Chrysalis

The expedition had been proceeding smoothly so far, something Mirryn was exceedingly grateful for. The royal guards and the Legion had cooperated in the clearing of the upper levels and hundreds of lower levelled monsters had been destroyed in preparation for the wave.

It normally wouldn’t take long for such high level warriors to move through this area of Dungeon. To the higher levelled Legionaries this place was simply no threat at all, they could probably walk through with six monsters hanging off them and hardly take any damage.

To be completely thorough and clear out every side tunnel, every passage and all of the branches systematically took a lot of time and effort. With two forces as sharp as the Guard, who only accepted the best, and the Deep Legion, who lived for this kind of fighting, the task was done as quickly as it realistically could be done.

"Don’t they look relaxed over there" grumbled Donnelan, indicating the senior Legionaries standing by the tunnel wall chatting and laughing together.

"I wouldn’t stare too much if I were you, and keep your voice down" Mirryn whispered back, keeping her hands on her crossbow and her eyes on the tunnel, "Aurillia is rumoured to have incredibly advanced hearing skills. If they hear you whining you’ll be digging latrines into the rock".

"It just doesn’t seem right that us lower levelled trainees with weaker jobs have to do all the heavy lifting whilst the full Legionaries stand about and watch. I’ve launched so many fireballs in the last ten hours my fingers have almost burnt black" Donnelan moaned.

Donnelan usually wasn’t the type to whinge and complain when he was on the job but fighting monsters and being on constant alert for the better part of half a day was enough to get anyone in a foul mood. To make matters worse, even the trainees were high enough of a level that they received very little experience for using their skills or killing monsters this high up in the Dungeon.

"Hold on a little longer you sook" Mirryn admonished, "we’ll make it down to the first Expanse soon and set up the advanced camp. We’re scheduled to rest once the fortifications are in place".

"Great, more digging".

Mirryn could only roll her eyes at Donnelans’ continual complaints. She couldn’t blame him too much. Mages who specialised in fire magic like Donnelan were often called "Blast Mages" because they were effective in wiping out large amounts of lower levelled creatures, Donnelan had been forced to work much harder than she had.

"How are you two travelling? Managing to stay awake?" laughed one their Centurions, Alexi, as he approached to check on them.

The two trainees immediately saluted. "Just fine Centurion!" Donnelan declared, his voice full of vigour, "I’m ready to serve another ten hours, easily".

Alexi snorted. "No you’re not, in another hour you’ll be snoring on your feet."

well-built officer gave them both an encouraging slap

other trainees this mission is a rite of passage. Expect that you’ll be worked

audibly groaned, causing Alexi to laugh

and the old fogeys will start to pick up the slack once we reach the first Expanse", Alexi leaned closer to whisper conspiratorially, "you may not know this but us higher ranked Legionaries are built to

Because the monsters are too

the Expanse is just baaaaarely enough. You’ll see some good stuff then. Watch out for the commander especially, he’s a living legend for a reason

came a shout from

immediately snapped to

heat he could almost feel. "IF you’re done running your mouth to the trainees centurion, then I suggest you take the trainees to the supply cart and locate three

Donnelan almost wept.

away, cursing silently at their Centurion, Titus was chuckling

I shouldn’t be so hard on them?" Aurillia asked, one eyebrow

his shoulder. Instead of

ground us into paste, put us back together and

of the finest officers I’ve ever seen. We don’t coddle Legionaries Aurillia, we liquefy them so we can pour them into our mould. If those kids aren’t crying

"And Alexi?"

Titus frowned, "I’ll have a word

commander Titus, Alexi wouldn’t be speaking for some time. The healing alone might take

Royal Guard clear on their duties until the

tunnels to them. I’ll have to thank

skilled, but he wasn’t sure it was necessarily the best idea for the Queen to send her most competent defenders into the Dungeon to manage the upper

well as its wealth. Monster cores were just one of the valuable materials that

the Dungeon, the easier Titus began to move. After so many years of campaigning, it was difficult for him to spend such an extended amount of time on the surface. He wasn’t built for up there, writing letters and managing the budget. With his axe in hand and the mana burning

advance further into the Dungeon. Titus positioned himself at the head of the caravan, leading his Legionaries