In the end, Tom would need at least a month to get back on his feet. His wounds were worse than any of the healers expected. The burn on his chest managed to destroy some of the muscle, and the nerve damage was extensive. The guild would already cover a big part of the expenses since it was a wound that happened inside a dungeon. Still, after seeing the exams, they had to fly in a specialist in muscular reconstruction.

The punishment Bonnie was giving Blue was in the form of a bunch of tests. The subjects were the various compendiums the group already had. Hera just gave her a long scolding, and even Helena joined in. Despite it all, it was clear that the one who was the toughest with Blue was Blue herself. She made sure to read up about every skill and spell the group had and even created more strategies that she put in their handbook as in the testing phase. As much as Hera agreed that this was a good idea, she warned Blue not to overwork too much. When trying to make something become a habit, it was important not to over-exert at the beginning.

Knowing that Tom and Runir would stay away for a while, the group decided to apply for the battlefield. But first, they did another run in the Dragon Kin dungeon with just the four of them. They had to be sure that they could finish that with a smaller party. Having Hera show up as a dragon right from the get-go was very helpful. They managed to grab several quests that weren't available last time, or at least that they didn't find, and close to half the army was present for the shield wall training. During the day, a small group of Canine Kobolds tried to attack the alchemist's cabin, but thanks to Blue, nothing big happened. Only a small localized fire by the wooden wall that was quickly put out. Zudra was easily convinced that she would need to set up night shifts that warded off any nocturnal attacks.

The group managed to start the final day with 430 morale, almost 100 more than their first attempt. Blue also decided to use the blueprint she got, and thanks to it, they had set up close to twice as many traps, including a couple of massive ones in front of the gate, created with Light Fur in mind. Fighting the horde wasn't very different. They mostly stood by, flinging spells while Blue took the job of commanding the troops, changing positions, and increasing defenses when needed. When Light Fur appeared, Hera used her mana reinforcement to buff Zudra, and they let the two fight, while being sure to stay around the area of the buff and to support Zudra as needed. However, much like the first time, the kobold general didn't need any help to defeat the giant canine.

They had more casualties, even with all the buffs. Without Runir to heal the wounded kobolds and buff their attributes, around 150 Dragon Kin ended up falling to the Wolves' attacks. Bonnie and Blue decided to buy some healing spells to help that kind of situation in the future. Not just that, the run showed how much they started relying on Runir. If something happened and he wasn't around, they had to be able to heal themselves. Alex said she would look into ways of making potions and salves with whatever she could find around the MAZE. It was nice having spells, but she wanted something different, just in case.

When the dungeon ended, they got 15 hundred gold but no extra rewards. Even if they sold the drops, they would get only an extra two hundred gold or so. The main benefit was the number of creatures they killed. It still wasn't enough to make anyone level up, but they imagined it would happen soon. Hera also remembered to register the affinities of all the kobolds she could. Oddly enough, Light Fur had a Lunar affinity, while Zudra had a Draconic one.

The group agreed that participating on the battlefield was a good idea. Even though it was a hard mode, the monsters inside wouldn't be stronger. There would just be more of them, and since they would be helping the Wolves of the Night, their side would have a massive numeric advantage. As long as they were careful, nothing should go wrong.

There were still 3 days before the battlefield would trigger, and now the number of registered parties grew to 24. That amounted to a total of 85 people in several different roles. Since their group registered late, it was probable that they would be among the last teams to enter. The guild would send them a text informing them of the team and time they were assigned. The guild was expecting to reach 100 before it all started. The quest for the battlefield lasted 5 days. To avoid any issues with the healers, each group would have a schedule to enter the dungeon. Each team would wait four hours before heading inside. Hopefully, that would allow the healers to take care of any emergency treatments before the next group left the dungeon. The guild had also called a few extra hands to work in the infirmary, both as nurses and medics. Even with all the planning, it was very likely that the groups would finish the quest at different times and overlap their exit. However, that was the best method the guild had found to give room for the healers.

After registering, they headed back home. Taking advantage of the small break, they prepared and studied the compendium. It was much more expensive than the one for a single dungeon, but since they split the cost, it wasn't that big of an issue. Not to mention that the reward for the first time clearing the battlefield would be more than enough to cover the fee.

Hera spent most of her days in one of the ATRs, trying to get the fear spell, Helena's spell module, and a better healing spell. Even if it would work only on her, it was better than using the simple mend. She also felt she could use some buffs, but there was already a lot on her plate. It would be better to focus on one or two things instead of branching out too much and ending up with nothing to show for it.

On Sunday, the group received a message informing them that they were scheduled to enter the battlefield at 6 PM on Monday. It was earlier than they expected, but apparently, that way, the team would have 10 people as required. There was already another group of 4 and a small party of 2 that had registered early, leaving 4 free spots. Hera's hard work had paid off. Before getting the text, she managed to get the fear spell.

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Fear

Rank: Novice

Allows the user to create a threatening aura that triggers a primal response in those who see it.

The more mana used in the spell, the stronger the aura becomes.

Range: 15 meters

Base mana cost: 40 mana

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After some tests, Hera realized that it didn't matter how much mana she put into the spell. The range would stay the same. However, by using Blue as a guinea pig, Hera figured out how to shape that aura in a way. Not so much the area of effect, but the reason for triggering that fear response. She could mirror the presence of a snake, a wendigo, and a kobold, although the last one could be easily confused with a dragon if she added some pretend fire breath.

Hera also found out that the grease fire spell was no longer just a novice spell but had changed to an intermediary one. Not that there were any changes in the mana cost or range. Even the appearance of the flaming liquid didn't change. To Hera's knowledge, the only thing different was her ability to use it from whatever place in her body she wanted. She could make it come out of her ears or nostrils, her feet or hands, even from the middle of her stomach or her elbows. The other constraints were still in effect. If she was hit by the liquid, she would get hurt. Still, having the spell behave like that was amazing. If she ended up in a situation like when the three kobolds almost killed her again, there were many more escape options. Even if in that particular scenario, her reaction would remain the same.

Talking to Helena, Hera understood what happened. Spells had 7 ranks, beginner, novice, intermediate, advanced, expert, master, and grandmaster. Each rank was about not just how complex the spell was, but how well one could use it. A beginner spell such as Hera's pulse could one day become a grandmaster spell. However, it was possible to buy the formulas or codes for spells up to the advanced level. Because complexity was also a defining trait of these early classifications, people had a tendency to make overly intricate spells to either brag or try to sell for high prices, even if the actual usability would be the same as a novice or intermediary spell. After advanced, all ranks could be attained by using the spell and improving your knowledge of it. That didn't mean that an advanced spell would reach expert quicker. In reality, it was easier to become proficient in a spell that you ranked up all the way from beginner than to get a new advanced spell and become an expert on it.

The more comfortable and seamless the spell's use became, the closer it would be to grandmaster rank. Now that Hera managed to change the starting point of the spell at will, it had improved her understanding of it, and since the spell was already a combination of her poison spray and the fire arrow, its complexity was relatively high. Helena did a mockup of what the formula could look like that made Hera gasp. The formula should be three times bigger than the novice version. Now that she could change the spell's origin, several variables would have to be taken into account before the effect could occur.

There was another rank beyond that called Timeless spells. Those would be spells where the user had developed them to absolute perfection. Using that spell became more natural than a heartbeat, but there were no possibilities to increase its power or efficacy. The spell would have reached the absolute peak of its capabilities. No one, be it in the past, present, or even future, would be able to improve it.

Very few were able to get a spell to Timeless rank. The amount of work required in a single spell was so massive that it was more feasible to receive a spell of that rank from a high-level dungeon or a quest from the MAZE than to actually practice one. About 50 years ago, someone received a tome for a Timeless Water Arrow spell from a dungeon. Since then, people have tried all they could to receive a similar reward, but to no avail. Part of the reason the guild was so excited about unlocking new layers after the wall came down was to find more dungeons that could give such rewards.

When Monday arrived, Hera and her group headed to the kobold field. Blue, Bonnie, and Alex had used part of the money to get another set of upgrades for their equipment, and they all agreed to get some fire resistance, including Hera, who wanted to save some money. They had seen firsthand how deadly the wildfire could be, and no one wanted to get hit by one of those bombs.

Arriving at the guild, they met up with the rest of their team. The leaders would be the two highest-level explorers of the group: Alan and Rose, a healer and a crafter. Both of them were level 8 and had participated in various battlefields here. The group of four consisted of Peter, a Hunter, Chloe, a mage, and two familiar faces, Kenjiro and Tiffany.

"Hey, guys. Fancy meeting you here," Tiffany smiled at the group.

"Hey, Tiff. I really didn't expect to meet you two here," Blue replied.

"I could say the same, but then again, nothing beats Hera showing up in the news for killing a wendigo," Kenji said.

"That was an accident and a lot of luck," Hera shrugged.

"So what? You got your lucky break. Enjoy it!" Tiffany said.

"Guys, I can see that you have a lot of catching up to do, but can we do the briefing for the battlefield first? We should have some time after it," Alan interrupted.

Rose chuckled, "He's just saying that because we had a similar situation on our first battlefield. We spent so much time talking that we couldn't get around to all the questions people had. The first day ended up being a mess. Don't worry, since we are helping the Wolves, we are going to have a lot of time to talk in there."