“I realize we never introduced ourselves,” the red leader said.

It had been a quiet night. The other party had been exhausted after their ordeal, and Kur had ordered them to bed early, so that they wouldn’t disturb their sleep.

Nar had stayed up late, however, listening to Rel tossing and turning. She mumbled in her sleep, and he managed to catch a few words here and there. They were mostly begging and pleading, and they set his blood to boiling. It reminded him of how Jul used to be.

The arrival of morning was abrupt and merciless, and Nar nursed a headache as he walked at the tail of the group.

“Understandable,” Kur said. “You guys were…”

“Wrecked?” the red leader offered.

“Yeah.”

The guy seemed much better today. Almost unbelievably so, and definitely much better than Nar had expected him to be. Whether he was just hiding his pain, or he was just trying his best to fit into their party as soon as possible, to ensure that he and his party could stay, Nar couldn’t guess.

“Well, my name is Tas, and the silent guy is Wik. Rel, I introduced yesterday.”

He lapsed into a long silence after that, and Kur didn’t press him.

I guess he’s just hiding it after all, Nar thought, staring at Tas’ hunched back.

“Sorry, yes, hmmm,” he said, as if waking himself up. “Ah! I know, I bet you were surprised by my appearance, no?”

Tuk nearly leaped at him. “Yes! I’ve been wondering this whole time! You’re not a red human, are you?”

Tas managed a short laugh to match the trugger’s enthusiasm.

“No, not all. I’m a zeibar, of the zeibari race.”

“Woah!”

“And Rel here, is an alfin. Not sure if you’ve met one of her kind before?”

“Never,” Tuk said, breathing the word more than speaking it.

“And Wik is a human, as you can see.”

Wik the human grunted in acknowledgement.

Maybe he and Mul can be friends, Nar thought. They seemed to share the same grumpy disposition towards everything.

“As for you, I’ve seen altei, lengos, morsvar, quam, and humans, of course. But you, Tuk, I’ve never seen one like you before.”

Tuk puffed his chest, swelling with pride and joy. “Well, I am a trugger. Plural is just truggers. Arms are long and double jointed, as you can see, and so are the fingers. Top and bottom.”

“Indeed, I can. That’s impressive,” Tas said, smiling at the display of fingers at his face.

“Ours are the fastest and most agile fingers of all. Hence, why I’m such a good ring tosser.”

“Ring tosser?”

Tuk got out his rings and sent them circling around the party in less time than it took Nar to blink.

“By the… That’s amazing!” Tas shouted.

He followed the flight paths of the rings with wide eyes and a gaping mouth that revealed very dark, but normal looking teeth.

“The things you see out here…” he said, marveling.

“I can make it even more impressive. Watch!”

“Tuk! You’re going to slit someone’s throat. Put them away,” Kur said, with a half-smile.

Tuk tutted. “I was just getting to the best part…”

Tas patted his shoulder.

“I’m sure I’ll get to see it. Hopefully on those… Things.”

Nar couldn’t see Tas’ face, but the tone change was unmistakable. As was the thirst for blood and violence that weighed in his words. It made Nar wonder if Tas was itching to find some more cannibals to exact his revenge upon.

Well, not like I can blame him for it, Nar thought.

“I’m sure you will, man,” Tuk said, nodding effusively. “I’m telling you, these fingers were wasted as an operator.”

“Operator?”

Tuk frowned at him. “Yeah, you know, we use our [Aura] and we push it into the machines?”

“Ohhh. We call them conductors where we come from!”

“No way! This is the first time I’ve heard anyone calling it by a different name,” Cen said.

“Really?” Tas asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Hmm. So far everything’s been pretty similar between Climbers,” Tuk said. “We even had to defend a cubeplant that failed their quota! There were hundreds of Climbers there, and we fought against an army of cannibals!”

“That’s insane!” Tas whispered.

“Yeah! There were thousands and thousands of them! But in the end, we won! And we even got to stay inside the cubeplant for a night. It was basically the same. The pile and everything.”

“The pile?”

“Tuk, come on, stop bothering Tas,” Kur chided him.

“I’m not, am I?” Tuk asked, throwing a pitiful look at Tas.

“No, of course not! I’m enjoying learning about all these new things. In fact, I’m…”

“Guardians!” Jul shouted.

Nar’s sword was on his hand at once, and he rushed forward, dashing through his party. They were well practiced in these encounters by now, and a corridor had been immediately opened to let him run to the front of the party.

Tas’ hand stopped him dead on his tracks.

“What are you doing?” he asked, stunned.

Just as stunned, Nar stared up from the hand that had so easily blocked his charge, to its owner.

“The-The bolts! I have to…”

“The bolts? What? No! Rel will take care of that.”

As Tas spoke, Nar heard the twang of a bow. Three more followed in quick succession, and all four arrows sailed through the warm air.

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Nar could just about catch a glimpse of them, as they pierced into the darkness ahead of them. A split second later, he heard them hit the poisoner in the shadows. No bolts flew at them in retaliation.

The soldier guardian rolled out from the shadows, and Gad held her ground to stop it.

“See?” Tas asked Nar, letting go of him. “No bolts.”

“H-How?” Nar asked, shocked.

“She shot the little tubes from where they are fired from,” Tas said, matter-of-factly.

“Is that possible?” Tuk asked, staring at Rel.

“It is with her skill, [Quickdraw 3]. It lets her see better, aim better, and draw and shoot faster. Not sure if she can manage it without the skill, though. We haven’t risked it.”

“Not yet,” Rel said. “One day.”

It was the first time she spoke. Her voice was raspy, dry. It matched her look perfectly.

Seriously, what happened to her? Nar asked himself, still stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Tas smiled at her and nodded. “Yes, one day.”

“Wait. Did you just say 3? For her skill? What level are you guys?” Tuk asked.

“Later!” Kur shouted. “We’re still in a fight”

“Ah, yes! Sorry!”

“No need to worry!” Tas shouted. “Watch. Wik! Crack it open!”

The silent spearman didn’t even bother grunting this time. He bent low and shot forward.

What the…

Nar’s brain could not make sense of what had just happened. One moment the spearman was behind Viy, then next he was right next to Gad, knee deep into the guardian’s arms. And his spear!

“How did he do that?” Mul whispered.

The spear had stabbed right through the guardian's armor, where the leg met its body. The guardian garbled mechanically and spasmed, tumbling to one side.

Wik pulled out his spear with an effortless flick, widening the stab into a gash on the side of the soldier.

“The soldier’s tough, but there’s a trick to it,” Tas explained. “Its limbs are arranged in a circular, hexagonal pattern, and so are the armor plates underneath. However, on either side of it, there are two small holes in the armor, where some circuitry passes through. If you angle your attack correctly, into those two spots, which are guarded by limbs, then you can bypass all that armor. It's simple really!”

Nar’s jaw hung loose.

Simple?

One still had to angle their attack correctly, time it to avoid the limb in question, while still looking for an opening through the mass of frenzied limbs. Add to it that one needed to account for the guardian’s movements, and the whole thing sounded absolutely impossible.

It was insane!

“Wik did it by showing off his [Lunge], a new skill he got recently,” Tas said, giving the spearman a scolding stare. “But anyone can do it! Although it will probably take more than one hit to get that effect. Or, you know, a few attempts to actually hit the right spot. It’s not that big…”

Tas raised his hand, and spaced out his thumb and index to show them.

“Crystal! That’s smaller than my rings!” Tuk said, aghast.

Mul looked from the red party leader, to the still twitching soldier guardian. His mouth was open, and his face was a mask of complete and utter perplexion.

The rest of them all shared similar facial expressions. Only Gad kept a neutral face, as she stared down at the broken machine at her feet.

Wik, pointed at the downed, trashing guardian with his spear.

“You guys finish it. I’m going to kill the other one.”

With that said, he stalked off into the darkness, from where Nar could hear the sounds of the disrupted poisoner.

“Hey! Is he going to be okay?” Kur asked.

“Don’t worry, he has some [Sight]. And Rel already took care of the bolts. The rest is easy,” Tas said. “Also, I’m sorry. We didn't mean to come in here and take over.”

“No, by all means!” Kur said. “We didn’t even know that’s how you did it. Viy, Mul, finish it.”

While the two DPS moved in to attack the opening that Wik had made, Tas stared at Kur with a frown.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “How have you been killing them?”

Kur looked down, a blush tinting his features.

“Well, we’ve been relying on Cen’s and Tuk’s [Aura]. We had no idea that…”

“I’m sorry, did you just say [Aura]?”

Kur froze. Tas looked less red and more purple now. Nar watched pain, disbelief, and finally, anger, settle over the other party leader’s face.

“No! Tell me you haven’t!”

He searched Tuk’s and Cen’s face for any hint that they were lying.

“I’m sorry? It’s true. But…”

“No! You need to stop! You need to stop right now!” Tas shouted.

“Hey, we’ve been using it fine! We’ve been just fine before you came along!” Mul said.

Behind them, the soldier lay dead, with Viy’s spear buried all the way into it. How much of the work had been done by Wik’s initial attack, and how much had been done by them, Nar had no idea. But he was inclined to think it had been mostly Wik’s damage.

“I’m not trying to be rude!” Tas said, raising his voice further. “I’m trying to save you! Save your paths! Save your magic!”

“There is no magic!” Cen said, just as loud as he. “We waited and waited, and it never came. Nobody else we met had magic yet!”

“That’s because your level’s too low!” Tas said, raising his voice even higher. “What level are you now?”

“Fif-fifteen?” Cen said, shaken.

“By the… You guys! Our caster learned magic at level 20! He got fire!”

It was like he slapped everyone in their party, all in one go.

“He… What?” Cen asked.

She inhaled slowly, and then forgot to exhale back out.

“[Fire Bolt],” Rel said, joining in the conversation. “Hottest, brightest thing I’ve ever seen. It melted the guardians right off. In one hit. Even the soldiers.”

Tas nodded furiously, his expression still a deep shade of purple.

“Sometimes, when we were feeling lazy, I would just point him at the guardians and let him burn up the whole corridor,” he said. “With magic! Real magic, using [Aether]!”

Nar leaned against the wall. The floor had started moving under him.

“Is that… Is that true?” Cen whispered.

Nar looked at her. She looked shattered. She sounded shattered.

“There’s magic?” she asked, in a tiny little voice.

Mul came running up to her.

“Cen, it’s okay. You didn’t know. None of us knew!”

She took her brother's hand limply, and stared at him.

Lost, defeated. The regret poured out of her eyes and down her face.

“What about the non-casters? The DPS, like me?” Tuk asked. “I also use [Aura]!”

Tas shook his head. “There was nothing. But maybe it just takes a bit longer for the rest of us. We’re not casters after all.”

Tuk looked at Kur, searching for something. Anything. But Kur just looked pale, and as stunned and speechless as the rest of them.

“Look, guys. This is not so bad…” Tas said, grimacing. “You’re level 15. We can fix this. Just stop using [Aura]. Completely! No more from now on, unless there’s really no other way out.”

“But-But the Sentry… The cannibals. The bridge!” Kur said. “All the other casters were using [Aura] too!”

“I don’t know how that happened. We’ve never met anyone using [Aura],” Tas said, his eyes very wide.

“How did you get through?” Nar asked him.

“Well, the Sentry was tough, but we figured it out. The green lights on its body were all weak spots. Rel and our caster took it out between the two of them. And our caster only ever used his normal staff attack. You know, the little puffs of air? The rest of us kept the other guardians away from them… As for the bridge, I figured out that if we didn’t kill any of the guardians on the bridge, no more would come out. We just let them run all the way to our side, then taunted them and went in behind them. Unfortunately, we still lost two people.”

Kur looked like he was about to faint. “Only two…”

“But she has a skill!” Mul shouted.

“A trick!” Tas said, growing purple again. “Come on! Look at the shit they’re putting us through in this Climb! Do you honestly believe they would just hand out something that made everything easier? Come on, use your brains!”

It was a test… My Crystal. It was all a test after all… Nar thought.

He didn’t even know how to react to that revelation… Part of him had slowly started to accept that eventually, he too would be forced to use his [Aura]. But now…

“You shouldn’t have allowed it!” Tas said, yelling at Kur. “Their paths could’ve been broken! Forever! It’s your duty to ensure they build the right paths!”

“I-I didn’t know!” Kur cried, sounding like he was on the verge of tears himself. “I just tried to do what was best for us! I did what I could!”

Tas sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to reign in his temper.

“Look. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I-I just panicked. I don't want you guys to destroy your paths before they even start.”

“I didn’t think of those things…” Kur said, almost whispering it. “None of them.”

“I know. Look. I’ve always been good at using my head, okay? And my class change, the [Basic Strategist Leader], helps me even more. It gives me some really cool attributes that make everything move faster up here,” Tas said, tapping the side of his head. “It helps me see the patterns. Notice the things others miss. Make the connections that much quicker, you know?”

Kur nodded numbly.

“Look. All I’m saying is, me and my guys know a good deal more than you guys. We’ve been through a lot. We know a lot and we are at a higher level than you. I'm 23, Rel’s at 21, and Wik’s at 27. So, for a bit, just let us take the lead, and help train you guys, ok?”

Kur nodded once more, almost listless.

Nar looked to the darkness ahead of the party.

Behind Gad, Wik sauntered back in from the darkness, having apparently finished the poisoner without any problems. As he passed by their tank, who had remained strangely quiet during the whole exchange, Nar noticed that Gad still kept her face neutral. Almost blank. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Although, pile! He couldn't even tell what he himself was thinking.

“Look, I’m not trying to take your place, or anything. Just watch me and mine for a few days. See how we do things. I’m sure we’ll all learn from each other, and come out better and stronger from it,” Tas said, squeezing Kur’s shoulder.

“Yes… I-Yes, of course,” Kur said.

Tas looked around him, taking in the various stages of shock and grief in Kur’s party. Cen was crying into Mul’s shoulder. Tuk was looking at his rings as if they didn’t belong to him. Viy was silent as always, but the shock at the sudden turn of events had affected even her. Gad moved next to her, protective as always. Jul was looking at the darkness, with her back towards them. And Nar… Well, Nar was just speechless, leaning against the wall as if to keep from falling.

The zeibar sighed. “Kur. Come on. Let’s go talk over there. I might have been a bit harsh with my words.”

Kur allowed himself to be guided away from the party, and they stood where they were. Lost and confused. Even destroyed.