Chrysalis

When Morrelia awoke her entire body was screaming in pain. This extent of muscle soreness wasn't something she'd experienced many times in her life, even in the worst of her training sessions as a trainee legionary. She grit her teeth and forced herself to rise, forcing her protesting limbs to yield to her will, the pain she shoved down deep into her chest and fed it to the fire that constantly burned there. She'd known that hell awaited her if she chose this direction and she wasn't going to shy away from it now that she felt the sting of her decisions.

A splash of cold water followed by a vigorous scrubbing to ensure no grime, blood or ichor remained on her skin before she launched into an hour long session of stretches and exercises designed to prepare her for the next excursion into the third stratum. It was agonising and she whimpered in pain more than once, but she grit her teeth and followed through to the end. Another splash of cold water to wipe away the sweat and then into her leather armour. Breakfast had been delivered to her tent and she scoffed it down quickly, her body desperate for energy and sustenance. The baptism the Legion had put her through meant she didn't need to eat as much as a regular person, the mana that burned in her veins made sure of that, but the brutal regime she was putting herself through meant that her muscles craved calories and proteins.

When Morrelia finally emerged from her tent, she already radiated the intense focus one would expect from a warrior in the field. She managed only a few strides before a familiar face settled in beside her.

"Myrrin," she greeted her friend without breaking stride. "Haven't seen you for a little while. How've you been?"

"Busy!" the younger woman laughed as she lengthened her stride to match that of the berserker. "Since reforming your father has had the entire legion put through its paces! The drills are endless!"

"Nothing wrong with sharpening the blade before battle."

"I just got back from battling the wave! I'm plenty sharp!"

"Where were you stationed?" Morrelia finally turned her head to take in her friend, curious to see what had changed.

Though she'd completed her initiation before Morrelia had, Myrrin was younger by several years. Being introduced to full membership had forced her to rapidly grow up however. There had been a hardening in the carefree young girl that she could remember signing up to be a trainee back in Liria. It was the same transformation that hit all of them in time, the soft edges buffed out to be replaced by sterner stuff. Battling the Dungeon wasn't an occupation for the meek, only the strongest could survive.

"I was in the second stratum, close to Yerryn," Myrrin pulled a face, "I've seen enough of shadow beasts to last several lifetimes."

"I hear that," Morrelia chuckled.

The two of them continued to stride through the camp at a brisk pace, saluting any superiors they came across but not bothering to stop. Their relentless pace puzzled the ranger until she was forced to ask.

"What's the rush, Morr? I hear they have you on some rough schedule, but you only got back yesterday!"

"And it's time to get back at it," she said, her face hard.

Myrrin's mouth dropped.

"You can't be serious! I've been told thousands of times how dangerous it is to overexpose to the Dungeon! You need to take a break."

There hadn't been any breaks for weeks. Morrelia didn't pause in her stride.

"This is my decision. I need to push if I'm going to succeed in my goals and that means killing monsters and polishing my Skills. I don't have the luxury of holding back, I need to make up for lost time."

The other elites within the Legion didn't walk away from service like she had, they'd been battling ever since they'd passed their initiation alongside their brothers and sisters. If she wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with them, if she wanted to rise above them, then Morrelia had no choice but to run herself ragged, despite the risks.

"I don't understand what's going on here, Morr," Myrrin grabbed hold of her friend's arm and dug in her heels, finally succeeding in stopping the other woman. "Talk to me."

A flash of irritation flickered through the berserker's mind before she suppressed it. She sighed and gestured for the two of them to sit down in a quiet area of the camp.

"I'm not trying to brush you off, but I really do have a patrol I need to meet up with soon, so I'm going to be quick," she explained. "I've been pushed forward to participate in a training program for officers and deep Dungeon Legionem Abyssi. During the wave I was basically part of an accelerated development program where they had me fighting pretty much around the clock."

"And you still are," Myrrin pointed out.

"I still am," she confirmed. "That's largely because of the path I chose to pursue. During my last Class promotion my father laid out several different ways I could progress. Heavy armour, berserker or try to develop leadership skills to complement what I already have."

"And what did you pick?"

"All of them," Morrelia grinned.

Her friend stared back at her for a long moment before she started laughing and shook her head.

"That's just like you Morr. Your appetite is bigger than your stomach!"

"Can you blame me? If you had a chance at wearing praetorian armour you wouldn't take it?"

"So why not just choose to follow the heavy armour route?"

She shrugged.

"I didn't want to leave my Berserker Class in the dust, it's been with me my whole life. It's part of who I am."

"Alright then, so why bother trying to incorporate leadership Skills?" Myrrin said, exasperated. "Aren't you just making things difficult for the heck of it?"

Morrelia rolled her eyes.

"I'm not exactly enjoying this schedule. I'm in pain constantly, tired constantly, on edge constantly. It's rough. But I decided it wasn't enough to just be a killer for the Legion. I wanted to be a leader for the Legion. I want to have a say in when and where I fight. I want to know that I'm picking the right battles."

With so many opponents to face, she didn't want to see the Legion wasting lives throwing themselves against the Colony any more. It would be a long time before she was qualified to make decisions like that, but she didn't want to accept that she would never have that authority. Their enemies were too great for them to be wasting energy any further.

"So from what you're saying, you've basically picked the most difficult path you could possibly have picked?"

"That's right," Morrelia sighed as she pushed herself up from her seated position. "Obviously not the smartest decision I could have made, but it was the only one I felt I could be happy with. The reason I'm going on so many patrols is to quickly level through my leadership Class and polish the accompanying Skills as fast as possible. This way I'll be ready to transition to something that can combine all of my strengths. At the very least, I'll be qualified to learn all that they have to teach me."

She reached down and helped pull the younger legionary to her feet before they once more resumed their march to the armoury. Morrelia needed to get her Abyssal armour on before she could head back out into the Dungeon and she had intended to use the little time she'd had left to give it a thorough inspection. If Myrrin helped, they could look over the suit and she'd only be a few minutes late. Going out into the field without making sure of your equipment was a cardinal sin within the Legion.

However, as the two young woman made their way to the imposing and well defended building in the heart of the camp they found a small delegation waiting for them. Without any discussion, a uniformed centurion stepped forward and addressed them.

"Is one of you Legionary Morrelia Faronicus?"

"That's me," she saluted, her fist crashing into her heart.

The officer nodded.

"Your deployment has changed. Pack your gear and meet us here in an hour."

"Yes, sir!" Morrelia saluted again before she turned on her heel and ran back toward her tent as fast as she could.

Myrrin watched it happen with a dazed expression before she turned back to the centurion.

"Where is she going? If you don't mind me asking, sir."

The armoured man flicked a glance at her and she couldn't help but feel as if her entire service record had been summed up by this person in that moment.

"She's going deeper. That's all you need to know, Legionary."