Master Of None

"Was this written anywhere? Did your appraisal mention this?" Su was sure that Walker had not heard or noticed this anywhere but she had to be sure in case there was other hidden information. 

"Nothing. I didn't think they would be bold enough to leave the water let alone hunt the crabs. Their ice armor skill lets them pierce the crab shell so much easier than I would have thought." It was a very big change from how the eels acted before. The fact that they had been defeated before they showed their ice armor properly had been a small blessing. 

"I can't believe I watched you pull those from the water over and over. They only had small chunks of ice on them before. Now they had full bodies of ice. They are a completely different monster." There was some doubt on Gil's face whether this was the case or if these were completely different monsters. The only proof was that the main body of the eel became more visible within the ice armor.

"Trust me, if I knew they came out at night like this, then I would not have tried hunting them. I think it's pure luck that one of them did not fully form the ice armor before we pulled it up from the water. They are really weak without it. But with it…" Walker stopped speaking when he saw another ghostly ice eel defeat a frozen blood crab and pull it to the depths. 

"How about you make a wall for us. You can do that, right/' Remey was the one to suggest this. She had the feeling that all of the streams that snaked away from the main water fall of the icicle falls was surrounding them with potential danger. 

"Leader and my partner can work together to make an earth fortress." Su connected the dots and Walker couldn't argue. The plan was perfect for what they needed. As much as they could battle against the ghostly eels at night, it was better to focus on surviving and avoid battle in the dark. 

Walker could feel the earth elemental mana react after Su whis[pered to the earth spirit within the earth dwelling shield. The ground beneath them shifted and the earth below the ice and snow began to rise. It drew a lot of attention from the ghostly ice eels around that felt the shaking. 

The thought of larger prey drew them toward the forming earth fortress that was slowly moving up around the group. "Gil put the fire out. Midnight, guard the top, it's the last part to close. Remey, you are on deterrence duty, make them back away if I can't close it fast enough." The plan was set and Walker began to use his skills to manipulate the earth elemental mana. 

His goal was to bring it in faster toward the shield so that the earth fortress could be larger. Su may have been practicing to leave an opening for her shield but at the moment they did not need a large opening. They needed just enough to allow air in and out. Ensuring that the shape was there was what Walker was for. 

With his training, Walker was able to sculpt the earth fortress and also help make it tougher and thicker. The better it defend the more they could relax while they awaited the morning where they would not need to worry about the multiple monsters around them. 

There was a brownish green hue to the earth dwelling shield showing the high density earth elemental mana being channeled through it. There was a moment that Walker and Su worried for the safety of the earth spirit within but the speeding up of the earth fortress was enough to show that it was safe and doing even better than ever. 

Remey slowly moved to the center of the fortress until the entire top had closed and all that was left were small air holes for them. Su and Walker had been faster than the ghostly ice eels when they tried to attack them in mass. The dull thuds that came from behind the thick earth walls were enough to remind everyone that an enemy could break through at any moment. 

"I won't be able to use this skill for some time." Su saw that the shield had become its usual coloration. But with her spirit mark, she could feel that the earth spirit was exceptionally exhausted along with the earth elemental mana stored within the shield. 

"That's fine. Let the spirit rest. It's up to me to upkeep the fortress while it rests. I can make sure that we are safe. Everyone else should try to take a nap. I will shout if anything happens." Walker knew that it was his duty to remain on watch as much as possible. He was the only one that could sense the earth being broken away or damaged in any way. He was also the only one that could repair it when needed. 

Their quick thinking had avoided a massive accident from occurring. One that Walker was sure had happened before to unsuspecting adventurers or miners. The area was deceptive and seemed to be predator free. This was clear when Walker managed to pull the eels up with slight struggle. However, now that he saw them in their ice armor, it was clear that they were the apex predator in the area. 

The night was fairly smooth sailing for Walker. He only needed to repair some small portions of the earth fortress that were attacked. He had no need to wake anyone up but noticed that everyone would wake up from time to time to look around and check on him. Otherwise, when Walker felt that the light elemental mana outside was increasing he began to open a small part of the wall using his skills. The light that flooded in proved that it was morning and that they should be able to leave.

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