Hera was watching the coverage in the coffee shop she went with Helena. There was a small set up with a couple of dozen people there. All eyes glued to the screen. They yelled when the attack began, talked about the spells, and while the tunnel opened and cheered when the wall disappeared. However, when the first of the creatures appeared, the entire shop went quiet. Even the waiters stopped working and just stared at the screen.
Watching not only the 200 mbers of the attack team but the other 300 explorers, all near level 80, being overwheld filled the viewers with dread. It was a brutal reminder that life inside the MAZE was like walking on a tightrope. One false step and they would forever be in death's icy embrace.
They watched as the creatures devoured a mage and seed to absorb part of its power. The screen showed Becca being hit and the cara falling to the ground, the lens cracking in the process. Only small parts of the screen showed clear images.
Hera watched as Becca rushed towards a group in the back, and a white hairless wolf jumped onto her. People were leaving the protected tent, rushing towards the jungle. Becca got back up, apparently holding her arm, and the image went dark.
No one in the coffee shop made a sound. They were all still processing what just had happened before they could understand anything. The screen blinked, and the guild logo appeared.
"Hello, everyone. I am Leliana Mihafrey, the current chairwoman of the guild. I understand that the images that we just saw were disturbing. I ask you all to remain calm. There is no indication that anyone that is outside of the Queeroni Wilds is in danger. All explorers in the 25th layer, please report to the guild and stay inside the doorway cities while we assess the situation. If you have friends or family participating in the assault head to a guild branch, we will get your contact info and let you know as soon as we have more information. I'm also issuing a set of quests for all high-level explorers. We need people to fortify defenses, patrol areas, and search parties for our missing mbers. For now, that will be all and don't forget. We fight together, we win together, and we survive together."
Leliana's voice was strong and confident. It helped to dissolve so of the tension lingering in the air. The shop started to return to life. People talked about what they just witnessed in hushed tones as if talking about it would attract the monsters.
Hera kept staring at the screen, her head already spinning. Helena was supposed to be in the protection tent, the sa place invaded by the four-legged beasts. Did she manage to get out? Hera couldn't see if she was in the group that ran after the cara fell.
Blue stared at Hera, worried. The explorer's face was white, and she had a weird look.
"Hera? Are you ok? Do you need so water?"
Hera didn't take her eyes out of the screen, "I have to go."
"Go where?"
"I have to go," Hera said again and got up, rushing towards the exit.
"Wait, Hera," Blue ran after her friend.
Hera went down the stairs 3 steps at a ti, almost falling more than once. Helena had saved her life. The woman gave her the chance to follow her dreams. Now she was alone in a place filled with monsters. She had to do sothing to help her. She needed to help her.
"Hera!" Blue yelled already in the street, seeing the explorer head towards the docks.
The controller ran towards her friend and grabbed her arm, "What are you doing? Where are you going?"
"I need to help Helena," Hera's eyes were already watering.
"Hera, no. We can't do anything. You will die before even getting there."
"Blue, let go. I have to help her!"
Hera kept walking, dragging Blue with her. The controller wasn't able to pull her back since her strength stat was lower, but she had to stop Hera.
Blue stepped to the side, still holding Hera's arm. Placing a foot between her legs, she pulled the explorer back and threw her on the ground. Climbing on top of her friend and holding her down;
"HERA, STOP! Think about what you are trying to do."
Hera starred at Blue, tears starting to run down her face, "I can't let her die. She saved my life."
Blue hugged her friend. A few monts later, the rest of the group arrived at the scene. Hera was sitting with Blue on top of her, the two won holding each other while the explorer sobbed.
The group returned to the hotel. Hera wanted to pass by the guild, but there were too many people in there. They all gathered in Blue's room.
"Hera, we understand that you are worried. But you can't do anything to help her right now," Leo said.
"That's not entirely true," the whole group stared at Alex.
"How?" Hera said, already getting up.
"Sit back down. It's not sothing you can do running around. But you are in the Order of sothing sothing right? That's a network you can use. Talk to the people there. See if anyone is willing to rescue Helena. She is a mber. I'm sure they are worried as well," Alex explained.
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"I could. I an I can, it's not much, and I can see about posting a quest on the guild too. Worst-case scenario, I get a loan and work to pay it off," Hera was already getting her tablet and accessing the Order's website.
"Focus on the order first. We can check the quest thing later, ok?" Bonnie said.
It wasn't hard to figure out if anyone was willing to help Helena. The order wasn't a big organization, having just a bit over 2 000 mbers, and Helena was very well known among them. Before even Hera got in the forums, there was a fixed thread about what happened.
There was a list of 3 people who were called to help with the assault. Helena, the level 18 mage as a buffer, Korey a level 45 crafter to perform maintenance on weapons and Sara the level 75 assassin as part of the guard team. They still had no information on their whereabouts, but soone had confird that their bracelets were still sending life signs. There were also a few people volunteering to find the three. Soone with the userna 'The_Ancient_Gran_Mage' had created the thread, and the person also said that they would post an Order quest for the rescue mission. There was also a small form to register and receive any updates about the situation.
Hera filled the form and wrote a reply on the thread, saying that Helena had saved her life, and even though she was very weak, she was willing to do anything to help. Only after the first few replies ca in telling her not to worry and that no one would let little Lena get hurt that she looked back to her friends.
"Thanks, Alex. Soone already confird that her bracelet is still sending signals, and so people are already setting up a search party."
The assassin smiled, "See, you have good connections, use them. Now, what do you think about it?"
Hera tilted her head, "About what?"
"What we were just talking about, were you even listening?" Leo asked.
"No, sorry."
Leo let out a sigh, "We were talking about putting the frog valley dungeon on the backburner since it might be a good idea if we stay close to the city for a while."
"Oh, that's a good idea. I want to be close to the city to get any updates. That way we can also get more information about those things, we still don't know if they can go through doorways."
The group stared at Hera.
"What?"
"Do you think those things can move rooms?" Blue asked.
"No idea, but it's not unheard of. There was the invasion, the devil hunt, and even smaller things like the giants who invaded this room."
"Are we safe here?" Bonnie asked the group.
"Probably, we pretty far from the layer they showed up. Even if they can cross the doorways, it would still take quite so ti to get here," Hera said.
"Are you sure?"
"Not at all, but that's part of the point of staying close to the city, right?" Hera asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Leo replied.
There was a palpable tension in the room. The group was taking in what happened and what that could an for them. Hera, on the other hand, kept browsing the net, looking for ways to help Helena. She found out that the requirents for any of the ergency quests were way too high for her. Reading through different websites and on Chipper, she looked for the price to hire a high-level explorer. Sadly, even basic delivery missions would cost her hundreds of thousands.
In the end, every angle she tried gave the sa result. Hera wasn't powerful enough to do anything. Be it in actual strength or monetary power. Trying sothing different, Hera looked for quick ways to level up. There were so sketchy looking websites about magical pills or drinks that would increase your experience gain, but they all asked for money, and it felt like those fake lose fat quick products.
She found so people talking about how their leveling speed was better since they didn't have a party or hunt stronger enemies. So suggested being power leveled by other high-level explorers, but that was a different can of worms. From being too risky to not actually working, people had dozens of reasons why that was a bad idea.
If Hera wanted to level up faster, she needed to start hunting on her own. Yet, she needed to do so things before being able to be efficient about that. First, she needed a way to heal herself. It would all be for nothing if she ended up dying. Potions could work, but after seeing Runir, she understood how much healing magic could help. Second, she needed an offensive spell. Bonnie's magic was a ga-changer during the hunts, and she heard about monsters that are strong against physical attacks. Third, she wanted to find a good place to farm. A place with a lot of monsters spread out that respawned quickly.
However, that was just basic preparation. She needed more.
As Hera was thinking about what she lacked, Blue let out a loud grunt, breaking the explorer's concentration.
"That's it. I'm going to train. I can't stand being around moping like that. Anyone coming?"
Hera got up, "Yeah, it will be good to take my mind away from this. I want to get so new spells."
Agreeing that it was better than sitting around sulking, the group headed to the ATRs on the guild. Apparently, most people had the sa idea, and there were a limited number of rooms available. Leo picked the last spot in a shared room, Alex and Bonnie were in the sa room but not at each other's side. Blue made a point of being close to Hera, still worried about her friend.
Hera looked through the list of spells that were available for the trainer. She had already picked a fire spell, but she didn't like the idea of using fire. It was too easy to make a mistake and cause so irreparable damage. Blue was already using lighting, and even though Hera wanted to hunt alone, she rather pick sothing that her team lacked. Reading through the list, there was one spell that caught her attention, poison spray. The skills that Toxic Rain showed left a big impression on Hera. If she could do sothing similar, it would be amazing. She could hit her target and hide until it died.
Picking that spell, Hera focused on learning it. The appearance was a bit different from what she expected. Instead of an actual spray, the spell functioned more like a short-range ray. Trying to mimic the effect, Hera attempted to make her mana go forth in a line. It wasn't as hard as she expected, but nothing happened when she hit a target. Even though she was trying to focus, there was too much going on in her head to make a breakthrough.
Hera spent a couple of hours trying to make the spell work when sothing clicked inside her head. Not about her current endeavor, but about what she could do to level up faster. Or better yet, who she could ask about it.
"Blue, I'm heading to the hotel. But I want to be alone for a while. Can you kill ti sowhere?"
Blue gave Hera a worried look, " I can spend so more ti here or in the gym, but promise you won't do anything stupid."
"I won't. I just want to do sothing, and I need to be alone for that."
Blue stared at her friend for a while, "Oh, right. Of course. My bad," she got closer to Hera, "The store in the corner sells batteries if you need and try to keep your voice down. I overdid it a few days ago and got so complaints."
Hera blushed a bit. She wasn't going to do that yet, but it could be good to pretend like she was. After all, she needed the privacy.
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."
Hera left the guild and headed straight to the hotel. She had been saving the skill for a long ti now. If anyone knew the best ways to get stronger, it would be a guide.
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