MAZE - The Endless Quest

The notification wasn’t the only thing inside the box. The Breakthrough Talisman was also there. It was a simple piece of yellow paper with red markings that formed a tribal pattern. Hera quickly triggered her [Inspect] to check if this was what could help them leave the room.

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Breakthrough Talisman - Unique

This talisman is able to help someone in the dungeon Spiral Hills break through their current realm and reach the Divine Manifestation Realm, or level 71.

If used outside of the dungeon, this talisman will disperse any kind of storm. This effect will last for 10 minutes.

Once that duration is over, the storm will return to its normal strength.

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"So this doesn’t help us find hard mode," Helena mumbled.

"That’s true. It’s probably to help us with the tournament team, or we can give it to Yuwei on the normal mode and have her mother freak out," Hera chuckled. "As for the other effect, it’s kind of weird that this would be a perfect counter for Blue."

"You’re right! I didn’t even think about that. This has the potential of paralyzing her legacy, doesn’t it?"

"Maybe. We should test it out when we have a chance," Hera smiled.

Before they could continue the conversation, Yulan approached the duo. "Master Hera, Master Helena, I thank you once more for all your assistance. I apologize for not giving you an exciting tournament, as I had promised."

"I mean, this was probably more exciting than the actual tournament," Yuwei spoke up, her mother just shaking her head at the interruption.

"Nevertheless, I was the one who invited you here. I’m afraid I will have to be rude once more. Considering the number of people who perished during the attack, the elders have decided to prepare a proper burial for all of them. I am unsure of your customs, but to us that kind of ceremony is open only to those who were close to the deceased. In addition, the entire proceeding will take a couple of weeks. During that time, I will be unable to be your host. Many of my brothers and sisters gave their lives to protect Heaven’s Edge Summit, and I must pay my respects," Yulan explained.

"And so must I," Yuwei added.

"You are free to stay and wait until we are done, or if you wish, I can send you back to the forest where we met," Yulan gave them a sad smile, already anticipating their answer.

"We should go," Hera turned to Helena, who nodded in response.

"Thank you for showing us this incredible place, even if the circumstances… sucked," Helena sighed.

Master Yu was the one to reply. "No, thank you for defending our home. You may have come from faraway lands, but know that in our hearts, you are part of the Spiral Hills." She placed one hand over a fist and bowed to Hera and Helena. "Thank you, great protectors."

The Masters behind Master Yu followed along, bowing and reciting the same words. Yulan and Yuwei did the same. Then the entire arena shouted, "Thank you, great protectors!" Thousands of voices, all filled with gratitude and awe, hit Hera’s ears. This wasn’t simply grand, it was overwhelming. The Empress never imagined feeling this sort of response from anyone, much less people who existed only inside a dungeon.

Noticing how the Ophidianite was frazzled, Daskka chuckled, "You’ll have to get used to this kind of thing, Mum. You’re an Aspirant Hero, after all. This won’t be the last time people are thanking you like this."

Hera used every ounce of willpower not to roll her eyes at the comment and graciously accepted the praise. They said their farewells to Yuwei and Yulan before the Vanishing Lake created an orange portal for them to cross, one that dropped them off directly in front of the Forest of Lost Souls.

They waved at their friends, keeping smiles on their faces until the portal closed. Only then did Helena let herself go, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. There was no sound here except the distant cries of cicadas and the ruffling of the wind. A start contrast with all the noise from a big city.

"This… kind of sucks. I know we barely met the two of them, and they’re just people inside a dungeon, but I’m going to miss Yulan and Yuwei."

"Me too," Hera glanced around, looking at the same road where they met for the first time. "It kind of makes me wonder how dungeons like this exist. How are they so alive?"

"Fuck if I know," Helena pulled out a small tissue to blow her nose, "Do you mind if we take a moment before we go? I want to check the rewards, level up, and pull myself together first."

Hera nodded, "That’s a good idea. I think I’ll do the same."

The first thing she did was level up. This was the easy part. After all, there was no secret to what she would do. She had 88 attribute points to distribute. To increase an attribute by itself it would take 36 points, yet, to use her [Exponential Growth], she only had to spend 29 to increase all attributes by 1. It was truly an incredibly powerful skill. She increased all attributes by 3, reaching 180 across the board and leaving a single point left for the next level.

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Hera Quetzaveth -- Role: Explorer Level: 58

Legacy: Court of Blades [Blades]

Title: Mana Touched, Wardbearer, Ophidianite Progenitor

Total Stats: 540

Strength: 180 Endurance: 180

Agility: 180 Charisma: 180

Intelligence: 180 Luck: 180

Mana: 13 026 497/13 026 497

Empress Core: 9,224,117/9,224,117

Passive Mana Regeneration:17 586/s (31 654/s with items)

Active Mana Regeneration: 33 652/s (60 573/s with items)

Empress Core Regeneration: 18/s (32/s with items)

Remaining attribute points: 1

Skills:

Legacy:

Court Ruler, Courtship, Bestow Title, Army of One 2 (+1), Revocation of Nobility,

Royal Quest, Bestow Gift, Royal Seal, Venomous Arsenal, Blade Graveyard, Empress Core, Noble Houses, House Heirloom, Battle Bond (+1) Empress Palace (+1)

Passive:

Exponential Growth (29)

Observe: Red sight 3

Treasure Map

Bladed Weapon Combat

Wire Trap Style 3, Subtle Strike 4, Dorohla style 4

Throwing 1, Cutting 1, Blocking 1,

Battle Dancer 3, Attack Pathing 2, Synchronized Battle 3

Dodge 4, Run 4, Improved Stamina 5, Flee 2, Jump 2, Climbing 1, Acrobatics 1

Mana Recovery 5, Mana sensitivity 4, Shaper of Mana 2, Mana Vessel, Reinforced Mana 2

Improved Regeneration 3

Ailment Mastery 3, Poison Mastery 2, Allergy Mastery 1, Chain Mastery 1, Regeneration Mastery 1,

Earth Mastery 1, Lightning Mastery 1, Sound Mastery 1, Frost Mastery 1, Lava Mastery 1, Steel Mastery 1

Elemental Mana Mastery

Earth resistance 2, Wind resistance 2, Water resistance 2, Sturdy Body 4,

Magic Armor Proficiency 3

Nature connection 1

Silver Lining 2

Ancient language 5

Pathfinder 1, Awareness 2, Lockpicking 1

Dancing 3

Cooking 1, Cleaning 1, Polishing 1, Sewing 1,

Ophidianite Skills:

Ophidianite Scales 4 (+1), Ophidianite Poison 6, Ophidianite Vigor 2, Ophidianite Sight 1, Ophidianite Mana Sense 2 (+1),

Ophidianite Resistance 1, Ophidianite Regeneration 1, Ophidianite Adaptation 1

Active:

All in 2

Inspect 2

Hide 4, Sneak Attack 3

Weapon Maintenance 4, Weapons Rebalance 3, Weapon break 3 (+1)

Etching 4

Medical Reference 3, Identify Ailment 1

Green Thumb 2

Chain of Command 5

Poison Coating 3

Toxic Mist

Grasshopper Stab 2, Grasshopper Slash 2, Grasshopper Draw 1, Grasshopper Throw 1 (+1)

Role Skills:

Local Guide

Private Room, Meeting Room

Explorer's Assassinate

Explorer's Map

Hunter's Catalogue, Explorer's Hunt

Explorer's Research

Explorer's Blueprint

The Court of Blades - Legacy

Empress: Hera Kingsley

Leviathan: Livy - Two-handed Axe

Spymaster: Viper & Crimson - Twin daggers

Mistress of the Hunt:

Royal Tutor: Lurize - zweihander

Vulcan: Forge

Sentinel: Nimbus - Bladed tonfas

Royal Adviser: Daskka - Ego Item

Court Members 9/9

Twiggy - Tiara - Metal

Shadow - Scythe - Stealth

Robin - Bowblade - Arcane

Glacia - Falchion - Ice

Storm - Longsword - Lightning

Sun - Spear - Radiance

Clay - Chain Sword - Mud

Pyro - Tail Spike - Dragon Fire

Eira- Glaive - Permafrost

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Hera made sure to go over and read every single skill she had. There were a lot of them, and a number of them she had just stopped using. Sure, she didn’t have to worry about the passive ones, as they triggered no matter what. And things like [Sneak Attack], [Hide], and [Chain of Command] just happened when the conditions were met. Not to mention the ones that were very conditional like [Green Thumb], [Medical Reference], and [Identify Ailment]. However, [Toxic Mist] and, more importantly, [Poison Coating] were skills that she always forgot about.

Making a mental note to remember to use those skills, the Empress turned to the final reward from the dungeon. She selected the option on the tablet, which materialized her prize.

It was a beautiful cloak pin, apparently made out of bismuth. A rainbow of colors naturally blended into the object. There was one long part, thicker than a needle, that would serve to hold the cloak in place. Then it reached the base of a head, which resembled a deer with long horns curving upward and ending in a sharp point. A red jewel was set on the forehead of the face, followed by strands of gold weaved in a net moving up the scalp. Behind the face, a mane of gold hair flowed and ended in two thin tips about halfway down the shaft of the pin. And on the back of it all, there were a pair of feathery wings, each feather with a different blend of colors while the muscles of the wing had a golden shade.

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Sphinx's Gatekeeper

Cloak Pin

Unique

Active skills:

Decipher Me or I Will Devour You:

The Sphinx in the pin traps a target inside a cage of mana based on the wearer's attributes. Inside the cage, the target is unable to interact with the outside world and they are unable to leave until they solve a riddle posed by the Sphinx. If the target fails to answer in three attempts, the cage is reinforced and lasts for an additional 4 hours. If the target answers the riddle correctly, the cage vanishes.

Cooldown: 24 hours.

Duration: 4 hours

Gates of Mana:

The wearer of this pin can attempt to enter the Gates of Mana. To do so, they are required to enter the cage of mana from the skill [Decipher Me or I Will Devour You] and correctly answer the riddle in a single attempt. Once that is done, the cage will be flooded with mana, increasing the user’s mana regeneration. The Gates of Mana last for 1 minute before the cage vanishes, closing the Gates of Mana. The increased regeneration will start to decay after the Gates of Mana are closed.

Mana regeneration while inside the Gates: +10% per second.

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"This is kind of interesting," Hera gasped.

"What is it?" Helena turned to the side, holding a book about formations.

"Take a look," the Empress passed the item to her friend.

"I understand what you mean. That Gates of Mana might be a good place to increase your total mana or to prepare very big spells," Helena nodded.

"That's what I thought. And maybe I can make enemies waste their big skills by trapping them. What about yours? Is it interesting?"

"It is. It talks about how to set up formations and how a few have a cost and effect going on. If you swap formation for spell circle, it should work. It's just a shame that it’s not a full skill or something like that. I actually have to study to make this work," Helena sighed.

"You say that like you hate studying," Hera rolled her eyes with a chuckle.

The two of them stood there for a few moments before heading back out of the dungeon. They had a chance to leave this room earlier than expected. It would be just one day sooner than the week they had to wait, but it was better than nothing. However, as soon as they walked outside of the dungeon, they realized a big problem. Without Nimbus to take them to the pillar, the two of them would have to brave the sandstorm on their own.

"This sucks," Helena huffed as they got ready to leave the safety of the cave.

"We can wait if you want. I mean, it’s already been 6 days. What’s one more?" Hera shrugged. Now things didn't feel all that pressing.

"No, let’s just go. I’m just annoyed because after these days, I’m going to have sand even in my underwear. I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with that kind of thing unless I was at the beach," Helena groaned a few moments before the two walked off into the storm.