Chapter 398 - Saltandeer woods (Patreon)

For the first time during this trip, Hera and Alex woke up early in the morning. It wasn't so much because of the length of their journey, but because they were excited about going to the 8th layer. Both of them had seen several pictures of the rooms where the walls once were. Even if this next room wasn't the same where Khan lived, this felt like something special.

Hera and Alex checked out of the hotel and went to the doorway of the next room. There was a small line, but in a few minutes it was their turn.

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Would you like to be transported to

Lavish Plateau  8th Layer

[Yes]   [No]
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Pressing yes, that warm feeling covered the two. In a few moments, they were on a different beach, one with green sand that melded into an expanse of lush grass that seemed to go on for miles. According to what they knew, long ago, there was a wall in the middle of that field that could be seen even from the room's entrance. Hera tried looking up if there were any paintings of this room from when it still had a wall, and there was only a single one with a couple getting married in the area and the massive light blue wall in the background. Hera never realized that before, but the pastel tone was very similar to what she saw during her role tests. In a way, this made sense, both were made by the MAZE and by the System, so having it use the same color palette seemed something that it would do. After all, the System was lazy. Another weird detail was that the wall had a different shape than the one she saw being broken in the 25th layer. It wasn't simply a single color as if it was a massive block placed in the way. This had the appearance of bricks and even some areas that seemed like columns. Maybe this was just the artist's representation, or maybe the wall was actually different than what they saw now. To check that, she would need to look for other paintings from other rooms, and she wasn't going to do that now.

Unfortunately, this room didn't have the best internet connection, and just loading a page was taking too long. It wasn't much of a surprise. After all, there wasn't even any outpost or buildings in this room. The Lavish Plateau could seem like a very peaceful place at first glance, but that would quickly change when the sun went down. Larger patches of grass would become aggressive and start to attack everything in sight. The green sand would turn into sand golems that would roam around and try to swallow everything that wasn't stuck to the ground. To top it all off, the regular monsters that could come from the small grooves peppered around the edges of the room would come out in dozens at a time. Even if this was a beautiful place, it was a nightmare for anyone who wanted to spend the night.

Because of that, the guild warned everyone who wanted to cross over this area and asked them not to stay there after sundown. There was also careful control in how many people were there at once. If a place like that had a rampage, dealing with that would be an issue.

Hera and Alex started walking through the verdant fields without any issues. Daskka's head was on Hera's shoulder, while the rest of her body was a scarf around the explorer's neck. While walking, there wasn't much to see, but after a couple of minutes, two lizards appeared from one of the groves. They were long and had green scales matching the color of the grass beneath their feet.

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Grave Lizard - Level 20 - (Grass affinity)

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Hera and Alex glanced at each other and, without speaking a word, decided to take one each. Alex simply used her [Quick Draw Style] to send a supercharged wind blade at the monster and killed it in a single move. Hera, on the other hand, tried to be a bit fancier. She activated her Memory Elemental Armor. Even if she wasn't entirely sure if that was the element she was using, that's the name she gave to the spell when she used it along with the Selective Memory Filter. Following that, she clicked her heels, activating the boots she got from Kahala, and started fighting with her own mix of the [Dorohla Style] with the [Subtle Strike]. Both martial arts focused on distraction, parrying,  and confusing the opponent which worked like a charm when applied together. She started gliding around the monster that became confused. Just as she managed to flee its field of view only to be met with a flying chakram coated in poison. If that wasn't enough, right after being hit, a snake jumped from the grass and bit down on its neck but turned into smoke before the lizard could even respond to the attack. Hera moved around the monster and pulled its tail, lifting the monster's back legs into the air. As the creature felt that tug, it turned around, trying to see what was attacking it, but there was nothing there. Just as it turned its head forward again, Hera's handaxe came crashing down on its forehead, splitting the skull in a single move.

"And you say I'm mean with monsters," Alex sighed.

"What? I had to figure out some stuff," Hera crossed her arms.

"And what was that stuff exactly? How to mess with a monster?"

"No, I wanted to know if the armor would still be active when I attacked it. Maybe it was one of those things that if you attack, the effect breaks. And I think that's the case. You saw how the monster turned in the same direction that I went after I touched its tail."

"Well, that's fair, but it could only pick between two sides. It's hard to say that this is a definite answer," Alex shrugged.

"True, that's why I want to do the same thing with any other monsters we can find. I mean, this is the only armor that I still have some doubts about," Hera explained.

"Just keep testing then. I won't stop you," Alex's eyes turned to the monster, "Are we taking this with us?"

"We could. I just don't know how many we will get until reaching the doorway."

"Forget it then, I don't want to be dragging something this big, and we have a lot of ground to cover, right?"

"Yeah, we should stay here for another 4 hours, counting with an hour break when we get to the location of the wall, and another 8 in the next room but we won't be on foot at least," Hera confirmed their schedule in her tablet.

After about an hour and a half, they had killed another dozen or so lizards but the important part was that they had arrived where the wall once was. Even if there wasn't any structure in the area, there was still a large two-meter wide blue mark on the ground with no grass growing on it. It almost looked like the wall was still there, just underground, but on a closer inspection, Hera could tell that the ground was now dirt. A pastel blue dirt, but still dirt.

Hera and Alex glanced at each other and took a step forward together. Being inside a wall was a weird concept, but they still enjoyed the moment. Alex started taking pictures while Hera did her best to examine the soil. She was wondering if that was something that could have a unique use. After picking some of the dirt on the ground and placing it in a small plastic case, she joined Alex for the pictures. Hera could hate taking pictures of herself, but this wasn't about her. It was about where she was. She never had felt so close to one of the heroes as she felt right now.

When Alex walked to the other side to take a picture of Hera in the middle of the wall, she suddenly stopped, "What the…."

"What's wrong?"

"Come here. Like walk over to this side," Alex gestured for Hera to come along.

Unsure of the reason, Hera stepped forward, and as soon as she completely left the blue mark on the floor, a notification appeared in front of her.

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You have crossed the first wall
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"What?" Hera gasped and looked at Alex.

"Yeah, what the hell. Is that a thing? Do people know about this?" Alex was looking around.

A man passing by, going towards the Green Beach, heard the surprised reaction and chuckled, "Yeah, we do. And your reaction is exactly why no one says anything."

"But what does this mean? Do we get something? Is there a quest or something?" Hera asked.

"Nah, it's just a notification. Probably to tell people who are unaware of what was going on that there are other walls. These days this is just a nod from the System," the man explained.

"Really? There is a notification, and we don't get anything?" Alex asked.

"Well, some people say that you get a bonus attribute point, but I don't know if that's true. It's been so long since I saw that message."

"So it only happens once?" Hera asked.

"Only the first time you cross. It happens on the other walls too."

"Why does no one say anything?" Alex asked.

"Why would they? I mean, it's nothing important, and it's not like it would change anything if you knew. It's just a nice surprise for the newbies."

"I guess… but it's weird that we didn't find anything about that on the internet," Hera scratched the back of her head.

"You have to search for 'Wall Notification.' It's a bit of an unspoken rule to not mention the notification in regular articles. Just to keep the surprise, not that it will last long. Honestly, it's a miracle that no one spoiled that yet," the man shrugged and started walking again.

"That's true. Thanks for the information," Alex said and got a wave as a response.

Hera and Alex spent a few more minutes in that area then continued their trek to the next room. More and more monsters appeared, but they were quickly dispatched. When they finally were able to see the doorway in the distance, the lizards seemed to lose interest in the duo.

"Say, you know that elemental ball thing you and Bonnie can do?" Alex asked as they were getting close to the doorway.

"Which one?"

"The one you can use to change spells."

"Oh, yeah. What about it?"

"Have you tried using that one with the elemental armor? Also, why don't you use that spell more often?" Alex asked.

"I haven't tried, and for why I don't use it… I just feel like I'm stepping on Bonnie's toes. I know it's stupid, but it's her thing, not mine."

"So? Are you telling me that because you use poison, I can't do the same? I mean, we both have wind spells, don't we? Why would that be an issue?"

"I just… I don't know. But the idea of using the elemental mote with the armor is a good one," Hera tried to change the subject.

"No, no. Don't start now. Bonnie taught you that spell or at least helped you figure it out. You need to stop thinking that this might be a problem and start using the spell. What if you end up dying because of it?" Alex crossed her arms.

"It never got to that point," Hera gasped.

"So, are you going to wait to get there?"

"No, but…"

"No buts. Stop that. We are in the MAZE. We don't have the luxury of letting pride be in our way."

"That one felt rehearsed. Did you come up with it?" Hera asked.

"No, someone else told me when I was in a dungeon. It actually made a lot of sense."

"I agree. I'll try to be less precious with that."

They arrived in the doorway a few minutes later and crossed over to the next room. It was called Volcanic Farmland, and just as the name suggested, it was a place with several kilometers of fertile land. However, there was no active volcano in the area. The volcanic part came from the extremely fertile soil that covered the entire room. This was a place that produced food for several of the rooms nearby, and many people were traveling here. Unfortunately, this was also why it would take so long for them to cross the room. It didn't matter what kind of transport they tried to get, all of them would have several stops and to reach their destination, it would amount to 8 hours. Hera considered going on foot, but that would take around 10 hours.

In the end, they traveled in an old school cart, pulled by two horses. They went with a small group of farmers who all seemed to enjoy their lives in this place. Especially since they upgraded their infrastructure, which allowed them to have an internet connection in the entire room.

About 9 hours later, sometime after the sunset, they reached their destination, feeling sore for staying so long sitting on a wooden wagon. In front of the doorway, there was someone from the guild talking to some people.

"No, sir, this doesn't mean you have to worry about your crops, and yes, we still will buy the produce when the rampage it's over. Nothing changed. It's just like all the previous rampages," he turned to another person who was yelling something, "Michael, I told you we are going to pay extra for the storage, so stop complaining and don't give me that crap about you needing the space. I know very well that you have an empty warehouse on your farm.

Hera braved the small crowd and got closer to the clerk, "Hi. Sorry, I just got here, but what is going on?"

"Oh, hit. The next room is under a rampage warning. We are closing it in an hour. You are free to go inside and help, but it should last a few days at least."

"Seriously?" Hera gasped.

"Yep. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Crap. We really needed to cross over."

"Where are you going?"

"Waperath Jungle," Hera replied.

"Oof, yeah. Even if you try to go around, it should take another week or so to get there. It's better if you wait here, or you can go to Green Beach. It's a great place to rest," the clerk suggested.

"I can't. My girlfriend will kill me if I take that long to get there."

"Ah. Problems in paradise?"

Hera shrugged, "You can say that. I really don't want to mess this up," her biggest worry was how long it would take for her to go through the records and find what she was looking for. Hera knew that the room was massive, and if she stayed there for too long, Silah would get even more upset.

"Give me a second," the clerk took a step back and called someone. A few moments passed before he returned, "Look. I know what it is like to have someone waiting for you. I'm not sure if you can make it, but I asked the person in that doorway to wait some time before giving the guild the clear to lock the room. He can wait for two hours. If you run, you might make it. If not, just help out in the rampage," the clerk replied.

"Really?" Hera gasped.

"Yeah. But you better run. It's already late, and the monsters get more aggressive at night."

"Alex!" Hera called and quickly explained everything, and they rushed to the doorway. Before touching it, she turned back to the clerk, "Thank you so much. What's your name?"

"Avery, I hope things work with you and your girl."

"Me too. I'm Hera, by the way," the explorer replied before turning around and touching the doorway.

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Would you like to be transported to

Saltandeer Woods 9th Layer

[Yes]   [No]
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"Wait? Hera? Helena's Hera?" Avery asked, but it was too late. The two had already been swallowed by the warm light.

Hera thought she heard something, but her mind was on the next room. They had to make it to the Waperath Jungle. Her relationship might be on the line.