 Ding!'

Dimensional Mage' Unique experience gain activated 12 experience gained for ' Dimensional Mage' (A) Bob did his best to ignore the windows as they flashed before his eye, focused on the outcome of his Skill use. He had set his target fairly low to the ground, not wanting to risk the chance of missing entirely. Something which proved to be a good choice, given it ended up using the crab's own strength against it.

The implosion/explosion impacting directly underneath the joint of its lunging claw just as the monster was trying to pull it back underneath the sands. To rather violent results. The scream of the crustacean as its leading limb was torn off and sent tumbling into open water was quite satisfying. And luckily occurred only on the outside of his head. The crab fortunately lacking the octopus's ability for casual conversation. An ability it was currently making extensive use of.

'Crab Bang!? No! Bad!' Though not appearing injured, the octopus had been visibly thrown through the water by the power of his Skill. It apparently choosing to blame the crab for his actions. Despite the creature now being armless and laying stunned in the aftermath of the explosion. Stunned, and still partially uncovered. Bob was beginning to gather the energy required for another shot, when the octopus suddenly descended in a blaze of fury.

Its many limbs quickly attaching to the crab's only remaining claw as it began dragging the beast from the remains of its burrow. The harsh sounds of the monster's beak screeching against thick chitin ringing through the waters. The assault managed to wake the massive crab from its stupor, and as it began trying to defend against it, Bob found himself conflicted. He currently had a perfect shot lined up.

With the duo entangled and finally not either underground or in open water, there was a decent chance he could kill both of them with a single use of 'Shattered Space'. Which really would be preferrable, given he only had two more left in him before his mana crapped out. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. But, for what was admittedly an entirely ridiculous reason, Bob found himself strangely unwilling. The octopus was a monster.

One which obviously held no affection for him and would, in fact, tear him asunder should it lay eyes on his unconcealed form. But for all that, Bob couldn't help but feel a strange swell of empathy for the creature in front of him. Its voice was the closest thing to intelligent speech that he'd heard for months. The cute, squeaky tone of it almost feeling like a balm on his mind compared to the tinny shrieks of the valley's countless crustaceans.

And as he prepared himself to inflict what would very likely be major damage to the creature, he found it didn't feel right to him. Didn't feel the same as blowing up countless sea-bugs. Felt more like blowing up a person. Or at the very least, someone's pet dog. Bob knew it was an idiotic reason to hesitate. Knew that in his current universe, he couldn't afford not to defend himself just because it 'made him feel bad'.

But by the time he pulled himself together enough to pull the trigger, the choice was taken out of his hands. Now that the crab was fully conscious, it was starting to use its greater strength to full effect. Managing to begin dragging the octopus back into its burrow; the two of them quickly vanishing from sight. And as soon as they did, Bob made a decision. He broke out of 'Lifeless Disguise' and began running away.

With the octopus now out of line-of-sight, he could break concealment without it descending into a blind, homicidal rage. And while the crab could detect him, that detection didn't seem to identify him as a sapient creature. It hadn't begun screaming inside his brain once it spotted him, after all. Just started to move towards his position in the same way it had previously; for the smaller crab Bob had offered up as sacrifice.

Which meant it likely wouldn't pay that much attention to his escape, given its current predicament. And, indeed, Bob seemed to be correct. With the two struggling foes entirely ignoring him as he rushed towards the building in the near distance. His mind focused on their merged signal in his senses, tracking to see if it moved even one inch closer to the surface. Which was probably why he once again missed something much smaller, much closer by.

He was only about twenty or so feet away from the building when he finally noticed it. The small pinprick of an F-rank crab only a few yards away. Just far enough that, for a moment, Bob thought that the thick grass had managed to keep him hidden. Until, of course, that hope was taken from him.

'Kill!' While the voice may have been small, the reaction from the more powerful monsters was instantaneous. Both briefly going still beneath the ground before their movements seemed to increase drastically. Bob taking that as a sign to redouble his own pace towards the structure standing in front of him. Trying to engage the lesser crab physically would both waste time and bring him closer to the larger threats.

Given that he was similarly unwilling to use the better portion of his mana to kill off an F-rank crabling, this meant he needed to break line of sight. And the building ahead should help him with that. At least if he could reach it. As he struggled to push his way through the vegetation, Bob clung to the thin hope that both creatures would finish each other off. It wasn't impossible, after all. Previously, the octopus had torn apart a number of other monsters on its way to brutalize him beyond all measure.

And the 'Burrower' crab seemed pretty hardy. If nothing else, it had to be at least a full rank higher than the squeaky octopus. It wasn't quite as large as the Crab Behind the Wall, but it did have a few levels on the now-dead monster; and that had to mean something. Even the natural 'Rock vs Scissors' advantage that the octopus seemed to have over the local crabs could only go so far. Unfortunately, it seemed the two had decided they had more important things to focus on.

Just as he was about to reach the clearing of stone pavers surrounding the building, he sensed the two larger 'blips' separating. The octopus launching itself free of the sands as the higher-ranked monster chased after it. Or perhaps, 'followed' would be the better word. Given that both of them were now heading straight in his direction. Bob couldn't look behind him. The locked-in state of his vision truly being one of the more aggravating aspects of his current evolution.

Still, he could easily sense them as they rampaged towards both him and the structure he was about five feet away from entering. The pagoda-like building fortunately having an entrance on all four sides. And luckily for him, the two were still about twenty feet behind. Bob slipped smoothly through one of the building's doors and quickly side-stepped behind a wall. Feeling an almost smug sense of relief as he once again activated 'Lifeless Disguise'; his body becoming rigid and immobile.

Outside, he could feel each of the monsters react. The tiny crab's voice cutting out as soon as he reached the doorway, and the burrower seeming to stumble uncertainly as soon as he concealed himself. The octopus however, remained unphased. Its form still flying through the water towards his location. Something Bob was very quickly growing very concerned about. That is, until he was otherwise distracted. Ding! You have entered the abandoned Temple of Ayridis, Goddess of Order and Collective Growth! Ding!

The Goddess Ayridis currently has '0' followers. Should you make an Oath of Servitude and Obedience, the Great Goddess of Light and Law would offer you placement amongst her clergy! Do you accept? Yes / No'… What?' Sadly, the confused thought was all he was able to manage before the form of a massive octopus tore through the entrance to Bob's right. The temple having a more-or-less open floor plan meaning this allowed the creature easy line-of-sight towards his location.

Which, unfortunately, it was presently making use of. Its body stilling as soon as it entered the room. Eyes gazing directly towards his inanimate form.

'… Enemy?' This time as it spoke, the monster sounded less disappointed and more suspicious. Like a toddler who knew their parents were keeping something from them, but weren't sure exactly what it was. Bob realizing shortly after that, given where he'd lured it from, there was a better than average chance he was currently sitting in the creature's home. And that even regular octopuses had a certain level of object permanence.

Which meant it was probably wondering why there was an unfamiliar bit of furniture plopped down its living room. And was apparently starting to feel a bit miffed by the situation, given the way it was beginning to slowly inflate its body. As the seconds passed and the monster's attitude only seemed to worsen, Bob began preparing himself to cast another 'Shattered Space' directly in front of it. His prior unwillingness to harm the creature quickly fading now that he was the target of its attention.

He was just about to release the ability in fact, when the system once again chose to interrupt. Ding! Tainted mana-form detected within Temple of Ayridis. With an active member of the Clergy, Temple of Ayridis can be purged of all forms of Tainted Mana. Accept Oath of Servitude to Ayridis? Yes / No This time, Bob's mind was actually able to process the full weight of the previously glanced-over offer. Eye widening as he considered the possibilities deific assistance might open up.

Even if the deity in question was apparently not in the best of straits. Unfortunately, now wasn't really the best of times to be distracted. He found himself unable to react as, in the space of a moment, the octopus moved. The monster clearing the majority of the distance between them in a single lunge, its form spread wide in an attempt to capture its now-identified opponent. And its tentacles flexing to reveal circular rings of teeth imbedded in every incoming sucker.