Chapter 29 - Crab Cakes

Jiran recognized both men who happened to be on the beach with him. 

Gaegin, an old tier three hunter, still had the warning horn to his lips. He blew it a second time and a high-pitched note rang through the air, alerting the other hunters in the village that this morning's crab clean-up had gone wrong.

The second man was Soren, Jiran’s father.

Soren was waving one arm wildly over his head while yelling something at Jiran that he couldn’t hear. His other arm was pointing toward the ocean waves crashing against the beach nearby.

Jiran looked in that direction to see four fuzzy shapes emerging from the water. They weaved left to right in a hypnotic pattern that confused his bleary thoughts. When he heard the first clack of a giant claw grasping at empty air, he finally realized what he was looking at.

That’s right, I’m here to help with the crabs.

He shook his head, clearing the last of the cobwebs.

Four beats, all tier two.

They look just like the one Samris made me fight. That feels like it happened so long ago, but it's only been a few weeks.

I guess it’s time for a little payback.

I used five percent in my last experiment and it backfired pretty bad. I’ll drop it to two percent and see how that goes.

Jiran spread his legs and raised his hand with a finger that promised death.

https://imgur.com/0BKrBXM

The screaming of his father reached his ears as the man was finally close enough that his words were distinguishable.

“Jiran, run!” Jiran ignored him and activated an insulated Coating and then released his shaping.

An arc of current closed the distance between his finger and the crab instantly. The beast lit up from the inside out as its body convulsed hard enough to lift it a meter into the air.

The beast fell to the ground in a smoking heap of unmoving limbs. A hole in its side large enough to shove a hand into was oozing liquified muscle onto the sandy beach.

Jiran saw the wide eyes and gaping mouths of the two men as he prepared another blast.

Three more arcs of lightning shot out from his outstretched hand in quick succession, each a killing blow.

True origin of Lightning + 1

Jiran didn’t stop to soak in his success as another two dozen crabs were flooding into the pier. He sprinted closer and unleashed arcs of electricity at any of the beasts foolish enough to enter his range.

Soren stood on the lone dock, stabbing any of the beasts that got too close. His height and reach allowed him to push the beasts back while Gaegin shot arrows into their soft joints from a distance.

This is so crazy. If I shot one of these at ten percent it would maybe be equivalent to Uncle’s blast from when he fought that tier four.

Uncle Micah is tier three though and I clearly remember him being useless after just one attack. Why does a clear mental image of molecular physics make such a huge difference?

Gaegin’s horn blared a third time, snapping Jiran out of his thoughts.

He looked up to see a giga-chad of a crab lumbering its way out of the ocean. Waves taller than Jiran crashed against its body ineffectually, showcasing just how sturdy and heavy the beast was.

Unlike its smaller brethren, every one of the beast's limbs was tipped with grasping claws strong enough to easily snap a man in two.

The water near the beast erupted into a huge spray of mist as a second, even larger crab surfaced. One of its limbs came crashing down in the middle of the first crab’s back, causing its legs to buckle.

https://imgur.com/htfszzN 

Several things happened at once.

Gaegin blew his horn a fourth time as he shot past in a mad dash toward the town, Soren on his heels.

“Run, fool! That mutant is way too much for us. We need to wait for Skandor,” He shouted after removing the short horn from his lips.

Soren’s eyes were full of fear as he followed behind the old hunter. When he looked over his shoulder to see Jiran still standing there staring at the beasts, he cursed and turned back.

“Jiran, please! We need to go!” He reached out to place a hand on Jiran’s shoulder.

Jiran didn’t budge as his body was rooted with a strong application of Forcing.

“I don’t know how you’re shooting that lightning but you can’t have much mana left. We need to go!”

“No, Dad. I’ve still got much more left in me. I’m not running without at least trying.”

The crabs reared up high into the air. Smaller claws scraped harmlessly against tough exoskeleton while the larger beast's limbs tore through like they were shredding paper.

“Quick while the mutant is rampaging. Please listen to me Son,” He begged with tears in his eyes.

No way I’m running without at least trying. Sorry, Dad.

In moments, the tier three was sinking into the waves, its body a mangled wreck.

Jiran stepped toward the beast, prepared for the worst. Soren leaped ahead to stand between the crab and Jiran. His harpoon waved wildly before him in a white-knuckled grip.

“Thanks for protecting me, Dad. Now and before, but it’s my turn to protect you now,” Jiran spoke with calm confidence as he pushed past the man whose body was shaking like a dinghy in a storm.

Jiran took a wide, stable stance and raised his hand.

Skandor chose that moment to appear. He flew through the air with wind wrapped tightly around his body. An arrow, coated in red mana zipped through the air so fast it appeared to stretch across the distance between bow and beast.

The shot landed on hard exoskeleton and exploded in fiery heat so fierce Jiran could feel it on his face from dozens of meters away. The beast was unfazed. The water had been evaporated and its hard shell was blackened but there was no sign of real damage.

He’s going to need help getting through that shell.

If two percent was enough for the little guys, then ten should be good for a tier three. At least I hope that’s the case. Ah screw it I’m going all in.

Crap, that's crazy. When I did just five percent before, it wrecked me. Oh well, if you don’t cast your net, you’ll never catch a single fish.

Jiran’s Coating flowed smoothly over his hand. When he tried to push mana into his finger, a problem occurred.

My mana won’t compress enough to fit more than five percent into a single finger. I’ll have to use both hands and forearms.

Skandor flew all around the giant crab, his arrows doing nothing but annoying the mutant beast.

Jiran used his distraction to adjust the Coating to cover both his hands and arms all the way up to his shoulders.

He changed his stance, clasping both hands before him with his index fingers firmly held together. They pointed directly at the rabid mutant who swung wildly at Skandor.

The beast grew frustrated. It reared up and smashed into the water creating a massive wave that rose up and slammed into Skandor. Its eyes shone with a malicious intensity as a claw blurred through the air toward Skandor.

The hunter fired another arrow at the claw just before impact. The blast threw him into the beach in an eruption of sand.

The mutant continued its approach to the pier, eager to taste human flesh. Its claws grasped at empty air, each clack created a boom that echoed through Jiran’s bones.

Jiran had not been idle, Almost every scrap of his remaining mana was crammed into his arms. His fingers glowed with a green light as the concentration in them reached a critical mass.

He opened a tiny hole in the coating for the mana to be released before focusing intently. He formed the image of billions of atoms releasing their hold on the electrons that rotated around them.

As his imagery formed, the mass of mana in his hands turned a crackling green, eager to be released.

“Might want to close your eyes, Dad,” Jiran took his own advice and then unleashed his Shaping.

A boom of thunder was followed so closely by a shockwave of force, that to Jiran, they happened simultaneously.

Despite being ready for the backlash, he was blasted backward into his father. They flew through the air for several seconds before crashing through the wall of a building and falling to the floor in a tangle of groans that neither of them could hear.

Jiran’s eyes snapped open, eager to see the results of his attack.

He looked through the hole in the wall to see a dock completely shattered. Burning wood fell from the air in a surreal rain. Arcs of electricity jumped across the water's surface in flashes of green and blue.

Beyond them, the beast still stood.

Its limbs, each larger than Jiran, had been obliterated. All except for one which twitched wildly with each convulsion of its massive body. The beast’s exoskeleton was blackened in a large radius around a gaping hole in its chest that gushed innards into the ocean like a waterfall.

The creature's eyes had been ruptured and were now empty black holes that wafted acrid smoke into the air.

Several tier two crabs floated dead in the water nearby, killed instantly by the incredible voltage.

Jiran watched in fascination as the monster teetered to the side before collapsing into the water, finally still.

I did it? Just like that?

A strong sensation bubbled up inside his chest before escaping his lips in uncontrollable laughter. Soren soon joined his son. Both took solace in the others' presence, despite still not being able to hear beyond the ringing in their ears.

Jiran pushed his last flicker of mana through his ears in a regenerative Shaping, rapidly repairing the damage.

The sound of his father’s laughter released a knot of pain in his chest he hadn't known was there. He looked over at the man who raised him with so many emotions threatening to spill out that he was forced to turn away.

Climbing to his feet, Jiran crawled out of the ruined shed and walked toward the massive corpse.

What’s that?

A red mist was peeling itself free from the beast like a swarm of fireflies lifting into the air. The red cloud shot toward him at incredible speed before sticking to his arms and chest.

As soon as it touched him, he recognized the red mist as density, similar to the chaotic energy of a densoon but far more powerful.

Jiran waved his arms in alarm as the red, ephemeral energy sank through his skin. It pushed and pulled inside of him before settling into his muscles and bones as if it belonged there.

With the red energy, came a blast of emotions that left him gasping for breath.

His eyes flew wide as pleasure, unlike anything he had felt before, swept through him in a wave of euphoria. Everything in the universe felt right and whole in a way that he would never be able to explain.

A few moments later as the feelings of bliss began to fade, his mind recoiled from the loss. He was nearly overwhelmed with the need to bring them back. He knew in his heart that nothing in the universe was more important than continuing to slaughter, so he could feel that bliss again.

That’s not me.

That’s not who I am!

Jiran reclaimed himself with a vengeance. He slammed the feelings of loss down with every ounce of willpower he could muster until they vanished completely.

Jiran slowly collected himself with heaving breaths and his hands on his knees.

What was that? I’ve never heard of anything like that before.

His father soon approached with an unfamiliar expression in his eyes.

“Did you see that?” Jiran’s words were met with a shake of Soran’s head as the older man pointed to his ears.

Jiran used his hands to motion toward the beast then at his own chest where the red density had entered him. When he tilted his head questioningly at his father, the man just shrugged, clearly not understanding.

“You’ve really grown, Jiran. I’m proud of you,” Soren popped his jaw and rubbed his ears as he talked far louder than normal.

Jiran smiled and shook his head, highly amused by his father's antics.

Skandor chose that moment to land behind Soren, an angry scowl on his face.

“You stupid ass kid! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?

“You should have waited for me. Just look at them, they’re completely gone, ruined I say!”

“What? What are you talking about?” Jiran scowled, not following the angry hunter at all.

“Don’t you know the legs are the best part?”