Morgan and Selene had been Pioneers for the last five years, and the Awakening Event had well and truly come into full swing. Awakened were starting to spring up around the world without undergoing the candidacy trials, and the dungeons were popping up at an even higher rate.

Together, the pair had delved to the lowest depths of [The Dreadspire], a dungeon all the way out in a small kingdom called Hyperion. It was a tiered dungeon, one that had multiple floors -- each increase in floor number would correspond to an increase in difficulty. At floor nine, that difficulty increase was beginning to get out of hand.

"Rank A, my foot..."

Morgan eyed the source of the muttering; Anselm Albrecht, the Pioneer of Resolve. He was a bright boy, a foot taller than Morgan and considerably wider. Anselm was a few years older and was already well-known in awakened circles for his abilities in the warder role.

He was nice to his teammates, perhaps to a fault, and he was competent at his job -- Morgan couldn't ask for anything else.

"It said it was the final floor, though. So we shouldn't have much more left, now!" Selene, the Pioneer of Virtue -- she sounded chipper as always. Her tone was like an adult encouraging a child.

The amount of monsters the group had come across so far was low, eerily low. Three dragonkin and four black wyverns. Morgan stared out across the terrain ahead, taking it all in. This layer was the most open of them all, like a great cavern -- magma below cast a warm glow on the entire region, in spite of the fact that it was maybe a hundred meters below.

A pointed spire prodded out through the ceiling, reaching down to just above the surface of a platform at what appeared to be the end of the cavern. It was at the bottom of a wide, branching set of stairs that went all the way down to the basin below.

She wiped some sweat off of her forehead, making a mental note to pack better clothes for these environs in the future.

"Morgan." A quiet voice in her ear that came from behind, as hushed as a whisper. She peered back with just her eyes, even though she knew she wouldn't see a thing. "At least one other awakened ahead, spotted at the bottom of the stairs."

She lifted the brim of her hat, lowering it and raising it to air out her head. It was cooled a bit, but not by much. She responded at a similar volume, walking at a slower pace than the rest as she did, "Role?"

"Warder, maybe? Hard to tell, they've got a great big sword posted up next to them -- about as big as Selene. They don't seem to be wearing armor though, just the bare minimum of clothing."

"Any threats between us and them?"

"None."

She sighed, taking a deep breath of that scalding air, "Keep an eye out for any others -- keep me updated if anything changes." She heard the faintest movement, and then silence once more. With that, Morgan caught up to the others.

"There's someone ahead of us, you two. Maybe even multiple." They stopped in their tracks, turning to face her, "They're a greatsword user, and theirs is particularly large. They have the skills for it, I'm sure."

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Selene clapped her hands together, as she often did, "Is that why it was so easygoing? Somebody's already cleared the way through!"

Anselm piped up next with a huff, "If they're so good at fighting, then why are they stalling at the end?"

That was Morgan's dilemma as well. Awakened attacking other awakened wasn't an uncommon thing, but this would be an incredibly blatant way of going about it. In rank-A and higher dungeons, their basic escape stones were worthless -- so there was no way out. They would have to be a monster to try and fight the four of them, though.

The strategy had hardly changed since the first trial -- the poachers just got better at hiding themselves.

"Selene, any barriers would be a help. Anselm, your shield may take a thrashing if it comes down to it. Both of you-"

A mantle of black raven feathers, a shirt made of scaled leather, and the swish of their arrival. Isa -- the Pioneer of Deceit -- deigned to show themselves this time around.

She wrapped her order up quickly, it was never a good thing when Isa came out from hiding, "Both of you, be ready, but do not provoke them." The two of them nodded, and then she turned to Isa.

They stood up straighter, spurred on by the attention. Morgan had always found it intriguing how one of the most dangerous Pioneers was also the most shy. It made sense, though -- they were the youngest in the group at only 17. "U-um..." They cleared their throat, "Y-yes - there's an enemy ahead. The boss should appear just past them, but it looks as if they haven't engaged it."

Anselm put his hand to his chin for a moment, and then offered up his thoughts, "If it does come down to a fight, don't we risk entering the boss arena together?"

Selene's eyes closed for a moment, and then her mouth opened as she thought it over, "That's... Really quite a good point!"

Morgan rubbed the bridge of her nose, thinking hard. With a sigh, she made her decision, "We'll approach, and then see where that takes us. Whatever you do, don't pass the stairs." The rest of the group nodded, and so they began.

The four of them continued their solemn walk towards the long flight of stairs, encountering no beasts or monsters along the way. Soon, Morgan stood at the very top, staring down towards the bottom. From there she could see the one that Isa spoke of -- faintly, at least.

She preferred her odds from the top, and so she stayed there as she shouted down. "Are you alright down there?!" Her voice carried all the way down, echoing out loudly. A few seconds later, she saw the figure stir, and then turn.

Morgan glanced back quickly, eyeing the rest of the party. A faint white glow was coming from Selene's hands, the barriers were ready. Anselm held his tower shield firmly in front of him, and Isa seemed to be keeping an eye out all around.

Whoever they were, they didn't call back. Morgan couldn't make out much of what they looked like, but she could see as they hoisted a massive greatsword up and onto their shoulder. They looked to be about Anselm's height, with hair that reached down to their calves.

To her chagrin, they began to silently ascend the stairs.

She looked back towards Isa, "Are you certain there are no others?"

"..A-as certain as I can be, yes!" They nodded fervently.

The lone warrior at the bottom of the stairs was still slowly making their approach, step by step. Morgan called out to them one final time, a last-ditch effort to avoid the inevitable, "If you say nothing, I'll be forced to assume the worst! Please speak!"

They stopped in their tracks, only a couple dozen steps up, and then looked hard at her -- as if they could see her perfectly clearly.

With another flash of movement, they hefted the greatsword into a reverse grip, pointing the blade out like a spear.

You have to be kidding me...

She licked her lips, and then turned to the rest of the group, "Back! Get back!" Selene and Isa did so without hesitation, and Anselm followed a fraction of a second later. Morgan dove for the ground as that sword hurtled over her like a comet, smashing into the ground just past them.

And then, through the plume of dust and rubble, Morgan saw another figure: the mysterious warrior - somehow.

She scrambled to her feet, barking out a command before the fight properly began, "Barriers!"