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CONTENT WARNING!
There is some cannibalism (between animals) mentioned in this article. If you're uncomfortable with that, reading this article isn't recommended.
LEVEL
72
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY
CLASS 2
Exit: 3/5
Difficult to Exit
Environment: 2/5
Some Environmental Risk
Entities: 2/5
Some Hostile Presence
A photograph of a sunset in the hottest, and therefore emptiest part of Level 72.
Description
Level 72 consists of a vast1, crab-shaped island in the middle of a shallow ocean. This ocean is rather empty, and merely six kilometers away from the island, it turns into a waterfall leading into a void. However, the island itself is considered much more notable than the ocean, as across its noticeably red landscape, there are several dunes, palm trees, dehydrated bushes, coral, and seashells to find2, as well as multiple other features mentioned later in the article.
Level 72 has an average temperature of 38° C (100° F) and has high levels of humidity. This, coupled with the fact that the oceans have exceptionally large quantities of sea salt, creates a significant risk of dehydration. However, every two weeks, clouds form from the empty sky and downpours of rain are unleashed. It is recommended to rapidly take action and collect as much water as one can, as the rain can abruptly stop at any given time, and dehydration will become even more likely.
Beneath the terrain are hundreds of aquifers of varying sizes3. The smallest ones are closer to the surface and are only about one square meter large, but the biggest aquifers are deeper in the ground and can be up to five hundred square meters large. They provide habitats for countless krill4, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Algae permeates the aquifers and provides the organisms nutrients to survive. However, they do not always live in peace, as everything that can be found inside these aquifers are frequently under attack by the most important creatures of Level 72: millions upon millions of crabs.
There are currently eight species of crabs that inhabit this level, seven of which are native to the Frontrooms. The seven species which are also found in the Frontrooms are:
- Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister)
- Flattop crab (Petrolisthes eriomerus)
- Ghost crab (Ocypodinae)
- Gulf stone crab (Menippe adina)
- Hermit crab (Paguroidea)
- Pacific mole crab (Ementa analoga)
- Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)
Every one of the aforementioned species are affected by a phenomenon which modifies their diet to only consist of krill, plankton, algae, and in rare cases5, other crabs6. The aforementioned cannibalism is not only limited to crabs of the same species, but certain crabs do have limits on what crab to eat or not.
- A dungeness crab would eat another dungeness crab, a flattop crab, a ghost crab, a gulf stone crab, a hermit crab, or a pacific mole crab.
- A flattop crab would only eat another flattop crab.
- A ghost crab would eat a flattop crab, another ghost crab, or a pacific mole crab.
- A gulf stone crab would eat a flattop crab, another gulf stone crab, or a pacific mole crab.
- A hermit crab would eat a flattop crab, a ghost crab, a gulf stone crab, another hermit crab, or a pacific mole crab.
- A pacific mole crab would eat a flattop crab or another pacific mole crab.
- A red king crab would eat a flattop crab, a ghost crab, a gulf stone crab, a hermit crab, or another red king crab.
Aurora crab (Laetalus7)
The aurora crab is a lot like the poison dart frog due to it being very colorful yet equally as deadly. Its abdomen is shaped exactly like one of a hermit crab, but it still differs from it, as instead of being entirely red, its abdomen is of a stunning mixture of green, pink, and black8. These colors additionally leak into the crab's shell, giving it a dazzling look no matter if the crab has its shell on or not. However, the substance that gives them this color is an unidentified toxin which causes severe rashes in the offender's skin. It eventually ends up burning the point of contact and rapidly spreads to body parts around it. This brings about volumes of blood that escape within minutes of the rashes' appearance, which causes an excruciatingly painful death.
Fortunately, the rest of the aurora crab’s body parts are devoid of this toxin. Its eyes and cornea are long and thin and are surrounded by purple eyelids. Two pairs of antennae are placed on two different segments of the crab's head; the primary pair is a neon green, while the secondary pair is slightly darker. Its claws are small and weak since they have evolved to only use the toxins they possess to hunt or protect themselves. Additionally, an aurora crab's legs actually number to eight instead of the ten that most true crabs9 have. Nonetheless, the excessive levels of energy that aurora crabs withhold let them travel faster than any other crab species in Level 72.
Aurora crabs are almost entirely docile, despite the extreme dangers they possess. Additionally, they are the only crabs in the level that are not cannibals; they will not eat other crabs even as a last resort, nor do other crabs eat it. An analysis of their anatomy reveals that they contain other enigmatic substances in their liver that are unsafe for any crab to consume.
Bases, Outposts and Communities
New Crabland
- An outpost consisting of approximately ninety members. This has dropped to twenty as of 1st January, 2023.
- Was founded on January 11, 2022.
- Friendly but are not open to trading or new members due to limited supplies.
- Have powerful equipment to help prevent the level's risks.
Additional Notes
Level 72 has several different features that reference the many crabs that live on the island:
- When analyzing the sand in Level 72, researchers found that the sand is made of crushed seashells, with the occasional trace of crab DNA. It is speculated that some of the sand contains the remains of many past generations of crabs.
- Some of the clouds are shaped like crabs10.
- The leaves of the palm trees are shaped like crab claws.
- Coconuts have a chance to have a crab etched into them.
- Level 72's food web can be found carved into the trees, obviously including crabs.
- Certain constellations also show the level's food web.
Additionally, there are four different pathways on the island that were made by the crabs with the purpose of easier navigation of the level. They do not have any official names; rather, wanderers have named them themselves.
- Midway Trail: a pathway that splits the island down the middle. It runs in a perfectly straight line.
- Eastcurrent and Westcurrent Trail: two different pathways that outline the east and west coasts of the island. They originate at the southern parts of the island, then intersect at the center-north coast.
- Heritage Trail: a twisting and turning path that begins at the center-south coast and ends at the center of the island in an intersection with Midway Trail. Most of the pathway provides easy navigation across the eastern portion of the level where Eastcurrent Trail cannot. It has been observed that places along this trail have the highest levels of rain, which is presumably why it has been constructed in such a strange manner.
Entrances And Exits
Entrances
Currently, three entrances to Level 72 are known to exist. The first way to enter the level is immensely tedious. By walking around for a few weeks in the Main Building of Level 43, they will spontaneously appear here. The second entrance, on the other hand, is rather unchallenging: if one were to find a roasted crab in Level 75 and eat it, they will end up here11. The last entrance, whilst also straightforward, is found in a level that is known to be exceptionally difficult to enter: Level 996. Upon entering the level, there is a slight chance that the entrance they used will be replaced with a surface with a crab spray-painted onto it. No-clipping into the surface will lead to this level.
Exits
There are currently no known exits from Level 72. However, some speculate that if one travels very far into the ocean and jumps into the edges of the seabed, they will arrive in Level 126. Due to the risk of falling into the void that surrounds the ocean, however, this exit remains unconfirmed. See addendum.
Addendum
Audio Log 8918
Date and Time: December 31, 2022 at 6:51 PM
Location: Level 72/Level 48
People Involved: Kerem McCracken, David McCracken, multiple anonymous members of the New Crabland outpost who are code named using various numbers
<Begin Log>
[David McCracken notices that the sun is starting to go down. He calls Kerem McCracken who is at the shoreline inspecting a dead aurora crab.]
David McCracken: Kerem!
[Kerem shouts back.]
Kerem McCracken: Yeah?!
David McCracken: We should probably be heading back now! It's running late!
Kerem McCracken: Give me a minute! I'm looking at something right now!
[David approaches Kerem and notices the dead crab he is now dismembering.]
David McCracken: So.. what are ya doing?
Kerem McCracken: Nothing much. Was just tryna make sense of this little one.
David McCracken: How much time 'til you're done with it? The sun is setting.
Kerem McCracken: Oh, come on. We're not little kids; we don't need to go to bed at exactly seven o'clock every n-
David McCracken: Hey, do you see that?
Kerem McCracken: See what?
[Kerem turns around and notices an innumerable amount of crabs flocking to the shoreline.]
David McCracken: Get out of the way!
Kerem McCracken: How?! There's like a billion of them coming from every direction!
David McCracken: Well, do you wanna risk being eaten alive?!
Kerem McCracken: Would you look down for a second?
David McCracken: … Oh. Never mind.
Kerem McCracken: See? They're doing nothing to us. All they want is the shoreline.
David McCracken: But why?
Kerem McCracken: It's the 31st, so could it be like a New Year's Eve celebration?
David McCracken: Maybe. Would that also explain why they've been in hiding for so long?
Kerem McCracken: Yeah, I think so.
[David and Kerem decide to walk back home, not thinking much of the strange congregation of the crabs. However, Kerem decides to glance back one more time at them, and realizes that all of them are joining claws in pairs around several different drawings of David and Kerem in the sand.]
Kerem McCracken: David, wait! Look at them again! Look what they're doing!
[David glances back.]
David McCracken: We are telling this to everyone. Now.
[David and Kerem rush back to the New Crabland outpost and tell everyone about what they saw.]
Kerem McCracken: [INAUDIBLE] I swear to god, it's real. I saw it with my own two eyes. I've even got a picture of it.
[Kerem shows the picture to everyone. Someone then walks out of their tent and glances at it. They immediately believe that the photograph was forged.]
001: Oh wow, nice photoshop you got there, Kerem.
[The anonymous individual exclaims that Kerem is lying and that the pictures were fake. While some believe this person, many disagree and follow Kerem and David to the shore.]
Kerem McCracken: (muttering under his breath) This [EXPLETIVE] will regret everything he's said for the rest of his life.
[David tells Kerem to calm down and brings him and sixty other people to the shoreline. They watch in awe as the crabs draw even more faces, this time of everyone else spectating the glorious scene. They outline the shore, moving erratically yet perfectly arranged, causing some to wonder what a view from above would look like. The crabs use seashells to produce unnaturally uplifting sounds that mimic celebratory music. They continue this for about an hour. During the performance, a few children notice other interesting features that previously were not there.]
002: Look at this! There's smiley faces drawn in the sand!
003: There's even more of them over here!
David McCracken: Kids, shut up! We've got a once in a lifetime experience going on here and you're ruining it!
[As the performance continues, the spectacular sunset ends and is replaced with the soft shine of the Moon and the stars. Countless narrow beams of light are sent from the Moon and are reflected by the aurora crabs, creating imitations of the Northern Lights. About ten more people who were still at the New Crabland outpost see them and decide to go and watch as well.]
004: Oh my — what the hell?! On God, this has gotta be the best [EXPLETIVE] thing I've ever seen in my life!
Kerem McCracken: I told you! You should've came earlier!
[After about thirty more minutes of constant dancing, noises and auroras, the crabs suddenly stop what they're doing and start climbing onto each other, eventually making a heart. Fireworks presumably made with materials on the island are launched into the air, exploding into yellow hearts and infinity symbols.]
David McCracken: Is it over?
002: Aw man, I don't want it to be over!
Kerem McCracken: I think it is. That's sad.
[The seventy people at the shore watch as the crabs put their remarkable show to an end as they quietly burrow into the ground. A few glimpses of crab eggs can be seen. Suddenly, everyone watching goes unconscious for a few seconds and wakes up to find themselves in a new level. Murmurs and whispers can be heard.]
003: Daddy, I'm scared, where are we?
005: Don't worry, son. We're fine! I know this level; it's awesome! There's a ton of food and everything, and-
Kerem McCracken: Stop with your stupid rambling! It's the sunset beach. It's safe and everything.
003: Okay daddy and whatever your name is.
[Kerem rolls his eyes and looks at 003 with a blank face.]
005: His name's Kerem, okay son?
[Back in Level 72, the Sun rises and everyone remaining on the island wakes up. They all decide to go to the shoreline. They are shocked to not only see multitudes of dead crabs, but also that every single member who had went to the shoreline last night have disappeared.]
006: They killed all the crabs and went into hiding! Those stupid scums!
001: Hold up, don't jump to conclusions. As much as I hate Kerem, he's not gonna do anything that bad. It more seems like they just died because of the pain of laying eggs or something? That doesn't happen on Earth, though.
007: What about the males?
001: They're all gone. Maybe they drowned? I-
006: Yo, come here! I see baby crabs running around!
001: Okay, at least the crabs are still there. That's good.
008: But where did David and Kerem and everyone else go?
001: Good question. I… honestly don't know.
007: What if they found the exit we've been looking for for almost a year?!
001: [EXPLETIVE]; I forgot that we were supposed to be finding an exit… I think we're stuck here for another one, aren't we?
007: Oh, go [EXPLETIVE] yourself, you [EXPLETIVE] coward! Next year, you are going to the shoreline or your head is going to the shoreline!
[001 chuckles nervously. Everyone looks at him, blinded with rage. They chase him for a long time before 001 finds a hiding spot and everyone gives up searching for him.]
<End Log>
Epilogue: Level 72 is now confirmed to have an exit, which is to watch the Crabs' Celebration at the sunset of the 31st of December of any year. This event also provides more insight into the level's phenomena and how they force the crabs to act in very peculiar ways. Currently, Kerem, David, and everyone who escaped Level 72 have decided to stay in Level 48 and start a new chapter in their lives. Back in Level 72, the New Crabland outpost has opened themselves to new members, but are still not available to trade with. Extensive research is being conducted on the crabs' behaviours and how they differ from those in the Frontrooms. The status of 001 after the events of this log is unknown to this day.