"You two mind sharing with the class?"

Leonn silently cursed himself. After Argo and Kirito's rather ominously vague and foreboding discussion in the 4th floor boss chamber, he'd felt a little out of the loop. Despite his status as a beta tester, Leonn wasn't a frontliner back then and had played the game casually. Back then, he took his time and focused on learning his weapon, since his personal experience with it would be the only thing he could carry over past the beta. While that sort of focus then had earned him a reputation as the game's best maul user now, it meant that he wasn't as knowledgeable about floor bosses as he would have liked.

As a result, he had absolutely no idea what his fellow beta testers were talking about.

"What are you two talking about?" Asuna asked as she sped up to walk alongside Kirito.

"I don' wanna say in case anythin' changed." Argo said, shaking her head. "Don' wanna go spreadin' rumors. Got a reputation to uphold as an info broker. I'll have to verify it's true first."

"Then why did you bring it up?!" Nautilus almost shouted.

"Because…" Argo said as she glared at Nautilus. "I wanted to make sure Kii-bou was on the same page.

"Let's just say that if it's still the last attack bonus, it could seriously turn the frontliner guild balance on its head." Kirito said.

"Well, that's not ominous at all." Leonn droned sarcastically.

"Seriously, are you two trying to weird us out?" Liz scolded, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"Look..." Kirito said, sounding serious and placating at the same time. "We're the ones doing the main quests on this floor anyway, so we'll find out one way or another. Either we find out or Argo does."

"Well, first things first." Argo said as they all emerged onto the next floor. The surroundings could best be described as a deep, dark subterranean environment, similar to a cave but much larger and encompassing the entirety of the floor. Various greyed and aged stone ruins littered the landscape, complete with their own medley of decrepit or haunted monsters to boot. As everyone stood around, taking a moment to absorb their new surroundings - or in Asuna's case, shiver in what seemed to be quietly restrained fear - Argo brought out a small basket filled with what looked like slices of cake. She casually tossed everyone a slice, each of which somehow managed to retain their shape and form despite being lobbed into the air. "Eat up."

Everyone, sans Kirito and Silica, gave questioning looks over at the Rat. Leonn smiled at the similar, yet likely different responses from the two who ate the cake without hesitation. Kirito probably knew why Argo gave them the cake and had no hesitation, but Silica probably ate hers because she couldn't say no to cake.

Argo sighed. "I ain't tryin' to poison ya, so just eat up. You'll see why."

Leonn tentatively took a bite of the cake. Much to his surprise, it didn't taste half bad. It wasn't that he didn't trust Argo, necessarily, but if he knew the Rat, there was a good chance there was some sort of prank, trick, or catch involved. Honestly, it was pretty damn tasty, and before he knew it he'd eaten the whole thing.

"Not bad." Leonn said with a sigh. "What's the catch?"

"Whoa!" Silica exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention over. The young dragon tamer was pointing to a spot nearby, where a glint of light was resting on the floor. She ran over, crouched down, and picked up the glint of light. As Silica slowly walked back towards the group, Leonn could see that the "glint" was actually a shining coin.

"That is the catch, Leo-bou." Argo explained. "This floor's littered with relics, trinkets, and other valuable baubles you can sell for some quick Cor. That cake you all just scarfed down lets you spot the goodies for the next thirty minutes."

"This should be a good way to raise some money for the guild bank." Geeou said as he walked over to pick up a trinket off the ground. "Guild bases are expensive, right?"

Kirito nodded as he went over to pick up his own coin. "Yep. This'll go a long way to helping us buy one someday. There's still monsters around, so everyone pair up and gather as many treasures as you can. Meet back here in thirty minutes."

Leonn watched as everyone began to pair off and scatter about. Kirito with Asuna; no surprise there. Leonn still suspected there was something going on between the two leaders of their guild, despite Sinon's objections.

Yuna and Nautilus. What, was everyone pairing off with someone they were closer to than they cared to publicly admit?

Silica and Geeou. That was probably the most platonic duo out of the bunch so far, Leonn suspected. More of a brother-sister relationship so far as he could tell.

Argo grabbed Sinon, muttering something about an archer's keen eye. Easily the most bizarre team, and one he never would have thought of, but he suspected it would easily be the most lucrative pair of them all.

"Guess that just leaves you and me, huh Leonn?" Liz said as she walked up next to him. She put her hands on her hips and looked up at him confidently.

"Heh. Guess so." Leonn said. He smirked and presented a bent arm, tucking his other arm behind his back in an over-exaggerated fashion. "Shall we, milady?"

Liz giggled before she mimed his overly formal mannerisms. "Why thank you, kind sir."

The duo's mock-formality didn't last long, however. As oddly comfortable as it was, Leonn eventually had to break away to fight off a couple of mummy-looking monsters who were treading just a little too close for their liking. Liz, meanwhile, was gathering as many coins, jewels, and baubles as she could find.

"Hey Leonn, while we're out here can you keep an eye out for ore deposits?" Liz asked as she brought out her warhammer to help him finish off a particularly troublesome spectral monster. "I feel like I've been falling behind on my blacksmithing duties. I've just been doing repair work or replacing weapons. I haven't made anything great yet, and with a new floor there's bound to be rare materials around!"

"You got it." Leonn said as another mummy lumbered forward. He hit it with his shoulder charge skill before shifting the maul to one hand and grabbing the mummy by the neck with his now freed hand. He spun on his foot and quickly threw it at another mummy. "You really take pride in your work, don't you?"

Liz stood there and blinked as she saw the mummy go flying by. She shook her head and went back to retrieving coins from the ground. "Well yeah, of course I do! I may be a Clearer, but I aim to be the best blacksmith in the game too. I've seen you with that maul; you can't tell me you don't take pride in your work too."

Leonn strode up to the two mummies, who were now piled on top of one another, desperately trying to stand up. He brought his maul up and swung downward with a sword skill, finishing off the pair in one crushing blow. He slung his maul over his shoulder and looked back at Liz. "Yeah, I guess I do, now that you mention it."

"Good!" Liz exclaimed with a smile before she gave Leonn a smirk. "Now take some pride in this treasure hunting. I appreciate the escort but at this rate we're going to lose to the others."

Leonn laughed as he walked over and helped pick up more treasure. "Yes, ma'am."

Unfortunately for the two tanks of the guild, they came in next to last place in quantity and quality of treasure collected, much to their shared chagrin. Kirito and Asuna were surprisingly in last place. Yuna and Nautilus barely beat the tanks in their haul. The real upset came from Silica and Geeou, who had somehow managed to collect the most out of everyone, passing even Argo and Sinon. Apparently the young dragon tamer's enthusiasm helped them out in the end, after all. Once everyone had contributed to the group's collection of treasures - minus Argo's cut, of course - Kirito cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention his way.

"It's hard to tell time of day down here, but we should get started on the next major quest on this floor before we call it a night." The Renegade leader began. "Is everyone good to go?"

"Actually…" Leonn started. "Liz mentioned earlier that most of us could use some new weapons and gear since we're on a new floor. We were on the lookout for new materials during the treasure hunt but ran out of time. You mind if Liz and I skip out on the first part of this quest so we can farm mats?"

"That's a good idea." Kirito said as he looked down, seemingly contemplating the notion of outdated gear. "I'm OK with it. We'll be down our two tanks, but if the rest of us stick together we should be able to take on most non-elite monsters. Might help with practicing our evasion and footwork, too."

"Alright, guess we'll see you both later." Asuna said before shooting Liz a knowing look and smirk. "Try not to get into too much trouble?"

"We'll try!" Liz replied.

Leonn smiled as he looked down at his farming partner, who was brimming with excitement. He looked over at the rest of the guild. "You guys try not to get hit while we're gone, got it? That's our jo - Whoa!"

Leonn found himself suddenly yanked backward as Liz dragged him along back towards the field. He looked over his shoulder at the eager blacksmith, who in turn smiled at him over her own shoulder.

"Let's get going! We'll see them later!" Liz half-scolded him before turning him around so he could walk alongside her of his own volition.

Leonn chuckled.

He had a feeling this was going to be an interesting night.

"Geez, Liz. How much of this stuff do we need?"

Liz looked behind her to see a disgruntled Leonn plodding along, moving at a slower pace than usual, which was saying something given his decision to neglect his agility stat when leveling up. That was to be expected, she supposed. He may have been a strength build, but carrying metal ore in that amount would slow anyone down if they didn't have the ((Extended Weight Limit)) skill.

Liz giggled. "A lot, okay? There's nine of us, you know, and I'm going to need extra in case the first few tries come out badly."

"Okay, I get that." Leonn said. "But why did we have to go so deep into these catacombs? I can't fight much when I'm encumbered like this."

True to this floor's "ruins" theme, Liz had taken Leonn into a nearby maze of catacombs in search of some good ore to use. She suspected that the deeper reaches of the catacombs would have the best quality ore. She was right, but that also meant that the deeper parts were infested by more dangerous monsters. She'd been able to handle most of them on her own without much issue - since Leonn was too busy being encumbered by the weight of carrying most of the ore - but truthfully she wasn't sure how much longer they could go in here.

"Well the deeper parts have the best ore, duh." She sighed. "You're right, though. Let's head back out. We should have enough by now, and we can come back later if we need to."

"Good." Leonn said, a guilty expression crossing his face. "I feel bad having you fight everything on your own while I'm crawling behind at a snail's pace."

"Hey!" Liz practically shouted, catching Leonn off guard. "Just because I'm not some macho fighter with an oversized hammer like you doesn't mean I can't defend myself. I can fight too, you know."

"That wasn't what I meant by that, and you know it." Leonn casually shot back.

"Yeah, I know." Liz cheekily remarked. "I appreciate the sentiment, though."

Just then, the duo heard the sounds of fighting coming from up ahead. More accurately, a cacophony of moans and groans followed by the grunts and shouts that could only come from another player in combat. What worried Liz in particular was that it sounded like just one person, and quite a lot of what she assumed to be the mummy monsters they'd fought earlier. They were slow monsters, to be sure, but in large numbers they could easily overwhelm most players. Despite his slowed pace, Leonn had still proven to be useful in keeping their sheer numbers away due to his higher-than-usual strength stat.

"That doesn't sound good." Leonn said, sharing a concerned glance with the blacksmith. "Go, I'll catch up."

Liz gave a curt nod in reply, no words needed to express how urgent the situation might be. She quickly darted ahead, bringing her warhammer and shield out to bear. She might not have been a damage dealer, but as a tank she could certainly hold off any extra monsters long enough for this player - whoever they were - to regain the upper hand. She rounded the corner of the hallway and was met with a concerning sight. A small horde of approximately a dozen mummies was converging on a single point. She couldn't see exactly who it was they were (slowly) swarming due to their numbers, but nonetheless she leapt in.

Rapidly closing the distance, Liz met the first mummy with a shield bash to knock it off balance. If Leonn taught her anything, it was that weaker attacks weren't useless attacks; they could still be used to knock an opponent off balance and open it up to attack from either herself or one of her friends. While the mummy stumbled forward, she brought her warhammer down in a ((Vertical)) strike, catching it in the back and causing it to faceplant into the stone catacomb floor.

With a hole opened up in the ring of mummies, Liz finally saw who she was trying to save. It was a heavily armored and helmed individual - based on their relative build and proportions Liz knew this was a girl about her same size - wielding a tower shield and a mace. The armor in question was full steel plate armor, and Liz instantly recognized who this was. There were only a handful of players at this stage in the game decked out in full plate armor, and Liz was already familiar with this set of armor and its wearer. She might have only met her a couple of weeks ago, but this girl was easily recognizable nonetheless.

"Liten?!" Liz exclaimed as she swung her warhammer around, nailing the mummy to her left and pushing it back some. "What are you doing here all alone?!"

"Liz?!" Liten cried out in equal confusion. She used her tower shield to block a mummy from slamming into her side before she responded in kind with her mace. "Probably the same reason as you!"

"Seriously?!" Liz shouted, shield bashing another mummy that was approaching from behind. "You just had that armor made and you want a new set?"

"So what if I do?" Liten responded, though Liz could hear amusement in her voice instead of offense. She swung out with her mace, shattering a mummy. The tide was beginning to turn. "I'm a tank. You of all people should know how important good armor is for a tank on the front line."

"That's fair, I guess." Liz said with a shrug, lowering her guard for an instant. Unfortunately, that moment was all that was needed for another mummy to hit her across the back, sending her stumbling forward towards Liten. "Gah! Case in point."

"Exactly!" Liten exclaimed, placing herself back to back with the blacksmith now that the remainder of the mummies were slowly reconverging on their position.

The two women were far from helpless, however. For the next minute or so, every time a mummy would get too close it was met with either a warhammer or a mace, sending it back to a more manageable distance or outright killing it. Neither of them were capable of dealing out the necessary damage to finish the fight quickly, but they could certainly outlast them. Before long, only one mummy remained as it slowly hobbled its way towards them.

"Do you want this one or should I?" Liz said, smirking at Liten.

"All yours." Liten chuckled from within her helmet.

Liz slowly walked forward, bringing her warhammer back in preparation for the final strike. She lashed out, striking the mummy on the shoulder. Unfortunately, the blow wasn't enough to kill it, but it was enough to send it staggering back towards a bend in the hallway. Liz grumbled, not content with the fact that this thing was still alive. Or was it un-alive? She wasn't sure of the proper semantics for the state of being of undead creatures.

Eh, it would be dead-dead soon enough.

She was brought out of her inner musings by the sound of the mummy shattering. She blinked and looked forward, only to see a familiar maul head now occupying where the mummy once stood.

Leonn stepped forward as he rounded the corner. "I miss anything?"

Liz glared at him. "Oh, you know, just you stealing the last kill. That's all."

"You do realize there's no such thing as kill-stealing among guild members, right?" Leonn retorted, smirking at her. "We're also in the same party. Try again."

Liz fought back a smile. She enjoyed these interactions with him. He was one of the only members of her immediate friend circle who could match her tit-for-tat when it came to verbal jousting. Argo was the same way, but she didn't see the Rat nearly as much as she did Leonn.

"Alright, you win this round." Liz chuckled out before she motioned him over. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet."

Liz led him over to where Liten was waiting. Liten looked visibly nervous as they approached; Liz sighed as she realized that her fellow shieldbearer was probably still suffering from the same insecurities she mentioned before. Liten, as Liz learned some time ago, was under the impression that she wouldn't be accepted as a tank because she was a girl. That was certainly true when it came to the more bigoted, elitist players on the frontline, but Liz knew firsthand that not everyone was like that.

"Leonn, this is Liten." Liz introduced, gesturing towards her helmeted friend. "She's a tank with the ALS."

Leonn extended a hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Liten."

Liten took a half-step back in surprise before stepping back forward and returning the handshake. "Nice to meet you too. You're not…?"

Leonn arched an eyebrow. "I'm not what?"

"You're not bothered by the fact that I'm a tank and a girl?" Liten asked cautiously.

Leonn's head jerked back slightly and a look of confusion crossed his face. "No… why would I be?"

Liten let out a sigh of relief before she took off her helmet. Now Liz could see her feminine features again; the poor girl kept her helmet on almost constantly so Liz had almost forgotten what Liten looked like underneath all that metal. Liten had soft features that reminded Liz of a doll. Between that and her topaz eyes and bob-cut orange hair, she looked very unassuming, especially for a front line tank. It was probably why she'd had so much difficulty with finding a party in the past, honestly.

"Sorry." Liten said, a faint frown crossing her soft features. "I've had bad experiences in the past with people who don't like the idea of a girl tanking."

"Pfft." Leonn sputtered, waving his hand dismissively. "I tank alongside Liz on a daily basis. If I was prejudiced like those idiots, she would have beaten that out of me a long time ago."

"That's good to hear." Liten said, her frown turning to a smile.

"Besides, I'm more distracted by your armor." Leonn said. He seemed to notice the glare Liz was shooting his way before he amended his statement, all the while fighting off a blush. "N-not like that! She's got plate armor on; I can't help but be a little jealous."

"Thanks!" Liten said, her expression brightening even more. "Liz helped me with it a couple of weeks ago when we first met."

Leonn's eyes widened as he looked at Liz. "She what now? You never told me you could make plate armor!"

"That's because I can't, you big dummy!" Liz cried out as she smacked him on the arm. "I'm a weaponsmith, not an armorsmith. I just gave her advice on where to farm the ore for it and who could make it for her."

"Damn." Leonn mumbled. "You're hooking me up with your armorsmith contact later, got it?"

Liz scoffed and begrudgingly agreed while Liten laughed at the duo's antics. With their pleasantries aside, the trio decided to leave the catacombs together, both parties having gathered enough ore for their respective needs. As they left the confines of the catacombs, something occurred to Liz.

Why did the ALS send her down here for ore alone? She was no doubt capable of harvesting and carrying such a large quantity, but surely the ALS could spare another person or two to lend a hand, right? Unable to answer those questions on her own, Liz turned towards the tank in question.

"Were you down there with someone else before we arrived?" Liz prodded. It would have come off as suspicious to outright ask her why she was alone.

"Nope." Liten replied with a shake of her head. "They figured I could handle myself since they're busy leveling up."

"Why the rush?" Leonn asked as he made eye contact with Liz. Apparently her fellow tank was of the same mindset. Something was up here.

"I'm not really sure." Liten said with a shrug. "All I know is Kibaou and the rest of the ALS leadership want to defeat the floor boss as soon as possible. I imagine it's the same with your leaders too, right?"

"Yeah, but never at the cost of safety." Leonn replied, shaking his head. "Kirito and Asuna want to get out of here as soon as possible, just like the rest of us, but sending someone out alone to farm on a new floor?"

"Next time see if you can bring someone with you, Liten." Liz cautioned, worry clear on her face. "You might be a tank, but even we have our limits."

"I suppose you're right." Liten admitted, her expression hardening somewhat. She looked up, presumably at her clock. "Well, I should get back to the rest of the guild. Thanks for the save, and nice meeting you Leonn!"

"Likewise!" Leonn said, waving as Liten ran off. With Liten well out of earshot, he turned to Liz. "Nice girl, but something doesn't seem right about them sending her out on her own on a floor like this."

Liz looked down, deep in thought. "I agree. She can handle herself but the lack of caution worries me."

Unable to come to any meaningful answers themselves, the two Renegade tanks made their way back to town, both to reunite with their guildmates and to get started on forging the new weapons.

"Of course you all ran into Kizmel while we were gone."

Leonn sighed as he reached for his drink. Part of him was disappointed that he and Liz lost out on the experience gained from taking part in the Elf War quest, even if it was just a minor one. The rest of him was disappointed that he'd missed out on seeing Kizmel again, and he knew Liz felt much the same way. He enjoyed working with their Dark Elven friend, mostly because he knew it would eventually come to an end once the Elf War campaign quest ultimately came to a close.

"That's not all." Geeou said, his expression surprisingly serious, given the subject matter. He put down his fork before continuing. "We ran into the Fallen Elves again. They're up to something on this floor."

"Not those guys again…" Liz groaned. In a bout of frustration, she quickly swiped a bread roll from the table, unknowingly robbing Silica in the process. "I get that the Forest Elves are our enemy, but those Fallen guys are worse. They seriously give me the creeps."

Leonn chuckled softly at the offended look the dragon tamer was giving before he waved a bread roll in the air, immediately grabbing her attention. He gently lobbed it towards her and watched as Pina launched off her shoulder to snag the roll mid-air and bring it back to her master. It was impressive just how comfortable everyone was getting with each other in such a short amount of time. It hadn't even been two weeks since Kirito's group and Geeou's group merged to form the Resolute Renegades, and in that time they'd blended into one cohesive group.

I guess nothing builds trust faster than fighting together for survival.

"At least the Forest Elves seem like they're fighting for their own sense of justice and survival." Yuna offered to the discussion. "The Fallen seem to do things just to be evil."

"I've been meaning to ask Kizmel about the reason for why her people and the Forest Elves don't get along." Asuna said, a wistful look of contemplation taking hold.

Kirito sat back in his chair, the meal in front of him having been demolished. "We can ask her tomorrow."

"We're seeing her tomorrow?" Liz asked, enthusiasm laced in her voice.

Kirito nodded. "She wants our help searching the catacombs for Fallen Elf activity. She feels we'll be able to cover more ground with the ten of us instead of just her all by herself."

"Makes sense." Leonn said. More and more, Kizmel was surpassing the expectations he had for how an NPC should behave and act. She was thinking tactically and using all of the resources available to her, namely the nine members of the Renegades. A normal NPC wouldn't have that kind of analytical mind. It was yet another reason why everyone among the Renegades genuinely viewed her as human, obvious racial distinctions aside.

"Anyway, how did your mining trip go?" Asuna asked with a smirk, her gaze lingering slightly longer on Liz.

"It went well!" The blacksmith exclaimed. She seemed to be avoiding Asuna's gaze, instead choosing to focus on everyone else. "I should have enough iron ore to make everyone new weapons. Well, almost everyone. Leonn's maul and Kirito's longsword are probably still good enough until the next floor, and I can't make bows. Sorry, Sinon."

Sinon looked mildly disappointed but took it in stride nonetheless. "That's fine. I'll probably need to find a crafter who can make bows at some point, but for now I'm okay."

"We ran into a friend of Liz's while we were down there." Leonn said, bringing the conversation back on topic. "She was also gathering ore too, but for the ALS."

"They must be gearing up like we are." Kirito said thoughtfully. "I should have guessed they would send people to go farming too. Probably should have warned you both, sorry. Hope there wasn't any trouble."

"Not the kind you're thinking, Kirito." Leonn retorted. "They sent one person. Granted, Liten's a formidable tank so far as I can tell, if her plate armor and tower shield are anything to go off of, but the whole thing struck me as odd."

"Wait, one person?" Nautilus asked, putting his food down while his eyes opened wide. "Are they trying to get people killed?"

"Apparently they're trying to get as many people leveled as soon as possible." Liz explained, shrugging her shoulders. "At least that's what Liten told us. It's like they're in a rush to beat the boss on this floor."

Leonn glanced over at Kirito, who was visibly deep in thought. After a few moments of contemplation, the swordsman pulled up his menu and began typing out a message. Leonn wasn't the only one who noticed, it seemed, as he made eye contact with Asuna. The fencer looked slightly concerned, but clearly not for the same reason that was causing Kirito to act the way he was.

"Something wrong, Kirito?" Asuna asked, craning her neck forward slightly in an attempt to place herself within his field of vision.

"Yeah, all good." Kirito said dismissively. "Just checking with Argo about something, that's all."

Leonn shared a confused, if slightly uneasy, glance with Asuna. Kirito was holding something back again. Whatever was on his mind he would eventually share, but Leonn worried that it might come out too late for anyone else to do anything to help. Kirito tended to shoulder responsibilities alone if given the opportunity.

"In any case, we should get some rest." Kirito concluded as he stood up, almost instantly hushing or silencing the other side conversations. "We've got ourselves a stealth and reconnaissance mission tomorrow, so it's best we're rested and ready."

Great. Leonn thought to himself. If there was one thing he knew he wasn't going to be good at, it was stealth. He couldn't imagine that his strength and vitality stat build was going to be of any use tomorrow unless they ran into trouble, and if they did then they probably failed the whole 'stealth' bit anyhow. Agility and dexterity builds were going to be better equipped, which was basically everyone else except Liz. Even Kirito, Geeou, and Nautilus had some points invested in the more nimble stats so they would be fine. Between his adventure with Liz earlier and the forecast for tomorrow, Leonn was starting to regret his role as the heavy hitter of the guild.

Leonn sighed as he and the others stood up and retired to their rooms.

Tomorrow was going to be fun.