With the proclamation of a dungeon burst being on Radiant, Det—and the others—quickly vacated the dungeon, leaving Beauty and Det’s renditions to take care of things. From there, they ran to their bunks, grabbed everything they would need, then headed straight for where the mistship had dropped them off.

  It didn’t take long for the ship to come into view, the noonday sun beaming down from above. Sleek and devilishly fast, the white ship cut through the distance like a hot knife through butter. Within minutes of it appearing as little more than a white dot in the distance, it was pulling in above them, the lift already dropping away from the bottom.

  “Good, it’s already here,” Beauty said as he jogged up, a line of sweat running down his face, but not a mark on his ReSouled uniform.

  “Sir!” Gazer said, sprinting over from the direction of the barracks. “I’m here to formally see you off. Will you be returning after completing your orders?”

  “Unknown.” Beauty said. “If we still have time in our schedule for this week, perhaps. Thank you for your hospitality.”

  “Of course,” Gazer said with a salute. “We look forward to having you again.” The emphasis on the word made it clear the Corporal wasn’t keen on Beast showing up on the pillar.

  There wasn’t any more time for that discussion, though, the lift clunking down on the ground beside the group of ReSouled. Beauty clearly wasn’t in the waiting mood, either, going over and opening the gate to usher the cadets in quickly. He returned the salute to Gazer, then slammed his palm on the red button that would signal the lift to return to the ship.

  Unlike the first time Det had ridden a lift to a mistship, this one moved fast. It helped the mistship had parked so close to the surface, so they barely had to go fifty feet before they found themselves once again in the bowels of the ship that’d brought them to Ironsalt in the first place.

  “Come with me,” Beauty said, opening the gate and leading the cadets past mistship crew. “As I mentioned before, we’re looking at the potential dungeon burst on Radiant. Since picking up Det and Calisco from their home pillar, we’ve had scouts and ReSouled searching every inch of the pillar for evidence of the creature Det fought.

  “Based on his description, we had significant reason to believe it was a Wordless.”

  “Red eyes, and a surface that felt the same as whatever the ants are made of,” Det said. “I didn’t get a good look at it because of how heavy the mist was.”

  “Which is why we took the report very seriously,” Beauty continued. “Captain Simmons himself recommended the investigation. So, for almost two weeks, we had people combing almost every inch of the pillar in secret. We didn’t want to worry the residents if we were wrong about the assumption. Of course, nothing was found.

  “There have been rare instances of Wordless making their way from one pillar to another, and after two weeks of not finding a single clue leading to the presence of Wordless on Radiant, that was what this was recorded as.”

  “But, then why are we going to Radiant?” Tena said as the whole group entered a small meeting room.

  Eight chairs surrounded a wooden table, and Beauty moved around to stand near the chair placed at the far, head of the table. A gesture from his hand encouraged the cadets to sit, but Det stayed standing near the door. As soon as they got to Radiant, he wanted to be ready to…

  “Cadet Det,” Beauty said. “Even with speed of this ship, it will be nightfall before we arrive at our destination. We need you at one hundred percent, and you will be given some time to prepare. For now, please give me your attention—your seated attention—while I review the rest of what we know.”

  Looking at the others, who were all sitting in comfortable chairs around the table, Det took a breath, and then nodded at their instructor.

  “Sorry,” Det said. “I didn’t expect to be as worried as I am about some of the people on Radiant.”

  “After seeing what you did on Ironsalt,” Beauty said. “It is understandable. Even if you weren’t as close to your new family as some here were, what could happen to them is not something we would wish on anybody. As for the answer to Tena’s question, let me continue the report of events on Radiant.”

  Beauty paused to give Det time to settle in place, then continued.

  “During the two weeks, there were nine ReSouled secretly inspecting Radiant. Due to its position below the Mistline, only ReSouled were approved for the work. On most pillars—those above the Mistline in the first through sixth stratum—we will employ a combination of ReSouled and embedded, normal agents. Since we are unable to embed people within the mist due to the risk of the Taint, that was a limiting factor in this situation.

  “Still, with nine ReSouled—seven Vanguards and two Arsenals, all of them, with perception or scouting-type abilities—this was believed to be sufficient. Nevertheless, as I mentioned, they didn’t find anything. No more animals or residents were injured or went missing. There were no reported attacks or sightings of anything else matching Det’s description. No evidence of an emergence was detected.

  “Radiant appeared entirely peaceful,” Beauty said. “Until all of the ReSouled left. Here is where things get a bit strange. It could have just been incredibly, inconveniently timed, but as soon as the ReSouled submitted their report and left Radiant, evidence of an emergence began to show.”

  “How do you know that?” Sage said. “How do we know any of this, actually? If the ReSouled left, how would they be able to say for sure there was an emergence?”

  “Because one of the Vanguard, one with his own personal mistbike for scouting duties, decided to swing around once more on his way to another pillar. This was two days after they’d all left—just this morning—and he found two emergences in areas they’d investigated in depth over the previous two weeks.”

  “Are you saying the Wordless were waiting for the ReSouled to leave before the emergence’s formed?” Weiss said. “Can the Wordless do that?”

  “I am unsure about that,” Beauty said. “As you hinted, this is very unusual behaviour from Wordless or an emergence. We normally respond to them as if they were a natural disaster. A hurricane or a flood, in that there is little we can do to prepare for them, while they have no intention of doing as much damage as they do. It’s just their nature.

  “These circumstances on Radiant, however, are already sending shockwaves through the organization. The implications for me being able to say ‘yes’ to either of your questions, Cadet Weiss, are quite dire.”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “That’s not our problem right now,” Det said. “We’ve got to deal with two emergences. Why us, though?”

  “We were the closest ReSouled group that meets the bare requirements,” Beauty said. “The Vanguard who discovered the situation is only D-Rank, and does not possess the necessary skills to clear either of the dungeons on his own.”

  “Not even the E-Rank one?” Calisco said. “Even Det could do one of those by himself.”

  “After seeing what you did just an hour ago,” Beauty said. “Can you still say ‘even Det’ with a straight face? I should point out that did I not need to clear the ant dungeon—now dubbed The ANTiquated Temple, if you were wondering—in a hurry, Det’s two renditions likely could have cleared everything other than the Boss on their own.”

  Calisco turned her head from Beauty to Det, where it stayed for a moment before she spoke. “Okay, even I gotta admit the bear and gator were a surprise. I didn’t know you had something like those up your sleeve. And they weren’t just all for show?”

  “They were not,” Beauty said. “In fact, it is possible the Boss would have been defeated by the pair, had they reached it together.”

  “Maybe you’ve got more potential than I thought,” Calisco said. “Maybe. Don’t go back to being a disappointment, eh?”

  “I’ll do my best,” Det said flatly.

  “And, no, Cadet Calisco,” Beauty said. “The Vanguard, being D-Rank, would provoke a response from the dungeon by entering. His skills and training have made him an excellent investigator, but his ability to fight to the level needed to solo clear the upgraded dungeon is not present. If he entered, it would only make things worse, igniting a burst situation ahead of schedule.

  “No, he did as he was trained, and sent out an urgent dispatch on the status of the dungeon.”

  “What is the status?” Det said. “Has it burst yet? Are we heading back there to find the town empty or in ruins?”

  “The dungeon has not yet burst,” Beauty said. “According to the Vanguard who stumbled on the emergences, we have roughly twelve hours until it will be in a burst situation.”

  “And how long will it take us to get to Radiant?” Sage asked.

  “Roughly ten hours,” Beauty said. “Possibly eleven, but I’ve asked the ship’s captain to make all haste.”

  “That means we’ll be in time,” Calisco said.

  “Probably,” Beauty said after a moment’s consideration. “Dungeon bursts are not an exact science. The Vanguard gave his best estimate, but it could be plus-or-minus several hours on either side. However, all we can do at this point is hurry. Then, when we arrive, we will need to immediately split up to tackle the two emergences at the same time.”

  “One of which is E-Rank,” Sage said. “And that one is our responsibility.”

  “Correct,” Beauty said. “While you deal with that dungeon, I will proceed to enter the D-Rank dungeon. However, the Vanguard’s report said he felt of a hint of C-Rank energy deeper within the emergence. Much like the situation on Ironsalt, we could be a facing a chain-dungeon scenario.”

  “Chain dungeon?” Det said.

  “When I was with Gen-Gen and Captain Curly,” Calisco said. “They made a big deal about their being a tunnel after the first Boss we killed. When we went down it, everything suddenly got stronger. Stuff didn’t explode as well as it should have. That’s where we found the ant-queen-chick. Before she ran away.”

  “That is a practical example of a chain dungeon,” Beauty said. “Normally, dungeons are self-contained, and of a singular Rank. An E-Rank dungeon is completed when you defeat its E-Rank Boss, and exit. Sometimes there is a ‘backdoor’ of sorts that will let you leave, or you need to retrace your steps.

  “In rare circumstances, that backdoor does not lead back outside the dungeon. Instead, it takes you to a second, higher-Rank dungeon. A D-Rank dungeon connected to the end of the E-Rank, for example. In the situation on Ironsalt, it was a D-Rank, C-Rank, and B-Rank chain.”

  “We only killed two Bosses,” Calisco said.

  “Technically, you only killed one. The Queen turned out to be a Rare Spawn, not a Boss. As for why you didn’t enter the B-Rank dungeon, that was mainly because it was not close to bursting,” Beauty said. “And while the general and captain would have been safe enough to explore and kill the Boss, you and Dr. Jeckles would’ve been placed at significant risk. Another team was sent back to deal with the rest of the C and B-Rank dungeons as soon as General Vans explained what was going on.”

  “While we’re in the E-Rank dungeon, you’re going to deal with the D and C-Ranks?” Tena said.

  “That is the plan,” Beauty said. “I should be able to manage those on my own. The C-Rank dungeon will be dangerous for me by myself, but there isn’t anything we can do about that.”

  “Do we have to worry about our dungeon being a chain?” Det said.

  “No,” Beauty said. “We have never found an instance of multiple, chain dungeons on a single pillar.”

  “But,” Det countered. “General Vans sounded pretty surprised to find a connection between the E and C-Ranks on Ironsalt. Not to mention the fact the queen Boss—sorry, Rare Spawn—ran away from them.”

  Beauty paused at the statement, then finally, slowly nodded. “You make a good point. We should assume you will only be dealing with a single E-Rank dungeon, but be prepared for that not to be the case. There have been enough abnormalities with the beginning of this cycle, we must not take anything for granted.”

  “And what do we do if there is a D-Rank dungeon?” Sage said. More than one of the cadets looked at Weiss at the question. Handling an E-Rank was already going to be dangerous enough, and if Weiss froze on them again…

  “I’ll take care of you all,” Weiss said, answering the unspoken question. On the table in front of the Medic, his hands clenched into fists. He was determined, at least. Whether or not that determination would materialize into action was an entirely different story.

  “I will have to leave the decision what to do—should you find a connected, chain dungeon—up to your best judgement,” Beauty said. “Likely, if one were present, it would also be close to bursting. As you saw with The ANTiquated Temple, that dungeon still took me almost an hour to clear, despite it being originally E-Rank.

  “On Radiant, the D and C-Rank dungeons will also escalate to deal with me when I enter, meaning it will take me several hours to clear both. In the best-case scenario.”

  “And the worst-case scenario?” Eriba asked, bangs hanging in front of her face.

  “I die, and the dungeons burst,” Beauty said. “Releasing D-through-B Rank opponents on the unsuspecting pillar.”

  “That wouldn’t be great,” Det said.

  “No, it would not,” Beauty said. “For any of us. Which is why I do not plan on dying. And you should not either. I know we haven’t had nearly enough time to prepare you for what you’re about to face, but you must find a way to persevere.

  “When you enter the dungeon—as it’s close to burst status—you will find an almost overwhelming Wordless presence. That will be your first, and biggest challenge, especially with how your party is set up.”

  “I’m sorry,” Eriba said. “If I could’ve brought my gadgets with me, I could help more at the start.”

  “It’s fine, Eriba,” Sage said. “We’ll get you enough parts quickly, so you can get started. How did her grenades work, Beauty?”

  “They were excellent,” Beauty said. “Within five-feet of the initial blast, the E-Rank ants were killed. Those within five-to-ten feet didn’t die, but were gravely damaged. Anything outside ten feet survived, with varying degrees of damage. For a dungeon burst situation, they will be a very useful tool.” Beauty turned his full attention to Calisco. “As will explosions.”

  “Explosions are always useful,” Calisco countered, but puffed up her chest a bit.

  “Even more so in this dungeon,” Beauty said. “You can expect Wordless to be packed together in groups up to three-times as large as normal. Your explosions will be a key tactic to your group getting through this in one piece. As will having two competent Bulwarks keeping the hordes from reaching you.” This time, his look went to Tena.

  “Supporting those two with well-timed heals…” Eyes to Weiss. “… and a force of varied, but versatile fighters…” Looks at Sage and Det. “… along with flexible equipment to meet the task at hand…” A nod to Eriba. “… will be how you win the day.

  “You have not had the opportunity to find your strengths and weaknesses yet, so this will be your trial by fire.”

  “We’re not dying here,” Det said. “Our drives won’t let us. And, we’re not letting Radiant turn out like Ironsalt, either. We’re going to stop this dungeon burst, whether it’s ready for us or not.”

  “Don’t you mean if we’re ready for the dungeon burst or not?” Sage asked, though there was a smile threatening the corner of his mouth.

  “I meant what I said, and said what I meant,” Det said. “We’re saving Radiant.”

  “Good,” Beauty said. “Then we have approximately ten hours to get you prepared. At E-Rank, your bodies can only handle some of our weakest, non-Wordless equipment. We have some of that on this ship, so let’s go get your equipped as best we can.

  “By the time the sun rises again tomorrow, you’ll either be saviors to a pillar who will never know you were there, or the Mistguard will be mourning us along with the other fallen.”

  “I know which one I’d prefer,” Calisco said.

  “Don’t we all,” Det said.