Howling Caverns Dungeon.
The air in the mid-level cavern was thick with the shrieks of chittering monstrosities. The ground was a treacherous morass of sticky webbing and chitinous debris.
At the center of the storm, a party of five graduates fought for their lives against a nightmarish tide.
The Cave Weaver Matriarch, a Level 10 horror the size of a small wagon, loomed at the rear of the cavern.
Its carapace was a bleached, bone-white, and its eight multi-faceted eyes burned with cold intelligence. From its spinnerets, thick ropes of webbing shot forth with the force of ballista bolts.
Swoosh-!
"Brace!" Norman, the Warrior of Light, planted his feet, hefting his massive shield. The web-cannonballs slammed into it with a concussive THUMP.
From behind him, Sara, the Luminous Warder, used her skills.
"[Luminous Aegis]!"
"[Celerity of the Dawn]!"
Waves of golden light washed over the front line, reinforcing Norman's shield and causing Brennon's armor and sword to gleam brightly. A shimmering field of protective energy settled over the entire party, deflecting the skittering attacks of the smaller Cave Weavers that harried their flanks.
Brennon, the Sun Knight, burst from behind Norman's shield.
"Now!" he yelled.
"[Full Sun Slash]!"
He charged directly at the Matriarch, his greatsword blazing with light.
"SCREEE-!"
The Matriarch shrieked. Its two loyal Patriarchs moved to intercept, crossing their barbed forelegs as a shield while trying to attack him.
"BOOM-!"
Brennon's [Full Sun Slash] tore into them. A blinding flash and a crack of splitting chitin echoed through the cavern. The two Patriarchs were thrown aside, scorched and shattered. The sacrificial block had cost them their lives, but it had protected their matriarch from the brunt of the blow.
At that exact moment, a shadow detached from the ceiling.
Silas, the Dusk-Stalker, fell.
His daggers found their mark on the third Patriarch, who was trying to sneak up on Brennon.
"[Phantom Pierce]!"
He landed silently. A deep wound appeared on the monster's head. It shuddered violently once, its legs folding beneath it, dead before it hit the ground.
"Done-!" He shouted,
The path to the Matriarch was clear.
The enraged matriarch focused on the charging Brennon, fangs bared with vicious venom.
"Mira!" Brennon shouted loudly.
"..."
From the back of the party, Mireille, the Sun Princess, raised her hands. The air around her shimmered with palpable heat, and a complex, brilliant sigil of condensed sunlight rotated before her. Her eyes glowed with the intensity of a noonday sun.
"[Solar Lance]!"
A spear of incandescent, golden-hot energy, so dense it seemed solid, shot from her outstretched hands.
SWOOSH-!
It crossed the cavern in an instant, leaving a searing afterimage in the air. It was a precise, armor-piercing lance of absolute solar judgment.
It struck the Matriarch directly in the center of its cluster of eyes.
"..."
The monster's head simply... vaporized in a burst of light and steam. The headless body remained upright for a horrifying second, its legs twitching spasmodically, before it collapsed into a heap of twitching, burning chitin.
"..."
Silence descended, broken only by the crackle of the Matriarch's smoldering corpse, the frenzied shrieks of the remaining small Cave Weavers, and the heavy breathing of the party.
A massive, shimmering black-and-silver Essence Core materialized above the fallen boss monster, then split into five magnificent streams, flowing into each of them.
They had done it.
"Whoo..."
A collective wave of relief washed over them, smiles breaking out on their grimy faces.
"It's over," Norman gasped, letting his massive shield slump to the ground with a metallic clang.
"Not quite," Silas said, his voice a low murmur as he nodded toward the tunnel entrances. The smaller Cave Weavers, now leaderless, were scrambling over each other in a panicked retreat.
In a blur of motion, the Dusk-Stalker was gone, a shadow flowing into the darkness. The panicked shrieks of the fleeing monsters were abruptly cut short, one by one.
Mireille simply raised a hand. A smaller, less intense version of her solar sigil appeared.
"[Sunflare]."
A pulse of concussive light and heat erupted from her palm, washing down the largest tunnel. The screeches of the weavers inside were silenced instantly.
"That's awesome!" Norman cheered, clapping a heavy hand on Brennon's shoulder plate. "You too, Bren! That slash was incredible!"
Brennon, pulling off his helm to reveal a face beaded with sweat and a proud grin, turned his praise toward their heaviest hitter. "It was nothing compared to that lance, Mira. You vaporized it! As expected of a Legendary Class!"
Mireille didn't look up from the translucent golden page that only she could see. She nodded subtly, her expression unreadable. "Thank you. But please," she said, her voice quiet but firm, "don't call me by that name."
The grin faded from Brennon's face, replaced by a look of stunned confusion. He blinked, then quickly schooled his features into a respectful nod. "Right. Sorry, Mireille."
A soft giggle came from Sara, who was already channeling a gentle healing light over a shallow cut on Norman's arm. Norman himself coughed, trying to hide his own amusement at their leader's slight social fumble.
Mireille paid their exchange no mind, her focus entirely on her Soul Tome.
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
Name: Mireille
Age: 16
Class: Sun Princess
Grade: Legendary
Title: Dawn's Herald
Level: 7
Essence: 6,050/8000
━━━ ◇ ◆ ◇ ━━━
She was close.
Two more thousand Essence before the next level. A boss like the Matriarch had been a significant boost, but the requirements for each level were becoming daunting. Especially since she was a Legendary Class holder, the requirements for her ascension were way higher than those of others. Then again, considering the benefits, it was rather logical. But Mire still found it slow.
'I need to hurry.' She clasped her fingers tightly.
She dismissed the Soul Tome, her eyes scanning the now-quiet cavern.
"Hooh..."
The brief, post-battle adrenaline faded, leaving behind the deep ache of spent energy.
"We need a minute," Norman stated the obvious, leaning heavily on his shield. "That took everything I had."
Sara was already on it. She sat on a clean-ish rock, closing her eyes. A soft, steady glow emanated from her as she began to meditate, pulling ambient Essence from the dungeon to replenish her depleted reserves.
Silas melted back out of the shadows, giving a curt nod to indicate the escape routes were clear, then found a dark corner for himself, his breathing slowing as he focused inward.
Brennon remained standing, his gaze fixed on the dark tunnel leading deeper down. The rest of the party could see the gears turning behind his eyes.
After a few minutes of tense silence, broken only by the drip of water and their steadying breaths, he turned to them. "The safe route is to clear the remaining mid-tier zones. It would take the rest of the day, maybe more."
He paused, letting the implication hang in the air. Then he gestured with his chin toward the abyssal tunnel. "Or we go straight for the heart. We bypass everything, take out the Carrion Wurm mini-boss guarding the descent, and head straight for the final boss."
Norman let out a low whistle. "The Wurm? That's a big ask, Bren. It's what, Level 13? And the final boss is supposed to be Level 15."
"It is," Brennon agreed, his voice firm. "But we have a Legendary-class attacker." He glanced at Mireille; the respect in his tone was clear. "The Wurm will give a massive essence payout. The final boss will be even bigger. If we pull it off, we'll all hit Level 10 before any other team."
He finally looked around at each of them. "It's a risk. But the rewards will be worth it. We've proven we can handle a Level 10 boss. With the right tactics and coordination, we can handle it."
All eyes turned to Mireille. Although Brennon was the party leader, everyone knew it was her opinion that would be the deciding factor.
"..."
Mireille had been listening quietly, her arms crossed. She met Brennon's gaze, then looked toward the ominous tunnel. A calculated risk. A direct path to the power she desperately needed. It aligned perfectly with her goals.
"I agree," she said.
A new energy seemed to fill the party. The daunting challenge was reframed as an opportunity. Sara finished her meditation and stood, her Aether pool refreshed. Norman hefted his shield with a renewed grunt of effort. Silas simply nodded from the shadows, ready to move.
Without another word, Brennon led the way, his sun-forged armor a beacon in the gloom as they left the aftermath of their victory behind and plunged into the deeper, darker unknown of the Howling Caverns.
'...A little longer, then I will finally be free.'