The gigantic dungeon crab moved its legs sporadically on the sand towards Elliot and Taumus. It had been obstructed long enough; now it was finally time for it to have its fill.

It opened its mouth filled with jagged teeth and spewed out green radioactive liquid from the depths of its mouth. The acid-like fluid melted any and all things it came across in an instant, like marshmallows in an inferno.

Taumus, with all his confidence, created a barrier made from condensed translucent mana. A wide grin formed on his face that clearly meant, "This barrier is completely impenetrable."

Elliot pointed a finger forward. Taumus’s pride was shattered when he noticed that the acid was dissolving his so-called impeccable barrier.

"How dare you?" he scowled at the humongous crab that pretty much didn’t care about his feelings.

Elliot clearly wasn’t going to wait around while Taumus sorted out his feelings while they both got melted alive like ice cream under the blazing sun.

’Long-distance spells aren’t my forte but.....’

He pointed two fingers at the gigantic crab. Flames started to swirl together into a ball. Golden sparks of lightning sizzled around the flame ball that was currently growing in size. When it got to the size of a football, it flew off Elliot’s fingertips into the jagged tunnel-hole-like mouth of the gigantic crab.

"11th-tier spell: Sizzle Ball."

The flame ball exploded inside the mouth of the humongous crab with a booming sound and a fleeting flash of red-white light.

"Gahhhhhhhh!"

The gigantic crab cried out in pain and frustration. Whatever it was using to produce the green acid-like fluid had been seared like beef on a grill. Thick dark fumes emanated from the crab’s mouth.

"Taumus, get your head in the game!" Elliot yelped.

"O-oh, sorry man." Taumus rubbed the back of his head, letting out a light chuckle.

They had solved one problem by stopping the dungeon crab from producing acid. Now, all that was left was to eliminate it.

And these two roommates were ready to do just that. Taumus clutched his fingers against his chest as if he were trying to rip something out. Earlier he switched to his shadow affinity; now he was ready to call upon the power of draconic flames that lay within him.

There were different types of flame affinity in the world of Hale. Normally, laymen would group them all into one, but the scholars had a vast wealth of information. Among the many types or categories of flame affinity, draconic flame affinity was among the most powerful, if not the strongest.

Flames that were said to be capable of burning through concepts, not just physical matter.

"Affinity Switch: Draconic Flames."

His dark purple eyes swirled into a bright golden-red colour. Wisps of crimson flames spun around him. This was more than just a pretty display. A beam of flames blasted from his chest and blew a wide hole through the gigantic crab and dispersed the sand cloud above it.

"13th-tier spell: Drago Burst."

The whole thing looked like a tunnel window. Elliot could see vividly behind the dungeon crab through the wide opening. Light green fluid dripped from the upper part of the hole down to the lower part.

"Nice go—"

Elliot was cut short by the sound of the rumbling flesh of the crab as it came back together, down to its shattered exoskeleton, as if nothing had ever happened.

"It can even regenerate," Taumus said incredulously.

Elliot couldn’t help but feel something was extremely wrong with this battle. The dungeon crab recovered from what was supposed to be a kill shot in seconds.

"Taumus, it seems one big hole isn’t enough to put down this bastard." He turned his head towards his roommate with a wide grin.

Taumus immediately understood what he meant. "I guess we just have to pulverise the big guy until not even a single drop of blood is left."

He jammed his knuckles as his mana surged incredibly high. If a kill shot wasn’t enough, then all they had to do was erase it from the very fabric of reality. Spells of such a scale drained a lot of mana and stamina, which could only be offset if they were cast as a combo spell.

This was just the first floor; they had about four other floors to go through. It would be a completely foolish decision to exhaust themselves here.

And there was also one other issue.

’We need to both cast the spell at the same time, speed, and frequency; if not, it would blow up in our faces.’

Combo spells from the 17th tier upwards needed to be chanted. Even geniuses could not dodge the solemn rule which had already been set in stone. But only a few people knew that chants were just a way to direct the intense flow of mana coming from all the parties involved in casting the spell.

And the dungeon crab wouldn’t just sit idly and wait for them to finish chanting; in fact, it was very much angry and was more than ready to crunch on their bodies.

The gigantic crab moved its humongous pincers with surreal precision to cut them in half like they were watermelons or something.

Elliot and Taumus dodged and dodged, moving rapidly from side to side. They leaped upwards only to see the crab’s pincers coming from both left and right, aiming to press them together like minced beef in burgers.

Taumus grabbed onto Elliot’s arm and thrust both of them upwards with the flames he generated under his feet. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Calling upon the heavenly stars to grant us a miracle. Let the tides of flames burst forth from the inferno. Swirl and combust."

They both started to chant. The giant crab leaped from the sand into the air. Of course, it wasn’t going to allow them to finish the spell that would kill it (nobody or monster would).

Just as its jagged pincers were about to reach them, it fell backward and landed on the ground with a great BOOM. Not only was it heavy, but the force of gravity was also a cruel bastard.

Before it could stand and make another jump, it was already too late.

A stream of stars appeared in the sky, then they merged into one singular very bright entity that stood above the confused dungeon crab. A huge spell circle burst forth underneath and above it, creating a cylindrical dome that made escape impossible. No matter how much it banged its claws, it wouldn’t budge.

"17th-tier Combo Supreme Spell—"

The huge mass of heat energy formed by the stars slowly descended on the dungeon crab, and at this point it stopped banging. Even an unintelligent beast knows when it’s done for, as in "Game Over."

"Damtron Hellish Descent!"

Before the giant mass descended, Elliot and Taumus streaked above it and slammed their swords into it with all their might onto the dungeon crab.

Bright white light shrieked as the gigantic crab disintegrated down to its very last molecule.

The explosion had erased the creature entirely. In its place lay a charred imprint etched into the sand, as though the beast’s existence had been burned into the dungeon floor for a fleeting moment before vanishing.

All that remained was a weird bug that turned to dust soon after.

A few miles away, atop a curved horn-shaped rock, a human-like insect puppet stood. Its big eyes twitched rigorously, opening and closing.

"What a shame. I had hoped to destroy them at once."

Its jagged mandibles clicked together.

"Oh well, another time." Its voice sounded like a broken radio, very unsettling to hear.

"There you are!" Deria grinned as they dropped their spell and appeared before this unprecedented new foe.

"Oh, I’m surprised you managed to find me."

The bug in a maid uniform clapped its cricket-like hands together.

"But you have to die." A red glow burst from its multiple eyes.