A cold sweat dripped down my back as I hurried back to the tower. I had been thinking of this mysterious person behind the screen as someone who was just a random person behind the system.
However, a lump was forming in my throat as I rushed down the street. How powerful would one have to be to change time itself? Also, was this person responsible for bringing me back in time? If that was the case then should I be afraid or grateful?
Why was everything I was finding out about the system or the towers just leading to more questions? I could tell the mental fatigue of the last trip into the tower was not resolved despite my body feeling lighter.
[Did you really need to spend more than an hour getting your stuff?]
"You can literally speed up time, don't complain to me."
[What is the point of being able to do something if you can't show off every now and then?]
"I don't know how to answer that. Also, can you please take it easy on me? It's only been a few hours since my last dungeon entrance in my mind."
[Tch. Humans are so fragile. Fine, if you complete two floors today I will give you a special gift.]
"Um… That would be appreciated… Also, what do I call you? You haven't really introduced yourself to me."
[I suppose you have entertained me more…]
[You may call me Amosis or Amo for short.]
"Amosis? That sounds strange. Is it really okay if I call you Amo?"
[We shall call it a special service since we have gotten to know each other so well.]
"I don't feel like I know you at all. For instance, what are you?"
[So many questions. I guess this is entertaining in its own way. When was the last time I took the time to chat with a mortal?]
"Mortal?"
That was a strange word to just outright say about me. So that meant that Amo was not mortal, meaning they were immortal. Did that mean they were like a god or something?
[Oh, I may have said too much. Now get into a dungeon, I'm bored.]
"You are really demanding."
[It's one of my charms. I'm waiting.]
I huffed as I clicked away from the main screen. It seemed every time I wanted to ask the system questions, Amo was there to block me. It was very inconvenient and it felt very purposeful. Like Amo was trying to stop me from learning the secrets of the system.
Then why not block my access? Was it because he could not block my access that he intervened like this? I bit my lip and chose the beach dungeon from before. I wanted to test out my new weapons on the hard shell of that crab.
As the bright light of the teleportation circle faded the familiar crashing waves entered my ears. I squinted through the bright sunshine, or whatever light happened to be in this dungeon, and looked around for my prey.
My feet were slightly in the water, but after that last dungeon it did not bother me as much. My boots were waterproof at least. The last time I came to this dungeon, the boss of the floor was already attacking me. However, the peaceful scenery was not interrupted this time.
I frowned as I used my hand to block out the bright rays above me. The beach appeared to be completely empty for as far as the eyes could see. Opposite of the water it just looked like an endless desert. I got a really bad feeling about this.
If the boss didn't show up, would I be stranded here until it did? The circle for the next floor didn't show up until the boss died last time. Just how long could I be stranded here?
My face grew even paler as I realized I stocked up on potions, but neglected to stock up on the supplies we had used in the previous dungeon. I still had enough for a few days, but it would get iffy after that.
Why didn't I stock up? Oh right, Amo was being pushy about wanting me back in the dungeon. I glared up at the sky at the one I knew was probably watching me while laughing right now.
It was at this point I decided to be scared of him instead of grateful if it did in fact turn out that he was responsible for sending me back. No one who went on and on about how powerful they were could be a good person.
If Amo was even a person. For all I knew he could just be some god who truly was that bored and played with our lives like some sick game.
"Amo, I bet you are really finding my situation amusing right now. I hope you didn't mess with the system to mess with me."
I felt kind of silly for talking to someone who wasn't there, but times were hard. Sometimes you had to talk to thin air in order to get your grievances out.
Right, I need to focus. Why would the boss not immediately appear? If I thought logically it wouldn't make sense for a crab to go galavanting off into the desert, so that only left one option. It was hiding!
Did crabs hide in the sand though? I briefly remember cartoons having crabs burrow into sand to hide. What was the name of that cartoon? No, I need to focus.
A gust of wind swept across the large beach area blowing sand into my eyes. Ugh, if it isn't the sun blinding you the wind will definitely get you. While I was rubbing my eyes clean a slightly larger wave came crashing down on me bringing me to my knees.
"Unbelievable."
I looked down at my armor. I was covered in sand and sopping wet. I pulled myself up and walked away from the water's edge. In hindsight I probably should have been more careful about where I was stepping because not long after leaving the shoreline the sand underneath my feet began shaking.
Or rather a giant crab was surfacing underneath me and I just happened to find the exact spot on the beach where it was hiding. I wasn't sure if this meant I had good or bad luck. Either way I now knew where the giant crab was hiding.
My hand went to my sheathed short sword and I was already attacking before the crab had a chance to even get halfway out of the sand.
Ding. The sword left a chip on the crab's shell. My hands felt numb at the impact. I gritted my teeth and jumped from the top of the crab before a giant claw came crashing down on top of me.
"It looks like you still have the toughest shell around crabby."
Talking to the crab brought up questions about my sanity, but it appeared I was putting on a show for Amo today so I ignored reason a bit. If Mat or Callie heard me say that though, I might die of embarrassment.
On the bright side my short sword didn't break even after using my full strength on the toughest part of the crab. Life was about small victories, especially a life filled with danger like mine.
I put away my short sword and drew one of the many throwing knives I had recently gotten back from Dyno. They were coated in the same red tinged metal as my short sword. They were beautiful, true works of art. It almost felt wasteful to use them in the dungeons, but that was what they were created for. Killing monsters.
The giant crab took its hammer claw and swung a giant arch to try to smash me into the sand. I was prepared for this strike as I had experienced it before and nimbly dodged to the left. Sand flew everywhere, but I was already closing in the distance.
The first knife flew in a straight line and embedded itself inside the shell of the crab. My second knife missed the mark and clattered uselessly against the shell of the crab. Unlike before blue blood did not leak from the crab, so I must have missed anything vital.
I used the loose footing to my advantage and slid under the crab. Its giant legs moved left then right before quivering in place. I managed to escape being crushed just in time as it bashed the place where I was taking shelter just moments before.
I wiped the sand away from my face as I sprinted to face the crab once more. It was difficult to hit the face of the crab, but the leg joints looked especially protected. I cursed before readying two more knives to attack with.
It was too late to wish that Mat were here to block the crab's heavy attacks with its claw hammer. I would have to just make due with dodging and taking out the crab before its attacks made it too difficult to traverse the beach.
The crab roared as it realized that it had not crushed me underneath. The smaller claw came at me now from the side. Oops. I almost forgot that one existed. I used my knife in my right hand to deflect the oncoming attack.
"Ugh. You are not supposed to learn so quickly."
Since I had to deflect the unexpected claw I was not ready for the giant claw hammer coming down upon me. Why did I come back to this annoying boss? I felt the wind of the attack woosh past my cheek as I narrowly avoided the hammer.
The impact with the sand sent me flying a few feet, where I rolled and came to a stop with my head face down in the sand. I spit out sand and quickly got to my feet. I'm starting to think I don't like nature.
This crab needs to die. I didn't even want to think about all the places that sand has gotten into at this point. Was a special gift really worth this? It better be a really nice gift.
I picked up the knives that had escaped me as I fell and ran full speed at the crab. Stupid crab. Stupid crab. Stupid crab. I threw the knife with as much force as I could manage into the gaping hole of the shell where the eyes of the crab were peeking through.
A scream that shook the sand under my feet and body filled the air. I was in the worst possible position to take such an attack and I resisted covering my ears.
An orange haze filled my vision and I knew that I needed to run. I scanned the beach around me and found a deep divot where one of the crab's heavy attacks had landed and dove into it.
I crouched down and covered my head. My back burned from the amount of heat being put off by the crab. The sand under me also heated up and I prayed that I had ran far enough away to avoid the molten hot glass that was sure to follow the self destruction of the crab.
I was definitely going to call them suicide crabs. I hoped there is not a small version of these on the second level of this dungeon. Finally, after what felt like forever the explosion of the suicide crab ended and I peeked over the edge of the sand.
The suicide crab had some slight burnt marks over the shell, but it seemed mostly intact. Surrounding the shell was a moat of sorts of molten sand. I approached the body, but felt conflicted on how to circumvent the obstacle.
I must have been passed out for a long time the first time I was here. Would this even cool down in a day? Dyno asked for strong materials and this crab shell would probably be good for Mat's shield. Or to strengthen Callie's armor. I should probably collect it.
I stared up at the sky and back down to the crab. Amo probably wouldn't like it if I delayed that long. I pulled the pack off my back and had an idea. When I put or take out things from my pack I can dump things by willing them out of the pack and shaking it a little.
Maybe I could put things into the pack. Time seems to freeze in there as hot or cold things keep their temperature. Maybe I could store this hot stuff. I opened the bag and held it slightly over the lava glass.
Suddenly, the bag acted as a vacuum cleaner and the molten glass began disappearing into it. My mouth fell open as my idea worked right in front of me. I carved a path a couple feet wide until I made it to the center of the pile where the crab shell was located.
As soon as my eyes fell on the shell it was also sucked into the bag. What kind of OP item did I receive?