THE MOMENT
"Don't you think we need more damage?" Kirk asked Emily. The two friends were navigating the hedge maze on their way to their team base. School was over for the day; but, the evening was about to begin. It was still early in the semester and every team was trying to get an early lead for the school year ahead. Emily giggled as she turned to a new path amongst the shrubbery. Techically, she was the only one navigating, and Kirk was following her. He still hadn't quite mastered the path; it was only the third day of classes.
"That's kind of concerning coming from our main DPS," she said. "Do YOU think we need more damage?"
"YES!" Kirk thought he'd made that clear just by asking. "I'm the only DPS on the team. We have three healers and two support and me. We don't even have a tank because Rigel is insisting on being a healer."
"We have a tank," Emily nodded. "And, only two healers." She turned again and walked through a green wall of foliage that looked solid. Kirk had his doubts as he followed her and he discovered it was just an illusion.
"Huh?" he asked. "Molly, Petunia and Rigel, right?"
"Molly's the tank, we covered it the first day," she nodded.
"She was serious? She's a healer! Like, not even a specialization; the Class is called 'Healer'."
"And, you didn't look at her build either, did you?"
"Why would I? She's a Healer!" Kirk raised his voice; but, he wasn't upset at her. Vaguely at himself for not paying closer attention; but, it was mostly just how he expressed himself. He and Emily had been friends for a long time and by now she knew what he was like. "Do you think she can do it?" He asked. He didn't have many other friends and hers was the only opinion he trusted in the school. The rest of their team was randomly assigned and he only knew of them by name.
"Well, try it out," Emily giggled as she made a sharp turn through another hedge illusion. This time, they came out into the clearing at the center of the maze and discovered the rest of the team already there. "Molly!" Emily waved at everyone, and then called over the blonde girl. Of course, they were all curious teenagers, and the four already there to meet the pair that just joined them.
"Kirk wants to test your tankiness," Emily grinned.
"That's not what I said!" he defended himself even as the rest of the team laughed.
"Sure, I'm ready whenever," Molly nodded.
"Uhh... let me see your build first..," he answered as he flicked his wrist upward. A large glass slate appeared in the air before him; but, he was the only one that could see the text that seemed to be floating on nothing. Even though they were on the same team, everyone else only saw a grey, obscured Slate. "..oh. Yeah," he said after a moment. "I see it, nevermind." He understood why the others laughed, the answer was obvious with a simple glance at her loadout. He had enough AlterNet experience to recognize what she was working with and he felt a little dumber for not bothering to pay attention when the team went over their builds together. He went first and he lost interest after that.
"Awww, c'mon! I wanna warm up, there's probably going to be some challenges tonight," Molly said. "Give me your best shot!" A Duel challenge appeared in his vision as she encouraged him.
"Yeah, I guess a warm-up couldn't hurt," Kirk nodded and accepted the Duel.
"Alright!" Molly moved to the center of the clearing as the rest of the team got out of the way. Kirk paced to a spot several feet away from her. "I'm ready!" she said. She nodded and her pale skin turned grey and jagged like sharkskin.
"Alright, here goes!" Kirk nodded. He raised both hands up and summoned magic lightning to strike Molly directly. It was the strongest spell he could use without any sort of cast time, and it had served him decently well in the past. But, the bolt struck Molly directly on her head and her health total only sank by a few digits; and, the health recovered completely from her idle regeneration.
"Oh, wow," Molly said as her skin turned pale again. Kirk relaxed and forfeited the Duel after his attempt. He wanted to avoid embarrassing himself completely. He knew she had a high magic resist; but, beyond that, she was definitely tank-worthy. He was worried that he'd get about the same result with one of his stronger spells. He half-expected friendly ribbing from her and the rest of the team; but, Molly, the team captain, just turned her attention to Petunia after the demonstration.
"Sorry to ask; but, can you switch to a DPS spec?"
"Me? Yeah, if you want," Petunia nodded.
"I do, please," Molly nodded. She glanced at Kirk subconsciously as she said it. It wasn't intentional; but, they all got the message. "I think we need more damage."