SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will

Chapter 154: The Crab King Emerges [1]

Selene sneakily glanced sideways at Moon, who stood with arms folded, his intense gaze fixed on the ocean waters as he waited patiently for the Crab King to make its inevitable appearance.

’He’s strong enough to handle most threats we encounter for the time being,’ Selene thought, prioritizing her safety. ’There’s no compelling need for me to risk permanent death just to gain slightly more power right now. As long as I survive and stay useful, I’m confident he’ll protect me if something dangerous happens. That’s the smart play.’

’Once we’re back in normal territory and I have proper safety margins, then I’ll make the evolution investment. No point dying stupidly because I was impatient.

Selene’s internal thoughts were pragmatic and self-preserving rather than heroic or altruistic.

She had learned long ago that survival often meant making smart, calculated choices rather than recklessly brave ones. And right now, the objectively smart choice meant staying alive and functional while Moon fought the trough battles that his unique advantages made him better suited for.

She could afford to wait for better circumstances.

Hours slowly passed by as they maintained watch on the beach, and night gradually began wrapping its darkness around the sky like a descending curtain.

The Crab King did not show itself despite the provocation and mounting crab casualties.

Moon wasn’t particularly rushed or concerned by the delay. Tomorrow morning, the same hunting would continue.

“Either the Crab King comes out to defend its territory eventually, or its entire species will learn to never emerge onto the shoreline again,” Moon said, his gaze landing on the deceptively calm ocean surface one final time before turning away.

♢♢♢♢

Early the next morning, Moon and the others were already positioned and waiting at the shoreline when they caught sight of a significantly larger group of crabs emerging from the shallows.

Close to twenty of the creatures advanced together in a cluster of carapaces. They’d clearly increased their numbers because they felt genuinely threatened and wanted to avoid being isolated and picked off one by one like their predecessors.

Safety in numbers, a universal survival strategy adopted by most races except a few that found solitude in loneliness.

Before engaging, Moon ordered a quick intel sweep of the surrounding area in all four cardinal directions, specifically checking for any Heretic presence that might complicate the situation.

The Savi warriors dispersed efficiently, scouting thoroughly before returning with their reports through Yara’s translation.

After they’d concluded their search, the result was clear: they’d found no Heretic scouts or patrols within detection range.

The enemy forces had yet to arrive in this coastal region, which surprised Moon. He’d expected aggressive retaliation by now after yesterday’s massacre.

’Maybe they’re carefully planning their next strategic move rather than rushing into hasty revenge,’ Moon theorized.

’Gathering intelligence, coordinating with their leadership, possibly even preparing to involve their guardian beast.

Either way, when they do finally send their forces, they’ll just be marching to their own demise. I’m ready and waiting.’

He turned his attention back to the immediate situation. The twenty crabs were slowly advancing up the beach in their formation, possibly looking for prey or the perpetrators of the previous attacks.

Moon looked toward Selene with a slight nod. “Same strategy as yesterday. You take primary engagement for experience gains.”

She nodded her head with a soft confident smile spreading across her face, already channeling mana in preparation.

Moon withdrew his dagger from spatial storage, preparing to use the combat opportunity to continue increasing his weapon proficiency through practical application. Every engagement refined his muscle memory further.

Yara, clearly inspired by watching Selene’s impressive performance the previous day and eager to contribute more actively, stepped forward as well. “Can I join the fight this time? I want to help.”

Moon considered briefly, then nodded approval. He could tell that the Savi Maiden wanted to participate and refusing her would hurt her feelings, “Stay at range with your bow. Focus on disrupting their coordination and creating openings rather than trying for killshots. Selene needs the experience more than we do.”

Yara’s face brightened as she readied her bow.

By the time the sound of combat finally seized in the area. Twenty crab bodies littered the shoreline in various states of destruction.

Moon, Selene, and Yara had eliminated the entire group through their power and efficient teamwork.

Due to the larger numbers involved and the specific goal of provoking the Crab King into finally revealing itself, Moon had actively participated in killing several crabs himself rather than leaving everything to Selene. He’d used his elemental manipulation and dagger work in combination, refining his close-combat techniques while contributing to the overall body count.

Although Moon had already reached maximum level and couldn’t gain more levels from the kills, the life accumulation still counted toward his reserves. More importantly, the system had explicitly stated that all experience acquired during his evolution process would be recorded and calculated once he successfully completed his advancement tasks.

Even if the experience value from individual level twenty-four and twenty-five crabs wasn’t incredibly high for someone at his power tier, accumulated gains still mattered. Meat was still meat even if each piece was just a single bite, enough small bites eventually became a full meal.

[You have killed a level 24 Island Crab.]

[You have gained 250 Lives.]

[You have killed a level 25 Island Crab.]

[You have gained 300 Lives.]

[You have killed a level 24 Island Crab.]

[You have gained 240 Lives.]

Moon’s life total continued climbing steadily despite being unable to advance in level. Every resource accumulated now would be valuable later when he finally evolved and needed to develop new Epic-rank skills or upgrade existing ones.

Selene had gained another chunk of experience as well, though not quite enough to push her over the threshold to level twenty-five yet.

As the last crab fell and its body collapsed onto the blood-stained sand, Moon turned his gaze back toward the ocean with focused intensity.

Forty-one crabs killed over two days. The Crab King had to respond soon. The sustained provocation was becoming completely impossible to ignore.