Hera had arrived at the inn that she was staying with her friends. After getting out of the test room, she received a few texts. Inside the trial, all forms of communication with the outside were blocked off, meaning that no messages were delivered until she got back to Brinefront.

  First, Blue said she needed to talk to Hera as soon as she left her test. Leo also sent a similar message to the group text, but he would only talk to everyone later that day. Helena's message was very different. She was going to arrive at Brilansis on the weekend and wanted to meet Hera on Monday. Eridan, her dad, sent a reminder about Grandma Triss's birthday. The party would be on Sunday.

  With everything that was going on, Hera had completely forgotten about her grandmother's birthday. If it were someone else's party, she would consider not going, but it was Grandma Triss'. There was no way she was going to skip it.

  Not to mention, Hera really should check on her apartment back on Brilansis. It had been a while since she went back to her place. The best option would be to go on Saturday. That way, she had a day to deal with anything before she could take the train to her hometown.

  After getting off the elevator, Hera went straight to her room, finding Blue lying on the bed while watching TV.

  "Hey! Back already?" the controller was holding a spoon and eating ice cream.

  "Yep, I only had 24 hours to do it, unlike Alex. But I got the skill."

  "Nicely done, killer. The kitty got her claws," Blue raised a hand, waiting for a high five.

  Hera did her best to muster a smile and tap on Blue's hand. But the killer comment really hurt, "Thanks, but please don't call me killer, or assassin, or stuff like that. Some stuff happened."

  Blue stared at her friend with a serious expression, "Is everything ok?"

  "Not really, but it will be. Don't worry. I need to deal with this on my own."

  Blue just nodded and took another scoop of ice cream, "If you ever need to talk, I'm here. And if you don't," she offered the sweet to Hera, " You can always drown your sorrows with this."

  Hera chuckled, "Thanks. I'm not sure if it would work, but it never hurts to try."

  She picked up a spoon and took a large scoop, sitting on the bed by Blue.

  "So, what is the big thing you wanted to talk about?" Hera asked.

  "Well, I'm going to need to talk to everyone about it. But I'm taking a break from adventuring. My family had this big trip planned for almost a year now. And my dad finally managed to set everything up to take a vacation from his butchery. We are going to Brazil for a couple of weeks. The flight we got is next Wednesday. The tickets were on sale for a red-eye flight."

  Hera took another scoop, "That is awesome! But you don't seem excited. Why is that?"

  "I am excited, but I'm not very good at letting people down. Or abandoning them."

  "Who are you abandoning?" Hera frowned.

  "You guys. I know you need me to be the tank."

  Hera poked Blue with her elbow, "Way to call us useless."

  "That is not what I meant."

  "I know, but you are not abandoning anyone. You are going on a trip with your family. No one will blame you for it. Well... maybe Bonnie."

  Blue chuckled, "That is true."

  The two of them kept talking until the bowl of ice cream was empty. In the end, that was exactly what Hera needed. Something to take her mind out of things. The pair decided to stay in for today. After all, even It was still the middle of the day, and Leo would only arrive late in the afternoon.

  Sometime later, Alex joined the two of them. She was excited about Hera finishing the test, but she understood that it wasn't the best moment to talk about it after seeing her reaction.

  Bonnie and Mark arrived not much later. Both of them joining the rest in Hera's room to watch a movie. Leo was the last to arrive, but unlike the others, he just warned everyone through a text. He wanted to take a shower before heading out to eat. A bit after sunset, they were already in a restaurant ordering their food.

  As the server left, there was a moment of silence at the table. No one knew who would speak first. Both Leo and Blue were clearly worried about what they needed to say.

  "Ok, since you are all quiet, let me start," to everyone's surprise, Bonnie was the one that broke the silence, "I've been reading a lot this past week. I can't say much about what I was working on because it was a quest from the order. However, I can share with you guys a bit of it."

  The researcher sent a file to the group chat. They all went to check it. It was called 'Skills we should have.' The file contained a lengthy explanation of several skills and how to learn them, from improved perception to heat and cold resistance.

  "The research I'm doing is about skills. Part of it was to go through the skills that the guild shares freely. There is a lot of stuff there, like tasting, basic resistances, even fishing, and plowing."

  Blue and Mark chuckled with the last name, "I mean. It's nice the Guild worries about teaching us some good plowing techniques," the controller said.

  Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Would you grow up? The skill is about farming. Or preparing the ground to receive a seed," she barely finished speaking when she realized how that sounded. The whole table started laughing, "Fine, you perverts. I'll stop talking."

  "No, Bonnie. C'mon, we are just joking. We really are interested in what you have to say," Alex was trying not to laugh too much and let the researcher talk.

  "Just let me go through this before making jokes. It's frustrating not being able to finish."

  Blue covered her mouth with her hands, doing her best not to laugh out loud, but tears were already forming in her eyes.

  Bonnie slumped on the chair, "Just get it off your system so I can have my turn."

  The table spent another ten minutes making bad puns, and even Bonnie gave up and joined in the jokes. A few tables around enjoyed them seemed to be enjoying the shenanigans while others felt somewhat bothered by it. In the end, the group only stopped once a server asked them to since there were some complaints.

  "Anyway, as I was saying. Try to get those skills. They are not hard to learn, and we can do it at any time. The benefits we can get in the long run are amazing, like heat resistance. It won't make us take less damage from a fire attack, but you can have a much easier time when we need to travel through a desert," Bonnie explained.

  "So, this is not like fire or ice resistance?" Mark asked.

  "Yes, but also no. We can get a minor effect when receiving damage. But those skills stack with other resistances. The heat resistance skill makes us 15% more resilient against hot weather, but it gives us only 1% fire damage mitigation. According to my research, resistance skills cannot nullify a type of damage, just to make it less effective. Even if somehow we reach 100% resistance or go past that."

  "Got it, and those skills are just general things, right? Like for everyone. Or did you find any skills that are useful for our classes?" Leo asked while he cut his steak.

  "I did, but if you want to know that information, you better be willing to pay for my services," Bonnie sat straight on the chair. Suddenly, Hera had the impression of talking to a business owner and not her friend. It was somewhat startling to see that change happen so quickly.

  "Seriously? You are charging for this?" Leo gasped.

  "Of course. Nothing in life is free. Besides, information can save a life here," Bonnie reply was quick, almost as if she was already expecting that question.

  "Damn, Bonnie. I thought we were friends," Leo stared at the researcher with his arms crossed.

  "C'mon Leo, that's not fair. This is what her role does. Researchers find ways to make our lives easier. Saying she has to give that information for free is like telling me to make you a weapon without charging," Mark said while eating the mozzarella sticks they ordered for the table.

  "He does have a point, Leo," Alex chimed in, "Besides, she already gave us a lot of information for free. I imagine it would take us ages to get all this on our own."

  "Honestly, I'm more than happy to pay someone to do the book reading for me, unless it is a nice fantasy story," Blue turned to Bonnie, " How much for the information for our skills? I hope we still have the friends and family discount."

  Bonnie was staring at the group with a surprised expression, "Now, I feel bad. You guys are being more supportive than I expected. I wasn't going to ask for money. A secondary part of the quest I have entails knowing how long it takes to get the skills and if something weird happens after you get them. I was just going to ask you guys to let me know about that."

  Leo stared at Bonnie for a moment, "And you did that whole business woman routine just to ask that?"

  "Well, yeah... I mean, this was a job, so I just assumed you guys would be against it."

  "Now I am," Leo huffed.

  "You really didn't have to do all that," Alex said.

  "Yeah, we would help you, regardless," Mark nodded.

  "Honestly, no. After being all serious and making us defend you, now I'm only doing it if you give us the skills," Blue said, crossing her arms like Leo.

  Hera laughed, " Yeah. We were already tense, don't make it worse."

  "Hey, that is not on me. Those two are the ones who were being all serious." Bonnie pointed at Blue and Leo.

  "Yeah, but I was just going to say that I'm going on a family vacation," Blue shrugged.

  Realizing that she had just revealed that she would abandon the group, the Controller looked down and told everyone about the trip.

  "Oh, that is all? It's not that serious. Just bring us some souvenirs," Alex said.

  "Yeah, right," Blue rolled her eyes, "In two weeks, you'll all have enough levels to get to the next room. I'm the one who should be getting souvenirs."

  "Well, this is actually close to what I wanted to talk about," Leo placed the knife and fork on his plate, "I've been recruited by a platoon. It's a thing from the Crimson Coalition. I've told you guys that it worked kind of like an army, right? Well, each high-ranking officer has their own legion. The legion is split into brigades, and the brigades into..." Leo saw the faraway stares from the group, "Sorry, I know you guys don't care about that. What I mean is after I've been recruited, I was kind of lone merc, and now a mid-level official recruited me for his platoon. That means that I'll have more responsibilities with the coalition and have to work in a group with them for a while. I'm still considered a recruit for them, and until I raise a couple of rankings, I don't have that much freedom."

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Leo, who spent the entire time looking at his plate while he spoke, raised his eyes to look at the group, "Until I get that freedom, I'm going to stay with the coalition. I'm heading to the next layer on Monday. I know I'm too low level to be there, but we will be in a big group. And my squad leader is a level 10 healer. It should be enough to keep us alive."

  There were a few moments of silence after Leo finished speaking. The group needed some time to process that.

  "How long?" Hera asked, "How long do you think it will take before you get that freedom back?"

  "I honestly don't know. My uncle got it in just a few weeks. For others, it can take months, even years. And look, when I say freedom, I don't mean like I'm going to be in a cell or something. I can still text, drink, go out at night. It's like a job. We work 5 to 6 days a week. Sometimes there is overtime, but most of the quest rewards will go to us, and we have holidays. It's like working in a research station or as a forest guard," Leo let out a long sigh, "I really like you all, and it's not like I'm saying that we can never see each other again. But I have to do this. That is the only way I can hope to find my uncle."

  Hera stared at the Hunter for a moment, "I get it. I mean, I understand, at least. And it's not like I'm not supporting you, Leo. But it's sad, you know. Blue is going on a trip. You are going to do your thing. It feels like that moment after graduation when you and your friends go their separate ways."

  "I don't want to pile in, but I was talking to Bonnie yesterday, and apparently crafters and researchers don't need to hunt to get experience. If we do things related to our roles, we also can level up just fine. You guys know that I'm not much of a fighter," Mark scratched the back of his head.

  Hera turned towards Bonnie, worried she might lose another two members of the group.

  "Yeah, he is right. I thought I would be too far behind if I didn't fight. And it's not like hunting didn't have its fun moments. Yet, I'd rather be doing my thing, finding new spells and ways to use magic, then actually fighting for my life every day."

  After yet another moment of silence, Alex looked around, "So this is it? We won't be a party anymore?"

  "Don't say that. I very much expect to join you guys as soon as I'm back. It will be just a couple of weeks. At most, I'll be one level behind," Blue said before wiping a tear that was forming in the corner of her eye.

  "Are you crying?" Bonnie asked.

  "No! You are crying!" Blue replied.

  The group finished their meals and left the restaurant. The lingering feeling of an ending left a strange taste in the air.

  Hera looked to the ceiling of the cave. There were so many things they still hadn't done here. Exploring the room, going on another dungeon run, having a party, camping in the middle of the forest. So much.

  She stopped walking in the front of the group, still looking up, "We are all still here until Friday, right?" they all nodded, confirming that, "So what if we go to the Frog Valley? We bought the compendium, and Mark never went to a dungeon. It could be our farewell party for everyone."

  "Well... going to a dungeon does seem fun. And you guys got some cool items there, right? I've finished the time I need to stay in the workshop for this month," Mark said.

  "Yeah, I still hate frogs, and doing a whole dungeon related to them is not at the top of my list. But it could be fun," Alex nodded.

  "You know, I do have some field research for the quest. It could help a lot," Bonnie looked through her tablet, already marking what she could do in the dungeon.

  "Yeah, I want to fight something big before going on the trip," Blue slapped Hera's shoulder.

  "So let's do it. We can get everything ready and head out tomorrow. If I recall it correctly, we could do a few runs on the dungeon per day. And we will be sleeping there for a day or two. Well, if everyone is up for it," Leo said.

  "Yeah, if we stay together long enough, we can get sick of each other by Friday. That way, we won't miss anyone," Blue joked.

  They all stared at her for a moment.

  "Let's leave her here. We can do it ourselves," Bonnie said, heading towards the inn. The rest of the group followed her, smiling but not saying a word.

  "Hold up, guys. It was a joke, c'mon, let me go too," Blue followed them while the rest laughed.

  ——————————

  "Is that the tower they told us about?" Mark asked, pointing to the tall metal structure.

  "I guess so. How did we miss that?" Blue was looking at massive metal tower that was at least 100 meters tall.

  "Maybe is because it's behind the pillar?" Leo suggested.

  Hera looked at the tower. It was a three-sided solid structure, with a large satellite dish on top. These towers were spread around various places in various rooms. They functioned as hotspots, allowing people who were far away from the city to connect their tablets to the internet.

  Hera learned about those during the training, but it was her first time seeing one of them. The materials to make these structures weren't exactly cheap. So the guild only built them in places where there was a lot of traffic, especially near dungeons or other popular locations.

  The group had left the city over five hours ago. They got some supplies, got the quests related to the Frog Valley from the guild, and headed out. No one was worried about camping out since there was a hotel near the dungeon.

  An alarm sounded on Blue's tablet, "Ok, now it's a half-hour run," she said, already stretching.

  "C'mon, we've been walking for hours. Give us a break," Mark cried.

  "No dice, we need the running skill. You saw what it does. With it, we can run and recover stamina at the same time," Blue said, already doing some high knees to warm up.

  "Yeah. We are trying to help Bonnie. The sooner we get the skills, the sooner she completes the bonus quest," Leo said, already joining in with the exercise.

  "Have your fun. I'm not going to run right now. I've been going to the guild gym every day to run on the treadmill," Bonnie said.

  "I'm out too. We've been walking for hours. If I run, someone will have to carry me," Hera said.

  In the end, only Blue and Leo went running. They would spend twenty minutes running forward, and then ten running back to meet the group.

  In another hour, the group arrived at the hotspot. There was a large area around it that was covered by a wooden wall. Inside it, the buildings were all made of the same purple wood that existed everywhere in the room. The numerous spread out wooden cabins gave the whole area a summer camp vibe.

  The first thing they did was to head to the hotel and grab a room. Unfortunately, they only had a single large room available.

  "Well... we did say we wanted to be close," Hera said, trying to seem excited about the idea.

  "At least it has two bathrooms. And on the other side of the road, there is a hot spring," Mark pointed to a large building after the tower.

  "Wow, I have never been to one," Hera's eyes were sparkling while she looked at the building.

  "We could go there before going inside the dungeon. If they have room, I mean," Blue suggested.

  They set up in their room and took some time to rest. It was late, and they were all tired. Since it was the first time they would attempt the dungeon, the group agreed to wait until the next day.

  The first thing Hera wanted was to head to the hot springs. They could buy swimsuits in the shop there. Thankfully, they could stay there for some time as the place was not yet full. A couple of hours later, the group was back in the hotel, having ordered dinner from the room service.

  "After all that, did you get the heat resistance skill?" Bonnie asked.

  "Not yet. But I'm more than willing to stay there until I get it. It was so relaxing," Hera stretched herself in bed.

  "Yeah, don't do that. You were already dizzy when you got here," Blue said.

  Hera ignored the comment and stayed in bed. Since they were waiting for the food, she could take a moment to enjoy the comfortable mattress.

  "Right, so let's recap what we know about the dungeon, shall we? Everyone open your compendiums," Leo grabbed his tablet, "In the Frog Valley, we will find many frogs, lizards, and snakes. The area is also filled with poison and large pools of water."

  "The poison is mostly in liquid form. But in a few areas, it is airborne. Usually, we can see the poison in the air, but be careful if you are near a foggy place," Alex added.

  "Yeah, the quest will be about saving the frogs and destroying the source of all the poison," Leo said as he read the information again.

  "The frogs and other creatures in there are weak to poison and use brute force to attack. There is not much of a trick to them, just avoid the attacks and kill them. The main problem is the boss," Bonnie showed everyone the images of the monsters.

  "The boss is a weird, bloated creature that is stuck in a big pool of poison. We need first to neutralize the surrounding poison before attacking. There are a few ways to do that according to the information we have, but it only says that killing everything works and can give us some nice loot," Blue went to the door. The room service had just arrived.

  They all grabbed their food and sat around a small coffee table in the middle of the room.

  "Before I forget, there is one more thing. The quest says that we need to clear the conflict in the valley. Yes, killing everything is an option. But we might want to try other routes. Maybe saving one of the species and or even helping the poison to cover everything," the group stared at Hera after that last remark, "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I think the rewards can be different depending on the route we take. Since the quest is that open-ended, my guess is that helping the poison can give us something good."

  "Or activate the hard mode," Alex suggested.

  Hera nodded, "That too. But I asked Gemma before we left. When we trigger the hard mode, we still can choose not to do it. It will show up when we try to go inside the dungeon."

  The group discussed strategy during dinner. In the end, their fighting style wouldn't change as much. The main difference would be with the boss.

  They talked and joked around until they all went to sleep. When morning came, everyone got ready and headed out towards the dungeon. It was located on the cave wall. There was a massive chasm covered in smoke, and in front of it, a large wooden gate.

  As they got close to it, Hera saw a few groups getting ready to tackle the dungeon. A few people seemed more seasoned than others, while a couple seemed to be nervous about entering. In the middle of all that, she noticed a familiar man with a tribal pattern buzz cut. The man saw her and waved before approaching.

  "Hey! Hera, right?" the healer asked.

  "Yeah. How are you? ... Runir?" she replied, unsure if she remembered the right name.

  "That's me," he kneeled to greet Tiger, "And hey little guy. I'm glad no one had to call me because of you."

  The frog stared at the man and got into its battle stance before Leo picked it up," Tiger, no. He's a friend," he turned to Runir, "Sorry about that. I guess he doesn't remember you."

  "No worries, boss. He was in a really bad shape. I didn't expect him to remember me. Glad to see you tamed him. It would be a shame to let all that work and money go to waste."

  "Oh, right, that reminds me. You never paid me back for that, Leo," Hera said, staring at the hunter.

  "I guess I forgot. Can we do this later?" Leo asked.

  "Sure. But I want interest now," Hera said with a smile.

  Runir laughed, "It's nice seeing people who can joke about money. During my last few jobs, people were very stingy," someone in a group called the healer, "Be right there... Sorry, duty calls. It's nice to see you guys again. Talk to you later."

  The healer left, and Mark asked, "So, who is the dude?"

  "It's Runir. He's a healer that helped Tiger when Leo found him," Hera told the entire story, and Mark just nodded.

  "It would be nice to have a healer in the group," Bonnie said.

  "It would be nice to have him in the group," Blue said.

  "So that's your type?" Alex asked.

  Blue groaned, "I hate that. Why do I need to have a type? Can't I just find people hot?"

  "Sure, you can. There is nothing wrong with that. But I did picture you with someone more muscular, kind of like the guild's chairwoman," Hera said.

  Blue stared at her for a moment before shaking her head, "Ok, let's change the subject before I get too distracted. We are here for the dungeon."

  Heading towards the gate, they waited in line for their turn to enter the dungeon. One by one, the groups went towards the wooden gate. After a moment, the gate would open, allowing the party to enter, closing behind them.

  Even before they passed through the gate, a couple of other groups joined the line. When Runir and his party were heading towards the entrance, a group of four came from beyond the gate. There was an awkward moment when the two parties almost ran into each other, but they soon headed towards the tower.

  According to what Hera heard, people would usually take a break between runs. There was even a place around the towers specialized in fast cleaning services. It was a bit expensive, but you could have your entire equipment cleaned in just half an hour.

  When their turn came, Hera and her friends walked towards the gate, using the [Inspect] on it.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Frog Valley Entrance

  Area type: Dungeon

  A gate leading to the fabled valley of frogs.

  An intense poison is slowly taking over the area, posing a threat to any creature inside the valley.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Let's go," Leo said, pushing the gate open.

  There was a thick layer of fog beyond the gate. Hera push through it, being careful with each step, unsure what to expect. After a few moments, the mist grew thinner, and they finally could see the inside of the dungeon.

  It was a massive place, with the room's walls going all the way to the ceiling. The valley seemed to be very long, but the mist still lingered in the air, making them unable to see its end. However, there were parts of the fog that already showed a purple hue. In those areas, the poison would be several times stronger.

  Aside from that, there were several large pools of water and some vegetation around. Not as dense as the one around Brinefront, but still big enough to hide a couple of creatures among its patches.

  "Be careful. We have three vials of antidote each, and another ten with Bonnie. Still, don't waste them," Leo said to the group. He was more commanding after returning from his training.

  "We will only use the poison resistance spray to fight the boss. I have it on me right now, but it is only good for four doses. When we get to it, Leo and I will use the spray so we can tank better," Blue said, pointing to a small pouch on her waist.

  They started walking deeper into the valley when the noise a something large hitting the ground caught their attention. Coming from the side, a large frog, almost two meters tall, emerged from the trees. The creature had a sickly grey color, and there was a thick purple sludge dripping from its mouth.

  Hera quickly used the spell Helena had given her and activated her [Observe]

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Lesser Poison Frog (Poison affinity)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  She rolled her eyes, "Great. I just wasted mana," she mumbled before yelling. "Careful, it uses poison."

  "Well, duh," Blue said as she already rushed towards the creature's side, activating her buff.

  Mark sent two arrows flying towards the frog's eyes while Bonnie hit its face with an Air Fist that seemed much stronger than before. The creature fell to the ground while Blue started punching its side, small sparks of electricity coming from her fists. Hera rushed towards the beast, stepping onto its front legs to reach its back. With a quick strike, the frog went limp on the floor.

  "Well, this wasn't so bad," Blue said, stepping away from the creature.

  As she walked, the frog's body started to dissolve into the sand and vanished where it lay, leaving two gold coins on the floor.

  Only 3$ a month!

  Thanks for supporting my writing. And check you my other story,

  Want more? Next chapter is already available for Patreons!

  Tiers:

  $3 Explorer: Advanced chapter + Side Stories

  $5 Gold Card Explorer: Everything Above + Book 1 rewrite early access

  $10 Legacy Holder: Everything Above + create your own MAZE/ Energy Eater character

  $35 Guide: Everything Above + create your room, guide, and 4 chapter story arc

  or buy me a Ko-fi

  Join our Discord!

  Massive thanks to our amazing Patreons:

  Guide Tier: Lemon Ghost, Dr Dankness, Personssess

  Legacy Holders: Lillith Ophidia, NessaroseDyer

  Gold Card Explorers: Faeolin the Wild Elf, Jinx, laciw, Eric M, A.b, Kaouenn, Someone

  Explorers: Giuseppe, Theredescare77, Matt, Will C, Pltergeist, Nix, Frightful6_7, Cog, Maren, Tomas, Pletter, Kensyi, Daniel, ShadowedForest, Rosy, Lara, Kitzuna, Kakaae, Alex, Psyren G, Baseplate36, Scott, Tierhon, Gabriel