Chapter 384 - Time to travel (Patreon)

##### Author's Note ####

Hope the new year is treating everyone well.
If everything goes well, I'm going to post the first side story next week (or at least part 1) and I have a little surprise for you guys tomorrow. I'll post it at the same time the chapters usually go up. 

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It took 3 hours for the rampage to finally stop, and just like how it was in Brinnefront, there was a massive last-ditch effort from the monster part. Thankfully, that wasn't much of an issue because of the reinforcement sent to all the fronts. Hera and Helena stayed in the lake to help people and managed to get another 300 kills on their belts. As they walked away and back to the guild carrying hundreds of fish on wheel barrels, Hera took a moment to check her quest.

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Monster Rampage - Boothudurn Peaks

Protect the city from the waves of monsters that will attack the settlements. Any damage to the room structures will be deducted from the basic reward.

Rewards: 20 000 gold

Killing a monster will give you increased rewards based on the type of monster.

Any monster - 1862 kills
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After doing some quick math, Hera was sure she would be getting close to 400 thousand gold. For a rampage in the 3rd layer, that was utterly ridiculous. Even if only the lake team got that much, that should easily be a few million gold to be distributed as rewards. Not to mention that her entire party should be the ones getting the equipment from Kahala.

While they were walking, Blue was asking about the wendigos. She didn't have a chance to help with the fight, but the little she searched for the lair was enough to net her 25th place, which ended up being just some uncommon crafting materials.

"Hang on, what happened to that shadow one? Why did it turn all black?" Blue asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was Lena's mana. The area was baked in shadows, and since it was an egg, the monster might have absorbed it. That's my theory, at least," Alex replied.

"Is that possible? Could Wendigos absorb mana when they are in their eggs?" Blue turned to Helena.

"I don't know. The Wendigos are still a mystery. Ever since the attack on the wall, I haven't heard anything about finding the eggs. I wish I could tell you guys an explanation, but…," Helena let out a long sigh.

"Don't worry, we are just curious. By the way, what reward did you get for the rampage quest?" Hera asked.

"I got the second place reward. It's the first time I have managed to get that. It's called 'simulation of magic token.' It's a scroll that, when used, can show me the spell I'm casting and the areas where I'm making mistakes or doing things in a less than optimal way. It sounds lame, but for a mage, it's something amazing. These puppies can go for a few million gold if I want to sell it."

"Are you going to?" Blue asked.

"No way. This type of thing can help me more than you imagine. I've never seen someone using it before, but this item will almost always lead to a breakthrough," the reward made Helena giddy. With this item, she could perfect one of her spells.

"Does anyone know what's the first place reward?" Alex asked.

"It seems that the captain is the one who got it. I heard her talking about it with a few other guards. For what it is, I can't say for this quest, but it's usually something rampage-related, like an item that lets you find a monster or even kill it. I heard some people in the coalition talking about how if you managed to get the 1st place in 12 rampages across an entire year, the item would turn into a skill," Leo replied as they were just about to get to the guild.

Just as they stepped inside, Rutigan appeared out of nowhere and pulled Hera and Blue to a private room on the side, "Hera, Blue! I'm glad you are OK. I heard what was going on in the lake and how you bravely fought against those wendigo creatures and was paramount to find the lair," Rutigan turned to Blue, "And you were valiantly defending the city against the onslaught of fish."

Hera stared at the king for a moment. He could be someone who would beat around the bush, but praising them like this would only happen when he needed something.

"OK, why don't we skip the… whatever this is, and you tell us what you want," Hera replied, only now realizing that she might have been a bit too rude to the king. Saying that it was just because she was tired wasn't an excuse, "Sorry, it's just been a long day, and I don't want to keep running around in circles."

"No, no. You are right. Listen, it's about the armor I promised Kahala would make."

"She pulled back?" Blue asked.

"Oh, no. She understood why I was doing that, and even if she is going to complain for years to come, she will make the items. However, I wanted to know if you could help me with something," Rutigan sighed.

"Depends on what it is," Blue replied.

"Of course. A lot of people are complaining about the rewards since your team was the one who went to the lake. They are saying that we gave more information to you two, specifically. Some are even going as far as saying that we are trying to increase our own power and leave humanity behind, and… well, I would be lying if I said that I didn't hear anyone accusing us of being a part of that group that attacked Union City," Rutigan sighed.

"What?!" Blue and Hera asked at the same time.

"Who the fuck is saying that bullshit?" Blue asked.

"Calm down. There is no need to be that angry. As far as I'm aware, that came from a single person, and even other members of her team scolded her for the comment," Rutigan tried to appease the controller.

"What's her name?" Hera asked.

"I don't know."

"That's fine. What does she look like? Nothing will happen to her. She will just be gone," Hera's eyes were cold and sharp.

"For, fuck's sake Hera. You are supposed to be the calm one. Stop that. I heard one comment, and everyone piled on saying that she was wrong. I know this is not something I can just shrug off, but making a big deal out of it will only make this worse," Rutigan rubbed between his eyes, "Now. What I wanted to ask you is. Can you two give up your prizes? I'm sure you are aware that even if both teams added all their kills, they wouldn't have the same kills as a single person who defended the lake. Because of that, I want to say that the two of you decided to relinquish your prizes so each other team could receive one of Kahala's works. That way, we can be sure that all teams at least get one of the rewards."

"So we won't get the item?" Blue slumped.

"Here is the thing. This was supposed to be a surprise, but I already convinced Kahala to make something for you two. It was supposed to be for the first anniversary of you opening the doorway for us, but you know how Kahala is. She got the inspiration for that project she's making for her late husband and put everything to the side."

"Wasn't that a few months ago?" Hera asked.

"Yeah. In fact, she says it will take just a couple more days to finish yours, Hera. For Blue, it might need at least a week. Well, I'm not entirely sure if that time frame will remain the same with the other equipment she's going to make. In all honesty, my biggest fear is that she will just use those items and give them to you as part of the reward instead of making something new. I'm trying to make her feel the love for crafting again. I know it's not the best way to do it, but I'm honestly out of ideas," Rutigan explained.

"I mean… we are still getting something made by her. I'm OK with that. Even if I feel bad for giving her more work," Hera replied.

"As long as I get a nice item, I'm OK with that too. I would be annoyed if I was going to lose the reward altogether. Like it wasn't our fault that there were so many fish," Blue crossed her arms.

"I know, and I appreciate your help," Rutigan nodded.

They headed out of the meeting room and the king explained to everyone the change. He told them that he asked Hera and Blue to relinquish their rewards so that the humans who contributed the most on both the farmland and outside would also get a special piece of equipment. After that, the clerks went around paying everyone, leaving the lake team for last. The guild used the private rooms to complete the transaction to avoid any problems. Out of curiosity, Hera asked who had the most kills in the lake team, and it was Sevaris, the guard that trained Blue when they arrived in Boothudurn. He had managed to get 22 hundred kills. Part of this should be because he was in the third rotation, meaning he didn't have to wait it out for hours during the first day, and he was in the team that took the last shift before the end. The final piece of business was to sell the loot back to the people who participated in the rampage before selling them in the guild. However, because of the unusually large number of materials, and the low number of guild employees, the clerks asked for a few days before sending the list of items to everyone with what they found.

For the people who won a piece of equipment made by a master armorsmith, they were asked to step to the side so Silah could take their measurements. Kahala was the one who would pick what to make, but since Silah knew how Kahala worked, she was the best option to get that information. To avoid having Kahala give items they couldn't use, Silah was also doing a small interview, asking about how they fought and what they used. None of the questions were too invasive, but it helped everyone feel more comfortable with the whole situation.

Unlike the rest of her party, who went straight to their house, Hera went looking for her father. Eridan was still by the farmland, helping the people there to dismantle the defenses and traps they made. Thankfully, he was doing well, just really tired. After giving him a big hug, Hera helped out while talking and trying to see if her father was scared after his first rampage. To her surprise, he was doing fine, excited even. A rampage might have been scary, but seeing the people fight and use spells and different types of weapons was amazing. When they were going back to his place, Eridan thanked Hera again for pushing him to come to the MAZE.

During the next couple of days, the city was still in high spirits with all its citizens back from the other rooms, talking about the rampage, the return of fish, and everything they saw while they were away. Most of them had old recipes from their ancestors that used seafood, but they had never tried. One not-so-great side effect of the rampage was the return of the sky rulers outside of the mountain, but they were much weaker than the ones from before, and there was no storm barrier protecting them from the dwarves. That caused some issues with the plan of developing a settlement outside of the city, but it was still early to tell if they should give up that project or not.

Hera had a date with Silah on that night, going to a human restaurant that had sushi. Even if that wasn't exactly Hera's favorite, Silah was intrigued by the idea of raw food. They had just arrived and were seated by the server. Before looking at the menu, Silah turned to her girlfriend, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Kahala finished your gift. She wanted you to stop by tomorrow. Since Rutigan already spoiled the surprise, she doesn't want to make a big deal out of it. All she needs is for you to go there so she can make sure it fits."

"Really? That's good then. I might be able to go sooner than I expected," Hera replied.

"Go? Go where?" Silah tilted her head.

"I'm chasing that thing, you know. The one we went to the Wailing Valley to find out about," Hera replied, trying to not speak about a legacy out loud.

"Right. Sorry, I forgot about that. How long do you think you will be gone this time? Just a few days?" Silah started looking through the menu.

"A bit longer than that. I need to confirm the route, but if I do the five crossings instead of the three, I should get there in a couple of weeks," Hera pulled up her tablet to see how far away that room was.

"What?"

Hera just stared at Silah with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean two weeks just to get there?" Silah gasped.

"I told you that. Where I found the next clue is far away."

"Yeah, but I figured like, Wailing Valley far away, not on the other side of the freaking MAZE."

"That's not the other side of the MAZE. I won't even be getting close to the entrance on the other side of my home country."

"Still. What am I supposed to do?"

"You can come with me or stay here. I'm not going to force you to do anything. I mean, I would love for you to come, but I know it's a long time for you to stay away from your family."

"And a long time for my girlfriend to stay away from me. You know, you spend so much time elsewhere that I feel like I don't even have someone at times."

"Silah… it's not like that. I love you. I just have to do my own thing. And I call you every night. Well… every night that I can," Hera reached for Silah's hand.

"But aren't we supposed to be together?"

"We are. Just not in the same place sometimes."

"It just feels like you are never here. I mean, these past two weeks were the most time you stayed in Boothudurn since your dad settled in, and we barely saw each other."

"That's not all on me. You've been busy with the forge, studying under Kahala and everything. I'm not trying to pass the blame. I know that there were days that I was with Risli for too long or in the training rooms."

"Or the day you refused to see me for some random reason."

"That day, I was sick. Blue tried a recipe, and I was throwing up and with diarrhea. I'm sure that if you had seen me like that, all the love would've gone away," Hera chuckled.

"Can you not talk about that when we are about to eat?" Silah rolled her eyes with a smile.

"You were the one who brought it up, but sure. Let's enjoy our meal. We can talk about this later."

Silah nodded, and the server saw his opportunity to offer the appetizers. He placed a small plate with wasabi and two small soy sauce bowls on the table. Seeing that, Silah smiled again, "Oh, you have guacamole here?" she said as she took a spoon full of green and put it on her mouth.

"Silah, don't!" Hera tried to stop her, but it was too late. Silah's mouth started to burn, and Hera did her best to help her girlfriend before enjoying the rest of her date.