Seed of Titan

"Done with your daydreaming?," Auri teasingly said.

"Yeah, thanks for waiting," Christo replied with a slight grin. "Skipping the pleasantries, first, I'll gladly take the leader position that you seem to have unanimously decided on. And second, has anyone of you decided on your roles?"

Auri, Jian, and Flo nodded while Drai shook his head. Meanwhile, Natalia didn't respond as she kept her attention focused on Christo.

"So almost everyone has it figured out? Good. Let's share our roles and see if we need to make any adjustments," Christo suggested.

"Sure. You can go first then, leader," Auri said.

"Okay. But please drop the 'leader' title, Auri. Just call me 'Christo' as usual."

"Sure... leader."

Christo shook his head helplessly. He felt that Auri was becoming more mischievous by the day. Perhaps Jian's antics had rubbed off on her.

"Anyway, I actually find that my role is somewhat difficult to define because my skillset doesn't totally comply with the conventional roles," said Christo. "I can scout while locating and disarming traps like a rogue or hunter. I also have a knack to locate valuables and can appraise them to a certain extent.

"Combat-wise, I can fight at both close range and from a near distance. But admittedly, my damage potential doesn't fit a damage dealer, and I don't have genuine support skills for combat, so at best I'm a pseudo supporter or all-rounder. Combat really isn't my specialty."

Hearing this, Jian remarked rather excitedly, "And here I thought you were good at everything, Christo. Maybe I should fight you some time, hehehe…"

"Sure. As the party leader, I will delegate the fight to Drai. Just come at him anytime you want," Christo responded.

"Well, f**k you too, Christo," Jian said as he regretted proposing his challenge. After all, the image of a looming dorm bed was still occasionally haunting him to this day.

Ignoring Jian's reaction, Christo resumed his talk. "So, continuing my earlier point, the lack of my conformity to the conventional roles makes it hard for me to label my role. Should I mainly be a rogue and a reserve support? Or do you have any other ideas?"

The group went quiet for a while before Jian spoke up once again, saying, "Not only you're bad at fighting, you're also bad at making up shit, Christo."

The others were quite surprised hearing Jian's words, including Christo.

"What do you mean, Jian?" Christo asked, rather confused.

"I'm saying that if you really feel that these conventional roles you've mentioned don't really suit your skills, then just make up a role, you know? It doesn't matter anyway since it's just a label like you've said, right? In the end, you'll mostly handle our group's strategies and individual actions during our ventures and do some rogue and hunter stuff on the side. We'll understand what you're capable and responsible of. So just make up some cool shit and move on." Jian explained shruggingly.

Upon hearing this, Flo slightly nodded while Drai and Auri looked rather baffled because it wasn't every day that Jian was able to spout something sensible.

Meanwhile, Christo thought about it briefly before saying, "I think you do have a point. Rather than misleading people by forcing to label myself with a conventional role, perhaps I should just create one. And in the end, it doesn't really matter when we're out in the field. So, do you guys agree with Jian?"

Flo and Drai nodded while Auri said, "Sure. What about you, Natalia?"

Natalia was a bit surprised due to her sudden mention, but immediately replied, "Sure, why not?"

"Thanks, Nat," Auri said smilingly, seemingly trying to integrate her into the group's dynamics. She then turned to Christo and asked, "So, what will your role be, Christo?"

"I think I'll be a pathfinder," Christo said.

"Pathfinder? Just like your class?" Drai asked.

"Yeah. I think it encompasses my role in the party, at least outside of combat," Christo explained. "And although it doesn't imply anything about my role during fights, you should just think of me as a strategist that occasionally commands you and helps a bit with our attack and defence. Wait, I guess I should just go with Pathfinder main role and Strategist reserve role just to make it clear."

"'Pathfinder' sounds damn cool too! Not bad, Christo, hahaha!" Jian laughingly remarked.

"And I assume you'll be the decision maker for the party as the leader?" Auri asked.

"Mostly. But there will definitely be times when I have to ask your opinions on decisions that I'm unsure of. And let me say this in advance: feel free to voice your objections if you think that there's a better alternative to my plans or if you find any faults within my decisions," Christo stated in a serious manner.

Hearing these words, the others just nodded. For Drai, Jian, and Auri in particular, Christo didn't feel like someone who would lead with an iron fist. Maybe it's because he never felt condescending nor commanding toward them despite being far more knowledgeable.

"So, what about you guys? What's the role you've decided for yourselves?" Christo asked.

"I'm definitely a melee fighter," Jian said confidently.

"Then you'll be our melee damage dealer, Jian," Chriso replied. "And I don't think there's a suitable reserve role for you, so that will be your only role."

Jian nodded in agreement. He had previously tried to think what other roles he would be able to fit well but failed to find any.

"For me, I think I'm mainly a range damage dealer with a potential to become a support," Auri said.

"Are your support skills lacking?" Christo asked.

"I don't think they're lacking per se, but the required mana is just too much for them to be useful in practical situations," Auri explained. "I believe that the mana required to ineffectively utilize my support skills should be better used for attacking. What do you think?"

"Hmm… I guess if you feel that way, you should stick to being a range damage dealer, at least for now," Christo replied with a nod.

"So we now have one utility role and two attackers. How about the rest of you?" Auri asked the other tree who haven't talked.

Seeing as Drai and Natalia kept silent, Flo decided to answer first.

"I think I should be a healer because I'm basically a herbalist."

"After seeing how you've aided Jian, you're definitely fit to be a healer. But do you have any expertise other than healing, Flo?" Christo asked.

"W-well, I can sort of communicate with plants, but that's it. I don't think I have any other expertise…" Flo replied.

"You talk to plants?? Are you a plant hybrid or something?" Jian remarked while his eyes was scanning Flo from top to bottom.

"N-no, it's nothing like that," Flo hurriedly explained. "My class is called Florata and it's a class with a high affinity for plants. That's why I can communicate with plants to a certain extent."

"Interesting… I guess you should just be a healer for now, Flo. We'll see in the future what else you can do in the field with your plant affinity," Christo suggested.

"O-okay! Thank you for having me!" Flo exclaimed with a slight bow.

"We're the ones who should be thankful since we'll be relying on you a lot in the future, Flo," Auri smilingly said.

Meanwhile, Drai was staring at Flo quietly, wondering whether she'd be willing to heal his training wounds so he could train more intensely. A slight grin appeared on Drai's face as the thought of not having to wait for days to recover after every training session filled his mind.

"So that leaves the two of you," Christo's voice pulled Drai back to reality. "Have you decided on your role, Drai?"

"Actually I'm not sure about it," Drai quickly replied. "I think I can be a damage dealer but I'm afraid that my speed is too low to be useful during combat. It's not like I've been in a real fight before, you know? So maybe I'm more suited for logistics or something similar."

"If you've been in a fight before, you probably wouldn't be here with us," Jian remarked.

"Hm? Why?" Drai asked curiously.

"You'd currently be in jail for manslaughter instead," Jian answered shruggingly, which made the others laugh. Even Christo and Natalia shook their heads upon hearing Jian's ridiculous remark.

"Ahem… Do you mind telling me your stats, Drai?" Christo asked after the laughter died down. "It will give me a clearer picture of your suitable role. But it's okay too if you don't want to reveal them since it's your privacy."

"Okay. I don't mind—"

Just as Drai was about to agree, he felt a warm sensation tugging his arm. He turned his head and saw Natalia looking at him concernedly, slightly shaking her head in disagreement.

Drai was briefly stunned but immediately understood Natalia's concern. His eyes wandered above, recalling his past interactions with Christo.

"…too sensitive…"

"…why did you decide to tell the truth…"

"…humans… egoistic and ambitious…"

Christo's words that day were still clear to Drai. It was right at that moment in his dorm room that Drai realized the world could potentially be a dangerous place for him and his family. And it was Christo who helped him realize this.

Drai glanced at Christo who was currently looking at him with his usual smile, seemingly uncaring about Drai's decision. It was a very contrasting sight compared to the grave look Christo had after seeing the titan poem that Drai had sent to his comm that day. Christo's voice once again resurfaced from Drai's memories.

"…don't tell anyone else…"

Drai involuntarily smiled as he made up his mind upon the matter. So far, Christo had been very helpful and considerate toward him, making Drai abhor the idea of distrusting Christo. And if Christo was really a bad person, he already had more than enough information to harm Drai; knowing his exact stats wouldn't really change anything at this point.

"It's fine, Natalia. Thanks for worrying," Drai eventually said.

Following this, Natalia could only watch helplessly as Drai approached Christo before whispering to his ears.

To the amusement of the others, Christo's smile started to fade with each word Drai whispered. And when Drai was finished whispering the things he wanted to convey, Christo was looking at him in bafflement with a tinge of disbelief.

It didn't take long for Christo to regain his composure though. With a light cough to brush off the slight awkwardness from being speechless, Christo smiled and turned to the other members.

"So, Drai is basically an all-rounder but better, at least combat-wise," He started explaining. "I believe he can be a great damage dealer and tank. And in order to effectively utilize his prowess, I'll probably focus more on issuing commands to Drai when necessary, especially in critical moments when he needs to immediately switch from offense to defense or vice versa."

Hearing this, Drai felt quite relieved because Christo's words implied that Drai's other stats aside from his strength and constitution wouldn't hinder him too much from performing his role.

However, Drai suddenly remembered that he had also told Christo about his intelligence, which made him slightly embarrassed. He wondered if that was the reason Christo brought up the matter of issuing commands to him.

"So, does that mean Drai's role is a melee all-rounder?" Auri asked.

Hearing this question, Christo's face showed a smidge of amusement.

"Actually no, because I think that would be quite an understatement of Drai's capabilities. When you think about an all-rounder, doesn't it usually refer to someone who is quite good at many things but doesn't really excel in any of them?" Christo asked the group.

The others briefly pondered upon this question before nodding in agreement. It's somewhat true that they wouldn't associate the word "all-rounder" with lethality or formidableness.

"And that's why I decided that Drai's role is a juggernaut. It's quite a fitting name, don't you think?" Christo said.

The others looked at Drai and actually didn't feel that the name fit his appearance at all. But when they recalled the rumors about him along with Christo's shocked face earlier, nobody voiced their objection.

"Hey! Why do you two get to have the cool roles? I want a cool name too for my role!" Jian suddenly complained.

The others turned to look at Jian. Christo was smiling helplessly while Auri's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"How about 'Silent Blade'? I think it goes well with my fighting style. But I think 'Stellar Swordsman" has quite a nice ring to it. What do you guys think?" Jian asked excitedly.

"How about you cut the 'blade' part and just be 'silent' instead, Jian?" Auri quickly scolded him. "We're not handing out nicknames or titles here. The reason Christo and Drai have these 'cool' roles is because they don't quite fit the convential roles, or at least Christo thinks so. And I think 'melee damage dealer' fits you well already."

Hearing Auri's words, Jian looked slightly offended and wanted to rebuke, but Christo quickly followed up before he had a chance to voice his displeasure.

"Auri's right, Jian. We're not doing this to sound cool. Wasn't it you who suggested that I make up a more fitting role? What do you think 'Stellar Swordsman' conveys other than your weapon of choice and an unproven merit?"

Jian looked at Christo hesitatingly. He was also an avid believer of Christo's wisdom, so he couldn't help but reconsider his thoughts.

"Don't worry Jian," Christo continued with his attempt to convince his friend. "Sooner or later you'll get a cool moniker if you do well during our ventures. Isn't it more risky to make up a name and fail to live up to it? Imagine what will happen to your reputation then."

Upon hearing these words, Jian was enlightened as he slightly paled and wiped a drip of cold sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, you're right Christo. It's not worth risking my face just to have a cool role. Phew! I almost made a mistake, hahaha!" Jian exclaimed, feeling both nervous and relieved.

Auri was speechless. Obviously, she wasn't an expert yet in the arts of taming a wild Jian. She glanced at Christo and saw him wink at her, which made Auri pout in defeat.

Meanwhile, Flo couldn't help but giggle as her new circle of friends wasn't as frightening as she had thought. But she suddenly stopped giggling because she realized the next interaction would potentially be a bit awkward, if not tense.

"And lastly, our new friend Natalia. Please enlighten us about your role," Christo said smilingly, seemingly oblivious of their rather unpleasant exchange earlier.

It took a short while for Natalia to answer as she had to close her eyes first, perhaps in effort to gather her willingness to face Christo.

"I'm a close-combat fighter, similar to Jian, although I might acquire mid-range combat skills later down my evolution line," Natalia finally said. Drai was quite surprised seeing that Natalia's normal demeanor was able to match Christo's obliviousness of their confrontation.

"So, we have three melee combatants in our party," Christo said. "I suspect that your damage potential is lower than Jian's due to your defense prowess. But maybe I'm wrong and your class is actually overpowered with similarly high stats for both attack and defense. Then we'll just have to see how you fare, Natalia, as I don't think you'll voluntarily tell me your stats."

Natalia didn't respond to Christo's words. She had already said what she had to say and wouldn't go out of her way to act friendly toward Christo, at least not this quickly. And it's true that she wouldn't reveal her stats to Christo, unlike what Drai had done.

"So, are we done here?" Auri asked Christo.

"I think so," Christo said as he stood up. "You guys can go home first or stay around. I'll go report to Halo. Oh right… Before I go, I need Flo's and Natalia's contact number. Please forward Natalia's number to me, Drai."

Only after he glanced at Natalia and saw that she wasn't protesting did Drai nodded and proceeded to send her contact number to Christo. Meanwhile, Flo was busy sharing her contact number to the other members of the party.

Surprisingly, Natalia also shared her contact to Auri and Flo on her own accord. Jian actually wanted Natalia's contact number too but was still quite apprehensive toward her due to their earlier incident. Therefore, Jian could only sigh while hoping that they would become closer in the near future.