It was another hour before the outer door opened again, and Beauty stepped through. The man had leapt from the mistship in the B-Rank equivalent of the armor the cadets had worn. It now stood in tatters across his lanky frame. His entire right sleeve was missing, scars leaked small amounts of blood from his arm, while other gashes marred what was left of the rest of his uniform. Dozens—if not hundreds—of small, glowing needles peppered him from head to toe.

  All that from D and C-Rank dungeons.

  “Good,” Beauty said when he saw the six cadets look up at him. “You all survived.”

  “Did better than you, from the looks of things,” Calisco said.

  “It does indeed,” Beauty said. “The connection between the D and C-Rank dungeons was more direct than expected. The C-Rank began preparing to counter me while I was dealing with the D-Rank, meaning I was facing artificially inflated Wordless from the moment I entered the C. It was… a chore.”

  Det couldn’t help but chuckle at their instructor comparing clearing something close to a B-Rank dungeon with cleaning a house.

  “You managed to kill the Bosses?” Sage asked, a hint of hope in his voice. “Prevented the bursts?”

  “Yes, though it took me far longer than I thought it would,” Beauty said. “From what I’ve been told, and what I see here, you all not only succeeded, but also came away with multiple rewards yourselves. A Rare Spawn?”

  “Yeah,” Det said. “And the Boss. In the same room. Again.”

  “That is not normal,” Beauty said. “Having it happen in three out of the last four emergences to appear is even more unusual.”

  “Three of four?” Weiss said.

  “Yes,” Beauty said. “The D-Rank dungeon I entered also had a Rare Spawn in the same room as the Boss. Their teamwork made them far more troublesome than their Rank should’ve allowed. Thankfully, the C-Rank had no such thing. Still, to see it this often, when it is normally exceedingly rare is troublesome. Not to mention two emergences appearing one so close to the other.

  “It’s a bad omen, and makes me feel as if something has changed.”

  “That can’t be that strange,” Det said. “There are Wordless emergences all the time, aren’t there?”

  Beauty shook his head. “This is the first time we’ve seen new dungeons in three cycles. Sixty years. Compared to the number of pillars in the Mistsea, those infested with emergences and Wordless is low. Sixteen percent. We go multiple cycles between finding new ones.

  “Until this cycle, where for the first time I can think of, we’ve found two. Both with E-Rank dungeons, multiple emergences, and chained dungeons. All three of those things are rare, on their own. Found together, they are unheard of.

  “We have two, opening within weeks of each other.”

  “When you put it like that,” Det admitted. “It does sound pretty strange.”

  “It does,” Beauty said. “I suspect we will see Mistguard mobilized in a way we haven’t in hundreds of years, moving to inspect every pillar for signs of a hidden emergence. I also expect you six will be very busy.”

  “Us?” Calisco said.

  “You,” Beauty confirmed, but didn’t say anything else.

  “Uh,” Tena started. “I think what Calisco meant was, why us?”

  “Because you can clear the E-Rank dungeons and get something from it,” Beauty said.

  “You want us going around to all the E-Rank dungeons?” Sage said.

  “All?” Beauty asked rhetorically. “No, of course not. There are now four E-Rank dungeons—that we know about—and between clearing them and traveling between them, you would never stop. You still have classes to take, after all. And, witnessing the state you’re in now, I see more than ever how much of a disservice it was to bring you here without them.”

  “Hey, we did okay,” Calisco said.

  “Yes, you did more than okay, in fact,” Beauty said. “Now, just stop and imagine for a moment how much better you will do after you’ve had proper training.”

  Calisco didn’t have an answer to that, so Beauty continued.

  “What I see happening, now,” Beauty said. “Is a thorough mix of classes and dungeon clears. Each of you has earned two pieces of gear from this dungeon, making you significantly stronger than you would be without it. We will build off that, improving your ability to clear these dungeons and defeat Wordless. At the same time, you must keep up with your academy classes.

  “The classes will be the foundation you need, while the dungeons will temper you. In this case, I feel as if we threw you into the fire without giving you a proper hammering first.”

  “I feel pretty hammered…” Det mumbled, though Beauty either didn’t hear him, or ignored him.

  “We will likely work with this dungeon, as you know what it entails, to continue to build your experience and strength,” Beauty said, clasping his arms behind him as he began to pace. “Once you can clear it with ease, while still in E-Rank, we will move to the other dungeons. My goal, before half this year is up, is for you to be able to clear all four dungeons within one week.”

  “Why one week?” Weiss asked.

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  “Simple,” Beauty said. “It is a tangible, realistic goal. Nothing more. But, as you can see, even clearing one is no easy task. It’s not just about the physical battle within the dungeon, but also preparing for the next battle you know is coming.”

  Det nodded where he sat. They’d come out of the dungeon knowing their job was done. Knowing they could rest. It would’ve been a different story if they thought they were rushing right off to another fight. They would’ve needed to conserve their strength more.

  Hell, what if their dungeon had been a chain dungeon? They wouldn’t have had anything left in the tank for round two. Yeah, they definitely needed to re-evaluate their tactics.

  Guess that’s what the academy is for.

  “You are the first full group we’ve ever had starting at E-Rank,” Beauty said. “Though this dungeon run wasn’t ideal, you all did survive, and proved you could do it. Once the headmaster hears of this, I believe we can expect more opportunities to come your way. More challenges, as well.

  “Expect to be used as test subjects to see what kind of—if any—difference we see between groups starting Wordless dungeons early on in their first year, compared to their second year.”

  “It’s really never been tried before?” Weiss said, though Sage gently shook his head. One shake, and barely that. It was doubtful anybody other than Det—who just happened to be looking at the man—had noticed.

  “It has been attempted in parts in the past,” Beauty said. “Never quite this early, and never with the responsibility of clearing a dungeon or risking a burst that would result in the loss of an entire pillar. Yes, had you failed in the E-Rank dungeon, there was the chance Radiant would’ve been lost.”

  “What about the other Mistguard on the ship?” Tena said, her wounds in much better shape after Puncture’s help. Yeah, the ground was still sopped with blood beneath where she sat, but none of it was quite as fresh. “They could’ve stepped in.”

  “Most are what we could call support,” Beauty said. “They can fight, certainly. Especially in an E-Rank dungeon, but if the dungeon adapted too quickly, they would be in trouble. There are no Bulwarks among them, and only the one Medic. Should a burst have occurred, if they had failed to stop it here within these walls, the Wordless would’ve quickly spread across the pillar, making things significantly more difficult.

  “More than anything, this group was thrown together quickly, with the intent being that we would handle the potential burst. This group isn’t suited for dungeon runs, though their talents do lie in containing them in the long term. After they have had sufficient time to prepare. Hence the building around you.

  “This was on your shoulders, whether you are excited by that responsibility or not is up to you. Something you will not be able to avoid, however, is the success of what you did. As I said, this will be seen as an opportunity to push an aggressive schedule. One that will either make you stronger and advance Mount Avalon’s training regiment, or kill you in the process, and maintain the status quo.”

  “Count me in,” Det said. He agreed with everything Beauty had said so far. It was going to be more work—a lot more—but he wasn’t on Elestar to watch movies. “Not for the dying part, but for getting stronger and proving we were the right choices for this.”

  “Me too,” the others echoed. Everybody—even Tena—saw their shortcomings in one way or another from that dungeon run. They were all keen on correcting those. The bigger picture stuff about Mount Avalon was nice—I guess?—but it wasn’t what would get Det out of bed in the morning. The potential of being able to deal with a Rare Spawn and a Boss at the same time, or a chain-dungeon scenario, those were the things he could feel pulling on his drive.

  In the end, it would all lead to one thing: the power to do what he wanted. Whether that was getting back to Earth or suplexing dragons to protect people who reminded him of his daughter, it would put him in control.

  “Good,” Beauty said, likely seeing the resolve on each of the cadet’s faces. Yes, they’d won, this time, but not nearly as decisively as any of them wanted. “The Mistguard have almost completed this temporary blind to hide the emergence from the people of Radiant. Another is underway where I entered the dungeon as well. Once these are complete, and a full construction team arrives, we shall be returning to Mount Avalon. I’ve asked the captain of the Skyshark to take us himself, as we have lost time to make up for.”

  “What’s going to happen to Radiant now?” Weiss asked. “Is it going to be evacuated like Ironsalt?”

  “No,” Beauty said. “Quite the opposite, in fact. In some ways, this will be a windfall opportunity for Radiant as well. Mistguard—ReSouled, specifically—will be permanently stationed here. This will bring trade, a stream of mistships, and even new career choices for future generations to this pillar. As it has always been under the Mistline, it has missed out on a number of common conveniences most pillars take for granted.

  “No longer. By the time the next cycle arrives, I highly suspect Radiant will barely be recognizable.”

  “Will there be less asshats?” Det asked.

  “There will never be less asshats, I fear,” Beauty said, true sorrow in his voice. Yeah, that guy got it.

  “When will we be back, you think?” Calisco said. “You said we’re going to be doing this dungeon again.”

  “You can expect to be farming this dungeon,” Beauty said. “Though not right away. Once there are better facilities on the pillar, we will look at splitting your time more evenly between here and Mount Avalon. In the shorter term, for the next few weeks, you can look forward to intensive study, and longer days than other students will be enduring.”

  “I don’t think our academy arc is going to go the way I expected it to,” Weiss said, tilting his head back to rest against the wall.

  “No, your academy arc will likely be different than the status quo,” Beauty said. “No less exciting, though.”

  “Are we going to have any free time?” Calisco said. “I’m all for getting strong enough to smash some Wordless faces, but a girl’s got to unwind sometimes too. Retail therapy.”

  “A definite schedule has not been devised, as of yet, though you make a good point,” Beauty said. “You will still have some leisure time, as well as being expected to take some joint classes, and partake in the dueling tournaments that take place.”

  “Something one of us needs to win, I take it,” Sage said.

  “Given the resources that will be funneled into you, yes, one of you better win,” Beauty said. “There are several cadets this year that will still give you a significant challenge, but if you want to prove you were the right ones to invest in—and to maintain the ongoing investment—the dueling tournaments will be crucial victories for you to attain.”

  “Since we have three Arsenals and a Medic,” Calisco said, looking at Tena. “I guess it’s up to us two to bring home the gold.”

  “Who else was it going to be, anyway?” Tena said, fist-bumping the other woman.

  Det mainly ignored the two—listening to them would just annoy him—and instead focused on what Beauty had laid out for them. The next few weeks were going to be busy. Making up for missed time with academy lessons, extra classes from the sounds of things, then the tournaments, and at least one trip back to Radiant to give this dungeon a second go.

  Oh, and the duel Calisco expected him to issue the moment they got back to Mount Avalon. Baby-face needed to be put in his place. Det would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it now. If he could bring his equipment with him, he could also bring something like an overpowered bear or snake. Then again, maybe he didn’t want to give away that kind of trump card too soon. Not if the official duels were going to be coming up soon.

  His party would know about those kinds of renditions, but nobody else would. If he could save that kind of thing for an important match, it would make all the difference.

  “That is all for the future,” Beauty said, the evenness of his voice bringing Det back to reality. “Before we stretch too far for that, let’s discuss how the dungeon went. What you did right. What you did wrong. And what you got for your hard work. In short, it’s time for a debrief.”