Huh, so my friend just told me they beat the trigger this morning before I got a chance to pass along everyone's advice. They said they made some changes to how they were approaching the quest and they shaved a full second off their time. They said they used rifle for cubes, used lock on for arms, didn't actually die to Deus this time, and apparently Samegid does a lot of damage to the dragon heads, allowing her to wipe them out quickly. Thanks anyway everyone. But yes she finally has expert unlocked again.