Master Of None

"To the right a little more. We are getting too close to the water." Walker still had some sense of where the salt water was. But he was relying on Fleur to pull on his hair slightly. The rock crabs that they passed also added to their trouble. When they would be buried in the moving sand, which Walker found easier to move with his mana, they would break up the wall and cause there to be weak points. But if they got inside they would snip at their feet with their claws. 

"Midnight, Get those two crabs!" Gil had taken the job alongside Midnight of ending the crabs that got inside their earth fortress. Mostly because they became aggressive in the confined space. Also because Walker was still able to store them away with one free hand. Multitasking was a skill that not many could pull off but one that Walker was glad he could manage. 

Midnight was gladly taking care of the rock crabs because she knew they would be a meal. But more so she could feel the annoyance that Walker had with every single one that would interrupt Su and his focus on defense. 

It was not that the party wouldn't be able to beat the lizardmen. But they would not be able to beat multiple in their own territory. The lizardmen were larger than the party had realized along with the fact that even Gil's sharp eyes couldn't see through their camouflage. They were dangerous for that very reason. Being able to win in a fair fight was one thing, being able to win when there were only disadvantages was another. 

"Wait, I think the attacks stopped." The entire group stopped and listened like Remey was. The sand around them was not moving at all. 

"Su, take your shield and hold it to the sand. I will use my mana to open a small hole and you put your shield where it p[pens." Walker wanted to make sure they had defended against the danger. He had the feeling that as much as people said that lizardmen didn't have intelligence, that it was false. They just weren't intelligent like the other monsters or races around. 

Without any question, Su followed Walker's idea. In just a second of opening the sand, a rotting stick hit the earth dwelling shield and splintered in to pieces. "I don't think I would have been able to notice that and hit it so fast." Gil was astounded as Su pulled back and Walker fixed the hole at the same time. He was sure that his own skills with bow and arrows were higher than most people. Yet, these lizardmen were so accurate that they had noticed the smallest start of a hole in their defenses leading to a perfectly thrown attack. 

"They have pure instinct. I wouldn't be surprised if they follow us until we near the edge of the swamplands and begin to see the town. But we need to move faster. There is only so much mana that my partner can use." Su was feeling the lack of mana in the earth dwelling shield. The longer they had to be in this position the more it would put pressure on the earth spirit. She didn't want to exhaust it and end up getting any of them hurt. 

"I can try to pull more earth mana this way too." Walker put some of his mana to work and tried to help the earth spirit dwelling in the shield to fuel their skill. But before he could he felt that Fleur had begun to act with him again. She had caught on to the situation and knew that they were not going to fight the lizardmen. But that didn't mean that she would just sit there waiting. 

There was a small pulse of natural mana and the earth elemental mana below them rose from the depths. It was a small amount of natural mana but due to the one using it and how concentrated Fleur was in her control, a lot of earth elemental mana responded. This was the difference between an elemental spirit and a nature spirit that would one day be a true world spirit. Not only was the potency of mana and control higher, but the results of their actions resounded much clearer in the area. 

In less time than they could blink, the sand walls became much more solid and easily moved with them. Su's shield felt heavier and she could see small pieces of the sand forming bridges to it. Fleur collapsed back on to Walker's shoulder and he realized that his control was no longer needed at all. There were also muffled hissing sounds from the lizardmen at the edges of the swampy forest area. 

"We need to move now!" Su began to push forward at a voracious pace. She could feel the strength that the earth spirit was using and she did not want to stress it any longer. She could also tell that the earth spirit was absorbing all the excess earth elemental mana and she did not want any of it to go to waste. It was a feeling right in her gut that told her they needed to get to safety immediately. 

After about five minutes of nearly running in the moving earth fortress skill the sand collapsed around them and Su dropped the shield to pull the twin shields out and defend the party. But instead of the edge of the swamp lands and the beach, the group only saw the rounded bay along with the nearby village guarded by many more people than they had expected. 

"That was crazy. I didn't know Fleur could do that!" Gil and Remey were oddly in sync as they exclaimed this. But when they were about to start arguing the earth spirit from the shield materialized outside of it and quickly melted in to the spirit mark On Su. They were dumbfounded by the high earth mana that every single one of them could feel. 

"I think the earth spirit is growing to become a high earth spirit…Fleur…you can do that?" Walker was just as stunned as the others. 

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