"I don't get humans with their music these days. All these weird instruments and "deconstruction" of past works. Back in my day, a guy with a lyre in a tavern was good enough. Now we have "ensembles" and "troop performances." Last time I checked they even invented something called a "choir." I don't know what that is, but it sounds terrible."

"Sir, I'd like to note that your exposure to music has been a bit... limited."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well sir, you're a dragon. I rightly expect that when you ask for music, they'll play whatever is less likely to get them eaten."

"You're saying they prefer life over artistic integrity? The gall!"

"You're quite right sir. Those people have no sense of integrity."

-- Interview between Blightmaw the Dreaded and Captive. From, "My Life in a Cave: An Autobiography."

After waking up and eating breakfast, we enter the carving room to find Todd. He is already on a pedestal in the center as he says,

"TODD."

Luna says, "He said that training starts now. He wants us to attack him."

I look worriedly at the urchin, then turn to Luna. "Are you sure? There's two of us and one of him. I don't want him to be hurt."

I barely manage to finish my statement before a stone spear shoots out of the ground in front of me, barely stopping before piercing my eye. It slowly recedes into the ground as I'm stunned. Never mind that I was surprised, that spear was too fast for me to handle even if I knew it was coming. I say,

"On second thought, I think Todd will be fine."

Luna nods and we take our positions. I activate mana reinforcement for my shell, and we stare at Todd. The tension rises and no one moves until I suddenly yell, "NOW!"

I grab Luna and throw her. As she's spinning towards TODD, I'm already cladding my sand armor.

I'm halfway through covering myself as Luna reaches the midway point between Todd and I. Several things occur almost simultaneously. A wall of sand bursts between the urchin and Luna, catching her and stopping her movement. The same wall blocks my view of the urchin as I try to armor up. A slew of sand flies out from the wall and I cross my claws in front of my face, trying to block any projectiles.

It takes me a second to realize that the sand isn't an attack. It's just a cloud reducing visibility in the water. I try to run forward, wanting to provide support to Luna, when I realize I can't move. A gentle pressure pins me in place. I activate a mana ping that reveals spikes growing from the ceiling. They're not piercing my armor, but they encompass my limbs and stop them from moving.

Luna is still struggling. She pulls one of her legs from the wall as she says, [LEG SUBSTITUTION]. She reappears right above Todd, and I sense one of her spare arms appear out of her spatial ring. She manages to say, [LEG]... before half of Todd's spines fly out from his body. They hover gently around every limb and arm she has. She wisely changes her mind about the bomb and says, "I yield."

The earth pinning me melds back into the ceiling and the room returns to normal. I struggle to provide a response. In about ten seconds, Todd had absolutely wrecked us. He had restricted both of our movements, blocked my visibility, and decisively dealt with Luna's counterattack. I had a sneaking suspicion that Luna wouldn't have been able to escape from that wall if he didn't want her to. He says, "TODD."

Luna interprets, "he said to recover our resources then we'll go again. Also, that we need to figure out our path." As we sit down and wait for stamina and mana to refill Luna continues. "I think when he says path, he might be referring to something specific."

I lift a claw in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She says, "Well I've been thinking about it. He said his path is spikes, yes? That's who he is as an urchin, and he's specialized in attacking and defending with them. It seems like he's good at holding a location and controlling the battlefield."

I think about what she said and say, "Yeah... so I guess what he's meaning here is figuring out our roles? Like, who we are as creatures and what we want to be?"

Luna nods, "That sounds like a good plan. But it seems a little easier said than done."

We trail off into a comfortable silence as we recover.

"Alright Luna," I say, whispering so that Todd couldn't hear. "We'll start off the same. This time though, be ready to substitute so you don't get trapped and I'll rush him from the start so that he can't pin me."

She whispers back. "Okay, sounds like a plan."

Once more we wind up in a standoff. This time, I don't even yell, "NOW!" I just grab Luna and throw her. As I release her from my claws, I use the momentum to angle to the right and begin [coast]'ing forward. My legs kick up sand in the water as I move as fast as I can to flank Todd. An earth wall rises to block Luna and she immediately substitutes above it to get in position over Todd. A sand cloud has also reduced visibility once more. Luna and I make it at almost the same time, her materializing in the water above Todd and myself moving around the wall. There we discover... nothing. Todd is nowhere to be seen.

Wait!

There's a small hole on the ground there. I direct a mana ping at it, and I sense a tunnel leading to... the other side of the wall. We both figure it out at the same time, and we spin to turn around. The wall has now turned into stone spears that hover in the water. Behind it, Todd waves the spikes on his body.

I think I might be getting better at understanding his body language because it seems like he's mocking us a little. That suspicion is confirmed as Luna slumps. She says, "Todd would like to remind us to maintain situational awareness. If we're fighting an adept earth manipulator, they can generally travel rapidly through the ground."

We sit down and recover. We try again. I try full tank mode and cautious probing attacks. Pinned and overwhelmed.

We try splitting up and attacking him on opposite sides. Dual walls block each of us and then he burrows to take out one at a time.

We try to get innovative and put Luna's legs in an earthen shell. I then throw them through the water to set up a minefield that Luna can remotely detonate. Todd rises to the ceiling on a pillar of stone and then attaches himself there. Then, pillars of earth encompass around the bombs and bury them. This is happening as we're running around the walls he previously set up. As we turn the corner we run headlong into another wall of his personal spikes.

Luna loses it.

"I'M TIRED OF THIS! WE CAN'T EVEN GET CLOSE!!"

I try to calm her down. "It's okay Luna... I'm sure we're getting better! We've never even tried that minefield before!"

By this time Todd has reset on the ground, and the area has returned to normal, his spikes returned to his body. Luna continues to rant,

"NO! I CAN LITERALLY TELEPORT AND I STILL CAN'T TOUCH HIM!!"

I pat her on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We'll get there eventually... take a deep breath and..."

"ARGH!!!" She yells and flips her body back. Eyes wide, I'm stunned to see what happens next. She winds back and throws one of her arms forward. As it reaches the furthest extension from her body, she detaches it and the momentum of her throw hurls it through the water.

Todd lifts a wall to block the projectile. As it strikes, Luna has already sacrificed another leg to substitute above him. He's ready though, and his personal spikes rise to intercept her. Yet she somehow jerks sideways mid-water; abruptly dodging the spikes and hurtling at an angle towards the floor. I flicker on [Mana Sense] and see a line of mana attaching her body to the leg she just threw.

She's using the line to pull herself out of the way of Todd's attack. After the dodge, she's close to the ground and parallel to Todd. She substitutes once more to get right in front of him. She manages to activate [LEG BOMB] just as Todd displays a new skill. It must be some kind of ultimate defense, because all I see is a bright golden glow before he's completely covered in a rock dome. The explosion of Luna's skill blasts her backwards and she's lying on the ground, panting in exhaustion.

I rush over to help her as Todd emerges from the shell. He moves slowly over to us and then says.

"GOOD."

As I'm looking over her to see if she's okay she pants, "I... got a... new skill."

I raise my claws in excitement. "Really? That's awesome! What is it?

As she recovers, her voice returns to normal and she says, "It's called [LEG CHAINS]. As long as one of my legs is anchored somewhere, I can attach mana threads to it and use it to pull me through the water."

I think about the implications of a skill like that. She can set up or use multiple anchor points in a fight. Then, she could stop, move, and reposition three dimensionally in the water. And finally, the substitution would let her move in close for a killing blow or retreat as needed. It seemed to solve most of her speed and movement problems.

I wave my claws in the air and [coast] back and forth. "That's great! I'm so happy for you!"

Her silver bands darken as she blushes. "Thanks Crabby. But I think... I think that's all I have for today. I need to save some legs for tomorrows training."

Todd says,

"REST. MEDITATE ON PATH."

I accompany her as we break for dinner.

That night, as I'm lying sleepless on the kelp, I think about the training we underwent today. What is my role? Luna's role seems to be about the extreme attack. Zooming in and out and making one or two big hits. If she wasn't with me, she'd be hiding and ambushing while doing that. And me? What am I supposed to be doing?

I think about my fights so far. Even with my buff's and anchoring myself to the floor, I usually barely match the opponent in strength. And I'm slow and stationary... an easy target. I am a small crab after all. I pull up my status.

'Status.'

Character Screen Name: Sir Crabby McCrabbington I Age: 8 Months Level: 10 Class: Apprentice of the Coasts Race: Elemental Crab Titles: Triumvirate Unveiled, Kiss from a Crab, Luck of the Crab, Lore Contributor II, Bridge Between Health: 230/230 H-Regen: 0.23/sec Mana: 360/360 M-Regen: 0.38/sec Stamina: 440/440 S-Regen: 0.44/sec Basic Stats Strength: 21 Wisdom: 38 Vitality: 23 Intelligence: 36 Dexterity: 27 Charisma: 34 More...

I'm level ten now. And my highest stats are in wisdom and intelligence. I don't think I'm cut out for just pure strength or melee combat. I look at my shell, reflecting on my own body. Even with my sand armor, I can't provide total damage protection and there's a limit to how much I can put on before my joints are unable to move. I look at my ten legs as I realize... I have a lot of joints.

Hmm... I decide to try something new. Just as when I searched for facts about sects, I go into my mind. With [Eyes of Intent] I look for information on roles and paths. Vague ideas and flashes of knowledge flow by me, giving me insight into fighting archetypes. I see a fully armored orc, clad in shining mail, ignoring blows from tens of foes. I see a small goblin mage, frail and in the back, holding aloft a staff brimming with fire. I see a human healer, their robe pure white, offering a glowing hand to an injured comrade.

Flashes and glimpses stream through, yet none catch my attention. None seem to fit me, Sir Crabby. As a slowly growing despair builds within, I pause on an idea. In it, I see an elf running through the woods. He's wearing a suit of medium armor, finely made, and carries a sword at his waist. As he flows through the forest, it's as if he's cutting through the air, a dim shimmer of mana surrounding his body.

He moves faster and faster, before arriving at a scene of a battle. There, mutated bears are attacking a small party of adventurers. As he slides through the air, he pulls the sword from its scabbard. The weapon flashes down, and as it moves, the mana surrounding him seems to coat the weapon, increasing speed and sharpness. It cuts into the monster, before the elf disengages and moves to another creature, already preparing to strike.

I struggle to hold onto the images as they grow dim until eventually I'm forced away from the mental space. As the information fades away, I'm left with an impression of the role I had just seen. As if on the wind I hear a gentle whisper. It sings to something deep within me, a role that I had been searching for, but had never known.

I'm forced out of the area as my mental strength fades.

I look down at my claws. I pull up my skills and look at the elemental manipulations. I look at my stats as I make a decision. No hulking warrior of the deep shall I be. No weak mage, hiding in the back and blasting magic at his enemies. I shall not be the tender healer, mending his allies. Nor the wandering bard, a thousand skills but master of none. No... I will wield claw and magic as one, neither warrior nor mage nor support. I will slice my foes as I split the line between magic and combat.

My path will be a spell claw!!