“Private Luke, you’ll be first shift on guard tonight. Temperatures are projected to reach sub-zero, so make sure the fire doesn’t go out.”

“Aye sir.”

“And don’t be a jerk either and hog all the warmth for yourself. I know yer a fire mage, you can do things like that.”

“Don’t worry sir. I’m comfortable with being Luke-Warm.”

“Private?”

“Yes sir?”

“Congratulations, you now have the first two shifts.”

--Overheard Conversation on the Lenorian Frontier. AC 1678.

The lance of superheated water jets towards my position, and everyone scrambles to get clear. The beam is boiling, and as I dive towards the ground, I can feel the wake of the water above me. I call out,

"Fire at will!"

And throw Luna into the fray. As she spins forward, she drops her first bomb and as it goes off my heart sinks in my shell. There was almost no damage. Thinking carefully, I realize that their spongy forms might offer them some protection against concussive effects. Or even worse...

I pull up the combat logs.

You used Improvised Trap to crush [Corrupted Thermal Jelly] - Lvl 19.

Okay, so they're not over leveling us, there's just a bunch of them and they're highly specialized.

The system tries to pull up some more notifications, but I close them angrily. I don't have time for it at the moment. I swim forward, my claws ready to [sever]. The music is pounding in my shell, and Wilhelm streaks ahead, red and enraged. As he pivots for a tail slap, the strike knocks one of the fish out of position, where it goes and collides with its fellows. I look closer and realize that his attack didn't seem to do much damage either. Between the two of them I suspect the enemy is probably resistant to crushing attacks. I call out,

"Luna, Wilhelm disengage and pull security. I think they're resistant to your attacks."

The Bill brothers and I rumble forward and as I take point, I hear them setup behind me.

"Engaging floor anchors. Ballista mode active. Loading ball bearings. [FIRE]!"

Ball bearings?

My question is curtailed as I hear a dull thump. Overhead, a mass of tiny glinting metal shoots forward, piercing the jellies and rending them into pieces.

I want to shout in joy, but I'm almost to the first enemy myself so I focus on the task at hand. I pull my claw back to strike and swing forward, easily cutting through the first one in front of me. I stagger a bit at the unexpected lack of resistance. From the response they had to Luna and Wilhelm's attacks I expected they would be hardier. Another thump, and additional bearings fly above, taking out another group of them. I eye the vastly reduced swarm, estimating maybe a few hundred remaining when the jellies glow once more. I can tell they're charging for that beam attack again, and I disengage trying to figure out where they're aiming at.

As the water jets out, I realize the target is behind me... the crabs that are currently anchored in place. I try to scramble to block the beam, knowing the brothers wouldn't be able to move in time. Luna and the rest have their backs though, as the starfish teleports in front of them, dropping bombs. Mina follows up with a pulsing scream that ripples the water, and Wilhelm smashes the ground, the force of his strike lifting stone into the water and providing cover. Between all that disruption the beam loses its force and is stopped before striking the two.

A shard of anger grows in my shell. A flash of memory appears before my eyes, the sight of Luna getting cut almost in half by an undead pufferfish. This attack is similar, though superheated and with greater force. I grit my mandibles and resolve to finish this as quickly as possible. I'm find I’m not the only one getting heated. The normally clinical tone of the crabs has grown darker, angry at almost being hit. In previous training, the crabs would attack one at a time, each spending time to cover each other as they reload. But it's been a while since basic training. A series of *clicks* sounds in the water and then two crabs speak as one.

[RAPID FIRE].

Every second, another load of bearings shoots through the water above me and it’s clear that I can't go up and engage. In the metal hailstorm, there is no room for me to dodge or maneuver. I think about how I could attack from the sea floor and remember the earthen spikes I've seen Todd use before. With a flash of insight, I realize I probably don't have the skill necessary for that kind of fine maneuvering, not if I don't want to burn through all my mana reserves. As I look down at my claws, inspiration strikes. I need a longer reach? Well then, I'll make a longer reach.

I activate [Earth Manipulation] pulling stone towards me and coating my pincers. I layer the material between my claws, for this plan I don't need to be able to close them. I pull more and more, and then extend them outward, the point growing to extend. I halt when I start to feel unbalanced and with a clench of effort, compress the edge to sharpen it. I stand ready, foot long swords extending from my pincers and charge into the fray. The crabs behind me call out,

"Reloading! Thirty seconds until ready to fire!"

A grim smile graces my mandibles. Thirty seconds should be more than enough.

I jump off the sea floor, leading with my right claw. I swing my other claw to the left, and then I'm spinning, whirring as I cut swathes of them in two. My rotation begins to slow down, the mass of bodies service to break my momentum and the jellies attempt to disengage, trying to create distance. I reach the apex of my leap and instead of gently floating to the sea floor, I make an intentional dive. As my legs impact, I crouch down and then repeat my attack, my spinning leap cutting and destroying my foe.

The jellies are scrambling now, and as I land once more, I can feel a large portion of them bear down on their own water manipulation skill. They are compressing the water around me, trying to halt my movement while the remaining enemy charges up for their beam attack. The brothers call out their skill,

[FIRE]!

And the bearings race ahead.

I get ready to move, expecting the crabs attack to let me fight through the resistance when all of the pressure I'm feeling suddenly disappears. I stagger forward, off balance by the sudden change and then realize the jellies have just changed the target. The bearings slow down and then halt right above me and with a sickening dread, I realize what they are doing. I raise my blades above my shell as they propel the projectiles straight down, aiming to strike me from above.

Crushing pings impact the blades and I hold them steady against the bombardment. I call to the crabs,

"Hold what you got! I'll handle this!"

As the rounds stop, I focus back on the objective and realize that while I was blocking, they had charged up their attack once more. Before I can take cover, the enemy fires, and the beam shoots right at me. A series of actions scramble through my mind. Can't dodge, at this distance there’s not enough time. With little option remaining, I thrust a blade forward, edge facing towards the attack. The force of the impact drives me backwards, my legs clawing against the sandy floor as the enemy beam is split in twain. Superheated jets of water buttress me to either side and I'm stuck in the middle between edges of boiling heat. As I hold the line, a small worry begins to grow.

Why isn't the beam stopping?

The edge of the stone blade is growing incredibly hot, the temperature spreading down the length towards my claw within. I'm able to make out the jellies on the other side and it looks like this attack isn't a one-off.... it’s a sustained beam. As the heat grows, I hear Luna cry in the distance,

"CRABBY!"

The force of the water is still pushing me backwards inch by inch. My muscles strain to hold my position as the jet continues to fire. The blade won't last much longer, so I split my attention even further, changing the shape of the other sword. Seconds pass by and I can feel I'm taking damage, the temperature is too high, the heat filtering into my core. The stone finishes shaping and with a heave of effort, I slam the now formed shield into the blade in front of me, replacing the swords position with a slanted surface.

The beam, no longer split, hits the shield full force and drives me back even further. I twist as I slide, tilting my claw, angling the shield to deflect the full force of the attack. With that movement I'm able to slip to the right, out of range of the beam and spring forward. My shield lies in front of me, ready to deflect; and upon seeing their attack fail, the jelly drops the beam and attempts to reposition. It is too late though, I'm already upon them.

I lead with the shield, bashing the enemies and slicing with my sword. They never manage to recover and in short minutes they lie dead and twitching upon the ocean floor.

As the last enemy is neutralized, I float down to the cave floor. After visually scanning the area and verifying the coast is clear, I collapse, exhausted and smoldering on the cave floor. My armor glows red hot in the cave, and I move water in a current around it, trying to pull off the heat. As the rest of the squad approaches, I look at them and say,

"How about we take a bit of a break, eh?"