MAZE - The Endless Quest

The first thing Hera did after learning about her Titled Blades' recovery was summon them. She was worried about Nimbus, Lurize, and Livy, and it had been too long since the Empress had been able to talk to them. Not to mention, she still had to thank them for trying to protect her. Hera greeted them with a hug, but after a quick conversation, it was clear they still needed more time to rest. Even if they had spent time in recovery, for them, the last few hours were spent fighting the demon cultists. Their bodies might have been rested, but the mental strain was still very much present.

Usually, that wouldn’t be the case. Once a Titled Blade was back, they were properly rested, but it seemed like using the [Gates of Mana] skill had changed that behavior. Hera honestly had no issues with this. It was a drawback, of course, but it was still worth it. According to Daskka, without the skill, it would take some time for the Titled Blades to fully recover. One way or another, Hera now felt much more comfortable with the idea of going to help against the human attack. Without her entire court, the Empress felt she would be fighting with a handicap, but now she was back at full strength.

After making sure everything was okay, Hera decided to sleep for the night. Vulcan, Viper, and Crimson stayed up, trying to replicate the clay pot they had managed to create a few hours earlier. By morning, they were able to create two more flower pots. The first was more or less on the same level as the original, only able to sustain a small area around itself. But the second was considerably stronger. The vessel was large enough for an entire tree, not just a flower, and the amount of Strength Mana it was able to create matched its size. It was still far from enough to maintain the Strength Spirits’ territory indefinitely, but it certainly helped with the issue.

As she woke up, Hera swapped out the Titled Blades, letting Vulcan, Crimson, and Viper rest while Nimbus, Lurize, and Livy walked with her. She was just making sure the people who were staying behind had everything they needed and double-checking if there was anything in the lab that could help her face the Soldiers of Strength.

She was talking with a few people in the kitchen, asking about that, when Bolgo spoke up, "Actually, we found something that might help. Give me a minute."

The Ophidianite was offered some rations to take on the trip and started making herself something to eat before leaving, just as Helena walked in.

"Hello, Sweetie. Ready for the trip?"

"Ready is not quite the right word, but I think I have everything I need. Bolgo is going to get something they found that might help against the Soldiers of Strength. Once he gets back and I finish my breakfast, I should be heading out," Hera sighed.

Helena just nodded. "I know. It would be better to stay here. But don’t worry, Crimson did a good job on making her report about the whole process of making those pots. I’m sure the people who stay here will be able to make more of them."

"Yeah, I hope so," Hera paused. "People who stay here? So... you’re leaving?"

"What?"

"What?"

"Sweetie, I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let you march into war without my help," Helena frowned.

"What? No, you’re not. You can’t come," Hera shook her head.

Helena crossed her arms. "What do you mean, I can’t come? I proved to you that I can handle myself in a fight during the last operation. Of course I can go."

"No, Lena, I’m not talking about that," Hera sighed and turned off the stove so her eggs wouldn’t burn. "We’re going to fight against humans who are pushing into alliance territory. Because there’s such a large number of people participating in those battles, the alliance isn’t letting any human allies join the ranks. It makes it much easier for the guild to send human spies among us. It’s easier if they just assume every human there is an enemy. If you want to help, that’s fine, but you have to stay behind. Either escort the supply caravans, help a room that’s going through some trouble, or maybe even participate in a rampage if there’s one happening. But in the actual battle, you can’t be there. The alliance won’t let you. Milla told me about that in a message. Didn’t I tell you?"

"No, you didn’t," Helena paused before letting out a long sigh. "Fine. That kind of makes sense. Maybe I should go to the R&D department again."

"I can go with you until we reach Underground Babel. I asked Milla this morning, and there’s a faster way to get there now. We couldn’t take it before because there was a rampage going on."

Helena gave Hera a blank stare. "So we ended up getting stuck in the Dunes of Isolation for nothing?"

"Not really. The rampage ended two days ago, which means we still would have gotten here later than we should’ve."

"Okay, I guess. But I’m still frustrated about that. I wanted to be there for you, Hera," Helena grumbled.

"Lena, being there for me isn’t just about fighting by my side. Sure, that might be part of it, but it’s not all. Besides, you’ve already done so much for me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. And don’t take this the wrong way, please, but I would prefer it if you stayed very far away from that fight. Honestly, if my team wasn’t there, I don’t think I’d be going either. I’m going to have to kill people again, Helena. And I’m sure it won’t be just Soldiers of Strength. All I can hope is that I don’t end up finding someone I know in the middle of that madness. Not having to worry about you being around will actually help a lot."

Helena stared at Hera for a long moment before she finally gave up. "Fine. It’s not like there’s anything I can say to change your mind, anyway. And even if I did, it wouldn’t change the fact that they won’t let me get closer."

"I'm sorry about that. But if you want, we can still travel together for a little bit," Hera replied.

"How long?" Helena asked.

"Two days. Then we’ll reach a room that can take us to Underground Babel."

"Okay."

"I don’t mean to step in between you two, but if you stay, Helena, your expertise would be appreciated. We don’t really have anyone who understands the minutiae of changing affinities," Villia, the elven explorer, suggested.

Helena looked at the elf. "I never changed my affinity. I got a skill that lets me pretend that it’s something else."

"Still, it would help a lot in trying to figure out a way to stop the Soldiers of Strength. As far as I’m aware, every avenue we’ve explored didn’t directly involve affinity. Maybe that’s what we should be looking into," Villia explained.

Helena thought for a second. "You make a valid point. Maybe there is something I can do to help."

"So, you’re staying?" Hera asked.

"I think I am. At least until they need more supplies and a group goes to gather them," Helena turned to Villia, who nodded, confirming that was a possibility.

Hera nodded and gave her friend a sad smile. She wasn’t exactly happy about the situation, but there was nothing else she could do. "I’m going to finish making my breakfast then. Do you want some?"

"That depends. What are you making?"

"Scrambled eggs."

"Then sure," Helena nodded.

"What do you mean, then sure?" Hera frowned.

"Sweetie, I love you, but if you were making an omelette or a sunny-side up, I wasn’t going to eat it. I don’t know how you do it, but you manage to mess them up really badly."

"Hey! I’m a good cook."

"You are. Just not when it comes to eggs. The last time you made an omelette, you managed to both burn it and leave it raw. And the last time you made a sunny-side up, the yolk was basically boiled."

"If you don’t want it, you don’t have to eat it, okay?" Hera huffed.

"Your scrambled eggs are fine. I just don’t want the other ones," Helena chuckled.

"Too late. No eggs for you. If you want them, you can make them yourself," Hera said, turning the stove back on.

They continued arguing while the Empress prepared her food. There was enough for not just Helena, but another two or three people if they wanted to. Unfortunately, people were somewhat rationing the supplies they had, meaning her court wouldn’t be able to partake, but they understood the reasoning behind it.

About ten minutes later, when they were already halfway through their meal, Bolgo returned, carrying a small case. "Sorry it took me a while to gather everything," he said, opening the box to reveal eight frisbee-like devices. They had wavy lines going around the edge, with a metallic plate covering the center.

"What am I looking at?" Hera asked between bites.

"They call this the Spirit Pacifier. According to the data and some videos, they paralyze Spirits within a certain radius. It also makes Spirits who are affected by it more easily transform into daemons," Bolgo explained.

Helena frowned. "That really doesn’t sound good."

The dwarf nodded. "You’re not wrong. From what we understand, they’re using a pulse that basically slows down your Mana. Since Spirits are made of Mana, they just lock up. As a reference, trying to use Mana under a similar effect feels like you’re pushing large clumps of mud through your veins."

"That’s awful," Livy didn’t voice it, but she was glad that Vulcan wasn’t around to hear this.

"It is. And I hope it’ll be just as awful for the Soldiers of Strength," Bolgo nodded.

"Here’s to hoping," Hera said, closing the case and pulling it closer to her. "As soon as I finish this, I’ll probably leave. With Nimbus back in the game, I’ll likely make better time than I was expecting."

"Just make sure to keep it to three crossings. That includes the private room. The last thing we need is for you to get stuck somewhere," Villia recommended.

"Don’t worry, I will," Hera said, turning to Helena, who looked like she was about to say something. "And I promise I’ll be careful. You don’t have to worry."

"I know I don’t have to, but I will anyway. If you need anything, call me. And there’s no shame in running away."

Hera smiled. "You don’t have to tell me twice. Despite having the whole ‘Aspirant Hero’ title pushed on me, I have no intention of trying to be a hero and getting myself killed."

"And if she does try, we’ll take her out of there," Nimbus added.

"You don’t have to worry. We will protect her," Lurize announced, a hint of pride in his voice. But then he switched to talking in Hera’s mind, 'Speaking of which, that last battle increased the rank of my Exoarmor.'

'Oh? What rank is it now?' Hera turned to the Royal Tutor.

'Rank four. My defense now scales with my total attributes, making them about a hundred times stronger. In addition, I get another boost that makes it four times stronger.'

'So... your defenses are 400 times stronger?'

Lurize nodded with a satisfied expression. 'That’s about right.'

'And because of Army of One, everyone gets 20%, which means everyone has 80 times more defense?'

"Man, the numbers the MAZE throws at us sometimes are just wild," Daskka gasped.

"You can say that again. Eighty times, really?" Hera turned to Lurize, who just nodded.

"Eighty times what?"

"Lurize got a rank-up in a skill that makes his defenses stronger. And because of another skill, the rest of us get some of the effects, making our defenses 80 times stronger."

Bolgo nodded. "That’s a lot, but it sounds about right. Defenses are weird. Their scaling is all over the place. People generally divide by ten to compare what the equivalent would be in attributes."

"So we’d have eight times more endurance?" Livy asked.

"About that. It’s still a lot, but it sounds more feasible," Bolgo sighed.

"Okay, let’s not get into that. Not today. My head’s not in the right space to try to figure out what the system and the MAZE are doing," Hera said, finishing her meal and getting up. She quickly said her goodbyes before walking out. This small break was nice, but unfortunately, it was time to march back into the war.