Chapter 32

Any question about this chapter can be answered by simply knowing I was just in the mood for it

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Watching everyone disappear to complete their missions, I quickly followed suit, gathering my team as we prepared for ours. We appeared on a beach that stretched endlessly in both directions, while the sun's odd angle made it hard to see much in the opposite direction, beyond the water that led out into the ocean.

"Alright, gather up," I called out after surveying the area and confirming no immediate signs of monsters. Owen and Elsa seemed a bit nervous, so to help them loosen up, I led them through a series of stretches to get ready for the mission.

As we stretched, I found myself humming a familiar tune. Before long, I started singing aloud, my voice low as the melody from "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson began to flow.

"Doh. Doh-doh-doh, doh-doh-doh, doh-doh," I sang softly, but it was enough for Owen to recognize the song. His face lit up as he joined in.

"Doh-doh-doh, doh-doh-doh, doh-doh. Doh-doh-doh, doh-doh-doh, doh-doh," he sang, his voice syncing with mine. At this point, Elsa recognized the song too, though she didn't know the lyrics well enough to join in. Still, my voice grew louder, falling into the rhythm of this world-famous song.

"This hit, that ice cold, Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold," I continued, shaking my head to the beat. Owen began snapping his fingers, pulling out a pair of shades from his inventory and slipping them on with flair.

"This one for them hood girls, them good girls, straight masterpieces," I sang, moving to the rhythm now, fully immersed in the song. Pulling out my phone, I played the instrumental version, the beat syncing up just right as I carried on.

"Stylin', wilin', livin' it up in the city," I sang, taking the shades Owen handed to me, letting him finish the verse.

"Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent, gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty," he sang with a grin, his voice filled with enthusiasm. He pointed to Elsa, who, while unfamiliar with the lyrics, decided to join in by using her powers. She created a thin layer of ice on the ground beneath us.

"I'm too hot (Hot damn), call the police and the fireman," I continued, touching the ice, which melted instantly at the warmth of my hand.

"I'm too hot (Hot damn), make a dragon wanna retire, man!" I belted out, noticing something approaching in the distance. Not wanting to break the mood, I sent the golems to deal with it, trusting them to handle the situation.

As Owen and I exchanged a glance, we silently agreed to skip a few lines since there was a child with us, jumping ahead to the second verse.

"Stop, wait a minute, fill my cup, put some liquor in it. Take a sip, sign the check—Julio, get the stretch!" I sang, pouring juice from my inventory into a cup instead of liquor, as I much preferred soda.

"Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson, Mississippi. If we show up, we gon' show out, smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy!" Owen sang with gusto.

"I'm too hot (Hot damn), call the police and the fireman," I sang, getting more into the groove.

"Girls, say my name, you know who I am!" I continued, the song reaching its peak as we felt the energy rise.

Ignoring the skirmish happening nearby between our golems and what appeared to be a giant crab, we kept singing. We skipped some more lines, not wanting to draw attention to certain parts of the lyrics, and moved straight to the chorus.

"Before we leave, lemme tell y'all a lil' something. Uptown funk you up, uptown funk you up," we chanted in unison, Owen snapping his fingers, Elsa smirking as she began to bop to the music as we began to wrap up the song.

"Uptown funk you up, come on!" I sang, starting to dance. With my enhanced abilities, I pulled off moves I'd never been able to do before, sliding effortlessly on the ice while keeping an eye on the golems, who were in the process of defeating the van-sized crab.

The beat reached its final stretch, and we all joined in for the last refrain: "Uptown funk you up (Woo, come on), uptown funk you up! Uptown funk you up, uptown funk you up!"

We finished the song, laughing as we looked over at the golems now standing still, covered in crab viscera. Though their expressions were no existent, it felt like they were judging us. Feeling awkward, we quickly averted our gaze and gathered ourselves before continuing the mission.

"Wow, this thing's huge. Do you think we can eat it, or does it have some kind of otherworldly microbes or something?" Hearing Owen's question as we approached the dead crab, I wanted to smack myself. But the more I thought about it, I wondered the same thing.

"I'd love to bring a leg back for Cary to study, but her hands are already full. Maybe next time," I said, shrugging it off. We started moving away from the water, hoping to find solid ground, but after ten minutes of walking and encountering two more crabs, we found nothing but endless sand.

"This seems like some kind of infinite beach," Elsa commented. I nodded in agreement as we halted our march, spotting another crab on the horizon. With a clap of my hands, I turned to the group.

"We had the golems take out the last few enemies, but this time, you two will join the battle for experience." The two newer heroes nodded eagerly, their earlier nervousness now replaced by anticipation.

"We got this!" Owen shouted, stepping forward with his shield raised. Elsa followed, her large crystalline staff in hand, as she began channeling her magic. A beam of frost shot toward the crab, still unaware of our presence. When the beam struck its back, ice spread rapidly, freezing its rear legs in place.

"Nice, keep it up," I praised Elsa, though she was too focused on her spell to respond. The crab struggled, losing mobility in its back legs as the ice took hold.

"My turn!" Owen shouted as he charged, shield raised. He blocked a swipe from the crab, the sound of shell against metal screeching through the air. Owen tried to strike at its legs, but his blade bounced off the solid shell, forcing him to retreat. The crab retaliated, trying to impale him with its thick legs. Owen narrowly avoided a grab, rolling out of harm's way as the crab began breaking free from the ice.

"My ice is weaker due to the environment," Elsa muttered to herself as she prepared to channel another spell. I glanced at the golems, considering letting them join the fight, but a sudden noise snapped my attention back to the battle.

SCREEEEECH

"UGH!" Owen groaned as his muscles strained under the crab's assault. His shield took the brunt of the attack, pushing him back through the sand, but he managed to stay on his feet. Hopping forward, he aimed his sword at the joint where the crab's leg met its body. This time, his blade pierced deeply, destroying the front leg joint.

"YES!" Owen celebrated, but his victory was short-lived. The crab, panicking in pain, swiped at him, sending him flying. His sword was lost in the attack, though his shield, strapped to his arm, remained with him.

"There we go!" At the same time, Elsa finished her spell, sending it crashing into the side of the crab. The ice on its back visibly strengthened, and new ice covered its side, immobilizing it further and saving Owen from another attack.

I watched as Owen stood up, more focused now, shaking off his disorientation. He pulled another sword from his inventory—a backup Noah had advised him to carry after losing many blades to certain monsters.

'Maybe I should prepare a backup weapon?' I wondered, watching Owen work. But I dismissed the thought, knowing my fighting style made losing or breaking my weapon unlikely. That was a consideration for later. For now, Owen's strategy evolved as he repeatedly drew swords from his inventory, stabbing them into the crab's joints and locking up its movements. Meanwhile, Elsa continued to layer the creature in ice until, finally, the crab collapsed.

"Good job!" I congratulated them both, handing them a health potion and a mana potion. They downed the bottles gratefully, letting out satisfied sighs.

"The fact that you were able to kill it without help from me or the golems is impressive," I said, pausing as their faces lit up. "But you need to be able to slay creatures like that solo." Their smiles faltered slightly, but before they could respond, I teleported away.

They stood in confusion until, two minutes later, I reappeared—with three more crabs.

"Now let me show you what you need to be able to do," I said, standing calmly atop one of the crabs. For a moment, it didn't realize I was there until one of its companions swiped at me. I didn't bother dodging; instead, the air warped, and a delayed strike deflected the claw, cracking the shell and causing the crab to let out a pained screech. Ignoring it, I hopped down in front of the crab I had been riding and swung my blade, severing its front legs in one clean swipe, sending it crashing forward.

"Look out!" Elsa shouted, but I was already prepared. My axe met the crab's claw, shattering it as the blade sunk into the soft flesh beneath the shell. With one final swing, I lodged my axe in the creature's head, killing it instantly.

"Two more to go," I said casually. I dispatched the remaining crabs in brutal fashion, severing limbs and watching as their wounds festered with light poison. Eventually, they all fell.

"Now, let's carry on." I tried to sound as casual as possible, but as I glanced at Owen and Elsa, their faces were a mix of shock, amazement, and a hint of horror. It made sense, given how ruthlessly I'd dispatched the crabs.

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What do you think of song choice? I Really enjoyed writing this chapter.

Why funk town? Because I was listening to it and I liked the vibe.

next chapter wont be missions so don't worry about that because doing mission chapters Back to back can get lame as hell.

take it from me and my thousands of hours just on this site alone stories can get boring if you don't cut out the parts that play the exact same.

I pray I can make mission take more of a back seat soon enough with mc having everyone else do them while he reaps the benefits and only participates in important missions