“How are you feeling?”

Nar glanced up.

“Gad?”

“Who else?”

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

She snorted.

“I know! It’s been three hours,” she said. “I thought I’d come check on you, before you melted what little brain you have.”

Nar frowned at her.

“I’m messing. What are you thinking so hard about?”

Nar sighed. “I’ve realized that I can’t tank. Not like you anyways.”

Gad sat down next to him. “Why do you say that?”

“You don’t agree?”

“I would like to understand why you said that,” she said instead.

“Hmm.”

Nar lifted his sword, which rested over his knees.

“I’m not really sure where to start. Everything is still just a big jumble of ideas and ifs and maybes. But…”

He passed the sword to Gad. She was taken aback, but accepted the weapon into her hands, holding it with a care she didn’t use for her own weapons.

“Might as well start with this sword, I guess” Nar said, eyeing the weapon in her hands. “The most important thing in all of this, is that I have no idea how to use it. I don’t know how to hold it properly. I don’t know how to wield it in the most efficient way. Most of the time, I use it like a club, or a hammer.”

“Makes sense,” Gad said, nodding. “But I’d argue that it’s the same for all of us. I’m sure there's much more I can do with my shield and mace, both individually and together. We will all need actual teaching after the Climb.”

“I know that. But your weapons are, or at least, they feel more straightforward when you combine them with your role,” Nar said. “You’re a tank. You stand your ground and you let the enemy come to you. Your shield absorbs their hits, and you use your mace to get in quick damage in between their attacks. Right? And the same goes for Viy’s spear, or Mul’s knuckles. I’m sure there are ways to use them defensively, but for what we know, they stab, thrust or punch stuff. The basics are there, and they’re solid. Tuk’s rings are the same.”

Gad handed the sword back. “You’re leaving out Cen’s staff and Kur’s scepter, because they don’t fit that idea. We still don’t know what they do yet.”

“Yes, but…”

She raised her hand and stopped him.

“Maybe Cen’s staff is nothing but a focus for her [Aura], since she has no magic yet. And yes, Kur’s scepter is, honestly, beyond me. But I argue that there is still much more to Tuk’s rings, and to all of our weapons in fact, than what you think.”

“I don’t doubt that. All I meant was that they were suitable for their roles,” Nar said. He tapped his sword. “This though, is not a shield. I can block with it, but I always end up using my arms for cover. And if it's for DPS, I don’t have the stats for it. I’m right in the middle, I have less [Constitution] than you and less [Strength] than Mul. And I lack your tank and his DPS skills.”

Gad leaned back, resting her hands on the floor behind her.

She peered at him through half-closed eyes.

“If this is some weird way of asking me how much [Constitution] I have...”

“What? No!”

She chuckled.

“Again, I’m messing. And I have no problem telling you. I have 27 points of [Constitution] and 16 in [Strength]. But!” she raised a finger. “But… And I will let you continue.”

Nar frowned at her. “Why do I have the feeling that you already know what I’m going to say?”

“Keep talking and you’ll find you.”

Nar snorted.

“Fine… So, not to be offensive…”

“It’s okay. Just a statement of facts.”

“Yes. Well, I’m faster than you.”

She laughed. “Yes, and by a lot. There’s no need to root around the pile if you already know what you’re going to grab. It’s okay Nar, you’re amongst your party. Just say it.”

Nar scratched his head, refusing to make eye contact with her.

“And look at me,” Gad said. “Crystal. Tuk is right, man. We need to do some work on you.”

Nar shook his head. He had never had problems with people. Only with the Clean, which they all were. It was still a struggle for him, to push past years of abuse. But he was getting there.

“Whatever,” he said, throwing up his hand. “Fine. I’m a lot faster than you. I probably have a lot more [Agility] as well. Not to mention, I have [Reflex] at 12 points.”

“Mine’s at 3. [Speed] and [Agility] are better, but I won’t kid myself.”

“Yes. So, if I add in my senses, my [Hearing], [Sight] and [Instinct], to my [Speed], [Agility] and [Reflex], it means that I’m not only very fast, but that I can also move very well, and react very well, while also being fast. Also… Wait, what's your stamina like?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“18.”

“Oh, that’s the same as mine.”

She frowned. “Really? Are all your stats into sense and movement attributes?”

Nar knew she could read the lie from his face if he didn’t come up with something good. At the same time, his nervous swallow, shifty gaze and hesitation, gave her everything she needed.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh.

“Forget I asked. I’m happy enough you’re talking to me like this.”

“I… I’m not that bad, am I?” he asked, half seriously, half to deflect her away from what he had refused to say.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “You tell me? This is what, the second proper conversation that I’ve gotten out of you in like three months?”

“I… We’ve talked!”

“We’ve exchanged pleasantries! Talked a little bit about tanking! The only time we ever actually talked was after the tutorial!”

She sighed in exasperation.

“You don’t talk, Nar,” she said, her eyes boring into his. “And that is part of the problem! I got tired of waiting for you to realize that you needed help, and came to force it on you!”

Nar was taken aback.

“Can you deny it?” she asked. “I know that Kur told you were missing something, all the way back then.”

“You did?”

“Of course! That room was tiny! Everybody heard it!”

Nar’s face fell.

“And it’s alright,” she said. “Yes, he wanted you to try and figure it out, but if you couldn’t, you were supposed to ask for help. Not just agonize about it inside your own dumb head!”

Nar lowered his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“And you should be! Ugh!”

She scratched furiously in between the spines of her scalp, and glared at him when he didn’t say anything.

“Well, don’t stop now! You’re finally talking! So keep talking! What did you finally figure out?”

Nar sagged before her fury. “I’m sorry…”

“Talk!”

Nar swallowed and looked at his sword.

“I-I… Okay. Okay.”

He took a deep breath.

“I need to use my sword better. I need to use my movement stats better. And I need to use my senses better. When I put it all together, I realized that I can't tank like you. I need to go to the damage. I need to chase it. Anticipate it. I can’t aggro it, or block it. But I can deflect it. I can dodge it. I can parry it.”

“Hmm-hmm,” she made, telling him to continue.

“It sounds like a good idea. It sounds like it could really work,” Nar said, grasping for his thoughts. “I mean. It bothers me, not being able to tank. And I worry about my attributes and what kind of path this will build…”

“But?”

“But, right now, it's what makes sense. For what I can do, and for the party. You are the main tank, our center holding everything together. While I can run around us, getting to the damage before it becomes a problem. I… N-No?”

Gad’s face didn’t even twitch.

Nar shifted his weight, and stretched his leg, unsure of what to do under that deep, black stare.

She sighed. “About time.”

“I… Was it that obvious?” he asked.

She shook her head, and incredulous laughter escaped her lips.

“It was to me. And to Kur. I don't know about the others.”

“But how? It’s nothing like what I expected tanking to be!” he said.

“Ah, Nar. Do you remember when I asked you what a tank’s job was?” she asked him.

Nar frowned. “Yes. You said it wasn’t to take damage, but to protect the party.”

“Yes. And what difference is there, between protecting the party with a shield, or with your sword, against a volley of poisonous bolts? Aren’t they both protecting the party, even if in different ways? One blocking, the other parrying them in the air? The important bit is that nobody gets hit!”

Nar worked his mouth, but no words came out.

“I think what happened was that you confused tanking with durability,” she said. “Yes, I can take a lot more punishment than you, but I don’t have your [Quickening], nor the DPS that comes with it. And yes, I said DPS. Speed gives you damage, Nar. More than that, it gives you protection. The ability to be where you need to be, moving freely, without being caught, without getting hit, protecting us, and dishing out DPS as you want to. Is that not the definition of a true hybrid class? Is that not the best of both roles, even if in different ways?”

Nar stared at her, stunned, his mind working furiously.

“But… I get hit.”

She shrugged. “And you couldn’t stop those bolts either. Not yet. Just get better, Nar. Get more attributes, embrace your senses… Eventually, you’ll get there.”

Nar exhaled slowly. “And what happens when there’s something I can’t run away from? What if I can’t dodge it, or parry it, or block it. What then?”

Gad leaned into him, her dark eyes taking his entire field of vision.

“Then you cut it.”

“What?” he whispered.

“You cut it,” she repeated.

She leaned away from him and crossed her arms.

“Tanking is tanking. It doesn’t matter if you block it with your shield, if you parry it with your sword or if you take it to the face. As long as the damage is not getting to the party, it's tanking,” Gad said. “And if you can't do anything else, why not just cut through whatever it is? That’s the other half of your path, the DPS, is it not? You’re not supposed to just tank, remember?”

Nar stared at her for a few long seconds, then he burst out laughing.

“So, what am I supposed to do then, damage tanking?”

“Maybe,” Gad said. “Although what me and Kur came up with was speed tanking.”

“You guys already talked about this?” he asked, incredulous.

“People talk, Nar. Learn from this and talk!”

He closed his eyes and passed a hand over his hair.

“Anyways, speed taking made sense to us,” gad continued. “You have the speed and all the other stuff needed to be an incredibly fast and agile fighter. You don’t have my level of [Constitution] but you have enough to suffer the occasional mistake and survive. That blow would have killed Mul. Or Cen. Or any of them, except us two. I can take them on my shield, no problem. But you, you can take it once or twice on your HP when you mess up. And, when you manage to sort out the DPS half of things, you won’t just be running around as you say, but actively cutting down the enemy before they can even hit you, or us. You will be both shield and sword, something none of us can ever hope to achieve.”

Nar held his head in hands. It hurt. It pounded with all the sense that Gad had beaten into him.

How did I miss it?

How had he failed to see it? How had he not noticed it, from his gains, and from his [Quickening]? He couldn’t tank like Gad, but a different path had been right there, opening for him, staring him in the face. It was not what he had wanted, but damn, how could he say no to something like that?

However, was it even possible to reach what she suggested? It sounded too good to be true.

“Your path does not sound so bad, now, does it?” she asked him. “Honestly? It sounds terrifying. If you can make it work, I wouldn’t want to fight you.”

Nar shook his head.

“It’s a beautiful dream, I can’t deny that.”

“Is it that far-fetched?” she asked, getting up. Viy was muttering in her sleep again, and was twisting harder than Jul could hope to hold her down. “You have the attributes to start it, an endless stream of difficult enemies to practice on and get gains, and, most importantly, a party willing to do anything to support you, as you build this path. So, what's stopping you?”

Her shadow covered him, and her eyes glinted in the yellow light, daring him to answer negatively.

She believes it… That if I just work hard enough, I can actually do this? She’s insane… he thought.

“Think about it,” she said. “But don’t think too hard. It’s not that complicated. The only thing complicating it is you. You wanted this path, and now, it's right here, in front of you. You just need the courage to build it now. So what will it be?”

And with that question, she left to go help Jul.

She didn’t look behind her to check if he was staring at her, or what his face looked like. Her steps didn’t falter. She didn’t trip. She had come to say what she needed to say, and now, she was moving on to the next person in need.

Always charging forward. Slow and heavy, yes. But never clumsy. No. She was ever confident. Measured. Unbreakable.

Gad was a true tank. The mighty core that kept the party standing, and walking, day after day, closer to their freedom. And she had opened his eyes.

She had shown him the path to success. To the O-Nex, and perhaps even back to his dad.

He knew that there was only one answer to her question.

He had to make it happen.