"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was."

"I'm going to need you to dial your expectations down a little."

"To bake bread is my real quest, to raise dough is my cause."

"You're a new hire, you're going to be at the counter alright?"

"I will travel across the town, searching far and wide."

"The heck you will."

"Each pastry tasted to understand, the filling's that’s inside!"

"You're my sister's son, but if this keeps on, I'm going to fire you."

--Interview at a bakery, From: "The Dough-Man: A guide to Unusual Classes." AC 1021.

The day starts anew. We return to training, Luna and I. Just two figures in a desperate struggle to land a hit on an urchin. Luna's new ability provides her with increased mobility and she's able to join and retreat from combat as needed. For myself? Well, I was struggling a bit with my decided role.

"SIR CRABBY!!! HOOOOO!!!"

'ding'

**Sir Crabby's Music has been applied.**

**Effect: +30% increase to STR, DEX.**

**Effect: 2 minutes, 30 seconds remaining**

Luna is engaging Todd, pulling herself in and out trying to bait his attacks. While she keeps him occupied, I try to close in. My every effort is in vain. I'm not fast enough to outrun his battlefield control, and I'm not strong enough to break his skills. As the day passes my optimism gives way to despair. I know the role I want in our team, but I can't seem to find my way there.

As Luna and I recover after a particularly hard lost battle, Todd joins us. He says,

"TODD."

And Luna translates,

"He wants to know what's wrong? He says that it seems that your energy and drive has decreased. He also wants to know if you've discovered your path."

My pain flares to anger as I bite out my response.

"Yes, I know what I want to do." I describe the role of the claw blade as I envisioned it. A medium armored attacker who moves swiftly and is able to engage the enemy with skills and weapons. A fusion between warrior and mage, not as specialized as either but a synergy of both. My rant trails off into silence and I say, "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you Todd. It's just frustrating to have an idea and not be able to see it through."

Everyone is silent as my words echo in the room. Finally, Todd says,

"CRAB... IS... DIFFERENT THAN LUNA. LUNA... FEELS STRONGLY. CRAB...THINKS HARD. LEAN... ON STRENGTH. FIND PATH."

I nod and prepare to climb to my feet to fight once more. Todd says,

"NO... CRAB STAY. CRAB THINK. LUNA FIGHT ALONE."

A spike of pain courses through my shell at Todd's words. But it may be for the best. I try to put some cheer into my speech as I tell Luna, "Hey, you go ahead and practice with Todd. I'm going to go in the other room and try to figure this out."

She says, "Are you sure? I don't..."

"No, no." I wave a claw at her. "I'll be fine. I'll be back in a while."

I leave them in the carving room and return to the side area. I sit down and pull up my skills, trying to search and find a way for them to work together. As I consider each one an idea begins to grow. My stalks flicker between [Eyes of Intent] and [Natural Camouflage]. I received the second as a function of my prior mundane crab race. I've almost solely abandoned it by this point due to its uselessness. Not that it was terrible, but I think the dungeon and its creatures can tell where I am regardless of my efforts to hide.

I look at the description of the camouflage skill.

"Shift your color to match surroundings. Speed/Accuracy improves with skill level."

That's... that's changing the structure of my shell. I activate the skill and examine my claws with sight and mana. Yep, the color change is done at a physical level. Hmm... I remember the feeling I received from the elf sprinting through the woods. He seemed to cut through the air... aided by the mana covering his body. The feeling of it was similar to what camouflage did. Except, instead of stamina it was a physical change brought on by mana.

I decide to try my idea out. I enter my mental space and float motionless in the dark. I take a moment to center myself, breathing deeply in the calm as I focus. Then, I bring up [Natural Camouflage], [Mana Manipulation], [Slice], [Coast] and [Eyes of Intent]. I activate my eyes, bearing my will down on [Natural Camouflage] as I express my desired end state.

I pull from [Mana Manipulation] for the idea of reinforcement, using the skill as I have in the past. I pull from [Slice] the idea of cutting through substance, making a new path from what was once a whole. I pull from [Coast] for the concepts of water and earth, the separation between elements and the flow of movement.

I take the disparate skill parts, my mind and will shuddering with the weight of the effort, and I bend them towards the screen in front of me. This skill is not in my path. I am not a lurker in the dark... hiding to make a strike. No, I am an Apprentice of the Coast and what I can't use... I... will...

BREAK!!!!

*crack*

'ding'

You have broken the skill [Natural Camouflage I].

You have reforged [Natural Camouflage I].

You have gained a new skill.

You have gained a new title.

'ding'

Name: Skill Smith Feat: Broken and Reforged a [Skill] Effect: +1% to All Stats Lore: "When all you have is a hammer, every [skill] looks like an ingot." - Dwarf Saying

The skill gives way, the mounting pressure releasing as I'm ejected from the mental space. I'm shaking, my mind and will weary from the effort. Still, as I pull up my new status and skill, I can't help but break into a smile.

Character Screen Name: Sir Crabby McCrabbington I Age: 9 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, Skill Smith 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: 28 Charisma: 34

I now have +2% to all physical stats. The increase changed my dexterity from 27 to 28. I pause for a moment as I see the age category. It's been several weeks now since you've entered the dungeon. You're one month older Crabby. I set my musings aside before I start to grow sad. Noting the minor changes, I move on to my new skill.

New Skill!

Skill: Cutting Mask II Lvl: 1 Effects: Your form shifts to cut through elemental obstruction. Current Bonus: 5% faster speed/fluidity Cost: 1 Stamina per second, 1 Mana per second. Lore: "I am the wind. I am water, earth and fire. I am... {REDACTED}.” - {REDACTED}

I've been using [Coast] this whole time, and while it's great for faster actions and movement, it doesn't do anything to help with adverse terrain. Looking at [Cutting Mask] I can see it starts at tier II. Which is strange, but maybe it was because I deconstructed [Natural Camouflage] to help make it? Or maybe it's something else? Maybe the skill can only be gained at that tier? More to investigate later.

I'm also happy to note from its effects that it has a .5 improvement per level. Which now lines up with [Coast] and [Slice]. Previously [Natural Camouflage] only improved .4 per level. Which lends credence to my theory of it being a higher quality skill. Its costs have increased though. Camouflage only cost stamina, but now [Cutting Mask] costs both stamina and mana. I active the skill to test its effects.

I feel a wave ripple through my body. As I look down at my claws, I can see the chitin subtly shift. The curves become smoother, the edges sharper. I look closer, activating [Mana sense] and see a tiny edge projected from the angles. I slowly move my claw through the water; and as my arm moves, I see the edge gently slicing the water.

I jump to my feet and activate [Coast]. I walk through the room, and it's as if I can't even feel the weight or density of the water surrounding me. It's not a total reduction of course, but I've dealt with the constant pressure and weight of my environment this entire time. Each and every improvement is drastically notable.

I go to rejoin Luna and Todd in the carving room. As I enter, I see Luna recovering from a bout. She turns to me and says, "You look different."

I look down at myself, at my familiar blue colors, legs and stalks. Yep, everything is still the same. I ask her, "how so?"

She says, "I don't know. It's hard to put it in words. You just seem... sharp? edgy? No, that doesn't make sense."

I laugh and explain that I gained a new skill. We're both buoyed by excitement as we wait for Luna to recover. I stare eagerly at Todd. My mandibles climb into a crabby grin as I think to myself,

He's not going to know what hit him.