Chapter 204 -The path leads to... (Patreon)

Hera didn't know how long she would last. She could already feel the heat increasing together with the awful smell of sulfur that burned her nose, not to mention the exhaustion trying to take over. It had been close to fifteen minutes since she has been following the twisting path. Her legs were barely keeping up, but stopping wasn't an option. Looking up, she realized that the wall by her left was already 13 meters tall. Even if she decided to run away now, there was no coming back. She looked towards the path and noticed a hole. After it, another winding path seemed to move up and vanish from sight after making a curve to the left. With a renewed hope, Hera pushed forward. The map was still open, and Talpa's directions were scribbled in the middle of it. Without even stopping for a moment, she entered the cave.

Moving quickly through the hallways, Hera did her best to follow the path. The cave was confusing, all the entrances looked the same, and there were no distinct markings anywhere. After arriving in a long hallway, she looked at the instructions once more. According to Talpa, she had to turn on the second left to keep going. A small glimmer of light caught her eye, making Hera look back. An eerie orange glow was coming from the path she took, and the smell of sulfur started to get more intense. When a small stream of lava poked through the hallway, she turned around and started running once more. There was supposed to be more time. When she entered the cave, the lava was still far away. Because of that, Hera was trying to save her strength.

Now there was nothing in her mind aside from moving fast. She kept looking around, trying to find the paths that she had to take while a scorching heat licked the back of her legs. Blue's body was starting to feel warmer, signaling that the lava could already be burning her. Hera pressed forward without stopping. She was focused on the path ahead and did her best to ignore the entrances that wouldn't lead her to the doorway. Still, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a room with something on the wall and another filled with gold. It seemed like this path was made as a trap. If anyone got distracted in those rooms, they would be caught by the incoming magma.

Hera took the final left turn and kept running for a minute, then two, then five, then ten. She went on for so long that the dancing light she created to show her path consumed all her remaining mana. The only thing allowing her to see what was in front of her was the glow coming from the lava behind her. After another five minutes of running, Hera started to panic even more. She was feeling tired, too tired, and there was still no sign of the doorway. Maybe she made a mistake. Maybe she took a wrong turn or missed one of the paths, and now she was in a dead-end. Or was it an endless corridor, much like the ones you see during a nightmare? The only thing that gave her a glimmer of hope was that guides cannot lie.

She was starting to see spots and lights in front of her eyes. Even with her improved stamina, her current state was proving to be too much for her body. Hera blinked to get rid of the spots and noticed that one of the lights was still there. It was soft, white, and inviting in a way. Looking around, she noticed that the light wasn't following her eyes but staying in a specific spot. Pushing on, she arrived at a corner. Beyond it, there was a large doorway with the symbol of a mountain with a pair of wings on top. The emblem was enveloped in what looked like a snowstorm with heavy clouds creating the frame.

With no time to appreciate its beauty, Hera quickly went towards the doorway, placing one hand on it.

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Would you like to be transported to
Boothudurn Peaks – 3rd Layer

[Yes] [No]
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Hera pressed yes without even reading the rest, and another notification appeared.

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Unique situation identified

Unconscious being detected, the question will be asked to its subconscious.
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Hera didn't understand what was going on, only that she was still inside the cave, and the menacing orange glow was getting closer. She kept looking back and forth, yelling for Blue to wake up. She remembered that unconscious people can't cross doorways.

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Unique situation resolved, initiating transfer
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"What about Blue? Is she coming too?" Hera asked the doorway but got no response as the warm glow covered her body, robbing her of any feelings in her hands. Realizing that she couldn't feel her friend's body pressed against her back, Hera tried to move, but she was already paralyzed. What once was a comfortable and cozy feeling became a dreadful experience that seemed to last forever.

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There was a loud knock on the door. A voice came from the end of a hallway filled with different types of rugs and a few pictures on the walls.

"Come in. The door is open!"

A feminine voice replied, "Aren't you going to be polite and open it for us?"

"I have no arms. The best thing I can offer is slamming the door against your head."

"For someone who scolds us for being rude, you really have no manners," a second feminine voice replied.

"What the hell do you want from me, kid? I bounce around to move. It's gonna take five minutes just to get there. Stop complaining and come in."

The footsteps approached the living room. In a beanbag chair, there was a giant green apple watching television.

"Hey Peach!" the two kobolds said at once.

"Can you not forget the S? It's part of my name, you know," Peaches turned around towards Talpa and Nina, "Hi, girls. It's been a while since you stopped by. Is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine. We just got called by an explorer," Talpa dropped on the same bean bag that Peaches was using, making him bounce with the motion.

"That's rare. How long has it been since you two were called?"

"About half an hour," Nina replied from the kitchen.

"Haha, very funny. Can you answer? And leave the cake alone. Betty made it for my birthday," Peaches yelled from the couch.

"Can I take just a slice?" Nina asked.

"No! Last year you two ate half my birthday cake!"

"It wasn't half," Talpa protested.

"It sure as hell felt like it. Take the pie if you want," Peaches scoffed.

"What's the flavor?" Nina asked.

"Pecan."

"Argh. I hate nuts."

"Grab me a slice then, sis," Talpa asked.

A few moments later, Nina sat down on the other side of the same bean bag with two slices of pie, one for Talpa and one for Peaches.

"Do you two have to stay in the same chair that I'm using?" Peaches asked.

"Aww, c'mon. We did that when we were little," Talpa leaned her head on Peaches.

"You two were never little. We don't grow," Peaches rolled his eyes.

"Fine, when we were young. It's still comfortable," Talpa replied.

"Yeah. I can't deny that," Peaches smiled while closing his eyes.

A few moments passed before Nina broke the silence, "So, what are you watching?"

"Some old human movie about a kid who travels back in time with a car. It's fun, but the whole thing with his mother is weird."

"I think I saw that one before. The younger version of the mother has a crush on her future son, right?" Talpa asked.

"Yeah. I really hope that is not common among humans," Nina kept eating her pie.

"What? Time travel?" Talpa asked.

"Yes, Talpa. I'm talking about magic machines that can travel through time," Nina scoffed.

Peaches laughed, "Now this feels like the old days, but anyway. You guys came for some reason or just to drop by?"

"A bit of both. Do you remember a blond girl who used a handaxe? She should have stopped by a couple of months ago." Nina said.

"Maybe less. Considering the situation she was in, it wouldn't be a surprise if someone was Powerleveling her," Talpa added.

"Hum… I mean, there are quite a few. You guys know I deal with tests from everywhere."

"This one got the guide skill, and she was in our room, so maybe she came from Brinefront. She has those big doe eyes and an 'I'm too nice to a fault' attitude," Talpa explained.

"Yeah, I mean, she was about to die and still took the time to say we looked good. Not that she could help it, we look amazing today," Nina said proudly.

"I think there was someone like that… her name was…. Something with an H…" Peaches closed his eyes, trying to remember.

"Hera?" Talpa asked.

"Yeah! Hera, she's a nice girl. Had some trouble when she got the assassin role. I half expected her to give up life in the MAZE after that."

"Really? Why?" Nina finished her slice of pie.

"During the test, she had to kill a human. A simulation, but it was still a human. She took that pretty hard. Then again, she even cared for the fake people inside her explorer's test."

"Oh, those are rare. Although it's still hypocritical like the rest. I mean, killing animals or monsters is fine, but when it's a human, they freak out?" Talpa scoffed.

"True, but you can't exactly blame them. Their society and even the system drills those ideas in their mind from birth. I mean, the MAZE pushes them to be stronger and even started the rampages when they became too complacent," Peaches explained.

"That's fair, but still," Nina got up to place her dirty plate in the sink

"Still nothing. I'm sure that if we had that freedom, we would do the same," Peaches said, taking the first bite of his pie.

"Honestly, I like our life better. Sure we have our jobs, but aside from that, we can do whatever we want. I mean, in those shows, humans always have to struggle with money and finding their purpose. We don't need money, we just think, and the MAZE creates for us, and we are given the meaning of our life since birth. Aside from that, we can just do whatever," Talpa replied.

"Not everyone got so lucky. I have to toll away almost every day while you have to work what, Once every decade?"

"Five years, actually, but don't complain. You have plenty of time to be here watching TV," Nina replied

"It's an offseason. I work my ass off one week a month and then just drop by occasionally," Peaches shrugged.

"Oh, you must have been working for a long time," Talpa giggled.

"Yeah, your ass is completely gone already," Nina finished the joke.

"Hey, hey! Watch it, you two," Peaches sighed, "Anyway, what were you talking about, Hera? Is she ok?"

"She was in a tough spot. You know the earthquake that happens on the battlefield, right?" Talpa asked.

"Not really. I remember there is a battlefield but not what happened inside it."

"Peaches! I thought that you cared about us," Nina gasped.

"I care about you, not your job. I never missed one of your recitals, and what are you doing there? We don't have to do the dishes. Just think, and they will be clean."

"I know, but I find it relaxing," Nina replied.

"Yeah, I never figured out that about her either. Anyway. When it happens, the earthquake opens a chasm. She was right in the middle of it. The only way she could get away safely was to go through a hidden path towards the hidden doorway," Talpa explained

"Did she got out?" Peaches asked.

Talpa closed her eye for a moment, "Yeah, about 10 minutes ago."

"Oh good, and where did she end up?"

"Boothudurn Peaks," Nina replied, coming back from the kitchen.

"Boothudurn… that's Capri's room, right?" Peaches asked.

"Yeah," Nina gave a weak smile.

"She'll have some trouble if she calls him," Talpa nodded.

"I think it will be an issue for all of us," Peaches sighed.

The three kept watching the movie until the end when Talpa and Nina got up to leave.

"Bye, Peaches. Can you make it to our presentation on the weekend?" Nina asked.

"Save me a front row seat. I'll be there," Peaches replied, just as a notification appeared in front of him. It was time to get to work