The doorbell rang while Hera was in the middle of doing the dishes.

  "I'll be right there!" she shouted before washing the soap off her hands.

  Heading to the door, the Explorer heard a loud clang coming from the basement. The first time that happened, she rushed downstairs, but now Hera was used to the noises Helena made while working. Moments later, she arrived at the door and opened to see who the visitor was.

  "Hey, Hera. Glad to see you walking in a straight line again," Mark smiled as the door opened.

  "Hi, Mark. It's nice being able to understand you again. How bad was your hangover?" Hera gestured for him to enter the house. Everyone had gone overboard during the party to celebrate her silver card.

  "I spent the day cursing and vowing never to drink again. I really need to learn a spell to cure hangovers," the man walked into the living room.

  "Alex has one. It's called Bloody Mary. But since she's still learning it, it didn't work all that well."

  "Oh, Mary. How sweet is your taste and how devilish is your grin," Mark sat on the couch, reminiscing about the one drink that made him go over the edge.

  "Since when are you so poetic?" Hera chuckled.

  "Just trying something new. Does it fit me?"

  "Not in the slightest. Do you want some coffee?"

  "Can you give me some water? I never liked coffee."

  “We went to a coffee shop almost every day during training, and now you tell me that?” Hera gasped.

  “Well, they had other drinks. Not my fault no one noticed that I never got coffee,”

  Hera nodded and went to the kitchen. She returned with a cup of water for Mark and coffee for her, "How is life as a Crafter? We didn't talk about that during the party."

  "Honestly, it's pretty fun. I like working with my hands. But I'm thinking about focusing on accessories. Armors and weapons are fun to make, but I enjoy the delicate work," Mark smiled while he spoke.

  "I'm glad you found your footing. Honestly, I still think about the Crafter role skill. But I need to get the Mage one first," Hera stared at her cup.

  Wisps of steam danced in the air because of the temperature. Yet, they refused to break apart while moving.

  Mark stared at Hera for a moment, noticing her focus. "Is something going on?"

  "No, well, yeah, but nothing serious. I'm having trouble figuring a spell out," Hera admitted with a sigh.

  She felt like she was stuck with the mana reinforcement, but Helena still wasn't willing to give her the solution.

  "I'm not Bonnie, but if you want some help, I'm here. Like I have a couple of spells, and I'm not a conceptual mage, but who knows. Maybe the difference in perspective can help." Mark offered.

  "Really? What spells?" Hera asked.

  Mark raised one hand, making a small fire appeared on his palm. "This one is just called flame. I use it to maintain the temperature of the metal. It doesn't do the same as the forge, but it helps. And the other is kind like Bonnie's frost bomb, but just a gust of cold air."

  "And how did you learn those spells? You got a formula or..."

  "I use formulas. It's funny cause I always sucked at math, but using it for spells makes a lot of sense."

  "Oh, I use the subjective approach. I picture the spell and make it work. It's much harder than it seems. For instance, the mana reinforcement that I'm trying to get. I need to cover the weapon in a diamond-shaped structure. But when I make the last connection, it all breaks apart," Hera grabbed a piece of paper and made a rudimentary drawing of what she saw while trying to use the spell.

  It was hard to replicate the spell from a picture. Despite the honeycomb formation she imagined, reality was very different. The mana behaved more like threads that grew from branches. And since the mana wasn't visible, it was something she had to feel.

  "I see," Mark thought for a moment. "I can't say why, but it reminds me of Prince Rupert's Drop."

  "What's that?"

  "It's when you drip liquid glass into water. It creates a tadpole-like thing that is close to impossible to be smashed. Even a hydraulic press has some trouble to shatter it. But if you just grab some nail clippers and try to cut the tail, the entire thing explodes. Basically, the pressure inside it is too strong and makes the structure that resilient, but the whole thing collapses if you hit a weak spot. I know it doesn't look like that at all, but maybe it's something like that. The connection is the weak spot."

  Hera considered it for a moment. It was a way to look at it, but she still felt like something was missing, "Thanks. I'll try something later. It's a shame I can't use formulas for my spells. That flame one would be great for when I'm away from the city. And I wouldn't need to burn my head to fix my ear," Hera laughed.

  "Speaking of which, here is your present." Mark picked a small black velvet box from his bag.

  "Is that jewelry? Are you coming on to me, Mark?" Hera gave him a playful smile.

  "Yeah, wanna grab dinner sometime?" Mark replied without missing a beat. The man stared straight into Hera's eyes.

  The Explorer instantly turned red and turned away from him. Mark was a good-looking man. His messy black hair framed well his face, and his light brown eyes were beautiful. But it was Mark. Hera had no romantic feelings towards him whatsoever.

  "Mark... I'm sorry, I—" Hera started speaking, but was interrupted by a laugh.

  "Oh, man, you should have seen your face." Mark smirked.

  It took Hera a moment to understand it was just a joke.

  "That was a low blow, man." She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms.

  "Oh, c'mon, you guys always tease me. Let me have this one." Mark placed the velvet box in front of Hera. "Now seriously. Take a look. I promise it is not a gag."

  Hera squinted at him and picked the box. Inside it, there was a pair of large earrings. However, they were supposed to be attached to the top of the ear, almost like armor for the cartilage. They were made of a silver metal plate with several engravings of weapons. It was all very similar to her Guild bracelet.

  As she picked them up, Hera noticed that one of the earrings was heavier. It was a solid piece instead of a clip-on. If she wore both, it would be impossible to see the missing piece on her ear.

  She felt tears forming in her eyes. "Mark..."

  He just smiled, "I may be oblivious to most things, but I doubt you were as chill with that as you appeared. You don't have to use it, and I honestly hope it comes to a point where you don't want to. Until then, you have a way to at least pretend and avoid weird stares."

  Hera brushed away the tears. "You know. My shrink just told me that I should stop running from my problems. But thanks. Let me go put them on." She got up and headed to the bathroom. Not just to make sure things were properly in place, but also to avoid crying more in front of her friend.

  As Mark was sitting alone on the couch, he let out a long sigh, "At least now I know that this was a one-sided crush," he mumbled.

  A few minutes later, Hera came back. "How do I look?"

  The metal earrings covered her ears like a piece of armor. The engravings were set up in a way that made anyone looking think Hera had actual weapons on the sides of her head.

  "Badass, you look like those rocker chicks. Or an explorer that has seen some shit."

  Hera chuckled, "That's not wrong."

  Mark got up and walked to her side. "May I take a look? I wanna be sure it fits properly, and it won't hurt you."

  "Sure," Hera moved to the side, letting the light hit her ear.

  The Crafter checked the structure of the earrings. He was worried about it being too heavy for the ear, but it seems like making it hollow was the right move. The clips on the side would be enough to hold it in place, and the entire structure of the ear guards was made to hold itself up.

  As he touched her ear, Hera confirmed her previous assessment. She had no romantic feelings about Mark. Having the man this close wasn't making her hear flutter, and him touching her ear only caused some awkwardness, but not the embarrassment that should come with feelings of love.

  "Yeah, I guess this will be ok. If anything happens, please let me know," Mark stepped back after checking his work.

  "Will do. And I didn't check it, but do they have any properties?" Hera asked.

  "No, sorry. I did try to make something special, but I'm not good enough to do that just yet."

  "Don't worry. It's amazing!" Hera kept touching the earrings, moving her fingers as if she was touching her own ear.

  The two talked for some time before Mark left. He still wanted to head back to Brinefront today. Hera gave him a big hug and thanked him one more time. She even walked him to the docks so that he wouldn't be alone for a long time. After going back home, Hera remembered to inspect the earrings.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hera's Ear guards

  Created by a beginner crafter, the earrings are made to protect both the ear as well as the appearance of someone who has a missing piece on the ear.

  The materials used have a slight magical affinity, but no effect was created due to the crafter's lack of experience.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "He even named them after me," Hera smiled as she stared at the earrings, "I’m definitively going to pay him back."

  During the next few days, Hera kept working on her magic. She had increased her regeneration mastery by 1% and tested her Blinding Flash spell a few times. She also tried to practice her etching, but she had to be careful not to increase the skill too much since she wanted to get her synch.

  On the day she was waiting for her armor, the last day she had to wait before hunting again, Hera went to an Advanced Training Room, or ATR for short. She felt rusty after spending so long waiting for her recovery and desperately needed to practice.

  She rented a room for most of the day. Cameron had given her the all clear to go back to heavy workouts, as long as she stopped if she felt anything wrong. Typically, even with the heals, she would need to stay a few more days resting and doing some light workouts, but this was a perk of having a high-level healer taking care of her. Thanks to Cameron's help, that final step was sped up.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Hera just kept practicing both the Wire Trap style, and fighting using her handaxe. She noticed that during most fights against the chameleons, she was relying too much on the chakram attached to Yarnball. When the monsters got close, her movements started to get more frantic and aimless.

  Meaning that she had to either figure out a way to make her weapons work together or find a skill to help her do it. Sadly, she only thought about it in the middle of her training, and she had no intention of stopping to do a skill search at the moment.

  Hera kept thinking about ways she could use her weapons. There had to be something she was missing. She played back all the advice she got during her training, where to aim, her footwork, how to look for openings. Having her trainer as a sparring partner also helped a lot. It would mirror her style to a degree, allowing Hera to notice any big mistakes she was making.

  When she threw her chakram, her body became too open, but she had to avoid moving around to keep the direction of her throw. For now, that felt like the main weakness of her fighting style. About to dive into another tangent and start looking for a way to fix this, Hera shook her head.

  She was spreading herself too thin. It was better to focus on one thing and improve it than to try to increase all her skills at once.

  Just as the thought crossed her mind, she let out a chuckle, "Says the girl who is going for an all-rounder build."

  Hera went back to thinking about how to improve the movements with her handaxe. Even if she couldn't move, as long as she could make a range of protection around her, it wouldn't be too much trouble. Thinking about the first training session, Hera kept hearing Mr. Greyson's voice in her head.

  'Don't forget yer footwork, lassie. Ye need to know the reach of yer weapon. Then you can picture yer moves.'

  She remembered the cheese line of 'letting the weapon be an extension of yourself,' that Mark used during the first days of training. It was at that moment that something clicked in her head.

  Hera was treating the mana reinforcement as something to cast and forget, but it was a continuous buff. If it was a persistent effect, she needed to keep giving it mana, just like it was with her Bark Skin or the Affinity Sight. Both spells required her mana to move in different ways and continue flowing. They were not solid structures, but more like rivers.

  Hera sat down in the training room and started weaving the construct on her handaxe. Instead of making a single structure that gathered at the top, Hera tried to wrap her mana around it, making a loop that would start in her hand. It took her a few tries to make the spell the way she wanted. Mostly because she was going a bit too fast, and the construct broke apart before completing it.

  Taking a deep breath, she tried once more, carefully knitting the mana around Iris. She made the loop and started to bring the mana around. The energy began moving faster than she wanted. Yet, she didn't stop the process.

  Doing the spell this way would make her spend more mana, but Hera didn't mind. She pushed herself not to lose her concentration as she placed the final connection in her hand.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Spell acquired

  Mana Reinforcement

  Rank: Beginner

  By coating an item with mana, you can increase its properties. Controlling the mana allows you to focus on the increase of the desired property. Using different types of mana can lead to unique results.

  The size of the object can affect the cost.

  Base offensive increase: 10%

  Base defensive increase: 20%

  Base mana cost: 10 mana per second

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "YES!" Hera jumped up in celebration.

  It was a skill she spent the last week trying to work out. Seeing all that practice pay off was incredible. Even so, she wasn't sure why Helena didn't just give her a solution. All it required was some out of the box thinking.

  Her next step was practice a bit with the spell activated. Using Mana Reinforcement on her chakram would cost 10 mana second, but using her handaxe would bump it to 12. For now, the best way to use it would be to activate the spell just as she was about to hit a target. That way, she could avoid wasting too much mana.

  All that was left for her to feel truly safe was to get her new armor.

  Hera's time inside the ATR was mostly to stall for when her new armor would arrive. At first, she considered it just a necessary purchase, but now it was the only thing stopping her from hunting.

  The last hour of training seemed to drag, mostly due to the fact Hera was constantly looking at her tablet. Hoping to see a message about the delivery. She had yet to receive the message from the Guild, letting her know that her order had arrived.

  The distraction made her movements more sloppy, and the control of her mana was all over the place. With 15 minutes still remaining for her time in the ATR, a message came on her tablet.

  She rushed out of the training room and headed to the counter where she could pick up her order. Her sudden arrival surprised the clerk working there. He had just confirmed her order less than five minutes ago, the package was still sitting on the table.

  There was a small procedure to confirm her identity before the clerk gave her the large box with her order. Hera ripped opened the package and let her eyes bask in her brand new armor.

  It was a one-piece jumpsuit, with the zipper starting on the right side of the waist and coming up towards the left shoulder. The sleeves would stop before the elbow, just like the legs that stopped before her ankles. The entire thing was made of metal shaped like small scales to give flexibility and protection. It also was roomy enough not to make her feel completely constrained.

  According to the crafter, one could even do ballet while wearing the armor. It was also a beautiful shade of purple, getting very close to black. She paid extra to change the color like that since Hera needed something that would blend well with the shadows.

  The mineral used in the armor was silver by nature, and this shade of purple was the darkest option available. On the shoulders, there were pauldrons that looked like maple leaves in an opaque lavender shade. The same type of ornament was in the middle of the chest, just before the opening by her neck, and following the zipper, the leaf pattern would hide the seams in the armor.

  She noticed that inside the armor, several parts had thicker padding. The knee, shoulder, waist, and between the legs all had that extra cushioning. Hera touched the inner part of the armor. It was soft as a T-shirt, but as she rubbed the cloth together, she noticed that she could feel the metal scales in her fingers.

  In places where the fabric wouldn't bend, she would never notice, but it could be a problem in places with a wider range of movement. She looked to the outside of the armor once more. Behind the knee and under the arms, the scales were much smaller than in other places. Those could be weak spots created to give more mobility.

  "Excuse me, miss?" the clerk asked.

  "Yeah, sorry. I was distracted," Hera snapped out of her trance.

  "Is everything ok with your order?"

  "Oh, hang on." She looked at all the pieces. The armor seemed fine, and the boots and armguards were also there. "Everything seems to be here."

  "Ok, then I'll mark it as a complete delivery. If you want to try now, you can use the locker rooms. If not, you have a day to let us know if any adjustments will be needed. Could just place your card here to verify that you received the parcel," he pointed to a scanner to the side.

  Hera took out her silver Guild card. Every time she looked at it, she had to hold back a smile. The clerk noticed the silver glow of her card, and instantly his expression changed. As Hera confirmed the delivery, he spoke.

  "Actually, if you need more time. I'm sure we can send it back for adjustments a couple of days from now."

  Hera shook her head, "No need. If I need to send it back, I'll come back today. But thank you," she picked the plastic box that her armor came in and headed back to her home.

  She wanted to try the armor right now, but she was sweaty and dirty. If she were going to wear it for the first time, she at least wanted to be clean.

  Rushing inside like a hurricane, Hera dashed towards the shower. In less than ten minutes, she was already drying herself in her room with the armor lying on her bed. Now she could see the rest with more clarity.

  On the waist of the jumpsuit was a skirt made with the same metal. For some reason, Hera thought that it would be a separate piece. The metal on the skirt was different. Instead of several small scales, there were large plates on the sides with some scales in the mix to help with flexibility, going almost to her ankles. Oddly enough, this armor focused on protecting the lower side of the body.

  Underneath the skirt were the rest of the pants, going all the way to her ankles. The entire thing was following the same pattern of metal scales forming small leaves. The Explorer couldn't help but chuckle, as this was the first time she saw a reason for a combat skirt.

  With this setup, her pants didn't need to be as sturdy since the plates of the skirt itself could protect her from attacks. It was a quite ingenious way of having both the protection and the mobility of armor. So much so that she wondered why more people didn't use the same get up. Even the men. After all, kilts were a thing.

  Still, there was something else to do. Focusing on the armor as a whole Hera used her [Inspect].

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Autumn's Reflection (Reflect Affinity)

  Rarity: Uncommon

  An armor created by an exemplary blacksmith. The mix of materials used to craft something this resilient and flexible normally doesn't work well together. However, due to the effort and mastery of the crafter, this armor was produced.

  Defense ration: D+

  Attribute Scaling:

  Agility x 1.3

  Intelligence x 1.25

  Armor Skill: Repulsion blast

  Triggers an energy burst as a response to impacts in the armor. This effect can be turned on or off by the user. The potency of the blast is based on the user's charisma.

  Attribute Scaling

  Charisma x 1.4

  Mana cost: 25 mana

  Cooldown: 10 seconds

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Autumn Armguards (Metal Affinity)

  Rarity: Common

  Armguards created by an exemplary blacksmith. The materials used are excellent magical conductors.

  Additional effect:

  Increased magical compatibility.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Autumn Boots (Metal Affinity)

  Rarity: Common

  Boots created by an exemplary blacksmith. The materials used are excellent magical conductors.

  Additional effect:

  Increased enchanting effects.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  She wasn't expecting the scaling to be that high. According to the crafter, the base value of the scaling would be 1.2. The increase wasn't that big, even if it looked like it. Hera's point of view was that of a beginner. For an experienced crafter, a decimal increase would barely be considered a success.

  While the work put in during the production of the item could affect the item's effects, but the description of the items they sold was always the same, meaning that it wouldn't go lower unless they messed up during the crafting process. As a matter of fact, it wasn't uncommon for crafters to increase the price if an item had extraordinary results.

  The boots seemed to be made of the same material, but instead of scale mail, they were large metal plates with a couple of leaves on top. At the very tip of the boots, the metal was shaped like maple leaves. They were clearly made for function instead of appearance.

  Still, it fitted well with the rest of the armor. The armguards had the same style. Instead of scale mail, it was the same plates that were used on the boots. However, unlike the boots, they had some decorations. The metal was forged to look like the same maple leaves that decorated the rest of the armor. They were lying on top of each other, making the bracers look like they were made exclusively of those metal leaves.

  The whole maple leaf motif was something the crafter was famous for. A way for him to represent his homeland up north.

  Hera started getting dressed. She was going to wear a long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. As much as she hated wearing those, it was better to wear a tight outfit under the armor. Wearing nothing wasn't a good option. Even with the cloth that was woven inside it, everyone recommended the use of proper clothing beneath it all.

  The Explorer had bought those two pieces specifically to use with the armor. There were several high-end fabrics, and even some enchanted ones to lower the temperature and such, but for now, she just bought a basic, comfortable outfit. If she liked, she would then go after some extra pairs to rotate as she traveled. Hera had already spent too much on the armor. She still wanted to save some money, just in case.

  The armor fitted really well. It wrapped around her body without any issue. The only problem was that the armor was tight. Not to an uncomfortable degree, but it showed too much of her body. Hera always made a point of wearing baggy or less revealing clothes, but now, even wearing metal armor, she felt a bit exposed. The armor followed her curves not to the point of being a cat suit, but it still did. Then again, there was a silver lining, her legs and butt would be hidden thanks to the skirt.

  At the very least, she was showing very little skin. Only her hands and neck could be seen. Staring at the mirror, Hera had to admit. As long as she could ignore the fact that she was the one wearing it, the armor looked amazing. Her previous armor gave off the feeling of being a ranger or a hunter. This one, however, made her look like a warrior.

  Hera rushed downstairs. She wanted to put the armor to the test, but before she was able to leave the house, Helena was already waiting in the living room.

  "Wow, that armor looks amazing!" Helena rushed towards Hera, "This color looks great on you, and how is the movement? Do you feel restricted in any way?"

  "Not yet, but I'm going to hunt now to figure out."

  "Are you crazy? No, no, no. You don't test that during a fight. What if you need to move to avoid an attack and the armor gets in the way? Try moving around now," Helena commanded.

  Hera started walking, waving her arms around. The movements felt smooth, and the only restriction was how much she could twist her body.

  "Ok, now do some side steps and kicks. Make sure the skirt won't get in the way."

  Hera followed Helena's instructions. She could feel the skirt hitting her legs, but it never hurt. Raising her leg, she was able to keep it straight until it reached the height of her chest before not being able to continue. Not because the armor got in the way, but because she wasn't flexible enough.

  "Everything seems fine," Hera said after finishing all the tests.

  "Hang on, let me see one thing," Helena kneeled by Hera and raised the side of her skirt. Although she was wearing pants underneath it and the armor itself was also there, the motion made Hera feel embarrassed, "Here, inside the skirt, there is a strap. You can put your leg inside it, and the skirt won't be flying everywhere."

  Hera looked at it. The strap was just above her calf. She placed both legs in the band and moved around. It felt much better. Yet, she wouldn't be able to say that there were any problems before tying it like this.

  "Thanks, Lena. I didn't even notice that."

  Helena got up and was inspecting the rest of the armor. "Don't worry. I can imagine how excited you were. And you were lucky you got the armor from an experienced crafter. Most people overlook how a skirt can get in your way. I know that from experience. Anyway, I think you are all set. Did you call Blue and Alex?"

  Hera double checked her tablet. "I texted them, but they didn't get the message yet. I think they are out of range."

  With a sigh, Helena stepped away from the door. "I know I won't be able to stop you from trying the armor out. Just be careful, ok," Helena said with a sigh.

  "I will. Promise."

  Hera left the house and went straight toward the swamp. She still had a couple of hours of sunlight. After fighting the toad, Hera understood how dangerous it was to travel at night, and she didn't want to fight something that dangerous on her own again. It was one thing to be bored, another to be actively chasing monsters that could kill her.

  Even so, Hera was itching to test her armor, but she wasn't suicidal.

  Walking outside the city, she found one of the smooth crocodiles. It wasn't very big, about the size of a fox. Hera watched it for a moment and decided that it would be a great guinea pig. Looking down, she patted her armor and whispered, "Let's see what you can do.”

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